国家地理:新冠病毒和洗手文化（2）

This year, Indians have been getting the message as never before: Frequent handwashing with soap prevents disease. They've been getting it from their national and state governments. They've been getting it on social media, from Bollywood stars and from cricket champions and, most entertainingly, from a squad¹ of uniformed, face mask–wearing policemen in the southern state of Kerala, who danced in synchronous² formation to a popular tune³ while demonstrating proper handwashing technique.

今年，印度人收到以下信息的频率前所未见：勤用肥皂洗手才能预防疾病。他们的信息来源包括中央和州政府。也来自社交媒体上的宝莱坞明星和板球冠军，以及最有趣的是卡拉拉邦南部一支穿制服、戴口罩的警察小队，他们以整齐划一的队形随流行音乐起舞，示范洗手技巧。

As the coronavirus has torn through the world, not sparing the rich and the powerful, India's rural poor have felt their own acute vulnerability, Kabir says, and that has made them more open to the message. Soap, he says, is now one of the top items sold in village shops, right behind rice and wheat flour.

卡比尔表示，随着新型冠状病毒在全球肆虐，而且并没有让有钱有势的人幸免于难，印度农村的穷人更加感受到自己极度脆弱，所以比较能接受勤洗手的劝告。他说，肥皂现在是村里商店最热卖的商品之一，仅次于米和小麦面粉。

Even before COVID-19, Kabir had a long list of arguments for soap buying and handwashing. Worldwide in 2018, pneumonia⁴ killed more than 800,000 children under the age of five, including 127,000 in India. Diarrhea, usually caused by rotavirus infection, killed more than 500,000 children, including more than 100,000 Indians. Handwashing with soap is a first defense⁵ against both diseases, as it is against cholera⁶, dysentery, hepatitis A, and typhoid. It can cut the risk of diarrhea by 40 percent, UNICEF says.

早在新冠病毒大流行之前，卡比尔就已经准备很多要说服民众买肥皂和洗手的理由了。2018年，全球有超过80万名五岁以下的儿童死于肺炎，其中就有12万7000名印度儿童。而通常由轮状病毒感染所引起的腹泻，则是导致超过50万名儿童死亡，其中就有10万名以上的印度儿童。用肥皂洗手是抵御这两种疾病的主要方法，同时也能抵抗霍乱、痢疾、A型肝炎以及伤寒。联合国儿童基金会表示，用肥皂洗手能让腹泻的风险降低40%。

The great hope of WASH activists⁷ like Kabir is that the fear of COVID-19 will inspire a surge in handwashing that, in a post-pandemic world, will lead to a lasting⁸ reduction in the disease burden of many developing countries.

像卡比尔这样来自WASH的行动主义者，主要是希望对COVID-19的恐惧能促使民众勤洗手，并让这个习惯在大流行过后持续为许多发展中国家减少疾病负担。

This is "probably the only silver lining⁹ of the disease," says VK Madhavan, CEO of WaterAid India. "The change and awareness¹⁰ about it now, as compared to a few weeks back, is phenomenal."

这“可能是这种疾病唯一的一线希望。”印度水援助组织首席执行官VK·马德赫凡说。“相较于几周前的状况，目前的变化以及社会大众觉醒的程度是很惊人的。”

But there's a daunting¹¹ obstacle to realizing that hopeful vision: In places like India, there's just not enough clean water.

1 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

2 synchronous   

adj.同步的

参考例句：

• The message can be used only with synchronous operations.消息只能与同步操作一起使用。
• Synchronous machines do not easily fall out of step under normal conditions.在正常情况下，同步电机不易失去同步。

3 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

4 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

9 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

10 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

11 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。