英语每日一听 | 每天少于5分钟

We've been on the bench for over thirty years. For 25 years, we were on television just in Rhode Island. That's it. 我们做法官已经有三十多年了。在过去的二十五年来，我们的节目只在罗得岛州的电视台播出。仅此而已。I get letters every day, people sending me letters saying, "Please continue to treat people with understanding and compassion."我每天都会收到信件，人们在信中写道：“请继续以理解和同情之心对待他人。”And many people, because of my treatment of people who come before my court, send money to my court saying, "Please use this to help someone else."许多人因我对出庭者的态度而向法庭捐款，并附言：“请用这笔钱帮助他人。”I have a letter from a woman named Angie Chesser. And she said, I got a small bonus from where I work and I would like to donate 100 dollars to help somebody else.我收到了一封来自安吉·切瑟女士的信。她说：“我从工作的地方拿到了一笔小额奖金，想捐出100美元来帮助其他人。”And she actually sent cash. So we're gonna use this to help pay for your fine. What do you say about that? I'm speechless.她还真的寄来了现金。我们准备用这笔钱帮你支付罚款。你觉得怎么样？我无话可说。It says that there is an awful lot of kind, wonderful people in life.生活中有非常多善良而美好的人。Many times, even though I am helping people, the city is still getting money, because I have people from all over the world.很多时候，尽管我在帮助人们，但这座城市仍然能获得收益，因为我的客户来自世界各地。I have people from Iraq who sent money, people from France, from Italy, from China, from Russia, all over the world, and the United States, send in checks, saying, "Please use this to help someone else."有来自伊拉克的人寄钱，有来自法国、意大利、中国、俄罗斯的人，还有美国人，他们寄来支票说：“请用这些钱去帮助其他人。”So we have touched the heart of people all over the world. 32 dollars. 32 dollars.我们触动了全世界人民的心。这里有三十二美元。My father was an immigrant from Italy. We were very poor. We had very little material things, but we had a great deal of love in our house.我的父亲是来自意大利的移民。我们非常贫穷。我们拥有的物质财富很少，但家里却充满了无尽的爱。And my dad's vision was always that life would be better for his children. Maybe I climbed the ladder of success.我父亲的愿景始终是让他的孩子们过上更好的生活。也许我已经爬上了成功的阶梯。It is not enough to climb the ladder of success. The key is to leave the ladder down, so that others can climb the ladder, too.仅仅爬上成功的阶梯是不够的，关键在于把梯子放下来，好让他人也能攀登。

The English oak is one of Britain's most iconic trees. Broad and majestic, this tree supports more species than any other native tree in the UK, from blackbirds, to squirrels to butterflies. For centuries it has stood watching the landscapes change and our societies evolve. The question is, can a tree remember, learn and adapt to new environments within its lifetime? Does wisdom lie within its boughs? 英国橡树是英国最具标志性的树木之一。 这棵树宽阔而雄伟，比英国任何其他本土树木都支持更多的物种，从黑鸟、松鼠到蝴蝶。 几个世纪以来，它一直见证着景观的变化和我们社会的演变。 问题是，一棵树在其一生中能否记忆、学习和适应新环境？ 智慧就在它的枝干里吗？ Trees provide a physical record of their life experiences in their growth rings. Dendrochronologists take samples from a tree trunk and are able to see whether a tree has been through a forest fire, periods of drought or a rainy season. But these markings are more than just battle scars. An organisation called Membra studies a number of UK tree species to see how they 'remember' and respond to environmental stress. Their research shows that environmental events do not change the tree's genetic code, but they can change how its genes react, which helps the tree adapt and defend itself against future drought, disease or climate extremes. So, trees don't have conscious memories of events like humans do – they remember through biological, structural changes.树木的年轮提供了它们生命经历的物理记录。  树木年代学家从树干上采集样本，能够判断一棵树是否经历过森林火灾、干旱期或雨季。 但这些标记不仅仅是战斗伤痕。 一个名为 Membra 的组织研究了一些英国树种，以了解它们如何“记忆”并应对环境压力。 他们的研究表明，环境事件不会改变树木的遗传密码，但可以改变其基因的反应方式，这有助于树木适应并防御未来的干旱、疾病或极端气候。 因此，树木不像人类那样对事件有意识的记忆——它们通过生物、结构的变化来记忆。That's a tree's defence in its own lifespan, but can their memories be passed down to future generations? Membra's research found that seedlings were more tolerant to drought when their parents had experienced repeated drought. And in one of the world's largest climate change experiments, published in Nature Climate Change by Richard Norby and colleagues, they pumped extra CO2 into an oak forest. Not only did the trees absorb more CO2, but the offspring of those trees also grew faster and were more resistant to disease, suggesting that tough conditions might make trees' offspring more resilient.那是一棵树在其生命周期中的防御，但它们的记忆能遗传给后代吗？ 曼布拉的研究发现，当父母经历过反复干旱时，幼苗对干旱的耐受性更强。 在理查德·诺比及其同事在《自然气候变化》杂志上发表的世界上最大的气候变化实验之一中，他们向橡树林中注入了额外的二氧化碳。 这些树木不仅吸收了更多的二氧化碳，而且这些树木的后代也生长得更快，对疾病的抵抗力也更强，这表明恶劣的条件可能会让树木的后代更有弹性。What does this all mean? There has been a wave of tree planting schemes throughout the UK, with aims to improve biodiversity and our defence against climate change. Fast-growing and short-lived tree species are often favoured in these schemes to quickly increase tree numbers. But trees that live longer, like oaks, which have a greater memory and resilience, could be a better choice. 这一切意味着什么？ 英国各地掀起了一波植树计划，旨在改善生物多样性和抵御气候变化。 这些计划通常倾向于生长快速且寿命短的树种，以快速增加树木数量。 但寿命较长的树木，如橡树，具有更强的记忆力和恢复力，可能是更好的选择。 

4,000 brain scans of people up to the age of 90 have revealed our brains go through five distinct eras. The first is childhood. This is when the brain is rapidly growing but getting less efficient over time.对 4000 名最大年龄为 90 岁的人的脑部扫描显示出我们的大脑会经历五个不同的阶段。首先是童年期。在这个阶段中，大脑会快速地生长，但效率会逐渐降低。Then, a surprisingly long period of adolescence kicks in, starting at the age of nine and lasting until you're 32 when the brain peaks. You then get the longest stage, adulthood, which lasts three decades.在这之后，一段漫长到令人有些惊讶的青春期就会开始，这段时期从九岁开始一直持续到 32 岁，那时你的大脑会达到最佳状态。然后你会迎来最长的成年期阶段，持续约三十年。Then comes 66 and early ageing. The effects are subtle, but the brain is beginning to fragment as smaller regions work tightly together – it's like a band starting their own solo projects. At 83, this accelerates as we enter the final phase.然后在 66 岁时进入早期衰老阶段。这个阶段的影响并不明显，但大脑会开始逐渐碎片化，更小的区域会开始紧密合作，就像一个乐队中的成员开始推出他们的个人作品一样。到 83 岁时，这个现象会开始加速，大脑进入最后的晚期阶段。

The international team of researchers says ultra-processed foods present too great a danger to health to wait any longer to take action against them.一个国际研究团队称，超加工食品对健康的危害太大，所以必须立即采取行动来应对。They say products containing high levels of saturated fat, salt, sugar and additives are displacing fresh food. Examples include processed meats, crisps, mass-produced bread, ready meals and fizzy drinks.研究人员表示，含有大量饱和脂肪、盐、糖和添加剂的食品正在取代新鲜食物，比如加工肉类、炸薯片、批量生产的面包、即食餐和碳酸饮料。The researchers take aim at a handful of massive food corporations, calling for them to face marketing restrictions and extra taxes.研究人员将矛头指向了少数几家大型食品公司，呼吁对它们施加营销限制并征收额外的税费。

