#281 (經濟學人導讀 — 每日新聞). #每日一經濟學人 #英文學習 #國際時事…
By: Leon X The Economist
Tags: Brexit, Irish Backstop, Uber, Germany, Covid 19

#每日一經濟學人 #英文學習 #國際時事 #謝謝志工AndyJackyShane

👍我們的第七支影片：英國脫歐 (下) — 難解的北愛爾蘭問題，在 YouTube 上架囉：https://reurl.cc/Z7xGEQ

👍第二屆志工招募計畫至 12月13日 (週日) 21:00 截止，詳情歡迎私訊我們的粉專唷！

Wednesday December 9th 2020

2020年12月9日星期三

🌏Espresso — The world in brief

每日濃縮 — 世界概況

1️⃣Uber’s autonomous-vehicle: Aurora takes it over from here…

優步的自駕車：讓新創 Aurora 接手吧…

Uber ended its attempt to develop a driverless car. The ride-hailing firm will instead sell its autonomous-vehicle unit to Aurora, a Silicon Valley start-up. As part of the deal Uber will invest $400m in Aurora and take a 26% stake. Uber has been streamlining its business in an attempt to turn a profit.

優步 (Uber) 終結了其開發無人駕駛汽車的嘗試。這家 (線上) 叫車服務公司將改出售其自動駕駛汽車部門予矽谷一新創公司 Aurora。作為交易的一部分，Uber 將向 Aurora 投資 4億美元，並持有後者 26％的股份。Uber 也一直在精簡其業務以賺取利潤。

2️⃣Biden’s secretary of defence: the first African American for the job

拜登的國防部長：首位非裔人選

Joe Biden is reportedly set to announce Lloyd Austin, a four-star army general, as his choice for secretary of defence. That continues Mr Trump’s recent practice of placing military brass in top national-security posts conventionally held by civilians. General Austin, who retired in 2016, will need a congressional waiver to take the job. He would be the first black secretary of defence.

據報導，拜登 (Joe Biden) 決定要任命四星陸軍上將奧斯汀 (Lloyd Austin) 作為他的國防部長人選。這延續了總統川普近期將軍方高層安排在傳統上由文官擔任的國家安全最高職位之做法。在 2016年退休的奧斯汀將軍需要獲得國會的同意才能擔任此一職務，而他將是美國首位非裔的國防部長。

3️⃣Brexit negotiations: back to the table!

英國脫歐談判：重回談判桌！

The British government said that it has reached an agreement in principle with the EU over the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocols set out in Britain’s withdrawal treaty. It will now remove elements from planned legislation that would have reneged on the agreement, which was signed earlier this year. Negotiations over a trade deal continue.

英國政府表示已就 (於今年 1月簽署的) 英國脫歐之協議中有關北愛爾蘭的協定與歐盟在原則上達成共識。現今英相強森的政府將刪除原本 (在今年 9月) 將立之「單一市場法 (UK Internal Market Bill)」，而此法原意將賦予英國政府有權推翻 (在今年 1月) 與歐盟簽署之協議，尤其有關北愛爾蘭的部分條款。有關 (英國脫歐後與歐盟之) 貿易協議的談判仍在進行中。

🔱Espresso — Today’s agenda

每日濃縮 — 今日頭條

🇩🇪Model no more: Germany and covid-19

樂極生悲：德國的新冠疫情

A few weeks ago Jens Spahn, Germany’s health minister, bragged that his country was handling the second coronavirus wave better than most. He would not make that claim today. Unlike every other big European country, in Germany covid-19 cases are growing. Daily deaths are at record levels and some intensive-care units are overloaded. While other countries mull lifting restrictions, German states are tightening theirs. These worrying developments will hang over Angela Merkel’s appearance before the Bundestag this morning. Although parliament is officially convening to discuss Germany’s 2021 budget, the government’s overall handling of the pandemic is bound to come up. Ironically, the chancellor herself is among the critics: Mrs Merkel has long argued that Germany’s state leaders, who make most of the rules in health and other relevant policies, have been complacent in managing the spread of the virus. As Germany heads into a difficult Christmas, her vindication is unlikely to provide much solace.

數星期以前，德國衛生部長施巴恩 (Jens Spahn) 還興沖沖地說：德國在處理第二波新冠疫情上表現得比其他國家都還要好。但他今天可能不會再這麼說了。不像其他幾個歐洲大國，德國的新冠病例數目前正在上升，每日死亡病例亦寫下歷史新高，而某些加護病房已經無法負荷了。當其他國家正思索著解禁的同時，德國反而加強禁令。這些令人擔憂的發展態勢將籠罩在出席今天上午德國聯邦議院 (Bundestag) 的德國總理梅克爾 (Angela Merkel) 身上。儘管國會已經正式召集討論德國 2021年度的預算，但政府整體的防疫作為勢必成為討論熱點。諷刺的是，總理本身自己也是批評人士之一：梅克爾長期以來對負責制訂大部分健康與其他相關政策的德國各邦領導自滿的防疫表現，頗有微詞。隨著德國即將迎接艱難的聖誕節到來，她的這番辯護很難帶來太多的慰藉。

⚜️Daily takeaway⚜️

每日單字精選

✅Agreement (n.): 協議 (名)

✅Implementation (n.): 導入、實施 (名)

✅Protocol (n.): 協定 (名)

✅Ride-hailing (n.): 叫車 (名)

✅Autonomous (adj.): 自主的 (形)

✅Military (n./adj.): 軍方/軍隊 (名)、軍事的 (形)

✅Conventionally (adv.): 傳統上的 (副)

✅Claim (v./n.): 聲稱 (動)、聲明 (名)

✅Intensive (adj.): 密集的 (形)

✅Appearance (n.): 出現、模樣 (名)

✅Convene (v.): 召開、召集 (動)

✅Ironically (adv.): 諷刺地 (副)

✅Relevant (adj.): 相關的 (形)

✅Complacent (adj.): 自滿的、得意的 (形)

✅Vindication (n.): 辯護、自白 (名)

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