Experts say that the virus may be five to ten times as lethal as seasonal flu, which, with a fatality rate of 0.1%, kills 60,000 Americans in a bad year. Across the world, the death toll could be in the millions. If the pandemic is like a very severe flu, models point to global economic growth being two percentage points lower over 12 months, at around 1%; if it is worse still, the world economy could shrink.
专家说,这种病毒的致死率可能是季节性流感的5到10倍。季节性流感的致死率为0.1%,在一个糟糕的年份里杀死了6万美国人。在世界各地,死亡人数可能在数百万。如果这场流行病像一场非常严重的流感,模型指出,全球经济增长在12个月内下降2个百分点,约为1%;如果情况更糟,世界经济可能萎缩。
——《经济学人》
基本释义
A pandemic is an occurrence of a disease that affects many people over a very wide area.
n. 流行病;瘟疫
单词pandemic里有两个非常重要的词根pan和dem。
词根pan来源于希腊语pan, 表示“全面,广泛”,例如:
pan-American adj. 泛美的,全美洲的
panorama n. 全景,全貌
panacea n. 灵丹妙药;万能药
panoply n. 华丽服饰;全副盔甲
词根dem/demo来源于希腊语dēmos, 表示“人民”,例如:
democracy n. 民主
epidemic n. 传染病;流行病
demographic adj. 人口结构的;人口统计的
所以,pan+dem+ic=pandemic=跟广大人民相关的→流行病,瘟疫
另外,pan+dem+onium=pandemonium=闹哄哄的场所(人非常多)
epidemic: An epidemic is a large number of cases of a particular disease happening at the same time in a particular community.(流行病)
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