美國的抉擇：抗疫還是保經濟

Can We Put a Price Tag on a Life??

The Shutdown Forces a New Look

?

Can we?measure?the cost of hundreds of thousands of dead?

數(shù)十萬人死亡的代價，該如何衡量？

President Trump and leading business figures are increasinglyquestioning the wisdom of?a prolonged?shutdown?of the American economy — already putting millions out of work — to?curb?the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

特朗普總統(tǒng)和商界領袖們越來越多地質疑，為遏制新型冠狀病毒的蔓延而讓美國經濟長期停擺是否明智——這種停滯已經讓數(shù)百萬人失去了工作。

“Our people want to?return to work,” Mr. Trump declared Tuesday on Twitter, adding, “THE CURE CANNOT BE WORSE (by far) THAN THE PROBLEM!”

“我們的人民希望重返工作崗位，”特朗普周二在Twitter上宣稱。他還說，“對策不應該比問題更糟！”

In essence, he was?raising an issue?that economists have long grappled with: How can a society assess the?trade-off?between?economic well-being?and health?

從本質上講，他提出了經濟學家長久以來努力解決的問題：一個社會如何評估經濟福祉和健康之間的取舍？

1、?price tag ?價簽，標簽

i.e. put a price tag on sth. ?對...貼價簽，對...用金錢來衡量

2、shutdown ?經濟封鎖= lockdown ?封城

3、measure ?作名詞，譯為措施，采取措施。

???i.e. ?take measures = take steps ?采取措施

???measure ?作動詞，譯為測量

?? i.e. You have set standard to measure other performance. 你已經成為他人的楷模。/ 以你為范本，以你為標桿。

???by most measures ?從大部分因素來看/從大部分指標來看

4、question the wisdom = question whether it is wisdom ?是否是明智的/是否有智慧的

??補充：The size of your businesses depend on your effort. 業(yè)務的大小取決于你的努力。

?????? The success of your bussinesses depend on your effort. ?業(yè)務的成功取決于你的努力。

5、curb the spread of ... ?遏制...蔓延= control the spread of = contain = check = stem ?

6、pandemic ?更大范圍的、全球性流行的病毒 ??endemic ?地方性流行病

7、return to work ?重返工作崗位= go back to work

???factories and offices must reopen/restart ?復產復工

8、in essence ?本質上講= essentially

9、raise an issue ?提出質疑/問題 = raise a problem = raise a concern

10、grapple with ?努力解決= deal with = struggle with

注意：struggle with an issue ?強調艱難應對問題

i.e. The world is struggling with the virus. ?全世界在艱難應對病毒問題。

11、trade-off ?(可數(shù)名詞) ??trade-off between A and B ?在A和B之間取舍/權衡

12、economic well-being and health ?經濟福祉及健康

i.e. improve people’s well-being ?改善人民福祉；改善民生

?????improve ecological well-being ?生態(tài)文明建設

There is a widespread consensus among economists and public health experts that?lifting the restrictions?would impose huge costs in additional?lives lost to the virus?— and deliver little lasting benefit to the economy.

經濟學家和公共衛(wèi)生專家普遍認為，取消這些限制將使更多的人死于這種病毒，付出巨大的代價，而且?guī)缀醪粫o經濟帶來什么長期的好處。

Weighing?economic costs against human lives will inevitably seem crass. But societies also?value?things like jobs, food and money to pay the bills — as well as the ability to deal with other needs and prevent unrelated misfortunes.

權衡人類生命的經濟成本似乎不可避免地顯得愚蠢。但是，社會也重視工作、食物和支付賬單的錢等事物，以及滿足其他需求和防止不相關的不幸的能力。

“Making people poorer?has health consequences as well,” said Kip Viscusi, an economist at Vanderbilt University. Jobless people sometimes commit suicide. The poor are?likelier?to die if they get sick. Mr. Viscusi estimates that across the population, every loss of income of $100 million in the economy causes one additional death.

范德比爾特大學(Vanderbilt University)的經濟學家基普·維斯庫西(Kip Viscusi)表示：“讓人變窮也會對健康造成影響。”失業(yè)者有時會自殺。如果窮人生病，他們死亡的可能性會更大。維斯庫西估計，在整個人口中，經濟每損失1億美元的收入，就會導致一起額外的死亡。

Government agencies?calculate?these trade-offs regularly. Now, some economists have decided to?stick their necks out?and apply this thinking to the coronavirus pandemic. A policy to?contain?the virus by reducing economic activity would slow the progression of the virus and reduce the death rate, but it would also impose a greater economic cost.

