1. be at a low ebb 处于低潮
2. terrorism waning式微
wane UK /weɪn/ vi.①（权力、感觉等）逐渐减少，减弱②本意指（月亮的）亏缺
3.could not have done sth. at a worse time某事发生在最糟糕的时刻
His accent cannot be any worse.
他的口音太差劲了。
The atmosphere of the restaurant couldn’t be better.这家餐厅氛围太好了
4. open internal borders=borderless goal=open border policy边境开放政策
5. calls for... have grown louder
6. who were never fans of
7. nurtured prosperity孕育繁荣
nurture UK /ˈnɜːtʃə/ vt. 培育，培养
8. building block①基本组成部分；②积木
9. a death by a thousand cuts由诸多小错误造成的大失败
10. give ammunition to sb./provide sb. with ammunition 给某人以口实
11. ammunition UK /ˌæmjəˈnɪʃən/ n. ①弹药；②（辩论中可攻击对方的）信息，论据
12. coronavirus UK /kəˈrəʊnəˌvaɪərəs/ US /kəˈroʊnəˌvaɪrəs/ n. 冠状病毒
13. contagion UK /kənˈteɪdʒən/ n. （瘟疫等）流行，蔓延
14. shorthand UK /ˈʃɔːthænd/ n.①简称（a shorter but less clear way of saying sth.）；②速记
①For Europe, the coronavirus could not have arrived at a worse time.②This was the year — with Britain out, terrorism waning and the migrant crisis at an ebb — that the European Union had hoped to repair and revive its cherished goal of open internal borders.
②But as cases of the virus spread and multiply, calls for closing borders have grown louder, most predictably from the far right and populists who were never fans of the bloc’s open border policy.
③The virus has given new ammunition to nationalists who want to see borders tightened or restored even before the contagion arrived.
