国家地理:为了结束这场流行病 我们必须相信科学(2)

Which was it, then? Surface transmission or aerosols¹? Should we be more afraid of contaminated elevator buttons or people breathing near us? Did scientists even know?

那么何者为真？是接触传播还是气溶胶传播？是受污染的电梯按钮或是在身旁呼吸的人更令人担心？科学家真的知道吗？

The shift in advice about masks spooked me, I must admit. Not because of the new advice itself -- I was more than happy to wear a mask if the experts said I should -- but because of the ominous² meta message I sensed beneath it: Scientists were figuring this thing out on the fly. The most earnest pronouncements from the world's smartest experts suddenly sounded like little more than well-meant educated guesses.

我必须承认，关于口罩的建议大转弯令我焦虑不安。不是因为这个建议本身，假如专家说要戴口罩，我很乐意这么做，而是因为我感觉到它背后预兆的元信息：科学家是在摸索中得出这个结果的。世界上最聪明的专家用最认真的态度做出的宣告，顿时听起来不过是出于好意的合理猜测。

As this devastating³ year draws to its raggedy close, it's worth taking a moment to wonder what the long-term effect will be of watching scientists bob and weave on their way to a better understanding of the coronavirus and how to thwart⁴ the disease it causes, COVID-19 -- all out in public and all at breakneck speed. Even for a science geek like me, it has been unsettling to watch them debate, disagree, pivot⁵, and reassess. I've been wishing instead that some lab-coated hero would just swoop⁶ in and make it go away. I was a baby in 1955 when Jonas Salk introduced his polio vaccine⁷ and vanquished⁸ a dread⁹ disease; ever after, my mother spoke¹⁰ his name with reverence¹¹.

随着这灾难的一年进入残破不堪的尾声，现在值得花些时间思考，科学家为了更了解新冠病毒和阻止它所引发的COVID-19，一路上以惊险的速度左闪右躲穿梭前行，这一切看在公众眼中会有什么长期影响。即使像我这种科学宅，看见科学家相互争论、意见不合、改变立场与重新评估，也会感到不安。我宁愿有个穿着实验衣的英雄突然现身终结疫情。1955年我还在襁褓中时，乔纳斯·沙克就是这样推出他研发的小儿麻痹症疫苗，消灭了这可怕的疾病；此后，我母亲提到他的名字时总是无比崇敬。

As scientists hustle¹² to deliver us from a terrifying, seemingly intractable plague, there could be another happy ending -- one that involves not just survival but also wisdom. If we learn any big takeaway from this doleful experience, I hope it's not that our fellow human beings are myopic¹³ fools but that the scientific process can be trusted to get us through an existential crisis.

随着科学家拼命努力把我们从恐怖又棘手的疫情中拯救出来，还是有可能再一次出现好结局：在这个结局中，我们不仅能够存活，可能还多了智慧。如果我们能从这个悲惨的经验中学到任何重要的事，我希望是科学过程值得我们信赖，能带我们度过生存危机。

1 aerosols   

n.气溶胶( aerosol的名词复数 )；喷雾剂；（气体中的）浮粒；喷雾器

参考例句：

• Aerosols are present throughout the atmosphere. 气溶胶存在于整个大气层。 来自辞典例句
• Deodorants are available as aerosols or roll-ons. 除臭剂有喷雾装或滚抹装。 来自辞典例句

2 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

5 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

6 swoop   

n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击

参考例句：

• The plane made a swoop over the city.那架飞机突然向这座城市猛降下来。
• We decided to swoop down upon the enemy there.我们决定突袭驻在那里的敌人。

7 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

8 vanquished   

v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制

参考例句：

• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I vanquished her coldness with my assiduity. 我对她关心照顾从而消除了她的冷淡。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

12 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

13 myopic   

adj.目光短浅的，缺乏远见的

参考例句：

• The Government still has a myopic attitude to spending.政府在开支问题上仍然目光短浅。
• Myopic views could be potentially damaging for us.目光短浅会给我们带来严重的后果。