Evenly distribute 均匀分布

For the first time, the only time, everyone on Earth was in the same boat at the same time. We’ve long been divided by privilege, by caste , by accidents of birth or by organized hierarchies.

这是第一次，也是唯一一次，地球上的每个人同时在一条船上。我们被特权、阶级、偶然的出生或有组织的等级制度分化的太久了。

caste :　美: [kæst] 英: [kɑːst]
n. （印度社会中的）种姓；（具有严格等级差别的）社会地位；（排他的）社会团体
n. （Caste）人名；（英、法）卡斯特
Poverty is often both cause and consequence of norms and discrimination that build on race, caste or gender.
对于种族、阶级和性别基础之上的规范和歧视来说，贫困既是因又是果。

hierarchies
hierarchy /ˈhaɪəˌrɑːkɪ/
n. 层次体系；等级制度（尤指社会或组织）；统治集团
Without it we would be unable to maintain large social hierarchies and alliances or anticipate what an unseen enemy might be planning。
缺少了这种能力，我们就无法维系广泛的社会等级制度和社会联盟，或者不能预测看不见的敌人可能在策划些什么。

Sure, there have been events that <u>struck us all at once</u>. Landing on the moon caused us all to gasp simultaneously. But this time was different. Regardless of class or age or nationality, the situation was right there, in front of our face. And it didn’t go away in a few news cycles.

当然，也有一些事情一鸣惊人。登录月球让我们同时倒吸一口凉气。但是这次不一样。无论阶级、年龄、国籍，情况就是这样，就在我们面前。也不会随着新闻的更迭而消失。

struck v. “strike”的过去式和过去分词；strike 的过去式
strike
If you are struck by something, you think it is very impressive, noticeable, or interesting.
例：

1. She was struck by his simple, spellbinding eloquence. [be V-ed + by/with]
2. Theresa was struck by her own lack of forethought. [be V-ed by/with n]
3. What struck me about the firm is how genuinely friendly and informal it is. [VERB noun]

gasp 美: [ɡæsp] 英: [ɡɑːsp]
v. 喘息；透不过气；气喘吁吁地说；很想要（尤指饮料或香烟）
n.（可数） 喘息
例：

1. She gasped for air and drew in a lungful of water.
   她倒吸气，吸了一大口水。
2. She gave a small gasp of pain.
3. An audible gasp went around the court as the jury announced the verdict.
   陪审团宣布判决的时候，法庭上听到倒抽了一口气的声音。

But the responses, of course, were not the same.

响应当然是不同的。

Some profiteered and hoarded, cutting the line and seeking a profit, regardless of the cost to others. Some <u>embraced panic</u> while others <u>sought to fan it</u>. Some showed up asking for help while others decided to see who needed help.

一些人牟取暴利，囤积居奇，打破界限，追求利润，而不顾对于其他人的代价。一些人欣然接受恐慌，而另一些人则试图煽动恐慌。一些人来寻求帮助，而其他人则决定看看谁需要帮助。

profiteer 美: [ˌprɑfɪˈtɪr] 英: [ˌprɒfɪˈtɪə(r)]
n. (尤指战时的)奸商；(生活必需品的)投机商人
v. 取得不正当的利益
They profiteered enormously during the war.他们在战争时期大发不义之财

hoarded 美: [hɔrd] 英: [hɔː(r)d]
v. 囤积；贮藏；积蓄；把…隐藏在心中
n. (食品的)贮藏；(知识等的)宝库；窖藏的财宝
Tom had a reputation as a miser who hoarded every penny he could get his hands on. 汤姆以吝啬出名，他把每一分能够到手的钱都囤积起来

And that’s the first lesson of our pandemic. While events might be evenly distributed, responses and reactions rarely are. We are able to choose to see possibility. We are able to lead. We’re able to see beyond a day or a week into the future.

这就是我们大流行的第一课。虽然事件可能是均匀分布的，但响应和反应很少是均匀分布的。我们可以选择看到可能性。我们有能力领导。我们能够看到超过一天或一周的未来。

Not simply a few of us. Any of us.
不只是我们中的少数人，每一个。

That choice wasn’t dictated by class or station or race. It was a new decision, made each day, by people who chose to care. Volunteer firemen who showed up for the next alarm. Parents who sat with a kid instead of parking them in front of a device. Doctors who <u>quieted their fears</u> in order to save others.

这个选择不是由阶级、地位或种族决定的。这是一个新的决定，每一天都是由那些选择关心的人们做出的。出现在下一次警报现场的志愿消防员。陪孩子坐在一起，而不是把孩子放在电子设备前的父母。平息自己的恐惧去拯救他人医生而平息他们的恐惧。

station
社会地位，身份
She wanted luxury, magnificence, social station.
她需要奢华、荣耀、社会地位。
<u>quiet one's fears</u> 平息恐惧
quiet vt. 使安静，使平静：使声音、活动或情绪变得安静或平静。
· The teacher quieted the students down.

This leads to the second lesson, which is the choice that is in front of each of us. Just as the pandemic created the opportunity to lead and to contribute, the future is <u>knocking on our doors asking</u> us to make a new decision.

