1
British nurses to hold first ever strike over pay
英國護士将首次因工資問題舉行罷工
Tens of thousands of British nurses will go on strike① for the first time over demands for better pay, their trade union said on Wednesday. Nurses at the majority of state-run National Health Service (NHS) employers across Britain have voted to strike, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said, in action that threatens major disruption to an already strained health system. NHS nurses have seen their salaries cut by up to 20% in real terms over the last 10 years. The union is asking for a pay hike of 5% above inflation. Britain has seen a wave of industrial unrest this year across a range of professions as pay hikes fail to keep up with inflation running at 10%. The RCN, which has more than 300,000 members, said industrial action would begin before the end of the year following the first ever strike vote in its 106-year-old history. (CNN)
11月9日，英國護士工會組織英國皇家護理學院（RCN）表示，英國數萬名護士将舉行首次罷工，要求提高工資。RCN稱，英國國家醫療服務體系（NHS）内大多數醫院的護士已經投票決定罷工，此舉使本就不堪重負的英國衛生系統雪上加霜。過去10年，NHS的護士的實際工資減少了20%。工會要求工資漲幅須比通脹水準高5個百分點。由于工資漲幅未能跟上10%的通脹率，英國今年出現了一波涉及各行各業的罷工浪潮。RCN擁有30多萬名會員，在舉行了其106年曆史上的首次罷工投票後，該組織表示将在今年年底前舉行罷工。
【注釋】
① strike: [straɪk] n. a period of time when an organized group of employees of a company stops working because of a disagreement over pay or conditions 罷工，罷課，罷市
(Credit: CNN)
2
Record-breaking sale of Microsoft co-founder’s art collection surpasses $1.6 billion
微軟聯合創始人藝術藏品拍出超16億美元的創紀錄成交額
Art from the private collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen fetched① over $1.6 billion to become the largest single-owner sale in auction history. Spanning 500 years of art history, art from Allen’s collection was offered on Wednesday and Thursday at Christie’s in New York. The auction’s single biggest sale was Seurat’s “Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version),” which fetched over $149.2 million. Cézanne’s oil on canvas “La Montagne Sainte-Victoire,” one of more than 30 views he painted of the French mountain range, sold for almost $137.8 million. A Van Gogh painting, “Verger avec cyprès,” meanwhile fetched almost $117.2 million to become the most expensive work by the artist ever to sell at auction. The two other artworks to attract nine-figure bids were Gauguin’s “Maternité II,” which fetched $105.7 million, and Klimt’s “Birch Forest,” a large-scale landscape that sold for over $104.5 million. (CNN)
已故微軟聯合創始人保羅•G. 艾倫收藏的一批藝術品以超過16億美元的價格成交，成為拍賣史上成交額最高的私人收藏拍賣。艾倫收藏的藝術品跨越500年藝術史，于11月9日和10日在紐約佳士得拍賣行拍賣。在此次拍賣中，單筆成交額最高的作品是修拉的《模特們（小版）》，成交價超過1.492億美元。塞尚的布面油畫《聖維克多山》是他描繪法國山脈的30多幅風景畫之一，以近1.378億美元的價格拍出。同時，凡·高的畫作《有柏樹的果園》以近1.172億美元的價格成交，重新整理了凡·高作品以往的拍賣紀錄。另外兩幅拍價達到9位數的作品是高更的《母性II》和克林姆特的大幅風景畫《白桦林》，分别以1.057億美元和超1.045億美元的價格成交。
【注釋】
① fetch: [fetʃ] v. to be sold for a particular price 售得，賣得（某價）
(Credit: siennasaintcyr.com)
3
Italy hails ‘exceptional①’ discovery of ancient bronze statues in Tuscany
意大利宣布托斯卡納出土“罕見”古銅像