Can you imagine waiting ten years to take the perfect photograph? With phones accessible in our pocket, it's easier than ever to take photos of nature and wildlife, providing we can find it. But what skills do the most successful wildlife photographers have? Talent, patience, curiosity and resilience.你能想象为了拍到一张完美的照片而等待十年吗？如今手机随身携带，只要我们能找到拍摄对象，拍摄自然与野生动物从未如此容易。那么，最成功的野生动物摄影师具备哪些能力呢？天赋、耐心、好奇心以及韧性。The winner of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 was South African wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever. His shot depicts a brown hyena lit up in an abandoned mining town in the Namibian desert and was the culmination of ten years' work. So why was it so difficult to capture? The subject is a shy creature, mostly active at night, and the Namib Desert often succumbs to thick fog, while easterly winds can pile sand up to a metre high. "I had one or two years where cameras just got absolutely trashed," he says.2025 年“年度野生动物摄影师”大奖得主是南非野生动物摄影师温·范·登·希弗（Wim van den Heever）。他的作品拍摄的是一只棕鬣狗，在纳米比亚沙漠的一座废弃矿镇中被灯光照亮，这是他十年努力的结晶。那么，为什么这张照片如此难以拍到？拍摄对象性格羞怯，主要在夜间活动；纳米布沙漠又常常被浓雾笼罩，东风还会将沙子堆积到高达一米。“有一两年的时间，相机简直被彻底毁掉了，”他说。The images captured in this competition are not just stunning, they are also powerful glimpses into the fragile, complex and beautiful ecosystems we share. The picture that won Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 is of a longhorn beetle appearing to look out at big logging machinery which is chopping down its habitat. The photographer has cleverly framed the beetle and machinery to be equal in size, which one of the judges commented on. "The photographer has given M. asper authority in this image. It does exactly what a strong photograph should do – it increases our understanding.”本次比赛中的影像不仅令人惊叹，更有力地呈现了我们共同生活其中那些脆弱、复杂而美丽的生态系统。获得 2025 年“年度青年野生动物摄影师”奖的作品，拍摄的是一只长角甲虫，仿佛正注视着正在砍伐其栖息地的大型伐木机械。摄影师巧妙地将甲虫与机械构图成同等大小，这一点得到了评委的评价。“摄影师在这张照片中赋予了 M. asper 一种主导感。这正是优秀摄影作品应有的力量——它加深了我们的理解。”A strong visual can not only provoke the urgency of conservation but can also give us glimpses into the unexpected. This year a Belgian photographer captured a startling image of one of the world's only maritime lions. These big cats moved from their traditional hunting grounds in the Namib Desert in 2017 and have since learnt to hunt fur seals along the Atlantic coast. "The photo shows how resilient these animals are… that they change their habitat to survive," says the photographer, Van Malderen.强有力的视觉影像不仅能唤起人们对自然保护的紧迫感，也能让我们看到意想不到的变化。今年，一位比利时摄影师拍下了一张震撼人心的照片，主角是世界上极少见的海岸狮。这些大型猫科动物于 2017 年离开了它们在纳米布沙漠的传统狩猎地，并逐渐学会沿着大西洋海岸捕食海豹。“这张照片展现了这些动物的顽强生命力……它们为了生存而改变栖息地，”摄影师范·马尔德伦（Van Malderen）说道。What wildlife could you capture? Grab your phone, explore nature and see what you can find.你又能捕捉到怎样的野生动物呢？拿起手机，走进自然，看看你能发现什么。

We're talking about the Volkswagen scandal. Yes, well, let's go back to the beginning. How did it all start? Well, Richard, if you think about it, German products, they have a good reputation, don't they? Especially for engineering, yes.我们在谈论大众汽车丑闻。是的，那我们回到事情的起点吧。一切是如何开始的呢？理查德，如果你仔细想想，德国产品的口碑一直很好，对吧？尤其是在工程技术方面，是的。And I think the motor car industry represents the best of all of that. Yes, they're reliable, well-designed, efficient, highly engineered. Who doesn't want to own a BMW? Or a Mercedes.我认为汽车工业正是这些优点的最佳体现。是的，它们可靠、设计精良、高效，而且工程技术含量极高。谁不想拥有一辆宝马？或者一辆奔驰呢？But in terms of being environmentally friendly, diesel cars have a poor reputation, particularly in the US, where very few are sold. So, yes, so when VW said that it had designed cars with a new clean diesel technology that surpassed the strict US regulations, it filled a huge hole in the market. Yes, so there are fewer fumes, Richard, toxic fumes.但是在环保方面，柴油车的名声并不好，尤其是在美国，柴油车的销量非常少。所以，当大众汽车宣称他们设计出了一种新的清洁柴油技术，能够超越美国严格的环保法规时，这正好填补了市场上的一个巨大空白。是的，这意味着废气更少了，理查德，有毒废气更少了。It's mainly... Nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, things like that. OK, but retaining better fuel efficiency and excellent performance. I mean, VW was on to a winner, wasn't it? Sales were soaring.主要是……氮氧化物、一氧化碳之类的东西。好吧，但同时还能保持更好的燃油效率和出色的性能。我的意思是，大众汽车当时似乎找到了制胜法宝，不是吗？销量一路飙升。And, of course, their US advert said, Diesel – it's no longer a dirty word. So, step in John German, a worker for a small, independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to helping reduce vehicle emissions. Yes, he was asked by his European colleague to check the emissions of two diesel VWs because they wanted to carry out on-the-road testing in the US.当然，他们在美国的广告中还说：“柴油——不再是一个肮脏的词。”于是，约翰·杰曼登场了，他在一家小型、独立的非营利组织工作，致力于帮助减少车辆排放。是的，他的一位欧洲同事请他检测两辆大众柴油车的排放情况，因为他们想在美国进行道路实测。So, he took two VW cars and a BMW also for a drive with a probe placed in the exhaust pipe so they could test the vehicle emissions. Yeah, and a portable emission measurement system. And he found out that the VWs massively exceeded the official emissions.于是，他开着两辆大众汽车和一辆宝马上路测试，在排气管中放置了探头，以便检测车辆排放。是的，还使用了一套便携式排放测量系统。结果他发现，大众汽车的排放量远远超过了官方标准。Remembering that we have two German cars here and their reputation for reliability, he thought there was a technical error with his measurement system. So, he did the tests again, he expanded the tests, and this time the cars were driven more than 1,200 miles from San Diego to Seattle. So, what he found was that the VWs, they still exceeded the US standards by up to 35 times.想到这里测试的是两辆德国车，而德国车一向以可靠著称，他以为是自己的测量系统出了技术故障。于是他重新进行了测试，并扩大了测试范围，这一次车辆从圣迭戈一路开到西雅图，行驶了超过1200英里。结果他发现，大众汽车的排放仍然高出美国标准，最高甚至达到了35倍。Although the BMW itself was fine. Was absolutely fine. So, to cut a long story short, we now know that VW had installed a defeat device software that gave inaccurate measurements when the cars were being tested.而宝马本身则完全没有问题，确实是完全合格的。长话短说，我们现在知道，大众汽车安装了一种“作弊装置”软件，在车辆接受检测时会给出不准确的排放数据。But only when they were tested in laboratory conditions, not when they were out on the road. Yeah, somehow the car knows it's being tested, maybe because the steering wheel isn't being turned, or maybe because the outside temperature doesn't change. But once on the road, however, the software doesn't kick in and the true emissions could be detected.但这种情况只发生在实验室条件下的检测中，而不是在实际道路行驶时。是的，不知怎么的，汽车似乎知道自己正在被测试，可能是因为方向盘没有转动，或者因为外界温度没有变化。但一旦上路行驶，这套软件就不会启动，真实的排放情况就暴露出来了。Yeah, so it means for the last two years, there have been far more harmful emissions coming out of these VW cars in America than before. So, VW faces huge fines for breaking the Clear Air Act, plus fines of up to over $37,000 per vehicle in the US. So, is this the end of VW, Richard?是的，这意味着在过去两年里，这些大众汽车在美国排放出了比以前多得多的有害气体。因此，大众汽车因违反《清洁空气法》将面临巨额罚款，而且在美国每辆车的罚款最高可能超过3.7万美元。那么，这会是大众汽车的终结吗，理查德？

