当地时间12月5日，美国《时代周刊》杂志（简称《时代》）公布了最新一期的封面。封面上，白底黑字的“2020”被打上了一个大大的红X标记，并在底下写上“2020年是最糟糕的一年”（The Worst Year Ever）。据了解，这是《时代》历史上第五次在封面上使用了红色X标记。
X标记意味着出现影响世界的重磅事件
《时代》于1923年创刊，是美国三大时事性周刊之一，其内容广泛，经常对国际问题发表主张和对国际重大事件进行跟踪报道。在《时代》近百年的历史中，迄今为止只有五次在封面上使用了红色X标记，而每次使用红X时都代表有足以影响全世界的重磅新闻。
第一次使用带有红叉封面的《时代》于1945年5月7日发行，封面使用了阿道夫·希特勒的脸部绘图并打上红色的X，代表了德国战败。
第二次发生在2003年4月21日，在伊拉克入侵开始两周后，以美国为首的国际联军占领巴格达，萨达姆流亡，因此《时代》杂志在萨达姆·侯赛因的画像上使用了红X。
在2006年6月13日，基地组织头目阿布·穆萨布·扎卡维（Abu Musab al-Zarqawi）死于美军轰炸，《时代》杂志第三次印制了带有红X的封面。
在乌萨马·本·拉登（Osama bin Laden）被击毙后，2011年5月2日出版的《时代》杂志第四次使用了带有红X的封面。
值得一提的是，在美国连续两次对日本投掷原子弹后，于1945年8月20日发布的《时代》杂志使用了被打上黑色X的日本国旗作为封面（由于日本国旗中心为红色，因此这是迄今为止该杂志唯一一次使用了黑色X），代表了将要到来的日本无条件投降以及第二次世界大战的结束。
美媒解读红X或带有双重含义
有美国媒体指出，《时代》杂志在封面使用了红色X以及将2020年定义为“最糟糕的一年”，一方面指的是新冠肺炎疫情蔓延，另一方面也针对美国大选。
电影评论家斯蒂芬妮·扎沙雷克（Stephanie Zacharek）在为该期《时代》杂志的撰稿中写道：“你永远不想重温这一年所发生的故事。”扎沙雷克认为，纵然在美国历史甚至世界历史上都有过更糟糕的年份，但绝大多数活在今天的人们都没有经历过那样的岁月，因此人们都对2020年经历的一切都有些手足无措，包括一再发生的自然灾害、在幻想的基础上进行的大选，还有导致全球超过150万人失去生命的新冠肺炎。“今年，我们被一种最击垮人心的无助感所威胁着，这种感觉不受控制地蔓延。”她在文中写道。
不过，在社交媒体上有部分美国网民并不认同《时代》的观点。有人认为，美国在近数十年来在全球各地发动战争以及干涉当地政局，对世界上许多地方的人民带来的绝望和灾难丝毫不亚于美国在2020年所遭受的一切。
推特网友GabySPontes在评论中写道：“非洲很多地方生活在流行病之下，科索沃战争让20万黎民百姓受苦受难……但对我们所有人(美国人)来说，2020年却是最糟糕的一年，原因是美国女性不能出去散步……”
The Time Magazine used a Red “X” on cover， the fifth time in history
On December 5， the Time magazine announced the cover of the latest issue. On the cover， “2020” in black on a white background is marked with a big red X， and “The Worst Year Ever” underneath. This is the fifth time in the history of Time that a red X mark has been used on the cover.
Time was founded in 1923 and is one of the three major current affairs weekly magazines in the United States. It has a wide range of content and frequently publishes opinions on international issues and follows up reports on major international events. In the nearly 100-year history of Time， the red X mark has been used on the cover only five times so far， and each time the red X is used， it represents a blockbuster news that can affect the world.
The first use of red X was released on May 7， 1945. The cover used Adolf Hitler’s face drawing and marked with a red X， representing the defeat of Germany.
Time waited nearly 60 years for its second red-‘X’ cover. This cover didn’t coincide with the former Iraqi dictator’s capture of execution of the former Iraqi dictator. The U.S.-led coalition had merely taken control of Baghdad. Hussein was still on the run and wouldn’t be captured for another seven months. He was executed in 2006.
On June 13， 2006， Al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (Abu Musab al-Zarqawi) died in a US bombing， and the Time printed a cover with a red X for the third time.
After Osama bin Laden was killed， the Time published on May 2， 2011， used a cover with a red X for the fourth time.
Besides， after the nuclear weapons were dropped on Hiroshima (Aug. 5) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9)， because of the red in Japan’s flag， a black cross was used instead. The formal surrender of Japan came on Sept. 2.
Some American media pointed out that the reason of the Time uses a red X on the cover and defines 2020 as “the worst year ever” is that， on the one hand， it refers to the spread of COVID-19， and on the other hand， it also targets the US election.
Stephanie Zacharek， the film critic for TIME wrote an article for this issue of the Time and said：“This is the story of a year you’ll never want to revisit.”
In her article， she wrote that， “there have been worse years in U.S. history， and certainly worse years in world history， but most of us alive today have seen nothing like this one. The rest of us have had no training wheels for this--for the recurrence of natural disasters that confirm just how much we have betrayed nature； for an election contested on the basis of fantasy； for a virus that originated， possibly， with a bat only to upend the lives of virtually everyone on the planet and end the lives of roughly 1.5 million people around the world.”
“Our most debilitating threat this year was a sense of helplessness， and it ran unchecked.” Stephanie said.
However， some Americans on social media do not agree with the views of Time. They believe that the United States has started wars around the world and interfered in local politics in recent decades， and the despair and disasters that have brought to people in many parts of the world are no less than what the United States has suffered in 2020.
Twitter user GabySPontes’ comment said： “Some places in Africa live under epidemics...more than 200，000 people suffered in the Kosovo war (1999). But the worst year FOR US ALL was 2020 because the American woman was unable to go out to a walk ……”
编译：南都记者 莫郅铧 实习记者 陈卓睿
