PBS高端访谈:新冠疫情影响航空母舰

JUDY WOODRUFF: And now, how is the virus is affecting the U.S. military, and in particular one aircraft carrier based in the Pacific? We turn now to our foreign affairs and defense¹ correspondent, Nick Schifrin. So, Nick, this is about the U.S. Navy, this ship in the Pacific. They have just held a conference call. Tell us what they're saying.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Yes, Judy, that conference call is ongoing². But the head of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Ocean, Admiral John Aquilino, was discussing the Theodore Roosevelt, and he says that they're taking extraordinary action to try to isolate³ soldiers on that ship, testing them while in quarantine. But I have to say what he just announced is not what the captain of the ship has been asking for. Some number of hundreds, perhaps in the thousands, of sailors from USS Theodore Roosevelt are leaving that ship right now, but the admiral specifically said that they wouldn't accede⁴ to the request by the captain of the ship, which was really an extraordinary one, to take 90 percent of the ship off and keep 10 percent on the ship in order to clean the ship and maintain the nuclear reactor⁵ on that ship. And what the captain said was basically, we needed to do this because everyone on this ship was working too closely together, and that we couldn't keep the sailors safe. There have been dozens of cases of COVID-19 on that ship. And he wrote a real plea to the Pentagon in a letter yesterday, Judy. And let me read just part of it "Decisive action is required". Removing the majority of personnel from a deployed⁶ U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier and isolating⁷ them for two weeks may well seem like an extraordinary measure, but keeping over 4,000 young men and women aboard the Theodore Roosevelt is an unnecessary risk and breaks faith with those sailors entrusted⁸ to our care. Judy, Admiral Aquilino from the U.S. Navy in the Pacific said that that wasn't going to happen, that he said "There has never been an intent, an intent to take all the sailors off that ship".

JUDY WOODRUFF: Still a lot of questions then about this decision. But quickly, Nick, how concerned is the military, from your reporting, about other ships that are out there around the world?

NICK SCHIFRIN: Well, the military says it's concerned about other ships, but I have to say, Judy, with this decision, they are clearly saying that they need to maintain readiness over maintaining the pure safety of all those sailors on the ship. And that's why the message today is that that ship wouldn't be evacuated⁹. The experts I talk to fear that a lot of these Navy ships are like cruise ships. They're basically incubators for disease like COVID-19, and the sailors simply are working too close together in order to keep them all safe.

JUDY WOODRUFF: It just raises the question, how can one have readiness if the sailors themselves are not healthy?

NICK SCHIFRIN: Right. That is the short-term and long-term question. You have deep the sailors safe, and you have to keep the sailors healthy short-term in order to maintain long-term readiness. At least that's what the experts are saying.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Nick Schifrin reporting for us. Thank you, Nick.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：现在，病毒是如何影响美国军事的，尤其是是位于太平洋的航母。下面请听外事和国防频道记者尼克·斯齐弗林发回的报道。尼克，我们想了解一下太平洋上这艘美军舰的情况。他们刚刚召开了一次电话会议。请跟我讲讲会议内容吧。

尼克·斯齐弗林：好的，朱迪，现在会议还在进行中。不过美国海军太平洋区司令约翰·阿奎利诺谈到了罗斯福号航母。约翰表示，他们正在采取特殊措施来隔离船上的士兵，在隔离期间对他们进行检测。但我不得不说他所宣布的内容并非船长想要的。这些水手中有数百名乃至数千名罗斯福号航母的士兵，现在他们都要离开这艘船了，不过，司令明确表示他们不会同意船长的要求。而船长的要求也很不同寻常，他的要求是：让90%的人下船，留下10%的人，目的是清理这艘船并保留船上的核反应堆。船长说的大概内容是：我们需要这样做是因为船上的每个人平时工作得都很紧密，这样的工作方式无法保证水手的安全。现在穿上已经有很多例确诊了。另外，朱迪，他昨天还给国防部写了申请。其中写道“需要做果断的决策”。将绝大多数人从部署好的美国核子航空母舰上下来并隔离2周的时间，这样的举措看起来很不同寻常。但让4000名年轻人留在船上会有不必要的风险，而将性命托付给我的水手也会对我们失望。另外，约翰还表示这是不可能的，他说“我们从未想过让水手下船”。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：关于这个决定，还是有很多疑问。不过，我还想简单问个小问题：美军对世界各地的其他军队有多关切呢？

尼克·斯齐弗林：军方表示他们也很担心其他军舰，不过我不得不说，关于这艘船的决定，他们明确表示愿意保证船上所有水手的安全。因此，今天传达的一个讯息就是这艘船不会疏散。我采访的专家担心很多这样的军舰都会像巡航舰一样。会成为新冠病毒的温床，水手们工作得很紧密，没法保证安然无恙。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：只是会产生一个问题——如果水手们都无法保证健康的话，状态又怎么会好呢？

尼克·斯齐弗林：没错，这是短期问题，也是长期问题。必须要保证水手短期内的健康才有长期的状态和意愿。至少专家们是这样说的。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：感谢尼克·斯齐弗林发回的报道。

1 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。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

4 accede   

v.应允，同意

参考例句：

• They are ready to accede to our request for further information.我们要是还需要资料，他们乐于随时提供。
• In a word,he will not accede to your proposal in the meeting.总而言之，他不会在会中赞成你的提议。

5 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

6 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

7 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

8 entrusted   

v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He entrusted the task to his nephew. 他把这任务托付给了他的侄儿。
• She was entrusted with the direction of the project. 她受委托负责这项计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。