英语每日一听 | 每天少于5分钟 – Détails, épisodes et analyse

During his more than 60-year acting career, James Earl Jones’ voice became a star of its own. Jones died this week at the age of 93. 

在 60 多年的演艺生涯中，詹姆斯·厄尔·琼斯的声音成为了一颗明星。 琼斯本周去世，享年 93 岁。 

One of Jones' career decisions continues to be an issue of debate: his permission to let artificial intelligence (AI) reproduce his performances as Darth Vader for new projects. 

琼斯的职业决定之一仍然是一个有争议的问题：他允许人工智能 (AI) 在新项目中重现他作为达斯维德的表演。 

Skywalker Sound and Ukrainian software company Respeecher used AI to recreate Jones' Darth Vader for the 2022 show Obi-Wan Kenobi. The show appears on the streaming service Disney+. 

Skywalker Sound 和乌克兰软件公司 Respeecher 使用人工智能为 2022 年的《欧比旺·克诺比》节目重现了琼斯饰演的达斯·维达。 该节目出现在流媒体服务 Disney+ 上。 

The voice of actor Mark Hamill was also “de-aged” using Respeecher. Hamill played Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars movie. His AI-manufactured voice was used in the series’ television show The Mandalorian. Disney+ launched the show in 2019. 

演员马克·哈米尔的声音也使用 Respeecher 进行了“减龄”。 哈米尔在第一部星球大战电影中扮演卢克·天行者。 该系列电视节目《曼达洛人》中使用了他的人工智能声音。 Disney+ 于 2019 年推出该剧。 

Voice actors say they fear AI could reduce the number of jobs because the technology can reproduce one performance into many. The concern led American unionized video game performers to go on strike in July. 

配音演员表示，他们担心人工智能可能会减少工作岗位，因为该技术可以将一种表演复制成多种表演。 这种担忧导致美国电子游戏表演者工会于七月举行罢工。 

For some observers, Jones' decision to permit AI to reproduce his voice raises questions about voice acting as an art. But the decision also could help develop AI agreements that fairly pay actors for AI-based performances. 

对于一些观察家来说，琼斯允许人工智能复制他的声音的决定引发了人们对配音作为一门艺术的质疑。 但这一决定也可能有助于制定人工智能协议，为演员基于人工智能的表演公平支付报酬。 

Zeke Alton is a voice actor and member of SAG-AFTRA’s interactive media agreement negotiating committee. He said it is “amazing” that Jones was involved in the process of reproducing his voice. 

Zeke Alton 是一名配音演员，也是 SAG-AFTRA 互动媒体协议谈判委员会的成员。 他说琼斯参与了复制他的声音的过程，这“令人惊讶”。 

“If the game companies, the movie companies, gave the consent, compensation transparency to every actor that they gave James Earl Jones, we wouldn’t be on strike,” Alton said. “It proves that they can do it. They just don’t want to for people that they feel don’t have the leverage to bargain for themselves.” 

奥尔顿说：“如果游戏公司、电影公司像詹姆斯·厄尔·琼斯那样向每位演员提供同意和薪酬透明度，我们就不会罢工。” “这证明他们可以做到。 他们只是不想为那些他们认为没有能力为自己讨价还价的人提供帮助。”

Hollywood’s video game performers called for a strike after more than 18 months of negotiations over a new interactive media agreement with industry leaders. The negotiators could not reach an agreement on artificial intelligence protections. 

好莱坞视频游戏表演者在与行业领袖就新的互动媒体协议进行了 18 个多月的谈判后呼吁罢工。 谈判代表未能就人工智能保护达成协议。

Members of the union have said they are not opposed to AI. They say they are worried, however, that technology could replace them. 

工会成员表示，他们并不反对人工智能。 然而，他们表示担心技术可能会取代他们。

Concerns over such use of AI were among the reasons that film and television workers went on strike last year. The work stoppages went on for four months. 

对人工智能的这种使用的担忧是去年影视工作者罢工的原因之一。 停工持续了四个月。 

Neither Skywalker Sound nor Respeecher answered a request for comment from Associated Press reporters. But a sound editor with Skywalker Sound spoke to Vanity Fair magazine about the issue. The worker reported that Jones approved the use of old recordings to keep Darth Vader alive. The worker added that Jones guided the new performances. 

Skywalker Sound 和 Respeecher 都没有回应美联社记者的置评请求。 但天行者声音的一位声音编辑向《名利场》杂志谈到了这个问题。 该工人报告说，琼斯批准使用旧录音来维持达斯·维德的生命。 该工作人员补充说，琼斯指导了新的表演。 

Jones' contract could set an example of properly bargaining with an actor over their likeness, said Sarah Elmaleh. She is chair of SAG-AFTRA's interactive negotiating committee. Elmaleh, a voice actor, said there is a chance for these tools to be used in “meaningful, smart artistic decisions.”

莎拉·埃尔马莱说，琼斯的合同可以树立一个与演员就肖像问题进行适当讨价还价的典范。 她是 SAG-AFTRA 互动谈判委员会的主席。 配音演员埃尔马莱表示，这些工具有机会用于“有意义、明智的艺术决策”。 

A sunken Greek village has begun to reappear after water levels dropped in the lake that covered it. Extreme hot, dry weather is blamed for the disappearing Lake Mornos. 

