| A. essentially B. round C. stuck D. spirits E. encouraging F. desperately G. strengths H. frustrating I. spilling J. collective K. sealed |
Italians find "Moments of Joy in this Moment of Anxiety"
It started with the national anthem. Then came the piano chords, trumpet blasts, violinserenades(小夜曲) and even the clanging of pots and pans--all of it from people's homes, out of windows and from balconies, and resounding across rooftops.
Finally, on Saturday afternoon, a nationwide of applause broke out for the doctors on the medical front lines fighting the spread of Europe's worst coronavirus outbreak.
Italians remain under house arrest as the nation, the European front in the global fight against the coronavirus, has ordered extraordinary restrictions on their movement to prevent infection.
But the music and noise erupting over the streets, from people in their homes, reflects the spirit, resilience and humor of a nation facing its worst national emergency since the Second World War.
To the extent that this is a virus that tries people's souls, it has also demonstrated the of those national characters.
In China, patriotic truck drivers risked infection to bring needed food to the people of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. In Iran, videos show doctors in full combat dress and masks dancing to keep up. And in Italy, the gestures of gratitude and music ring out above the country's empty streets, while social media feeds fill with , sentimental and humorous web videos.
Images of nurses collapsed from exhaustion or their faces bruised(使受瘀伤) from tightly masks have also spread across the web in recent days. Parents posted pictures of unicorns and rainbows drawn by young children with the title "It will all be OK."
"We're Italians, and loving singing is part of our culture," said Giorgio Albertini, 51, an archaeology professor who clapped from his apartment balcony in the university district of Milan, calling it a way "to feel a community, and to have the grief."
