【學英文 懂新聞】確診人數激增 臺灣平安渡過難關！？
自2020年初，武漢肺炎爆發以來，臺灣因為防疫有成，躍然成為世界鎂光燈下的模範生；然而，是否因過度自滿、長時間抗疫疲乏、接種疫苗率低，或一時疏忽，而造成前所未有的疫情破口？雙北確診人數激增，全臺也陷入恐慌。臺灣能否平安度過難關！？
我們來看看下面這則新聞。
Stricken by Unexpected Surge in COVID-19 Cases, Is Taiwan Losing or Winning?
After experiencing accelerating tensions and threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for months, Taiwan is now troubled with more unexpected emergent situations, namely its first significant local outbreak of COVID-19.
After being looked up to as a role model for its approach for dealing with the CCP virus pandemic, Taiwan suddenly experienced a surge in local cases.
Taipei City and New Taipei City have upgraded their epidemic alerts to level 3 from May 15 to 28. Restrictions have been imposed for many activities and industries. Residents are encouraged to stay home, gather less, go out less, and to wear masks whenever they go out.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/stricken-by-unexpected-surge-in-covid-19-cases-is-taiwan-losing-or-winning_3824353.html
Residents are encouraged to stay home, gather less, go out less, and to wear masks whenever they go out.（123RF）【譯文】COVID-19確診突增，臺灣是贏是輸？
歷經數月來自中國共產黨（CCP）不斷加劇的緊張局勢和威脅後，臺灣正面臨突如其來的緊急情況——當地首次大規模爆發的COVID-19疫情。
因有效避免中共病毒傳播而成為世界榜樣，臺灣突遇本土病例激增。
臺北市和新北市已從5月15日至28日，將其疫情警報提升成第三級。許多活動和各行業都遭受限制。鼓勵大家留在家中，減少聚會，減少出門，外出時都配戴口罩。
註：由於疫情擴大，中央流行疫情指揮中心已於5月25日宣布，全國即日起延長第三級疫情警戒至6/14日。
【單字/詞解析】
surge，名詞 /sɝːdʒ/ 遽增
自然發音：sur-ge
英解：a sudden and great increase
例句：She felt a sudden surge of anger.（她突然暴怒。）
用法：可當「動詞」。例，An angry crowd surged through the gates.（憤怒的人群湧入大門。）
outbreak，名詞 /ˈaʊtˌbreɪk/ 爆發
自然發音：OUT-break
英解：the sudden start of war, disease, violence etc.
例句：An outbreak of food poisoning led to the deaths of ten people.（食物中毒暴發，導致10人死亡。）
用法：若用動詞描述則為：break out。例，We started our business before the global pandemic broke out.（在全球流行病大爆發之前，我們開展了業務。）
upgrade，動詞 /ʌpˈɡreɪd/ 升級
自然發音：up-GRADE
英解：to officially give someone or something a higher status
例句：We can upgrade you to business class.（我們可以將您升等至商務艙。）
用法：downgrade「降級」。例，Because of rising costs, the family was required to downgrade their insurance coverage.（因為價格上漲，這一家人必須降低其保險覆蓋範圍。）
alert，名詞 /əˈlɝːt/ 警報
自然發音：a-LERT
英解：a warning to people to be prepared to deal with something dangerous
例句：The community was warned to be on the alert for the suspicious persons.（針對可疑人士，社區被警告要保持警戒。）
用法：可當形容詞，「警覺的」。例，Parents should be alert to sudden changes in children's behavior.（父母應該對孩子行為的突然轉變有所警覺。）
impose，動詞 /ɪmˈpoʊz/ 強制實行
自然發音：im-POSE
英解：to officially force a rule, tax, punishment, etc. to be obeyed or received
例句：Very high taxes have recently been imposed on cigarettes.
（香煙在近期被課徵很高的稅額。）
用法：另一意思「把⋯⋯強加於」，例：I don't want them to impose their religious beliefs on my children.（我不希望他們將自己的宗教信仰強加在我孩子身上。）
【慎思明辨】
你可以針對以下議題進行論述，甚至寫一篇英文短文，練習英文寫作或口語表達。
*對於臺灣近期突然激增的確診人數，你也感到害怕嗎？有什麼辦法可以幫助降低心裡的恐慌呢？
*試分享幾件從自身做起的小動作，也能有效阻止疫情擴大。
相關單字：intimidated adj. 害怕的、reduce v. 減少、panic n. 恐慌、behavior n. 行為、prevent v. 阻止、spread v. 擴散。◇
