The Economist 2023 01 14 Notes

Overview

The world this week | Politics and Business

Zero-sum

The destructive logic that threatens globalisation

Demography | The age of the grandma

As lifespans stretch and fertility falls, the ratio of grandparents to children is higher than ever before. This has big consequences

Global commerce | Shipping forecast

The world’s logistics giants are betting that the future of trade is more high-end — and more Asian

Tuas Mega Port, which sits on a swathe of largely reclaimed land at the western tip of Singapore, is a vision of future on two fronts. Across the planet, the expansion of seaports is becoming tougher, some of which was stopped on environmental grounds. One solution is to make existing logistics networks more efficient rather than merely larger. However, streamlining supply chains only gets you so far. At some point, new capacity will be needed. One way to achieve it is by reclaiming land from the sea. Many ports are too deep for land reclamation to be viable. Some are therefore deciding to build upwards. BoxBay’s “high-bay” storage system makes it practical compared to conventional set-ups. If you cannot build out or up, another option is to build elsewhere. That explains the rising popularity of island “dry ports”. All the dry-port development in Asia points to the second force reshaping the ports business: the shift of its center of gravity eastwards. Investments by shipping giants are pointing in the same eastward direction. This time, the future looks leaner, smarter — and more eastern.

Bartleby | Unlocking creativity

Forget drug use and hammocks. Try tedium instead

In a study published in 2022, three researchers tested the widespread notion that cannabis increases creativity. They found that cannabis increased users’ joviality, which is thought to encourage lateral thinking. But the problem is the independent assessors could discern no effect on the actual quality of people’s thoughts. You might think that doesn’t need saying. But the search for ways to unleash creativity seems to scramble executives’ brains. There is a rising interest in the use of psychedelics in the workplace, not simply as a health-care perk but also as a way of stimulating innovative thinking.

Drugs is at the extreme end of a range of techniques whose purpose is to jolt people into a more innovative mind-set.
And there is near-universal obsession with turning bits of offices into playrooms. However, the effect of using an unconventional space to help stimulate innovative thoughts depends much on the task at hand.
Group activities undoubtedly have their place.
Tedium itself can be a useful spur to inspiration.

Buttonwood | Everyone’s problem

The dollar could bring investors a nasty surprise

Today’s exchange rates are mostly floating, set by the market rather than at crunch talks. Yet a weaker dollar prompting signs of relief. A mighty greenback causes no end of problems. Poorer and rich countries alike can suffer. Unfortunately, the relief will be temporary. To see why, consider the sources of the dollar’s recent strength. One is the tightening monetary policy. A second source is fear of Russia-Ukraine conflict, China’s “zero-covid” policy and the teetering of the global economy towards recession. A final source is America’s economy — thanks in part to higher energy prices and the country’s status as an energy exporter. True, the pace of the Fed’s tightening is slowing, and its governors expect rates to peak this year. But they expect that peak to be higher than investors do and that it will be maintained longer than being cut. Even an American recession may not dent the dollar. Yet the best argument that the dollar will strengthen is investors’ conviction that it won’t. Nowadays, the greatest pain would come if the dollar were driven in the opposite direction. Investors could be in for a shock.

Propaganda | What is truth?

Proving a photo has been faked is one thing. Proving it hasn’t is quite another

THE TRUTH is the first casualty of war is an old aphorism. The proliferation of images and videos of things that are outright fake in wars such as those currently going on in Ukraine and Syria, led to a second, more subtle approach to lying with images. Ways to establish the authenticity of digital imagery would therefore be valuable.

One such system has been developed by eyeWitness, which at its core does two things. First, it deploys the technique of the controlled capture of metadata. Second, the app calculates an alphanumeric value after reading the image’s entire sequence. All this done, it then puts the metadata and the hash into a file called a proof bundle and sends an encrypted copy of the image and the proof bundle to a special server, known as a digital evidence locker. If the calculated hash matches the original one in the server’s repository, then the image has not been retouched.
Nor is eyeWitness the only provider of glass-to-glass services. ProofMode, a smartphone app released by the Guardian Project, also combines controlled-capture metadata and the image’s hash into a proof bundle. Instead of operating the receiving server itself, though, ProofMode uses repositories run by other firms. Soon, the Guardian Project will add a new feature by linking an image’s location and time-of-caption to OpenStreetMap and a detailed record of the world’s weather.
A third operator, Truepic, of La Jolla, California, is taking a more commercial approach. Charities pay nothing to use its software, but some companies must stump up.

