7月25日午间英语新闻：日本发明专为打工人设计的"睡眠盒"

Chinese rail design standards win intl approval
国际铁路联盟发布中国制定的高铁标准

Two international standards for high-speed railway infrastructure design and power supply, which were mainly drafted and developed by China, have been published by the International Union of Railways, demonstrating the nation's contribution to promoting the internationalization of high-speed railway standards.  Led by experts from China, more than 20 professionals from a dozen countries, including France, Germany, Japan and Spain, spent four years drafting the two latest standards. 
日前，国际铁路联盟发布实施由我国主持制定的《高速铁路设计 基础设施》标准和《高速铁路设计 供电》标准，体现了中国对推动高铁标准国际化的贡献。此次发布的两项标准由中国组织专家主持，法国、德国、日本、西班牙等十余个国家的20余名专家参与，历时4年编制而成。

By the end of last year, China's high-speed railway network stood at more than 40,000 kilometers, accounting for over two-thirds of the world's total high-speed rail. China's high-speed railway system spans different geographic conditions, including icy weather, frozen soil, mountainous areas and humid coastal areas, providing abundant experience in building high-speed rail.
截至2021年底，中国高铁营运里程突破4万公里，占全球高铁总里程的三分之二以上。中国高铁系统跨越了不同地理条件，包括冰冻天气、冻土、山区和潮湿的沿海地区，为高铁建设提供了丰富经验。

重点词汇
1、mountainous
英/ ˈmaʊntənəs /
美/ ˈmaʊntənəs /
adj. 多山的；巨大的，山一般的；波涛汹涌的，万丈波涛的

China's grain production expected to remain stable in 2022
农业农村部：2022年中国粮食产量有望保持稳定

China is expected to see stable grain production this year, despite challenges including rare autumn floods last year, sporadic resurgences of COVID-19 cases and drastic fluctuations in the global farm produce market, said Liu Lihua, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. 
农业农村部种植业管理司负责人刘莉华近日表示 ，尽管今年粮食生产遭遇了去年罕见的秋汛、新冠肺炎疫情多点散发、国际农产品市场大幅波动等挑战，但预计今年粮食产量将保持稳定。

The country saw its summer grain output increase by nearly 1.44 billion kg this year and has harvested over 60 percent of its early rice. China is expected to secure a bumper autumn harvest, Liu said, adding that the planting area has seen steady expansion this year and the growth process of autumn grain crops is normal. 
今年夏粮增产14.35亿公斤，早稻收获过六成。刘莉华表示，中国有望获得一个大丰收，今年种植面积稳步扩大，秋粮作物生长过程正常。

重点词汇
1、drastic
英/ ˈdræstɪk /  美/ ˈdræstɪk /
adj. 极端的，激烈的

2、fluctuation
英/ ˌflʌktʃuˈeɪʃn /
美/ ˌflʌktʃuˈeɪʃn /
n. 波动，起伏

Chinese scientists make important oat discovery 
我国科学家破译裸燕麦基因密码 

Chinese scientists have inferred the origin of hexaploid oat from whole-genome sequencing, chloroplast genomes and transcriptome assemblies of different Avena species. The research, jointly conducted by a team including scientists from Baicheng Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Jilin province and Sichuan Agricultural University in Sichuan province, was recently published in the international journal Nature Genetics. 
中国科学家从不同燕麦品种的全基因组测序全基因组重测序、叶绿体基因组和转录组测序组合中推断出了六倍体燕麦的起源。这项研究由吉林省白城市农业科学院和四川农业大学的科学家组成的一个科学团队共同进行，于近期发表在国际期刊《自然·遗传学》上。

"Oat is an important cereal crop serving as a valuable source of forage and human food," said Ren Changzhong, director of Baicheng Academy and head of the team. "These findings and the high-quality reference genomes will facilitate the full use of crop genetic resources to accelerate oat improvement and molecular design breeding of cultivated oat." 
"燕麦是一种重要的谷类作物，是宝贵的饲料和人类食物来源，"白城市农业科学院院长兼该团队负责人任长忠说。"这些发现和高质量的参考基因组将促进作物遗传资源的充分利用，加速燕麦的改良和分子设计育种。"

重点词汇
1、genome
英/ ˈdʒiːnəʊm /  美/ ˈdʒiːnoʊm /
n. 基因组，染色体组

2、molecular
英/ məˈlekjələ(r) /  美/ məˈlekjələr /
adj. 分子的，与分子有关的

Japanese company designs upright ‘nap box’
日本发明专为打工人设计的"睡眠盒"

To help solve the issue of long office hours and overwork, two Japanese companies are working together to develop a “nap box” where users can sleep standing upright. The nap box will have users sleep standing upright and will ensure comfort in the head, knees, and rear to support the user from falling over. The communications director of Itoki, Kawashima Saeko, aims to provide a healthier option for employees who wish to take short naps during the workday. 
为了解决长时间工作和加班的问题，两家日本公司正在合作开发一种可以让用户直立睡觉的“睡眠盒子”。使用者可以在“睡眠盒子”里直立睡觉，箱子将确保使用者的头部、膝盖和背部处于舒适位置，后部支撑防止使用者摔倒。伊藤喜通信主管川岛秀子希望这款产品能为希望在工作日小憩一下的员工提供一个更健康的选择。