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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
South Africa has announced that a new variant1 of the COVID-19 virus is driving a resurgence2 of the disease, with higher numbers of confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
The new strain, different from the one in Britain, appears to be more infectious than the original virus.
Local scientists are studying if the current coronavirus vaccines3 will also offer protection against the new strain.
South Africa is the country hardest hit by the pandemic in Africa, with over 910 thousand cases and nearly 25 thousand deaths.
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has received his first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine4.
The 78-year-old is in the high-risk category for the virus.
He is also calling on Americans to get the vaccine when it becomes available.
COVID-19 cases in the United States have surpassed 18 million with close to 320 thousand deaths.
With supplies limited, many states have put healthcare workers and nursing home residents first in line for vaccinations5.
The World Health Organization says it expects to get more details soon on the potential impact of the new coronavirus strain reported in the UK.
WHO emergency expert Mike Ryan says there's no evidence that the mutated variant of the virus increases the severity of the disease.
Although more transmissible, the UK says the new strain shouldn't be?? resistant6 to vaccines.
WHO technical lead for COVID-19 Maria van Kerkhove says scientists are looking into the body's antibody response to the virus.
"The scientists are in the lab working on these types of studies looking at the antibody response. And we expect results on these studies in the coming days and coming weeks."
The UK reported the new strain of COVID on Saturday, prompting countries to close their borders to Britain over fears that the new strain could spread further.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says French President Emmanuel Macron is keen to resolve border issues within hours.
"We're working with our friends across the channel to unblock the flow of trade as fast as possible and the government at all levels is communicating with our friends in Paris."
France shut its border with the UK for 48 hours, meaning no trucks or ferries can leave from the port of Dover.
Johnson says he understands worries over COVID transmission, but adds that the "risk of transmission by a solitary7 driver sitting alone in the cab are very low."
So far, over 40 countries have banned UK arrivals because of concerns about the spread of a new variant of coronavirus.
European Union member states met earlier in Brussels to discuss a co-ordinated response, with officials suggesting a requirement for tests could be imposed on all people arriving from the UK.
The Chinese Foreign Minister is calling on the United States to return unconditionally8 to the Iran nuclear deal and lift sanctions on Tehran and third-party entities9 and individuals.
Wang Yi attended a video conference on the Iran nuclear issue yesterday with his counterparts from Iran, Britain, France, Russia and Germany.
He also suggested that Iran completely resume the fulfillment of its nuclear commitments on the basis of a U.S. resumption.
The Iran nuclear deal was inked in 2015. Washington withdrew from it three years later, and unilaterally reimposed sanctions on Tehran.
President-elect Joe Biden has said that the U.S. is willing to return to the agreement while the Trump10 administration continues to intensify11 its pressure on Iran.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree finalizing12 the members of a new State Council that he will head.
The new State Council will be comprised of more than 100 members from different sectors13, including members of parliament, regional governors and officials from public associations.
It will focus in part on issues related to domestic and external state policy as well as issues regarding the country's development.
The largest planets in the solar system have aligned14 so closely that they almost seemed to be a single "star" in the sky.
It was a celestial16 phenomenon not seen in nearly 400 years.
From earth, Jupiter and Saturn17 seem to pass each other every few years in the same general area of the sky and that is known as a conjunction.
NASA says when the two planets align15 on this date, they seem to be much closer. It's a "great conjunction", with only 6 arc minutes of sky separating them.
The event has become known as the 'Christmas Star' because it is happening during the holiday season.
The next time for this phenomenon will be in March of 2080.
