8月31日午间英语新闻：中国空间站问天舱实验进展顺利 植物生长状态良好

Plant growth in China's space lab in good condition
中国空间站问天舱实验进展顺利 植物生长状态良好

The seeds of two plants in China's Wentian lab module have germinated and are now in good condition, according to a briefing Monday on the progress of plant culture experiments in the country's space station. Seed samples of the two plants, Arabidopsis and rice, were installed in the life ecology experiment cabinet of the lab module, which went into space in July. The space growth experiments were launched on July 29 with ground instructions. 
8月29日，据中国空间站植物培养实验进展简报称，中国“问天”实验舱两株植物的种子已经发芽，目前状态良好。今年7月，载有实验样品拟南芥种子和水稻种子的实验单元，由航天员安装至问天实验舱的生命生态通用实验模块中，于7月29日通过地面程序注入指令启动实验。

The Arabidopsis seedlings have grown several leaves, and the rice seedlings have grown to a height of about 30 centimeters. Later, their life cycle experiments will be conducted to obtain space seeds. Plant growth in space faces problems such as delayed flowering time, low seed setting rate, and decreased seed quality, and only a few crops like rape, wheat, and peas have completed experiments in space to obtain seeds. 
目前，拟南芥幼苗已长出多片叶子，高秆水稻幼苗已长至30厘米左右。后续还将完成拟南芥和水稻在空间“从种子到种子”全生命周期的实验，以获得太空种子。在空间条件下，植物开花时间延迟、开花数目少、种子结实率低和种子质量下降等问题，目前只有油菜、小麦和豌豆少数几种作物在空间完成了从种子到种子的实验。

重点词汇
1、germinate
英/ ˈdʒɜːmɪneɪt /
美/ ˈdʒɜːrmɪneɪt /
vt. 使发芽；使生长
vi. 发芽；生长

2、arabidopsis
英/ ærəbɪˈdəʊpsɪs /
美/ ærəbɪˈdopsɪs /
拟南芥；阿布属

Marijuana use hits record high in new Gallup poll
民调：美国吸食大麻人数首次超吸烟者

Marijuana use reached a record high in new polling, as for the first time, more Americans said they smoked marijuana than cigarettes in the last week. Sixteen percent of Americans in a new Gallup poll reported smoking marijuana, up from 12 percent last year, and more than double the all-time low of 7 percent. Fewer Americans, at 11 percent, reported smoking cigarettes in the past week, down from 16 percent last year and a big drop from a peak at 45 percent in the 1950s. 
一项最新民调显示，上周美国吸食大麻的人数创下了历史新高，首次超过了吸烟人数。盖洛普民调显示，16%的受访者承认吸食大麻，高于2021年的12%，比7%的历史低点高出一倍多。上周，承认吸烟的受访者为11%，低于2021年的16%，远低于上世纪50年代45%的峰值。

It's the highest percentage of reported marijuana use and the lowest percentage of past-week cigarette use since Gallup started asking those questions in 2013 and 1944, respectively. Nearly half of US adults now report having tried marijuana, up from 4 percent when Gallup first surveyed about its use in 1969.
自盖洛普分别于2013年和1944年开始进行这两项调查以来，上周受访者大麻吸食率是最高的，吸烟率是最低的。如今，近一半美国成年人承认曾尝试过大麻，而盖洛普1969年首次调查大麻使用情况时，这一比例仅为4%。

重点词汇
1、marijuana
英/ ˌmærəˈwɑːnə /
美/ ˌmærəˈwɑːnə /
n. 大麻

China unveils plan to boost green development of electrical equipment
五部门：通过5-8年时间 电力装备供给结构显著改善

Within five to eight years, a marked improvement will be made in the demand and supply structure of China's electrical equipment, and the efficiency of its power grid will be significantly enhanced, according to a plan released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and four other government bodies on Monday. 
8月29日，工信部等四个部门发布了《加快电力装备绿色低碳创新发展行动计划》，通过5-8年时间，电力装备供给结构显著改善，保障电网输配效率明显提升。

The installed capacity of renewable energy will continue to improve, according to the plan, which also specifies that wind and solar power equipment will meet the installed demand of over 1.2 billion kilowatts, and nuclear power equipment will reach the installed demand of 70 million kilowatts. Meanwhile, efforts will be made to boost the green transition of power generation equipment, promote breakthroughs in core technologies, and accelerate the smart transition of electrical equipment by deepening integration with new information technologies.
《行动计划》指出，可再生能源发电装备供给能力不断提高，风电和太阳能发电装备满足12亿千瓦以上装机需求，核电装备满足7000万千瓦装机需求。同时，要通过深化与新信息技术的融合，推动发电设备绿色转型，推动核心技术突破，加快电力设备智能转型。

EU to unveil emergency measures to curb soaring energy prices
欧盟拟出台紧急措施限制电价

The EU was preparing emergency measures to curb soaring electricity prices, the European Commission president said on Monday, as the cost of energy broke new records across the continent. 
欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩29日表示，欧盟正准备出台紧急措施来遏制电价飙升。目前能源成本在整个欧洲大陆屡屡创下新纪录。

While EU officials work to alleviate the pressure on households and businesses this autumn, Ursula von der Leyen said skyrocketing electricity prices were “exposing the limitations of our current electricity market design”. In a speech in Slovenia, von der Leyen said the commission was working on “emergency intervention” as well as structural reforms to the electricity market.
在欧盟官员们致力于减轻家庭和企业今年秋季承受的压力之际，冯德莱恩表示，飞涨的电价“暴露了我们当前电力市场设计的局限性”。冯德莱恩在斯洛文尼亚发表演讲时说，欧盟委员会正在策划“紧急干预”以及电力市场的结构性改革。

重点词汇
1、skyrocket
英/ ˈskaɪrɒkɪt /
美/ ˈskaɪrɑːkɪt /
n. 流星烟火；冲天火箭
v. （价格）飞涨，猛涨；（使）……猛然上涨