Archaeologists in Italy have uncovered more than two dozen beautifully preserved bronze statues dating back to ancient Roman times in thermal baths in Tuscany, the Italian Ministry of Culture said Tuesday. Depicting Hygieia, Apollo and other Greco-Roman gods, the figures are said to be around 2,300 years old. One expert said the find could “rewrite history”. Most of the statues—which were found submerged beneath the baths alongside around 6,000 bronze, silver and gold coins—date to between the 2nd Century BC and the 1st Century AD. The Italian Ministry of Culture said that the era marked a period of “great transformation in ancient Tuscany” as the area transitioned from Etruscan to Roman rule. The statues will be taken to a restoration laboratory in nearby Grosseto, before eventually being put on display in a new museum in San Casciano. Massimo Osanna, director general of Italy’s state museums, said the discovery was the most important since the Riace Bronzes and “certainly one of the most significant bronze finds ever made in the history of the ancient Mediterranean”. (Reuters & BBC)
意大利文化部11月8日表示，考古學家在該國托斯卡納區溫泉地帶發掘出20多尊儲存完好的青銅雕像，其曆史可追溯至古羅馬時代。這些雕像展現的是健康女神許革亞、太陽神阿波羅及其他希臘羅馬神靈，據信大約刻于2300年前。某專家表示，這一發現可能會“改寫曆史”。大部分雕像都掩埋在溫泉泥中，随之出土的還有約6000枚銅币、銀币和金币，均可追溯至公元前2世紀到公元1世紀之間。意大利文化部表示，這一時期标志着“古托斯卡納的巨大轉變”，當時，托斯卡納的統治權從伊特魯裡亞人過渡到羅馬人手中。這些雕像将被帶到格羅塞托附近的修複實驗室進行修複，随後會在聖卡夏諾的新博物館展出。意大利文化部博物館司司長馬西莫·奧桑納表示，這是自裡亞切青銅武士像以來最重要的發現，“當然也是古地中海曆史上最重要的青銅器發現之一”。
【注釋】
① exceptional: [ɪkˈsepʃən(ə)l] adj. unusual; not typical 罕見的；不尋常的；例外的
(Credit: Reuters)
4
Liu brothers move closer to potential China switch
匈牙利奧運冠軍劉氏兄弟有望入籍中國
Hungary’s short-track speed skating stars Sandor Liu Shaolin and Liu Shaoang could be representing China in the future after the Olympic champions lodged applications to change their nationality. The Hungarian National Skating Association (MOKSZ) on Tuesday posted a statement on its website confirming that the Liu brothers had officially filed the applications. Under the guidance of Zhang Jing, their longtime mentor, the Liu brothers led the Hungarian men’s team to its first short-track Olympic gold medal when they triumphed in the 5,000m relay final at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games in South Korea. Liu Shaoang, the younger of the brothers, continued his golden momentum① by winning the men’s 500m title at the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. Born in Budapest to a Chinese father and a Hungarian mother, the Liu brothers are expected to skate under the Chinese flag should their applications be approved. Zhang returned to serve as head coach of the Chinese national squad in August and she is currently overseas working with Team China as it competes in the International Skating Union’s World Cup series. Both Zhang and the Chinese skating association have yet to respond to the news about the Liu brothers. (China Daily)
匈牙利短道速滑奧運冠軍劉少林和劉少昂申請變更國籍，未來有可能代表中國參賽。匈牙利國家滑冰協會11月8日在其網站上釋出了一份聲明，證明劉氏兄弟已正式送出申請。在教練張晶的長期指導下，劉氏兄弟帶領匈牙利男子代表隊在2018年南韓平昌冬奧會5000米接力決賽中獲得了首枚短道速滑奧運金牌。弟弟劉少昂再創佳績，在今年2月的北京冬奧會上獲得了男子500米冠軍。劉少林和劉少昂出生于布達佩斯，父親是中國人，母親是匈牙利人。如果申請獲得準許，他們有望為中國速滑助力。今年8月，張晶回國出任中國國家隊主教練，目前正帶領中國隊在國外參加國際滑冰聯盟的世界杯系列賽。張晶和中國滑冰協會尚未對劉氏兄弟的消息做出回應。
【注釋】
① momentum: [məˈmentəm] n. the ability to keep increasing or developing 推進力；動力；勢頭
(Credit: AFP)
5
Female governors will break a record in 2023
