花式英语

Do You Need to Wear That Mask? 
你在海外该带口罩吗

wonder想知道
fear害怕
effective有效的
calculation计算，考虑
decision决定

As concerns over the new coronavirus spread around the world, people have to make basic health decisions. They are wondering how worried they should be about getting infected and what they should do about it.

Some decision can have unexpected results however. For example, because of fears over getting infected, large numbers of people have bought masks to cover their faces. This led United States Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams to write this message on Twitter: "Seriously people – STOP BUYING MASKS"

He noted that masks are not effective in protecting the general public. The masks should be kept available for those who really need them. He added that "if healthcare providers can't get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!"

It is hard to know just how concerned people should be. Someone who lives near an area with many reported cases of coronavirus may be right to be more concerned than someone who does not.

But experts note that people do not only make decisions based on calculations.There are also emotional and psychological influences that play a part.


新闻来源：VOA

China's TikTok Keeps Growing Among US Youth
抖音走红美国青年市场

double成倍
teens青少年
meme 模因[通过模仿等方式传递的文化或行为因子]
viral病毒性的
launch启动


The popularity of Chinese-owned video sharing service TikTok continues to grow among young people in the United States. In 2019, experts say the service more than doubled its American user base to 37 million. TikTok is especially popular with teens and young adults.

The service lets users create and share short videos, many of which are under 15 seconds. The TikTok app offers a wide choice of sounds, brief parts of songs and special effects tools to help create a video. Some TikTok-based memes go viral. Videos often include popular songs from well-known artists and TikTok has even helped launch the careers of new music stars.

TikTok is considered a competitor to video-sharing app Snapchat, as well as Facebook's Instagram service. Snapchat and Instagram also mainly interest young users with a wide mix of photos and videos centered largely on fashion, pop culture and humor.

Last year, TikTok was the second-most downloaded app from Apple and Google stores. Only WhatsApp was downloaded more. Research company Sensor Tower estimates people have downloaded the TikTok app 1.65 billion times.


新闻来源:VOA

'Rubik Mona Lisa' auctioned
'魔方蒙娜丽莎'拍出高价


presale售前
mosaic镶嵌图案
anonymous匿名的
garish炫目的，俗艳的
coincide相接，同时发生
closure闭幕
blockbuster畅销巨著，流行大片
Renaissance文艺复兴


A French street artist's interpretation of the Mona Lisa made of 330 Rubik's Cubes sold for 480,200 euros on Sunday at a modern art auction in Paris, well above presale estimates of up to 150,000 euros. 
23日，一位法国街头艺术家用330块魔方组成的蒙娜丽莎画像在巴黎一场现代艺术拍卖会上，以48.02万欧元(约合人民币365万元)的价格拍出，远高于此前预估的15万欧元(约合人民币114万元)。

The 2005 artwork by anonymous street artist Invader uses the plastic puzzles' squares to create a mosaic of the Mona Lisa and her famous smile in garish colors. 
2005年，匿名街头艺术家"Invader"利用塑料拼图方块创作了一幅炫目的马赛克版蒙娜丽莎和她著名的微笑。

The sale coincided with the closure of a blockbuster Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the nearby Louvre museum, the home of the real Mona Lisa. 
本次拍卖恰逢卢浮宫博物馆举行的大型达芬奇展览闭幕，卢浮宫博物馆是蒙娜丽莎真迹的馆藏地。

That show marked the 500th anniversary of the death of the Renaissance master.
卢浮宫博物馆为了纪念文艺复兴巨匠达芬奇逝世500周年举行了此次展览。


新闻来源：China Daily

Formal ways to say 'you're welcome'

有多少种说“不客气”的方式

Let's take a look at the formal answers first. These would be ones that you may use with people you do not know very well.

They include: "you're very welcome" and "my pleasure."

Here is how two co-workers may use them when speaking with each other:

Thank you for helping me finish the project.

Of course. My pleasure.

You may hear, "my pleasure" at a popular American fast food restaurant. The company might tell workers to answer with ‘my pleasure,' when people say "thank you" to them. This is both a formal and kind way to speak.

Informal ways to say 'you're welcome'

Now, let's look at less formal ways to say "you're welcome."

They include: don't mention it, it was nothing, sure thing, anytime, and no problem.

For example, suppose your friend helped you fix a problem with your computer. Here is what the two of you might say:

Thanks for all your help!

No worries! It's not a problem for me.

After saying, "You're welcome," you can choose to add some of the other expressions, too. Like this: 

Thanks very much for the ride downtown this morning.

You're Welcome! Don't mention it. It was nothing. It is easy for me to take you; I'm happy to help.

来源：VOA

彩蛋：今天用了剪辑软件做了混音效果，你觉得如何呢？

Coronavirus: How to Self-isolate
如何进行自我隔离


1.STAY HOME 
If you’re told to self-isolate, that means staying at home. Not going to work, school or other public places. You shouldn’t have any visitors.