Antidepressants | Needles in haystackss

Antidepressants are over-prescribed, but genuinely help some patients

Around 10% western adults take antidepressants, making them one of the world’s most popular types of drugs. A bias in scientific literature, on which doctors rely when deciding on treatment, is a potential explanation why the drugs are prescribed so often. In 2022 the BMJ published a breakdown of all the relevant trials filed with the FDA in 1979-2016. It found that placebos replicated most of the pills’ benefits. Rather than a bell curve, the distribution of individuals’ results in the BMJ study looked like a plateau, with modest summit at one end. Two sets of results peaked on difference sides.

The world this week

Politics

genocide, disdain, rebel, infantry, demote, deputy
narrowly lose an election (以微弱的劣势输了)
storm the presidential palace
an attempted insurrection
post an video
question the validity of the election result
the former head of the Sinaloa drug cartel
in the ensuing violence
discuss further economic integration at a summit
tackle drugs flowing north
classified documents
a trove of
call a vote to oust the speaker
in retaliation
issue short-term visas
impose some of the most stringent measures
foreign-currency reserves
under a peace deal struck in November
face “unprecedented” security and humanitarian challenges
criminal gangs
a wave of attacks
brutal tactics
come into force [ 开始生效 ]

The protests continued to rage in Peru, following the ousting of Pedro Castillo, a left-wing president, after his attempted “self-coup” in December.

The arrest may help appease critics of the soft approach to organised crime taken by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the president, which has included defending Mr. Guzman after he was captured in 2019.

Leaders was marked by friction on the other issues. [ 领导人们在其他问题上存在摩擦 ]

Dozens of countries placed restrictions on travellers from China, as covid-19 continued to tear through the countries.

At least 100 people have been sentenced to death or charged with capital offences in connection to the unrest.

The virus, which usually kills roughly half the people it infects , took 55 lives in 142 confirmed cases [确诊病例] before it was contained.

The two-year civil war has *claimed hundreds of thousands of lives*, mostly from starvation and illness due to a blockade of the region by government forces.

Unions have called nationwide strikes.

Genocide / ˈdʒɛnəʊˌsaɪd / is the deliberate murder of a whole community or race. 大屠杀; 种族灭绝

If you feel disdain for someone or something, you dislike them because you think that they are inferior or unimportant. 轻蔑

Infantry are soldiers who fight on foot rather than in tanks or on horses. 步兵

If someone demotes you, they give you a lower rank or a less important position than you already have, often as a punishment. 使降级; 使降职

A deputy / ˈdɛpjʊtɪ / is the second most important person in an organization such as a business or government department. Someone’s deputy often acts on their behalf when they are not there. 副手

An insurrection is violent action that is taken by a large group of people against the rulers of their country, usually in order to remove them from office. 叛乱 [正式]

If you retaliate when someone harms or annoys you, you do something which harms or annoys them in return. 报复

Stringent / ˈstrɪndʒənt / laws, rules, or conditions are very severe or are strictly controlled. (法律、规定或条件) 严格的 [正式]

If you strike a deal or a bargain with someone, you come to an agreement with them. 达成 (交易或协议)

Rebels are people who are fighting against their own country’s army in order to change the political system there.

If a place that is being defended is stormed, a group of people attack it, usually in order to get inside it.

A cartel is an association of similar companies or businesses that have grouped together in order to prevent competition and to control prices.

Ensuing events happen immediately after other events.

Classified information or documents are officially secret.

If someone is ousted from a position of power, job, or place, they are forced to leave it.

A reserve is a supply of something that is available for use when it is needed.

If you try to appease someone, you try to stop them from being angry by giving them what they want. 姑息 [表不满]

If there is unrest in a particular place or society, people are expressing anger and dissatisfaction about something, often by demonstrating or rioting. 骚乱 [journalism]

If you contain something, you control it and prevent it from spreading or increasing. 控制; 阻止

If you say that a war, disease, or accident claims someone’s life, you mean that they are killed in it or by it. 夺走 (生命) [正式]

You say that something powerful or unpleasant rages when it continues with great force or violence.

