4月8日午间双语新闻：日本迎千年最早樱花季 Earliest cherry blossom bloom

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Beijing issues catkins forecast 
北京发布杨柳飞絮预报

Beijing's municipal government issued this year's first forecast for catkins on Monday to help related departments deal with the fuzzy mess and remind the public to take necessary prevention measures. As the week begins, the capital's downtown and southern parts will see willow and poplar catkins wafting through the air, and the city's northeastern areas will start to face the problem a bit later, between Wednesday and Saturday, according to the forecast jointly published by the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau and the city's weather bureau. 
4月5日，北京市发布今年首个杨柳飞絮预报，目的是指导政府各相关部门开展防控工作，提醒公众采取必要防护措施。北京市园林绿化局和北京市气象局联合发布的预报显示，自本周起，北京中心城区和南部城区率先进入杨柳飞絮期，城区东北部稍晚，于4月7日至10日开始飞絮。

Zhang Bo, senior engineer at the greening bureau, said Beijing usually sees masses of catkins blowing throughout the city, mostly within the Fifth Ring Road, between early April and late May. "The peak time lasts for around a week," he said. "Between 10 am and 4 pm, the situation is worse than other periods during the day."
市园林绿化局科技处高级工程师张博表示，每年四月初至五月末，北京会进入杨柳飞絮期，主要影响五环内城区，飞絮高发期可持续一周左右时间，尤其是在每天的上午10点至下午4点，比其它时段飞絮更为严重。

The greening bureau encourages people to wear masks, sunglasses or shawls to protect themselves during the catkins period. People who exercise outdoors should do so in the mornings or evenings, or after rain, when there will be fewer catkins, the bureau said.
北京市园林绿化局建议人们在飞絮期间外出时佩戴口罩、墨镜、纱巾等防护用品。进行户外锻炼等室外活动尽量选择在早晨、傍晚或雨后等飞絮较轻的时段。

重点词汇
1、catkin
英 /ˈkætkɪn/  美 /ˈkætkɪn/
n. [植] 柔荑花序（如柳絮等）

2、fuzzy
英 /ˈfʌzi/  美 /ˈfʌzi/ 
adj. 模糊的；失真的；有绒毛的

IMF upgrades global growth forecast
IMF预测全球经济增长6%

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday projected that the global economy will grow by 6 percent in 2021, 0.5 percentage point above the January forecast, according to the latest World Economic Outlook. Among emerging markets and developing economies, China is projected to grow by 8.4 percent this year, 0.3 percentage point above the January forecast, according to the report. 
当地时间4月6日，国际货币基金组织(IMF)在新一期《世界经济展望》报告中预测，2021年预计全球经济将增长6%，高于今年1月份预测的5.5%。其中，在新兴市场和发展中经济体中，中国经济预测增长8.4%，比1月份的预测提高了0.3个百分点。

The newly-released report projected the global economy to expand 4.4 percent in 2022, 0.2 percentage point above its January forecast. In 2020, the global economy saw an estimated historic contraction of 3.3 percent, according to the IMF. The World Economic Outlook report also noted that uneven recoveries are occurring within countries as young and lower-skilled workers "remain more heavily affected," and women have suffered more, especially in emerging market and developing economies.
这份最新发布的报告预测称，2022年全球经济将增长4.4%，比1月份的预测提高了0.2个百分点。IMF估计，2020年全球经济收缩3.3%，创下纪录。报告还指出，各国经济复苏不平衡，年轻和低技能工人"受到的影响更严重"，妇女遭受的损失也更大，尤其是在新兴市场和发展中经济体。

重点词汇
1、International Monetary Fund
国际货币基金组织

2、contraction
英 /kənˈtrækʃn/  美 /kənˈtrækʃn/ 
n. 收缩，紧缩；缩写式；害病

Earliest cherry blossom bloom
日本迎千年最早樱花季

Cherry blossoms, also known as "sakura", which experience a "peak bloom" that only lasts a few days, have been revered in Japan for more than a thousand years. Crowds celebrate with viewing parties, flocking to the most popular locations to take photos and have picnics underneath the branches. But this year, cherry blossom season has come and gone in the blink of an eye, in one of the earliest blooms on record -- and scientists warn it's a symptom of the larger climate crisis threatening ecosystems everywhere. 
"盛花期"只有几天的樱花一千多年来在日本备受推崇。人们举办赏花会来庆祝，蜂拥到热门景点拍照，在樱花树下野餐。但是今年，樱花季眨眼之间来了又去，花期前所未有地早。科学家警告说，这预示着更大规模威胁各地生态系统的气候危机即将到来。

