美国国家公共电台 NPR--After a 2-month COVID lockdown, Shanghai begins to reopen

After a 2-month COVID lockdown, Shanghai begins to reopen

Transcript¹

After more than two months of isolation² to avoid the Omicron surge, the 25 million people who live in Shanghai are out of lockdown.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

In late March, the Chinese government locked down the city of Shanghai to snuff out a surge in omicron cases. More than 25 million residents were forced to stay home. Businesses were closed, public transit³ was shut down, and one of the biggest cities on the planet went quiet. Well, today, after more than two months, Shanghai took some big steps to end that lockdown. NPR China affairs correspondent John Ruwitch is in China, and I asked him whether things are really opening up again.

JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE⁴: Well, the simple answer seems to be yes, for the most part. I mean, there are some parts of town with a few COVID cases still that are - you know, where movement is restricted. But the majority of people in this city are free to go wherever they want now. Public transportation resumed. They're restarting international flights. Private cars are allowed on the streets again. And online, I saw people celebrating the sight of traffic jams. You know, there are still restrictions⁵ for people. You can't dine in restaurants, and everyone in Shanghai will need to take a COVID test every three days and show a negative result to be able to do just about anything, like go into a building or enter an apartment complex. But they did take a big step today.

MART?NEZ: Clearly, people are happy and relieved maybe, but you've been talking to some people in Shanghai, and they're concerned that this might not really be the end.

RUWITCH: Yeah, mixed feelings. A friend described it as like New Years but also a little bit surreal and feeling maybe a little bit tenuous⁶. It's been an exceedingly tough experience for people in Shanghai. Trust in the government has been dented⁷, right? This was originally supposed to be a four-day lockdown for anybody in Shanghai. And nobody really knows what's going to happen if, or maybe we should say when, cases pop up again in this city. One woman we talked to, Nicole Wong (ph), is a marketing⁸ strategist. She's been in lockdown for 80 days and hasn't been out at all. But she thinks the city is just opening up too quickly, and she made a point of not going out today.

NICOLE WONG: (Through interpreter) Even though everyone has a COVID test and a green health code, I'm still worried that there is a risk of contamination.

RUWITCH: Yeah. And an artist named Lucas Wong (ph), who we caught up with, was out having some drinks last night to celebrate early. But he also has concerns.

LUCAS WONG: (Non-English language spoken).

RUWITCH: So here he's saying that he doesn't see things really getting back to full normal anytime soon. And it's been a traumatic experience for the city, and he predicts that lots of stores and businesses went under during the lockdown and that in the coming days we're going to see the extent of the carnage.

MART?NEZ: Yeah, and I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, but I'm going to ask anyway. This lockdown comes at a steep economic cost, right?

RUWITCH: (Laughter) It does.

MART?NEZ: Yeah.

RUWITCH: Shanghai's a big city. It's cosmopolitan⁹. It's in the spotlight¹⁰. People around the world know it. But it's just one place of many in China where this kind of thing has happened. There's still a lot of parts of the country where people are experiencing lockdowns or restricted movement. You know, even without lockdown, just getting around now is tough. You have to have negative COVID tests. There are QR codes that are required. It's all a drag on the economy. And the government recognizes this, right? Last week, Premier¹¹ Li Keqiang had a video conference with tens of thousands of officials from every corner of the country, and he urged them to help companies get back up on their feet, get back to production and to push economic growth in the second quarter into positive territory, which some read as a sign that Q2 growth might be negative. The full year GDP growth target for China is around 5.5%. That is going to be a hard number for them to hit.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's John Ruwitch in Shenzhen. John, thanks.

RUWITCH: 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 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

3 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 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

6 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。

7 dented   

v.使产生凹痕( dent的过去式和过去分词 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等）

参考例句：

• The back of the car was badly dented in the collision. 汽车尾部被撞后严重凹陷。
• I'm afraid I've dented the car. 恐怕我把车子撞瘪了一些。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

9 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

10 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

11 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。