2.CALL AHEAD 
If you develop symptoms, a fever or cough, then seek advice first by phone. Don’t just turn up at a medical centre or hospital. 


3.SEPARATE YOURSELF
If you live with others, then you need to stay in a ventilated bedroom with the door shut. If you have to share a bathroom, then use it after everyone else. Don’t share towels and toiletries. 


4.TAKE CARE OF WASTES
Your waste should be double-bagged. If you test positive, it’ll be separately disposed of. 


5.ORDERED IN 
If you live on your own, you can order shopping online or gets friends to help but they should leave it on the doorstep. 


WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
The coronavirus causes a mild illness for four out of five people. Self-isolating will help protect older people, and those with underlying health problems from getting infected. 


新闻来源：BBC

The Plague (Excerpts)
鼠疫（节选）

in the midst of在... …中间
shouts大喊
terrace露台
resolve决定
chronicle编年史
outrage愤慨
endure忍受
Onslaught猛烈打击
Jubilant欢腾的
Bacillus病菌




Yes, the old fellow had been right; these people were "just the same as ever." But this was at once their strength and their innocence, and it was on this level, beyond all grief, that Rieux could feel himself at one with them. And it was in the midst of shouts rolling against  the terrace wall in massive waves that waxed in volume and duration, while cataracts of colored fire fell thicker through the darkness, that Dr. Rieux resolved to compile this chronicle, so that he should not be one of those who hold their peace but should bear witness in favor of those plague-stricken people; so that some memorial of the injustice and outrage done them might endure; and to state quite simply what we learn in a time of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men than to despise.  


None the less, he knew that the tale he had to tell could not be one of a final victory. It could be only the record of what had had to be done, and what assuredly would have to be done again in the never ending fight against terror and its relentless onslaughts, despite their personal afflictions, by all who, while unable to be saints but refusing to bow down to pestilences, strive their utmost to be healers. 


And, indeed, as he listened to the cries of joy rising from the town, Rieux remembered that such joy is always imperiled. He knew what those jubilant crowds did not know but could have learned from books: that the plague bacillus never dies or disappears for good; that it can lie dormant for years and years in furniture and linen- chests; that it bides its time in bedrooms, cellars, trunks, and bookshelves; and that perhaps the day would come when, for the bane and the enlightening of men, it would rouse up its rats again and send them forth to die in a happy city. 

How to fix America’s student-financeproblem

如何解决美国学生贷款危机

trillion万亿

borrowing 借贷

quintuple是... …的五倍

overtake赶超

credit cards信用卡

car finance汽车金融

arresting引人注意的

budding含苞待放的

federal government联邦政府

default拖欠债务

pose构成

dupe欺骗

America’s total student debt, at over$1.5trn, is larger than the national borrowing of most countries. It hasquintupled in size since 2004, overtaking both borrowing on credit cards andcar finance. This growth is often presented as evidence of a crisis. But therise in total debt, though arresting, is not the real problem. It largelyreflects increased borrowing by graduate students, such as budding lawyers, whowill go on to be high earners. And 92% of student debt is owed to the federalgovernment, meaning defaults pose no risk to the financial system . The realproblem is that 11m Americans, many poor and non-white, and many duped intostudying for worthless degrees, struggle to repay even modest debts.

文章来源：经济学人

Uncanny Valley  

“怪”谷：网络让我们的生活变得更好吗？ 

billion十亿 

full-time全职的 

Silicon Valley硅谷 

wunderkinds神童 

memoir回忆录  

In the past decade the number of people using the internet has leapt from 1.8bn, or a quarter of the world, to 4.1bn, well over  half. Internet companies grew with their user bases. Ten years ago Facebook had roughly 2,000 employees; today 45,000 people work for it full-time, mostly in Silicon Valley. Google went from 24,000 staff to 119,000 in the same period. Add in other big firms such as Apple and Netflix, dozens of unlisted “unicorns” and thousands of startups, and the head-count in the valley is equal to a fair-sized city.   

Who are these people? A handful are stereotypical wunderkinds, too busy building apps that improve the human condition to waste time on human emotions (or finish their degrees). But many— all the normal folk in sales, marketing, hr, customer support—are like Anna Wiener, the author of “Uncanny Valley”, a memoir about working in the tech industry of the 2010s. Like most people, the condition they mainly want to improve is their own.   

文章来源：Economist

How Women Leaders Govern Differently

女性的领导方式有何不同

domestic 国内的，家庭的

dialogue 对话

podium 讲台，指挥台

shutdown 停摆

destiny 命运

tend 倾向

motivate 动员，调动

ego 自尊，自我

tackle 处理

rational 理性的

Women who are in office often change thenature of the political debate.

Former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp sayswomen in elected office often work on issues that are most important tofamilies -- like paid family leave and security for retirees. They also take upissues like domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Heitkamp added, "I think there are awhole lot of things that are in the public...dialogue right now that would notbe in that public dialogue if women weren't on the podium and on thatstage."

