里约热内卢桑巴舞学校生产医疗服抗击新冠病毒

Groups known as samba schools in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, usually spend the year working to make beautiful clothing for the city's Carnival¹ celebration. But members are now working to protect lives instead. They are making medical clothing for hospital workers who are treating coronavirus patients.

Dr. Wille Baracho recently carried cloth into the Unidos de Padre Miguel samba school in the Vila Vintem neighborhood. Inside, the sewers² sat on plastic chairs and busily turned the cloth into medical clothing.

The plan started when Baracho and one of his coworkers were at a nearby hospital emergency room. There, they saw a shortage³ of materials. Both also are part of the leadership in the Padre Miguel samba school and saw a chance to redirect labor⁴. The city joined in, donating thousands of meters of cloth, and the workers set to work.

"We have some friends who died already, some who are on leave or sick with the disease," Baracho told the Associated Press. He added that he has found it more satisfying to produce medical clothing than Carnival costumes. "I think everyone here would say that. Carnival is a different happiness: fun, a pleasure. This is a mission."

The Unidos da Vila Isabel samba school also joined the effort, with two workers sewing in a storage building.

More will start sewing soon, both from Vila Isabel and others at top samba schools. People across the city are expected to join, said Eneida Reis. She is executive⁵ director of assistance at RioSaude, a public company that supervises⁶ the city's health divisions.

Every willing helper is welcome. At one Rio hospital treating COVID-19 patients, doctors and nurses can use 2,000 sets of scrubs⁷ every day, city officials say.

It is not Rio's first effort to use the spirit of Carnival toward combating⁸ the virus. The parade grounds where samba schools compete is known as the Sambadrome. It has started sheltering homeless people – who are considered especially at risk during the health crisis⁹.

Rio has Brazil's second-biggest number of COVID-19 patients, with more than 1,000 cases. There are a few hundred more in the surrounding area, the state health secretary said.

For most people, the coronavirus causes few symptoms which leave the body in two to three weeks. But it can lead to something more serious, including pneumonia¹⁰ and death, for some. Older adults and people with existing health problems are especially at risk.

At the Padre Miguel workshop, Jucelia Abreu and other sewers feed cloth through their machines. Others from the samba school are doing the same at home. Together, the team makes around 450 scrubs each day.

"The directors asked us if we would be willing to volunteer, and I accepted," because it's very satisfying to help the people, Abreu said through a face mask. "We have to help."

Words in This Story

samba –n. a lively Brazilian dance

sewers –n. people who sew things like clothing

costume –n. clothing that is worn by person who is trying to look like a different person or thing

mission –n. a task or job someone is given to do

scrubs –n. a special loose-fitting clothing that is worn by people who work in hospitals

symptom –n. a change in the body which shows that a disease is present

pneumonia –n. a severe infections of the lungs

mask –n. a covering over the face, especially to prevent the spread of germs

1 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

2 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

6 supervises   

v.监督，管理( supervise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The group leader supervises a dozen workers. 组长管十二个工人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He makes the wines and supervises the vineyards. 他酿酒并管理葡萄园。 来自辞典例句

7 scrubs   

n.灌木丛，矮树丛( scrub的名词复数 )v.用力擦洗，刷洗( scrub的第三人称单数 )；取消（原有安排）；对…不予考虑，取消

参考例句：

• But how much can you spend in Parkhurst or the Scrubs, Gene? 但是你能在监狱里花多少呢，基恩？ 来自电影对白
• The attendant scrubs you down with soap and water. 服务人员用肥皂和水把你擦干净。 来自互联网

8 combating   

v.与…战斗( combat的现在分词 )；与…斗争；防止；减轻

参考例句：

• Death seemed combating with life. 死亡似乎正在和命运作战。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has put his heart and soul into the task of combating the drought. 为了抗旱，他可没少操心。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

10 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。