政府機構定期計算這樣的取舍。現(xiàn)在，一些經濟學家決定冒險把這種想法應用到冠狀病毒大流行上。通過減少經濟活動來遏制病毒的政策，可以減緩病毒發(fā)展并降低死亡率，但它也將帶來更大的經濟代價。

It comes down to?what a life is worth. That would amount to $2 million in lost economic activity per life saved.

歸根結底，這是在衡量生命的價值。這相當于每挽救一條生命就損失200萬美元的經濟活動。

1、?lift the restriction ?取消限制，取消禁令

i.e. lift the ban on international travel ?取消國際旅游禁令

注意：取消皇糧稅用 scrap/abolish, 這里不能用lift

2、impose huge cost in ?在...帶來巨大代價 ??in = in terms of ?就...而言

3、be lost to sb. 失去 ??

?? i.e. A lost game to B. A輸給了B。

4、weigh ?動詞，譯為權衡 ?weigh A against B ?在AB之間作取舍/權衡

5、crass ?愚蠢的= foolish=absurd

6、society ?可以指國家

???Accross the societies in the world ??世界各國/各國人們

7、value ?珍惜/重視= pay high attention to...

?? i.e. do not take sth. seriously ?不夠重視，（有褒義和貶義）指對不好的事情的重視較多。

8、prevent unrelated misfortunes ??防止不相關的不幸發(fā)生

9、make sb. + adj的比較級 ?

?i.e. make people happier/feel happier ?提高人們幸福感

???i.e. make sth. more comfortable ?提高舒適感

???i.e. make people richer ?提高收入

???i.e. make the system more stable ?提高系統(tǒng)穩(wěn)定性

???i.e. make sth. more transparent ?提高透明度

10、have health consequence ?對健康造成影響= have consequence for health= have implication for health= have impact on sth.

11、commit suicide ?自殺

12、likely ?可能 ??likelier ?可能的比較級

13、calculate 計算 ? calculating ?（形容詞）會算計的；功于心計的

14、stick their neck out ??冒險做某事

15、contain the virus ?遏制病毒蔓延 ?i.e. containment VS engagement ?遏制VS接觸

16、come down to ?歸結為= it boil down to

i.e. when it comes to sth. ?就...而言；說到...

17、in lost economic avtivity ??損失的經濟活動

Cass Sunstein, a legal scholar who worked for the Obama administration,?heading?the White House office in charge of these valuations, once proposed focusing government policies on saving years of life rather than lives, as is customary in other countries. “A program that saves younger people is better, in this sense, than an otherwise identical program that saves older people,” he wrote.

曾為奧巴馬政府工作的法律學者凱斯·桑斯坦(Cass Sunstein)是白宮負責這類評估的辦公室主任，他曾提議將政府政策的重點放在拯救生命時長上，而不是像其他國家的慣例那樣，僅僅關注生命本身。“從這個意義上說，一個拯救年輕人的項目，比另一個同樣的拯救老年人的項目更好，”他寫道。

Covid-19 seems to be much more?lethal?for older people, whatever their economic worth. But Mr. Trump declared Tuesday that even while those most at risk are safeguarded, the economy could be?“raring to go”?within three weeks. “Seniors will be watched over protectively & lovingly,” he said on Twitter. “We can do two things together.”

無論老年人的經濟價值如何，Covid-19對他們來說似乎更致命。但特朗普周二宣布，在面臨最大風險的人得到保護的同時，經濟在未來三周內也會是“蓄勢待發(fā)”的狀態(tài)。“老年人將受到保護和關愛，”他在Twitter上寫道?！拔覀兛梢酝瑫r做到兩件事?！?/p>

1、 head of... ??牽頭做某事；局長；部長；...的頭

2、?saving years of life rather than lives ?拯救生命時長而不是生命

3、 as is customary in other countries. ?在其他國家是常規(guī)做法；在其他國家是慣例

= which is customary in other countries.

4、?lethal ?致命的= more deadly = deadlier

5、?whatever their economic worth ?不管經濟價值如何

6、?be raring to go ?蓄勢待發(fā)= be successful=rebound=peak up

7、 watch over sb. ?照料；照顧

8、 protectively & lovingly ?保護和關愛的方式。