Selected Articles
The world this week
Exit wave
Wind power | Northern delight
Bartleby | New year, new you
Buttonwood | Once again, with feeling
Genetic engineering | Healing nature
American lawmaking | The secret is out
The world this week
- junta, cabinet
- take a covid test
- a devastating missile strike on a Russian barracks
- ease a spike in tensions between Kosovo and Serbia
- attend the funerals
- clash with police / the government
- block the law
- spark a big constitutional row
- amnesty to free thousands of prisoners
- since the coup
- call on the army to end the country’s violence
- take office
- sour relations with countries supporting them
- seek closer ties with Russia
- swear in as prime minister
- swiftly expel illegal migrants
- on bail of $250m ($\rightarrow$bail out)
- criminal trial
- file a lawsuit
- windfall tax on oil firms
- lay off 10% of its workforce
People arriving from abroad will no longer have to quarantine.
Russia continued its strikes on civilian targets, but to limited effect as Ukraine becomes steadily better at interception.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted as leader two years ago, has been handed a further seven years in jail in relations to *trumped-up charges* of corruption.
It was set to expire in late December.
Appearing at a federal court in Manhattan, Sam Bankman-Fried pled not guilty to fraud and money-laundering charges in relation to the collapse to FTX, a cryto exchange that he ran.
The post-pandemic retrenchment of tech firms continued into the new year. Amazon confirmed that it is cutting 18,000 jobs, mostly in its e-commerce division. Stockmarkets ended 2022 on a low note.
- A junta is a military government that has taken power by force, and not through elections. (武力夺权产生的)军政府
- A barracks is a building or group of buildings where soldiers or other members of the armed forces live and work. 营房 [oft in names]
- Row is a noisy quarrel or dispute 争吵
- An amnesty /‘æmnɪstɪ/ is an official pardon granted to a group of prisoners by the state. 赦免
- If you call on someone to do something or call upon them to do it, you say publicly that you want them to do it. 呼吁; 公开请求
- Bail is a sum of money that an arrested person or someone else puts forward as a guarantee that the arrested person will attend their trial in a law court. If the arrested person does not attend it, the money will be lost. 保释金
- If you file a formal or legal accusation, complaint, or request, you make it officially. 提起
- A lawsuit is a case in a court of law which concerns a dispute between two people or organizations. 诉讼案 [正式]
- Beliefs, ideas, or qualities that clash with each other are very different from each other and therefore are opposed.
- When there is a coup, a group of people seize power in a country.
- To take office means to assume an office, duty, or title.
- If a friendship, situation, or attitude sours or if something sours it, it becomes less friendly, enjoyable, or hopeful.
- When someone is sworn in, they formally promise to fulfil the duties of a new job or appointment.
- If people are expelled from a place, they are made to leave it, often by force.
- If workers are laid off, they are told by their employers to leave their job, usually because there is no more work for them to do.
- An interception is the engaging of an enemy force in an attempt to hinder or prevent it from carrying out its mission. 拦截
- Trumped-up charges are untrue, and made up in order to punish someone unfairly. (指控)捏造的 [usu ADJ n]
- When someone charged with a crime pleads guilty or not guilty in a court of law, they officially state that they are guilty or not guilty of the crime. 表示服罪/不服罪
- Retrenchment means spending less money. (开支的)紧缩; 削减 [正式]
- You can use note to refer to a particular feeling, impression, or atmosphere. (特别的) 感觉; 印象; 气氛
- If a person or animal is in quarantine, they are being kept separate from other people or animals for a set period of time, usually because they have or may have a disease that could spread.
- If someone is ousted from a position of power, job, or place, they are forced to leave it. [journalism]
- When something such as a contract, deadline, or visa expires, it comes to an end or is no longer valid.