Heitkamp, a Democrat from North Dakota,served in the Senate from 2013 to 2019. During that time, she attended manydinners with female lawmakers from both major political parties. They workedtogether, for example, to avoid a federal government shutdown in 2013.

"A lot of women got into politics not-- I don't mean to generalize on men -- but not because they thought it wastheir destiny or they thought that the world couldn't survive withoutthem," Heitkamp said. "Voters tend to believe that women aremotivated not by power and ego, but women are motivated because they want tosee a change in the world."

A 2015 study found that female senatorsworked with each other more often, were more likely to work with members ofother parties and were more active legislatively than male senators.

Right now, the country needs more femaleleaders, says Michael Steele of Maryland. He was the first African American tochair the Republican National Committee.

"Women tackle problems differentlythan men do," Steele noted. "Our politics have gotten hot.Oftentimes, the cooler head is going to be the woman who comes to thetable...and says, ‘You all need to grow up and start to bring things back to arational point.'"

新闻来源：VOA

How Women Leaders Govern Differently

domestic 国内的，家庭的

dialogue 对话

podium 讲台，指挥台

shutdown 停摆

destiny 命运

tend 倾向

motivate 动员，调动

ego 自尊，自我

tackle 处理

rational 理性的

Women who are in office often change thenature of the political debate.

Former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp sayswomen in elected office often work on issues that are most important tofamilies -- like paid family leave and security for retirees. They also take upissues like domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Heitkamp added, "I think there are awhole lot of things that are in the public...dialogue right now that would notbe in that public dialogue if women weren't on the podium and on thatstage."

Heitkamp, a Democrat from North Dakota,served in the Senate from 2013 to 2019. During that time, she attended manydinners with female lawmakers from both major political parties. They workedtogether, for example, to avoid a federal government shutdown in 2013.

"A lot of women got into politics not-- I don't mean to generalize on men -- but not because they thought it wastheir destiny or they thought that the world couldn't survive withoutthem," Heitkamp said. "Voters tend to believe that women aremotivated not by power and ego, but women are motivated because they want tosee a change in the world."

A 2015 study found that female senatorsworked with each other more often, were more likely to work with members ofother parties and were more active legislatively than male senators.

Right now, the country needs more femaleleaders, says Michael Steele of Maryland. He was the first African American tochair the Republican National Committee.

"Women tackle problems differentlythan men do," Steele noted. "Our politics have gotten hot.Oftentimes, the cooler head is going to be the woman who comes to thetable...and says, ‘You all need to grow up and start to bring things back to arational point.'"

新闻来源：VOA

W:OK, so this is a film called, The Circus. It's kind of like the Russian version of It's a Wonderful Life. It's that classic black and white movie that comes on TV all the time, that's heartwarming, that everybody knows. But then when I saw what was happening, I was like, what is happening? Um, yeah, I'm going to hit Play.
M:OK.
W: So there's this beautiful blonde woman. She's singing in the center of the circus tent. She's an American who has come to Russia to perform. And then this man just starts screaming, stop the show, stop the show.


W: So let me explain who he is. He's German. To be honest, he looks a little like Hitler-- the mustache, or whatever.
M:Oh, and it's 1936, so Hitler's on the rise.
W:Yes. And he's in love with this American circus star, but she's rejected him. And so to get revenge, he is going to reveal her secret to the world, the secret that she's been keeping throughout the entire film. And then he brings out this black baby.
M:Then the baby's, like, a toddler size.
W:Yeah, maybe two. And then the German, he runs up the stairs, and he holds the baby up, almost like Simba. And he starts shaking the baby and screaming, she slept with a Negro.


W:She gave birth to a black child.
M：You're reading the subtitles?


W:Now, he's shaking this child over and over again. He's like, a black child, a black child.


W:And then this guy comes up to him, this Russian guy in the audience. And he's like, what's the problem? And the German guy says, it's a black child. A white woman gave birth to a black child.
M:And while the Russian guy just literally shrugged his shoulders.
W:Yeah, he shrugged his shoulders. And he says, so what?


W:And the German guy goes off on this speech and puts the baby down. And the toddler, he just sort of walks off. And people in the audience, they sweep the baby up in their arms.
M:To protect the baby from this guy.
W:Yeah. And so they're passing this black kid around, all of these white Russian folks.
M:And they're laughing at the guy.
W: Yeah. He's like, why are you laughing? Why is this funny? Remember, it's 1936. In the US, we're more than 30 years before interracial marriage is legal everywhere.
I mean, it's Jim Crow. Black people are still being lynched. And to see this scene where this guy is being told, by all these white people, mind you, you're crazy, this is no big deal, I'm like, what is happening here? And as I started to do more research, I learned that this was part of Soviet propaganda for decades-- this message, America is racist, WE are not.
In the 1920s and 1930s, African-Americans, they actually moved to the Soviet Union because it was promising a better life. The boy in the film, that black baby, is actually the son of an African-American who moved to the Soviet Union in the 1930s.


英文来源：This American Life 

https://shortcut.thisamericanlife.org/#/clipping/694?_k=x7qajz