10月19日英語新聞：英國連鎖超市出售秋葉

2020-10-19 11:32:0804:43 9.7萬

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1 / Supermarket sells autumn leaves

英國連鎖超市出售秋葉

UK-based supermarket Waitrose has been slammed by social media users for selling bouquets of "autumn seasonal foliage" at ￡6 a piece.

英國超市維特羅斯近日遭到社交媒體用戶的炮轟，因?yàn)樵摮谐鍪鄢墒?quot;秋葉"，每束定價(jià)6英鎊(約合人民幣52元)。

Photos of various tree leaves packaged in transparent plastic foil and arranged as flower bouquets went viral on social media lately, sparking controversy because of the product's price, six British pounds.

該超市將各種樹葉用透明的塑料箔紙包起來，扎成花束的樣子。這款樹葉產(chǎn)品的照片近日在社交媒體上被瘋傳，因?yàn)楫a(chǎn)品價(jià)格而引發(fā)了爭議。

Considering tree leaves can literally be picked up from the street this time of year, it's understandable that some people went after Waitrose, accusing the supermarket of trying to make money by selling something that is actually free.

考慮到現(xiàn)在這個(gè)季節(jié)樹葉在大街上隨處可拾，維特羅斯超市被指責(zé)靠售賣免費(fèi)的東西來賺錢也可以理解。

Despite the generally negative feedback to its autumn-themed product, the British supermarket explained its decision to charge ￡6 for a bunch of tree leaves by claiming that it was inspired by a demand from shoppers. Interestingly, there were those who seemed to somewhat justify the price tag of this bag of leaves by saying that it was obviously "high quality foliage".

盡管人們對這款秋季主題產(chǎn)品的反饋普遍是負(fù)面的，但是維特羅斯超市解釋道，決定對一捆樹葉收費(fèi)6英鎊是受消費(fèi)者的需求啟發(fā)。有趣的是，有些人似乎在為這包樹葉的價(jià)格辯護(hù)，表示這顯然是"高質(zhì)量的葉子"。

That may be true, but considering you could buy flower bouquets or even bottles of wine for that same price or less, it still seems like a money grab.

這也許是真的，但考慮到你可以用同樣甚至更低的價(jià)格買到花束甚至葡萄酒，這還是有搶錢的感覺。

重點(diǎn)詞匯：

foliage

英 [?f??li?d?] 美 [?fo?li?d?]

n. 植物；葉子（總稱）

controversy

英 [?k?ntr?v??si; k?n?tr?v?si] 美 [?kɑ?ntr?v??rsi]

n. 爭論；論戰(zhàn)；辯論

2 / Work from home permanently

微軟允許永久在家辦公

Microsoft has told staff that they will have the option of working from home permanently with manager approval. The move mimics the US tech giant's rivals Facebook and Twitter, which have also said remote work would be a permanent option.

微軟公司告知員工，如果得到管理人員的批準(zhǔn)，他們可以選擇永久性在家辦公。此舉效仿了這家美國科技巨頭的競爭對手臉書和推特，臉書和推特已表示員工可以選擇永久遠(yuǎn)程辦公。

It follows a rapid shift away from office working prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. Many companies are reconsidering how much office space they need, expecting a long-term increase in remote staff.

在此之前，由于新冠疫情暴發(fā)，人們的工作地點(diǎn)從辦公室迅速轉(zhuǎn)移到家中。許多公司預(yù)計(jì)遠(yuǎn)程辦公人員的數(shù)量將會長期增長，因此正重新考慮所需的辦公空間。

Microsoft said some roles will continue to require an in-person presence, such as those needing access to hardware, the firm added. But many staff will also be able to work from home part-time, without needing formal approval from their managers.

微軟公司還表示，一些職位仍將需要來辦公室上班，比如硬件相關(guān)職位。但許多員工也可以在家兼職，而這不需要得到管理人員的正式批準(zhǔn)。

重點(diǎn)詞匯：

mimic

英 [?m?m?k] 美 [?m?m?k]

vt. 模仿，摹擬

n. 效顰者，模仿者；仿制品；小丑

adj. 模仿的，模擬的；假裝的

3 / Life expectancy reaches 77.3

我國人均預(yù)期壽命77.3歲

Average life expectancy, a key gauge of a country's economic and social development, particularly in terms of its medical and health services, reached 77.3 years in China in 2019. That was up 0.96 years from 2015. The increase in China's average life expectancy, as seen in a statistical report from the National Health Commission, shows the steady improvement of China's medical and health system during the country's 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).

