01
"Tom and Jerry" animator Gene Deitch dies at 95
《貓和老鼠》動畫師吉恩·戴奇去世，享年95歲
On April 16, Gene Deitch, an American Oscar-winning illustrator, animator, film director and producer died at 95. His Czech publisher, Petr Himmel, told The Associated Press Deitch died unexpectedly during the night of April 16 in his apartment in Prague. No further details were given. Born on Aug. 8, 1924 in Chicago, Deitch arrived in Prague in 1959 intending to stay for 10 days, but he fell in love with his future wife, Zdenka, and stayed in the Czechoslovakian capital. Between 1961 and 1962, he directed 13 episodes① of "Tom and Jerry" and also some of the "Popeye the Sailor" series. In 2004, he received the Winsor McCay Award for his lifelong contribution to animation. (CTV News)
美國奧斯卡獲獎插畫師、動畫師、電影導演和製片人吉恩·戴奇於4月16日去世，享年95歲。他的捷克出版商彼得·希梅爾告知美聯社，戴奇於4月16日夜間在布拉格的公寓中意外死亡，但沒有透露更多細節。戴奇於1924年8月8日出生於芝加哥，1959年到訪捷克首都布拉格時本打算只停留10天，但他愛上了未來的妻子茲登卡，並因此留在了那裡。1961至1962年期間，他執導了13集《貓和老鼠》和系列動畫《大力水手》的部分內容。2004年，他因對動畫的畢生貢獻而獲得溫莎·麥凱獎。
【註釋】① episode: [ˈepɪsəʊd] n. an episode is a coherent narrative unit within a larger dramatic work such as a film or television series （電視或連續劇的）一集
. (credit: CTV News)
02
President Trump says his immigration ban will last 60 days — at least特朗普總統表示其移民禁令將持續至少60天
On April 21, Trump said halting① the issuance of green cards will affect those seeking permanent residency②. It does not apply to temporary migrant workers. Trump plans to sign the order Wednesday, and he left open the possibility of further restrictions at a later time. Trump also said he would evaluate whether to extend the ban after 60 days “based on economic conditions at that time.” These are the first details the administration has provided since Trump tweeted at 10:06 p.m. Monday that he would “suspend immigration” to protect American jobs. Trump’s comments Tuesday emphasized the economic argument for not bringing in more people, rather than claiming a public health motive. “It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be replaced with new immigrant labor flown in from abroad,” he said. (The Washington Post)
4月21日，特朗普表示，停止發放綠卡將影響那些尋求永久居留權的人。這並不適用於臨時外來勞工。特朗普計劃在週三簽署這項禁令，並表示以後可能會有進一步的限制措施。特朗普還說，他將“根據那時的經濟狀況”評估是否在60天后延長該禁令。特朗普週一晚上10點06分在推特上表示將“暫停移民”以保護美國就業，這是自那以來政府首次提供相關細節。特朗普週二的講話強調，不讓更多人進入美國並不是出於公共健康的考慮，而是出於對經濟的考量。他表示：“因新冠病毒大流行而失業的美國人被海外飛來的新移民勞工取代，這是錯誤和不公平的。”
【註釋】① halt: [hɔːlt] v. to stop; to make sb./sth. stop （使）停止，停下② permanent residency: refers to a person's visa status: the person is allowed to reside indefinitely within a country of which he or she is not a citizen. A person with such status is known as a permanent resident 永久居留權
(credit: The Washington Post)
03
MPs approve new working arrangements as Commons returns英國下議院重開，議員通過新的工作安排
The House of Commons① has returned in "exceptional and unprecedented" circumstances, Leader of the House②, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, said on April 21. A "hybrid" Parliament—with some MPs③ in the chamber and others connected via video link—will begin on Wednesday after MPs approved the plan. Under the motion agreed by MPs, up to 50 MPs will be allowed inside the chamber, sitting apart from each other in line with social distancing guidelines. Screens have been installed in the chamber which will allow up to 120 MPs to take part in debates via the Zoom video-conferencing tool. The new arrangements will initially operate until 12 May, although could remain in place for longer. They are part of a raft of changes designed to allow Parliament to continue to operate during the coronavirus outbreak, including reduced sitting hours, virtual committee meetings and strict social distancing measures within the Palace of Westminster. (BBC)4月21日，下議院議長林賽·霍伊爾爵士表示，下議院已在“特殊和前所未有”的情況下重開。“混合模式”議會這種形式將在議員通過該計劃後，於週三開始採用，屆時部分議員在議事廳現場參會，其他議員通過視頻連接線上參會。根據議員們達成一致的動議，將允許最多50名議員進入議事廳，並按照社交距離準則分開就座。大屏幕已安裝在議事廳中，最多可讓120名議員通過Zoom視頻會議系統參加辯論。新措施初步計劃執行到5月12日，也有可能延續更長時間。這是一系列改革的一部分，改革旨在讓議會可以在新冠病毒暴發期間繼續運作，包括減少辦公時間、召開虛擬委員會會議及在威斯敏斯特宮（又稱議會大廈）內採取嚴格的社交距離措施。
