by Maggie Koerth
Could spring be the thing that saves us from the novel coronavirus? President Trump has suggested that "generally speaking, heat kills this kind of virus" so "it will go away in April." It's not a totally bizarre suggestion, given that flu and a lot of other viruses really are seasonal, usually with transmission spiking in the colder winter months.
novel /ˈnɒv(ə)l/ adj. 新奇的、全新的
coronavirus /kəˈrəʊnəˌvaɪərəs/ n. 冠状病毒
suggest /səˈdʒest/ v. 提出
virus /ˈvaɪərəs/ n. 病毒
bizarre /bɪˈzɑː(r)/ adj. 奇怪的、古怪的
suggestion /səˈdʒestʃ(ə)n/ n. 提法、说法（由suggest加后缀-ion变成名词）
given /ˈɡɪv(ə)n/ prep. 考虑到
seasonal /ˈsiːz(ə)n(ə)l/ adj. 季节性的（由season加后缀-al变成形容词）
transmission /trænzˈmɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 传播、传染
spike /spaɪk/ v. 先急升再急降
But experts say we don't yet know enough about coronavirus to tell whether it's likely to be seasonal. More importantly, though, a virus doesn't just "go away" because it's warm. If coronavirus cases drop off in summer, that just means there's a risk of it resurging in fall. And if it does come back – that means our efforts to actually stop it have failed.
drop off 减少
risk /rɪsk/ n. 风险
resurge /ˌriːˈsɜːdʒ/ v. 再次上升、复活（由surge加上表示再次的前缀re-）
fall /fɔːl/ n. 秋天
fail /feɪl/ v. 失败
The factors that make some viruses seasonal are complicated and, in some ways, still kind of a mystery, said Wan Yang, professor of epidemiology（流行病学） at Columbia University. Heat does play a role. Viruses tend to survive better in cold – kind of the opposite of how bacteria do better in warmth.
factor /ˈfæktə(r)/ n. 因素
complicated /ˈkɒmplɪkeɪtɪd/ adj. 错综复杂的
in some ways 在某种程度上
kind of 有点、可算是
tend /tend/ v. 倾向于
survive /səˈvaɪv/ v. 存活
opposite /ˈɒpəzɪt/ n. 反面、对立面
bacterium /bækˈtɪəriəm/ n. 细菌（bacteria /bækˈtɪəriə/ 是复数）
warmth /wɔːmθ/ n. 温暖、暖和
But humidity turns out to be a bigger player here. A virus like the flu spreads when people sneeze and spray aerosolized（雾化） droplets of gunk（黏糊糊的东西） and virus into the air. Humidity affects how long those droplets hang out where other humans can breathe them in.
humidity /hjuːˈmɪdəti/ n. 湿度（由humid加后缀-ity变成名词）
turn out 原来是
player /ˈpleɪə(r)/ n. 玩家、参与者
spread /spred/ v. 传播
sneeze /sniːz/ v. 打喷嚏
spray /spreɪ/ v. 喷、喷出
droplet /ˈdrɒplət/ n. 微小液滴
affect /əˈfekt/ v. 影响
hang out 停留在某处
We know, for instance, that the flu virus survives longer in drier air, Yang said. The air is drier in winter, especially inside heated buildings, and that could help explain why winter is prime season for flu. But tropical areas still have flu, even though they don't have winter. There, extremely high humidity might keep the protective coating around a droplet of virus from evaporating（蒸发）.
for instance /ˈɪnstəns/ = for example
heat /hiːt/ v. 加热、取暖
prime /praɪm/ adj. 主要的、首要的
tropical /ˈtrɒpɪk(ə)l/ adj. 热带的
protective /prəˈtektɪv/ adj. 保护性的（由protect加后缀-ive变成形容词）
coating /ˈkəʊtɪŋ/ n. 覆盖层、包覆层
Another of the biggest factors in whether a virus becomes seasonally recurrent（重复发生的） is whether it reaches a level of transmission that is pandemic (prevalent everywhere) and endemic (circulating constantly in local human populations). Flu is pandemic and endemic. It doesn't disappear every summer. It's just biding its time, hanging out in human bodies (either at low levels of infection or in the opposite hemisphere), ready to spread again once conditions improve.
seasonally /ˈsiːz(ə)n(ə)li/ adv. 季节性地（由seasonal加后缀-ly变成副词）
level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 水平、数量
prevalent /ˈprev(ə)lənt/ adj. 流行的、盛行的
circulate /ˈsɜːkjuleɪt/ v. 循环、传播
constantly /ˈkɒnst(ə)ntli/ adv. 不断地（由constant加后缀-ly变成副词）
bide /baɪd/ one's time 静静地等待时机
infection /ɪnˈfekʃ(ə)n/ n. 感染
opposite /ˈɒpəzɪt/ adj. 相反的
hemisphere /ˈhemɪsfɪə(r)/ n. 半球（文中指南北半球的季节相反）
conditions /kənˈdɪʃ(ə)nz/ n. 环境、条件
SARS, also caused by a coronavirus, never became pandemic and endemic – largely because of a lot of human effort, and partly because of a convenient tendency to not be very transmissible until victims showed symptoms of infection.
SARS 重型急性呼吸道综合症（也叫“非典型肺炎”，简称“非典”）
cause /kɔːz/ v. 造成
largely /ˈlɑːdʒli/ adv. 在很大程度上（由large加后缀-ly变成副词）
convenient /kənˈviːniənt/ adj. 方便的、便利的
tendency /ˈtendənsi/ n. 倾向、趋向（由tend加后缀-ency变成名词）
transmissible /tranzˈmɪsəb(ə)l/ adj. 可传染的
victim /ˈvɪktɪm/ n. 受害者、染病者
symptom /ˈsɪmptəm/ n. 症状
But the new COVID-19 virus doesn't seem to offer us that handicap（不利因素）. There seem to be asymptomatic（无症状的） cases, and mild ones that people don't recognize as dangerous. And there's evidence suggesting people can spread the virus before they're even showing symptoms themselves. That makes it more challenging for public health experts to stop the virus.
COVID-19 是新型冠状病毒的正式名称
mild /maɪld/ adj. 轻度的
evidence /ˈevɪd(ə)ns/ n. 证据
suggest /səˈdʒest/ v. 表明
When I asked Yang how likely it was that COVID-19 could become seasonal, she laughed ruefully（苦笑地）. "Nobody knows," she said. "The WHO still says there's hope we can get this under control."
WHO = World Health Organization 世界卫生组织
under control 控制住