When there is a coup, a group of people seize power in a country.

Business

deliberations
sharply reduce its forecast of world economic growth
undermine [破坏] support for its decisions
an exceptionally mild start to the winter in Europe
ease inflationary pressures
struggle through its worst-ever black-outs
state-owned electricity provider
prolific activist investors
start a cull of around 6% of its employees
weather downturns
be famed for
fork out $800 for the tasting menu

Assuming that the war does not escalate, Ukraine’s economy is expected to grow by 3.3%, but only after a third of its GDP was wiped out last year.

Along with positive news about German factory output and lower unemployment, the euro zone has had an optimistic start to the year, allaying fears of stagflation.

An almighty proxy battle was shaping up at Disney, after the company said it did not want to give Nelson Peltz a seat on the board.

Since its launch last year, supporters and critics alike say that ChatGPT has had the ability to disrupt publishing, education and even the use of search engines.

Albertsons agreed to merge with Kroger in a $24.6bn deal, but the combination of two of America’s biggest supermarket chains has attracted intense scrutiny from competition regulators.

The market for high-end fine dining [熟食] could face a shake-up, with the news that Noma is to shut its doors from the end of 2024.

Deliberations are formal discussions where an issue is considered carefully. 审议

To cull animals means to kill the weaker animals in a group in order to reduce their numbers. 宰杀 (病弱动物以减少其数目)

You use exceptional to describe someone or something that has a particular quality, usually a good quality, to an unusually high degree.

If there is a power blackout, the electricity supply to a place is temporarily cut off.

If you weather a difficult time or a difficult situation, you survive it and are able to continue normally after it has passed or ended.

If a bad situation escalates or if someone or something escalates it, it becomes greater in size, seriousness, or intensity. 使…加剧; 加剧 [journalism]

If you allay someone’s fears or doubts, you stop them feeling afraid or doubtful. 消除 (恐惧、疑虑) [正式]

If an economy is suffering from stagflation, inflation is high but there is no increase in the demand for goods or in the number of people who have jobs. 滞胀 [商业]

Almighty means very serious or great in extent. [非正式, 强调]

If you do something by proxy, you arrange for someone else to do it for you. 代理权

A shake-up is a major set of changes in an organization or a system. -(组织) 大改组; (体系) 剧变 [journalism]

To wipe out something such as a place or a group of people or animals means to destroy them completely.

If a person or thing is under scrutiny / ˈskruːtɪnɪ /, they are being studied or observed very carefully.

High-end products, especially electronic products, are the most expensive of their kind.

Leaders

Zero-sum

The destructive logic that threatens globalisation

impoverish, fury, spurn, squabble, creditor, insular
a system of rules and norms underwritten by America
in peril
friend and foe alike
restrict the flow of goods and capital
deal it a fresh blow = give it a fresh blow
unleash vast subsidies
scrutinize inward investments
undue foreign influence
chipmaking plant
stump up half the cost
avail yourself of generous tax breaks [减免]
total outlays
integrated into the global economy at the turn of this century
fall out of love with globalization
fret about
maintain its military edge
weather other countries’ complaints
hold back growth
irk allies in Europe and Asia
woo emerging powers [新兴大国]
gain economic clout
offer sufficient access to its own markets
rising powers
in debt distress [陷入债务危机]
preserve its military pre-eminence
ad hoc deals
trade pact

This brought about unprecedented economic integration that boosted growth, lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and helped the West prevail over Soviet Russia in the cold war.

The old system was already under strain, as America’s interest in maintaining it waned after the global financial crisis of 2007-09.

And officials are banning the flow of ever more exports — notably of high-end chips and chipmaking equipment to China.

For many in Washington, muscular industrial policy holds a seductive appeal. It could help seal America’s technological ascendancy over China, which has long pursued self-sufficiency in vital areas using state intervention.

The immediate consequence, however, has been to set off a dangerous spiral into protectionism worldwide.

