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Update On Global COVID Pandemic; Devastating Floods In Middle Tennessee; Controversial Kind Of Pizza.

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Welcome to the show. My name is Carl Azuz. I`m happy to see you this Wednesday. We have an update for you today concerning

the rippling effects of the ongoing, worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. It would be nice to tell you that all that has gone away, but no. The disease that

originated in China in late 2019 is still causing problems.

One big reason for that is the "Delta variant", viruses like COVID and the flu naturally mutate. They change, new strains or variants form and they

can re-infect people who`ve already recovered from previous versions of the virus. Health officials say the "Delta variant" is the main form of corona

virus that`s spreading now in the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control says there`ve been more than 870,000 positive COVID tests recorded in the past week and more than 4,800 deaths

related to the virus. At one point in mid-June, the U.S. was averaging fewer than 12,000 new infections per week. The "Delta variant" is blamed

for this increase.

Health officials say it`s far more contagious than previous strains of COVID, but most medical officials also say that existing COVID vaccines are

effective in preventing people from being hospitalized from the "Delta variant". They say vaccinated people have fewer and milder symptoms

overall, than those who catch "Delta" and haven`t been vaccinated.

One of the vaccines, the one made by Pfizer and BioNTech has just gotten formal government approval for the prevention of COVID-19. Previously, like

the other two vaccines, it was only authorized for emergency use. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the Pfizer vaccine meets its standards

for safety and effectiveness, but according to medical information site Healthline, there`ve been conflicting studies around the world on the

vaccine`s effectiveness.

One suggests it`s as high as 96 percent effective in protecting people against the "Delta variant". One suggests it`s as low as 42 percent

effective and a former director of the CDC says tens of thousands of breakthrough infections, when fully vaccinated people still contract COVID-

19, can be expected.

The overall survival rate of the virus is estimated at more than 99 percent but that`s not spread evenly across all age groups, and the Federal

government says it hopes the FDA`s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine will encourage hesitant Americans to get the shot and encourage more

organizations to require workers to have it. The mandates, the requirements that Americans be vaccinated or wear masks in certain places, are

controversial.

Supporters say they`re necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Critics say wearing a mask or being injected with a vaccine should be a matter of

personal choice. The spread of the "Delta variant" is one reason for the partial shutdown of a shipping port in China. This facility is a big one.

It`s the third busiest container port in the world, and that`s contributing to problems with worldwide shipping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready, set, wait. Your new car, refrigerator, bicycle, sofa, computer, phone, held up by massive supply chain delays. How did this
 

hold up 延误

happen? After long months of pandemic shutdowns, demand among American consumers shot up faster than expected. So high, the Port of Los Angeles
 

shoot up 迅速上升

just had its busiest month ever handling more than 1 million containers, but on any given day dozens of ships can`t unload because there aren`t

enough dock workers to handle all that massive surge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re in their own traffic jam, coming let`s say in the Pacific. You know, there can only be a few that could step up to the

plate and unload their -- their cargo all at once, and then they have to go back to China and fill up some more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Supplies are so shaky Hyundai had to shut down a U.S. production line for a week, and Home Depot, one of the largest importers in
 

shaky [ˋʃekɪ] adj. 不可靠的；成问题的

the nation has hired its own ship to bypass the bottleneck. On land, rail and trucking services are also stretched thin, add a desperate shortage of
 

stretch thin 筋拉得太紧，快要断掉、难以承受

shipping containers and the price for sending one across the waves from June of 2020 through March this year more than quadrupled. That`s one of
 

quadruple [kwɑˋdrup!] v. 成為四倍

several factors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Raising the possibility that inflation could turn out to be higher and more persistent than we expect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Persistent is the word. Since some supply chain analysts are already predicting these troubles with summer shipping could affect

Christmas shopping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these U.S. states has the most border states? Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois or Nebraska. There are two U.S.
 

border [ˋbɔrdɚ] v. 与…接壤

states that border eight others. One is Missouri, the other is Tennessee.

A major disaster has been declared in Humphrys County, Tennessee. It concerns catastrophic flooding that occurred there last Saturday, and the

disaster declaration will speed up government help to the areas that need it. Last weekend, several storms passed over middle Tennessee. They brought

more than 17 inches of rain to some communities on Saturday alone.