南非宣布，新冠病毒的一个新变种正在导致这种疾病死灰复燃，确诊病例、住院及死亡人数增多。
该新毒株与英国发现的毒株不同，似乎比原始病毒更具传染性。
当地科学家正在研究当前的冠状病毒疫苗是否也能抵抗新毒株。
南非是非洲疫情最严重的国家，确诊病例超过91万例，死亡人数近2.5万人。
美国当选总统乔·拜登接种了辉瑞新冠肺炎疫苗的第一剂注射。
这位78岁的老人属于该病毒的高危人群。
他还呼吁美国人在疫苗可接种时接种疫苗。
美国的新冠肺炎病例已超过1800万例，死亡病例接近32万例。
由于供应有限，许多州将医护人员和养老院居民定为优先接种人群。
世界卫生组织（简称WHO）表示，预计很快就会得到更多关于英国报告的冠状病毒新毒株潜在影响的详细信息。
世卫组织应急专家迈克·瑞安表示，没有证据表明病毒变种会增加疾病的严重性。
英国表示，虽然传播性更强，但新毒株应该不会对疫苗产生抗药性。
世卫组织新冠肺炎技术负责人玛丽亚·范·科克浩夫表示，科学家正在研究人体对该病毒的抗体反应。
“科学家正在实验室里研究这类抗体反应。我们期待这些研究在未来几天或几周内会有结果。”
英国上周六报告了新冠肺炎新毒株，导致各国关闭了与英国的边界，因为他们担心新毒株会进一步传播。
英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊表示，法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙迫切希望在数小时内解决边境问题。
“我们正在与海峡对岸的朋友合作，以尽快恢复贸易流通，各级政府正在与法国朋友沟通。”
法国将与英国的边境关闭48小时，这意味着没有卡车或渡轮可以从多佛港启航。
约翰逊表示，他理解人们对新冠肺炎传播的担忧，但他补充说，“独自坐在驾驶室的司机传播的风险非常低”。
到目前为止，已有超过40个国家因担心冠状病毒新变种的传播而禁止英国旅客入境。
欧盟成员国早些时候在布鲁塞尔开会讨论协调应对措施，官员建议可以要求所有从英国入境的旅客进行核酸检测。
中国外交部长呼吁美国无条件重返伊朗核协议，解除对伊朗和第三方实体及个人的制裁。
王毅昨天与伊朗、英国、法国、俄罗斯、德国等国外长共同出席了伊朗核问题视频会议。
他还建议伊朗在美国重返核协议后完全恢复履行其核承诺。
伊朗核协议于2015年签订。美国政府在三年后退出该协议，并单方面重新对伊朗实施制裁。
美国当选总统乔·拜登表示，美国愿意重返核协议，尽管特朗普政府仍在加大对伊朗的施压力度。
俄罗斯总统普京签署了一项法令，最终确定了其将领导的新一届国务院的成员。
新一届国务院将由100多名来自不同领域的成员组成，包括议会成员、地方州长和公共协会的官员。
国务院将部分侧重与国内外国家政策有关的问题，以及有关国家发展的问题。
太阳系中最大的行星紧密排列，仿若天空中的一颗“星”。
这是近400年才出现的天体现象。
从地球上看，木星和土星似乎每隔几年就会在天空的同一区域相互经过，也就是所谓的合相。
美国国家航空航天局表示，这两颗行星在这一天排成一排时，看起来更加接近。这是“大合相”现象，二者在空中的距离只有6角分。
这一现象被称为“圣诞之星”，因为它发生在圣诞假期期间。
这一现象下一次将在2080年3月出现。
收听单词发音 |
1
variant
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| adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体 | |
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2
resurgence
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| n.再起，复活，再现 | |
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3
vaccines
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| 疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 ) | |
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vaccine
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| n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的 | |
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vaccinations
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| n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤 | |
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resistant
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| adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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unconditionally
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| adv.无条件地 | |
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entities
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| 实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 ) | |
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trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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intensify
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| vt.加强；变强；加剧 | |
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12
finalizing
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| vt.完成（finalize的现在分词形式） | |
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13
sectors
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| n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形 | |
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aligned
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| adj.对齐的，均衡的 | |
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align
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| vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟 | |
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celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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Saturn
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| n.农神，土星 | |
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