又中又英——Novel Coronavirus

　　When the novel coronavirus, which started in Wuhan late last year, began spreading outside China to other countries, many experts wondered if it would be "the next big one". We now know the novel coronavirus is indeed "the big one". It has spread to all continents across the world except Antarctica. It has infected about 800,000 people and killed over 40,000 people. Experts agree the last "big one" was the flu pandemic in 1918, which is also known as the Spanish flu. The Spanish flu began in January 1918 during the First World War and ended in December 1920. It infected around 500 million people around the world and killed around 50 million. Will the novel coronavirus kill and infect as many people? Let's not go there!
　　The word "novel" used this way does not mean a book. It means something new that has never been seen before. The coronavirus which began in Wuhan is a new virus that has never been seen before. The expression "the big one" can be used in many ways. It can be used to describe an earthquake or a pandemic. It means something happening on a very large scale. In the US, "the big one" is often used to describe the next really big earthquake in California, where earthquakes often happen. Scientists say a really big earthquake or "the big one" will almost certainly strike California although no one knows when. When used to describe a pandemic, "the big one" means a large-scale pandemic that kills and infects many people.
　　The slang expression "let's not go there" means let's not even think or talk about it. This expression is used when someone prefers not to discuss something unpleasant. For example, if your friend asks why your boss fired you and you don't want to discuss it, you can say "let's not go there". No one knows how bad the novel coronavirus will be. It is already far worse than Sars. When people ask me if I think it will be as bad as the Spanish flu, I always reply: "let's not go there".
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　　当那在上年年尾起源于武汉的新型（novel）冠状病毒，开始在中国以外的其他国家蔓延的时候，许多专家都在思忖，它到底是否「下一件大事」（the next big one）呢？我们现在都知道，这新型（novel）冠状病毒确实是个「大事件」（the big one），它已扩散到全球除了南极洲以外的所有大洲，感染超过八十万人，杀死超过四万人。专家们都同意，上一次「大事」（big one）是一九一八年的流感大流行，也被称为西班牙流感。那个西班牙流感在一九一八年一月、一次世界大战期间开始爆发，于一九二○年十二月终止。它感染全球超过五亿人，杀死了约五千万人。这个新型（novel）冠状病毒可会杀掉和感染这么多人？Let's not go there! Novel在这里可不是指一本小说；它是指新型的、新奇的、从未见过的。这个起源于武汉的冠状病毒是个新型病毒，以前从未见过。习语“the big one”可以有许多用法，它可以用来形容一场地震又或是全球大流行的疾病，意思就是非常大规模的事情。
　　在美国，“the big one”常用来形容加州下一次很大规模的地震，因加州常发生地震。科学家指，一次很大规模的地震，又或“the big one”，将差不多一定会侵袭加州，虽然没有人知道会是何时。当用来形容全球大流行病的时候，“the big one”就指一场会杀掉和感染许多人的大规模流行病。俚语“let’s not go there”意即不要再想、再说下去了。当某人不太想讨论一些不舒服的事情的时候，就会用到这个习语。例如，若你的朋友问你，为甚么你的老板会炒掉你，而你不想讨论这件事的话，你便可以说：“let’s not go there”。
　　没有人知道这个新型（novel）冠状病毒发展下去情况会有几坏，它已经比沙士更为严峻。当有人问我，我可会认为它像西班牙流感那么严重？我总是回道：「不要再说了！」（“let’s not go there”）[email protected]
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