UNIVERSITAS NEGERI MALANG
Basic Reading
Understanding Main Ideas
1. Stating each main ideas from each paragraph of the articles.
2. Finding at least 5 new words from the passage and making sentences on your
own from the new words.
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UNIVERSITAS NEGERI MALANG
Basic Reading
Understanding Main Ideas
1. Stating each main ideas from each paragraph of the articles.
2. Finding at least 5 new words from the passage and making sentences on your
own from the new words.
https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2020/04/world/wuhan-coronavirus-cnnphotos/index.html Wuhan was on lockdown for 76 days. Now life is returning — slowly Story by Kyle Almond, CNN
- For more than two months, the city of Wuhan, China, was sealed off from the outside world. Flights in and out were canceled. Train and bus routes were suspended. Highway entrances were blocked. The streets were empty, and people were ordered to stay in their homes as part of an unprecedented effort to contain the novel coronavirus. Now things are starting to look different. Main idea: After more than two months sealed off from the world, things in Wuhan are starting to look different.
- Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, reopened this month after a 76-day lockdown. “People are visiting parks, markets, malls. On the roads there are many cars,” said Hector Retamal, a photojournalist with Agence France-Presse. “I have seen people who go swimming in the Yangtze River, other people dancing in a park. No big crowds yet, but step by step the life is returning to the city.” The tough measures that were put in place — most people couldn’t even go grocery shopping or bury their dead — seem to have worked. Main idea: Since Wuhan reopened this month, people are starting to go out and working now.
- New coronavirus cases, which used to number in the thousands each day, have slowed to a trickle. But despite the enormous progress, many Wuhan residents remain hesitant. There are more people out and about, but it’s still a far cry from the scenes that Retamal remembers from last September, when he was in the city covering a tennis tournament and World Cup basketball games. “I have visited some shopping malls,” Retamal said, “but very few people go there. … For several nights I went to see the night scene, and no clubs are open. I only saw a few small bars waiting for the public. They were empty. People come home early, and I see few people on the street at night.” Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising when you consider how much Wuhan has suffered over the past few months. “I still see the fear in people who timidly return to the streets,” said Retamal, who has been based in China for a year. “Sometimes when I try to get closer to them, they take a step back. I understand them. They are afraid of contagion, especially now that contagions come from other countries. “But when I see the people of this city returning to the streets, I see hope.” Main idea: Wuhan residents are returning to the streets and showing hope.
- Wuhan is reopened, but there are still restrictions. To get around to many places, residents are required to show a government-assigned QR code on their cell phone. A green QR code means they are healthy and safe to travel. This system is being used in many cities
Main idea: The farewell ceremony to the medical teams in the airport was a very emotional moment that showed the positive side of this tragedy, which is the generosity and bravery of people to help others. New Words: Sealed off → The place was hurriedly sealed off. Trickle → The water in the river slows to a trickle. Contagion → The disease penetrate our city by contagion. Slaughtered → During celebrations, a sheep or a cow is slaughtered. Got off → The young man got off from the bus yesterday. Palpable → The relief in his photo is palpable.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe- 52382196 Coronavirus: Germany's states make face masks compulsory 22 April 2020
- All of Germany's states have announced plans to make face masks compulsory to combat the spread of coronavirus. Bremen became the final federal region to back the measures, with its senate set to confirm the decision on Friday. Mask use will be compulsory on public transport throughout Germany, and nearly all states will also make face coverings mandatory when shopping. Main idea: Germany's states have announced plans to make face masks compulsory to fight the spread of coronavirus.
- Different countries have issued different guidance on the use of face masks. Austria made them compulsory when shopping at the start of this month, but on Wednesday Switzerland confirmed it would not make its citizens wear masks as it loosened its restrictions. Main idea: Guidance on the use of face masks are different in each country.
- Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has confirmed 145,694 cases and recorded 4, deaths in total. Wednesday's data showed a second consecutive day that new infections rose, with 281 deaths compared with 194 reported on Tuesday. Johns Hopkins University in the US puts the number of German deaths at 5,117. Main idea: There are 145.694 cases and 4879 deaths in Germany.
- Germany's federal vaccines institute approved clinical trials for a possible vaccine involving humans on Wednesday. About 200 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 55 will be tested with variants of the drug, developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German company BioNTech. Scientists at the University of Oxford are set to start trials on humans on Thursday, the UK government says. Separate trials are also taking place in the US city of Seattle. Main idea: Clinical trials for a possible vaccine involving humans was approved by Germany's federal vaccines institute. What are the rules in Germany?
