This year has been a strange one, hasn’t it? Most of us never thought we’d see a pandemic sweep the globe in our lifetime, yet here we are. We are continuing to fight. We have learned so much over this year. And hopefully, we’re better people for it.
今年是不同尋常的一年，不是嗎？我們大多數(shù)人都沒想過，有生之年會(huì)目睹一場(chǎng)席卷全球的疫情，但我們的確見證了這一切。我們也將繼續(xù)抗擊疫情。這一年，我們學(xué)到了很多東西，希望我們因此也成為更好的人。

We came together as families, communities and countries – and worked tirelessly to fight a virus that we’d never seen before. Our heroes in harm’s way have put their lives on the line to save lives – or just to ensure we could keep on living comfortably throughout the pandemic. They deserve our respect and admiration; let’s never forget their sacrifices.
我們來自不同的家庭、團(tuán)體、國(guó)家 —— 并不屈不撓地與之前從未見過的病毒作斗爭(zhēng)。我們的英雄不顧安危，冒著生命危險(xiǎn)挽救無(wú)數(shù)生命 ——抑或是保證我們能在疫情期間繼續(xù)過上舒適的生活。他們值得我們的尊重與欽佩，讓我們永遠(yuǎn)不要忘記他們的犧牲奉獻(xiàn)。

We now know we can rise to any challenge, and we can develop life-saving technology – a vaccine – faster than any other time in human history. Before 2020, developing a vaccine in less than a year was thought to be impossible, yet here it is.
如今，我們知道自身能應(yīng)對(duì)任何挑戰(zhàn)，我們能以迄今人類歷史上最快的速度研發(fā)出挽救生命的技術(shù) —— 疫苗。在2020年以前，人們認(rèn)為在不到一年的時(shí)間研發(fā)出一款疫苗是不可能的事，但是現(xiàn)在我們做到了。

This year has put things into perspective. We can never truly appreciate the good things in life until we’re challenged by something bad. The lockdowns have made us appreciate how beautiful freedom is. Social distancing has made us realize how wonderful it is to be around people, friends and family. The lows of this unprecedented year will hopefully make every future moment feel more vibrant than ever before.
今年讓我們以新角度看待事情。在禍?zhǔn)陆蹬R前，我們永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)真正欣賞生活中的美好。疫情隔離讓我們意識(shí)到自由是多么美好。社交距離讓我們意識(shí)到在人群、朋友、家人身邊是多么美好。這一年史無(wú)前例，接連的低谷，有望使未來的每一個(gè)瞬間比以往更有活力。

Even though COVID-19 stole the spotlight this year, people of the world still moved onward and upward, and accomplished great things. China’s Chang’e 5 lunar probe has returned to Earth with the first moon samples in over 40 years. Tianwen 1 is now more than 100 million kilometers from Earth and is expected to arrive on Mars in February.
即便新冠病毒今年搶占了人們的注意力，但世界各地的人們還是勇往直前，成就非凡。中國(guó)的嫦娥五號(hào)月球探測(cè)器返回地球，帶回了40年來首批月球樣品。天問一號(hào)現(xiàn)在距離地球超過1億公里，預(yù)計(jì)2月抵達(dá)火星。

The slowdown of human activity as a result of the lockdowns also gave scientists a chance to study ecosystems devoid of people – and showed us what was in reach for the environment with quieter oceans and less polluted cities. This year has also seen a surge in electric vehicle sales as businesses and governments around the world deal with climate change like never before.
封鎖導(dǎo)致的人類活動(dòng)停擺也使科學(xué)家有得以研究沒有人類參與的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，并向我們呈現(xiàn)海洋更寧?kù)o，城市污染減少后的環(huán)境狀況。因?yàn)槿虻钠髽I(yè)和政府以前所未有的行動(dòng)應(yīng)對(duì)氣候變化，今年電動(dòng)車銷量也實(shí)現(xiàn)激增。

Rather than focus on the negatives of 2020, let’s celebrate our victories. There is nothing we can’t do as citizens of the world. This year is proof of that.
與其關(guān)注2020年消極的一面，不如慶祝我們?nèi)〉玫膭倮?。作為世界公民，沒有我們做不到的事。今年就證明了這一點(diǎn)。

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》，詳情請(qǐng)見《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》高二818期