Learn English – The global face of serious land degradation

Learn English -  The global face of serious land degradation

BBC News with Neil Nunes.
The head of the EU’s powerful executive,commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, is to give his annual State of the European Union address in Strasbourg in a few hours’ time. Mr. Juncker is expected to call for member states to decide the future direction they want the EU to take after Britain leaves.
欧盟执行负责人、欧委会主席容克将于几小时后在斯特拉斯堡发表年度欧盟盟情咨文。预计到时容克将呼吁成员国决定英国脱欧后欧盟未来的方向。
The Venezuelan opposition has refused to take part in direct talks with President Nicolas Maduro’s government in the Dominican Republic later on Wednesday. In a statement the opposition coalition said it wouldn’t attend talks until the government agree to meet a number of demands, including addressing the country’s humanitarian crisis and releasing all political prisoners.
委内瑞拉反对派拒绝参加周三晚些时候,在多米尼加共和国与总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗政府举行的直接会谈。在一份声明中,反对派联盟表示,除非政府同意满足他们的一系列要求,其中包括解决该国的人道主义危机并释放所有政治犯,否则他们不会参加会谈。
A UN study says 1/3 of the world’s land has been severely degraded, mainly by intensive agricultural practices. It said poorer soil threatened to put millions of people at risk of hunger, poverty and conflict. It said 24 billion tons of healthy soil and 15 billion trees are lost every year.

联合国的一项研究表明,全球三分之一的土地已经严重退化,造成这种现象的原因主要是农业的集约化。该研究称,土地变贫瘠,或将致数百万人面临饥饿、贫困和陷入冲突的风险。据悉,全球每年都会流失240亿吨健康土壤和150亿棵树木。
U.S. officials say 12 people are known to have died as a result of Hurricane Irma in Florida. There are fuel and power shortages as residents return to their homes. European countries and the U.S. have sent troops to deliver aid and provide security in Caribbean territories affected by the storm.
美国官方表示,飓风“厄玛”共导致佛罗里达州12人丧生。随着居民纷纷返乡,当地出现燃料和电力不足状况。美国和欧洲国家均已派遣军队发放救援物资,并为受暴风雨影响的加勒比海领土提供安全保障。
The U.S. gay rights activist, Edith Windsor, has died at the age of 88. Ms. Windsor was regarded as a trailblazer in campaigner’s efforts to legalize same-sex marriage. After her partner died, she argued that she had a constitutional right to stir the same deduction in estate tax as heterosexual couples. Judges ruled in her favor.
美国同性恋权力活动家伊迪丝·温莎去世,享年88岁。温莎被誉为推动同性婚姻合法化运动的先驱。她的伴侣去世后,她认为她拥有宪法赋予的权利,像异性恋夫妻一样享有遗产税收减免。法官裁决支持她的辩护。
The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will today lay the foundation stone for a high-speed train in India, the country’s first, mostly funded by a loan from Japan. The bullet train will run between the city of Ahmedabad and India’s financial capital, Mumbai.
日本首相安倍晋三将于今日为印度一高铁奠基。这是印度首条高铁,资金来源主要由日本提供的贷款。这辆子弹头列车将在艾哈迈达巴德和印度金融中心孟买之间运行。

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