西安疫情防控升级：全城按下“暂停键”

China is putting more efforts to control new virus outbreaks with a lockdown(行动限制) of the 13 million residents of the northern city of Xi’an following a sudden large increase in coronavirus(冠状病毒) cases. The measure comes just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympics in Beijing, about 625 miles to the northeast.

There was no word on whether the new Omicron(奥密克戎) variant of the coronavirus was bringing about the increasing cases in Xi’an, or the far more common Delta type. China has confirmed just seven Omicron cases — four in the southern city of Guangzhou, two in Changsha and one in the northern port of Tianjin.

China has also been dealing with a substantial COVID outbreak in several cities in the eastern province of Zhejiang near Shanghai, although isolation measures there have been more narrowly targeted. Authorities have adopted strict pandemic control measures under their policy of seeking to drive new transmissions to zero, leading to frequent lockdowns, universal masking and mass testing. The Xi’an restrictions are some of the strictest since China in 2020 introduced a strict lockdown on more than 11 million people in and around the central city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019.

Xi’an on Thursday reported another 63 locally transmitted cases, pushing the city’s total to at least 211 over the past week. Xi’an is the capital of Shaanxi Province, famed for its imperial relics, as well as a major center of industry. “We are not receiving any new guests and no present guests are allowed to leave the hotel,” said a receptionist at the Hanting Hotel in Xi’an, who only gave her family name, Li. “Including the guests, we are required to take a test once every two days.” Li said. “There will be an impact on our business and we have no idea how long it will last.”

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1.What measure did China take in Xi’an?

A Analyzing increasing coronavirus cases.

B Restricting residents’ outdoor activities.

C Spreading the new Omicron variant.

D Hosting the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第一段第一句“China is putting more efforts to control new virus outbreaks with a lockdown(行动限制) of the 13 million residents...”可以得知西安采取了“封城”的措施，也就是限制居民的外出活动。故选B。

2.Which city has confirmed cases related to Omicron variant?

A Xi’an.

B Guangzhou.

C Wuhan.

D Shanghai.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第二段第二句的“China has confirmed just seven Omicron cases — four in the southern city of Guangzhou, two in Changsha and one in the northern port of Tianjin.”可以得知，选项中的四个城市中只有广州有确认的奥密克戎病毒病例。故选B。

3.Why did Xi’an adopt strict restrictions?

A To have mass testing.

B To encourage universal masking.

C To first detect the coronavirus.

D To end the spread of the virus.

解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据文章第三段第二句“Authorities have adopted strict pandemic control measures under their policy of seeking to drive new transmissions to zero...”可以得知西安想通过封城把病毒传染控制下来。故选D。

4.What are hotels in Xi’an required to do now?

A Get more new guests.

B Help present guests to leave.

C Urge employees and guests to take tests.

D Figure out how long the lockdown will last.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段李姓接待员所说，“酒店不能接待新的住客，酒店现有的住客也不能离开酒店，酒店里包括住客在内的所有人每两天就要做一次(核酸)检测”，可推断，现在西安的酒店被要求做的就是督促住客和员工去做核酸检测。故选C。