接连两则消息：“目前不要吃猪肉，猪肉中含有一种化脓性脑炎病毒”；“因千岛群岛附近海域发生地震，上海将遭遇地震海啸袭击” —— 千万不要恐慌，现已证明，上述消息纯属谣言。据悉，“猪肉有病毒”系无中生有，“地震海啸袭击”可以说是推测，但这种推测以偏概全，于是也成了谎言。好在谣言止于信息公开，北京市政府、上海市政府面对突发情况，及时出来辟谣，消除了谣言的负面影响。

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：海啸

information technology：信息技术

psychosomatic：心理受影响的

emergency meeting：紧急会议

（英语点津陈蓓编辑）