Authorities in Hong Kong say the number of people killed in an apartment fire last week has now risen to 151. This as an investigation is pointing to the building's renovation as a catalyst for the tragedy. We're showing you here images released today by the Hong Kong police force showing the interior of an apartment that was destroyed in the fire, giving you a sense of the damage caused by the flames inside with walls blackened, floor to ceiling, and a lifetime of memories reduced to ash.香港当局表示，上周发生的一场公寓火灾的死亡人数现已上升至151人。调查显示，这场悲剧的导火索可能与大楼正在进行的翻修工程有关。我们现在展示的是香港警方今天发布的画面，画面显示了一套在火灾中被彻底烧毁的公寓内部景象，让人直观感受到火焰造成的破坏——墙壁从地板到天花板一片焦黑，一生的记忆化为灰烬。Mary-Anne Demayne joining me now. She's been following this story all morning for us. Those images, Mary-Anne, are just unbelievable, devastating, but really speak to the intensity of this fire.玛丽安·德梅恩现在加入我们。她整个上午都在为我们跟进这条新闻。玛丽安，这些画面令人难以置信、令人心碎，也真实反映了这场火灾的猛烈程度。And now, of course, the investigation looking into everything in terms of overall what happened, but I guess now what needs to be done to keep these buildings or other apartment buildings safe.当然，目前调查正在全面审视事情的来龙去脉，同时也在思考接下来该采取什么措施，才能确保这些大楼以及其他公寓建筑的安全。Yeah, that is the focus of the investigation. Why did these 7 31-story towers go up in flames so quickly, leaving all of that destruction and all of that death in its wake? So they're looking at the materials from the renovation that was underway at these buildings, and according to investigators, all signs point to the nylon meshing there, that green, that's what's left of it anyway, that was surrounding the bamboo scaffolding outside of these buildings, they say did not meet flame retardant standards.是的，这正是调查的重点。为什么这七栋31层高的住宅楼会如此迅速地陷入火海，留下如此严重的破坏和大量人员死亡？因此，调查人员正在检查这些大楼翻修过程中所使用的材料。根据调查结果，所有迹象都指向包裹在大楼外部竹制脚手架上的尼龙防护网——也就是你看到的那种绿色材料，至少这是它残留的部分——这些材料并不符合阻燃标准。In other words, it was not up to the fire safety code, and that's why they say this flame spread so quickly and engulfed these buildings so quickly. On top of that, the renovation was using these foam blocks that they say was blocking the windows. These also led to the fire spreading very quickly outside of this building, led to the glass exploding in the windows, and that helped spread the fire inside the buildings, leading to the images you saw just a few moments ago, those burnt-out units.换句话说，这些材料并不符合消防安全规范，这也是火势迅速蔓延并吞噬整栋大楼的原因之一。除此之外，翻修工程中还使用了泡沫块，这些材料被认为堵住了窗户。这不仅加快了火势在建筑外部的蔓延，还导致窗户玻璃爆裂，从而助长了火焰向建筑内部扩散，最终造成了你刚才看到的那些被烧毁的住宅单元。Now, as a result of this investigation, they've also uncovered that the detectors inside of these buildings weren't working. Many of them anyway may not have alerted these residents, many who were over the age of 65, so when you imagine the chaos and the panic that was happening inside these buildings as the flames were just spreading from building to building, it is quite a horrific scene. Now, looking at this investigation, it has also turned criminal.此外，调查还发现，这些大楼内部的火灾探测器并未正常工作。至少有相当一部分并没有向居民发出警报，而这些居民中，许多人都已超过65岁。可以想象，当火焰在楼与楼之间迅速蔓延时，楼内所发生的混乱与恐慌是多么骇人。随着调查的深入，这起事件也已转为刑事案件。We know that at least 13 people have now been arrested. These are people in connection to the construction company, Prestige Construction and Engineering Company. We're talking people who were scaffolding subcontractors, even engineers, project managers.我们了解到，目前至少已有13人被逮捕，他们都与承建公司——尊贵建筑与工程公司（Prestige Construction and Engineering Company）有关，包括脚手架分包商、工程师，甚至项目经理。They've all been arrested in connection with suspected manslaughter. That's one part of the investigation. They've also suspended 28 projects on area businesses there in Hong Kong connected to this same construction and engineering company.这些人因涉嫌过失杀人而被拘捕，这是调查的一部分内容。同时，当局还暂停了香港地区与这家建筑工程公司有关的28个项目。They're trying to do safety audits to, of course, prevent something like this from happening, but looking at these images, Angie, you can see the big job they have ahead of them. These are buildings that have been around since the 1980s. There are thousands of units here, so a huge impact and a huge job ahead.他们正在进行安全审查，目的当然是防止类似事件再次发生。但安琪，从这些画面中你也能看出，他们面前的任务非常艰巨。这些建筑始建于上世纪80年代，里面有成千上万套住房，因此影响巨大，后续工作量也极为庞大。And it'll be interesting to see as they've expanded that investigation, will it need to be expanded further to the overall construction industry in terms of how that all entails. A very complex recovery effort is underway for the victims. 151 bodies.随着调查的扩大，人们也在关注，是否有必要将调查进一步延伸到整个建筑行业。这对受害者而言，是一项极其复杂的善后与恢复工作。目前已有151具遗体被发现。That number could potentially rise as they try to find more people that were trapped inside those buildings.随着搜寻更多被困在楼内的人员，这个数字还有可能继续上升。Yeah, because despite all of the damage you see on the outside and the inside, the building itself is still very structurally sound. So they are going unit by unit and they are uncovering more bodies, not only inside those units, but also in the stairwells, the hallways and even the roof.是的，因为尽管建筑内外遭受了严重破坏，但整体结构依然相当稳固。因此，搜救人员正逐户逐层展开搜索，陆续发现更多遗体，不仅在住宅单元内，还包括楼梯间、走廊，甚至屋顶。But because these buildings were burning for days until the fire was completely put out, the fear is that not only will the death toll go up, but that they may not even be able to find or identify some of the victims because of just how burned the inside of those units are.然而，由于这些建筑持续燃烧了好几天才被完全扑灭，人们担心的不只是死亡人数会继续上升，还有可能因为内部烧毁程度过于严重，而无法找到或确认部分遇难者的身份。So there are missing people, dozens of them, either way, all in the minds and hearts of those who are mourning this tragedy there in Hong Kong. We saw the lineups that spanned several kilometers long with people lining up to pay their respects.因此，目前仍有数十人失踪。无论结果如何，这一切都牵动着香港无数悼念者的心。我们看到，前来悼念的人群排起了绵延数公里的长队。In addition though, to those who died in this fire and those who are still missing, there are those who are still displaced. 4,600 people or so now without homes and all of them now trying to find temporary shelter while that investigation continues.此外，除了遇难者和失踪者之外，还有大量流离失所的居民。大约4600人如今无家可归，在调查持续进行的同时，他们都在努力寻找临时住所。Indeed, and also push from the family members for a full inquiry into what has happened here.确实如此，遇难者家属也在强烈要求对事件展开全面调查。And as you mentioned, there are hundreds of them gathering to pay their respects. A devastating situation. Appreciate all the updates you've been giving us all morning, Mary-Anne.正如你所提到的，数百人聚集在一起表达哀悼，这是一个令人痛心的局面。感谢你整个上午为我们带来的最新消息，玛丽安。Thank you for this. You're welcome.谢谢你的报道。 不客气。

I'm talking to somebody who works for the biggest supermarket in the UK. Hi Alan. Hello there.我正在和一位在英国最大连锁超市工作的人交谈。嗨，艾伦。你好。So, who do you work for? I work for Tesco, which is a British company. It's got supermarkets and stores all over the world. We've got something like 4,000 stores and we are the biggest by market share in the UK.那么，你是为哪家公司工作的呢？我在乐购（Tesco）工作，这是一家英国公司，在世界各地都有超市和门店。我们大约有4000家门店，在英国的市场占有率是最高的。Fantastic. What is your job title? So my job title is Technical Director of the Clothing Division, which is branded F&F. What do you do exactly? So my job really is to help the buyers who choose the products for our customers to get the right quality and to buy from the right factories all over the world.太棒了。你的职位是什么？我的职位是服装事业部的技术总监，我们的服装品牌叫 F&F。那你具体是做什么的呢？我的工作主要是协助采购人员，为顾客选择合适质量的产品，并从全球合适的工厂进行采购。And those buyers are responsible for selecting the products for the UK, Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. And so do these buyers obviously then, they go abroad? They do go abroad. They go to the markets themselves to understand what's the difference between somebody in Hungary and somebody in Republic of Ireland.这些采购人员负责为英国、爱尔兰共和国、捷克、斯洛伐克、波兰和匈牙利选择产品。那么他们显然会出国吗？是的，他们会出国，亲自去当地市场，了解匈牙利消费者和爱尔兰消费者之间有什么不同。So they don't sell the same clothing in those supermarkets? Roughly the same, but there are differences. For example, in Central Europe, school children do not wear school uniforms, whereas in the UK they do. So we have to make sure that we're buying the products appropriate for the country.所以在这些超市里卖的衣服并不完全一样吗？大体相同，但还是有差异。比如在中欧地区，学生不穿校服，而在英国学生是要穿校服的。因此，我们必须确保采购的产品适合当地国家的需求。Where do you fit in then? So the buyers know what the customer wants and what me and my team try to help the buyers do is select the right factory in the right country to make the right product. So for example, shirts can be made in China, in Bangladesh, in India and in Turkey. Some of those countries I just mentioned have duty free arrangements for the European Union, some don't.那你的角色是什么呢？采购人员了解顾客想要什么，而我和我的团队要做的，就是帮助他们在合适的国家选择合适的工厂，来生产合适的产品。比如说，衬衫可以在中国、孟加拉国、印度或土耳其生产。我刚提到的这些国家中，有些与欧盟有免关税安排，有些则没有。So to be cost effective, we want to make that shirt in the right country. And also there are regional differences. So for example, India, I think everybody realises are very famous for things like Madras cheques.因此，为了控制成本，我们希望在合适的国家生产这些衬衫。同时，不同地区也有各自的优势。比如说，大家都知道印度以马德拉斯格子布这类面料而闻名。So we would buy Madras cheques from India for shirts, whereas formal shirts, a white shirt, for cost effective reasons, we would go to Bangladesh. You talk about India having a certain reputation for a particular kind of shirt. It also has a rather negative reputation in terms of the factories producing those shirts.所以我们会从印度采购马德拉斯格子布，用来制作衬衫；而正式衬衫，比如白衬衫，出于成本考虑，我们则会选择在孟加拉国生产。你刚才提到印度在某些衬衫方面享有声誉，但在生产这些衬衫的工厂方面，它也有一些负面的名声。How do you go about making sure that you're buying appropriately? So we've got a team of over a hundred what we call production technologists who have approximately 10 factories per person to look after. We make sure before we start dealing with them, they are fully audited and we do two audits. We do a technical audit to make sure a particular factory can make a particular product.那你们是如何确保采购过程是合适、负责任的呢？我们有一个一百多人组成的团队，叫做生产技术人员，每个人大约负责10家工厂。在开始合作之前，我们会确保这些工厂经过全面审计，而且会进行两类审计：一类是技术审计，确保某一家工厂具备生产某种产品的能力。And we also do an ethical audit to make sure the factory is safe, legal, doesn't have any child labour issues. So before we even start, we do two audits and then my team go around the world. They go to these factories regularly to make sure they're making to the quality standards we require.我们还会进行道德审计，确保工厂安全、合法，不存在童工问题。所以在合作开始之前，我们就已经完成了这两项审计。随后，我的团队会走遍全球，定期前往这些工厂，确保他们的生产符合我们要求的质量标准。Some people might be surprised then, Alan, that you do those two audits. Well I think the thing about being the biggest retailer in the UK is that there is a responsibility that comes with that size. We need to actually lead the way in making sure that we don't deal in any unethical way or in any factories that are going to put anybody in harm's way.艾伦，有些人可能会对你们进行这两项审计感到惊讶。嗯，我认为，作为英国最大的零售商，这样的规模本身就意味着一种责任。我们确实需要走在前面，确保我们的经营不涉及任何不道德行为，也不会与任何可能危害他人安全的工厂合作。And that's the point I think we have to try and get across to our consumers. Not that we're preaching, just that we have to actually be... Set an example. Set an example.这正是我认为我们需要向消费者传达的一点。并不是在说教，而是我们必须真正做到——树立榜样。是的，树立榜样。

