外刊精读：开学这件事，国外怎么看？

Covid-19 and the classroom

停课对孩子们的思想损害大于感染的风险

Covid-19 has shut the world’s schools. Three in four children live in countries where all classrooms are closed. The disruption is unprecedented. Unless it ends soon, its effect on young minds could be devastating.

新冠病毒关闭了世界各地的学校。四分之三的儿童生活在所有教室都关闭的国家。这种破坏是前所未有的。除非它很快结束，否则它对年轻人的影响可能是毁灭性的。

Unprecedent

1.ADJ 前所未有的；空前的；没有先例的

例句：Such a move is rare, but not unprecedented.

这种做法很罕见，但也不是没有先例的。

2.ADJ-GRADED （质量、数量、规模）很高的，很大的
例句：Each home boasts an unprecedented level of quality throughout.

每家的质量都堪称一流。

Devastating

1.ADJ-GRADED 毁灭性的;极具破坏力的

例句：The city of Ormac took the full force of the winds and devastating floods...

奥马克城受到了狂风和灾难性洪水的猛烈袭击。

2. ADJ-GRADED 令人极为震惊的;使人极度不安的;可怕的

例句：The diagnosis was devastating. She had cancer.

诊断结果令人震惊：她得了癌症。

3.ADJ 极其引人注目的;令人印象深刻的

...a devastating display of galloping and jumping...

令人难忘的骑马飞奔和跳跃表演

△Devastatingly

例句：Its advertising is devastatingly successful...

其广告大获成功。

例句：She was charming and devastatingly beautiful too.

她魅力四射，美貌绝伦。

During some epidemics keeping children at home is wise; they are efficient spreaders of diseases such as seasonal flu. However, they appear to be less prone to catching and passing on covid-19. Closing schools may bring some benefit in slowing the spread of the disease, but less than other measures. Against this are stacked the heavy costs to children’s development, to their parents and to the economy.

在一些流行病中，让孩子们留在家里是明智的；他们是季节性流感等疾病的有效传播者。然而，孩子更不容易感染和传播新冠病毒。关闭学校也许能够在减缓疾病的传播方面带来些好处，但利好要少于其他措施。与之相对，儿童发展、父母和经济都面临沉重代价。

Epidemics

1.N-COUNT （疾病的）流行，传播

例句：A flu epidemic is sweeping through Moscow.

一场流感正席卷莫斯科。

2.N-COUNT （坏事的）盛行，泛滥，猖獗

...an epidemic of serial killings...

连环杀人现象的猖獗

Prone

1.ADJ-GRADED 有（不好的）倾向的；易于…的；很可能…的

例句：For all her experience, she was still prone to nerves...

尽管有经验，她还是容易紧张。

△（与名词结合构成形容词，用来形容经常受不好影响的人。）

...the most injury-prone rider on the circuit.

环道上最容易受伤的车手

2.ADJ 俯卧的；面部（或腹部）朝下的

例句：Bob slid from his chair and lay prone on the floor...

鲍勃从椅子上滑下来，趴在了地板上。

A few countries, such as Denmark, are gradually reopening schools. Others, including Italy, say they will not do so until the autumn. In America, despite recent calls from President Donald Trump for schools to open, most states plan to keep their classrooms closed for the rest of the academic year—and possibly longer. That is a mistake. As countries ease social distancing, schools should be among the first places to unlock.

一些国家，例如丹麦，正在逐渐重新开学。而包括意大利在内的其他国家表示，它们直到秋天才会那么做。在美国，尽管最近总统唐纳德·特朗普呼吁开学，大多数州都计划在本学年的剩余时间甚至更长的时间里关闭学校。那是一个错误。随着国家放松了社交距离的管控，学校应该成为最早开放的地方之一。

Consider the costs of barring children from the classroom. No amount of helicopter parenting or videoconferencing can replace real-life teachers, or the social skills acquired in the playground. Even in the countries best prepared for e-learning, such as South Korea, virtual school is less good than the real thing.

