Here's how Omicron could make the supply chain mess worse
为何奥密克戎会加剧供应链困境
导读：
于今年11月初发现的新冠病毒变种奥密克戎（英文名：Omicron，编号：B.1.1.529，），已被世卫组织评估为全球范围内风险“非常高”的变种，可能在世界广泛传播。 2021年12月3日，据日本富士电视台消息，随着印度等国新增确诊病例的出现，变异新冠病毒奥密克戎毒株已波及全球32个国家和地区。目前日本和以色列已进入锁国状态。
随着新变种来袭，又会对目前全球的供应链，物流运输造成哪些影响呢？如下CNN文章做出了解读：
Washington (CNN Business) Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is concerned the Omicron corona virus variant will exacerbate pressure on the already stressed-out global supply chain.
"It's way too soon to tell. But I do worry, because we know people are afraid to go to work,"Raimondo told CNN during an interview at her Washington office.
商务部长Gina Raimondo对奥密克戎冠状病毒变体会加剧已十分紧张的全球供应链形势表示担忧。
“现在谈论还太早。但我还是担心，因为人们已经不敢去工作了。”Raimondo在CNN对她的采访中表示。
Raimondo pointed to the shortage of workers impacting a range of businesses in the United States.
"Some portion of that is people are afraid to go to work," Raimondo said. "In manufacturing facilities, people work in
person, close together. And there have been outbreaks. We've had problems in places where people work close."
Outbreaks from the Delta variant worsened supply chain turmoil earlier this year, causing computer chip and other factories to shut down,especially in Asia.
她指出工人的短缺对美国一系列的行业产生了影响。
“一部分是因为人们害怕去工作，在制造工厂里，工人需要在现场工作，互相靠得很近。并且还有（感染）爆发。在一些需要人们近距离一起工作的场所会有这样的问题。”
年初的德尔塔变异爆发加剧了供应链混乱，导致电脑芯片和一些其他工厂停工，特别是在亚洲区域。
'Get vaccinated'
接种疫苗
"I can't say enough times: Get vaccinated. If everybody would get vaccinated, it would help enormously," Raimondo said. "I'd be less worried if 95% of Americans were vaccinated, because it takes the guesswork out of it."
The Commerce Secretary conceded this is a global issue due to the intricate nature of supply chains, meaning outbreaks on the other side of the globe can cause higher prices and layoffs for US workers. For instance, new car prices spiked in October by the most since the 1970s because automakers couldn't get all the computer chips they need to build cars.
“我还是要说，要接种疫苗。如果每个人都接种，会有很大帮助。如果95%的美国人都接种了疫苗，我就不会这么担心了，因为可以减少无谓的猜测。”Raimondo 说。
商务部长承认，因其复杂性，供应链问题是全球性的，意味着地球另一端的爆发能够引发美国更高的用工成本和裁员率。例如从十月起新车价格上涨突破上世纪70年代以来的涨幅，因为汽车制造商无法获得制造汽车需要的所有芯片。
Supply shock at the heart of inflation
供应链冲击是通货膨胀的核心
During a hearing on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that officials were surprised by the extent and impact of supply bottlenecks sparked by Covid.
"What we missed about inflation is that we didn't predict the supply-side problems," Powell said, adding that those disruptions are unusual,non-linear and difficult to forecast.
联邦储备委员会主席Jerome Powell提到，在周二的一场听证会上，官员们对于因新冠引起的供应瓶颈的影响力和波及范围感到吃惊。
“对于通货膨胀我们忽略的是，没有预计供应侧的问题”Powell说，并提到这些干扰非同寻常，非线性并很难预测。
Although supply chains remain under stress, Biden officials have highlighted recent glimmers of hope.
White House pointed out that the number of container ships stuck on docks for nine days or more has declined by 41% since November 1, falling to 75,000. And on-the-shelf availability stands at 90%, down just one percentage point from February 2020, according to market research company IRI.