Leaders
Exit wave
How China’s reopening will disrupt the world economy (emmm…)
- punctually [at the proper time]
- open its borders
- have huge consequences, mostly benign
- government spurns even offers of free, effective vaccines from Europe
- reverse course
- emphasis the chances of a swift economic revival
- iron ore
- have painful side effect
- raise rates at a frenetic pace to fight inflation
- at the greatest risk of such disruption
- cut off piped gas to Europe entirely
- in a draconian fashion
- scrap it without due preparation
- inbound investment
- by some accounts
- stultifying isolation
*Expat executives* were barred from returning to their business in China.
Inside the country, the virus is raging. Tens of millions of people are catching it every day. Hospitals are overwhelmed.
The party is banking on it. It hopes to be judged not on the tragedy its incompetence is compounding, but on the economic recovery to follow.
Now would-be travelers are flocking to travel websites.
Economists are penciling in a GDP boost for Hong Kong of as much as 8% over time.
Take the oil market. Rising Chinese demand should more than compensate for faltering consumption in Europe and America, as their economies slow.
A rapid recovery in China could help push the price of Brent crude oil to $100 a barrel, an increase of a quarter compared with today’s prices. Rising energy costs will prove another hurdle to taming inflation.
For China itself, the post-pandemic normal will not be a return to the status quo ante.
China’s previous great reopening led to an explosion of prosperity as goods, people, investment and ideas surged across its border in both directions.
- If you spurn someone or something, you reject them. 拒绝
- A swift event or process happens very quickly or without delay. 迅速的
- Draconian laws or measures are extremely harsh and severe. 严酷的 (法令或措施) [正式]
- An inbound flight is one that is arriving from another place. 归航的; 到达的; 入站的 [usu ADJ n]
- By some accounts means according to some different descriptions of something. 某种
- If something stultifies / ‘stʌltɪfaɪ / you, or if it stultifies your energy or ambition, it makes you feel empty or dull in your mind, because it is so boring. 使呆滞; 使厌烦 [正式]
- If a ship or aircraft is on course, it is travelling along the correct route. If it is off course, it is no longer travelling along the correct route.
- Ore is rock or earth from which metal can be obtained.
- If you scrap something, you get rid of it or cancel it. [journalism]
- An expatriate / ɪks’pætrɪət / is someone who is living in a country that is not their own. 侨居者 [also ADJ]
- A faltering / ˈfɔːltərɪŋ / attempt, effort, or movement is uncertain because the person doing it is nervous or weak, or does not really know what to do. (尝试、努力、行动等)犹豫的; 蹒跚的
- Status quo ante is the state of affairs existing prior to a given event. 原状; 以前的状况
- If you bank on something happening, you expect it to happen and rely on it happening.
- You can use would-be to describe someone who wants or attempts to do a particular thing. For example, a would-be writer is someone who wants to be a writer. [ADJ n]
- If people flock to a particular place or event, a very large number of them go there, usually because it is pleasant or interesting.
- If an event or appointment is pencilled in, it has been agreed that it should take place, but it will have to be confirmed later.
- A hurdle is a problem, difficulty, or part of a process that may prevent you from achieving something.
Wind power | Northern delight
Why the gusty North Sea could give Europe an industrial edge
- take shape
- technological advances
- countries near this body of water
- be afoot to
- cut red tape
- huge solar potential
The ensuing gas crunch have dealt the fate of European industry a cruel blow.
And even as energy prices have fallen back, America’s protectionist and subsidy-laden Inflation Reduction Act is feeding fresh worries that industry might be lured away from the old continent.
One unlikely bright spot is the part of Europe with the grimmest weather.
If this fledgling economy thrives, it could give the continent a new, greener industrial edge.
They could even give rise to the sort of green corporate giants that Europe badly needs.
- Gusty winds are very strong and irregular. 大风的 [usu ADJ n]
- When something takes shape, it develops or starts to appear in such a way that it becomes fairly clear what its final form will be.