Over the past three years, Syria's air force has rained death on more than 21,000 civilians. Their bodies ripped apart by exploding barrel bombs. Missiles dropped on homes, businesses, bus stops, even hospitals.在过去三年里，叙利亚空军向两万一千多名平民倾泻了死亡。爆炸的桶装炸弹将他们的身体撕得粉碎，导弹落在民宅、商铺、公交车站，甚至是医院上。These war crimes have been well documented. Not so the part played by the shadowy world of offshore finance. Behind the scenes, companies using offshore tax havens were accused of supplying fuel to the Syrian air force.这些战争罪行早已有大量记录。然而，离岸金融这个阴暗世界所扮演的角色，却鲜少被揭示。在幕后，有人指控，一些利用离岸避税天堂的公司向叙利亚空军供应燃料。In 2014, multiple governments, including the UK and US, issued bans on doing business with these companies. But now, a new global investigation has revealed that a Panamanian firm helped these companies operate, as attacks in Syria continued. That firm, Mossack Fonseca, is a key player in a sprawling, secretive industry that the world's rich and powerful use to hide assets and skirt rules by setting up front companies in far-flung jurisdictions.2014年，包括英国和美国在内的多个政府发布禁令，禁止与这些公司开展业务。但如今，一项新的全球调查披露，在叙利亚空袭仍在持续之际，一家巴拿马公司帮助这些企业继续运作。这家公司名为莫萨克·冯塞卡（Mossack Fonseca），是一个庞大而隐秘行业中的关键角色——世界各地的富豪和权势人物正是通过这个行业，在遥远的司法辖区设立空壳公司，以隐藏资产、规避规则。More than 300 journalists trawled through millions of leaked records from Mossack Fonseca to expose an alarming list of clients involved in bribery, arms deals, tax evasion, financial fraud and drug trafficking. Behind the invoices, emails and paper trails are real victims. In Russia, businessmen kidnapped orphaned girls as young as 13, raped them, then sold them to others for sex.300多名记者翻查了莫萨克·冯塞卡泄露出的数百万份文件，揭露了一份令人震惊的客户名单，其中涉及行贿、军火交易、逃税、金融诈骗和毒品交易。在那些发票、邮件和书面记录背后，是一个个真实的受害者。在俄罗斯，一些商人绑架年仅13岁的孤女，对她们实施强奸，并将她们贩卖给他人进行性剥削。One of the alleged ringleaders was a client of Mossack Fonseca's. When the firm discovered their client was a pedophile, they decided they were not legally obliged to report his offshore business activities to authorities. In Uganda, a company that wanted to sell a prospective oil field paid Mossack Fonseca to help it avoid $400 million in taxes.其中一名被指控的幕后主使正是莫萨克·冯塞卡的客户之一。当该公司发现这名客户是恋童癖者时，他们却认定自己在法律上没有义务向当局报告其离岸商业活动。在乌干达，一家想要出售潜在油田的公司向莫萨克·冯塞卡付费，要求其协助逃避4亿美元的税款。It was simple paperwork. The company's address was changed from one tax haven to another. In a country where one in three people live on less than $1.25 a day, $400 million represents more than the government's annual health budget.这一切只是简单的文书操作——把公司的注册地址从一个避税天堂转移到另一个。在一个每三个人中就有一人每天生活费不足1.25美元的国家，4亿美元相当于政府一整年的医疗卫生预算还要多。Uganda spent years in court trying to force the company to pay its taxes. Meanwhile, hospitals in the shadow of the oil field lacked funds for even the most basic equipment. Patients slept on floors.乌干达政府花了数年时间打官司，试图迫使这家公司缴纳税款。与此同时，油田附近的医院却连最基本的设备都缺乏，病人只能睡在地板上。They were asked to bring their own medical supplies, like sterile gloves and cotton balls. It was a surprise to me because I expected all this equipment to be at the health centre. When all these things are not there, nurses say we cannot work anew.病人被要求自带医疗用品，比如无菌手套和棉球。这让我感到震惊，因为我原以为这些设备本就应该在医疗中心配备齐全。当这些东西都没有时，护士们只能说：我们根本无法开展工作。At times we are forced to leave and return home unattended to. Some women have lost their lives and babies. Uganda ranks among the worst 10 countries in the world for high maternal, newborn and child mortality rates due to a lack of access to good health care.有时，我们被迫离开，让产妇无人照看地回家。一些妇女和婴儿因此失去了生命。由于缺乏良好的医疗服务，乌干达在孕产妇、新生儿和儿童高死亡率方面，位列全球最差的十个国家之一。The offshore industry has recently come under fire for enabling dubious activities like these. But firms like Mossack Fonseca have helped clients continue to operate behind a veil of secrecy. Until this shadowy world is held accountable, international criminals will keep doing business, tax dollars will be dodged and bombs will continue to fall。近年来，离岸金融行业因助长此类可疑活动而备受抨击。但像莫萨克·冯塞卡这样的公司，仍然帮助客户在秘密的掩护下继续运作。只要这个阴暗的世界不被追究责任，跨国犯罪就会持续进行，税款将不断被逃避，炸弹也将继续落下。

