4月20日午间英语新闻：神十四和神十五飞行乘组已选定 相关准备工作进行中

Plan issued to improve education workforce
新时代基础教育强师计划印发

China's Ministry of Education, in collaboration with seven other authorities, has issued a plan to build a stronger workforce for the country's basic education system. The plan aims to expand the number and improve the quality of teachers, and meet demands for China's basic education development by 2035.
教育部等八部门日前联合印发《新时代基础教育强师计划》。计划提出，加强基础教育高质量教师队伍建设，到2035年，教师数量和质量基本满足基础教育发展需求。

China will further improve teachers' professional ethics and competence by introducing talent nurturing programs and reforming targeted training. Teacher resources will be more balanced, as special teacher cultivation plans for undeveloped areas in China's central and western regions will be put into practice. National-level pedagogical bases and coordinated innovation platforms will also be built to strengthen the education system for teachers.
提升教师能力素质，实施高素质教师人才培育计划、深化精准培训改革。推动优质师资均衡，实施中西部欠发达地区优秀教师定向培养计划。加强教师教育体系建设，建设国家师范教育基地、建立教师教育协同创新平台。

重点词汇
1、pedagogical
英 [,pedə'gɒdʒɪkl]  美 [pedə'gɔdʒikəl] 
adj. 教育学的；教学法的

China defers 256B yuan in taxes
3月份全国累计办理缓缴税费2567亿元

China's tax authorities have deferred 256.7 billion yuan of taxes for micro, small and medium manufacturing enterprises in March, according to the State Taxation Administration. A total of 2.57 million enterprises benefited from the delay, the administration said. 
国家税务局表示，今年3月份，全国税务部门共办理制造业中小微企业缓缴税费2567亿元，共惠及257万户企业。

China deferred payments for the fourth quarter of 2021 to ease the impact of rising costs. The delay will be extended by six months. In addition, the administration plans to improve the tax management information system and optimize payment delay service procedures while implementing tax and fee cuts and issuing refunds. 
为减轻企业生产经营负担，制造业中小微企业2021年第四季度已缓缴的部分税费再延缓6个月。为推动缓缴税费政策直达快享，税务总局将及时升级税收征管信息系统，持续优化办理流程。

重点词汇
1、defer
英 [dɪˈfɜː(r)]  美 [dɪˈfɜːr] 
v. 延期，推迟；听从，遵从（defer to）

Crews of next space missions have been selected
神十四和神十五飞行乘组已选定

The crews of China's Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 missions have been selected and are carrying out their training and preparations according to a news conference on Sunday. Both crews will stay in orbit for six months, and they will for the first time rotate in orbit to realize uninterrupted manned residence, said Huang Weifen, chief designer of the China manned space program's astronaut system. The two crews, six astronauts in total, will live together in orbit for five to 10 days.
中国载人航天工程航天员系统总设计师黄伟芬在4月17日的新闻发布会上透露，执行神舟十四号、神舟十五号2次载人飞行任务的航天员乘组已经选定，正在积极开展相关训练和任务准备。两个乘组都将在轨飞行6个月，将首次实现在轨乘组轮换，两个乘组6名航天员将共同在轨驻留5-10天。

重点词汇
1、uninterrupted
英 [ˌʌnˌɪntəˈrʌptɪd]  美 [ˌʌnˌɪntəˈrʌptɪd] 
adj. 不间断的；连续的

US hits highest annual death toll
美国去年死亡人数超346万创新高

2021 was the deadliest year in US history, and new data and research are offering more insights into how it got that bad. The main reason for the increase in deaths? COVID-19, said Robert Anderson, who oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s work on death statistics. The agency this month quietly updated its provisional death tally. 
2021是美国历史上最致命的一年，新的数据和研究让我们进一步了解究竟发生了什么。美国去年死亡人数增加的主要原因是什么？美疾控中心相关数据统计负责官员罗伯特•安德森认为，是新冠。该机构本月更新了死亡人数数据。

It showed there were 3.465 million deaths last year, or about 80,000 more than 2020’s record-setting total. COVID-19 deaths rose in 2021 to more than 415,000 — up from 351,000 the year before — as new coronavirus variants emerged and an unexpectedly large number of Americans refused to get vaccinated or wear masks, experts said. The coronavirus is not solely to blame. Preliminary CDC data also shows the crude death rate for cancer rose slightly, and rates continued to increase for diabetes, chronic liver disease and stroke. Drug overdose deaths also continued to rise.
报告显示，全美去年共有346.5万人死亡，比2020年创下的纪录增加了约8万人。专家表示，新冠死亡人数从351000人上升到415000，病毒出现了新的变异毒株，而大批美国人拒绝接种疫苗、不愿佩戴口罩。新冠病毒不是唯一的罪魁祸首。美疾控中心的初步数据还显示，癌症的粗死亡率略有上升，糖尿病、慢性肝病和中风的粗死亡率持续上升。吸毒过量死亡人数也在持续上升。

重点词汇
1、deadliest
adj. 最致命的

2、provisional
英 [prəˈvɪʒənl]  美 [prəˈvɪʒənl] 
adj. 临时的，暂时的；暂定的；<英>（驾驶证）临时的；（邮票）临时流通的
n. 临时执照，临时邮票