And I'm Georgina.

我是喬治娜

I've really had enough of this coronavirus, Georgina!

我真的受夠了這種冠狀病毒，喬治娜！

People getting sick, losing their jobs and to top it off,

人們生病，失業，最重要的是。

the pubs in some places are closed!

有些地方的酒吧已經關門了!

I know it's bad, Neil, but compared to historical pandemics

我知道這很糟糕，尼爾，但是和歷史上的大流行病相比

like the Spanish flu and economic crises like the Great Depression,

如西班牙流感和大蕭條等經濟危機。

coronavirus isn't actually so bad.

冠狀病毒其實並不那麼糟糕。

You've got to look at the bigger picture –

你得從大處著眼-------------------------------。

the long-term, overall view of a complex situation.

對複雜情況的長期、總體看法；

Hmm, somehow that's not very comforting, Georgina! But tell me more…

嗯，不知怎的，這不是很令人欣慰，喬治娜！但告訴我更多...

Well, we've heard lots from politicians and scientists

我們從政治家和科學家那裡聽到了很多消息。

about the spread of coronavirus but a historian's view

關於冠狀病毒的傳播，但一個歷史學家的觀點。

might give us a fresh look at the bigger picture –

可能會讓我們重新審視更廣闊的前景 -- -- --

and maybe a more hopeful point of view.

也可能是更有希望的觀點。

So in this programme we'll be hearing from historian, Peter Frankopan,

所以在這個節目中，我們將聽到歷史學家彼得-弗蘭科潘的發言。

author of bestselling book, The Silk Roads.

暢銷書《絲綢之路》的作者。

Ah, the title of that book, The Silk Roads, reminds me of my

啊，那本《絲綢之路》的書名，讓我想起了我的。

quiz question, Georgina. Are you ready to have a go?

測驗題，喬治娜。你準備好了嗎？

I'll try, Neil, but the only thing I know about the Silk Roads

我試試，尼爾，但我只知道絲綢之路的事

is that they were the ancient routes along which people travelled the Earth.

是人們在地球上旅行的古老路線。

Very good, Georgina! Not just people but also ideas, religions,

很好，Georgina!不僅僅是人，還有思想，宗教。

languages and diseases travelled from place to place

語言和疾病的傳播

along these ancient roads.

沿著這些古道。

But where exactly did the Silk Roads run?

但絲綢之路到底跑到哪裡去了？

That's my quiz question. Was it: a) From South America to Europe?,

這是我的考題。是：a）從南美洲到歐洲？

b) From Africa to Asia?, or, c) From Asia to Europe?

b)從非洲到亞洲，或者，c)從亞洲到歐洲？

Well, since this current pandemic came from Wuhan,

好吧，既然現在的這場疫情來自武漢。

I'll say, c) from Asia to Europe.

我說，c）從亞洲到歐洲。

OK, Georgina, we'll find out later if that's right.

好吧，喬治娜，我們稍後會知道是否正確。

What's certain is that disease passing from place to place and

可以肯定的是，疾病從一個地方傳到另一個地方，並且。

from animals to humans, is nothing new.

從動物到人類，都不是什麼新鮮事。

Listen to historian, Peter Frankopan, being interviewed

聽聽歷史學家彼得-弗蘭科潘接受採訪。

for the BBC programme, HARDTalk.

為BBC節目《硬話》拍攝。

See if you can hear the reason he gives for how diseases are spread.

看看你能不能聽出他給出的疾病是如何傳播的原因。

Well, it's a fairly predictable thing a historian would say but change

嗯，這是一個相當可預測的事情 一個歷史學家會說，但更改

and widespread diseases are nothing new.

和廣泛的疾病並不新鮮。

Our ancestors all lived through big pandemics, some of them which

我們的祖先都經歷過大的瘟疫，其中有些是

were much more lethal than coronavirus

比冠狀病毒更致命。

And one of the products of living together in high-density populations,

而高密度人口共同生活的產物之一。

going back as far as historical records go, is you find there are transitions of

追溯到歷史記錄，你會發現有過渡的。

disease from animals to human beings and they inflict damage.

從動物到人類的疾病，它們造成了損害。

And that damage typically you measure in mortality rates

而這種損害通常是以死亡率來衡量的。

but then the economic and social consequences of disease.

但疾病造成的經濟和社會後果。

There's a lot of examples in history to learn from.

歷史上有很多例子可以借鏡。

Compared to coronavirus, other big pandemics in history

與冠狀病毒相比，歷史上的其他大流行病

have been much more lethal – dangerous enough to cause death.

更具殺傷力----危險到足以造成死亡。

One reason Peter gives for this is the high-density of populations,

彼得給出的一個理由是人口密度高。

meaning people living together in buildings very close to one another.

意思是指住在相距很近的建築物裡的人。

In olden days this included living together with animals,

在以前，這包括與動物一起生活。

making the transmission of disease to humans much easier.

使得疾病更容易傳染給人類。

Right, Georgina, like the flea-infested rats which spread the plague

對，喬治娜，就像傳播瘟疫的跳蚤鼠一樣。

across Europe in the Middle Ages.

在中世紀的歐洲各地。

But times change and today most people live in very different ways

但時代在變，如今大多數人的生活方式已經大不相同了

from people living centuries ago.

來自生活在幾百年前的人們。

So how can we explain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020?