We ask… What do the US National Turkey Federation, Spanish grape growers, French wine producers and the British Milk Marketing Board all have in common? The answer is they have all used clever marketing to make us buy things because we think it's traditional to do so. But in actual fact, it's just the result of modern advertising campaigns. If we start first of all, then, Richard, with the French wine producers.我们要问的是……美国国家火鸡联合会、西班牙的葡萄种植者、法国的葡萄酒生产商以及英国牛奶营销委员会，这些机构有什么共同点？答案是：他们都运用了巧妙的营销手段，让我们因为“以为这是传统”而去购买某些东西。但事实上，这些所谓的传统，只是现代广告宣传活动的结果。那么，理查德，我们先从法国的葡萄酒生产商说起吧。Yes, there's an area of France, Beaujolais, they produced the first wine after the season's finished. That particular wine, that Beaujolais, became very popular with the Parisians, didn't it? Yes, but the key moment was in 1985 when they chose the third Thursday in November as the first day this wine could be drunk, the first wine in France to be drunk for that season. Yes, Beaujolais Nouveau Day.是的，法国有一个地方叫博若莱，那里的酒庄会在当季结束后酿造出第一批葡萄酒。这种酒——博若莱葡萄酒——在巴黎人当中变得非常受欢迎，对吧？是的，但关键的时刻是在1985年，当时他们把11月的第三个星期四定为这种酒可以正式开喝的第一天，也就是当季法国第一款可以饮用的葡萄酒。没错，这一天就是“博若莱新酒节”。So the French wine producers, they went out of their way to really promote it as the wine to be drunk on that day. And there was a race to get it into London and who was going to drink the first bottle of that year's Beaujolais. Yes, and now millions of bottles are produced and sold each year.因此，法国的葡萄酒生产商不遗余力地把它宣传成“那一天一定要喝的酒”。甚至还出现了谁能最快把酒运到伦敦、谁能喝到当年第一瓶博若莱新酒的竞赛。是的，如今每年都有数百万瓶博若莱新酒被生产并售出。Now, it's interesting because in the United States, it's promoted as the drink for Thanksgiving, which conveniently falls one week after Beaujolais Nouveau Day. The Thanksgiving originally, well, it's supposed to celebrate the early settlers in America in the 17th century. Yes.有意思的是，在美国，它又被宣传成感恩节的应景饮品，而感恩节恰好在博若莱新酒节之后的一周。感恩节最初呢，据说是为了纪念17世纪来到美洲的早期移民。是的。And people think traditionally you've got to eat turkey and pumpkin pie. But actually Thanksgiving first became a national holiday in the US in the 19th century, which is when turkey and pumpkin pie were beginning to become quite popular. But it didn't really become as the thing to eat on Thanksgiving until the mid-20th century.人们普遍认为，按照传统，感恩节就一定要吃火鸡和南瓜派。但事实上，感恩节是在19世纪才成为美国的全国性节日，而那正是火鸡和南瓜派开始流行的时期。不过，它们真正成为“感恩节必吃食物”，其实要到20世纪中叶才算定型。Yes, that's because new methods of intensive farming allowed the turkey industry to produce huge amounts of cheap turkey. And that's when the US National Turkey Federation, they made turkey the thing to eat for Thanksgiving. Yes, turkey wasn't eaten 400 years ago, nor was pumpkin pie.是的，这是因为集约化养殖的新方法，使火鸡产业能够大量生产价格低廉的火鸡。也正是在那个时候，美国国家火鸡联合会把火鸡塑造成感恩节必吃的食物。没错，400年前人们既不吃火鸡，也不吃南瓜派。OK, Richard, what about the Spanish grape growers? Well, in Spain, the arrival of the new year is traditionally welcomed with a glass of Which is a kind of Spanish version of champagne. And 12 grapes. Now, that doesn't hark back to any pagan or ancestral festivity in Spain.好吧，理查德，那西班牙的葡萄种植者又是怎么回事呢？嗯，在西班牙，人们传统上会用一杯（卡瓦酒，一种西班牙版的香槟）和12颗葡萄来迎接新年的到来。而这种做法，并不源自西班牙任何古老的异教或祖先节庆。But again, it's the skilful marketing campaign. Yes, since just the beginning of the 20th century, Alicante, a big grape-producing area, had a bumper harvest and they just found a creative way to sell off their surplus. And now it's become an ancient tradition.但同样，这又是一次高明的营销活动。是的，在20世纪初，作为重要葡萄产区的阿利坎特迎来了大丰收，于是他们想出了一个有创意的方式来消化多余的葡萄。结果，这个做法如今被当成了一项“古老传统”。OK, finally, Richard, go into any pub in the UK and you'll probably be able to buy a cold meal called a ploughman's lunch. Yes, it's basically a salad made with bread and mainly cheese. However, the specific term, the ploughman's lunch, is believed only to date back to the 1950s.好，最后一个例子，理查德。走进英国的任何一家酒吧，你大概都能点到一种叫“农夫午餐”的冷餐。是的，它基本上就是由面包和主要是奶酪组成的一份沙拉。不过，“农夫午餐”这个具体名称，被认为只追溯到20世纪50年代。When cheese was no longer rationed, the meal was promoted in pubs by the milk marketing board as a way to increase their sales. Quite a snappy title, the ploughman's lunch. Again, it's modern marketing and it's become a tradition.当奶酪不再实行配给制度之后，这种餐食被牛奶营销委员会在酒吧中大力推广，用来提高销量。“农夫午餐”这个名字也相当朗朗上口。再一次，这是现代营销的产物，却最终变成了一种传统。

The business news at the moment is dominated by the falling price in oil. We're looking at some of the reasons behind this. So Richard, falling oil prices, what's it all about? Like any commodity, it's all about supply and demand.目前的商业新闻几乎都被油价下跌所主导。我们正在探讨这背后的一些原因。那么，理查德，油价下跌到底是怎么回事？和任何一种大宗商品一样，这归根结底还是供求关系的问题。So presumably you're saying that demand is going down? Demand is going down because the world economy is slowing, especially China. So therefore there is less demand for oil, so the price goes down. So there's a decrease in demand.所以你的意思是需求在下降？是的，需求在下降，因为全球经济正在放缓，尤其是中国。因此，对石油的需求减少，价格自然就下跌了，也就是说需求出现了下降。So what about supply then? Well, that's the double whammy. That's why the oil price has gone down so much, because there's been a surge in supply. From OPEC countries? No, from the US.那供给方面呢？这就是“双重打击”了。这也是油价大幅下跌的原因，因为供应量激增。是来自欧佩克国家吗？不，是来自美国。The US has doubled its production of oil since 2010. How come they've done that? Well, it's all about fracking. Right.自 2010 年以来，美国的石油产量翻了一番。他们为什么能做到这一点？这主要得益于水力压裂技术。对。They're producing oil from new deposits that they're finding in the US. So that's very successful for them. Successful for them.他们正在从美国本土新发现的油藏中开采石油，这对他们来说非常成功。确实是成功的。But again, it leads to a lower oil price. So how much are we talking about then for a barrel of oil, Richard? Well, from a high of $110 a barrel in 2014, it's now less than $50 a barrel. OK.但这同样也导致了油价下跌。那么现在一桶油大概多少钱呢，理查德？2014 年的时候最高达到每桶 110 美元，而现在已经跌到每桶 50 美元以下了。好。So obviously some of the OPEC countries are panicking about this? Yes, but it's affecting them very differently. Some are really suffering. For instance, Nigeria and Russia, they depend on oil.那么显然，一些欧佩克国家对此感到恐慌了？是的，但这对它们的影响各不相同。有些国家确实在承受巨大压力，比如尼日利亚和俄罗斯，它们高度依赖石油。Right. To keep their economy afloat. They are really suffering.没错。为了维持经济运转。它们确实遭受了严重冲击。What about Saudi Arabia? Well, they've got so much oil and they've got so much reserves of cash and oil that they're hoping to ride the storm out. And they, again, they're hoping that the low oil price will send the American frackers out of business. So it really is a supply and demand issue.那沙特阿拉伯呢？他们拥有大量石油资源，同时也积累了大量的现金和石油储备，希望能够挺过这场风暴。而且他们还希望低油价能把美国的页岩油生产商挤出市场。所以归根结底，这还是一个供需问题。Yes, but there's also another factor on supply, on the supply side, because obviously the sanctions have been lifted against Iran. Which is an oil-producing country. They used to produce an awful lot of oil, and obviously now they're going to be producing more again.是的，但在供应端还有另一个因素，那就是对伊朗的制裁已经被解除。伊朗是一个产油国，过去曾生产大量石油，而现在显然又将重新增加产量。Now that the sanctions have lifted. Exactly. So the outlook is for even lower prices.制裁解除之后。没错。所以前景是油价可能会进一步走低。You say that, Richard, but when I take the car to the garage to be filled up with petrol, the prices are going down. Slowly. Slowly.你是这么说的，理查德，但我把车开去加油站加油时，油价确实在下降，只是很慢，很慢。But why is it not going down at the same speed as the price of oil? Well, I think that's quite simple, really, because petrol companies, they're very, very reluctant to lower their prices, aren't they? And if their competitors aren't lowering their prices, they're not going to be lowering their prices. So prices are coming down. But as always happens, the prices go up quickly, but they come down slowly.但为什么油价没有像原油价格那样快速度下降呢？我觉得原因其实很简单，因为石油公司非常不情愿降价，对吧？如果竞争对手不降价，它们也不会降价。所以价格确实在下降，但一如既往，涨得快，跌得慢。Are there any winners in this scenario? Theoretically, yes. Theoretically, Europe, for instance, which is a net importer of oil, they should like it because, obviously, cheaper oil, it should stimulate the economy. But they're keeping quite quiet about this.在这种情况下有没有赢家呢？理论上是有的。比如欧洲，作为石油净进口地区，按理说应该欢迎油价下跌，因为更便宜的石油有助于刺激经济。但他们对此却相当低调。And obviously China as well. They're a big importer of oil. It should be better for them.当然还有中国，他们也是石油进口大国，油价下跌本应对他们更有利。But they're suffering from their economy as well. So there doesn't seem to be any big winners at the moment. So this is something that's going to be affecting the business world for quite some time to come then?但他们的经济本身也面临压力。因此，目前看来并没有真正的赢家。那么，这是否意味着油价问题还将在相当长的一段时间内持续影响商业世界呢？