- If you say that a plan or scheme is afoot, it is already happening or being planned, but you do not know much about it. 在进行中的; 在酝酿中的 [v-link ADJ]
- You refer to official rules and procedures as red tape when they seem unnecessary and cause delay. 繁文缛节 [disapproval]
- Ensuing events happen immediately after other events. 随后发生的 [ADJ n]
- If someone or something is laden with a lot of heavy things, they are holding or carrying them. 装满的
- To lure someone means to trick them into a particular place or to trick them into doing something that they should not do. 引诱
- You use fledgling to describe a person, organization, or system that is new or without experience. 新的; 无经验的(人、组织、系统) [ADJ n]
- If someone or something has an edge, they have an advantage that makes them stronger or more likely to be successful than another thing or person.
- If something gives rise to an event or situation, it causes that event or situation to happen.
Business
Bartleby | New year, new you
How to have the most productive working day of your life
- get sound to work
No more procrastinating no more afternoon naps.
A few days in, and your daily journal bears witness to a changed person, a model of self-caring efficiency.
Turn phone off aeroplane mode and fire up laptop.
Turn notifications off again.
Chunk each of the high-priority tasks into discrete segments.
- If a structure, part of someone’s body, or someone’s mind is sound, it is in good condition or healthy. 健康的; 状况良好的
- bear witness to 见证
Finance & economics
Buttonwood | Once again, with feeling
Investors had an awful time in 2022. This year may be almost as bad
- rout, bloodbath, nudge
- race for the exit [争相退场]
- fall into recession
- bullish lot
- during the bursting of the dotcom bubble [互联网泡沫]
- on account of
- book asset
- during each of the two years preceding the covid-19 pandemic
After a nightmarish 2022, shell-shocked investors have losses to recoup and plenty to ponder.
Economically, there is a clear answer: this year will be grim.
In theory, markets are forward-looking, and fears of recession stalked the world for much of 2022. Such a widely-held consensus should be baked into today’s prices, meaning even a marginally better outlook would buoy prices.
Stock prices mostly go up. They rarely decline two years in a row.
Despite last year’s plunge, the price-to-earnings ratio for “growth” stocks, those of companies promising big future profits, has fallen back only to where it was in 2019.
But as recession sets in, both types are vulnerable to earnings, downgrades that are, for the most part, yet to materialise.
Central banks pumped endless liquidity into the market via quantitative easing (QE).
Even without central banks raising short-term interest rates, this glut could drive bond prices down and yields up.
The final reason for gloom is a divergence between economists and investors. Although wonks are betting on a recession, many punters still hope one can be avoided.
The monetary guardians do not have the heart to inflict the pain it would take to get it down.
- If an army, sports team, or other group routs its opponents, it defeats them completely and easily. 一举击败
- If you describe an event as a bloodbath, you are emphasizing that a lot of people were killed very violently. 大屠杀; 血洗 [强调]
- If you nudge someone into doing something, you gently persuade them to do it. 好言说服 [also NOUN]
- You can refer to a specific group of people as a particular lot. 一群人 [非正式]
- You refer to the period of time or the thing immediately before the one that you are talking about as the preceding one.
- If you describe something as nightmarish / ‘naɪt,mɛrɪʃ /, you mean that it is extremely frightening and unpleasant. 恶梦似的
- A shell-shocked person is in a state of stunned confusion or shock; dazed 惊慌失措的
- If you recoup a sum of money that you have spent or lost, you get it back. 弥补; 收回
- If you ponder something, you think about it carefully. 仔细思考
- If you say that something bad such as death, fear, or evil stalks a place, you mean it is there.
- A buoy is a floating object that is used to show ships and boats where they can go and to warn them of danger. 浮标
- If something happens several times in a row, it happens that number of times without a break. If something happens several days in a row, it happens on each of those days. 连续地
- If something unpleasant sets in, it begins and seems likely to continue or develop.