一座沉没的希腊村庄在湖水水位下降后开始重新出现。莫诺斯湖的消失被归咎于极端炎热、干燥的天气。 

The village of Kallio was flooded in 1980 to create the lake. The plan aimed to help supply the ever-increasing water demands of the national capital about 200 kilometers away. Now, long stretches of dried soil mixed with old bricks surround the ruins of the Kallio. 

1980 年，卡里奥村被洪水淹没，形成了这个湖。该计划旨在帮助满足约 200 公里外的国家首都不断增长的用水需求。现在，长长的干土与旧砖混在一起，环绕着卡利奥遗址。 

"Day by day, the water goes down," said Dimitris Giannopoulos, mayor of central Greece’s Dorida area. Reuters news agency reports Lake Mornos supplies water to nearly half of Greece’s population. 

“水位一天天下降，”希腊中部多里达地区市长迪米特里斯·贾诺普洛斯 (Dimitris Giannopoulos) 说。路透社报道称，莫诺斯湖为希腊近一半人口供水。 

Last winter brought little snow to Greece. This summer brought heatwaves but little rain to the country. Last winter was Greece’s warmest on record. 

去年冬天希腊降雪很少。今年夏天，该国出现了热浪，但降雨很少。去年冬天是希腊有记录以来最温暖的冬天。 

Greece's dry climate makes it especially susceptible to the effects of a warming planet. The conditions worsened summer wildfires including some that reached outer areas of Athens last month. Scientists say extreme weather is now driving the dropping lake level. 

希腊干燥的气候使其特别容易受到地球变暖的影响。这种情况加剧了夏季野火，包括上个月蔓延到雅典外围地区的一些野火。科学家表示，极端天气正在导致湖水位下降。 

"It is an alarm bell," said Efthymis Lekkas, a professor of disaster management at the University of Athens. "We don't know what will happen in the coming period. If we have a rainless winter, things will get difficult." 

“这是一个警钟，”雅典大学灾害管理教授埃夫西米斯·莱卡斯 (Efthymis Lekkas) 说。“我们不知道接下来会发生什么。如果冬天没有下雨，事情就会变得困难。” 

Giannopoulos noted that the Mount Giona mountain that rises up from the lake used to be snow-covered. But it saw none last winter. Around the lake, some trees have taken on a yellowish color. "They lack water. This has never happened before," Giannopoulos said. 

詹诺普洛斯指出，从湖中升起的吉奥纳山曾经被白雪覆盖。但去年冬天它什么也没看到。湖边的一些树木已经呈现出淡黄色。“他们缺水。这以前从未发生过，”詹诺普洛斯说。 

Wells in the area are now drying up, he added. And surrounding villages – which do not take water from the lake – suffered water cuts this summer. A local firefighter chief said the risk of wildfires increases as the forests become drier. 

他补充说，该地区的水井现已干涸。周围的村庄不从湖中取水，今年夏天遭受了断水。当地消防队长表示，随着森林变得干燥，发生野火的风险也会增加。 

Satellite images suggest the lake's surface area shrank from around 16.8 square kilometers in August 2022 to just 12 this year. 

卫星图像显示，该湖的表面积从 2022 年 8 月的约 16.8 平方公里缩小到今年的仅 12 平方公里。 

In addition, water supplies at three other water bodies dropped to 700 million cubic meters in August. This water supplies Attica, an area of around 4 million people that includes Athens. That was down from 1.2 billion cubic meters in 2022, the country’s environment ministry said. 

此外，其他三个水体8月份供水量下降至7亿立方米。这些水供应阿提卡，该地区人口约 400 万，其中包括雅典。中国环境部表示，这一数字低于 2022 年的 12 亿立方米。 

The Greek government says the state-run Athens water company had begun supplying those areas with additional sources of water. Former residents of Kallio were surprised to see the village again. But some said they were saddened by its current state. 

希腊政府表示，国营雅典自来水公司已开始向这些地区提供额外的水源。卡利奥的前居民对再次看到这个村庄感到惊讶。但一些人表示，他们对目前的状况感到悲伤。 

"I used to see it full and say it was a beach. Now all you see is dryness," said 90-year-old Konstantinos Gerodimos. 

90 岁的康斯坦丁诺斯·杰罗迪莫斯 (Konstantinos Gerodimos) 说：“以前我看到它满是海滩，但现在你看到的只是干燥。” 

His 77-year-old wife Maria added: "If it continues like this, the entire village will appear, all the way to the bottom, where the church and our home was." 

他77岁的妻子玛丽亚补充道：“如果再这样下去，整个村庄都会出现，一直到最底层，也就是教堂和我们家所在的地方。” 

Many people are now holding onto their smartphones longer than in the past. This is true for several reasons. The cost of phones has been rising for years. And device updates are no longer as meaningful as before. 

现在，许多人使用智能手机的时间比过去更长。 这是事实，有几个原因。 多年来，手机的成本一直在上涨。 而且设备更新不再像以前那么有意义。 

This has made it even more important for smartphone users to take good care of their devices. But how long can a smartphone user expect their device to last? Many experts say if they are cared for effectively, phones can last up to five years, possibly even longer. 

这使得智能手机用户妥善保管自己的设备变得更加重要。 但智能手机用户期望他们的设备能持续多久？ 许多专家表示，如果得到有效保养，手机可以使用长达五年，甚至可能更长。 

Chris Hauk is a technology expert with the website Pixel Privacy. He told The Associated Press (AP), “As long as you take care of your phone and keep it updated, you’re going to get at least four or five good years of use out of it." 