Some time between now and 2017, the British government will hold a referendum on whether to leave the European Union. We will give the British people a referendum with a very simple in or out choice. But what does leaving the EU actually mean? There's a few scenarios for what could happen.在现在到 2017 年之间的某个时间，英国政府将举行一次是否退出欧盟的全民公投。英国人民将面对一个非常简单的选择：留下还是离开。但“脱欧”究竟意味着什么？可能出现的情况其实有好几种。The first is total independence. Britain becomes just another country that sells to the EU but doesn't have to follow any of its silly rules. Just like the United States.第一种情况是完全独立。英国将成为一个向欧盟出售商品、但不必遵守欧盟那些“繁琐规则”的普通国家，就像美国一样。This sounds empowered, like Britain is finally releasing itself from the shackles of Eurocrats and Brussels. But what it really means is that Britain would have to negotiate everything it sells to Europe on a case-by-case basis. This type of complicated bargaining leads to real costs.听起来这似乎很振奋人心，仿佛英国终于摆脱了欧盟官僚和布鲁塞尔的束缚。但实际上，这意味着英国出口到欧洲的每一种商品都必须逐项谈判。这种复杂的谈判方式会带来实实在在的成本。US companies pay a 10% tariff on any car they sell in Europe. Tariffs on clothing are 30%. This scenario could cost Britain as much as 14% of its GDP.美国公司在欧洲出售汽车需要支付 10% 的关税，服装的关税则高达 30%。在这种情况下，英国可能会付出高达国内生产总值 14% 的代价。That's as much as Greece lost in the first four years of the financial crisis. Alternatively, Britain could leave the EU but stay in the European Economic Area. Under this scenario, Britain becomes Norway.这相当于希腊在金融危机最初四年中所遭受的损失。另一种选择是，英国退出欧盟，但继续留在欧洲经济区。在这种情况下，英国将变成“挪威模式”。It still buys and sells from Europe, but it's not a member of the club anymore. The only problem is, this doesn't actually get Britain out of European control. Members of the European Economic Area still have to contribute to the EU budget.英国仍然可以与欧洲进行买卖，但不再是“俱乐部”的成员。唯一的问题是，这并没有真正让英国摆脱欧盟的控制。欧洲经济区的成员国仍然需要向欧盟预算出资。And they still have to follow EU regulations on everything they sell in Europe. A lot of the arguments for leaving the EU are about the weird rules that British companies have to follow when they export to Europe. But Britain would still have to follow all those rules, it just wouldn't have a say in making them anymore.而且，他们在向欧洲销售商品时仍然必须遵守欧盟的各项规定。许多脱欧的理由，正是因为英国企业在向欧洲出口时不得不遵循那些“奇怪的规则”。但在这种情况下，英国仍然要遵守所有这些规则，只是再也没有参与制定规则的发言权了。The third option is for Britain to negotiate a special deal. A bilateral trade agreement custom-made for its own economy. Under this scenario, Britain becomes Switzerland.第三种选择是英国谈判一份特殊协议——一项为其自身经济量身定制的双边贸易协定。在这种情况下，英国将成为“瑞士模式”。It's not officially a member of the European Economic Area or the EU, but it still gets all the benefits of selling its goods there. The problem with this scenario, though, is negotiating power. According to Brussels, the market can't be divided up sector by sector.瑞士既不是欧洲经济区成员国，也不是欧盟成员国，但仍然能够享受向欧洲销售商品的各种好处。不过，这种模式的问题在于谈判实力。布鲁塞尔方面认为，市场不能被拆分成一个个行业分别谈判。If you want free trade, you have to agree to open up other parts of your market as well. Including the labor market. This is exactly what happened to Switzerland.如果你想要自由贸易，就必须同意同时开放市场的其他部分，包括劳动力市场。这正是瑞士所经历的情况。In 2014, Swiss voters demanded restrictions on EU migration. But Brussels said no. If Switzerland wanted European trade, they had to take European workers as well.2014 年，瑞士选民要求限制来自欧盟的移民，但布鲁塞尔拒绝了这一要求。如果瑞士想继续与欧洲进行贸易，就必须接受欧洲劳工。Switzerland, as a single country, just didn't have the negotiating power to stand up to 28 European countries at once. Most people who want Britain to leave the EU want freer trade and stricter immigration. But with the EU facing an unprecedented migration crisis, it's unlikely that Britain will get both.作为一个单独的国家，瑞士并没有足够的谈判能力去同时对抗 28 个欧洲国家。大多数希望英国脱欧的人，既想要更自由的贸易，又想要更严格的移民政策。但在欧盟正面临前所未有的移民危机之际，英国同时得到这两点的可能性并不大。Maybe the EU is too rigid and too boring. Maybe it does need to adapt as the world changes around it. Maybe the exact thing it needs is a big, liberal, pragmatic member to push it in that direction and do it from the inside.也许欧盟确实过于僵化、过于乏味。也许它确实需要随着世界的变化而进行调整。也许它真正需要的，正是一个规模大、开放、务实的成员国，从内部推动它朝这个方向改变。I wonder who that could be.我在想，那会是谁呢？

Children, particularly those under the age of seven, seem to develop more aggressive type 1 diabetes than those diagnosed later in life. Researchers at the University of Exeter studied pancreas samples from 250 donors, allowing them to see how the beta cells which produce the hormone insulin formed normally and in type 1.儿童，尤其是七岁以下的儿童，似乎比在年龄更大时诊断出的人 1 型糖尿病发展得更凶猛。埃克塞特大学的研究人员仔细研究了来自 250 名捐赠者的胰腺样本，这让他们得以一窥产生胰岛素这种激素的胰岛 β 细胞在正常人的胰腺和 1 型糖尿病患者的胰腺中形成方式的区别。They showed early in life the beta cells live in small clusters which are easy for the immune system to pick off and destroy. The researchers say it's a really significant finding and that the future was looking much brighter with drugs that can slow the immune system's attack.这些样本显示出在生命早期胰岛 β 细胞会以小团的形式存在，这让免疫系统能够轻易地识别并破坏它们。研究人员称这项发现意义重大，它为糖尿病治疗的未来带来了希望，因为将会有可以减缓免疫系统攻击的药物。

We've all heard advice about good sleep hygiene. No phones or caffeine before bed, and make sure that we get a good eight hours' rest. But is this the best sleep pattern, or have we just been led to it by modern life?我们都听过关于良好睡眠习惯的建议：睡前不要玩手机或摄入咖啡因，并且要确保有充足的八小时睡眠。但这真的是最好的睡眠模式吗？还是说，我们只是被现代生活方式引导成这样的？Artificial light in our houses and streets means that we no longer have to go to bed at sundown. Having a job to go to at a set time in the morning can be the main determining factor on when we decide to rouse ourselves. In past centuries, the time of sunset and sunrise had a much bigger impact on people's days. Historical studies have shown that in many parts of the world it was common for people to sleep in two sections, from dusk until around 11 and then from one in the morning until sunrise. This segmented or biphasal sleep pattern is referred to as far back in history as ancient Greece.家中和街道上的人工照明，使我们不再需要在日落时就上床睡觉。而早晨必须在固定时间上班，往往成为我们决定何时起床的主要因素。在过去的几个世纪里，日落和日出的时间对人们的日常生活影响要大得多。历史研究表明，在世界许多地区，人们普遍采取分两段的睡眠方式：从黄昏睡到大约晚上十一点，再从凌晨一点睡到日出。这种分段式或“双相睡眠”模式，早在古希腊时期的历史记载中就已经出现。So, if modern sleep patterns are in some part due to modern lifestyles and technologies, could segmented sleep patterns be more natural? Some studies suggest that they are. The circadian rhythms that determine when we start to feel drowsy are greatly affected by light. Study participants subjected to 14 hours of complete darkness a day started to develop a biphasal sleeping pattern. As recently as 2017, similar patterns have also been seen in some communities in rural Madagascar that do not have access to electric light.那么，如果现代的睡眠模式在某种程度上是现代生活方式和技术造成的，分段睡眠是否反而更自然呢？一些研究表明，答案是肯定的。决定我们何时开始感到困倦的昼夜节律，会受到光线的强烈影响。研究中，每天处在十四小时完全黑暗环境下的参与者，开始逐渐形成双相睡眠模式。甚至就在2017年，在马达加斯加一些无法使用电灯的农村社区中，也观察到了类似的睡眠模式。They may be more natural, but are these sleeping patterns healthier? Experts caution that the small number of studies carried out means that the risks and benefits of segmented sleeping are not well understood. Nevertheless, some people have found it to be a useful way to find time to be creative. Psychologist Gregg Jacobs suggests that the period of time that people used to spend awake in past centuries could have been used to regulate stress. Other experts remind us that many people find that they wake in the night, and then get anxious at not being able to get back to sleep, which in itself exacerbates any sleeplessness.这种睡眠方式也许更自然，但是否更健康呢？专家提醒，由于相关研究数量有限，分段睡眠的风险和益处仍未被充分了解。尽管如此，一些人发现这种方式能帮助他们腾出时间进行创造性活动。心理学家格雷格·雅各布斯认为，在过去的几个世纪里，人们夜间清醒的那段时间，可能被用来调节压力。其他专家则提醒我们，很多人会在夜里醒来，并因无法再次入睡而感到焦虑，而这种焦虑本身反而会加重失眠。Making use of the awake time to do something restful could help people improve their sleep. If you do want to try it, sleep researcher Mary Carskadon reminds us that we should stay away from bright lights to avoid disturbing our circadian rhythms. You also might want to check that it won't disturb your work and social life too much.如果能善用夜间清醒的时间，去做一些让人放松的事情，或许有助于改善睡眠。如果你想尝试这种方式，睡眠研究员玛丽·卡斯卡登提醒，应当远离强光，以免干扰昼夜节律。同时，你也需要确认这种作息不会对你的工作和社交生活造成太大的影响。