In the central city of Kyoto, cherry blossoms peaked on March 26, the earliest in more than 1,200 years. There are two sources of increased heat, which is the main factor making the flowers bloom earlier: Urbanization and climate change. With increased urbanization, cities tend to get warmer than the surrounding rural area, in what is called the heat island effect. 
京都市中心的樱花在3月26日达到全盛，这是1200多年来最早的一次。导致樱花早开的主要因素是来自城市化和气候变化两大源头的高温。随着城市化水平提高，城市的温度通常比周边乡村地区更高，这就是所谓的热岛效应。

But a bigger reason is climate change, which has caused rising temperatures across the region and the world. And these earlier dates aren't just a matter of tourists scrambling to catch peak bloom before the petals all fall -- it could have a lasting impact on entire ecosystems, and threaten the survival of many species. 
但是更大的原因是导致该地区和全球气温升高的气候变化。樱花提早盛开不止让游客难以在花谢之前一睹盛景，而且还会对整个生态系统产生持久的影响，并威胁到许多物种的生存。

重点词汇
1、flock （to）
英 /flɒk/  美 /flɑːk/ 
vi. 聚集；成群而行
n. 群；棉束（等于floc）
vt. 用棉束填满

2、 underneath
英 /ˌʌndəˈniːθ/  美 /ˌʌndərˈniːθ/ 
prep./ adv.  在……底下；在书页下面；在……表象下；（部分或全部）在衣服下面；（掩盖）在（另一物体）下面；（人）本质上
n. 下面，底部
adj. 下面的，底层的

3、in the blink of an eye
瞬间；眨眼间

4、scrambling
英 /ˈskræmblɪŋ/  美 /ˈskræmblɪŋ/
v. 攀爬；快速移动；仓促地（或艰难地）完成；炒（蛋）；（非正式）取得；（美式橄榄球）带球跑到阻截争球线后避免阻截；对（广播、电话）加密；争夺；扰乱……的频率；打乱；紧急起飞（scramble 的现在分词）
n. 摩托车越野赛；越野（尤指悠闲活动）；攀岩；扰频

Mummies paraded to new museum
埃及人欢送'木乃伊搬家'

Egyptians have been witnessing a historic procession of their country's ancient rulers through the capital, Cairo. The lavish, multimillion-dollar spectacle saw 22 mummies transported from the peach-colored, neo-classical Egyptian Museum to their new resting place 5km away. Saturday's move of the mummies was streamed online for all enthusiasts of ancient Egypt to watch. 
4月3日，埃及人见证了一场载入史册的盛况，目睹了古埃及统治者的木乃伊在首都开罗"搬家"。在这场豪掷数百万美元的奢华仪式中，22具木乃伊从那座桃红色外墙的新古典主义的埃及国家博物馆被转移至5公里外的新安息地。仪式全程在网上直播，所有古埃及的爱好者都可以观看。

With tight security arrangements befitting their royal blood and status as national treasures, the mummies were relocated to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in what was called The Pharaohs' Golden Parade. Each mummy was carried on a decorated vehicle fitted with special shock-absorbers and surrounded by a motorcade, including replica horse-drawn war chariots. 
这场名为"法老的金色游行"的仪式保卫森严，正符合这些木乃伊的王室威严和国宝地位，他们将被重新安置于新开放的埃及国家文明博物馆。每具木乃伊都由加装特殊减震装置的花车运送，四周有车队护送，其中还包括马拉的仿造战车。

While ancient mummification techniques originally preserved the pharaohs, for the move they were placed in special nitrogen-filled boxes to help protect them against external conditions. Roads along the route also were repaved to keep the journey smooth.
古代木乃伊制作技术能够保存法老尸体，如今为了搬家，装载木乃伊的特制棺材内填充了氮气，以防受到外部环境的影响。此外，搬运路线上的道路均重新铺过，确保路途顺畅。

重点词汇
1、lavish
英 /ˈlævɪʃ/  美 /ˈlævɪʃ/ 
adj. 盛大奢华的；挥霍的；丰富的；大方的
vt. 浪费；慷慨给予；滥用

2、neo-classical
/ˌniːəʊˈklæsɪkəl/
 (18世纪晚期)新古典主义的; 侧重于对古罗马和古希腊的建筑和艺术风格的使用

3、Pharaoh
英 /ˈfeərəʊ/  美 /ˈferoʊ/ 
法老 (古埃及国王)

4、shock-absorber
减震器

5、motorcade
英 /ˈməʊtəkeɪd/  美 /ˈmoʊtərkeɪd/ 
 (载有重要人物缓慢行驶的)车队

6、chariot
英 /ˈtʃæriət/  美 /ˈtʃæriət/ 
n. 双轮马车
vt. 驾驭
vi. 乘战车；驾驭战车

7、mummification
/,mʌməfə'keʃən/ 
n. [医] 木乃伊化

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