Coronavirus: How pandemic turned political in Brazil?

By Katy Watson?

BBC South America correspondent, S?o Paulo

Economy over health

His message has remained the same?throughout?- that the state governors have been?reckless in?introducing quarantine measures and the?collateral damage?to the economy will be worse than the effects of the virus itself.

throughout /θru??a?t/?PREP If you say that something happens throughout a particular period of time, you mean that it happens during the whole of that period. 自始至終

? ?Movie music can be made memorable because its themes are repeated throughout the film.?電影音樂可以制作得令人難忘，因?yàn)槠渲餍稍谟捌蟹磸?fù)出現(xiàn)。

2.ADV Throughout is also an adverb. 自始至終??3.PREP If you say that something happens or exists throughout a place, you mean that it happens or exists in all parts of that place. 遍及

reckless /?rekl?s/ showing a lack of care about danger and the possible results of your actions 魯莽的；不計(jì)后果的；無所顧忌的?She was a good rider, but reckless. 她是個(gè)好騎手，但太魯莽。

Collateral ?/k??l?t?r?l/ property or sth valuable that you promise to give to sb if you cannot pay back money that you borrow 抵押物；擔(dān)保品

Collateral damage is accidental injury to nonmilitary people or damage to nonmilitary buildings which occurs during a military operation. (軍事行動(dòng)中對(duì)平民或非軍事建筑造成的) 附帶損害

?"His whole strategy is very clear," says Oliver Stuenkel, Professor of International Relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in S?o Paulo.

?"He doesn't want to be seen as the person responsible for what very well may become the worst economic crisis in Brazil's history. [He's] decided to not take responsibility because he sees that as his best chance to stay in office. I can't see him now?changing gears."

?While Brazilians are bracing themselves for the coming weeks - more than 1,000 people are dying every day - politicians are opening the country back up.

?Surfers have returned to the beaches in Rio and this week in S?o Paulo, shops and malls reopened - but, and this is the confusing bit - quarantine has been extended in Brazil's biggest city until the end of the month.

?So who is going to the shops that are now reopening? It's a baffling?- and alarming -message.

?baffling /?b?fl??/ If something baffles you, you cannot understand it or explain it. 使困惑

2.?ADJ 令人困惑的，沮喪的

?The president has consistently criticised lockdown measures to curb the spread of the virus

"Nobody's taking this seriously," says Josy Almeida Balbino, who last week buried her sister Kelly and father Antonio after they died from Covid-19.

curb /k??b/ ?to control or limit sth, especially sth bad 控制，抑制，限定，約束（不好的事物）

"From one day to the next, people just deteriorate," Josy adds. Kelly and Antonio were admitted to hospital on the same day, lay in ICU beds next to each other, and died within a day of each other.

?deteriorate /d??t??ri?re?t/ ?~ (into sth) to become worse 變壞；惡化；退化

? Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康狀況急劇惡化，不久便去世了。

"They're opening up again, in the worst moment of the crisis," adds her son Marcos. They scoff at the president calling it 'a little flu'.

scoff?/sk?f/ ~ (at sb/sth) to talk about sb/sth in a way that makes it clear that you think they are stupid or ridiculous 嘲笑；譏諷2.[ VN ] ( BrE ) ( NAmE also scarf ) ( informal ) to eat a lot of sth quickly 貪婪地吃；狼吞虎咽

?Politics vs pandemic

At a time when Brazil needs to be putting all its efforts into fighting the virus, the president has been doing nothing of the sort. Instead, he's been wrapped up?in his own political battles.

wrapped up：?If someone is wrapped up in a particular person or thing, they spend nearly all their time thinking about them, so that they forget about other things that may be important. 專心致志的

The?Supreme Court?is investigating allegations?of disinformation and intimidation?by his supporters. He is also being investigated over allegations that he interfered in federal police investigations to protect his family.

Tensions between Mr Bolsonaro and the?judiciary?is high.

