1
Flooding in Pakistan has killed more than 1,000 people
巴基斯坦特大洪灾致千逾人死亡
As of 31 August local time, abnormal heavy monsoon① rains and melting glaciers triggered floods that have submerged a third of Pakistan and killed at least 1,191 people, including 399 children. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the flooding “the worst in the history of Pakistan”. Around a half million of those displaced are living in organised camps, while others have had to find their own shelter. Pakistan has received nearly 190% more rain than the past 30-year average in the quarter through August this year, totalling 390.7 mm (15.38 inches). The United Nations has appealed for $160 million to help with what it calls an “unprecedented② climate catastrophe”. Global aid are set to arrive, carrying planeloads of tents, food and medicine from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates as the scale of the devastation unfolded. (Reuters)
截至当地时间8月31日，巴基斯坦反常的强季风降雨和冰川融化引发的洪水已经淹没了该国三分之一的国土，造成至少1191人死亡，其中包括399名儿童。巴基斯坦总理夏巴兹·谢里夫称这次洪灾是巴基斯坦历史上最严重的一次。流离失所的人中大约50万目前住在有组织的救济营地里，其他人不得不自己寻找避难所。今年6月到8月，巴基斯坦的降水量比过去30年平均降水量多出近190%，累计390.7毫米（15.38英寸）。联合国呼吁国际社会捐助1.6亿美元，以应对“前所未有的气候灾难”。随着受灾范围进一步扩大，来自中国、土耳其和阿拉伯联合酋长国的帐篷、食品和药品等全球救援物资将陆续空运抵达。
【注释】
① monsoon: [mɒnˈsu:n] n. the rain that falls during this period 雨季的降雨
② unprecedented: [ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd] adj. that has never happened, been done or been known before 前所未有的；空前的；没有先例的
(Credit: The Guardian)
2
Germany rejects Poland’ s claim it owes €1.3tn in war reparations①
德国拒绝波兰索要1.3万亿欧元战争赔款
Germany has rejected a Polish parliamentary report claiming it owes its eastern neighbour €1.3tn for damages caused during the Second World War, saying the question of wartime reparations is “closed”. “The federal government’s position is unchanged,” a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said on Friday. “In the view of the government this matter is closed”. Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of Poland’s ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, on Thursday presented a report assessing the financial damages caused by Nazi Germany’s invasion and occupation of the country during the Second World War. Speaking on the 83rd anniversary of the invasion in 1939, Kaczyński said a parliamentary committee had calculated the total losses amounted to② 6.2tn złotys, roughly €1.32tn. The German government argues Poland waived③ its right to war reparations in 1953, as part of an agreement in which its eastern bloc④ ally East Germany ceded⑤ territories beyond the Oder-Neisse border to Poland and Russia. According to the foreign ministry, Germany has paid about €74bn in reparations since the end of the war, mostly to Israel and western European states or individuals living in those countries. (The Guardian)
波兰议会发布了一份报告，称德国应向波兰支付1.3万亿欧元的赔款，以弥补二战期间给这个东部邻国造成的损失；德国对此予以拒绝，称战争赔款问题已“处理完毕”。“德国政府的立场没有改变，”德国外交部发言人于当地时间9月2日表示，“在德国看来，这件事已经结束。”波兰保守派执政党法律与公正党领导人雅罗斯瓦夫·卡钦斯基于9月1日发表了一份报告，该报告评估了二战期间纳粹德国入侵和占领波兰造成的经济损失。今年9月1日是1939年纳粹德国入侵波兰83周年纪念日，卡钦斯基发表讲话称，波兰议会委员会计算出总损失为6.2万亿兹罗提，约合1.32万亿欧元。德国政府辩称，1953年波兰就在一份协议中明确放弃了其战争索赔权，根据该份协议，波兰当时的东部集团盟友民主德国将奥得-尼斯河边界以外的领土割让给了波兰和俄罗斯。德国外交部称，自二战结束以来，德国已支付了约740亿欧元的赔款，大多给了以色列和西欧国家以及居住在这些国家的个人。
【注释】
① reparation: [ˌrepəˈreɪʃn] n. money that is paid by a country that has lost a war, for the damage, injuries, etc. that it has caused（战败国的）赔款
