5月18日午间英语新闻：大阪爱猫市长点燃2025世博会允许宠物入场的论战

> Consumption boom continues over Mothers Day weekend

母亲节点燃短途出游热 电商平台销量大涨

The domestic travel market embraced another peak during the weekend, as many consumers took short trips to celebrate Mothers Day, carrying forward the May Day holiday momentum.

国内旅游市场在上周末又迎来了一个高峰，许多消费者选择短途游来庆祝周日的母亲节，延续了“五一”假期的消费热潮。

Consumers, many of them young mothers born in the 1980s and 1990s, traveled locally or to nearby regions to celebrate the occasion. Over the weekend, women accounted for nearly 60 percent of consumers who traveled, according to Tuniu, an online travel agency based in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

上周末出游的许多消费者都是上世纪80年代和90年代出生的年轻妈妈，她们选择本地游、周边游的方式来庆祝母亲节。本部在江苏南京的在线旅游服务平台途牛网称，上周末出游的消费者中，女性占了近60%。

"Young mothers made road trips to theme parks, zoos, botanical gardens and beaches along with their children. Beijing WTown, Universal Beijing Resort and Shanghai Disneyland were among popular choices for local consumers," said Qi Chunguang, vice-president of Tuniu.

途牛副总裁齐春光表示，年轻妈妈带着孩子去主题公园、动物园、植物园和海滩自驾游，北京的古北水镇、环球度假区和上海迪士尼乐园也是当地消费者的热门选择。

 With the gradual resumption of more international flights and a drop in ticket prices to many overseas destinations, some middle-aged and elderly consumers also opted to travel abroad. Over the weekend, the Maldives, Thailand, New Zealand, Indonesia and Singapore were among preferred outbound destinations for Chinese mainland travelers, according to Tuniu.

随着国际航班的逐步复苏和许多海外旅游地机票价格的下降，一些中老年消费者也在这段时间选择出国游。途牛数据显示，上周末马尔代夫、泰国、新西兰、印尼和新加坡成为最受中国大陆游客欢迎的出境目的地。

Meanwhile, the online retail market benefited as people bought gifts — including flowers, clothes and cosmetics, home appliances and gold jewelry — for their mothers on multiple e-commerce platforms. Flowers such as carnations and Chinese peonies were in high demand, according to data from online retailer Vipshop.

与此同时，线上零售市场也因母亲节而受益，人们在多个电商平台为母亲购买礼物，从鲜花、衣服、化妆品到家电和金饰。在线零售平台唯品会的数据显示，康乃馨、牡丹等鲜花的需求量很大。

Chen Lin, who works with an internet company in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, bought a set of portable, outdoor table and chairs online for her mother, hoping her family can go camping more often.

供职于浙江杭州的一家网络公司的陈琳（音译）女士为她的母亲网购了一套便携户外桌椅，希望她的家庭可以更多地外出野营。

On e-commerce platform JD, cosmetics, home appliances and jewelry were the top three gift categories. Between April 1 and Mothers Day, spending on household appliances on the platform soared 128 percent year-on-year.

在电商平台京东上，化妆品、家电和珠宝是销量最高的母亲节礼物。4月1日至母亲节期间，京东平台上家用电器的消费金额同比上涨128%。

Transaction values of window-cleaning robots, wall-mounted washing machines and intelligent dryers all rose by more than 100 percent year-on-year, JD said. 

京东发现，擦窗机器人、壁挂式洗衣机和智能烘干机的交易额同比均上涨超100%。

According to Vipshop, health product sales recorded a nearly tenfold surge year-on-year during the two weeks leading to Mothers Day, as consumers paid more attention to staying healthy in post-pandemic times.

唯品会的数据显示，母亲节前两周，保健品的销量同比上涨近十倍，因为疫情过后消费者更关注保健了。

For instance, Yao Hong bought a bottle of imported probiotic drink in addition to flowers and a sweater for his mother.

