【導讀】今天的關注話題依然是「零工經濟」。在零工經濟中，大部分「 gig workers」在過去是「不起眼的」，新冠疫情期間，送貨上門服務的外賣員發揮了至關重要的作用，他們成了更引人注目、更具影響力的一群人。本篇精讀文段選自經濟學人「April 4th 2020」。
點擊藍色字回看本期「零工經濟」精讀文段：
讀報刊學英語：零工經濟
讀報刊學英語：零工經濟-精讀筆記01
讀外刊學英語：零工經濟-精讀筆記02
The epidemic could result in even more migrant workers doing gig work. Many of China’s battered companies are shedding staff, but not food-delivery firms. Freshippo, Alibaba’s e-grocer, has engaged 2,000 staff from 30 idled restaurant chains. Since the start of the epidemic Meituan has hired more than 450,000 new riders, most of them for work in their home provinces because of virus-related travel restrictions.
【語言點】
battered受到重創的，受到衝擊的
e.g. 4月10日，跨境電子商務網站「全球速賣通」(AliExpress)聯合舉辦了一場直播活動，旨在扶助中小外貿企業，參與直播活動的市級政府將達到百餘個，包括四川和福建省，江蘇省蘇州市政府等：
Wedding gowns, home appliances, apparel and auto parts are among some of the key consumer goods that the government of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, recently promoted via a livestreaming session.……The initiative is part of a bigger push as the country looks to cross-border e-commerce to revitalize COVID-19-battered foreign trading activity. 江蘇省蘇州市政府最近通過直播推廣了婚紗、家電、服裝和汽車零部件等關鍵消費品。中國希望通過跨境電子商務來重振受新冠疫情重創的外貿活動，直播活動是其中一項重要工作。
e.g. Trump said his administration was looking at the possibility of stopping incoming Saudi Arabian crude oil shipments as a measure to support the battered domestic drilling industry. 川普表示，他的政府正在考慮停止進口沙烏地阿拉伯原油的可能性，以此來支持遭受重創的國內鑽探業。
e.g. In America’s southern states, the Caribbean and South-East Asia, coastlines are battered by stronger tropical cyclones. 在美國南部各州、加勒比海地區和東南亞地區，更強烈的熱帶氣旋不斷衝擊海岸線。
e.g. 《紅海行動》改編自2015年我國的一次撤僑行動。當時，中國人民解放軍派出一艘戰艦，幫助近600名中國公民從戰火連天的葉門撤離。The story of Operation Red Sea was adapted from an evacuation operation carried out in 2015, when the People's Liberation Army Navy sent a warship to war-battered Yemen and relocated nearly 600 Chinese citizens.
shed：to get rid of sth that is no longer wanted 去除；擺脫
e.g. The factory is shedding a large number of jobs. 這家工廠正大批裁員。
e.g. To understand how much the pandemic has hurt the economy, 701,000 jobs were shed in March, the most lost since the 1930s Recession, according to official statistics. 據官方統計數據顯示，為了了解全球疫情對經濟的影響有多大，3月份共裁掉了70.1萬個工作崗位，是自上世紀30年代經濟衰退以來裁員最多的一次。
engage：to employ sb to do a particular job 僱用；聘用
e.g. He is currently engaged as a consultant. 他現在受僱為顧問。
e.g. We engaged the services of a famous engineer. 我們聘了一位有名的工程師來幫忙。
【官方譯文】
疫情可能會導致他們中的更多人去打零工。中國許多遭受重創的企業正在裁員，外賣公司卻是另一番景象。阿里巴巴的食品雜貨電商盒馬已經從30家停業的連鎖餐廳「借調」了2000名員工。疫情爆發以來，美團已經招募了45萬多名新騎手。因為與病毒有關的出行限制，其中許多人都在自己老家所在的省份送貨。
以上。
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