戴口罩、勤洗手、保持社交距離真的可以讓你遠離 Covid 新冠病毒嗎 ? 有充分的證據顯示這樣做的確有助於防疫，然而我們仍舊心存疑慮。直至今日，在美國仍有許多人懷疑這些措施的效力，甚至不願配合。戴不戴口罩在美國仍是一個熱門話題。不過，我們有句話可以回答這個問題 : "Better safe than sorry 有備無患 / 小心駛得萬年船 " Can masks, hand-washing and social distancing really save you from Covid? The evidence strongly suggests yes, but we cannot be absolutely sure. Many in America still, to this day, doubt the efficacy of these measures so much that they don't even want to do them. To mask or not to mask is still a hot issue in the United States. But we have a phrase which answers this question: "Better safe than sorry."

這簡單來說就是：如果沒有把握則應小心為上，而非疏於防範以致後悔莫及。戴口罩可能不怎麼舒服，但這是對抗病毒相對簡單的方式。勤洗手、保持社交距離甚至可能更為容易。因此，有何不可呢？先不論是否有用，你仍有可能會染疫，然而姑且一試又何妨? "Better safe than sorry 有備無患 / 小心駛得萬年船" ！我們喜歡英語中的音節押韻，所以句中兩個單字對稱的 's' 音聽起來格外悅耳!

This simply means that if you are not sure, it is better to be more careful, not less, or you might regret it later. Wearing a mask might be uncomfortable, but it is a relatively simple way to fight the virus. Hand-washing and social distancing might be even easier. So why not do them? It might help, it might not, you might still get the virus, but what is the harm in trying? "Better safe than sorry!" We love alliteration in English, so the double 's' in the two words here sounds extra good!

祝大家接下來的一週持續精進英文！記住：凡事 "Better safe than sorry 有備無患！"

Have a great week everyone, and remember: 'better be safe than sorry!'