举例来说，公司职员姚鸿（音译）除了送给母亲鲜花和针织衫外，还为母亲购买了一瓶进口益生菌饮料。

Fu Yifu, a senior research fellow at the Star Atlas Institute of Finance, said: "Holiday consumption can help drive economic recovery and growth. The government and retailers may create more consumption scenarios, upgrade consumption experiences and further spur consumer willingness to spend."

星图金融研究院的高级研究员付一夫表示，节假日消费有助于促进经济复苏和增长。政府和零售商可以创造更多消费场景、升级消费体验，进一步刺激消费者的消费欲望。

Developing the night economy to extend the time for spending, and launching themed shopping festivals integrated with local cultural elements can be helpful, Fu added.

付一夫还指出，发展夜间经济来延长消费时间，推出与当地文化元素相结合的主题购物节也有助于刺激消费。

重点词汇：

1、momentum
英/ məˈmentəm /
美/ moʊˈmentəm /
n.冲力，推力；动力，势头；动量，冲量

2、botanical
英/ bəˈtænɪk(ə)l /
美/ bəˈtænɪk(ə)l /
adj.植物（学）的
n.植物制剂

3、outbound
英/ ˈaʊtbaʊnd /
美/ ˈaʊtbaʊnd /
adj.出站；驶向外国的，向外去的

4、peony
英/ ˈpiːəni /
美/ ˈpiːəni /
n.牡丹，芍药

5、soar
英/ sɔː(r) /
美/ sɔːr /
v.（数量、价值、水平、规模等）急升，猛涨；高飞，翱翔；升空，升腾；（精神或希望）高涨；(树木、建筑等）高耸，屹立；升至（很高的高度），高达；（音乐）升高，增强
n.高飞；高涨

6、probiotic
英/ ˌprəʊbaɪˈɒtɪk /
美/ ˌproʊbaɪˈɑːtɪk /
adj.（物质）刺激微生物生长的，益菌的
n.（导入体内的）益生微生物，益生菌；含益生菌的食品（保健品）；益生菌保健法

> Cat-loving Osaka mayor ignites fight on allowing pets at 2025 expo

大阪爱猫市长点燃2025世博会允许宠物入场的论战

Feline-friendly Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui hopes to make the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo the first to allow pets, but a number of hurdles stand in the way.

日本大阪市的爱猫市长松井一郎希望把2025年大阪·关西世界博览会打造成第一个允许宠物入场的世博会，然此构想面临重重阻碍。

The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, the expo’s organizer, is making adjustments to allow people to enjoy the expo, whose theme is “inochi” (life), with their pets.

“2025年日本世界博览会协会”的主办单位正在进行调整，好让民众能与其宠物一起享受这场以生命为主题的世博会。

However, challenges are piling up, such as how to take care of people with fur allergies, how to handle the pets’ waste, and how to secure the extra funding needed.

然而，挑战层出不穷，像是如何照顾对动物毛过敏的人、如何处理宠物的排泄物，以及如何确保取得所需的额外资金。

Allowing pets at the venue would require an estimated 900 million yen in additional expenses to cover costs for personnel, places for the animals and cleanup work.

允许宠物入场估计需要9亿日圆的额外费用，以支付人员、动物安置场所以及清理工作的费用。

重点词汇：

1、ignite
英/ ɪɡˈnaɪt /
美/ ɪɡˈnaɪt /
v.点燃，燃烧；引发，激起

2、hurdle
英/ ˈhɜːd(ə)l /
美/ ˈhɜːrd(ə)l /
n.障碍，难关；（供人或马在赛跑中跨越的）栏架，跨栏；跨栏赛跑，障碍赛跑；（把背叛者送往刑场的）囚笼
v.（奔跑中）跳越（某物）；参加跨栏赛跑；克服（障碍或困难），渡过难关；用临时围栏隔开（或围住）

3、piling u
美/ ˈpaɪlɪŋ ʌp /
堆起