?The?Supreme Court：最高法院???intimidation/?n?t?m??de??n/：恐嚇，危險(xiǎn)

allegation?/??l??ɡe??n/ ?~ (of sth) (against sb)~ (that...)~ (about sb/sth) a public statement that is made without giving proof, accusing sb of doing sth that is wrong or illegal （無證據(jù)的）說法，指控

Disinformation：false information that is given deliberately, especially by government organizations （尤指政府機(jī)構(gòu)故意發(fā)布的）虛假信息，假消息

judiciary?/d?u?d???ri/?the judges of a country or a state, when they are considered as a group （統(tǒng)稱）審判人員；司法部；司法系統(tǒng)?the?judiciary?司法

Disease meets deforestation at heart of Brazil's Amazon

At times, these past few months, the politics has been bigger than the pandemic. That is not to say the health crisis is less important, but the magnitude of the?political scandals?is so huge and the implications so important for Brazil.

Deforestation： the act of cutting down or burning the trees in an area 毀林；濫伐森林；燒林

magnitude?/?m?ɡn?tju?d/：the great size or importance of sth; the degree to which sth is large or important 巨大；重大；重要性???We did not realize the magnitude of the problem. 我們沒有意識(shí)到這個(gè)問題的重要性。

?political scandals：政治丑聞

implication/??mpl??ke??n/ ?~ (for/of sth) a possible effect or result of an action or a decision 可能的影響（或作用、結(jié)果）

There is anger over Mr Bolsonaro's handling of the crisis - but also a growing fear of where Brazil is headed after the pandemic passes.

The president has undoubtedly lost support in recent months but his core base has been strengthened. Around 30% of people support him. They want the economy running and think the concern over the virus is overblown. Their backing is more?fervent?than ever.

overblown?/???v??bl??n/?that is made to seem larger, more impressive or more important than it really is SYN exaggerated 過分的；夸張的；虛飾過度的

fervent/?f??v?nt/?having or showing very strong and sincere feelings about sth 熱情的；熱誠的；熱烈的

For those who oppose Mr Bolsonaro, the?spectre?of the military is worrying. He openly praises Brazil's two-decade-long military dictatorship. And he backs demonstrations calling for military intervention and an end to Congress and the Supreme Court.

spectre/?spekt?(r)/~ (of sth) something unpleasant that people are afraid might happen in the future 恐懼；恐慌；憂慮；( literary ) a ghost 鬼；幽靈?The country is haunted by the spectre of civil war. 內(nèi)戰(zhàn)仿佛一觸即發(fā)，舉國(guó)上下一片恐慌。

dictatorship?/?d?k?te?t???p/獨(dú)裁，專政，獨(dú)裁國(guó)家

?Anger persists amongst Mr Bolsonaro's critics over his handling of the pandemic

The role of the military has been strengthened in this pandemic - gone are not just one but two health ministers - both doctors - and in their place, Eduardo Pazuello, an interim minister?who has no medical background, he is a general. He has since made several military appointees?in the Ministry of Health.

interim minister：臨時(shí)部長(zhǎng) interim /??nt?r?m/暫時(shí)，臨時(shí)，過渡

appointee?/??p??n?ti?/ a person who has been chosen for a job or position of responsibility 被任命者；被委任者

Under Mr Pazuello, the army has been tasked with upping production of?hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial promoted by Jair Bolsonaro and President Donald Trump with no proven benefits?in the treatment of Covid-19.

Hydroxychloroquine?/hai,dr?ksi'kl?:r?kwi:n/[藥] 羥化氯喹?up the production of :擴(kuò)大··產(chǎn)量

Coronavirus: How are anti-malaria drugs?being used?

Nobody knows where this pandemic is heading in Brazil. With such woeful levels of testing it's so hard to get a true picture of the?extent of the virus here but everyone agrees the real picture is far worse than official figures suggest.

Nobody knows where Brazil is headed either - and that for many, is a more worrying picture than the pandemic itself.

anti-malaria drugs：抗瘧藥???malaria? /m??le?ri?/ 瘧疾

woeful /?w??fl/：very bad or serious; that you disapprove of 糟糕的；嚴(yán)重的；不合意的

?She displayed a woeful ignorance of the rules. 她對(duì)這些條例表現(xiàn)出可悲的無知。

2.( literary ) ( formal ) very sad 悲慘的；憂傷的??a woeful face 憂傷的面孔

the?extent of：在···范圍之內(nèi)；到···的程度