[學測指考必備時事焦點] 疫情重災區：巴西原住民面臨致命危機

1. Far from hospitals and often lacking basic infrastructure, Brazil’s indigenous people are dying at an alarming rate from Covid-19 with little help in sight.

(巴西的原住民距離醫院十分遙遠，且普遍缺乏基礎設施，他們死於Covid-19的速度快得令人震驚，幾乎看不到任何幫助。)

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infrastructure (n.) 基礎建設

indigenous (adj.) 當地的；本土的，土生土長的

• 同義字：native, aboriginal, local

2. The mortality rate is double that of the rest of Brazil’s population, according to advocacy group Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) which tracks the number of cases and deaths among the country’s 900,000 indigenous people.

(根據倡導組織巴西原住民人民聯合會（APIB）的調查，死亡率是巴西其他人口的兩倍。該組織追踪了該國90萬原住民居民中的病例和死亡人數。)

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mortality (n.) 死亡數字，死亡率

• 同義字：fatality, death
• 補充用法：the mortality rate 死亡率

advocacy (n.) 擁護、提倡

• 同義字：support
• 補充用法：an advocacy group 倡導組織
  one’s advocacy of … 某人對於⋯⋯的提倡、主張

3. Indigenous people who have moved to larger towns or urban areas in order to study or in search of work can end up in precarious living conditions with few public services, increasing their vulnerability to health issues. Meanwhile, those living in remote areas may not have basic sanitation and health facilities.

(為了學習或尋找工作而搬到較大的城鎮或城市地區的原住民可能最終會面臨不穩定的生活條件，幾乎沒有公共服務，這增加了他們對健康問題的脆弱性。 同時，住在偏遠地區的人可能沒有基本的衛生和保健設施。)

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precarious (adj.) （情勢）不穩定的，不確定的

• 同義字：doubtful, uncertain

vulnerability (n.) 不穩定性

sanitation (n.) 衛生設備

4. Indigenous rights activists warn that illegal mining and logging on indigenous lands, which have increased since Brazil’s pro-development President Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in last year, now pose an even greater threat to remote communities.

(原住民權益維護人士警告說，自從巴西親發展總統Jair Bolsonaro去年宣誓就職以來，非法開采和砍伐原住民土地的活動現在對偏遠社區構成了更大的威脅。)

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activist (n.) 行動主義分子

• 補充用法：an animal rights activist 保護動物權益積極分子

mining (n.) 採礦；礦業

• 補充用法：coal/salt mining 煤／鹽礦業

5. Brazil’s Congress passed an emergency plan for indigenous communities last week that would not only provide medical equipment and field hospitals but also potable water and food supplies that allow tribes to isolate themselves.

(巴西國會上週通過了一項針對原住民社區的緊急計劃，該計劃不僅將提供醫療設備和野外醫院，而且還將提供飲用水和食品，以使部落能夠自我隔離。)

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potable (adj.) 乾淨安全適宜飲用的

• 同義字：drinkable
• 補充用法：potable water 可飲用水

isolate (v.) 隔離（人或動物）

• 同義字：
• 補充用法：isolate A from B 將A與B隔離開