10月18日午间英语新闻：科学家用基因编辑让鸡获得对禽流感的部分抵抗力

IMF: Global growth slows amid geopolitical tensions

地缘政治局势动荡！国际货币基金组织下调全球经济增速

The global economy has lost momentum from the impact of high interest rates, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and escalating geopolitical disputes, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday. 

当地时间10日，国际货币基金组织IMF发布最新一期《世界经济展望报告》，受到高利率、俄乌冲突和地缘政治纷争的影响，全球经济失去了动力。

Global economic growth for this year will decrease from the previous projection of 3.5 percent to 3 percent and, for 2024, the growth rate will be revised downward from 3 percent to 2.9 percent.

报告预计今年全球经济增速将从此前的3.5%放缓至3%，2024年经济增速从3%下调至2.9%。

Pierre-Oliver Gourinchas, chief economist of the IMF, emphasized that the IMF is closely monitoring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but said it was “too early” to assess the impact on global economic growth. 

IMF首席经济学家皮埃尔-奥利维耶·古兰沙在报告发布会上说，IMF正密切关注巴以冲突的局势发展，目前评估冲突对全球经济影响还为时过早。

However, international oil prices have significantly increased. Should oil prices surge by 10 percent, global economic growth would slow by 0.15 percent and global inflation would rise by 0.4 percent, Gourinchas said.

但此期间国际油价显著上涨，若油价涨幅达到10%，全球经济增速将放缓0.15%，全球通胀将上升0.4%。

The report issues a warning, highlighting how geopolitical conflicts are tearing nations apart, limiting global trade and impeding the flow of capital and technology. That, in turn, is inflicting substantial losses on the global economy.

报告警告说，地缘政治冲突正在撕裂世界各国，这将会限制全球贸易，阻碍跨境资本和技术流动。给全球经济带来巨大损失。

The report reveals that, in 2022, nearly 3000 new trade restrictions were imposed by nations, compared with fewer than 1000 restrictions in 2019.

报告指出，2022年各国对贸易实施了近3000项新限制，远高于2019年的1000项。

Additionally, advanced economies are experiencing more pronounced economic slowdowns, with economic growth for 2023 projected at 1.5 percent and a further slowdown to 1.4 percent in 2024. Conversely, emerging markets and developing economies are demonstrating resilience, with expected economic growth rates of 4 percent for both the current and upcoming years.

此外，发达经济体的经济增速放缓明显。2023年经济增长预测值为1.5%，2024年将放缓至1.4%。新兴市场和发展中经济体则展现出韧性，今明两年经济增长预期值均为4%。

重点词汇：

1.geopolitical

英/ˌdʒiːəʊpəˈlɪtɪkl/

美/ˌdʒiːoʊpəˈlɪtɪkl/

adj.地理政治学的

2.momentum

英/məˈmentəm/

美/moʊˈmentəm/

n.冲力，推力；动力，势头；动量，冲量

3.escalate

英/ˈeskəleɪt/

美/ˈeskəleɪt/

v.（使）变得严重，（使）升级；迅速增加，迅速增长；逐步增强，逐步升高

4.dispute

英/dɪˈspjuːt/

美/dɪˈspjuːt/

n.争论，辩论，纠纷

v.对……提出质疑，否认；争论，辩论；争夺，竞争；

5.impede

英/ɪmˈpiːd/

美/ɪmˈpiːd/

v.妨碍，阻碍

6.resilience

英/rɪˈzɪliəns/

美/rɪˈzɪliəns/

n.恢复力，复原力；（橡胶等的）弹性

Bird flu: Scientists gene edit hope for immune chickens

科学家用基因编辑让鸡获得对禽流感的部分抵抗力

Researchers have developed gene-edited chickens that are partially resistant to bird flu.

研究人员通过基因编辑让鸡获得了对禽流感的部分抵抗力。

Although the birds are not completely immune, the scientists say their work shows it might be possible to block the virus in three years.

尽管经过基因编辑的鸡对禽流感不能完全免疫，但是科学家表示，他们的研究表明，未来三年内可能会成功阻断禽流感病毒。

The latest results suggest that making further changes to the birds' DNA could produce fully immune chickens.

这一最新研究结果显示，进一步改变鸡的基因将能培育出对禽流感完全免疫的鸡。

The researchers identified three genes they believed were important for the bird flu (formally known as avian influenza) virus to reproduce in the chickens. They made two small changes to one of the genes using a technique known as gene editing.

研究人员识别出了他们认为能帮助禽流感病毒在鸡体内复制的三种重要基因。他们用基因编辑术对其中一种基因做了两个小改动。

The resulting chickens had no side effects after two years. They also had increased resistance to bird flu, but were not fully immune; half the chickens infected with a high dose of the virus developed an infection.

接受基因编辑的鸡在两年后没有表现出副作用。这些鸡对禽流感的抵抗力增强了，但不是完全免疫：半数鸡在接触大量禽流感病毒后被感染了。

Prof Mike McGrew told BBC News that experiments in test tubes showed if changes are made to all three genes, then a fully resistant bird might be possible.

麦克·麦格鲁教授告诉BBC新闻网称，试管实验表明，如果对三种基因都做改动，那么可能会培育出可以完全抵抗禽流感的鸡。

Bird flu is a major global threat, with a devastating impact in both farmed and wild bird populations. In the UK alone, the current outbreak of H5N1 bird flu has decimated seabird populations and cost the poultry industry more than £100 million in losses.

禽流感是全球的一大健康威胁，对养殖和野生禽类具有毁灭性影响。仅在英国，当前暴发的H5N1禽流感就致使大批海鸟死亡，给养禽业造成超1亿英镑的损失。

重点词汇：

1.immune

英/ɪˈmjuːn/

美/ɪˈmjuːn/

adj.免疫的；不受影响的；免除的，豁免的

n.免疫者，免除者

2.resistant

英/rɪˈzɪstənt/

美/rɪˈzɪstənt/

adj.抵制的，反抗的；有抵抗力的，不受……损害的

n.抵抗者

3.avian

英/ˈeɪviən/

美/ˈeɪviən/

adj.鸟的；鸟类的

n.鸟

4.decimate

英/ˈdesɪmeɪt/

美/ˈdesɪmeɪt/

v.大批杀害，大量毁灭；大大削弱，使……严重失效；抽杀……十分之一的人；十中抽一，取十分之一