Thursday did not start well for Matt Hancock. Britain’s 41-year-old health secretary began a morning television interview looking like a glummer version of the chipper, Cheshire-born economist he was before he became an MP 10 years ago. It got worse as he was pounded for a string of government blunders over coronavirus testing and equipment failures. Then came a question that went something like this: In New Zealand, where they have had just two Covid-19 deaths per million people (in the UK it’s more than 200), prime minister Jacinda Ardern has just said she and her ministers would take a 20 per cent pay cut to show solidarity with those struggling financially because of the outbreak. Will you?
对马特•汉考克(Matt Hancock)来说，上周四开始得不太好。这位41岁的英国卫生大臣出生于柴郡(Cheshire)，在10年前成为国会议员前曾是一位快活的manbetx20客户端下载 学家，但他上周四接受早间电视采访时愁容满面。当他因为英国政府在新型冠状病毒检测和设备故障上的一系列失误而受到抨击后，他变得更沮丧了。接下来有人问了他这样一个问题：在新西兰，每一百万人中只有两例新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19，即2019冠状病毒病）死亡病例（而在英国有逾200例），新西兰总理杰辛达•阿德恩(Jacinda Ardern)刚刚表示她与她的部长们将减薪20%，以示与那些因疫情而陷入财务困境的人站在一起。你会这样做吗？