12月21日午间英语新闻：通胀阴影笼罩美假日购物季，消费者不再“买买买”

Squeezed by inflation, families are tightening their holiday budgets

通胀阴影笼罩美假日购物季，消费者不再“买买买”

A November Quinnipiac poll found 47% of Americans have less in savings than they did just a year ago. The same poll found 42% plan to spend less on gifts this season and only 8% plan to spend more.

美国昆尼皮亚克大学11月的一项民意调查发现，47%的美国人储蓄比一年前少。调查还发现，42%的受访者今年购物季计划减少礼物支出，只有8%的受访者计划增加支出。

Overall holiday spending hasn't slowed yet, according to the National Retail Federation, but many families are making sacrifices to buy presents for their loved ones.

全美零售商联合会称，圣诞假期的整体消费还未放缓，但许多家庭已经在为礼物开支而让步。

Janette Duvall, a school bus driver in Maryland, is relying on coupons for the first time to afford gifts for her family. While inflation is squeezing her budget, she wants to make sure her kids have something to open on Christmas, even if she can't buy anything for herself. "I will do whatever I can, but I will, of course, look for something cheaper this year," she said. "Not everybody will have the same quality of gift they used to get."

马里兰州校车司机珍妮特·杜瓦尔第一次用优惠券为家人买礼物。高通胀限制了她的预算，即使不能为自己买任何东西，她仍希望孩子们在圣诞节能够收到礼物。杜瓦尔说：“我会尽我所能，但今年我肯定会选择更便宜的。并不是每个人都会得到与以往一样的礼物。”

In a Gallup poll this month, 55% of Americans said rising prices have caused financial hardship for their household, and 13% say that hardship is "severe."

本月盖洛普民意调查显示，55%的美国人表示物价上涨使他们囊中羞涩，13%的人表示经济“非常”困难。

Second-grade teacher Lindsay Cook said her family has been living paycheck to paycheck for the first time. For months, she and her husband, a school security officer, have been dipping into savings and using credit cards to keep up with higher prices on food, gas, energy  , as they take care of their two children.

二年级教师林赛·库克称，她家第一次过上“月光族”的生活。库克的丈夫是一名学校警卫，家里有两个孩子。几个月来，为了负担上涨的食品、汽油、能源支出，他们一直在动用储蓄和信用卡。

Recession concerns are also impacting family spending. Karissa Warren spoke with CNN in March when she could barely afford to fill her gas tank because of surging fuel prices. With gas prices down, and after receiving a raise at work, Warren felt more secure heading into the holidays. Then she received news that she's getting laid off from her job. "It just kind of blew everything up," she said about her budget. "Now, it's like, anything extra is out of the question."

对经济衰退的担忧也影响着家庭支出。今年3月，卡里莎·沃伦曾接受CNN采访。当时由于油价飙升，她几乎没钱加满油箱。随着天然气价格的下降，以及获得加薪，沃伦以为自己可以安度假期。但现在，她收到了被解雇的消息。谈到购物预算，沃伦称：“这简直是把一切都搞砸了。现在，任何额外支出都是不可能的。”

重点词汇：

squeeze

英[skwiːz]

美[skwiːz]

v.挤压; 捏; (从某物中)榨出，挤出，拧出; (使)挤入; 挤过; 塞入; 向…勒索（或榨取）; 严格限制，削减，紧缩（资金）;

n.挤压; 捏; 榨出的液体; 小量挤出的汁; 挤; 塞; 减少，削减; 男朋友;

Cambridge University to return over 100 looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria

回家！剑桥大学将向尼日利亚归还百件贝宁青铜器

The University of Cambridge will return more than 100 looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria. In the 1897 attack, the British burned the city’s palace and exiled Benin’s Oba, or king. Thousands of brasses and other works – known collectively as the “Benin bronzes” – were taken and later sold off in London. The artefacts ended up being scattered around the world in museums in the UK, Europe and the US, with claims for their restitution dating back to the mid-20th century.

近日，剑桥大学宣布，将向尼日利亚归还100多件曾遭到英军掠夺的贝宁青铜器。在1897年的袭击中，英国人烧毁了城市的宫殿，并流放了贝宁的国王。成千上万的铜器和文物被掠走后在伦敦被卖掉。现如今，这些文物散落在世界各地的博物馆中，尼日利亚从20世纪中期起就一直致力于收回这些流浪异国的文化遗产......

A university spokesperson said: “The Charity Commission has considered and approved the return of 116 historical objects, often referred to as the Benin bronzes, from the University of Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology to the National Commission of Museums and Monuments (NCMM) of Nigeria. The university is now working with the commission to finalise next steps regarding these Benin bronzes, and we will communicate these in due course.”

剑桥大学的一位发言人说:“慈善委员会已经批准将116件存于剑桥大学考古和人类学博物馆的贝宁青铜器归还给尼日利亚国家博物馆和纪念碑委员会。我们现在正在与委员会合作，来确定关于处理这些贝宁青铜器的下一步措施，后续的沟通也将会持续。”

The announcement by Cambridge comes as institutions and museums come under mounting pressure to return looted artefacts. In July, Germany handed back two bronzes and put more than 1,000 other items from its museums’ collections into Nigeria’s ownership.

剑桥大学宣布这一消息时，许多机构和博物馆正出于多方压力陆续归还掠夺的文物。今年7月，一家位于德国科隆的博物馆就向尼日利亚归还了两件青铜器以及其博物馆收藏的1000多件其他物品。

Last month, the Horniman Museum, in south London, returned looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria. Earlier this month, it was reported that the chair of the British Museum, George Osborne, had held talks with the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, regarding the possible return of the Parthenon marbles.

上个月，伦敦南部的霍尼曼博物馆也向尼日利亚归还了被掠夺的贝宁青铜器。针对文物的归还问题，大英博物馆董事会主席、前财政大臣乔治·奥斯本还与希腊总理基里亚科斯·米佐塔基斯就归还帕台农神庙大理石的可能举行了会谈。

重点词汇：

1.exile

英[ˈeksaɪl]

美[ˈeksaɪl]

vt.放逐; 流放;

n.流亡; 流放; 放逐; 流亡国外者; 被流放者; 离乡背井者;

2.brass

英[brɑːs]

美[bræs]

n.黄铜; 黄铜制品; (管弦乐团的)铜管乐器，铜管乐器组; 黄铜饰品(尤指马挽具上的黄铜圆片); 黄铜纪念牌; <英非正式>钱; （军队或其他机构的）高级军官，高层人物;

adj.黄铜制的; 含黄铜的; 黄铜色的; （声音）洪亮回响的;

v.镀黄铜于; <俚>付清（up）;

3.loot

英[luːt]

美[luːt]

v.抢劫; (暴乱、火灾等后)打劫; 劫掠;

n.战利品; 赃物; 掠夺品; 被盗物; 钱;