这就引出了第二个教训，也就是摆在我们每个人面前的选择。正如大流行病创造了领导和作出贡献的机会一样，未来正在敲响我们的大门，要求我们作出新的决定。

For millennia, we’ve been using our resources to insulate ourselves from the weather. Some are luckier than others in their ability to find a safe haven.

几千年来，我们一直在利用我们的资源使自己与天气隔绝。有些人比其他人更幸运，因为他们有能力找到一个安全的避风港。

millennia
millennium 美: [mɪˈleniəm] 英: [mɪ'leniəm]
复数：millennia
n. 一千年；千周年纪念日；千禧年

<u>We learned the hard way that</u> our fragile industrial ecosystem isn’t quite as ｀resilient｀ as we hoped. We discovered that we aren’t actually as insulated from nature (and each other) as we might have expected. And we learned (perhaps) that compared to <u>the alternative</u>, preparation is quite cheap.

我们经历了惨痛的教训，我们脆弱的工业生态系统并不像我们希望的那样具有弹性。我们发现我们实际上并不像我们所期望的那样与大自然(和彼此)隔绝。而且我们学到(也许)与其他选择相比，准备工作是相当便宜的。

｀resilient｀　　美: [rɪˈzɪljənt] 英: [rɪˈzɪliənt]
-> resilience　不可数名词　弹性
adj. 可迅速恢复的；有适应力的；有弹性（或弹力）的；能复原的
ADJ Something that is resilient is strong and not easily damaged by being hit, stretched, or squeezed. 有弹性的
例：...an armchair of some resilient plastic material.
…一把由某种弹性塑料制成的扶手椅。

There will be other flu pandemics, and each time, if history is a guide, we’ll be better at fighting them. But fighting a virus is very different than fighting the weather. The weather, <u>the ｀inexorable｀ rise of the sea</u>, is going to get harder and harder to ignore. The effects are unevenly distributed now, often exposing the most vulnerable, but as we saw with a global pandemic, we won’t be able to <u>buy ourselves peace of mind for long</u>.

还会有其他的流感大流行，如果历史可以作为参考，每一次我们都会更好地对抗它们。但是对抗病毒和对抗天气是非常不同的。天气，海平面不可阻挡的上升，将变得越来越难以忽视。这种影响现在分布不均，往往暴露出最脆弱的群体，但正如我们在全球流行病中所看到的，我们不可能长期买到内心的平静。

｀inexorable｀ 美: [ɪnˈeksərəb(ə)l] 英: [ɪn'eksərəb(ə)l]
adj. 不可阻挡的；无法改变的
柯林斯英汉双解

1. ADJ You use inexorable to describe a process that cannot be prevented from continuing or progressing. 不可阻挡的 [正式]
   例：
   ...the seemingly inexorable rise in unemployment.
   …似乎不可阻挡的失业增长。
2. inexorably ADV 不可阻挡地 [ADV with v]
   例：
   Spending on health is growing inexorably.
   健康上的花费在不可阻挡地增加。

<u>The fork in the road is plain to see</u>. Who will lead? Who will see possibility and opportunity and decide to show up now, when we can, to do something about tomorrow? And who will decide to push to go back to business as usual?

道路上的岔路口显而易见。谁来领导？谁会看到可能性和机会，并决定现在挺身而出为明天做些什么，如果我们可以？还有，谁将决定推动恢复正常业务呢？

Just as air travel and cruise ships spread the virus, our industrial might has planted the seeds of our destruction. At the same time, the modern world has created <u>a system with enough leverage </u> to save itself.

就像航空旅行和游轮传播病毒一样，我们的工业可能已经播下了毁灭的种子。与此同时，现代世界已经创造了一个有足够影响力的体系来拯救自己。
leverage 美: [ˈlev(ə)rɪdʒ] 英: [ˈliːvərɪdʒ]
n. 杠杆，杠杆作用，影响力
v. 发挥杠杆作用，施加影响
柯林斯英汉双解

1. N-UNCOUNT Leverage is the ability to influence situations or people so that you can control what happens. 影响力
   例：His position as mayor gives him leverage to get things done.
   他的市长身份使他有能力办成一些事情。

2. V-T To leverage a company or investment means to use borrowed money in order to buy it or pay for it. 举债经营 [商业]
   例：He might feel that leveraging the company at a time when he sees tremendous growth opportunities would be a mistake.
   他可能感觉到在看到巨大的发展机会时举债经营公司是一个错误。

While the system has leverage, the system is not resilient and the system doesn’t lead itself.

虽然系统具有影响力，但系统不具有弹性，系统不能自我引导。

The best time to begin is now. Start where you are. Don’t wait for authority or a manual.

最好的开始时间是现在。从你所在的地方开始。不要等待权威或手册。

Change will come, as it always does, from us.

改变会来的，一如既往，来自我们。

Each of us. If we care enough to lead.

我们中的每一个。如果我们足够想去引领。

The opportunity to care is evenly distributed.

关注的机会是均匀分布的。