时代周刊：2020是最糟糕的一年
今天，《时代》（TIME）周刊杂志发布了最新一期封面，白底黑字的2020被打上了一个大红叉，底下小字写着“最糟糕的一年”（The Worst Year Ever）。
据了解，这是有史以来《时代》（TIME）周刊杂志第五次使用这个大红叉的封面，前面四次分别是1945年阿道夫·希特勒（Adolph Hitler）死亡、2003年萨达姆·侯赛因（Saddam Hussein），当时伊拉克战争（Iraq war）爆发、2006年美军击毙伊拉克基地组织首领阿布·穆萨布·扎卡维（Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi）和2011年击毙奥萨马·本·拉登（Osama bin Laden）。
无注释原文：
The History Behind TIME's Use of a Red 'X' on Its Cover
TIME
TIME’s Dec. 14 cover crosses out the bane of a year that is 2020 with a big red “X.” It is the latest in a long tradition saved for some of the worst foes humanity has faced in the magazine’s history.
TIME has used a red “X” to cross out various things on its cover only four other times. The first time was 75 years ago, in 1945, to mark the death of Adolf Hitler (and later that year, a black “X” over Japan’s rising sun marked the end of the war in the Pacific theater).
The second use of the “X” came in 2003. This time it crossed out Saddam Hussein at the beginning of the Iraq war. The third “X” on TIME’s cover happened in 2006, when U.S. forces killed Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The most recent usage of the “X” was in 2011, for the killing of Osama bin Laden.
TIME used the X symbolize “the end of a long struggle,” from World War II to milestones in the war on terrorism, and in 2020, the world battles the COVID-19 virus. Just as TIME acknowledged that bin Laden’s May 2, 2011, was “the end of an era in some ways, but not the end of our struggle against terrorism,” so TIME’s use of the red X in Dec. 2020 marks the end of a historic year, but not the end of the battle to curb the spread of this deadly virus.
That May 20, 2011, issue featuring the “X” over bin Laden’s face on the cover, also included reflections on how the 9/11 attacks affected Americans on the home front. As TIME’s then-Editor-in-Chief Rick Stengel wrote:
[P]erhaps the most poignant words in this issue come from three of the children who were reading The Pet Goat with President George W. Bush in their second-grade classroom when Bush learned that the U.S. had been attacked. These kids, now high school juniors, had a front-row seat to history. Our news director Howard Chua-Eoan asked Miami bureau chief Tim Padgett to track them down. Lazaro Dubrocq, 17, remembers seeing the President’s horrified expression and recalls how his heart started racing. That day in the classroom had a lasting impact, Dubrocq says: it “motivated me to get a better handle on the world and to want to help improve the world.” That goes on, even with bin Laden gone.
The impact of 2020 remains to be seen and certainly much more attention will be paid to how this historic year will shape future generations.
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注：中文文本为机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应
含注释全文：
The History Behind TIME's Use of a Red 'X' on Its Cover
TIME
TIME's Dec. 14 cover crosses out the bane of a year that is 2020 with a big red “X.” It is the latest in a long tradition saved for some of the worst foes humanity has faced in the magazine's history.
《时代》杂志12月14日的封面用一个大红的“X”打在了糟糕的2020年字样上。这个大红叉是该杂志历史上为人类所面临的一些最坏的敌人所保留的悠久传统，这是最新一次使用这样的封面。
cross out
表示“划掉”，英文解释为“to draw a line through something you have written, usually because it is wrong”举个🌰：
If you think it's wrong, cross it out and write it again.
如果你认为错了，划掉重新写。
the bane of
表示“祸根，灾星，（麻烦或不幸的）根源”，英文解释为“the bane of sth a cause of continuous trouble or unhappiness”举个🌰：
That cat is the bane of my life!
那只猫简直是我的灾星！
Keeping noise levels low is the bane of airport administration.
降低噪音一直是令机场管理部门倍感头疼的难题。
foe /fəʊ/
表示“敌人；仇敌”，英文解释为“Someone's foe is their enemy.”
TIME has used a red “X” to cross out various things on its cover only four other times. The first time was 75 years ago, in 1945, to mark the death of Adolf Hitler (and later that year, a black “X” over Japan’s rising sun marked the end of the war in the Pacific theater).
《时代》杂志在封面上用红色的“X”划掉各种东西，仅仅四次。第一次是75年前，1945年，标志阿道夫·希特勒（Adolf Hitler）去世（同年晚些时候，在日本初升的太阳上用黑色的“X”标志着太平洋战场战争的结束）。
theater
theater/theatre，熟词僻义，表示“战区，战场”，英文解释为“an area or place in which important military events happen”如：a theatre of war 战场。
The second use of the “X” came in 2003. This time it crossed out Saddam Hussein at the beginning of the Iraq war. The third “X” on TIME's cover happened in 2006, when U.S. forces killed Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The most recent usage of the “X” was in 2011, for the killing of Osama bin Laden.