美國女州長數量将創曆史新高
The US will have a record number of female governors in 2023. Still, the record-setting number—12—will represent a small fraction of the top executives across the 50 states. The previous record of nine female governors serving concurrently was set in 2004. Even before Election Day, 2022 had set a record for the number of all-female gubernatorial① matchups. Those five states were Arizona, Alabama, Iowa, Michigan and Oregon. Before this year, there had only been four woman-versus-woman gubernatorial matchups in all of history. In total, 25 women were nominated for governor by the two major parties in 2022, a historical record. Sixteen of them were Democrats and nine were Republicans. Democrat Becca Balint will be the first woman elected to Congress from Vermont, winning election to the state’s at-large district. With Balint’s win, Vermont will lose its distinction as the only US state never to have sent a woman to Congress. (CNN)
2023年，美國女州長的數量将創新高，達到12人。即便破了紀錄，她們在50個州長中仍然隻占少數。之前的紀錄是在2004年，當時有9名女性同時擔任州長。就在2022年選舉日之前，隻有女性參與州長競選的州數便已打破紀錄，共有5個州，分别是亞利桑那州、阿拉巴馬州、艾奧瓦州、密歇根州和俄勒岡州。2022年之前，美國曆史上隻有4次女性對女性的州長競選。2022年，兩大政黨提名的州長候選人中共有25名女性，在這一曆史性記錄中，16位是民主黨人，9位是共和黨人。民主黨人貝卡·巴林特将赢得佛蒙特州唯一一個衆議院席位，成為該州首位當選國會議員的女性。巴林特獲勝意味着美國所有50個州都至少有一位女性國會議員。
【注釋】
① gubernatorial: [ˌɡuːbənəˈtɔːriəlˈ] adj. connected with the job of state governor in the US （美國）州長的，州長職位的
(Credit: CNN)
6
Confirmed! A 2014 meteor is Earth’s 1st known interstellar visitor
實錘！2014年的一顆流星是地球已知的第一個星際訪客
Astronomers have confirmed that a suspicious space rock that hit Earth in 2014 came from another star system, predating the famous interstellar visitor ‘Oumuamua by three years. The results were published in the Astrophysical Journal on November 2, 2022. Researchers found the meteor in the catalog of NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies in 2019. At that time, however, some of the data about the rock’s trajectory① were kept secret by the U.S. Department of Defence (DoD). But in March this year, the DoD released a statement confirming the measurements, allowing scientists to complete their calculation of the mysterious rock’s origin. The researchers believe that interstellar space rocks might hit Earth’s atmosphere about once per decade. Analyzing those meteors, the researchers suggest in the paper, could provide new insights into the chemistry of distant star systems. The researchers also suggest that such a high frequency of interstellar visitors throughout Earth’s history could mean that the seeds of life that had sprouted on our planet in the past 3.5 billion years may have come from another star system. (SPACE.com)
天文學家現已證明，2014年撞擊地球的一塊可疑太空岩石來自另一個恒星系統，比著名的星際訪客“奧陌陌”早3年。這一研究成果于2022年11月2日發表在《天體實體學雜志》上。2019年，研究人員在美國國家航空航天局近地天體研究中心的目錄中發現了這顆流星。然而，當時美國國防部并未公開流星軌迹的某些資料。但在今年3月，美國國防部發表了一份聲明，确認了測量結果，科學家得以完成對這塊神秘岩石來處的估測。研究人員認為，星際岩石可能每10年撞擊地球大氣層一次。他們在論文中指出，分析這些流星可以為研究遙遠恒星系統的化學性質提供新的見解。研究人員還認為，地球曆史上如此頻繁地出現星際訪客可能意味着，過去35億年間在地球上生根發芽的生命種子或許來自另一個恒星系統。
【注釋】
① trajectory: [trəˈdʒektəri] n. the curved path of sth that has been fired, hit or thrown into the air （射體在空中的）軌道，彈道，軌迹
(Credit: SPACE.com)
北京化工大學
高僑、韓璐、朱玥璿 編譯
劉靜翾、王拓 朗讀
張菊 審訂