Chris Hauk 是 Pixel Privacy 网站的技术专家。 他告诉美联社（AP），“只要你爱护你的手机并保持更新，你的手机至少可以使用四五年。” 

The AP offers these additional tips for smartphone users looking to keep their devices for as long as possible. 

美联社为希望尽可能长时间保留设备的智能手机用户提供了这些额外的提示。

One of the most important elements affecting smartphone life is the battery. 

影响智能手机寿命的最重要因素之一是电池。 

iPhone maker Apple says a rechargeable battery’s age has little to do with when it was manufactured. Instead, it depends on a complex mix of things, including temperature and charging history. “As lithium-ion batteries chemically age, the amount of charge they can hold diminishes, resulting in reduced battery life and reduced peak performance,” Apple says. 

iPhone 制造商苹果公司表示，充电电池的寿命与其制造时间无关。 相反，它取决于复杂的因素，包括温度和充电历史。 苹果表示：“随着锂离子电池的化学老化，它们所能容纳的电量会减少，从而导致电池寿命缩短和峰值性能下降。” 

Samsung, which uses the Android operating system in its smartphones, says its lithium-ion batteries perform best when kept above a 50 percent charge. The company advises against running the battery completely down 

三星在其智能手机中使用Android操作系统，该公司表示，其锂离子电池在电量保持在50%以上时性能最佳。 该公司建议不要将电池完全耗尽 

In an online guide, Samsung also said that repeatedly letting the battery go to zero percent may shorten its life and decrease overall performance. “If this happens, you’ll need to charge the battery more frequently and it may last only a few hours before needing a charge.” 

三星在在线指南中还表示，反复让电池电量为零可能会缩短其寿命并降低整体性能。 “如果发生这种情况，你需要更频繁地给电池充电，而且电池可能只能维持几个小时就需要充电了。”

Apple says its batteries already warm up as they charge, so phones should not be charged in very hot temperatures. Charging an iPhone in heat above 35 degrees Celsius, for example, “can permanently reduce battery lifespan.” 

苹果表示，其电池在充电时已经变热，因此手机不应在非常热的温度下充电。 例如，在 35 摄氏度以上的高温下给 iPhone 充电“会永久缩短电池寿命”。 

Samsung also says extreme heat or cold can damage batteries. It warns users not to leave their phones inside vehicles or other contained spaces in very hot or cold weather. 

三星还表示，极热或极冷可能会损坏电池。 它警告用户在非常炎热或寒冷的天气里不要将手机留在车辆或其他封闭空间内。 

Hafsa Omer wears the red, white, and green flag of Somaliland while playing basketball.
哈芙萨·奥马在打篮球时穿着索马里兰的红白绿三色旗。

The 21-year-old is the captain of the team. Her dream is to one day play for her nation. But there is a problem: Somaliland is not a recognized country.
这位21岁的女孩是球队的队长。她的梦想是有一天能为她的国家效力。但有一个问题：索马里兰并不是一个被承认的国家。

The breakaway territory in the Horn of Africa has struggled to gain international recognition from any foreign government. The territory has been governing itself and enjoying comparative peace and stability since declaring independence in 1991.
位于非洲之角的这个分离地区一直在努力获得任何外国政府的国际承认。自1991年宣布独立以来，这个地区一直在自我治理，并享有相对的和平与稳定。

Omer and her two sisters play for Hargeisa Girls Basketball. It is the first all-girls team in the territory. She and her sisters aim to put Somaliland on the map. They plan on doing so by using their more than 10,000 followers on social media.
奥马和她的两个姐妹为哈尔格萨女子篮球队效力。这是该地区的第一支全女子球队。她和她的姐妹们的目标是让索马里兰出现在地图上。她们计划通过利用她们在社交媒体上超过一万的粉丝来实现这一目标。

She said, “Somaliland is looking for their recognition and we believe that we could be part of bringing the recognition...”
她说：“索马里兰正在寻求认可，我们相信我们可以成为带来认可的一部分……”

She said they could do that “by wearing the flags, by talking about our country, by promoting it through the short video TikToks or Instagram pictures,” she said. TikTok and Instagram are two popular social media sites.
她说，她们可以通过“穿着国旗、谈论我们的国家、通过抖音短视频或Instagram图片来推广它”来做到这一点。抖音和Instagram是两个流行的社交媒体平台。

Somaliland’s sovereignty came into question in January. That was when local officials said they would give landlocked neighboring country Ethiopia access to the Red Sea.
索马里兰的主权在一月份受到质疑。当地官员当时表示，他们将允许内陆邻国埃塞俄比亚通往红海。

The territory said it would do that in return for recognition as an independent country. That caused diplomatic conflict with Somalia’s federal government.
该地区表示，他们这样做是为了换取对其作为独立国家的承认。这引起了与索马里联邦政府的外交冲突。

Somalia considers Somaliland part of its territory. It rejected the deal permitting Ethiopia to lease 20 kilometers around the port of Berbera. It would have given Ethiopia access to the Red Sea for 50 years for its navy and large shipping boats.
索马里认为索马里兰是其领土的一部分。它拒绝了允许埃塞俄比亚租赁贝尔贝拉港周围20公里的协议。该协议本可以让埃塞俄比亚在50年内通过该港口进入红海，用于其海军和大型货船。