Last year nearly a third of the cross-border business deals that came to the attention of European officials received detailed scrutiny.

Duplicating green supply chains will make it costlier for America and the world to wean themselves off carbon.

The task is enormous and urgent.

Something that impoverishes a person or a country makes them poor. 使贫困

If you spurn someone or something, you reject them. 拒绝

When people squabble, they quarrel about something that is not really important. (为琐事) 争吵

If you say that someone is insular, you are being critical of them because they are unwilling to meet new people or to consider new ideas. 与世隔绝的; 保守的 [表不满]

Perils are great dangers. 极大危险 [正式]

If you describe something bad as undue, you mean that it is greater or more extreme than you think is reasonable or appropriate. 过分的 [ADJ n]

If you stump up a sum of money, you pay it, often unwillingly.

Outlay is the amount of money that you have to spend in order to buy something or start a project. (必要的) 费用

If you fret about something, you worry about it. 担心

If something irks you, it irritates or annoys you. 使···生气; 使···烦恼 [v-link ADJ]

If you woo people, you try to encourage them to help you, support you, or vote for you, for example, by promising them things which they would like. 争取

You can use power to refer to a country that is very rich or important, or has strong military forces. 强国

Distress is the state of being in extreme danger and needing urgent help. 危难; 危急

An ad hoc activity or organization is done or formed only because a situation has made it necessary and is not planned in advance. 临时

A pact is a formal agreement between two or more people, organizations, or governments to do a particular thing or to help each other. 条约; 协议

Fury is violent or very strong anger.

Your creditors are the people who you owe money to.

If you say that someone or something unleashes a powerful force, feeling, activity, or group, you mean that they suddenly start it or send it somewhere.

To hold someone or something back means to prevent someone from doing something, or to prevent something from happening.

A person or institution that has clout has influence and power.

If one side in a battle, contest, or dispute prevails, it wins. 获胜

If strain is put on an organization or system, it has to do more than it is able to do. 压力

To wan is to grow or become pale or sickly. (脸色) 变苍白; (颜色) 变浅

If one group has ascendancy over another group, it has more power or influence than the other group. 优势 [正式]

If something sets off an event or a series of events, it causes it to start happening. 引发; 激起

If you wean someone off a habit or something they like, you gradually make them stop doing it or liking it, especially when you think it is bad for them. 使戒除 (尤指恶习) [原意是使断奶]

Something that is seductive is very attractive or makes you want to do something that you would not otherwise do.

If you duplicate something that has already been done, you repeat or copy it.

International

Demography | The age of the grandma

Business

Global commerce | Shipping forecast

pier, terminal, depot
container port
a vision of the future on two fronts
fast-growing bloc
the map of global commerce and the blueprints for its critical nodes
across the planet
on environmental grounds
fill in the sea with earth
an enterprise jointly owned by A and B
in conventional set-ups
lighten road congestion
enter a joint venture with
begin operations [开始运营]
thanks in part to
real estate
under the Danish shipping giant’s banner
an explicit focus on Asian consumers
seaborne trade

Driverless vehicles whizz across five new berth at Tuas Mega Port, which sits on a swathe of largely reclaimed land at the western tip of Singapore.

Unmanned crane loom overhead, circled by camera-fitted drones.

It illustrates how port operators the world over are deploying clever technologies to meet the demand for their services in the face of obstacles to the development of new facilities, from lack of space to environmental concerns. More fundamentally, the city-state’s investment, with construction costs estimated at $15bn, is part of a wave of huge bets by the broader logistics industry on the rising importance of Asia, and South-East Asia in particular.

Last year a big port expansion in Piraeus, Greece, was blocked by courts for failing to provide the right assessment of its environmental impact.

In April PSA finalised its purchase of BDP International, an American freight-forwarder specialising in supply-chain management, for an undisclosed sum (its previous private-equity owner had reportedly been looking for $15bn).

Streamlining supply chains only gets you so far, however.

This requires feats of civil engineering — and is expensive.

Many ports are too deep for land reclamation to be viable.

In BoxBay’s “high-day” storage system, each container sits in an individual rack, where automated cranes can pluck them out individually.

In the late 1990s more than 70% of Asian exports by value went to other parts of the world.