At least 12 homes were either destroyed or damaged when a wildfire swept through a coastal area north of Sydney, local authorities said.当地政府表示，悉尼以北的沿海地区遭遇野火侵袭，至少有 12 所房屋被毁或受损。The blaze broke out in the town of Colwong, New South Wales.这场大火发生在新南威尔士州的科尔旺镇。Scores of wildfires are burning across the state, fueled by soaring temperatures.由于气温飙升，全州有数十处野火正在燃烧。An unnamed local resident said, you had no time to even think, we've lost everything, all we've got left is what we're wearing.一位未透露姓名的当地居民表示：“你根本没有时间思考，我们失去了一切，现在唯一剩下的就是身上穿的这些。”Aerial footage shows several homes ablaze as firefighting helicopters work to extinguish the flames.航拍画面显示，多座房屋正在燃烧，灭火直升机正努力扑灭火势。

Our striker falls out with Liverpool and we meet two furry besties having the time of their lives. Okay, but first this morning, will you be sending a Christmas card to your friends this year where King Charles and Queen Camilla have been showing off their official card?我们的前锋与利物浦闹翻了，而我们也会见到两位毛茸茸的好朋友，正在享受他们人生中最快乐的时光。好了，但首先今早——你今年会给朋友们寄圣诞卡吗？查尔斯国王和卡米拉王后已经展示了他们的官方圣诞卡。It shows the royals on a recent trip to Rome in Italy. The Prince and Princess of Wales have also been getting into the festive spirit along with their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.卡片上展示的是他们最近前往意大利罗马旅行的照片。威尔士亲王与王妃也和他们的孩子——乔治王子、夏洛特公主和路易王子——一起融入了节日的氛围。They all attended a special Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey in London.他们全家参加了在伦敦威斯敏斯特教堂举行的一场特别圣诞颂歌活动。Okay, football now and there's been very strong words from Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah who has hit out saying he's getting all the blame for the team's problems this season.好了，现在说足球。利物浦球星穆罕默德·萨拉赫发表了强烈言论，指责自己成了本赛季球队所有问题的“背锅者”。The striker has been dropped from the team in the club's last three games after Liverpool's bad run in the Premier League and with the transfer window opening soon, he also said he wasn't sure if he would be playing for Liverpool again.由于利物浦在英超表现不佳，这名前锋在球队最近三场比赛中被排除在名单之外。而随着转会窗即将开启，他也表示自己不确定是否会继续为利物浦效力。Well, let's stay with a bit of sport now. The torch for next year's Winter Olympics has arrived in Italy's capital Rome.好吧，我们继续聊体育。明年冬奥会的火炬已经抵达意大利首都罗马。The games take place in the country in February and the flame will now travel on a two-month relay around Italy.冬奥会将于明年二月在意大利举行，火种现在将开始为期两个月的全国接力之旅。The journey will finish in the city of Milan when the torch will enter the famous San Siro football stadium on the evening of the 6th of February, ready for the opening ceremony of the Winter Games.火炬旅程将在米兰结束，2 月 6 日晚上将进入著名的圣西罗足球场，为冬奥会开幕式做好准备。Right, with the end of term just around the corner, not long now, it's time to start thinking about all the Christmas telly we can enjoy. Here's what's coming up.好了，随着学期即将结束，假期就要来了，是时候想想我们能看的圣诞电视节目了。以下是即将播出的内容。Once school has finished and the Christmas holidays begin, my favourite thing to do is get into my festive PJs, grab some top tier snacks and get cosy on the sofa to watch the best of Christmas TV and films.一到放假、圣诞假期开始，我最喜欢做的事就是换上节日睡衣，拿点顶级零食，窝在沙发上看最棒的圣诞节目和电影。Well do not fear, I have you covered. Let's start off with the Scarecrow's Wedding.别担心，我已经帮你准备好了。让我们从《稻草人的婚礼》开始。Harry loved Betty and Betty loved Harry. So Harry said, Betty, my beauty, let's marry. Many of you may have read the book when you were younger.哈里爱贝蒂，贝蒂也爱哈里。所以哈里说：“贝蒂，我的美人儿，我们结婚吧。”很多人小时候可能读过这本书。It's by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, who also did The Gruffalo. It's going to be on the BBC on Christmas Day.它由朱莉娅·唐纳森和阿克塞尔·舍夫勒创作，他们也是《咕噜牛》的作者。它将在圣诞节当天于 BBC 播出。And also on BBC, do you recognise this yellow bear? Yes, correct, it's Pudsey.另外在 BBC，你认得这只黄色的小熊吗？没错，就是帕德西（Pudsey）。And in an exciting first, the Children in Need mascot will be in a special animation. Pudsey and the Thread of Hope will be on BBC on Christmas Eve. They should be.更令人兴奋的是，“儿童慈善募捐”活动的吉祥物将首次出现在特别动画中。《帕德西与希望之线》将在平安夜于 BBC 播出，绝对值得期待。I love Nina's fake fireplace. Have you been doing that at home? It's cool, isn't it?我喜欢妮娜的假壁炉。你家会这样布置吗？是不是很酷？Now, have you ever met someone and known instantly that you're going to be besties? Well, it looks like Nyle and Shanti got that feeling when they met for the first time at Chester Zoo.你有没有遇到一个人，一见面就知道你们会成为最好的朋友？好吧，看起来奈尔和珊缇在切斯特动物园第一次见面时就有这种感觉。They're both extremely rare Asiatic lions, and they've been brought together to help protect the species from extinction.它们都是极其珍稀的亚洲狮，被带到一起是为了帮助保护这个濒危物种。They love playing together in their new home, which is designed to look like the Indian forest where they usually live in the wild.它们喜欢在新家一起玩耍，而新家被设计得像它们在野外生活的印度森林一样。OK, that's all from me and the TV team for this weekend. Don't forget, there's loads more stories on our website, including plans to explore Mars, musical instruments made out of shells, and a way to send us a photo of your Christmas decorations. Take care.好了，这就是我和电视团队本周末的全部内容。别忘了，我们网站上还有更多故事，包括探索火星的计划、用贝壳制作的乐器，还有一种方式可以让你发送圣诞装饰的照片给我们。保重！

But China discounts energy costs for a chip company by 50%. That's right. They provide free transportation for employees to come out to the factory.但中国会将芯片公司的能源成本打五折。没错。他们还为员工提供免费的上下班交通，让他们去工厂。That's right. I mean, you don't, you can't do that. Our energy cost is more expensive than theirs in the first place.没错。我的意思是，你不能、也做不到这样。首先，我们的能源成本本来就比他们贵。Absolutely. And then they discount it 50%. And so it's probably, we'll probably call it four to eight times the cost.确实如此。然后他们再打五折。所以我们这边的成本可能要高出四到八倍。So tell me, how do you feel about this great competition with China? I mean, the government is putting enormous resources underneath their champion. We don't do that in this country. You know, how do you feel about that?那么告诉我，你怎么看待与中国之间的这场激烈竞争？我的意思是，中国政府在他们的“冠军企业”背后投入了巨大的资源。而在我们国家，我们不会这么做。你怎么看？Well, before I get there, don't let me not answer that question. I'm dying to answer it. But let me handicap the next two layers.好吧，在我回答之前，你别担心，我一定会回答这个问题，我非常想回答。但让我先分析接下来的两个层面。The model layer, the model layer, United States frontier models, our frontier models are unquestionably world class.首先是模型层，模型层。美国的前沿模型，我们的前沿模型毫无疑问是世界一流的。We are probably, call it six months ahead. However, out of the 1.4 million models, most of them are open source. China is well ahead, way ahead on open source.我们大概领先六个月左右。然而，在全球 140 万个模型中，大部分是开源的。而在开源领域，中国遥遥领先，领先得非常明显。Now, the reason why open source is so important is because without open source, startups can't thrive, university researchers can't do research, you can't teach AI, scientists can't use AI.开源之所以如此重要，是因为没有开源，初创企业无法发展，大学研究人员无法研究，你无法教授 AI，科学家也无法使用 AI。Basically, all of the industry around your economy have no ability to fundamentally advance themselves unless you have open source. Without Linux, where would we be? Without Kubernetes, without PyTorch, all of these different types of technologies that made AI thrive are all open source.基本上，除非有开源，否则你经济中的各行业都无法从根本上取得进步。没有 Linux，我们会在哪里？没有 Kubernetes，没有 PyTorch？所有让 AI 繁荣发展的这些技术全都是开源的。They are well ahead of us on open source. And then the layer above that, applications.他们在开源上远远领先我们。接下来，在更上层的是应用层。If you were to do apollof their society and ours, and you ask them, is AI likely to do more good than harm? They're going to say, in their case, 80% would say AI will do more good than harm.如果你在他们的社会和我们的社会做一个调查，问大家：AI 是“利大于弊”还是“弊大于利”？在他们那边，可能有 80% 的人会说 AI 利大于弊。In our case, it'd be the other way around. And so that tells you something that's very, very important.在我们这边，结果则完全相反。所以这说明了一个非常非常重要的事情。Socially, socially, we need to be careful not to describe AI in these science fiction movie ways of describing AI and causing people so much concern.在社会层面上，我们必须谨慎，不能用科幻电影那种方式去描述 AI，导致公众产生巨大的恐惧。We want to be concerned, but we also want to be practical. AI is about automation.我们当然应该保持关注，但也要保持务实。AI 本质上是关于自动化的。And that area, I think that we need to be careful not to fall behind in the application and the diffusion of AI, because in the end, whoever applies the technology first and most wins that industrial revolution.而在这个领域，我认为我们必须小心，不要在 AI 的应用与普及方面落后。因为最终，谁最先、最多地应用这项技术，谁就会赢得那场工业革命。As you know, electricity was invented in the UK, but the United States applied it faster, more broadly, and as a result, look where we are.你知道，电是英国发明的，但美国更快、更广泛地应用了电力技术，因此看看我们今天的发展。And so we have to be a little mindful. And so anyways, I just handicapped that stack.所以我们必须有所警惕。总之，我刚才对这个技术栈做了整体分析。And I don't think it's—it's important when you're looking at AI not to see it as a holistic thing. It's really not about ChatGPT versus DeepSeek.我不认为——重要的是，当你看待 AI 时，不要把它当成一个整体。它并不是 ChatGPT 对 DeepSeek 的简单对比。You have to look at it across all of the stacks and across all of the industries.你必须从所有技术层、所有产业层面去看它。Does that make sense? It's a little bit more complicated than one simple answer.这样说有道理吗？这件事比一个简单的回答要复杂得多。