Somaliland officials say they have a strong case to become Africa’s 55th nation.
索马里兰官员表示，他们有充分的理由成为非洲的第55个国家。

Once under British control, the territory now has its own police force, coast guard, passports, and money. It also has a government and a working democratic political system.
曾经在英国统治下的这个地区现在有自己的警察部队、海岸警卫队、护照和货币。它还有一个政府和一个运作良好的民主政治系统。

That record is very different than the situation in Somalia. In Somalia, government forces have been fighting the militant group al Shabaab. The group has links to the terrorist group al Qaeda.
这种记录与索马里的情况截然不同。在索马里，政府军一直在与激进组织青年党作战。该组织与恐怖组织基地组织有联系。

Omer sees her support of Somaliland’s independence as part of her father and uncles’ armed struggle in the 1980s against the dictator Siad Barre.
奥马将她对索马里兰独立的支持视为她父亲和叔叔们在1980年代反对独裁者西亚德·巴雷的武装斗争的一部分。

"My dad talks about it every day, what he and his friends had been through, while he watched his cousins dying in front of him," she said.
“我爸爸每天都在谈论这件事，他和他的朋友们经历了什么，同时他看着他的堂兄弟们在他面前死去，”她说。

While the territory of around 3.5 million people may not gain international recognition soon, Omer has made progress in supporting women’s rights in the conservative territory.
尽管这个约350万人口的地区可能不会很快获得国际承认，但奥马在支持这个保守地区的女性权利方面已经取得了进展。

Since she founded Hargeisa Girls Basketball in 2018, other female teams have come together for an all-girls league.
自从她在2018年创办了哈尔格萨女子篮球队以来，其他女子球队也组成了一个全女子联赛。

For her sister Fatima Omer, basketball serves both goals.
对她的妹妹法蒂玛·奥马来说，篮球实现了两个目标。

She said, “We just want the world to see us.”
她说：“我们只想让世界看到我们。”

The East African country of Uganda has begun a nationwide yellow fever vaccination campaign.

东非国家乌干达已开始全国范围的黄热病疫苗接种活动。

The aim is for the country to protect its population against the viral disease. Yellow fever is spread by insects called mosquitoes.

该国的目标是保护其人口免受这种病毒性疾病的侵害。黄热病通过一种叫蚊子的昆虫传播。

Dr. Michael Baganizi is an official in charge of immunization at the health ministry. By the end of April, Ugandan officials had vaccinated 12.2 of the 14 million people targeted, he said.

Michael Baganizi博士是卫生部负责免疫接种的官员。他说，截至四月底，乌干达官员已为1400万人中的1220万人接种了疫苗。

Baganizi added that Uganda will now require everyone traveling to and from the country to have a yellow fever vaccination card.

Baganizi补充说，乌干达现在要求所有往返该国的人员持有黄热病疫苗接种卡。

Ugandan officials hope the requirement will push more people to get the yellow fever shot. Many people in Uganda have concerns about getting the vaccine. That worries health care providers.

乌干达官员希望这一要求能推动更多人接种黄热病疫苗。乌干达的许多人对接种疫苗存在担忧，这让医疗保健提供者感到担忧。

The vaccine involves one injection. It is available at no cost to Ugandans between the ages of one and 60. There are vaccination centers in the capital, Kampala. Places offering the vaccine include schools, universities, hospitals, and local government buildings.

这种疫苗只需注射一次。对年龄在1到60岁之间的乌干达人免费提供。首都坎帕拉设有疫苗接种中心。提供疫苗的地方包括学校、大学、医院和地方政府大楼。

The Associated Press (AP) reports that, before the current campaign, Ugandans usually paid $27 to get the yellow fever vaccination at private health centers.

美联社（AP）报道说，在目前的活动之前，乌干达人通常在私人医疗中心接种黄热病疫苗需支付27美元。

Uganda has more than 45 million people. It is one of 27 countries in Africa that is considered at “high risk” for yellow fever outbreaks. The World Health Organization (WHO) says there are about 200,000 cases and 30,000 deaths around the world from the disease.

乌干达人口超过4500万。乌干达是非洲27个被认为黄热病爆发“高风险”的国家之一。世界卫生组织（WHO）表示，全球每年约有20万例黄热病病例和3万例死亡。

Uganda’s most recent outbreak was reported earlier this year in the central areas of Buikwe and Buvuma.

乌干达最近一次的黄热病爆发是在今年早些时候在Buikwe和Buvuma中部地区报告的。

Yellow fever is caused by a virus spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes. Most infections do not have symptoms. The WHO says symptoms can include a high body temperature, muscle pain, head pain, loss of willingness to eat, upset stomach, and vomiting.

黄热病是由病毒引起的，通过被感染蚊子的叮咬传播。大多数感染没有症状。世卫组织表示，症状可能包括高烧、肌肉疼痛、头痛、食欲不振、胃部不适和呕吐。

Uganda’s vaccination program is part of a worldwide effort launched in 2017 to eliminate yellow fever by 2026. That goal was set by the WHO and its partners such as the U.N. children’s agency. The aim is to protect almost one billion people in Africa and in North and South America.