A pier is a platform sticking out into water that people walk along or use when getting onto or off boats. 凸式码头

A depot is a place where large amounts of raw materials, equipment, arms, or other supplies are kept until they are needed. 仓库; 库房

If you say that something is happening on a particular front, you mean that it is happening with regard to a particular situation or field of activity. 领域

If something is grounds for a feeling or action, it is a reason for it. If you do something on the grounds of a particular thing, that thing is the reason for your action. 理由

If there is congestion in a place, the place is extremely crowded and blocked with traffic or people. 拥塞

A joint venture is a business or project in which two or more companies or individuals have invested, with the intention of working together. 合资企业 [商业]

If someone does something under the banner of a particular cause, idea, or belief, they do it saying that they support that cause, idea, or belief. 在…旗帜下; 在…名义下

A terminal is a place where vehicles, passengers, or goods begin or end a journey.

A particular setup is a particular system or way of organizing something. [非正式]

Real estate is property in the form of land and buildings, rather than personal possessions.

Seaborne actions or events take place on the sea in ships.

If something whizzes somewhere, it moves there very fast. [非正式]

A berth is a space in a harbour where a ship stays for a period of time. 泊位

A swathe of land is a long strip of land. (土地的)一长条; 一长片 [usu N ‘of’ n]

When people reclaim land, they make it suitable for a purpose such as farming or building, for example by draining it or by building a barrier against the sea. 开垦; 改造

The tip of something long and narrow is the end of it. 尖端

Unmanned vehicles such as spacecraft do not have any people in them and operate automatically or are controlled from a distance. (交通工具)无人驾驶的 [usu ADJ n]

Forwarder (also forward agent) is a person, agency, or enterprise engaged in the collection, shipment, and delivery of goods.

To streamline an organization or process means to make it more efficient by removing unnecessary parts of it. 提高…效率

If you refer to an action, or the result of an action, as a feat, you admire it because it is an impressive and difficult achievement. 功绩 [表赞许]

A rack is a frame or shelf, usually with bars or hooks, that is used for holding things or for hanging things on. 搁物架; 挂物架

If you pluck something from somewhere, you take it between your fingers and pull it sharply from where it is. 拔; 扯 [书面]

Bartleby | Unlocking creativity

trio, cannabis, elapse, joviality, mind-blowing, psychedelics, perk, vicinity, outperform
take a bow
widespread notion
(researchers) recruit a bunch of Americans (participants)
come up with money-spinning ideas
undergo the test
lateral thinking
discern no effect on
reach a similar conclusion
stimulate innovative thoughts
unlock bright ideas

But the search for ways to unleash creativity seems to scramble executives’ brains.

Drug use is at the extreme end of a range of techniques whose purpose is to jolt people into a more innovative mind-set.

And there is a near-universal obsession with turning bits of offices into playrooms.

But desperate efforts to induce creativity can be self-defeating, in the same way that telling yourself that you must get to sleep is bound to keep you awake.

Tedium itself can be a useful spur to inspiration.

Boredom, reckoned Friedrich Nietzsche, is that disagreeable “windless calm” of the soul that precedes a happy voyage and cheerful breeze.

Cannabis / ˈkænəbɪs / is the hemp plant when it is used as a drug. 大麻

When time elapses / ɪˈlæps /, it passes. (时间) 流逝 [正式]

If you describe a person as jovial / ˈdʒəʊvɪəl /, you mean that they are happy and behave in a cheerful way. 快乐

Psychedelic means relating to drugs such as LSD that have a strong effect on your mind, often making you see things that are not there. 幻觉的

Lateral thinking is a way of solving problems by rejecting traditional methods and employing unorthodox and apparently illogical means 横向思维; 抛弃传统方法而采用非正统和好像不符合逻辑的方法解决问题

If you can discern something, you are aware of it and know what it is. 认识; 了解 [正式]

A trio is a group of three people together, especially musicians or singers, or a group of three things that have something in common.

If you describe something as mind-blowing, you mean that it is extremely impressive or surprising. [非正式]

If something is in the vicinity of a particular place, it is near it. [正式]

If you recruit people for an organization, you select them and persuade them to join it or work for it.

