"Have we run out of words to describe 2020?"“我们对2020年是不是已经词穷了？” I came across this headline recently and it got me wondering: how are people describing this year?当我最近看到这则新闻标题的时候，我不禁好奇：大家会如何形容这一年呢？ The Oxford English Dictionary describes 2020 as "a year which cannot be neatly accommodated in one single word." I've seen people choose "unprecedented." Some have said "hellacious," which I learned was actually a word. Then of course there are the expected ones that define 2020 – COVID-19, quarantines, election, Zoom, and so on. 按照《牛津英语词典》的说法，2020年是“无法用一个词来准确概括的一年”。我听说有人选了“史无前例” ，还有人说是 “备受煎熬”。当然，也有人用一些意料之中的词语来定义2020年，比如新冠肺炎、隔离、大选、Zoom等等。 I thought about how I would describe the year. I also found it hard to choose a single word, given all that has transpired. But for me, in the end, I settled on "faith" – the trust and confidence in things.我想了想我自己会如何概括这一年，同样发现很难选定某一个词，因为今年发生了太多事情。但我最后决定选择“信念” — 对人或事的信任和信心。 2020 shook our faith, no doubt, mine included. I'm one of the so-called millennials who have grown up in the era of rapid technological innovation, the internet and the expansion of globalization. 2020年动摇了我们的信念，这一点毫无疑问，我自己也是如此。我属于人们口中的 “千禧一代” 。在我所成长的时代中，技术革新快速涌现、互联网迅猛发展、全球化不断扩张。 So, in the world to which I have grown accustomed, students don't lose their visa eligibility just because they choose so-called "sensitive" majors; the apps we use every day to chat don't become suspicious all of a sudden; and science, well, is science.所以，在我所熟悉的世界里，学生们不会仅仅因为选择了所谓的“敏感”专业而失去申请签证的资格；我们每天使用的聊天应用不会随随便便就成为被怀疑的对象；还有，科学就是纯粹的科学。 It turns out, my faith in how the world works hasn't exactly been backed up by reality lately.然而，我对于世界如何运转的信念和近期的现实却不大相符。 As it stands, political polarization is preventing cooperation, international power politics is poisoning interpersonal exchanges, and even the legitimacy of science isn't getting universal acknowledgment. Are we really living in the 21st century?当下，政治两极化正在阻碍合作，国际政治争斗正在毒化各国人民的交往，甚至连科学的正当性都得不到广泛认可。我们真的是生活在21世纪吗？ If we want to pin all this on the politicians, we can. We've seen leaders taking care of their political futures over taking care of their people at the height of the pandemic. 如果想把这一切都归咎于政客，我们大可这样做。我们曾亲眼看到，在疫情最严重的时期，一些领导人把保住个人政治前途置于保护人民生命安危之上。 But aren't they actually reflecting at least a segment of the citizenry they serve? Through governmental bureaucracies, leaders magnify their constituents' voices and concerns.但这些人难道不正是代表着他们所服务的一部分民众吗？通过政府官僚体系，领导人将其选民的意见和担忧放大。 And what those voices are saying is that they've lost faith in each other, in their fellow citizens, and in foreigners. But there’s nothing new about this. Many studies have talked about how social media are creating information bubbles and how mainstream media are catering only to their viewers' preferences. 这些意见和担忧所表达的是信任的丧失。人们失去了对彼此、对同胞和对他国人民的信任。但这并不是什么新鲜事。不少研究都曾探讨过社交媒体制造信息茧房和主流媒体只迎合其受众的喜好。 2020 has brought a new dimension to this. For many, COVID-19 has meant even greater isolation – physically and digitally. With the election, the geopolitical conflicts, the constant updates about the pandemic, the intensity of the information thrown at audience has been overwhelming. Even for someone like me in the news industry, it has at times felt too much. And many only have time to process bits of information. 2020年为这一现象赋予了新含义。对于许多人来说，新冠肺炎疫情意味着更为严重的隔绝和孤立 — 不仅是物理上的，还有数字上的。美国大选、地缘政治冲突、连篇累牍的疫情报道，不断涌来的信息让人们感到不知所措。即便是像我一样的新闻工作者，有时也觉得力不从心。而许多人只有能处理碎片化信息的时间。 So, what 2020 has really done is to pull the veil on problems that were already there. The distrust, which was already rising, got a turbo-boost.所以，2020年所做的是让原本存在的问题暴露出来。本已日渐薄弱的信任加速消逝。 Are we doomed? No. Paradoxically, this year also strengthened the faith of many as well.我们没救了吗? 不。吊诡的是，今年也让许多人更加坚定了自己的信念。 For some of us, we had faith in our systems to handle the threats – and it was validated; Some suffered great personal loss, but family consolation steadies them; And each one of us, with the world rolling from one upheaval to another, and uncertainty ahead, we have trudged through the year.有一部分人对自己国家应对危机的能力抱有信心，现实也确实没有辜负他们；有的人承受了巨大的损失，但家人的安慰让他们重拾信心；这个世界波谲云诡，但我们都在向前艰难跋涉，熬过了这纷乱不断的一年。 2021 isn't going to be a cakewalk. Even with COVID-19 vaccines, we still have to face the fact that not enough can be produced, delivered, and administered to stop the virus overnight. Many would still struggle with their employment prospects because economic recovery takes time. 2021年并不会轻松。即便有了疫苗，我们仍然需要面对疫苗的生产、交付和接种速度不足，难以让疫情迅速结束的现实。许多人将仍然难以找到工作，因为经济复苏需要时间。 The polarization in domestic and international politics is even much harder to bridge. The erosion of tolerance, empathy and understanding is easy. Rebuilding them wouldn't be.国内和国际政治的两极化是更加棘手的问题。失去包容心、同理心和相互理解很容易，但重建它们则不然。 But whatever lies ahead, 2020 has tested us and taught us a lot. We are scarred but we survived. We've accomplished more than enough to believe that we will face down the coming challenges.但不论前路如何，2020年考验了我们，也教育了我们。虽然伤痕累累，但我们挺过来了。我们所取得的成就带给了我们足够的信心应对未来的挑战。 For now, no matter where you are and how you are, enjoy the holidays and have a happy new year. As Oscar Wilde once said, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."现在，不论你身在何处，境况如何，让我们享受假日，度过一个愉快的新年吧！正如奥斯卡•王尔德曾经说的：“我们都身在井隅，但有人心向璀璨” 。