纽约时报 新冠疫情威胁全球贸易(2)

The outbreak of the virus in Wuhan, a city that is home to 11 million people,

此次新冠疫情爆发于武汉——一座有着1100万人口的城市，

prompted the Chinese government to effectively quarantine the metropolis¹ and much of surrounding Hubei province,

疫情爆发后，中国政府已封闭这座大都市及湖北省大部分周边地区，

barring people from moving around.

禁止人们四处走动。

Until now, the impact on factories was limited by the fact

截至目前，疫情对工厂的影响尚不严重，

that the outbreak was unfolding during the Lunar New Year, the most important holiday of the year.

因此次疫情爆发于本年度最重要的节日——农历新年之际。

Many businesses are closed during the holiday,

在此期间，许多企业都已停工，

while hundreds of millions of migrant workers return home to their families in the countryside.

数以亿计的农民工也都已返乡过年。

In a bid to keep people home and halt the spread of the virus,

为让民众在家隔离，阻止病毒传播，

the government extended the holiday through Sunday, adding three days.

政府已将假期延长三日，至周日结束。

But the fear of the virus is so widespread and intense that many workers are likely to remain away from factory towns this week.

然而，对此番病毒的恐惧早已深入人心，人人自危，恐不少工人本周并不会返城。

A frightening epidemic² coinciding with a major holiday will almost certainly

此次疫情来得凶猛，又恰逢重大节日，由此一来，

spell a substantial loss of sales for China’s tourism and hospitality industries.

中国的旅游业和服务业势必出现严重亏损。

Hotels and restaurants that would normally be full of revelry are empty.

往年春节，各大酒店餐馆无不热闹非凡，今年却空无一人。

Concerts and sporting events have been canceled.

音乐会，体育赛事纷纷取消。

IMAX, the large screen film company based in Toronto,

总部位于多伦多的大银幕电影公司IMAX

has postponed³ the release of five films it had intended to showcase in China during the holiday.

也推迟了五部贺岁档影片的上映。

Even as the holiday officially ends, business is unlikely to return to normal.

即便周日假期正式结束，各行各业也不可能立即走上正轨。

Many major industrial areas — including Shanghai, Suzhou and Guangdong province —

不少大型工业区——如上海、苏州，广东省等地的工业区——

have lengthened⁴ the holiday by at least another week, preventing workers from returning.

都已将假期再度延长一周，阻止员工返工。

With flights to China limited and emergency public health restrictions⁵ in place,

由于飞往中国的航班有限，加之中国政府对内已经启动公共卫生一级响应，

the Chinese operations of multinational⁶ companies are likely to be constrained⁷.

跨国公司或将无法正常开展在华业务。

Major banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase,

高盛，摩根大通各大银行

are directing that employees who have visited mainland China stay home for two weeks.

纷纷通知去过中国大陆的员工自行在家隔离两周。

General Motors last year sold more cars in China than in the United States.

通用汽车去年的在华销量已经超过美国本土的销量。

Its Chinese factories will be closed for at least another week at the request of the government.

应政府要求，通用在中国的工厂将继续关闭至少一周。

Ford⁸ Motor has told managers in China to work from home while its factories remain idled, said a company spokesman.

据福特汽车的一位发言人透露，该公司已通知在华管理人员停工期间在家办公。

All of this could play havoc⁹ with businesses that depend on China for components¹⁰,

凡此种种，都会严重扰乱从中国购买零部件的企业的正常运营，

from auto¹¹ factories in the American Midwest and Mexico to apparel plants in Bangladesh and Turkey.

无论是美国中西部和墨西哥的汽车厂，还是孟加拉国与土耳其的服装厂都概莫能外。

If customers cannot buy what they need from China, Chinese factories could, in turn,

他们无法从中国购入需要的产品，中国的工厂又会

slash¹² orders for imported machinery¹³, components and raw material —

缩减机械、零部件和原材料的进口订单——

computer chips from Taiwan and South Korea, copper¹⁴ from Chile and Canada, factory equipment from Germany and Italy.

如台湾和韩国的电脑芯片，智利和加拿大的铜，德国和意大利的工厂设备等。

“This could potentially disrupt global supply chains,” said Rohini Malkani,

“这样一来，整个全球供应链或许都会受到影响，”

an economist¹⁵ at DBRS Morningstar, a global credit rating business.

全球信用评级公司DBRS Morningstar的经济学家罗希尼·马尔卡尼评论道。

“It’s too early to say how long it is going to last.”

“但如此情形究竟会持续多久，现在下结论又为时过早。”

1 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

2 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

4 lengthened   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The afternoon shadows lengthened. 下午影子渐渐变长了。
• He wanted to have his coat lengthened a bit. 他要把上衣放长一些。

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 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

7 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

8 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

9 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

10 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

11 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

12 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

13 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

14 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

15 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。