Unless you're an astronomer, the moment when the star in the center of this image flickers may not seem so exciting.除非你是天文学家，否则画面中央那颗星星闪烁的瞬间可能并不那么令人兴奋。But it marks the passage of an asteroid, space objects which are usually too small and faint to see.但它标志着一颗小行星的掠过，小行星这类太空物体通常太小太暗而难以观测。Those asteroids sometimes pass very close to us. They are detected a few hours, a few days before the flyby.那些小行星有时会离我们非常近，它们通常在飞掠前几小时或几天被探测到。And if we don't follow them up while they're doing the flyby, we will basically lose them.如果我们在它们飞过的时候没有进行追踪，我们就会失去其踪迹。In this case, the critical data came from a new consumer telescope carried in a backpack to a desert in Oman.在这种情况下，关键数据来自一台被装入背包带到阿曼的新型消费级望远镜。Franck Marchis, whose day job at SETI Institute involves working with the world's largest telescopes, designed the eVscope with colleagues at Unistellar to inspire a movement of citizen scientists.弗兰克·马基斯在SETI研究所的日常工作涉及使用全球最大的望远镜，他与Unistellar的同事们共同设计了eVscope，旨在激励全民科学家运动。The goal of the company is to democratize astronomy. I think we are ready for that.公司的目标是使每个人都接触天文学，我认为我们已经准备好了。Advances in technology give the eVscope the power of a room sized telescope while making it much easier to use.技术的进步使Evie望远镜具有房间大小的望远镜的威力，但同时也更易于使用。If you choose a point of interest with the App, the eVscope locates it using a star database as a map.如果用户通过应用程序选择一个兴趣点，eVscope会利用星体数据库作为地图来定位它。A low light sensor enhances faint stars by combining multiple exposures.微光传感器通过组合多次曝光来增强微弱星光。Users can also upload what they're seeing for researchers to analyze.用户还可以上传他们看到的内容，供研究人员分析。So we'd be able to send notification to our users when there is something interesting to observe in the sky, a new comet, a new supernova.当天空中出现值得观测的有趣现象时，比如新彗星或新超新星，我们就能向用户发送通知。We are going to be able to put together all those observations and get the best picture.我们将能够把所有这些观测结果整合起来，从而获得最清晰的全貌。An algorithm will search for the unexpected, like asteroids heading our way.算法会搜索意外情况，比如朝着我们飞来的小行星。Or it could be something even more exotic, like the birth of a civilization trying to communicate with us.也可能是更离奇的东西，比如一个试图与我们交流的文明的诞生。Citizen scientists can have a key role in this new era of space discovery. 全民科学家可以在这个太空发现的新时代发挥关键作用。

Because according to recent polling from Gallup, Americans' trust in mass media has fallen to a record low.因为根据盖洛普最近的民调，美国人对大众媒体的信任度已经降到历史最低点。Millions of Americans, especially young people, have turned from traditional television outlets and newspapers to consume their news from podcasts, blogs, social media, and other independent outlets.数百万美国人，尤其是年轻人，已经不再依赖传统电视和报纸获取新闻，而是转向播客、博客、社交媒体以及其他独立资讯平台。It's essential to our team that we share this message everywhere and adapt this White House to the new media landscape in 2025.对我们团队来说，在各个渠道传达这一信息，并让白宫适应 2025 年的新媒体环境，是至关重要的。To do this, I am excited to announce the following changes will be made to this historic James S. Brady briefing room where Mr. Brady's legacy will endure.为此，我很高兴宣布，我们将对这间历史悠久的詹姆斯·布雷迪简报室进行以下改动，而布雷迪先生的精神将在这里继续传承。

These women own businesses in Accra, work with nonprofits and women in northern Ghana to source raw materials for their goods, such as shea butter.这些女性在阿克拉做生意，与加纳北部的非营利组织和妇女合作，为她们的商品采购原材料，比如乳木果油。The butter extracted from the nut of the African shea tree is a staple in Violet, a MOB's line of Natural Beauty products.从非洲乳木果树坚果中提取的乳木果油是MOB旗下紫罗兰系列天然美妆产品线的主打成分。She says one of their goals is to help women keep the next generation out of poverty.她说，他们的目标之一是帮助妇女使下一代脱贫。So we ensure that they're able to use the profits or the money they get from our purchases to improve their livelihood by doing things like building clinics, taking their children to school and ensuring that they have a job.我们确保他们能够利用从我们购买中获得的利润或资金来改善生活，比如建造诊所、送孩子上学以及确保他们有工作。Mobarika Awudu supports women in the north by buying their handmade fabric to make beds for Accra markets.Mobarika Awudu通过购买北方女性手工制作的布料，为阿克拉市场制作床品来支持她们。Her father came from a small northern village, so she is aware of the many hardships in the region.她的父亲来自北方的一个小村庄，因此她深知该地区的诸多艰辛。She says women's economic independence has become especially important this year as incomes were stretched because of the coronavirus pandemic.她说今年女性的经济独立变得尤为重要，因为新冠疫情导致收入紧张。Some of them are doing well. They have started with weaving alone. Now they have apprentices that they are training as well.他们中有些人做得不错，一开始只是从事织布工作。现在他们还有正在培训的学徒。Especially now that the schools are locked down, most of the girls are now learning how to make a living from weaving.尤其是现在学校停课，大多数女孩都在学习如何通过织布谋生。Threaded Tribes puts a modern twist on traditional fashion to encourage young people to appreciate African style.Threaded Tribes为传统时尚注入现代元素，旨在鼓励年轻人欣赏非洲风格。It sources fabrics from across Africa and works with northern Ghanaian women who do the weaving.该公司从非洲各地采购布料，并与加纳北部的女性织工合作。The fact that they're women makes me happy. I don't think there are barely any men weavers to be honest because they'd be in the farms.和这些女性合作让我很开心。老实说，我认为几乎没有男性织工，因为他们都在农场干活。And even though women be in the farms too, but the weaving is a women business.尽管女性也在农场劳作，但织布是女性的行当。And being a woman in a black area, it's amazing. It's so amazing to be able to do this with women. To be honest, it's great.作为一名黑人社区的女性，能和女性们一起做这件事简直太棒了。说实话，这感觉好极了。While the north produces quality materials, there are few jobs leading young people to move south, many to already crowded cities.北方生产优质原材料，但就业机会却很少，这使得年轻人纷纷南下，许多人涌入本就拥挤的城市。Ghana's business experts say more investment is needed in the north to expand job prospects and to improve working conditions.加纳商业专家表示北部地区需要更多投资以扩大就业前景并改善工作条件。In terms of development, when you look at all the different regions in Ghana, some of the most deprived can be found in north.从发展角度来看，加纳各地中一些最贫困的地区位于北部。So it's only fair that given that they are giving us so much value, at least we give back a bit to ensure that the community also thrives.既然他们给了我们这么多价值，至少我们也应该回馈一些，以确保社区同样蓬勃发展，这才公平。Investing in women, say experts, is one of the best ways to develop local economies, a practice that these Accra business women are only too happy to support. 专家指出，投资女性是发展地方经济最有效的途径之一，阿克拉的这些女企业家们非常乐意支持这一做法。