- The new rules come into force in most states from Monday, once they pass in local legislatures. But where face masks will be required differs from state. All 16 states will make facial coverings a necessity on public transport. But in Berlin, it will not be compulsory to wear a mask when shopping. This is also the case in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: that state has announced a fine of €25 (£22; $27) for anyone caught without one on public transport. Other states have yet to specify punishments.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/business/zoom-video-privacy-security- coronavirus.html?searchResultPosition= Zoom Rushes to Improve Privacy for Consumers Flooding Its Service The features that allowed companies to hop on videoconferences also made it easy for trolls to hijack meetings and harass students. By Natasha Singer, Nicole Perlroth and Aaron Krolik April 8, 2020
- Over the last month, the Zoom video conferencing service has emerged as the communication lifeline of the coronavirus pandemic. But the convenience fueling Zoom’s explosive popularity has come at a price. Main idea: Zoom video conferencing service has emerged as the communication lifeline of the pandemic, but it has come at a price.
- Originally a service meant for businesses, Zoom was designed to make it easy for company employees, sales representatives and clients to hop on meetings. When consumers flocked to the video platform for school and socializing, however, those conveniences also made it easy to hijack videoconferences and harass participants in online attacks known as Zoombombing. Main idea: The conveniences made it easy to hijack videoconferences and harass participants in online attacks known as Zoombombing.
- Now the company is scrambling to deal with privacy and security issues that keep popping up. On Wednesday morning, Zoom announced that it had formed a council of chief information security officers from other companies to share ideas on best practices. The company also announced that it had hired Alex Stamos, the former chief security officer of Facebook, as an outside adviser. Main idea: The company is scrambling to deal with privacy and security issues.
- Eric S. Yuan, the chief executive of Zoom Video Communications, the California company behind the video platform, said in an interview Tuesday evening that his greatest regret was not recognizing the possibility that one day Zoom might be used not just by digitally savvy businesses but also by tech neophytes. “We were focusing on business enterprise customers,” Mr. Yuan said. “However, we should have thought about ‘What if some end user started using Zoom’” for nonbusiness events, “maybe for family gatherings, for online weddings.” He added: “The risks, the misuse, we never thought about that.” Mr. Yuan said Zoom never felt the need until now to rigorously examine the platform’s privacy and security implications for consumers. “If not for this crisis,” he said, “I think we would have never thought about this.”
Main idea: Zoom never felt the need until now to rigorously examine the platform’s privacy and security implications for consumers.
- In addition to the Zoombombing episodes, Zoom has reacted with surprise to press reports that the company’s iPhone app leaked user data to Facebook as well as to criticism that the platform had allowed certain users to covertly access the LinkedIn profile data of other participants. Zoom’s trajectory from mass media darling to privacy pariah may seem like a familiar narrative in a tech industry with a build-it-first, beg- forgiveness-later culture. But the coronavirus has accelerated the Silicon Valley story arc at an incredible pace. Main idea: Zoom’s trajectory seem like a familiar narrative in a tech industry with a build-it-first, beg-forgiveness-later culture.
- The coronavirus-fed boom has essentially forced Zoom to publicly acknowledge and address problems on a vastly shorter timetable than older companies like Facebook. Now attorneys general in several states are scrutinizing Zoom’s privacy and security practices even as the company has publicly committed to improving them. Mr. Yuan said the company had not anticipated the exponential growth in new users during the coronavirus pandemic or the unrelenting public scrutiny that would come with it. Main idea: The coronavirus-fed boom has forced Zoom to publicly acknowledge and address problems on a shorter time than older companies.
- Four months ago, Zoom was a niche business tool with 10 million daily users, many of them people working in offices or at home. Today, it has emerged as a fundamental online utility, with 200 million daily users — including family members gathering to celebrate holidays, teachers leading online classes for students and members of Alcoholics Anonymous holding meetings. Main idea: Zoom has emerged as a fundamental online utility, with 200 million daily users.
- Last week, Zoom said it was suspending work on features for the next 90 days to devote all of its engineering resources to shoring up its security and privacy practices. Security researchers also discovered that, despite its marketing promises, Zoom encrypted users’ communications but not with end-to-end encryption — a system that prevents third parties from accessing private communications. Mr. Yuan noted that end-to-end encryption was significantly more difficult with many users communicating simultaneously instead of something like Apple’s FaceTime, which is typically used by a handful of people at the same time. Main idea: Zoom was suspending work on features for the next 90 days to devote all of its engineering resources to shoring up its security and privacy practices.
