被疫情偷走的这两年… | ​外刊精读

So far it looks as if the legacy of covid­19 will follow the pattern set by past pandemics. Nicholas Christakis of Yale University identifies three shifts: the collective threat prompts a growth in state power; the overturning of everyday life leads to a search for meaning; and the closeness of death which brings caution while the disease rages, spurs audacity when it has passed. Each will mark society in its own way.

Leisure has been affected, too. People say they have had 15% more time on their hands. In Britain young women spent 50% longer with their nose in a book. Literary agents have been swamped with first novels. Some of this will fade: media firms fear an “attention recession”. But some changes will stick.

It is still unclear whether the appetite for risk is about to rebound. In principle, if you survive a life-threatening disease, you may count yourself as one of the lucky ones and the devil may care. In the years after the Spanish flu a century ago, a hunger for excitement burst onto the scene in every sphere, from sexual licence to the arts to the craze for speed. This time the new frontiers could range from space travel to genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and enhanced reality.

Even before the coronavirus came along, the digital revolution, climate change and China’s rise seemed to be bringing the post-second-world-war, Western-led order to an end. The pan­demic will hasten the transformation.

gripped one country after another. Just when you think the virus is beaten, a new variant comes storming back, more infectious than the last. And yet, as the number of vaccinations passes 3bn, glimpses of post-covid life are emerging. Already, two things are clear: that the last phase of the pandemic will be drawn-out and painful; and that covid-­19 will leave behind a different world.什么时候才是尽头？一年半了，新冠疫情蔓延到一个又一个国家。就当世人以为病毒已被打败的时候，新的变种又卷土重来，传染性更甚于前。然而，随着疫苗接种超过30亿剂次，后疫情时代的生活面貌正在浮现。现在有两件事已经明确无疑：疫情的最后阶段将漫长而痛苦；疫情过后的世界将截然不同。

① 句子结构分析：

When（状语）will it（主语）end（谓语）? For a year and a half（状语）, covid­-19（主语） has gripped（谓语） one country after another（宾语）. Just when you think the virus is beaten（状语）, a new variant（主语）comes（谓语） storming back（状语）, more infectious than the last（状语）. And yet, as the number of vaccinations passes 3bn（状语从句）, glimpses of post-covid life（主语） are emerging（谓语）. Already, two things（主语） are clear（谓语）: that the last phase of the pandemic will be drawn-out and painful（同位语从句1）; and that covid-­19 will leave behind a different world（同位语从句2）.

② 写作表达：

a.

grip [ɡrɪp] 在这里用作动词，表示If something grips you, it affects you very strongly. 强烈地影响例如：
The entire community has

been gripped by fear.
整个社区已被恐惧笼罩着。 

is gripped by the dramatic story.整个国家都被这个戏剧性的故事所吸引。“

控制”除了常见的control，也可以用get a grip表示。例如：Part of me was very frightened and I consciously had to

get a grip on myself.我其实非常害怕，但又不得不有意识地控制住自己。“

面对现实”除了常见的face the reality，还可以用grip on reality表示。例如：
Shakur loses his fragile

grip on reality and starts blasting away at friends and foes alike.
沙库尔丧失了对现实脆弱的控制力，无论对朋友还是敌人都开始猛烈抨击起来。

我们这里对“抓住”的近义词作一下辨析： 

take: 最普通用词，不带感情色彩。指用手抓、取某东西或控制某物。 

grasp: 指紧紧抓住、抓牢。 

clutch: 强调匆忙、紧急地抓、抓紧。 

这句话涉及到了标点符号的翻译。“标点符号”的翻译我们在董明珠自造22岁“带货网红”？| 外刊精读里讲过，不记得的同学记得及时复习哦~④ 生词解析：

variant [ˈvɛərɪənt] 用作名词，表示A variant of a particular thing is something that has a different form from that thing, although it is related to it. 变体; 变种例如：
The quagga was a strikingly beautiful

variant of the zebra.
白氏斑马是一种极其美丽的斑马变种。 

drawn-out.
通向和平的路将是漫长而延宕的。 

【第二部分：具体影响】 

So far it looks as if the legacy of covid-­19 will follow the pattern set by past pandemics. Nicholas Christakis of Yale University identifies three shifts: the collective threat prompts a growth in state power; the overturning of everyday life leads to a search for meaning; and the closeness of death which brings caution while the disease rages, spurs audacity when it has passed. Each will mark society in its own way.目前看来，新冠疫情的遗留影响仍将遵循以往大流行病的模式。耶鲁大学的尼古拉斯·克里斯塔基斯(Nicholas Christakis)指出了三个转变：集体威胁促使国家权力扩增；日常生活被颠覆导致人们寻找生活的意义；疫病肆虐时面对死亡的威胁人人谨小慎微，待它消退后人们又会格外胆大妄为。每一种转变都将以自己的方式深刻地影响社会。

Leisure has been affected, too. People say they have had 15% more time on their hands. In Britain young women spent 50% longer with their nose in a book. Literary agents have been

swamped with first novels. Some of this will fade: media firms fear an “attention recession”. But some changes will stick.休闲娱乐也受到了影响。人们表示闲暇时间多了15%。在英国，年轻女性看书的时间增加了50%。各种小说处女作如雪片般飞向文学经纪人。其中一些新现象会逐渐消失，媒体公司就担心会迎来“注意力衰退”。但有些会持续下去。

① 句子结构分析：a. So far（状语）it（主语）looks（系动词） as if the legacy of covid­19 will follow the pattern set by past pandemics（表语从句）. Nicholas Christakis of Yale University（主语）identifies（谓语）three shifts（宾语）: the collective threat prompts a growth in state power; the overturning of everyday life leads to a search for meaning; and the closeness of death which brings caution while the disease rages, spurs audacity when it has passed. Each will mark society in its own way（three shifts的同位语）.

b. Leisure（主语）has been affected（谓语）, too. People（主语） say（谓语） they have had 15% more time on their hands（宾语从句）. In Britain（状语） young women（主语） spent（谓语） 50% longer（宾语） with their nose in a book（状语）. Literary agents（主语） have been swamped with first novels（谓语）. Some of this（主语） will fade（谓语）: media firms（主语） fear（谓语） an “attention recession” (宾语). But some changes（主语） will stick（谓语）.

