4月25日午间英语新闻：韩国拟统一年龄计算方式 有望集体“年轻”一岁

South Korea's population may ‘de-age’ 
韩国拟统一年龄计算方式

South Korea's population may become a year younger on paper if the country's president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol succeeds in abolishing the concept of the "Korean age." South Korea currently has several ways of counting age. One of them is the "Korean age" system Yoon's government is looking to do away with, which involves South Koreans being labeled as one year old at birth and adding another year upon the New Year. 
如果韩国总统当选人尹锡悦成功废除“韩国年龄”概念，韩国人口可能将在名义上集体年轻一岁。韩国当前有好几种年龄计算方式。其中一种是尹锡悦政府打算废除的“韩国年龄”体系，按照旧的计算方法，韩国人刚出生就是一岁，过了新年又加一岁。

Lee Yong-ho, chief of Yoon's transition team's political, judicial, and administrative subcommittee, said during a news conference on April 11 they are pushing to standardize the way age is counted in South Korea. "There would be much less confusion if we could have the same idea of what it means to be how old we actually are," Lee said, adding his team would push for this change to be implemented by early 2023.
交接委政务司法行政分科干事李容镐在4月11日的新闻发布会上称，他们将推动韩国年龄计算方式的标准化。李容镐称：“如果我们对自己的实际年龄有统一的认知方式，就不会造成这么多混乱。”他补充道，他的团队将会在2023年初前推动实现这一改动。

重点词汇
1、subcommittee
英 [ˈsʌbkəmɪti]  美 [ˈsʌbkəmɪti] 
n. 小组委员会；委员会的附属委员会

Electric chopsticks enhance salty tastes
日本研发可增强咸味的电子筷

Japanese researchers have developed computerized chopsticks that enhance salty tastes, potentially helping those who need to reduce sodium in their diets. Co-developed by Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita and beverage maker Kirin Holdings Co., the chopsticks enhance tastes using electrical stimulation and a mini-computer worn on a wristband. 
日本研究人员研发了一种可以增强咸味的电子筷子，有可能帮助到那些需要低钠饮食的人。这种电子筷由明治大学教授宫下和美（音译）和饮品制造商麒麟控股有限公司共同开发，通过电流刺激和佩戴在腕带上的微型计算机来增强味道。

The device uses a weak electrical current to transmit sodium ions from food through the chopsticks to the mouth where they create a sense of saltiness, Miyashita said. "As a result, the salty taste is enhanced by 1.5 times," he said.
宫下称，这种装置利用微电流将食物中的钠离子通过筷子传递到口腔，从而产生咸味。他表示：“这样可以将咸味放大1.5倍。”

重点词汇
1、sodium
英 [ˈsəʊdiəm]  美 [ˈsoʊdiəm] 
n. 钠（一种化学元素，符号为 Na）
adj. （发出橙色强光的）钠光的

US Congress fails to fund pandemic aid program
美国无医保者将需自费检测和治疗新冠

People who don’t have health insurance are now being charged $100 or more for COVID-19 testing by some labs and may face bills for hospital treatment, and free vaccines may not be as easy for everyone to get since emergency federal aid for some pandemic programs has run out and hasn’t been renewed by Congress. Funding for the uninsured was dropped by Senate and House negotiators after Republicans opposed the money needed to extend the program, a senior Democratic aide in the US House told CNBC. 
由于赞助疫情期间一些项目的联邦政府紧急拨款已枯竭且国会没有注入新资金，如今没有医保的美国人在接受部分实验室的核酸检测时将需要缴纳至少100美元（约合人民币637元）的费用，并可能需要自费住院治疗，打免费疫苗也没那么容易了。美国众议院的一名资深民主党助手告诉美国消费者新闻与商业频道称，由于共和党人反对继续向这一项目投钱，参众两院的谈判代表已经放弃为无医保者提供资金。

The Health Resources and Services Administration, which runs the uninsured program for HHS, stopped accepting claims to test and treat uninsured patients on March 22 due to insufficient funds. While the US is providing Covid shots for free, the agency stopped covering the costs to administer the vaccines for uninsured people as of April 5.
与此同时，由于资金不足，为美国卫生与公众服务部运营这一无医保项目的卫生资源和服务管理局也从3月22日起停止接收要求做核酸检测和治疗的无医保新冠患者。美国目前仍免费提供新冠疫苗，但是该机构从4月5日起不再负担无医保者注射疫苗的费用。

重点词汇
1、uninsured
英 [ˌʌnɪnˈʃʊəd; ˌʌnɪnˈʃɔːd]  美 [ˌʌnɪnˈʃʊrd] 
adj. 未保过险的

Artistic designs laid in tea foam
中国古代的'点茶'技艺

It's common to see a barista create coffee art, but it's a whole different ballgame doing the same thing with tea. Different from the method of brewing tea during the Tang period, in the Song Dynasty the prevalent tea preparation was through dian cha. The process begins with hot water being poured over fine powdered tea creating a paste, with more hot water slowly added as the tea is constantly whisked by hand with a bamboo stick. It usually requires whisking the mixture between 180 and 200 times before water and tea are fully blended and froth appears. Then one can make artistic designs in the froth with the tea paste.
如今，咖啡拉花已经很常见，不过在茶汤上作画就鲜为人知了。与唐代的泡茶方法不同，宋代盛行的喝茶方式是点茶。首先将热水倒在细密的茶粉上，调成糊状，然后慢慢加入更多热水，用茶筅不断击打。一盏茶大约要击打180-200下，水与茶才会完全融合并出现泡沫。然后，人们便可以用调好的茶膏，自由地在泡沫上作画。

重点词汇
1、brew
英 [bruː]  美 [bruː] 
v. 沏（茶），冲（咖啡）；酿（啤酒）；酝酿，即将来临
n. 啤酒；茶，咖啡；交融，混合