- If there is a glut of something, there is so much of it that it cannot all be sold or used. 供应过剩 [usu sing, usu with supp]
- A monk is a person who is obsessively interested in a specified subject 书呆子 [非正式]
- A punter is a person who places a bet 下赌注者
- To inflict harm or damage on someone or something means to make them suffer it. 使遭受 (伤害或破坏等)
Culture
Genetic engineering | Healing nature
As Gods. By Matthew Cobb. Basic Books; 464 pages; $35.
- outright, glitch, polemical, overwrought
- make headlines around the world [hits the headlines or grabs the headlines]
- expect plaudits
- get brickbats
- decry the experiment
- never-before-seen [前所未见]
- pass on the botched edits to their own offspring
- public dread
- tinker with
- muscular atrophy
- long-standing dream of human genetic enhancement
- dilute its impact rather than amplify it
The insulin needed by diabetics is now produced by modified bacteria, for instance, instead of being laboriously harvested from pig corpses.
The tide of money that flowed into the field from the 1970s raised expectations that were bound to be disappointed.
Genetically modified crops have been a mixed bag; genetic therapy for the sick has failed more than it has succeeded.
- A glitch is a problem that stops something from working properly or being successful. 故障 [非正式]
- Polemical means arguing very strongly for or against a belief or opinion. 争论的; 辩论的
- Someone who is overwrought is extremely upset and emotional. 极度悲伤的; 极度情绪化的
- If a person or a thing receives plaudits from a group of people, those people express their admiration for or approval of that person or thing. 喝彩; 赞扬 [正式]
- Brickbats are very critical or insulting remarks which are made in public about someone or something. 训斥; 抨击; 谴责 [usu pl]
- If someone decries an idea or action, they criticize it strongly. (强烈)批评 [正式]
- If you botch something that you are doing, you do it badly or clumsily. 使…糟糕 [非正式]
- If you tinker with something, you make some small changes to it, in an attempt to improve it or repair it. 小修改
- If a muscle or other part of the body atrophies / ˈætrəfɪ /, it decreases in size or strength, often as a result of an illness. (肌肉或身体其他部分)萎缩 [正式]
- If someone or something dilutes / daɪˈluːt / a belief, quality, or value, they make it weaker and less effective. 削弱
- Insulin is a substance that most people produce naturally in their body and that controls the level of sugar in their blood. 胰岛素
- If you describe a task or job as laborious, you mean that it takes a lot of time and effort. 费时费力的
- If you describe a situation or a group of things or people as a mixed bag, you mean that it contains some good items, features, or people and some bad ones. (物或人的)大杂烩; (局势的)混杂 [usu ‘a’ N, oft N ‘of’ n]
Graphic detail
American lawmaking | The secret is out
The 117th Congress accomplished a lot. So did its recent predecessors
- pundit
- be hailed as a model of bipartisan productivity
- thorny task
- on a provision-by-provision basis
- on a quantitative basis
- landmark health-care reform
- overhauled banking regulation
- beef up pay-discrimination laws
- telephone surveillance
- pass bipartisan laws reducing sentences for drug crimes
- dole out trillions of dollars in response to covid-19
- swing voters
As long as the media do not cover a bill, they argue, lawmakers from both parties can collaborate well. But once the press pays attention, partisan passions are inflamed and compromise becomes too costly.
- If a person, event, or achievement is hailed as important or successful, they are praised publicly. 称赞 [usu passive]
- If you overhaul a system or method, you examine it carefully and make many changes in it in order to improve it. 改革; 修订
- If you beef up something, you increase, strengthen, or improve it. 加强
- Bipartisan / ˌbaɪpɑːtɪˈzæn / means concerning or involving two different political parties or groups. 两党的; 两派的 [usu ADJ n]
- A pundit is a person who knows a lot about a subject and is often asked to give information or opinions about it to the public.
- If you describe a problem as thorny, you mean that it is very complicated and difficult to solve, and that people are often unwilling to discuss it.
- Surveillance is the careful watching of someone, especially by an organization such as the police or the army.