乌干达的疫苗接种计划是2017年启动的全球努力的一部分，目标是在2026年前消除黄热病。这个目标是由世卫组织及其合作伙伴如联合国儿童基金会设定的。目的是保护非洲和南北美洲近10亿人。

Last year, a study said that 185 million people in high-risk African countries had been vaccinated by August 2022.

去年，一项研究指出，到2022年8月，非洲高风险国家的1.85亿人已接种了疫苗。

In Uganda, most people get the yellow fever vaccination when they are traveling to countries such as South Africa. South Africa requires proof of vaccination upon arrival in the country.

在乌干达，大多数人是在前往南非等国家时接种黄热病疫苗的。南非要求入境时提供接种证明。

James Odite is a nurse working at a private hospital, which also is a vaccination center in an area of Kampala. He told the AP that hundreds of shots remained unused after the yellow fever vaccination campaign closed. They might be used in a future mass campaign.

James Odite是一名在私立医院工作的护士，该医院也是坎帕拉地区的疫苗接种中心。他告诉美联社，在黄热病疫苗接种活动结束后，数百支疫苗仍未使用。这些疫苗可能会在未来的大规模接种活动中使用。

Some people wonder if “the government wants to give them expired vaccines,” Odite said.

Odite说，有些人怀疑“政府是否想给他们注射过期疫苗”。

Baganizi said Uganda’s government has spent money on community “sensitization” programs. In these programs, officials tell people that vaccines save lives.

Baganizi说，乌干达政府在社区“宣传”项目上花了钱。在这些项目中，官员们告诉人们疫苗可以拯救生命。

Agriculture companies are using new methods to change the genes of plants to produce more productive crops.

农业公司正在使用新方法改变植物的基因，以生产出更高产的作物。

The process of gene-editing is gaining attention from people interested in agriculture. It makes changes to the existing genes of a plant, such as wheat. That is different from genetic modification, which produces what are known as genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. That process introduces completely new DNA to a plant’s genetic information.

基因编辑过程正在引起对农业感兴趣的人的关注。它对植物现有基因进行改变，例如小麦。这与基因改造不同，基因改造会产生所谓的转基因生物（GMOs）。基因改造是将全新的DNA引入植物的基因信息中。

Regulators and scientists believe gene-editing is less risky than genetic modification. They say it is closer to traditional methods of plant breeding. The process permits scientists to target several genes for editing.

监管机构和科学家认为基因编辑比基因改造风险更小。他们表示，基因编辑更接近传统的植物育种方法。这个过程允许科学家针对多个基因进行编辑。

A state-run company in Australia is preparing for a major trial of gene-edited wheat. Australian seed breeder InterGrain recently imported thousands of wheat seeds created by the American agricultural technology company Inari.

澳大利亚的一家国营公司正在准备一项基因编辑小麦的重大试验。澳大利亚种子育种公司InterGrain最近从美国农业技术公司Inari进口了数千粒小麦种子。

InterGrain chief Tress Walmsely said the wheat imports included hundreds of new genetic variations. Walmsley said the seeds are growing in a testing greenhouse in the state of Queensland. The plan is to create more seeds which can be planted across Australia in 2025.

InterGrain的主管Tress Walmsely表示，这些进口的小麦包含数百种新的基因变异。Walmsley说，这些种子正在昆士兰州的一个测试温室中生长。计划是到2025年生产出更多可以在澳大利亚各地种植的种子。

"Our job is to work out which gene combination gives the best results. Our goal is at least 10 percent yield improvement. These seeds have the potential to achieve that," she said.

“我们的工作是找出哪种基因组合能带来最佳结果。我们的目标是至少提高10%的产量。这些种子有潜力实现这一目标，”她说。

The company believes it could be selling seeds to Australian farmers starting in 2028.

该公司认为，到2028年可以开始向澳大利亚农民出售种子。

Inari uses artificial intelligence (AI) to consider a huge number of possible edits and then uses the CRISPR gene-editing tool to change more than one gene at a time.

Inari使用人工智能（AI）考虑大量可能的编辑，然后使用CRISPR基因编辑工具一次性改变多个基因。

InterGrain and Inari believe the program could result in stronger wheat and bigger crops with a process 10 to 15 times faster than traditional plant breeding. Plant breeding happens when scientists mate two plants with desirable characteristics. It can take years for the best version of a plant to arrive.

InterGrain和Inari相信，这个项目可以产生更强壮的小麦和更大的作物，其过程比传统植物育种快10到15倍。植物育种是指科学家将两株具有理想特性的植物交配，可能需要多年才能培育出最佳版本的植物。

Some gene-edited crops already exist. Most of them offer small nutritional improvements or have an increased ability to resist disease. The new wheat plants in Australia will have many of those qualities.

一些基因编辑作物已经存在。它们大多数提供了小幅的营养改善或增强了抗病能力。澳大利亚的新小麦将具备这些特性中的许多。

"We want to solve food security, climate change and farm profitability at the same time," said Inari’s chief Ponsi Trivisvavet.

Inari的主管Ponsi Trivisvavet说：“我们希望同时解决食品安全、气候变化和农场盈利问题。”

Australia is working to ensure that it can export the gene-edited wheat. Some countries, such as the U.S. and Japan, have already said they believe gene-editing is not very different from plant breeding. Officials in those countries will be more likely to approve the Australian wheat.