虽然供应链仍旧压力重重，但拜登政府也强调了最近的些许期望。
白宫指出从11月1日起，滞留在港9天以上的集装箱数量降低了41%，减少到75,000。根据市场研究公司IRI的数据，闲置可用的集装箱数达到90%，比2020年2月份只跌了1个百分点。
'People are still on edge'
“人们依旧紧张不安”
Supply chains are starting to"open up," agreed Joshua Bolten, CEO of Business Roundtable, an influential lobbying group comprised of top US executives. But it's happening "much more slowly than they would like. They are worried something like Omicron will cause backsliding,"he added, referring to member CEOs.
“供应链逐渐“打开”，但速度远未达到他们的预期。他们担心奥密克戎变异会引起倒退”。一家由美国顶尖高管组成的具影响力的游说团体“商务圆桌”首席执行官Joshua Bolten指出，“他们”指的是那些顶尖高管成员。
Meanwhile, on the consumer side,several factors have contributed to a sharp decline in sentiment including high inflation and elevated gas prices in addition to the supply chain. Americans also give the US economy poor marks in polls.
Raimondo, the former governor of Rhode Island, said she's not frustrated by the polls because they reflect the reality of the situation.
同时对消费者来说，有几个因素造成了他们的信心急剧下滑，除了供应链因素外，还有高通膨率和激增的油价。美国人在民意调查中给美国经济打了低分。
作为罗德岛前州长，Raimondo说她并不因为民意调查结果感到沮丧，因为它反映了目前的形势。
Every time we think we're past it,there's a new mask mandate. Every time we think we're on our way, a new variant comes out. That creates a level of uncertainty. And I know from being governor when people are feeling uncertain, that shows up in polls."
"All of this is temporary," Raimondo said, "but at the moment, it doesn't feel great."
每次我们觉得已经挺过来了，又来了一个新的口罩强制令。每次觉得要走上正轨了，新的变异病毒又来了。这就造成了一定程度的不确定性。凭我之前的州长经验来说，当人们不确定时，就会反映到民调中。“
Raimondo表示：“这些都是暂时的，但当下感觉确实不好。”
新闻来源 <https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/01/business/omicron-inflation-supply-chain-raimondo/index.html>
词汇：
mess n. 肮脏，杂乱，困境，混乱局面
variant n. 变种，变形，变异
exacerbate v. 使加剧，使恶化，激怒
way too 太…
portion n. 一部分
in person 亲自，本人
outbreak n. （战争、疾病、暴力等的）爆发，突然发生
turmoil n. 混乱，骚动
vaccinate v. 接种疫苗
enormously adv. 非常地，极其，在极大程度上
guesswork n. 猜测；臆测
take…out of 取出，除去
concede v. （不情愿地）承认；认（输），承认（失败）
intricate a. 错综复杂的；难理解的，难学会的
layoff n. 解雇，下岗
spike v. 用尖物刺穿
at the heart of 位于…的中心，关键
hearing n. 听力，听觉；审讯，听证会
bottleneck n. 瓶颈；障碍物
spark v. 引发，触发；产生火花；点燃
predict v. 预言，预测
disruption n. 扰乱，干扰
non-linear a. 非线性的，非直线的
under stress 在压力下
highlight v. 突出，强调；用亮色突出
glimmer n. 微光；闪光；少许
on-the-shelf 在书架上；束之高阁；被搁置的；闲置的
stand at 达到，处于
on edge adv. 紧张，急切
influential a. 有影响力的，有势力的
lobbying a. 游说的
be comprised of 由…组成
backslide v./n. 倒退，堕落
sentiment n. 观点，看法，情绪；伤感情绪
consumer sentiment 消费者情绪，消费者信心
elevated a. 提高的
poll n. 民意调查，民意测验；选举投票
frustrate v. 使懊恼，使沮丧，挫败
mandate n. 强制执行，授权，委托
optimism n. 乐观，乐观主义
temporary a. 暂时的，临时的，短暂的