② amount to: to add up to sth; to make sth as a total 总计；共计
③ waive: [weɪv] v. to choose not to demand sth in a particular case, even though you have a legal or official right to do so 放弃（权利、要求等）
④ bloc: [blɒk] n. a group of countries that work closely together because they have similar political interests（政治利益一致的）国家集团
⑤ cede: [siːd] v. to give sb control of sth or give them power, a right, etc., especially unwillingly 割让；让给；转让
(Credit: CGTN)
3
Mexico restores large mural “War and Peace” to be displayed at celebration
墨西哥修复大型壁画《战争与和平》并将在庆祝活动展出
The mural “War and Peace” will be on display on three walls of the San Salvador Municipal Building in October 2022. When structural defects in the building and the risk of collapse were reported in 2015, the mural was dismantled① and kept in the Cabañas Museum, which means that it has not been seen since then but, as the restorer comments, “it is in a very good state of conservation, and the intervention is based on building its new frame”. Meanwhile, 40 panelists from Mexico and countries such as Chile, Cuba, France and Argentina will participate the mural celebration. The mural celebration will be approached from the perspectives of heritage, its social dimension, resistance, its validity as public art, gender awareness and public policies. The artists’ manifesto② was to make “ideological propaganda for the good of the people” and give art “a purpose of beauty, of education and combat for all.” (AP News)
壁画《战争与和平》将于2022年10月在圣萨尔瓦多市政大楼的三面墙上展出。2015年，有报告评估该大楼有结构缺陷和倒塌风险，于是壁画被拆除并保存在卡巴尼亚斯博物馆，这意味着从那时起它就再也没有公开展出过，但正如修复者所说，“它被保护得很好，而修复主要是为它搭建新的框架”。届时，将有来自墨西哥和智利、古巴、法国、阿根廷等国的40名专家参加壁画展出的庆祝活动。庆祝活动将从各个角度来探讨这一作品，包括文化遗产、其社会维度、抵制、作为公共艺术的效用、性别意识和公共政策。艺术家们的宣言是“为人民的利益进行意识形态宣传”，并赋予艺术“美、教育和为所有人而战的目的”。
【注释】
① dismantle: [ dɪsˈmænt(ə)l] v. to take apart a machine or structure so that it is in separate pieces 拆开，拆卸（机器或结构）
② manifesto: [ mænɪˈfestəʊ] n. a written statement in which a group of people, especially a political party, explain their beliefs and say what they will do if they win an election 宣言
(Credit: AP News)
4
US life expectancy falls for second straight year
美国人均预期寿命连续两年下降
The average life expectancy of people in the United States dropped for a second consecutive① year in 2021, with the decline to 76 years and one month representing a fall of almost a full year from 2020, according to a government report released on Wednesday. In the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimated American lifespan has shortened by nearly three years. The last comparable decrease happened in the early 1940s, during the height of World War II. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials blamed COVID-19 for about half the decline in 2021, a year when vaccinations became widely available but new coronavirus variants caused waves of hospitalizations and deaths. Other contributors to the decline are longstanding problems: drug overdoses, heart disease, suicide and chronic liver disease. “It’s a dismal② situation. It was bad before and it’s gotten worse,” said Samuel Preston, a University of Pennsylvania demographer. (AP News)
据8月31日发布的一份政府报告，美国人均预期寿命在2021年连续第二年下降，降至76岁零1个月,较前一年下降了近1岁。在新冠疫情肆虐的2020年和2021年，美国人均预期寿命缩短了近3岁。上一次出现如此降幅还是在20世纪40年代初的第二次世界大战高峰期。美国疾病控制和预防中心的官员认为，2021年美国人均预期寿命下降的首要原因是新冠疫情。虽然2021年疫苗接种广泛普及，但新冠病毒变异毒株导致了大量住院和死亡病例。导致下降的其他原因包括一些长期存在的问题，如药物过量、心脏病、自杀和慢性肝病。宾夕法尼亚大学的人口统计学家塞缪尔·普雷斯顿表示：“这种情况令人沮丧。以前很糟糕，现在更糟了。”