澳大利亚正在努力确保能够出口基因编辑小麦。一些国家，如美国和日本，已经表示他们认为基因编辑与植物育种没有太大区别。这些国家的官员更有可能批准澳大利亚的小麦。

The European Union is expected to make a similar decision and China approved a gene-edited wheat plant in May.

预计欧盟也会作出类似的决定，中国在五月批准了一种基因编辑小麦。

Inari said it is working with agriculture companies in the U.S. on a gene-edited soybean that will produce larger crop yields.

Inari表示，它正在与美国的农业公司合作开发一种基因编辑大豆，这种大豆将带来更高的作物产量。

Many countries have already accepted genetically modified soybeans because they are mostly used to feed animals. Officials, however, have been slower to approve the modification of wheat because much of it is used in products made for humans.

许多国家已经接受了转基因大豆，因为它们主要用于喂养动物。然而，官员们在批准小麦的改造方面一直较慢，因为小麦大多用于生产人类食用的产品。

Reduced treatment for three kinds of cancer can make life easier for patients without hurting results, doctors reported recently at the world’s largest cancer conference.

减少三种癌症的治疗可以让患者的生活更轻松，而不影响治疗效果，医生们最近在世界上最大的癌症会议上报告。

The findings are part of a long-term move toward studying whether doing less surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation can help patients live longer and feel better. The latest studies involved ovarian and esophageal cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma.

这些发现是长期研究的一部分，研究是否减少手术、化疗或放疗可以帮助患者活得更久，感觉更好。最新的研究涉及卵巢癌、食道癌和霍奇金淋巴瘤。

Thirty years ago, cancer research was about doing more, not less. In one example, women with advanced breast cancer were pushed to the edge of death with large doses of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants. The treatment did not work any better than chemotherapy and patients suffered.

三十年前，癌症研究注重的是多做而不是少做。举一个例子，患有晚期乳腺癌的女性被大剂量的化疗和骨髓移植推到了死亡的边缘。结果这种治疗效果并不比单纯化疗好，患者也承受了更多痛苦。

Now, in an effort to improve cancer care, researchers are asking: “Do we need all that treatment that we have used in the past?”

现在，为了改善癌症护理，研究人员在问：“我们是否需要过去使用的所有治疗？”

It is a question, “that should be asked over and over again,” said Dr. Tatjana Kolevska of the Kaiser Permanente National Cancer Excellence Program. Kolevska was not involved in the new research.

这是一个“应该一遍又一遍地问”的问题，凯撒永久国家癌症卓越项目的Tatjana Kolevska博士说。Kolevska并未参与新的研究。

Often, doing less works because of improved drugs.

通常，减少治疗有效是因为药物的改进。

Dr. William G. Nelson of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine was also not involved in the new research. He said, “The good news is that cancer treatment is not only becoming more effective, it’s becoming easier to tolerate and associated with less short-term and long-term complications.”

约翰霍普金斯医学院的William G. Nelson博士也没有参与新的研究。他说：“好消息是，癌症治疗不仅变得更有效，而且更容易耐受，并且与更少的短期和长期并发症相关。”

The term complications means to make a medical problem worse or to cause new medical problems to appear.

并发症一词意味着使医疗问题恶化或导致出现新的医疗问题。

Studies showing the effects of reduced treatments were discussed recently at an American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago.

显示减少治疗效果的研究最近在芝加哥的美国临床肿瘤学会会议上进行了讨论。

Here are a few key points:

以下是一些要点：

French researchers found that it is safe to avoid removing lymph nodes that appear healthy during surgery for advanced ovarian cancer. The study compared the results for 379 patients.

法国研究人员发现，在晚期卵巢癌手术中避免切除看起来健康的淋巴结是安全的。该研究比较了379名患者的结果。

Half had their lymph nodes removed and half did not. After nine years, there was no difference in how long the patients lived.

一半患者切除了淋巴结，一半没有。九年后，患者的生存时间没有差异。

Those with less-extreme surgery had fewer complications, such as the need for blood transfusions. The research was financed by the National Institute of Cancer in France.

那些接受较少激烈手术的患者并发症更少，比如需要输血的情况。该研究由法国国家癌症研究所资助。

A German study looked at 438 people with a kind of cancer of the esophagus that can be treated with surgery. Half received a common treatment plan that included chemotherapy and surgery on the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach. Half got another treatment that includes radiation, too. Both techniques are considered standard. Which one patients get can depends on where they get treatment.

一项德国研究调查了438名患有一种可以通过手术治疗的食道癌患者。一半患者接受了一种包括化疗和食道手术的常规治疗方案，食道是从喉咙到胃的食物通道。另一半患者接受了包括放疗在内的另一种治疗。这两种技术都被认为是标准的。患者接受哪种治疗取决于他们在哪里接受治疗。

After three years, 57 percent of those who got chemo and surgery were alive, compared to 51 percent of those who got chemo, surgery and radiation. The German Research Foundation financed the study.

三年后，接受化疗和手术的患者中有57%存活，相比之下，接受化疗、手术和放疗的患者中有51%存活。该研究由德国研究基金会资助。

A comparison of two chemotherapy treatments for advanced Hodgkin lymphoma found the gentler treatment was more effective for the blood cancer and caused fewer side effects.