That led to flash flooding in the region, and the waters were so powerful in some places that they washed away everything in their path. Cars, roads,

some homes were pulled off their foundations. At least 21 people lost their lives, others were rescued by first responders, family members or friends.
 

pull off 扯下；拉开

Officials say they`re still searching for 10 people who haven`t been accounted for. Phone and electric services were lost, at least temporarily

and the debris that the flash floods left behind, piled up so high in some places that it made it harder for rescue crews to search them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Flash flood creates a rush of moving water that can sweep a grown man off his feet, a car off the road and even your entire
 

flash flood 骤发的洪水，暴洪; 洪水爆发

home off its foundation. When the ground becomes so saturated that water can no longer seep into the soil, it begins to run off quickly into rivers

and streams and this causes a rise in water in a flash. Densely populated areas have an extremely high risk of flash flooding with the additional
 

in a flash 瞬间

concrete and less grassy areas for the water to soak into the soil, and they can see flash flooding very quickly.

In a mountainous terrain, the combination of gravity plus the easy run-off can lead to catastrophic flooding when all of that water is funneled into
 

run-off 流失

rivers, creeks and even the valleys. Remember flash flooding can happen in a blink of an eye. That`s why it`s important to stay alert and pay

attention, in case a flash flood watch or warning is issued for your area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Pepperoni and jalapenos. If I could have only two pizza toppings for the rest of my life, those would be the ones. They`re not particularly
 

jalapeno [͵hɑləˋpenjo] n.【植】墨西哥辣椒

unusual. Anchovies and pineapple, hopefully not together, have stirred up a lot of debate over the years. We`ve also heard of bacon, pickle pizza and sloppy joe pizza,
 

anchovy [ˋæntʃəvɪ]n.【鱼】鳀鱼（产于地中海，肉味鲜美）

sloppy joe 碎牛肉饼; 【美】（塗麵包用的）炒牛肉醬

but what about watermelon crust pizza. Is that even possible or good?
 

crust [krʌst] n. 面包皮

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Probably only a matter of time until watermelon ended up as pizza crust, and now Domino`s wants a slice of the action.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is equally confronting for us.
 

confront [kənˋfrʌnt] v. 使面对；使遭遇; 迎面遇到

MOOS: Having sauce and cheese and pepperoni.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it does look pretty good at the oven.

MOOS: Pretty good, that`s a war crime posted one TikToker. Domino`s, I can`t keep defending you protested another. Domino`s Australia said it was

inspired by TikTok chef Oliver Patterson who whipped up a couple of watermelon pizzas earlier in the summer, but Patterson told Newsweek, in
 

whip up v. 迅速作成; Informal to prepare quickly

order for it to taste good. You need to fry the watermelon to get rid of excess water and use bar-b-que sauce instead of tomato sauce. Bar-b-que

apparently pairs better with watermelon. Even Domino`s admitted --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We think it might be an acquired taste.
 

acquired [əˋkwaɪrd] adj. 习得的；养成的

MOOS: But look at the weird pizza taste people have acquired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The new crown crust pizza, made with perfectly grilled mini-cheeseburger chips (ph).

MOOS: And then there`s the hotdog pizza crust that Pizza Hut sold in countries like South Korea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pizza Hut. (Inaudible) crusted pizza.

MOOS: Before bringing it to the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hotdogs are just all right. They`re not amazing hotdogs.

MOOS: As for watermelon pizza, suddenly putting pineapple on pizza isn`t such a crime against humanity. Some beg Domino`s, don`t sell it. Please.

Don`t worry. Domino`s told CNN, this was a joke made especially for TikTok.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: But it certainly gave people something to "TikTalk" about. Now critics might have been like, "watermelon" you thinking. Just the idea

leaves them "crusty". For others it`s a "fruitful" suggestion and easy "anchovies" to make, and ensures that no option is left "berind". Yesterday

we heard from Columbus East High School. It is located in Columbus, Indiana. Folks there left a comment on our You Tube channel which is the

only place we look for your shout out request. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN.

END