【註釋】① The House of Commons: (in Britain and Canada) the part of Parliament whose members are elected by the people of the country （英國）下議院；（加拿大）眾議院② Leader of the House: (in Britain) a member of the government who is responsible for deciding what is discussed in Parliament （英格蘭）議會領袖，上（或下）議院議長，此處文中指下議院議長③ MPs = Members of Parliament 議員
(credit: xinhuanet.com)
04US oil prices turn negative as demand dries up隨著需求枯竭，美國原油期貨價格跌至負值
The price of US oil has turned negative for the first time in history. That means oil producers are paying buyers to take the commodity① off their hands over fears that storage capacity could run out in May. Demand for oil has all but dried up as lockdowns across the world have kept people inside. As a result, oil firms have resorted to renting tankers② to store the surplus supply and that has forced the price of US oil into negative territory. That's the lowest level since NYMEX opened oil futures trading in 1983. "This is off-the-charts③ wacky," said Stewart Glickman, an energy equity analyst at CFRA Research④, "The demand shock was so massive that it's overwhelmed anything that people could have expected." (Financial Times)
美國原油期貨價格史無前例地跌至負值。這意味著，由於擔心5月份原油存儲能力可能耗盡，石油生產商正在付錢給買家以拋出手中的存貨。由於全球各地都採取了封鎖措施，人們居家隔離，石油需求已近枯竭。因此，石油公司不得不租用油輪來貯存過剩原油，這迫使美國原油期貨價格跌至負值。這是自1983年紐約商品交易所開始石油期貨交易以來的最低水平。金融及分析研究中心的能源資產分析師斯圖爾特·格利克曼說：“需求衝擊如此之大，真是遠超人們預期。”
【註釋】① commodity: [kəˈmɑːdəti] n. (economics) a product or a raw material that can be bought and sold 〈經〉商品② tanker: [ˈtæŋkər] n. a ship or lorry/truck that carries oil, gas or petrol/gas in large quantities 運送大量液體或氣體的輪船（或卡車）；油輪；罐車；油槽車③ off-the-charts: (informal, especially North American English) extremely high in level 超高的④ CFRA Research = Center for Financial Research and Analysis Research 世界上最大的獨立投資研究公司之一
(credit: Financial Times)
05
Royal family posts private footage of Queen as child for 94th birthday
王室發佈女王兒時私人錄像以慶祝其94歲生日
On April 21, the royal family’s Twitter account posted private behind-the-scenes footage of the Queen as a child in tribute for her 94th birthday. The Queen herself celebrated the day isolating behind Windsor Castle’s walls in a low-key, lockdown affair. The Covid-19 pandemic meant family members were resorting to video-conferencing to mark her anniversary as they posted birthday wishes on social media. There were no traditional gun-salutes from Hyde Park or the Tower of London, for what is believed to be the first time in her reign. They were canceled in line with the Queen’s wishes as she believed they would be inappropriate in the current circumstances. The Queen was spending the day with the Duke of Edinburgh, who is 98, at Windsor Castle. Boris Johnson’s official Twitter account posted a congratulatory message “Wishing Her Majesty The Queen a very happy birthday!” (The Guardian)
4月21日，英國王室的推特賬號發佈了女王兒時的珍貴私人影像，以祝賀女王94歲生日。女王本人於封鎖期在溫莎城堡低調慶祝了這個特殊日子。新冠肺炎疫情意味著王室家庭成員不得不通過視頻聚會來慶祝女王的生日，並在社交媒體上發佈生日祝福。海德公園和倫敦塔均未舉行傳統鳴炮禮，據信這是女王即位以來首次沒有鳴炮慶生。傳統儀式取消是遵從了女王的意願，因為她認為目前的形勢不適合舉行。女王與98歲的愛丁堡公爵在溫莎城堡度過了這一天。鮑里斯·約翰遜（現任英國首相）在官方推特賬號上發佈了一條賀信:“祝女王陛下生日快樂!”