② 写作积累：

a. prompt [prɒmpt] 用作动词，表示To prompt someone to do something means to make them decide to do it. 促使例如：
Japan’s recession has

prompted consumers to cut back on buying cars.
日本的经济衰退已促使消费者们削减购车花销。这里对“

促使”的近义词作一下辨析： 

motivate: 强调驱使人们采取行动的原因或动机。 

drive: 侧重外来的驱策力和内心的感情力量的驱使。 

prompt: 与motivate近义，强调起因。b.

rage [reɪdʒ] 用作动词，表示You say that something powerful or unpleasant rages when it continues with great force or violence. 肆虐例如：
Train service was halted as the fire

raged for more than four hours.
火车停运了，因为大火肆虐了四个多小时。 

rage常见义为“狂怒”，这里对此进行一下辨析： 

anger:普通用词，通常指因受到侮辱、损害、指责或顶撞等而引起的愤怒。 

indignation: 较正式用词，指出于正义或对不公正之事而发出的愤怒。 

wrath:文学用词，含义与anger相近，但语气强，含欲加惩罚或报复的意味。 

spurs these fishermen to risk a long ocean journey in their flimsy boats.
是金钱驱使这些渔民驾驶单薄的小船冒险出海远航。这里介绍一个常见短语：

on the spur of the moment表示一时冲动之下例如：
They admitted they had taken a vehicle

on the spur of the moment.
他们承认一时冲动之下偷了一辆车。③ 生词解析：

collective [kəˈlɛktɪv] 用作形容词，表示Collective actions, situations, or feelings involve or are shared by every member of a group of people. 集体的例如：
It was a

collective decision.
这是集体的决定。 

audacity [ɔːˈdæsɪtɪ] 用作名词，表示Audacity is audacious behaviour. 大胆行为例如：
I was shocked at the

audacity of the gangsters.
我为这些匪帮的大胆行为感到震惊。 

swamped with work.
他工作正忙得不可开交。

It is still unclear whether the appetite for risk is about to rebound. In principle, if you survive a life-threatening disease, you may count yourself as one of the lucky ones and the devil may care. In the years after the Spanish flu a century ago, a hunger for excitement burst onto the scene in every sphere, from sexual licence to the arts to the craze for speed. This time the new frontiers could range from space travel to genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and enhanced reality.目前还不清楚风险偏好是否会反弹。一般来说，从一种危及生命的疾病中幸存下来，你可能就会自认是幸运儿，对一切都无所顾忌。一个世纪前爆发的西班牙流感过后的几年里，几乎在每个领域都迸发出对刺激的渴求，从纵欲、艺术，到对速度的狂热追求。这一次，新的前沿领域可能是太空旅行、基因工程、人工智能和增强现实。

Even before the coronavirus came along, the digital revolution, climate change and China’s rise seemed to be bringing the post-second-world-war, Western-led order to an end. The pan­demic will hasten the transformation.

即使在新冠病毒出现之前，数字革命、气候变化和中国崛起似乎已经在终结二战后西方主导的秩序。疫情将加速这一转变。

① 句子结构分析：

a. It（主语） is still unclear（谓语）whether the appetite for risk is about to rebound（主语从句）. In principle（状语）, if you survive a life-threatening disease（状语从句）, you（主语） may count（谓语）yourself（宾语）as one of the lucky ones（宾补）and the devil（主语）may care（谓语）. In the years after the Spanish flu a century ago（状语）, a hunger for excitement（主语） burst（谓语）onto the scene（状语） in every sphere（状语）, from sexual licence to the arts to the craze for speed（同位语）. This time（状语） the new frontiers（主语）could range（谓语）from space travel to genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and enhanced reality（状语）.

b. Even before the coronavirus came along（状语）, the digital revolution, climate change and China’s rise（主语）seemed to be bringing（谓语）the post-second-world-war, Western-led order（宾语） to an end（状语）. The pan­demic（主语）will hasten（谓语）the transformation（宾语）.

② 写作句型：

hasten [ˈheɪsən] 用作动词，表示If you hasten an event or process, often an unpleasant one, you make it happen faster or sooner. 加速例如：
But if he does this, he may

hasten the collapse of his own country.
但是如果他这样做，他也许就会加速自己国家的灭亡。这里对“

加速”的近义词作一下辨析： 

quicken: 普通用词，指增加速度、速率。 

accelerate: 着重指频率或速率运转加快。 

rebounded from a post.
他在比赛21分钟时的射门从球门柱上弹了回来。 

enhanced reality是增强现实的英文说法，该技术是一种将虚拟信息与真实世界巧妙融合的技术，广泛运用了多媒体、三维建模、实时跟踪及注册、智能交互、传感等多种技术手段，将计算机生成的文字、图像、三维模型、音乐、视频等虚拟信息模拟仿真后，应用到真实世界中，两种信息互为补充，从而实现对真实世界的“增强”。 

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