对两种晚期霍奇金淋巴瘤化疗治疗的比较发现，较温和的治疗对这种血癌更有效，并且引起的副作用更少。

After four years, the gentler chemo kept the disease in control in 94 percent of people, compared to 91 percent of those who had the more powerful treatment. The trial included 1,482 people in nine countries — Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Australia and New Zealand.

四年后，较温和的化疗在94%的人群中控制了疾病，而更强的治疗在91%的人群中控制了疾病。该试验包括了来自九个国家的1482人——德国、奥地利、瑞士、荷兰、丹麦、瑞典、挪威、澳大利亚和新西兰。

The study was financed by Takeda Oncology, the maker of one of the drugs used in the gentler chemo that was studied.

该研究由武田肿瘤公司资助，武田肿瘤公司是研究中使用的较温和化疗药物之一的制造商。 

The huge solar storm that hit Earth this month was described as the biggest in two decades. The Sun blasted intense radiation, billions of tonnes of matter and strong magnetic fields at our planet. 

本月袭击地球的大型太阳风暴堪称近二十年来最大的一次。太阳向地球发射出强烈的辐射，释放出数十亿吨的物质和强磁场。

The coloured lights in the sky were spectacular, but the effects could've been much worse. Such storms can interrupt radio communications and even damage power grids, which is why the UK has been pushing its partners in the European Space Agency to build a new satellite to give earlier warnings.

这让天空中的色彩看上去十分壮观，但后果可能比想象的更严重。这种规模的太阳风暴可能会中断无线电通信，甚至会破坏电网。这就是为什么英国一直在敦促其在欧洲航天局的合作伙伴建造一颗新卫星以发出早期预警。

This spacecraft called 'Vigil' has now been ordered from Airbus UK. It'll be sent millions of miles away so it can see the side of the Sun that's about to rotate into view of the Earth. This'll give forecasters a further three to four days' notice of trouble that could be coming our way.

这艘名为 “Vigil（警戒）” 的航天器现已由空中客车英国公司接单制造。它将被送往数百万英里之外，以便能够看到太阳即将旋转面对地球的那一面。这将使天文预报人员能提前三到四天预知可能要发生的麻烦。

词汇表

solar storm 太阳风暴
blasted （爆炸）发射出
radiation 辐射
matter 物质
magnetic fields 磁场
interrupt 中断、干扰
power grids 电网
spacecraft 航天器
rotate 旋转
forecasters 预报人员

"Take your brolly, it's chucking it down!" The UK is famous for its rainy weather, and Brits LOVE to complain about it – particularly when the arrival of spring teases us with warmth and light, but with them come the 'April showers', lovingly shared by Britain, Ireland and some of coastal northern Europe. What exactly are they, and why do they insist on coming every year?

“拿起你的雨伞，它正在把它扔下来！” 英国以多雨的天气而闻名，英国人喜欢抱怨它——尤其是当春天的到来给我们带来温暖和光明的时候，但随之而来的是“四月阵雨”，英国、爱尔兰和一些沿海国家都喜欢分享这种天气。 北欧。 他们到底是什么人，为什么每年都坚持要来？

Meteorologists differentiate between rain and showers. The UK's national weather service, the Met Office, says that rain is precipitation brought by a weather front, is usually long-lasting, and stretches over large areas, whereas showers fall from individual clouds and are characterised by intermittent patterns. So, it can be sunny one minute, and the next you're getting caught in a large downpour, but then ten minutes later, you can put away your waterproof jacket and get your sunnies out!

气象学家区分雨和阵雨。 英国国家气象局英国气象局表示，降雨是锋面带来的降水，通常持续时间较长，覆盖大片区域，而阵雨则是从个别云层中落下，具有间歇性模式。 所以，可能前一分钟还是阳光明媚，下一分钟就下起了倾盆大雨，但十分钟后，你就可以收起你的防水外套，拿出你的太阳镜了！

So, what's responsible? Rob Thompson, meteorologist at the University of Reading, says that as the hot air rises, it forms the cumulus clouds that produce showers. These are then driven by the jet stream – strong winds that move northwards during spring – creating rather unsettled and unpredictable weather. Besides the drizzle, we're just as likely to experience snow as we are to feel sun as strong as that in late August!

那么，责任是什么？ 雷丁大学气象学家罗布·汤普森表示，随着热空气上升，它会形成积云，从而产生阵雨。 然后，它们受到急流（春季期间向北移动的强风）的驱动，造成相当不稳定和不可预测的天气。 除了毛毛雨之外，我们也可能会遇到雪，就像八月底那样强烈的阳光一样！

With all this in mind, would it surprise you to hear that April is actually one of the driest months of the whole year? In 2021, data company Statista recorded 137.6mm of rainfall in January, compared to just 20.1mm in April, with similar results for the last four years. That's because while there are lots of rainy days in April, the showers are scattered, and there aren't as many of the long downpours we see in the winter months. But, this is likely to change as the world warms up. Weather that causes flash floods is predicted to be four times as frequent in Britain by the 2070s, according to a study by Elizabeth Kendon and colleagues, published in Nature Communications.