根據(jù)國家衛(wèi)健委發(fā)布的統(tǒng)計(jì)公報(bào)，2019年我國居民人均預(yù)期壽命達(dá)到77.3歲，比2015年提高0.96歲。人均預(yù)期壽命是衡量一個(gè)國家經(jīng)濟(jì)社會發(fā)展水平，尤其是醫(yī)療衛(wèi)生水平的重要指標(biāo)。人均預(yù)期壽命的延長顯示"十三五"時(shí)期我國醫(yī)療衛(wèi)生體系穩(wěn)步提升。

It is the result of China's continuous investment in maternal and child health care, and its efforts to implement health-related poverty reduction programs and promote a universal health security system.

這是我國持續(xù)支持婦幼保健事業(yè)，實(shí)施健康扶貧項(xiàng)目和推進(jìn)全民醫(yī)療保障體系的成果。

From 2016 to 2019, China's central government allocated more than 10 billion yuan to support the development of 594 maternal and child care institutions.

2016-2019年，中央政府下發(fā)逾100億元支持594個(gè)婦幼保健機(jī)構(gòu)的發(fā)展。

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the coverage rate of China's basic medical insurance program remained stable, covering more than 95% of the country's population.

"十三五"期間，我國基本醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)參保覆蓋率穩(wěn)定在95%以上。

重點(diǎn)詞匯：

life expectancy

美 [?la?f ?k?spekt?nsi]

預(yù)期壽命；平均壽命

gauge

英 [ɡe?d?] 美 [ɡe?d?]

n. 計(jì)量器；標(biāo)準(zhǔn)尺寸；容量規(guī)格；針織物的細(xì)度

vt. 測量；估計(jì)；給……定規(guī)格

the National Health Commission

國家衛(wèi)健委

4 / France to ban use of wild animals

法頒野生動(dòng)物表演禁令

France will gradually ban the use of wild animals in circuses, phase out orca and dolphin shows and will ban mink farming for fur, the environment minister said. The measures would affect about 80 circuses, which have some 230 animals, including big cats, elephants, hippos, wolves and others, Environment Minister Barbara Pompili told a news conference.

法國環(huán)境部長日前表示，法國將逐步禁止馬戲團(tuán)使用野生動(dòng)物表演，并逐步取消虎鯨和海豚的表演，還將禁止養(yǎng)殖水貂獲取貂皮。環(huán)境部長芭芭拉?蓬皮利在新聞發(fā)布會上說，這些措施將影響到約80家馬戲團(tuán)，這些馬戲團(tuán)有大約230只動(dòng)物，包括大型貓科動(dòng)物、大象、河馬和狼等。

France, which has three dolphinariums, will not allow the opening of new ones and wants the closure of existing ones within seven to 10 years.

法國擁有三家海豚館，今后將不再允許開設(shè)新海豚館，并希望在七到十年內(nèi)關(guān)閉現(xiàn)有的海豚館。

She also wants the closure of four mink farms within five years. The state will provide an aid package of more than 8 million euros to help animal shows switch to a new business model.

芭芭拉?蓬皮利還希望在五年內(nèi)關(guān)閉四家水貂養(yǎng)殖場。法國政府將提供超過800萬歐元(約合人民幣6400萬元)的援助，幫助動(dòng)物演出機(jī)構(gòu)轉(zhuǎn)型為新商業(yè)模式。

重點(diǎn)詞匯：

phase out

美 [fe?z a?t]

使逐步淘汰；逐漸停止

orca

英 [???k?] 美 [???rk?]

n. 虎鯨，逆戟鯨，殺人鯨（同 killer whale）

mink

英 [m??k] 美 [m??k]

n. 貂；貂皮衣

n. (Mink)人名；(英、西、匈、捷)明克