考虑禁止孩子复学的成本。任何“直升机式父母”或视频会议都能替代现实生活中的教师，或是在游戏场地中获得的社交技能。即使在韩国等电子学习准备最充分的国家，虚拟学校也不如真实学校好。

Helicopter parent 直升机式家长

释义：直升机式家长是21世纪初的一个俗语，指的是特别在教育方面，过度关注自己或孩子的经历和问题的家长。他们像直升机一样，在孩子头顶盘旋，不管孩子们是否真的需要。

Videoconferencing

N-UNCOUNT视频会议；视像会议 

Poorer children suffer most. Zoom lessons are little use if your home lacks good Wi-Fi, or if you have to fight with three siblings over a single phone. And whereas richer families often include well-educated parents who prod their offspring to do their homework and help when they get stuck, poorer families may not.

较穷的孩子受害最严重。如果你的家缺乏好的Wi-Fi，或者如果你不得不为了获取一部手机与三个兄弟姐妹打架，缩放课程几乎没有用处。然而较富裕的家庭往往包括受过良好教育的父母，他们督促子女做好功课，并在他们陷入困境时提供帮助。贫困家庭则可能不会。

Sibling

1.N-COUNT 兄弟姐妹

例句：His siblings are mostly in their early twenties.

他的兄弟姐妹大多二十出头。

Prod

1. VERB （用手指或尖物）刺，戳，捅

例句：He prodded Murray with the shotgun...

他用猎枪捅了捅默里。

2.N-COUNT （用手指或尖物）刺，戳，捅

例句：He gave the donkey a mighty prod in the backside.

他用力捅了一下驴屁股。

3. VERB 提醒；促使；督促

例句：The report should prod the Government into spending more on the Health Service.

这份报告将督促政府加大在卫生服务方面的支出。

△Prodding

例句：She did her chores without prodding.

她自觉地做完了家务。

Offspring

N-COUNT 孩子；子女；后代；（动物的）崽

例句：Eleanor was now less anxious about her offspring than she had once been.

埃莉诺现在不像以往那样为孩子忧心了。

In normal times school helps level the playing field. Without it, the achievement gap between affluent and working-class children will grow. By one estimate, American eight-year-olds whose learning stopped altogether with the lockdown could lose nearly a year’s maths by autumn, as they fail to learn new material and forget much of what they already knew.

在正常时期，学校有助于公平竞争。如果没有它，富裕儿童和工人阶级儿童之间的成就差距将进一步扩大。据估计，由于没能学习新内容，8岁的美国孩子忘记了很多已经知道的东西，在秋季之前可能会遗忘学过一年的数学。

School matters for parents, too, especially those with young children. Those who work at home are less productive if distracted by loud wails and the eerie silence that portends jam being spread on the sofa. Those who work outside the home cannot do so unless someone minds their offspring. And since most child care is carried out by mothers, they will lose ground in the workplace while schools remain shut.

学校对家长也很重要，特别是那些有小孩的家长。那些在家工作的人，如果被喧闹的哭声和预示着果酱正在沙发上蔓延的诡异寂静分散了注意力，他们的工作效率就会降低。那些不在家工作的人，除非有人照看他们的孩子，否则他们就没法去工作。由于大多数孩子是妈妈们照料，当学校继续关闭时，她们会失去其工作中原有的位置。

In poor countries the costs are even greater. Schools there often provide free lunches, staving off malnutrition, and serve as hubs for vaccinating children against other diseases. Pupils who stay at home now may never return. If the lockdown pushes their families into penury, they may have to go out to work. Better to reopen schools, so that parents can earn and children can study.

在贫穷国家，成本甚至更高。那里的学校经常提供免费午餐，避免营养不良，并作为儿童接种疫苗预防其他疾病的中心。现在呆在家里的学生可能再也回不来了。如果封锁使他们的家庭陷入贫困，他们可能不得不外出工作。重新开学，这样父母可以挣钱，孩子可以学习，这样会更好。

The obvious rejoinder is that shutting schools brings benefits. Covid-19 can be deadly. Parents do not want their children to catch it or to give it to grandma.

对开学最常见的反驳是，关停学校可以带来好处。新冠病毒可能是致命的。家长不想让他们的孩子感染，或是携带病毒传染给家里的老人。

In fact, though children are highly susceptible to flu, covid-19 is different. Two studies from China that trace the contacts of infected people find that children are at worst no more likely to catch the disease than adults—and possibly less so. If they do get it, they are 2,000 times less likely than someone over 60 to die.