Queen in childhood and her mother(credit: news.qq.com)
06
Gao fu, director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention: the vaccine for the new coronavirus may be available for emergency use in September
疾控中心主任高福：新冠疫苗九月或可緊急使用
Gao fu, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told CGTN on April 23 that the vaccine① for the new coronavirus might be available for emergency use in the coming September. If we have some emergency outbreak again, a newly developed vaccine, though still under phase II or phase III clinical② trials, might be used for some special groups, for example, health care workers.“Predictably it is likely that the vaccine should be ready for the use of unaffected people but that all depends on how we are moving forward. Of course, people learn a lot from the past, so we know which strategies for vaccine development are viable. At the moment in China, we already have two vaccine candidates which are on clinical trials already: one is adenovirus vector③ vaccine and the other is inactivated vaccine. ” Gao Fu added emphatically. (CGTN)
4月23日，中國疾控中心主任高福在接受CGTN採訪時表示，或許到9月，我們能有一種在緊急情況下可以使用的新冠病毒疫苗。比如，如果疫情再次大規模暴發，仍處於第二或第三階段臨床試驗的疫苗可以用於特殊群體，如醫療工作者。高福進一步強調：“也許明年初我們能研發出可用於健康人群的疫苗，這一切都取決於我們的研發進程。當然，人們從過去的經驗中學到了很多，我們知道哪些疫苗研發的策略是可行的。目前，在中國，我們有兩款候選疫苗正在進行臨床試驗：一款是腺病毒載體疫苗，另一款是滅活疫苗。”
【註釋】① vaccine: [ˈvæksiːn] n. a vaccine is a substance containing a harmless form of the germs that cause a particular disease. It is given to people, usually by injection, to prevent them from getting that disease 疫苗② clinical: [ˈklɪnɪkl] adj. involving or relating to the examination and treatment of patients and their illnesses 臨床的③ adenovirus vector: ['ædɪnəʊ,vaɪrəs ˈvektə(r)] it is a highly efficient gene transfection vector, which is widely used in gene therapy due to its large capacity, high yield and low toxicity 腺病毒載體
(credit: CGTN)
07
China's first Mars mission named Tianwen 1
中國首次火星探測任務命名為“天問一號”
China's planetary exploration program has been named Tianwen, or Quest for Heavenly Truth, the China National Space Administration announced on Friday. The program was named after a long poem by the famous ancient poet Qu Yuan from the Kingdom of Chu during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the Chu Ci anthology①, also known as Songs of Chu. The name represents Chinese people's relentless pursuit of truth, the country's understanding of nature and universe, as well as the unending explorations in science and technology. CNSA also unveiled the logo of China's planetary exploration missions, featuring the letter C, signifying China, international cooperation and capacity of entering space. China plans to launch the Mars probe in 2020, aiming to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission. (Xinhua News Agency)
4月24日，中國國家航天局宣佈，中國的行星探索計劃定名為“天問”。該計劃以戰國時期（公元前475—前221）楚國著名詩人屈原的一首長詩命名。屈原以其愛國精神和古典詩歌與韻文而聞名，尤其是他的《楚辭》（也稱《楚歌》）。這個名字代表了中國人民對真理的不懈追求、中國對自然和宇宙的認識及對科學技術無止盡的探索。國家航天局還公佈了我國行星探測任務的標識——字母C，彙集了中國、國際合作和深空探測能力等多重含義。我國計劃在2020年發射火星探測器，目標是在一次任務內完成軌道運行、著陸和巡視。
【註釋】① anthology: [ænˈθɒlədʒi] n. a collection of poems, stories, etc. that have been written by different people and published together in a book 詩集，選集
相關詞彙 行星探測任務 planetary exploration mission載人空間站 manned space station助推火箭 booster rocket在軌測試 in-orbit test可重複使用運載火箭 reusable carrier rocket探月工程 lunar exploration program
(credit: Xinhua News Agency)
（北京化工大學楊千禧、張秋月、蔣紹澄編譯，張菊審訂）
