1月17日午间英语新闻：世卫组织表示欧洲超半数人口将感染奥密克戎毒株

中国日报网双语精讲课重磅首发，更有100门外语课无限畅听，》》》》了解详情《《《《《

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American Girl reveals 'Girl of the Year' doll
华裔玩偶成美国2022'年度女孩'

American Girl has revealed its first ever “Girl of the Year” of Chinese descent as advocates call for more steps to combat challenges some children face amid an increase in anti-Asian hate incidents that have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mattel-owned company announced last week that its 2022 doll is named Corinne Tan, who is an avid skier from Colorado adjusting to changes after her parents' divorce. 
新冠疫情期间，针对亚裔的仇恨事件增多，在该背景下，美国女孩公司宣布了有史以来它的第一个华裔"年度女孩"，以此呼吁采取更多措施帮助一些儿童应对挑战。美泰旗下"美国女孩"公司上周宣布，其2022年度玩偶名为科琳•谭，她来自科罗拉多州，酷爱滑雪，正在适应父母离婚后的变化。

She's proud of her heritage and is trying to find "courage to speak up when faced with xenophobic comments," according to a statement from the company. More than 10,300 hate incidents against Asian Americans have been reported between March 19, 2020, and September 30, 2021, according to Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that tracks the incidents.
据该公司声明介绍，科琳•谭对自己的血统感到自豪，并试图"勇敢直面仇外言论"，例如，有人说她得了"功夫流感(一个带有种族歧视的新冠病毒表述)"时。追踪亚裔仇恨事件的"停止仇恨亚太裔美国人"组织称，在2020年3月19日至2021年9月30日之间，已经报告超过10300起针对亚裔美国人的仇恨事件。

重点词汇
1、descent
英 /dɪˈsent/  美 /dɪˈsent/
n. 出身，血统；下降，降落；斜坡，斜面；堕落，沦落；突然到访

2、advocate
英 /ˈædvəkeɪt/  美 /ˈædvəkeɪt/ 
v. 拥护，提倡
n. 拥护者，提倡者；辩护律师；（为某一类人）谋利益者；（一项事业或个组织的）工作者

3、xenophobic
英 /ˌzenəˈfəʊbɪk/  美 /ˌzenəˈfoʊbɪk/
adj. 排外的；恐惧外国人的

Man gets genetically modified pig heart 
美心脏病患者接受猪心移植

A US man has become the first person in the world to get a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig. David Bennett, 57, is doing well after the seven-hour procedure in Baltimore, doctors say. The transplant was considered the last hope of saving Bennett's life, though it is not yet clear what his long-term chances of survival are. Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center were granted special dispensation by the US medical regulator to carry out the procedure, on the basis that Bennett would otherwise have died. 
一名美国男子成为全球首位从转基因猪身上接受心脏移植的人。这名美国男子名叫大卫•贝内特，现年57岁。其主治医生说，手术在美国巴尔的摩进行，时长7小时，目前病患状况良好。心脏移植是挽救贝内特生命的最后希望，尽管目前还不清楚他长期存活的机会有多大。马里兰大学医学中心的医生们获得了美国医疗监管机构的特别授权，可以进行这项手术，因为如果不这样做，贝内特就会死亡。

For the medical team that carried out the transplant, it marks the culmination of years of research and could change lives around the world. The surgery would bring the world "one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis", the University of Maryland School of Medicine said in a release. That crisis means that 17 people a day in the US die waiting for a transplant, with more than 100,000 reportedly on the waiting list.
对于负责手术的医疗团队来说，这场手术标志着其多年研究成果最终实现，该成果很可能改变全球许多人的命运。马里兰大学医学院在一份新闻稿中提到，这项手术将使世界”距离解决器官短缺危机更近一步”。数据显示，美国每天有17人在等待器官移植时死亡，而等待名单上的人数超过10万人。

