中英對照讀新聞》Silver lining? Russia’s Cossacks don modified masks against coronavirus一線希望？俄羅斯的哥薩克人戴上改良過的口罩來抵禦冠狀病毒

◎周虹汶

Cossacks and police officers enforcing the coronavirus lockdown in Russia’s western city of Kaliningrad have donned modified face masks that local scientists say can be worn for days without being replaced.

在俄羅斯西部城市加里寧格勒強制執行冠狀病毒封城令的哥薩克人和警察，戴著當地科學家所說可用在身上好幾天不用換的改良版口罩。

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The trick, they say, is to line the cheap cotton fabric of the masks with an ultra-thin coating of silver.

他們說，秘訣是口罩的廉價棉織物鋪上超薄銀塗層當襯裡。

The benefits of the use of silver against the coronavirus have not been tested and are therefore unproven. But Kaliningrad’s Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University believes the technique could give the masks additional protective properties, although - like single-use masks - they still would not guarantee full protection from the virus.

拿銀對付冠狀病毒的好處還沒測試故未經證實。但加里寧格勒的伊曼努爾．康德波羅的海聯邦大學相信，這項科技或可帶給口罩額外防護力，雖然──如同一次性口罩──它們依然不能保證面對病毒可全面防護。

“In my view we’re able to slightly increase the efficiency of this accessory, because we believe the active silver surface can kill some amount of the virus,” Aleksander Goyhman, the director of the university’s nano-materials centre, said. （Reuters）

該校奈米材料中心主任亞歷山大．高曼說，「我認為我們能夠稍微提高這項配件的效能，因為我們相信這個活性銀表層可以殺死一定數量的病毒。」（路透）

新聞辭典

lining：名詞，指襯裡、內層。例句：Every cloud has a silver lining.此為英國諺語，字面意義是每道烏雲都有一條透光的銀邊，引申為黑暗中總有一線光明。

don：動詞，指穿戴、披上、裝模作樣。例句：He has been donning two hats for a long time.（他長期身兼二職。）

line：名詞，指線條、繩索、行列、戰線、消息、台詞；動詞，指劃線、使起皺紋、排隊、加襯裡。例句：The government took a hard line on protests.（政府對抗爭採取強硬路線。）