原只想在東加渡假一週，疫情讓她停留超過18個月 Woman’s weekend to Tonga turns into 18-month stay due to COVID-19

Last March, A British traveler, Zoe, flew into the South Pacific island nation of Tonga for her weekend break; however, she has been there for over 18 months since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Tonga declared a state of emergency in March 2020 and has been closed to foreign nationals since then. Until now, Tonga was one of the few places in the world that has remained entirely COVID-free.

During the 18 months, Zoe has begun an online Master’s degree in international communications. She may be one of the few people in the world who has never worn a mask, but watching her family and friends deal with the pandemic from afar has made her feel “doubly isolated.” When her grandmother passed away from COVID-19, she couldn’t even return to the UK.

友善讓你懂｜解說：

去年3月，一位英國遊客Zoe趁著週末飛到南太平洋島國東加渡假；但自從全球疫情大爆發以來，她已經在那裡待了超過18個月。

原來，2020年3月東家宣佈進入緊急狀態，此後就不對外國人開放。直到現在，當地還是世界上少數完全沒有COVID-19確診案例的地方之一。

被迫留在東加的18個月裡，Zoe開始修讀國際傳播線上碩士學位。雖然她極可能是世界上少數至今未戴過口罩的人，但當只能從遙遠另一端看著家鄉親友應付病毒，反而讓她更感到「加倍孤立」。而當Zoe的祖母因染疫過世時，當時的她甚至也無法回英國奔喪。

輕鬆帶著走｜學習：

來學習「學士學位」與「碩士學位」的英文。大學畢業是學士學位，英文是bachelor’s degree，碩士則是 Master’s degree。

例句：She earned her Master’s degree from Harvard Business School. 她在哈佛大學商學院取得碩士學位。

本篇其他相關單字，介紹如下：

1. declare (v.) 宣佈
2. entirely (adv.) 完全地、徹底地
3. COVID-free  指沒有COVID-19確診
4. international communication 國際傳播
5. afar (adv.) 從遠處、遙遠地
6. doubly (adv.) 雙倍地、加倍地