- Last week, the office of New York’s attorney general sent a letter to Mr. Yuan, questioning whether Zoom’s current security practices were capable of handling “the surge in both volume and sensitivity of data being passed” through its network. Several
Main idea: The time for Zoom to reassess its privacy and security was last year, after the discovery of a flaw that attackers use to activate a Zoom user’s webcam without their permission.
- In its letter last week to Mr. Yuan, the New York attorney general’s office noted that Zoom did not address the problem until after the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest research center, filed a complaint about the company with the Federal Trade Commission last year. Mr. Yuan admitted that his drive to open access to Zoom during the pandemic sometimes moved faster than the platform’s privacy protections. Main idea: Zoom did not address the problem until after the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint about the company with the Federal Trade Commission last year.
- Early in the crisis, for instance, a few U.S. schools that foresaw they would need to quickly move classes online contacted him for help, he said, and he personally set up free accounts for them. Soon after, Mr. Yuan made basic Zoom accounts free for schools. But the company did not have experience working with K-12 school districts, he said, and was not set up for federal privacy laws requiring special protections for students’ and children’s information, noting that the company has had to update its privacy policy for schools several times. Now, however, Zoom has gone even further and signed an extensive privacy compliance agreement with the Board of Cooperative Educational Services for school districts in Chautauqua County, southern Erie County, and part of Cattaraugus County, in New York. Main idea: Zoom has signed an extensive privacy compliance agreement with the Board of Cooperative Educational Services for school districts in Chautauqua, southern Erie, and part of Cattaraugus County, in New York.
- The landmark agreement, which Zoom signed on March 31, meets stringent new state privacy rules for schools and could serve as a model for other school districts. Among other things, Zoom agreed to delete any data it had collected or stored about the districts’ students, teachers or principals when the contract expires later this year. Mr. Yuan said his three children were now home doing distance learning over Zoom and he recently asked his daughter, an eighth-grader, if her teacher used certain security features meant to keep out troublemakers. He was relieved when she said “yes.” Main idea: The landmark agreement, which Zoom signed on March 31, meets stringent new state privacy rules for schools and could serve as a model for other school districts. New Words: Lifeline → Cell phones and internet are a social lifeline for many young people. Flocked → People flocked around us to hear good news. Hijack → They had hijacked a ship headed for China. Savvy → A savvy investor knows when the best time to make money.
Stringent → Japan’s stringent gun ownership laws are terrible.
Is there evidence of coronavirus coming back elsewhere?
- This is being watched very carefully. Without a vaccine, and with no widespread immunity to the new disease, one alarm is being sounded by the experience of Singapore, which has seen a sudden resurgence in infections despite being lauded for its early handling of the outbreak. Although Singapore instituted a strong contact tracing system for its general population, the disease re-emerged in cramped dormitory accommodation used by thousands of foreign workers with inadequate hygiene facilities and shared canteens. With 1,426 new cases reported on Monday and nine dormitories – the biggest of which holds 24,000 men – declared isolation units, Singapore’s experience, although very specific, has demonstrated the ability of the disease to come back strongly in places where people are in close proximity and its ability to exploit any weakness in public health regimes set up to counter it. Main idea: Singapore’s experience has showed the ability of the disease to come back strongly in places where people are in close proximity and its ability to exploit any weakness in public health regimes.
- A small rise late last week in the number of infections in Germany – another country credited with handling its outbreak well via extensive testing and tracing – has also drawn attention, even as the country moved to loosen restrictions. And despite China’s apparent success in bringing the outbreak in Hubei province under control, there has been an increase in cases in the country’s north. A new cluster of coronavirus cases in the north-
eastern city of Harbin near the Russian border has forced authorities to impose fresh lockdowns, after reporting near-zero local transmissions in recent weeks. All of this raises questions over when, and how, to reduce lockdowns to avoid a second wave or resurgence. Main idea: A small rise in the number of infections in another country has also drawn questions over when, and how, to reduce lockdowns to avoid a second wave or resurgence. What are experts worried about?
