VOA慢速英语2020 新加坡如何控制外劳感染数量

How Singapore Flattened² the COVID Curve³ Among Migrants

Foreign worker Yulia Endang says she is saddened by the quick growth of COVID-19 cases among foreigners in Singapore. The increase started in April.

外籍工人Yulia Endang说，她对新加坡外籍劳工新冠肺炎病例的迅速增长感到难过。这一增长始于4月份。

Endang says she believes poor housing⁴ conditions where foreign workers live likely led to the increase. But she hopes the bad news will warn the island nation of dangers ahead.

Endang表示，她认为，外籍劳工恶劣的住房条件可能是导致感染病例增长的原因。但她希望这一噩耗能警告这个岛国未来面临的危险。

"I hope the attention is not just attention but a signal that outside, there are more people aware of how actually migrant workers' life [is] like," she said.

她说:“我希望这种关注不仅仅是关注，而是（释放）一种信号，让外界更多的人意识到外籍劳工的真实处境。”

At one point, Singapore had the most COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, even with its small population. It worked hard to flatten¹ the curve. But later there was a surprising increase, mostly in dormitory rooms that house foreign workers.

新加坡一度成为东南亚新冠肺炎病例最多的国家，尽管新加坡人口稀少。该国努力使感染人数的曲线趋缓。但后来爆发了惊人的增长，主要感染源来自于外籍劳工居住的宿舍。

The rise was a reminder⁵ to Singaporeans that the wealth of their state depends, in part, on foreign laborers⁶ who often live in very poor conditions.

感染数量增长提醒新加坡人，他们国家的财富在一定程度上依赖于外籍劳工，而这些人的生活条件往往十分恶劣。

How has Singapore responded?

新加坡如何处理？

In April, Singapore was reporting as many as 1,400 COVID-19 cases a day. It is now reporting as few as 200 new daily cases. Singapore acted to change the living conditions that increased the spread. The city-state announced a quarantine on foreign dormitories and tested every single person who lived in them.

今年4月，新加坡每天报告的新冠肺炎病例多达1400例。目前每天报告的新增病例仅为200例。新加坡采取行动，改善了导致病毒传播增长的生活条件。这个城市国家宣布对外籍劳工宿舍进行隔离，并对住在宿舍内的所有人进行了检测。

Singapore also plans to expand health services for foreign workers. And it plans to build more housing to lower the number of people living in each dormitory. Some foreign workers have already been moved into new buildings. Plans include eight new buildings by the end of the year.

新加坡还计划扩大对外籍劳工的医疗服务。它还计划建造更多的住房，以减少每间宿舍居住的人数。一些外籍劳工已经搬进了新的大楼。计划包括在今年年底前建成8座新建筑。

Non NIMBY cartoons

Singaporeans are looking for social change to help correct what has historically been a place divided by class and wealth.

新加坡人正在寻求社会变革，以帮助纠正这个在历史上被阶级和财富划分等级的地方。

One group is fighting against the "not in my backyard" attitude, often called "NIMBY." It is an attitude that prevents new housing for the poor from being built in wealthier areas. Some Singaporeans have organized to change the attitude – and expression -- to "Welcome In My Backyard," or WIMBY.

一群人反对“不要建在我家后院”的心理，通常被称为“邻避”。这种心理阻碍了在较富裕地区为穷人建造新住房。一些新加坡人组织起来用“欢迎到我家来”(WIMBY)的口号转变他们的态度和表达方式。

The WIMBY group was formed after the COVID increases. It hopes to create relationships with foreign workers and others in Singapore.

WIMBY组织是在新冠肺炎感染病例增加后才形成的。该组织希望与外籍劳工和新加坡的其他人建立关系。

The WIMBY group wrote on Facebook: "We must not be comfortable with the idea of riding on the...livelihoods⁷ of others for the success of the economy."

WIMBY小组在Facebook上写道：“利用他人的生计来实现经济成功，我们也不会心安理得。”

1 flatten   

v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽

参考例句：

• We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
• The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。

2 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

3 curve   

n.曲线，弯曲，曲球；v.弯，使...弯曲

参考例句：

• The train slowed its speed as it went around the curve.火车在弯道行驶时放慢了速度。
• The path of an arrow is a curve.箭的轨迹是一条曲线。

4 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

5 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

6 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

7 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。