那麼，如何解釋2020年冠狀病毒大流行的蔓延？

And why have some countries been able to deal with it so much

而為什麼有些國家能夠如此應對呢？

better than others.

比別人好。

Here's Peter Frankopan again, talking on the BBC's HARDTalk.

又是彼得-弗蘭科潘，在BBC的HARDTalk節目中說話。

Listen and see if you can you spot his answer.

聽著，看看你能不能發現他的答案。

Well, your geographical position in the world matters – if you're

好吧，你在世界上的地理位置很重要--如果你...

if you're geographically peripheral like Scandinavia or New Zealand,

如果你是斯堪的納維亞或紐西蘭這樣的地理邊緣地區。

then you have a different dose, a different level of connectivity

然後，你有一個不同的劑量，不同層次的連接。

with the rest of the world.

與世界其他地方。

If you're a country like the UK which is the

如果你是像英國這樣的國家，這是

centre of all global flight routes, then the incidence of people going backwards and

在全球所有航線的中心，那麼人們倒退的情況就會發生。

forwards, in and out of your country - you're going to

轉發，進出你的國家--你要。

spread and catch much quicker.

傳播和捕捉更快。

The scorecard is very mixed and there've been some

記分卡非常混雜，已經有了一些

democratic systems that have been extremely resilient and

的民主制度，這些制度具有極強的彈性和

robust at anticipating it and some that have got it wrong.

穩健地預測到了，有些人卻搞錯了。

According to Peter, countries which are geographically peripheral –

根據彼得的說法，地理上處於邊緣的國家------。

at the periphery or edge of things, instead of at the centre, are less at risk.

在事物的外圍或邊緣，而不是在中心，風險較小；

The UK, on the other hand, is at the centre of global flight routes –

而英國則是全球飛行航線的中心--。

the connecting flight paths used by airplanes.

飛機使用的連接航線。

Visiting air passengers who spread the disease are one of the reasons

傳播疾病的來訪空乘是原因之一。

behind Britain's dose of coronavirus.

英國的冠狀病毒劑量的背後。

Here, dose is used as an informal way of saying an unpleasant experience.

在這裡，dose被用作一種非正式的方式來表示不愉快的經歷。

So from a historical viewpoint, this current pandemic

所以，從歷史的角度來看，目前的這場大疫情

doesn't seem so bad – far fewer people have died than in

似乎並不那麼糟糕--死的人遠遠少於在

previous pandemics and with the arrival of a vaccine,

以前的流行病，以及隨著疫苗的到來。

the end is almost in sight.

窮途末路

Hmm, I guess so, Georgina, but for now at least the pubs are

嗯，我想是的，喬治娜，但現在至少酒吧是。

still closed in some places!

有些地方還在關閉！

Anyway, it was interesting to hear how diseases have been

總之，聽到疾病是如何發生的，很有意思。

spreading since ancient times.

自古以來傳播。

On routes like the Silk Roads, you mean?

你是說像絲綢之路這樣的路線？

So what was the answer to your quiz question, Neil? Was I right?

那麼你的測驗題的答案是什麼，尼爾？我說的對嗎？

You said the ancient Silk Roads ran, c) from Asia to Europe

你說古絲綢之路從亞洲到歐洲，c）。

which was… correct!

這是... 正確的！

They ran from Japan and the Far East through Asia and the Middle East,

他們從日本和遠東經過亞洲和中東。

bringing trade and spices as well as new ideas and languages to Europe.

將貿易和香料以及新的思想和語言帶到歐洲。

Sounds like another example of looking at the bigger picture -

聽起來像是另一個從大局出發的例子------。

the long-term, overall view of a complex situation.

對複雜情況的長期、總體看法；

Let's recap the other vocabulary too.

我們也來回顧一下其他詞彙。

Diseases can be lethal – extremely dangerous, even causing death.

疾病可能是致命的--極其危險，甚至會導致死亡。

A high-density population is a population living very closely together.

高密度人口是指居住非常緊密的人口。

Peripheral countries may be less at risk from pandemics because

周邊國家受大流行病影響的風險可能較小，因為

they are at the periphery or edge of events, instead of at the centre.

他們處於事件的外圍或邊緣，而不是中心。

So somewhere with fewer flight routes –

所以，在某個航線較少的地方

the connecting pathways followed by airplanes,

飛機所走的連接通道。

might get a less serious dose – or unpleasant experience, of coronavirus.

可能會得到一個不那麼嚴重的劑量--或不愉快的經歷，冠狀病毒。

Well, I hope this experience hasn't been too unpleasant

好吧，我希望這次經歷不會太不愉快。

and you get a chance to use some of this vocabulary

你就有機會使用這些詞彙了

chatting to your friends about trending stories in the news.

和你的朋友哈拉，討論新聞中的熱門話題。

And if you like topical discussions and want to learn how to use the

如果你喜歡主題討論，並想學習如何使用

vocabulary found in headlines, why not check out our News Review podcast?

在頭條新聞中發現的詞彙，為什麼不看看我們的新聞評論播客？

Remember to join us again soon at 6 Minute English.

記得近期再來6分鐘英語參加我們的活動。

And to download our free app from your usual app store

從您常用的應用商店下載我們的免費應用。

so you can follow BBC Learning English –

所以，你可以按照BBC學習英語 -

we're all over social media as well.

我們都在社交媒體上，以及。

Goodbye for now!

暫時告別

Bye!

再見！