重点词汇
1、culmination
英 /ˌkʌlmɪˈneɪʃn/  美 /ˌkʌlmɪˈneɪʃn/ 
n. 终点，高潮；<旧>（天体的）达于中天

The world’s first dual-mode vehicle
日本推出世界首辆'双模车'

Japan recently unveiled the world’s first Dual-Mode Vehicle (DMV), a contraption that runs both on roads, like a bus, and on rails, like a train. The unique bus-train hybrid was unveiled last month, in the town of Kaiyo, in Japan’s Tokushima Prefecture. The mini-bus-like contraption didn’t win anyone over with its looks, but it definitely made an impression in terms of practicality. It runs with normal rubber tires on the road, but when it needs to switch to train mode, a pair of metal wheels drop down from the vehicle’s underbelly. The front tires are lifted off of the track, while the rear wheels stay down to propel the vehicle. 
日本近日推出了世界第一辆"双模车"，这种车既可以像公共汽车一样在马路上行驶，也可以像火车一样在铁轨上行驶。这种巴士火车"二合一"的独特交通工具上个月在日本德岛县海阳镇亮相。它的外观不太讨人喜欢，类似于小巴车，但是在实用性方面绝对让人印象深刻。在马路上行驶时，它使用正常的轮胎，但是如果需要切换成火车模式，底盘上就会降下一对金属轮，并收起前轮胎，使其离开轨道，后轮胎则会保持在原来的位置来驱动车辆前进。

Switching between road and train modes takes only about 15 seconds. The vehicle has been in the works for over a decade, and authorities in Tokushima hope that it will not only improve the lives of locals but also attract tourists curious to see the dual-mode vehicles in person. The dual-mode vehicles, which come in a variety of colors, are diesel-powered, can carry up to 21 passengers and run at a speed of 60 km/h in train mode, and up to 100 km/h as a bus.
在马路和铁轨两种模式之间切换仅需要15秒。双模车的研制过程长达十余年，德岛县政府希望它不但能改善当地人的生活，还能吸引好奇的游客亲自来看看这辆双模车。这种双模车是由柴油驱动的，最多能搭载21名乘客，有多种颜色。开启火车模式后时速为60千米，开启巴士模式后时速为100千米。

重点词汇
1、contraption
英 /kənˈtræpʃn/  美 /kənˈtræpʃn/ 
n. 奇妙的装置；精巧的设计

2、underbelly
英 /ˈʌndəbeli/  美 /ˈʌndərbeli/ 
n. 下腹部；薄弱部分；易受攻击的部位、区域等

3、propel
英 /prəˈpel/  美 /prəˈpel/
v. 推进，驱动；推搡（某人走向特定方向）； 驱使，促使

Half of Europe to be infected with Omicron
欧洲超半数人口将感染奥密克戎毒株

The World Health Organization has warned that half of Europe will have caught the Omicron Covid-19 variant within the next six to eight weeks. The projection was based on the 7 million new cases reported across Europe in the first week of 2022. The number of infections has more than doubled in a two-week period. The record number of people catching it has left health systems under severe strain. 
世界卫生组织警告，在未来6到8周内，欧洲一半人口将感染奥密克戎变异毒株。该预测基于2022年第一周全欧洲报告的700万新增病例。感染人数在两周内翻了一番以上。创纪录的感染人数使卫生系统承受着巨大的压力。

On Monday, the UK reported 142,224 more confirmed cases of the virus and 77 deaths. A number of hospitals have declared "critical" incidents due to staff absences and rising pressures caused by Covid-19. Elsewhere, hospital numbers are also rising. France's Health Minister Olivier Veran warned last week that January would be tough for hospitals.
本月10日，英国报告了142224例新增新冠肺炎确诊病例和77例死亡病例。一些医院宣称，由于员工缺勤和新冠肺炎带来的压力不断上升，出现了"危机"事件。在其他地方，住院病例数量也在上升。法国卫生部长奥利维尔•韦兰上周警告，1月份对医院来说将是艰难的。