第二次使用“X”是在2003年。这一次，它在伊拉克战争开始时划掉了萨达姆·侯赛因（Saddam Hussein）。第三次“X”出现在《时代》周刊的封面上是在2006年，当时美军击毙了伊拉克基地组织（al-Qaeda）首领阿布·穆萨布·扎卡维（Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi）。最近一次使用“X”是在2011年，因为奥萨马·本·拉登（Osama bin Laden）被击毙。
TIME used the X symbolize “the end of a long struggle,” from World War II to milestones in the war on terrorism, and in 2020, the world battles the COVID-19 virus. Just as TIME acknowledged that bin Laden's May 2, 2011, was “the end of an era in some ways, but not the end of our struggle against terrorism,” so TIME's use of the red X in Dec. 2020 marks the end of a historic year, but not the end of the battle to curb the spread of this deadly virus.
《时代》用X象征着“长期斗争的结束”，从二战到反恐战争的里程碑，再到2020年，世界与COVID-19病毒的斗争。正如《时代》周刊承认本·拉登2011年5月2日“在某些方面是一个时代的结束，但不是我们反恐斗争的结束”，《时代》周刊在2020年12月使用红色X标志着一个历史性年份的结束，但不是遏制这种致命病毒传播的战斗的结束。
symbolize
表示“象征，代表”，英文解释为“to represent something”举个🌰：
The lighting of the Olympic torch symbolizes peace and friendship among the nations of the world.
点燃奥林匹克火炬象征着世界各国人民的和平与友谊。
curb
表示“ 控制，抑制，限定，约束（不好的事物）”，英文解释为“to control or limit sth, especially sth bad”举个🌰：
He needs to learn to curb his temper.
他得学着控制自己的脾气。
That May 20, 2011, issue featuring the “X” over bin Laden's face on the cover, also included reflections on how the 9/11 attacks affected Americans on the home front. As TIME’s then-Editor-in-Chief Rick Stengel wrote:
2011年5月20日那期以本·拉登脸部打叉为封面的杂志，还包括了关于911袭击对美国人在国内的影响的思考。正如《时代》周刊当时的主编里克·斯滕格尔（Rick Stengel）所写的：
the home front
表示“（战时的）后方民众，大后方；本国；发生在家乡（或本国）”，英文解释为“If something is happening on the home front, it is happening within the country where you live.”举个🌰：
They are trying desperately to change the subject to the home front, to talk about domestic issues.
他们正千方百计把话题转到本国，以便讨论国内问题。
[P]erhaps the most poignant words in this issue come from three of the children who were reading The Pet Goat with President George W. Bush in their second-grade classroom when Bush learned that the U.S. had been attacked. These kids, now high school juniors, had a front-row seat to history. Our news director Howard Chua-Eoan asked Miami bureau chief Tim Padgett to track them down. Lazaro Dubrocq, 17, remembers seeing the President's horrified expression and recalls how his heart started racing. That day in the classroom had a lasting impact, Dubrocq says: it “motivated me to get a better handle on the world and to want to help improve the world.” That goes on, even with bin Laden gone.
也许本期最尖锐的文字来自三个孩子，当布什得知美国遭到袭击时，他们正在二年级的教室里与乔治-W-布什总统一起阅读《宠物羊》（The Pet Goat）。这些孩子，现在是高中三年级的学生，他们对历史有切身的体会。我们的新闻总监霍华德·蔡·欧安（Howard Chua-Eoan）要求迈阿密分局局长蒂姆·帕吉特（Tim Padgett）追踪他们。17岁的拉扎罗·杜布罗克（Lazaro Dubrocq）记得看到总统惊恐的表情，并回忆起他的心跳如何开始加速。杜布罗克说，教室里的那一天产生了持久的影响：它“激励我更好地掌握世界，想要帮助改善世界”。即使在本·拉登走后，这种情况还在继续。
poignant
poignant /ˈpɔɪnjənt/表示“令人痛苦的，酸楚的；深深打动人的”，英文解释为“causing or having a very sharp feeling of sadness”举个🌰：
The photograph awakens poignant memories of happier days.
照片唤起了对美好时光的深情追忆。
have a front-row seat
字面意思就是坐到了前排位置，围观/感受发生的某事，英文解释为“It generally means sitting in the first row at an event, like the opera, a play, a show or even the movies. The expression does not have to be the literal meaning, however. You can have a "front-row seat" to something even if you are not physically present. It's more about how closely you experience the event.”
The impact of 2020 remains to be seen and certainly much more attention will be paid to how this historic year will shape future generations.
2020年的影响还有待观察，当然，人们会更加关注这个历史性的年份将如何塑造后代。
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