又中又英｜Epicenter

New York is again the epicenter of the US coronavirus pandemic, this time because of the Omicron variant. It was the epicenter last year when the pandemic spread from Wuhan to the rest of the world. At that time I was in Hong Kong, far away from the US epicenter of the pandemic. I now live in New York City’s Manhattan. Never in my lifetime would I have guessed I would be in ground zero, or the epicenter, during this new wave of the US pandemic. The word “epicenter” can be used in several ways. It can mean the point of the earth’s surface above an earthquake or nuclear explosion.

It can also be used to describe a place with the highest level of activity. New York has the highest level of Omicron in the US. That’s why it’s the epicenter of the US pandemic again. The expression “ground zero” has a similar meaning. The original meaning of ground zero is the site of a nuclear explosion but it is now used to describe the site of a violent event. The site of the 9/11 attack is called ground zero. It can be used to describe where something important happens. It is important that New York is where Omicron is spreading the fastest in the US. The expression “never in my lifetime would I have guessed” means I would never have guessed something would happen.

I never guessed I would be in New York when it once again became the epicenter, or ground zero, of the pandemic. Hong Kong friends have asked me to stay safe. I thanked them and said I know how to stay safe. I wear the Korean version of N95 facemasks and avoid crowded indoor and outdoor places. I go for long walks in Manhattan’s beautiful Central Park for exercise. If I am not exercising outdoors I hunker down at home. The expression “hunker down” means to stay in a comfortable place for a long time to be safe.
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纽约又再一次成为美国新冠肺炎疫情的「震央」（epicenter），这次是因为Omicron变种病毒。上年当疫情由武汉传至世界各地时，纽约就是爆发疫情的中心（epicenter）。当时我人在香港，跟美国疫情的震央（epicenter）相距甚远；现在我住于纽约市的曼哈顿，万万料不到（never in my lifetime would I have guessed）我居然会在美国新一波疫情期间身处原爆点（ground zero），或说震央（epicenter）。Epicenter有几个用法，它可以指地震时震源投影到地面的震央，又或核爆的中心点。

它也可以用来形容某地方的活动最为活跃、频繁。纽约是美国中有最多Omicron感染个案的地方，因此它又再一次成为美国疫情大流行的中心点（epicenter）。习语「ground zero」的意思也相近。Ground zero 原初的意思是核弹爆炸的原爆点，但现在它也可以用来形容某一处遭受严重损毁的地方。九一一恐袭的遗址就叫作ground zero。它可用来形容一次重大事故发生的地方；纽约是Omicron在美国扩散得最迅速的地方，这就是一件大事。习语「never in my lifetime would I have guessed」意即我怎么想也想不到某事会发生。

我事前完全预估不到，当纽约再一次成为疫情流行的震央（epicenter）或原爆点（ground zero）时，我正正身处此地。香港的朋友们都着我保持安全。我戴了韩国制造的N95口罩，且避免到人多聚集的地方，不论室内或室外。我会去曼哈顿优美的中央公园散很长的步，当作锻炼身体。若我不到户外做运动，我就会在家 hunker down——习语「hunker down」即长期待在一处舒适的地方，以策安全。
Michael Chugani 褚简宁