【注释】
① consecutive: [kənˈsekjətɪv] adj. following one after another in a continuous series 连续的，不间断的
② dismal: [ˈdɪzməl] adj. (informal) not successful; of very low quality 差劲的，糟糕的
(Credit: AP News)
5
“Zombie ice” from Greenland will raise sea level 10 inches
格陵兰岛“僵尸冰”融化或使全球海平面上升27厘米
Zombie ice from the massive Greenland ice sheet will eventually raise global sea level by at least 10 inches (27 centimeters) on its own, according to a study released Monday. Zombie or doomed ice is ice that is still attached to thicker areas of ice, but is no longer getting fed by those larger glaciers. That’s because the parent glaciers are getting less replenishing① snow. Meanwhile the doomed ice is melting from climate change, said study co-author William Colgan, a glaciologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. “It’s dead ice. It’s just going to melt and disappear from the ice sheet. This ice has been consigned② to the ocean, regardless of what climate scenario③ we take now.” Although 10 inches doesn’t sound like much, that’s a global average. Some coastal areas will be hit with more, and high tides and storms on top of that could be even worse, so this much sea level rise “will have huge societal, economic and environmental impacts,” said Ellyn Enderlin, a geosciences professor at Boise State University. (NBC News)
8月29日公布的一份研究报告显示，仅格陵兰岛巨大冰盖上的“僵尸冰”融化就会使全球海平面上升至少10英寸（合27厘米）。僵尸冰，又称死冰，指的是附着在更厚冰川上却无法得到新的冰源补充的冰。僵尸冰断供是母冰川得到的降雪补充变少所致。研究报告合著者、丹麦和格陵兰地质调查所的冰川学家威廉·科尔根表示，与此同时，死冰正因气候变化而融化。“这是死冰，将会融化并从冰盖上消失。不管人类现在采取何种气候方案，这些冰终将融于海洋中。”虽然10英寸听起来不多，但这是全球平均值。美国博伊西州立大学地球科学教授埃林·恩德林称，一些沿海地区将受到更多影响，此外，大潮和风暴可能变得更加严重，因此海平面以这种幅度上升“将对社会、经济和环境产生巨大影响”。
【注释】
① replenish: [rɪˈplenɪʃ] v. to make sth full again by replacing what has been used 补充；重新装满
② consign: [kənˈsaɪn] v. ~ sb/sth to sthto put sb/sth somewhere in order to get rid of them/it （为摆脱而）把……置于，把……交付给
③ scenario: [səˈnɑːriəʊ] n. a description of how things might happen in the future 设想；方案；预测
(Credit: China Daily)
6
Xi hails role of CIFTIS as key platform
称赞中国国际服务贸易交易会是重要平台
The 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing from Wednesday to Monday marks the 10th year that China is hosting the fair. Covering an exhibition area of more than 15,200 square meters and focusing on nine themes, including financial, educational, healthcare and supply chain management services, this year’s CIFTIS will see booths set up by more than 1,400 enterprises, including 446 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders, said the Ministry of Commerce. In a letter to congratulate the opening of the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing, Xi said the CIFTIS is a crucial platform for China to expand opening-up, deepen cooperation and pioneer innovation. China is ready to work with other countries to uphold real multilateralism, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation. (China Daily)
2022年中国国际服务贸易交易会于8月31日至9月5日在北京举办，这是中国第10年举办该展会。商务部表示，本届服贸会展览面积超过15200平方米，聚焦金融、教育、医疗和供应链管理服务等9个主题，将有1400多家企业设立展台，其中包括446家世界500强企业和行业领军企业。主席向2022年中国国际服务贸易交易会在北京开幕致贺信，信中指出，服贸会是中国扩大开放、深化合作、引领创新的重要平台。中国愿同世界各国一道，坚持真正的多边主义，坚持普惠包容、合作共贏。
【相关阅读】
一周热闻｜2021年中国国际服务贸易交易会开幕、日本首相将于月底辞职、阿富汗前部长移民德国送外卖……
(Credit: Xinhua)
北京化工大学
沈嘉宁、高铭薇、曾双飞 编译
周博佳、戴坚羽 朗读
张菊 审订
,
