How 100 days of coronavirus lockdown have changed Britain - maybe forever

Mirror

We have lived in lockdown for 100 days, life before March 24 a distant memory.

“Normal” life now means accepting that a trip to the shops means standing, face hidden under a mask, in a socially-distanced queue, or working from home, while home-schooling the kids, or keeping in touch with colleagues and loved-ones on Zoom calls.

Things we took for granted – the night out at the pub, trip to the cinema, mini-break in a European capital – belong in the past.

Even our vocabulary has changed, words like?shielding, self-isolation, the R number and lockdown itself now common.

Shielding：shield有盾牌的意思，coldplay《viva la vida》里面有‘Be my mirror my sword and shield’。Shielding在這里面指有隔離防護作用的防護罩

self-isolation：自我隔離

The Oxford English Dictionary added 20 coronavirus words, including “elbow bump”, in April.

elbow bump：撞肘問候? ??

?bump /b?mp/ ?n腫塊，隆起物；撞擊；撞擊聲

動詞：

1.[ V ] ~ against/into sb/sth to hit sb/sth by accident （無意地）碰，撞??In the dark I bumped into a chair. 我在黑暗中撞上了一把椅子。??The car bumped against the kerb. 汽車撞上了路緣。

2.[ VN ] ~ sth (against/on sth) to hit sth, especially a part of your body, against or on sth （尤指身體部位）碰上，撞上??Be careful not to bump your head on the beam when you stand up. 當心站起來時頭別撞了橫梁。

3.[ + adv./prep. ] to move across a rough surface 顛簸行進??The car bumped its way slowly down the drive. 汽車沿車道緩慢地顛簸行進。

4.[ VN + adv./prep. ] to move sb from one group or position to another; to remove sb from a group 把（某人）掉換到（另一群體或位置）；（從某群體）調出，開除（某人）

Here are some other ways the lockdown has changed Britain in the past 100 days.

Finance

With shops closed and long queues at supermarkets, more Brits than ever started doing their shopping online, or buying their groceries local.

One in five British households bought groceries online in the past month, pumping up sales for home delivery by 91%, while small independent stores rang up 69% more sales in the three months to 20 June, according to analysts Kantar.

Kantar凱度是全球領先的數(shù)據(jù)、洞察和咨詢公司之一。 總部位于英國倫敦的凱度是在全球范圍內(nèi)提供數(shù)據(jù)、洞察和咨詢的公司。

Nearly half of debit card transactions are now made online, while older generations in particular have seen their internet spending rise, to 40% of transactions from just 20% a year ago.

And with cash seen as a potential vector?for spreading the virus, and the contactless limit raised to ￡45, the decline of cash has accelerated too.

vector n. ??/?vekt?(r)/ ?( biology 生 ) an insect, etc. that carries a particular disease from one living thing to another （傳染疾病的）介體，載體

Withdrawals from ATM fell as much as 62% year on year during the lockdown, according to data from cash machine network, Link.

But while nearly two million UK households are set to emerge from restrictions better off after saving money, those with incomes less than ￡30,000 are more likely to have borrowed money and face a difficult future.

Economy

And figures have now shown the UK economy shrank?2.2% between January and March, the joint largest fall since 1979.

economy shrank：經(jīng)濟萎縮? ?The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ：國際貨幣基金組織

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns the world is set to take a ￡9.6 trillion Covid-19 hit, and Britain’s economy will plunge?by 10.2% in 2020.

plunge /pl?nd?/ ?

1.?[ + adv./prep. ] to move or make sb/sth move suddenly forwards and/or downwards 使突然前沖（或下落）

She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她沒有站穩(wěn)，從100英尺的高處跌下摔死了。

2.[ V ] ( of prices, temperatures, etc. 價格、溫度等 ) to decrease suddenly and quickly 暴跌；驟降；突降

?Stock markets plunged at the news of the coup. 政變的消息一傳來，股票市場便暴跌。

3.[ V + adv./prep. ] ( of a road, surface, etc. 道路、表面等 ) to slope down steeply 陡峭地向下傾斜