事实上，虽然儿童极易感染流感，但新冠病毒是不同的。中国两项追踪感染者接触者的研究发现，儿童在最坏的情况下也比成年人更不易感染这种疾病，而且可能不那么严重。如果孩子确实感染，他们比60岁以上的人死亡的可能性要低2000倍。

Nor is there evidence that children who do end up catching the disease are silent spreaders who pass it on to their families. Researchers in Iceland and the Netherlands have not found a single case in which a child brought the virus into their family. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the European Union’s public-health agency, said last week that child-to-adult transmission “appears to be uncommon”.

也没有证据表明最终染上这种疾病的儿童是将疾病传给家人的隐性传播者。冰岛和荷兰的研究人员没有发现任何儿童将病毒带回家的病例。隶属于欧盟公共卫生机构的欧洲疾病预防和控制中心上周表示，儿童对成人的传染“并不常见”。

Some of these conclusions are based on small samples. Perhaps children have not been seen to transmit the disease because schools were shut early rather than because they pose no special threat. Perhaps they will start to spread it in the playground.

其中一些结论是基于小样本得出的。也许没有发现儿童传播这种疾病的例子是因为学校提前关闭，而不是因为他们没有构成特殊的威胁。也许他们会开始在活动场所传播病毒。

Schools should thus reopen in stages. The youngest children should return first, to creches and primary schools. They have the thirstiest brains and seem to be the least at risk. They also demand the most of their parents, since few have grasped the principles of self-directed learning. Little children are unlikely to keep their distance from anyone. Classes should be split in half so that they can attend on alternate days.

因此，学校应分阶段重新开放。最小的孩子应该先回到托儿所和小学。他们的头脑最渴求知识并且似乎风险最小。他们对父母的要求也很高，因为很少有人掌握了自主学习的原则。小孩子不容易和任何人保持距离。课程应该分成两半，这样他们可以轮流上课。

Those facing exams should come next. Several countries have cancelled important tests; others have postponed them. Older students may be more at risk than the youngest ones but they are also more able to follow new protocols. Social distancing is possible in high schools, particularly if class sizes are reduced.

下一批应该是面临考试的人。一些国家取消了重要的考试；另一些国家则推迟了考试。年纪大的学生可能比年纪小的学生更危险，但他们也更能遵守新的规定。在高中，保持社交距离是可能的，特别是如果班级规模被减少的话。

Protocol

1.N-VAR 礼仪；社交礼节

例句：He has become something of a stickler for the finer observances of royal protocol.

他已经变得非常刻板，哪怕是最细微的皇室礼仪也会遵循。

2.N-COUNT （信息交换）协议

3.N-COUNT 议定书；协议

...the Montreal Protocol to phase out use and production of CFCs...

逐步停止使用及生产含氯氟烃的《蒙特利尔议定书》

4.N-COUNT 治疗方案；科学实验计划

...the detoxification protocol.

戒毒方案

School openings will need to be monitored. Scientists should adjust the rules if necessary. Children who must stay at home should be contacted directly by the school. Teachers will need support. Those most vulnerable to infection, such as diabetics, should be able to teach remotely. The rest will need guidance on hygiene and social distancing. They should be tested regularly for covid-19.

学校的开学时间需要监控。如有必要，科学家应该调整规则。必须呆在家里的孩子应该由学校直接联系。教师会需要支持。那些最易受感染的人，比如糖尿病患者，应该能够被远程授课。其余的则需要卫生和社交距离方面的指导。他们应该定期检测新冠病毒。

Vulnerable

1.ADJ-GRADED 脆弱的;易受伤害的

例句：Old people are particularly vulnerable members of our society.

老年人是社会中尤为明显的弱势群体。

△Vulnerability

例句：David accepts his own vulnerability.

戴维承认了自己的脆弱。

2.ADJ-GRADED 易感染（某种疾病）的；易患病的

例句：People with high blood pressure are especially vulnerable to diabetes...

有高血压的人尤其易患糖尿病。

△Vulnerability

例句：Taking long-term courses of certain medicines may increase vulnerability to infection.

长期服用某类药品可能会增加感染的可能性。

3.ADJ-GRADED 易受伤害的;易受影响的

例句：Their tanks would be vulnerable to attack from the air...

他们的坦克易受到空袭。

△Vulnerability

...anxieties about the country's vulnerability to invasion.

对于国家易受侵犯的焦虑

Hygiene

N-UNCOUNT （尤指为防止患病或疾病传播的）卫生

例句：Be extra careful about personal hygiene.