考虑到这一切，当您听到四月实际上是全年最干燥的月份之一时，您会感到惊讶吗？ 2021 年，数据公司 Statista 记录的 1 月份降雨量为 137.6 毫米，而 4 月份仅为 20.1 毫米，过去四年的结果相似。 这是因为虽然四月有很多雨天，但阵雨分散，而且没有冬季那样多的长时间倾盆大雨。 但是，随着世界变暖，这种情况可能会发生变化。 根据伊丽莎白·肯登 (Elizabeth Kendon) 及其同事在《自然通讯》(Nature Communications) 上发表的一项研究，预计到 2070 年代，英国引发山洪的天气频率将增加四倍。

There is a British proverb that goes "March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers". It is a reminder that, despite our complaints, April showers can be a symbol for renewal and new beginnings. So Brits, instead of complaining about the drizzly days, why not romanticise that pitter-patter sound that brings us the colourful spring bloom?

英国有句谚语：“三月风，四月雨，生五月花”。 这提醒我们，尽管我们有抱怨，四月的阵雨仍然可以成为更新和新开始的象征。 那么英国人，与其抱怨毛毛细雨，不如将那为我们带来色彩缤纷的春天花朵的淅淅沥沥的声音浪漫化呢？

词汇表

brolly 雨伞
chuck it down 下瓢泼大雨
shower 阵雨
meteorologist 气象学家
precipitation 降水
weather front 气象 “锋”
intermittent 断断续续的
downpour 暴雨，骤雨
waterproof 防水的
sunnies 太阳镜，墨镜
cumulus 积云
jet stream 急流，喷射气流
unsettled 变幻莫测的
drizzle 毛毛雨
rainfall 降雨（量）
scattered 分散的，疏疏落落的
flash flood 突发性洪水
drizzly 下毛毛雨的
pitter-patter （下雨的）啪嗒啪嗒声

Boeing launched astronauts into space with its delayed Starliner spacecraft for the first time Wednesday. 

波音公司于周三首次使用其延迟的星际线飞船将宇航员送入太空。

The launch marked the company’s entry into competition with SpaceX to provide service for the American space agency NASA. 

此次发射标志着该公司进入与SpaceX竞争，为美国航天局NASA提供服务。

NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams lifted off in the Starliner spacecraft for the International Space Station (ISS) from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It was powered by an Atlas V rocket from the United Launch Alliance of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. 

NASA测试飞行员Butch Wilmore和Suni Williams乘坐星际线飞船从佛罗里达州的卡纳维拉尔角起飞前往国际空间站（ISS）。该飞船由波音和洛克希德·马丁公司的联合发射联盟的Atlas V火箭提供动力。

Boeing designed Starliner to fly without human assistance. But the astronauts can take control of the spacecraft if necessary. The test flight calls for Wilmore and Williams to take control of the vehicle on the way to the space station. The trip to the ISS is expected to last 25 hours, with arrival on Thursday. The two astronauts will spend just one week at the orbiting laboratory before heading back to Earth to land in the western United States on June 14. 

波音设计的星际线飞船可以在没有人为干预的情况下飞行。但如果有必要，宇航员可以控制飞船。测试飞行要求Wilmore和Williams在前往空间站的途中控制飞行器。预计到达ISS的时间为25小时，预计将在周四到达。两名宇航员将在轨道实验室停留一周，然后于6月14日返回地球，降落在美国西部。

Wilmore and Williams are former Navy pilots and long-time astronauts. The two have spent a combined 500 days in space over two ISS missions each. Both said repeatedly before the launch that they had full confidence in Boeing for this flight after so many delays. 

Wilmore和Williams都是前海军飞行员和长期的宇航员。两人分别在两次ISS任务中共度过了500天的太空时光。两人在发射前反复表示，在经历了这么多次的延误后，他们对这次飞行充满信心。

The launch came two years after Starliner completed its first test flight to the ISS without astronauts on board. Last-minute problems had delayed the Starliner's first two launch attempts with humans. 

此次发射是在星际线完成首次无宇航员的ISS测试飞行两年后进行的。最后时刻的问题导致星际线的前两次载人发射尝试被推迟。

NASA halted a planned May 6 launch two hours before liftoff because of a problem with a rocket. Another attempt last Saturday was halted less than four minutes before liftoff because of a problem with a launchpad computer. 

由于火箭问题，NASA在计划于5月6日的发射前两小时叫停了发射。上周六的另一次尝试则在发射前不到四分钟因发射台计算机问题而被叫停。

“I know it’s been a long road to get here,” NASA’s commercial crew program leader Steve Stich said before the weekend delay. 

“我知道到达这里的道路很漫长，”NASA商业载人计划负责人Steve Stich在周末推迟前说道。

Boeing and SpaceX are both paid to carry NASA’s astronauts to and from the space station. The space agency wanted two competing U.S. companies after ending the space shuttle program. 

波音和SpaceX都获得了运送NASA宇航员往返空间站的报酬。在结束航天飞机计划后，NASA希望有两家竞争的美国公司。

In 2020, SpaceX became the first private business to launch astronauts into orbit. Only three countries, Russia, the U.S., and China have launched humans into space using their own systems. Since then, SpaceX has taken nine crews to the space station for NASA and three private groups for a Houston company. 

2020年，SpaceX成为首个将宇航员送入轨道的私人企业。只有俄罗斯、美国和中国三个国家使用自己的系统将人类送入太空。从那时起，SpaceX已经为NASA送了九个航班到空间站，并为休斯顿的一家公司送了三个私人团体。

If the Starliner mission goes well, NASA will use both SpaceX and Boeing for flights, beginning next year. 

如果星际线任务顺利，NASA将从明年开始同时使用SpaceX和波音进行飞行。