Modern lifestyles put us at risk

The spread of COVID-19 has exposed how vulnerable people are while living modern urban lifestyles. The sharing economy, working in open offices, commuting, living in crowded city apartments and reusability in the service industry have all created the perfect storm for a pandemic.
新冠肺炎疫情的蔓延暴露出，现代都市生活方式之下的人们是如此脆弱。共享经济、开放式的办公环境、上下班通勤、城市公寓中拥挤的生活环境、服务行业的重复利用现象都为疾病大流行创造了完美的条件。

Although the sharing economy may be beneficial – it’s cheaper to rent than to own – sharing things is a great way to spread virus. How does one practice “social distancing” when they are expected to share cars, bikes, apartments and even the same work spaces?
尽管共享经济或许令人受益 —— 租比买要便宜 —— 但共享物品却是传播病毒的一大途径。人们在共享汽车、自行车、公寓甚至是相同的办公场所时，又如何能做到“保持社交距离”呢？

The business trend of using open office, which can squeeze more people into a smaller space, is working against us. In this type of office, workers don’t have their own desk or work station – everything is shared. Sometimes, computers, keyboards and chairs are also shared, which is less hygienic.
使用开放式办公室能够让更小的空间挤下更多人办公，这种商业趋势正在起反作用。在这种办公室中，员工们没有自己的桌子或是工位 —— 一切都是共享的。有时，电脑、键盘还有椅子也是共享的，也更不卫生。

This is called “hot desking”, which is an office organization system that involves multiple workers rotating use of a single work station. Fortunately, more employees are working from home now during the pandemic, but that won’t last forever.
这种方式被称为“办公桌轮用制”，在这种办公组织体系下，多名员工轮流使用一个工位。幸运的是，疫情期间更多的员工开始居家办公，但这并非长远之计。

To get to and from work in the city, you must commute back and forth. Subways and buses are the most common forms of transportation in the city for people without cars. They are often overcrowded during rush hours, creating the perfect condition for spreading a virus.
在城市中上下班就必须经历往返通勤的过程。对于没有私家车的人而言，地铁与公交是城市中最常用的出行方式。高峰时段的地铁公交往往拥挤不堪，为病毒传播创造了完美条件。

Residents of cities living in small apartments also seem to be at a disadvantage during the pandemic. This sort of living arrangement forces residents to rely on the constant availability of food and products in supermarkets. Stockpiling daily necessities for a long period of self-isolation is nearly impossible.
居住在小公寓中的城市居民在疫情期间似乎也有不利之处。这样的居住条件让居民们都会选择随时去超市采购食物商品。为长期居家隔离而囤积生活必需品几乎是不可能的事。

In order to be mindful about the environment, reusability is a common practice in the restaurant industry. Reusable cups and eating utensils are used more often than the disposable variety. Unfortunately, reusing objects increases the chance to spread a disease. For example, Starbucks coffeehouses recently stopped refilling customers’ reusable cups in order to control the spread of the virus.
考虑到环境因素，重复利用的现象在餐饮业内十分常见。可重复使用的杯子和餐具比一次性的要更常用。而糟糕的是，可重复利用的物品增加了传播疾病的几率。比如，为控制病毒传播，星巴克咖啡店近期暂不接受为顾客自带可重复使用的杯子续杯。

No doubt people like to be social, but viruses can take advantage of our social nature, so we must be mindful to reduce our interactions with others for the time being. Perhaps it’s time for us to rethink society’s urban lifestyle to reduce the spread of future pandemics.
毫无疑问，人们喜欢社交生活，而病毒也利用了我们的社交天性，因此我们必须暂时注意减少与他人的互动。或许我们是时候该反思社会的都市生活方式，从而减少未来疫情的传播。

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高一787期