?The track plunged down into the valley. 小路陡然而下，直插山谷。

4.[ V ] to move up and down suddenly and violently （劇烈）顛簸，震蕩

?His heart plunged (= because of a strong emotion) . 他的心怦怦亂跳。

短語：

1.?plunge ?in?plunge ?into sth

(1) to jump into sth, especially with force （尤指用力地）投入，跳進

(2) to start doing sth in an enthusiastic way, especially without thinking carefully about what you are doing 熱情投入；貿(mào)然行動

?She was about to plunge into her story when the phone rang. 她剛要開始大談她的經(jīng)歷，電話響了。

2.?plunge sth ?in?plunge sth ?into sth：to push sth quickly and with force into sth else 猛力插入；扎進

?She plunged the knife deep into his chest. 她把刀子深深地刺進他的胸膛。

3.?plunge ?into sth

(1)= plunge in

(2) to experience sth unpleasant 經(jīng)歷，陷入（不快的事）

?The country plunged deeper into recession. 那個國家進一步陷入經(jīng)濟蕭條之中。

4.?plunge sb/sth ?into sth：to make sb/sth experience sth unpleasant 使經(jīng)歷，使陷入（不快的事情）

?The news plunged them into deep depression. 這條消息立即使他們深感沮喪。

名詞

?1.a sudden movement downwards or away from sth 突然跌落；突然分離

?The calm water ends there and the river begins a headlong plunge. 平靜的河水突然中斷，開始奔騰直瀉而下。

2.~ (in sth) a sudden decrease in an amount or the value of sth （價格、數(shù)量的）暴跌，猛降，驟減???a dramatic plunge in profits 利潤銳減

3.~ into sth the act of becoming involved in a situation or activity 卷入；參與

?The company is planning a deeper plunge into the commercial market. 這家公司正計劃進一步投入商業(yè)市場。

4.an act of jumping or diving into water; a quick swim 跳水；快速游泳

?She went for a plunge. 她去游泳了。

IDIOMS 習語

1. take the ?plunge

( informal ) to decide to do sth important or difficult, especially after thinking about it for a long time （尤指深思熟慮后）果斷行事，作出決定

Some experts say we should expect levels of unemployment of three million or more, while the Centre for Retail Research predicts as many as 20,000 shops could close this year. Debenhams, Laura Ashley and Cath Kidston are just some of those hit hard already.

Debenhams, Laura Ashley and Cath Kidston：公司名

Workers?furloughed?fear redundancy?once employers need to start paying some of their wages in August.

furlough n. /?f??l??/ ?

1.permission to leave your duties for a period of time, especially for soldiers working in a foreign country （尤指在國外服役士兵的）休假（許可）

2.( NAmE ) permission for a prisoner to leave prison for a period of time （犯人的）準假

3.( NAmE ) a period of time during which workers are told not to come to work, usually because there is not enough money to pay them （通常因發(fā)不出工資而給的）準假

redundancy n. ??/r??d?nd?nsi/

?1.[ U ] [ Cusually pl. ] ( BrE ) the situation when sb has to leave their job because there is no more work available for them （因勞動力過剩而造成的）裁員，解雇

?to accept/take voluntary redundancy (= to offer to leave your job) 接受自愿裁汰

?redundancy payments 裁員補償

2.[ U ] ( technical 術語 ) ( formal ) the state of not being necessary or useful 多余；累贅

Meanwhile, the way we work may have changed forever. Many have seen the benefits to work-life balance of working from home and video calls, with 1,500 working parents surveyed by Bright Horizons showing only around one in eight want to return to pre-pandemic ‘normal’. One in 10 business premises in London have already permanently closed.

Communication

We’ve all had to find new ways to communicate. Unknown to most before lockdown, millions are now familiar with video conferencing app Zoom, which by the end of April had over 300million daily meeting participants.

And older people have also become tech-savvy, with 75% of elderly residents in of parts of the UK regularly using Zoom, WhatsApp and FaceTime to connect with loved ones.

savvy ??/?s?vi/ ?( informal ) practical knowledge or understanding of sth 實際知識；見識；了解??political savvy 政治見識

Lockdown has also given us the chance to meet our neighbours – whether it’s saying “hello” over the garden fence, going into the street to clap for carers, or getting together in community Whatsapp groups and Facebook pages.

However, social media has had its downsides, with a study finding that those who believed in conspiracy theories were more likely to get Covid-19 information from Facebook or YouTube.

conspiracy theories陰謀論

原文鏈接：https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/

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