The pandemic was a boon for some. Once the shock of lockdowns faded, stockmarkets climbed towards new records, in part because of the soaring share prices of tech firms. Zoom meetings became a feature for office employees sent home to work remotely (Zoom fatigue was soon a common gripe). As online shopping flourished, Amazon recruited hundreds of thousands of extra staff. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s boss, saw his wealth increase from $111bn in March to $185bn in December. The combined wealth of the world’s ten richest people grew by 57%, to $1.14trn.
这场疫情对部分人来说是件好事。一旦封锁措施的冲击消退,股票市场就会攀升至新的纪录,部分原因是科技公司的股价飙升。Zoom会议成了被派回家远程工作的办公室员工的特色(Zoom疲劳很快成为大家吐槽的对象)。随着在线购物的蓬勃发展,亚马逊额外招募了数十万名员工。亚马逊(Amazon)老板杰夫·贝索斯(Jeff Bezos)的财富从3月份的1110亿美元增加到12月份的1850亿美元。全球十大富豪的总财富增长了57%,达到1.14万亿美元。
Among industries, aviation and tourism were the biggest losers from the pandemic. Even with huge government bail-outs, airlines are reckoned to have lost $510bn in revenue, according to their international association. The UN reported that international tourism declined by 70% in January-August, causing a loss of $730bn in export revenues.
在各行业中,航空和旅游业是遭疫情打击最严重的行业。国际航空公司协会表示,即便有政府的巨额纾困,航空公司的收入估计也损失了5100亿美元。联合国报告称,国际旅游业在1月至8月下降了70%,造成了7300亿美元的出口收入损失。
Scientists had what many thought to be a Herculean task developing a vaccine for covid-19, but drug firms made great strides and by the end of the year several jabs were ready. Britain started the first inoculation programme using a fully tested vaccine, followed soon after by America. Even with the vaccine, officials warn, the world will be battling the virus for another year.
在许多人看来,科学家们研发新冠肺炎疫苗是一项艰巨的任务,但制药公司取得了巨大的进展,到今年年底,已经有几剂疫苗准备就绪。英国启动了首个接种计划,使用了一种经过充分测试的疫苗,美国也紧随其后。官员们警告说,即使有疫苗,全球仍将需要在接下来的一年内与新冠病毒作斗争。
The outbreak of civil war in Ethiopia was one of 2020’s great disappointments. Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister and winner of a Nobel peace prize, launched an attack on the Tigray region when separatist forces attacked the army.
埃塞俄比亚内战的爆发是2020年最令人失望的事件之一。当分离主义武装袭击军队时,该国总理、诺贝尔和平奖得主阿比·艾哈迈德(Abiy Ahmed)对提格雷地区发动了袭击。
Abe Shinzo, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, stood down from office because of ill health. He was replaced by Suga Yoshihide, who is determined that the Tokyo Olympics will go ahead in July 2021.
日本在任时间最长的首相安倍晋三(Abe Shinzo)因健康原因辞职。接替他的是菅义伟(Suga Yoshihide),后者决心要在2021年7月如期举行东京奥运会。
America’s presidential election was a rowdy affair. The Democratic primaries produced a surprise when Pete Buttigieg was declared the winner in Iowa; a delay in the count because of a technical glitch raised more questions about America’s election machinery. Joe Biden cleaned up on Super Tuesday, and went on to win the presidency. Donald Trump, who was acquitted at his impeachment trial in February, resorted to more shenanigans, falsely claiming the result was fraudulent. He will be gone from the White House on January 20th 2021.
美国总统选举是一件闹哄哄的事件。当皮特·布蒂吉格(Pete Buttigieg)在爱荷华州被宣布为获胜者时,民主党的初选收获了一个惊喜;由于技术故障导致的计票延迟引发了人们对美国选举机制的更多疑问。乔·拜登(Joe Biden)在"超级星期二"大获全胜,并赢得了总统大选。特朗普在今年2月的弹劾审判中被判无罪,他采取了更多的回击措施,谎称选举结果具有欺骗性。他将于2021年1月20日离开白宫。
译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!