If you undergo something necessary or unpleasant, it happens to you.

A plan or action that is self-defeating is likely to cause problems or difficulties instead of producing useful results. 适得其反的

Something that acts as a spur to something else encourages a person or organization to do that thing or makes it happen more quickly. 促进因素; 推动

If something jolts or if something jolts it, it moves suddenly and quite violently.

If you refer to someone’s mindset, you mean their general attitudes and the way they typically think about things.

If you are desperate, you are in such a bad situation that you are willing to try anything to change it.

Finance & economics

Buttonwood | Everyone’s problem

gauge, greenback, dent, near-record
suspend the convertibility of the dollar into gold
(corporate bonds) be denominated in outside currency [以外币计]
pocket the difference [赚取差额]
the teetering of the global economy towards recession
ratchet up markets’ anxiety levels
fall into a downturn
throw currency markets back into chaos

The phrasing was apt.

Yet once again a weaker dollar is prompting sighs of relief.

Commodity prices are quoted in dollars.

If American growth is sputtering, the global economy is likely to be in jeopardy as well, enhancing the appeal of dollar assets as havens.

Teeter is used in expressions such as teeter on the brink and teeter on the edge to emphasize that something seems to be in a very unstable situation or position. 岌岌可危 [强调]

In a tool or machine, a ratchet is a wheel or bar with sloping teeth, which can move only in one direction, because a piece of metal stops the teeth from moving backward. (防倒转的)棘齿; 棘轮

A gauge of someone’s feelings or a situation is a fact or event that can be used to judge them.

A greenback is a United States banknote such as a dollar bill.

If something dents your confidence or your pride, it makes you realize that you are not as good or successful as you thought.

If you suspend something, you delay it or stop it from happening for a while or until a decision is made about it.

The phrasing of something that is said or written is the exact words that are chosen to express the ideas in it. 措词; 表达法 [oft N ‘of’ n]

If a company’s shares, a substance, or a currency is quoted at a particular price, that is its current market price. 报 (公司股票、物质、货币) 的牌价 [商业]

If a process, action, or state of affairs sputters, it progresses slowly and unevenly or starts to end. 疲软

If someone or something is in jeopardy / ˈdʒɛpədɪ /, they are in a dangerous situation where they might fail, be lost, or be destroyed. 处于险境

An apt remark, description, or choice is especially suitable.

To prompt someone to do something means to make them decide to do it.

Science & technology

Propaganda | What is truth?

aphorism, cartography, tamper, hotbed, royalty
release a video
allegations of crimes
man a checkpoint
available gratis
log them in the fashion of a notary
check for inconsistencies between the place and time
malware designed to facilitate the falsification of metadata
diplomatic corps
is cagey about
fuss with

Last year, a doctored video appeared of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, apparently telling Ukrainian soldiers to surrender.

This is to use their ubiquity to cast doubt on the veracity of inconvenient pictures that are real.

The footage soon appeared on Russian television with the word “fake” stamped on it.

“Glass-to-glass” warning systems create special software “ecosystems” within which pictures and video can be taken, stored and transmitted in a way that alerts viewers to alternations, no matter when and where those changes are introduced in an image’s journey from lens to screen.

If an image’s authenticity needs to be verified, it *suffices to rescan its digital sequence, recalculate its hash, and then ask the *repository whether or not it contains an individual hash.

They package those which seem to record abuses into dossiers that are then sent to prosecuting authorities.

Moreover, if it is then tapped by a probing official and an incorrect passcode entered, that opens the phone’s normal photo gallery.

Charities pay nothing to use its software, but companies that employ it to keep an eye on things like supply chains, progress at construction sites, compliance with loan terms, and the whereabouts and condition of expensive kit, must stump up.

