美国国家公共电台 NPR--It was shocking to see the speed COVID was spreading, American expat in China says

It was shocking to see the speed COVID was spreading, American expat in China says

Transcript¹

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Rebecca Kanthor, an American expatriate, about her family's experience of living in Shanghai after China lifted its zero-COVID policy.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

All right. So how are people living in China under the new COVID policies? Rebecca Kanthor is an American expatriate living with her family in Shanghai.

REBECCA KANTHOR: My children have dressed up for their radio interview, OK?

LEO: I got glasses.

KANTHOR: Yeah? OK.

LEONA: And I got a bow.

KANTHOR: OK. Got it. OK.

MART?NEZ: Her kids, 7-year-old Leo Kanthor-Liu (ph) and 10-year-old Leona Kanthor-Liu (ph), are attending class remotely from home.

LEONA: The government said we have to, like - going to let go, no COVID testing anything. So a lot of people are getting COVID. And that would affect the schools because a lot of the kids would get COVID, because then they'll miss school. So they closed school for the rest of the, like, semester.

MART?NEZ: My colleague, Steve Inskeep, asked the kids' mom how their world suddenly changed.

KANTHOR: Almost immediately, friends around me, people in my social media started reporting that they were getting COVID. It wasn't just a few people. It was just everybody. And bear in mind, you know, for three years, I haven't really known anyone in China - you know, just a few people who have gotten COVID. So it was really shocking to see the speed at which so many people around me were getting COVID.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We had learned that when restrictions³ were lifted, many people were taking extra precautions and even not going outside if they could possibly avoid it because they were afraid of getting COVID.

KANTHOR: Yeah, I knew that it was going to be really fast because there's delivery people going from door to door. You're going out. You're taking your kids to school. It was too fast. It was overwhelming.

INSKEEP: Has this dragged you back to an experience that many of us will recall from the early phase of the pandemic, when it was hard to think or talk about anything else?

KANTHOR: Well, actually, to be honest, I feel like we've been talking about it nonstop. It's really - it's dominated our thoughts. It's scary because a lot of people were not prepared and did not have medication at home. And so that's what a lot of people are posting on social media right now is, how do I get medication? How do I get fever medication? It's not available in the pharmacies⁴. That makes it much more scary for them.

INSKEEP: How has your daily routine changed for your family, if at all?

KANTHOR: Well, I got COVID, so it changed drastically.

INSKEEP: Oh, I'm sorry.

KANTHOR: So - well, first, before I got it, the schools - my daughter's class closed down because - gosh, it seems so strange to say this. But there was a close contact among a parent of a child. And because her class went online, my son, who goes to the same school, was told he couldn't go to school anymore. So after about a week of that, the school decided⁵ all of our teachers are getting sick, so they just closed down the whole school. And in the middle of that, I got COVID. Then my kids got it. So it's been an interesting past week.

INSKEEP: How's everybody doing right now?

KANTHOR: I'm mostly getting better. My kids are, I think, probably have a couple more days before they're finally better. But I feel like we're seeing improvement. So there were a couple of days where everyone had a fever. And it wasn't very pleasant at all. But we're past that.

INSKEEP: We had an expert on the air the other day talking about the possibility, not the certainty - we don't know - but the possibility of hundreds of millions of people infected in China, scenarios⁶ that could be even worse than what's happening now. How are people viewing the immediate² future?

KANTHOR: I think there is a lot of different feelings happening right now because it's such a moment of flux⁷ right now. So people are experiencing life without all the controls that had been put in place over the past couple of years, where you couldn't really travel between provinces. You couldn't go without a few days of getting tested. So there's some, I guess, excitement about not having to be restricted in these ways, but then also fear of getting the virus. And so, you know, the streets right now in Shanghai are pretty much empty because a lot of people are staying home. They don't want to get sick - and then also, you know, fear for people's loved ones. And Chinese New Year's coming up. And I know a lot of people, you know, were planning on visiting family. And now people are wondering, OK, is that smart to do? What's the next couple of months going to be like?

INSKEEP: Well, Rebecca Kanthor, thanks for sharing a few details of your life. And I hope everybody in your family is well soon.

KANTHOR: Oh, my pleasure. Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 flux   

n.流动；不断的改变

参考例句：

• The market is in a constant state of flux.市场行情在不断变化。
• In most reactors,there is a significant flux of fast neutrons.在大部分反应堆中都有一定强度的快中子流。