接連兩則消息：“目前不要吃豬肉，豬肉中含有一種化膿性腦炎病毒”；“因千島群島附近海域發生地震，上海將遭遇地震海嘯襲擊” —— 千萬不要恐慌，現已證明，上述消息純屬謠言。據悉，“豬肉有病毒”系無中生有，“地震海嘯襲擊”可以說是推測，但這種推測以偏概全，于是也成了謊言。好在謠言止于信息公開，北京市政府、上海市政府面對突發情況，及時出來辟謠，消除了謠言的負面影響。

A fatal virus hascontaminatedpork sold in Beijing. A big earthquake will rock Shanghai, causing a deadlytsunami.

Sudden death was the common fear among residents of two cities over the weekend. And the source of the rumors in both cases wasinformation technology; SMS to be more precise.

In fact, many Beijingers who had eaten pork for lunch or dinner, and not many Chinese meals are without pork, suffered apsychosomaticattack. They complained of an upset stomach or an imaginary pain after receiving an SMS from friends or relatives.

The virus was alleged to cause pyogenic encephalitis that destructs the brain, filling its cavities with pus.

Such was the fear that presidents of major hospitals held anemergency meetingto scotch the rumors.

In Shanghai, the paranoia was different. Some Hollywood fortune-teller was alleged to have sent e-mails, which were posted on online forums, saying a big earthquake and tsunami were about to hit the coastal city.

Though doctors, as in Beijing, and some other people across the two cities tried to calm down the residents, it was the authorities' prompt denial that restored order.

In Beijing, Zhao Chunhui, deputy head of the municipal health bureau, told Xinhua on Saturday: "Pork sold in Beijing has to meet strict standards. It's perfectly fit for human consumption. The rumors are nothing but lies."

An unidentified official of Shanghai's seismological bureau said major earthquakes and tsunamis cannot hit the city because of its geological features.

He told the local Wenhui Daily: "Nine tsunamis have been recorded in the history, and none of them caused great damage to the coastal regions. And their impact on Shanghai has been minimal."

Netizens praised the authorities for their timely response in both the cities, with experts saying that they should react similarly to all events that caused public panic.

Rumors gain momentum if trusted organizations don't come up with a satisfactory explanation promptly, said Meng Wei, researcher at the Institute of Journalism and Communication affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, yesterday.

In such an event, the authorities should communicate with traditional media sources such as newspapers and television channels, which are more trusted by the people than the Internet, he said.

（China Daily）

Vocabulary:

contaminate：感染，污染

tsunami：海嘯

information technology：信息技術

psychosomatic：心理受影響的

emergency meeting：緊急會議

（英語點津陳蓓編輯）