An aphorism / ˈæfəˌrɪzəm / is a short witty sentence which expresses a general truth or comment. 格言; 警句 [正式]

Cartography / kɑːˈtɒɡrəfɪ / is the art or activity of drawing maps and geographical charts. 制图法; 地图绘制

If someone tampers with something, they interfere with it or try to change it when they have no right to do so. 干涉; 篡改

If you say that somewhere is a hotbed of an undesirable activity, you are emphasizing that a lot of the activity is going on there or being started there. (不良活动的)温床 [with supp, usu N ‘of’ n] [强调]

Payments made to someone whose invention, idea, or property is used by a commercial company can be referred to as royalties. (发明、创意、财产等的) 使用费

If you man something such as a place or machine, you operate it or are in charge of it. 操控 (机器等); 控制 (某地)

If something is done or provided gratis, it does not have to be paid for. 免费地 [ADV after v] [also ADJ]

A notary or a notary public is a person, often a lawyer, who has legal authority to witness the signing of documents in order to make them legally valid. 公证人

If there are inconsistencies between two statements, one cannot be true if the other is true. 不一致

The diplomatic corps is the group of all the diplomats who work in one city or country. 外交使节团

If you say that someone is being cagey about something, you mean that you think they are deliberately not giving you much information or expressing an opinion about it. 遮遮掩掩的

If you fuss, you worry or behave in a nervous, anxious way about unimportant matters or rush around doing unnecessary things. 瞎紧张; 瞎操心; 瞎忙乎

An allegation is a statement saying that someone has done something wrong.

If you do something in a particular fashion or after a particular fashion, you do it in that way.

To facilitate an action or process, especially one that you would like to happen, means to make it easier or more likely to happen.

If someone doctors something, they change it in order to deceive people. 窜改

Veracity is the quality of being true or the habit of telling the truth. 真实; 诚实 [正式]

Footage of a particular event is a film of it or the part of a film which shows this event. (描述某一事件的) 片段镜头

If you say that something will suffice, you mean it will be enough to achieve a purpose or to fulfil a need. 足够 [正式] [no cont]

A repository is a place where something is kept safely. 贮存处; 存放处 [正式] [此处指 (电脑) 数据库]

A dossier is a collection of papers containing information on a particular event, or on a person such as a criminal or a spy. 卷宗

Compliance with something, for example a law, treaty, or agreement, means doing what you are required or expected to do. 遵从 [正式]

If you stump up a sum of money, you pay it, often unwillingly. [British, 非正式]

If you talk about the ubiquity of something, you mean that it seems to be everywhere. [正式] [oft N ‘of’ n]

Abuse of something is the use of it in a wrong way or for a bad purpose. [with supp]

If you refer to the whereabouts of a particular person or thing, you mean the place where that person or thing may be found.

Graphic detail

Antidepressants | Needles in haystacks

antidepressant
induce dependency or inflict unwelcome side-effects
yield substantial evidence of effectiveness
tout a positive result
paint a grim picture
publish a breakdown of sth
mildly depressed patients
obscure the reason why…
big, moderate or negligible improvements
reap large benefits from sth.
data-driven precision

On the surface, their prevalence seems hard to *reconcile with the *underwhelming evidence of their utility.

Rather than a bell curve, the distribution of individuals’ results in the BMJ study looked like a plateau, with a modest summit at one end. For the drugs, this peak sat on the side representing large reductions in depression. For the placebo, it landed on the side of small declines.

An antidepressant is a drug which is used to treat people who are suffering from depression. 抗抑郁药

To inflict harm or damage on someone or something means to make them suffer it. 使遭受 (伤害或破坏等)

If something yields a result or piece of information, it produces it. 产生 (结果); 制造 (消息)

If someone touts something, they try to sell it or convince people that it is good. 兜售; 吹嘘 [表不满]

A breakdown of something is a list of its separate parts. 细目列表

If one thing obscures another, it prevents it from being seen or heard properly. 遮掩

A situation or piece of information that is grim is unpleasant, depressing, and difficult to accept.

An amount or effect that is negligible is so small that it is not worth considering or worrying about.

If you reap the benefits or the rewards of something, you enjoy the good things that happen as a result of it.

If you reconcile two beliefs, facts, or demands that seem to be opposed or completely different, you find a way in which they can both be true or both be successful. 使和谐一致; 调和

To underwhelm is to make no positive impact or impression on or disappoint 未给…留下好印象; 使…失望

A placebo is a substance with no chemical effects that a doctor gives to a patient instead of a drug. Placebos are used when testing new drugs or sometimes when a patient has imagined their illness. (无药用效果的)安慰剂