要非常注意个人卫生。

Governments are understandably wary of being called bossy: no politician wants to give orders that may be widely disobeyed. France is considering reopening schools but making attendance voluntary. The trouble with this approach is that it may entrench educational inequality. A recent poll there suggests that 48% of well-off families would send their children back; only 17% of poor ones would. Under Britain’s lockdown, more than 500,000 vulnerable children have been allowed to go to school, including those with special needs; just 5% have turned up.

可以理解的是，政府在被称为专横者后仍持谨慎态度：没有一个政治家愿意下达可能被广泛违抗的命令。法国正在考虑重新开学，但让学生自愿入学。这种方法的问题在于它可能会加剧教育不平等。最近的一项民意调查显示，48%的富裕家庭会送孩子回去；只有17%的贫困家庭会送孩子回去。在英国的封锁下，超过50万弱势儿童被允许上学，包括那些有特殊需要的儿童；但只有5%的儿童出现了。

Wary

1.ADJ-GRADED 小心的;提防的
例句：If you are wary of something or someone, you are cautious because you do not know much about them and you believe they may be dangerous or cause problems.

例句：People did not teach their children to be wary of strangers...

过去人们不会教育孩子提防陌生人。

△Warily

例句：She studied me warily, as if I might turn violent.

她警惕地看着我，似乎担心我会动粗。

2.PHRASE 小心观察;警惕察看

例句：Bankers are keeping a wary eye on the outcome.

银行家们对结果保持高度警惕。

Bossy

1.ADJ-GRADED 爱发号施令的；好指挥人的

例句：She remembers being a rather bossy little girl.

她记得自己曾是一个颇为专横的小姑娘。

△bossiness

例句：They resent what they see as bossiness.

他们对自己眼中那些专断蛮横的行为非常厌恶。

Entrench

1.VERB 使（权力、习俗、观念等）根深蒂固

...a series of measures designed to entrench democracy and the rule of law...

旨在巩固民主和法制的一系列措施

△Entrenched

例句：The recession remains deeply entrenched.

经济颓势依旧毫无松动。

The best approach would be to apply attendance rules sensitively. Insist that education is compulsory, but don’t fine frightened parents willy-nilly—especially if they have extra reasons to fear infection. As classes return, parents will see that it is safe, and come round to the idea of sending their own children. Governments should help children make up for lost lessons with free summer schools, shorter holidays and longer school days.

最好的方法是敏锐地应用出勤规则。坚持教育是义务教育，但不要随意对受惊的父母进行处罚，特别是如果他们有害怕感染的其他理由。随着复课开展，家长们会看到这是安全的，并且会产生送自己孩子的想法。政府应该帮助孩子们用免费的暑期学校、更短的假期和更长的上学时间来弥补丢失的课程。

Willy-nilly

1.ADV 不管喜欢不喜欢;无可奈何地

例句：The government were dragged willy-nilly into the confrontation.

政府不管情愿不情愿，也被拖进了这场冲突。

2.ADV 随意地;胡乱地

例句：Clerks bundled papers into files willy-nilly.

职员们随意地将文件塞进文件夹里。

Reopening schools may feel like a rash experiment with young lives. In fact it is an exercise in risk-balancing. Schools are the most powerful engines of social mobility in any society. Let the children in, and let them learn.

重新开学可能会让人觉得是对年轻生命的轻率尝试。事实上，这是一个风险平衡的试炼。学校是任何社会中最强大的流动引擎。让孩子们回到学校，并让他们学习。

Rash

1.ADJ-GRADED 轻率的；鲁莽的；冲动的

例句：It would be rash to rely on such evidence...

依靠这样的证据是草率的。

△Rashly

例句：I made quite a lot of money, but I rashly gave most of it away...

我赚了不少钱，但是大部分被我轻率地花掉了。 

△Rashness

例句：With characteristic rashness and valor, Peter plunged into the icy water.

以他惯有的冲动和勇气，彼得一头扎进了冰冷的水中。 

...the rashness of youth.

年少的鲁莽 

2.N-COUNT 疹子;皮疹

例句：I noticed a rash on my leg...

我发现我腿上长了疹子。

3.N-SING 大量，许多（令人不快的事情）

例句：They believe this confusion is responsible for a rash of suicides this spring.

他们认为今年春天一连串的自杀事件是由这次混乱引起的

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