- Conventional wisdom among scientists suggests second waves of resistant infections occur after the capacity for treatment and isolation becomes exhausted. In this case the concern is that the social and political consensus supporting lockdowns is being overtaken by public frustration – which has triggered protests in the US and elsewhere – and the urgent need to reopen economies. The threat declines when susceptibility of the population to the disease falls below a certain threshold or when widespread vaccination becomes available. Main idea: Second waves of resistant infections occur after the capacity for treatment and isolation becomes exhausted.
- In general terms the ratio of susceptible and immune individuals in a population at the end of one wave determines the potential magnitude of a subsequent wave. The worry right now is that with a vaccine still months away, and the real rate of infection only being guessed at, populations worldwide remain highly vulnerable to both resurgence and subsequent waves. Main idea: With a vaccine still months away, and the real rate of infection only being guessed at, populations worldwide remain highly vulnerable to both resurgence and subsequent waves.
- As Justin Lessler, an associate professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, wrote strikingly for the Washington Post in March: “Epidemics are like fires. When fuel is plentiful, they rage uncontrollably, and when it is scarce, they smoulder slowly. “Epidemiologists call this intensity the ‘force of infection’, and the fuel that drives it is the population’s susceptibility to the pathogen. As repeated waves of the epidemic reduce susceptibility (whether through complete or partial immunity), they also reduce the force of infection, lowering the risk of illness even among those with no immunity.” The problem is that we do not know how much fuel is still available for the virus. Main idea: Repeated waves of the epidemic reduce susceptibility, also reduce the force of infection and lowering the risk of illness even among those with no immunity. New Words: Loosen → She loosened her hold. Albeit → Albeit difficult to understand, she never complained.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/michigan-doctor-largest-antibody-test-coronavirus FOX NEWS FLASH | Published 49 mins ago | Last Update 27 mins ago Michigan Doctor Leading Nation's Largest Antibody Test Expects First Results in 'About a Month' Samuel ChamberlainBy Samuel Chamberlain | Fox News
- Beaumont Health, the largest health care system in the state of Michigan, will test members of its own staff to determine if their blood contains antibodies created to fight coronavirus. "We have 38,000 employees and we have another 4,000 doctors who practice at our hospital who are in private practice and they have about 1,000 MPs and PAs who work with them," Dr. Matthew Sims, Beaumont's director of infections disease research, told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Monday, "and all of those people are eligible to be tested. Main idea: The largest health care system in the state of Michigan will test members of its own staff to determine if their blood contains antibodies created to fight coronavirus.
- "Now these are people, a lot of which are being exposed to patients who have COVID[- 19]," Sims went on. "So what we're going to be doing is looking at a relatively high-risk population to see whether or not they've developed antibodies ... if only people who have no antibodies get COVID and all the people who do have antibodies don't get COVID, that's going to tell us the antibodies are protective and that people who have them can safely be exposed." Sims said he expected the first set of results from the study "in about a month." Main idea: What they're going to be doing is looking at a relatively high-risk population to see whether or not they've developed antibodies.
- Some doctors are using blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients to treat those currently suffering from COVID-19. Staffers with a high number of antibodies could donate their plasma for use in treatment. If the plasma proves highly effective, the study could pave the way for a coronavirus vaccine. Sims explained to host Tucker Carlson that the study seeks to determine "what percentage of the population is asymptomatic, what percentage got it and never knew it. "It's also going to tell us ... are we seeing more antibodies in the people who are going in every day to the COVID rooms than we are to, say, people who are working in the warehouse?" he added. Main idea: Some doctors are studying through use of blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients to treat those currently suffering from COVID-19.
- A key question of the study, Sims said, is whether and for how long the antibodies protect someone from the virus. "So, for the common cold versions of the coronavirus, they tend to last a short time, but studies with SARS [Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome] and
MERS [Middle East Respiratory Syndrome], the other two very serious coronaviruses, say they last a couple of years, two, three years," he said. "But it may actually last even longer than that if you have what's called natural boosting, which means the virus is circulating in the environment and you're exposed to it and that triggers your immune system to make new antibodies ... So that's one of the things we're going to find out, how long do these antibodies last?" Main idea: A key question of the study is whether and for how long the antibodies protect someone from the virus. New Words: Eligible → Who is eligible to marry? Asymptomatic → A disease is considered asymptomatic if a patient is a carrier but experiences no symptoms. Pave → Paved streets replaced dirt roads. Tend → Humans tend to justify themselves. Boosting → We need a big win to boost our confidence.