>Step up COVID precautions
教育部:高校錯(cuò)峰放寒假
Universities in China should make sure departures of students heading home for winter vacation are staggered and make proper arrangements for those staying on campus amid increasing risks of COVID-19 cluster infections, the Ministry of Education said on Tuesday.
教育部12月1日表示，今冬明春發(fā)生局部聚集性疫情風(fēng)險(xiǎn)加大，高校放寒假要堅(jiān)持"錯(cuò)峰"原則，安排學(xué)生分批次有序離校，妥善安排留校師生寒假生活。
There have been confirmed COVID-19 cases in multiple regions on the Chinese mainland in the past month.
過(guò)去一個(gè)月，國(guó)內(nèi)多地出現(xiàn)新冠肺炎確診病例。
Local education authorities, universities and schools should realize that this winter and next spring are critical in pandemic prevention and control, and they should strictly implement containment measures, the ministry said in a notice.
教育部在一則通知中表示，各地教育部門(mén)、各高校和中小學(xué)校要深刻認(rèn)識(shí)今冬明春是疫情防控關(guān)鍵時(shí)期，要嚴(yán)格落實(shí)校園疫情防控措施。
They should strengthen management of events involving large gatherings of people and sanitize important locations such as classrooms, canteens and dormitories to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, the notice said.
要加強(qiáng)聚集性活動(dòng)管理，做好教室、食堂、宿舍等重點(diǎn)場(chǎng)所衛(wèi)生管理，防范新冠肺炎疫情與其他傳染病。
They should also actively prevent the virus from spreading through cold-chain food by offering strict training to staff members responsible for purchasing food and conducting emergency drills, it said.
通知要求，要主動(dòng)防范新冠肺炎疫情通過(guò)進(jìn)口冷鏈?zhǔn)称份斎腼L(fēng)險(xiǎn)，嚴(yán)格做好食品采購(gòu)人員防護(hù)，強(qiáng)化應(yīng)急演練。
Schools and universities should also make early preparations for the spring semester, it added.
通知還要求各校及早謀劃2021年春季學(xué)期開(kāi)學(xué)工作。

>Fewer days of air pollution
空氣重污染同比減50%
People in China have seen fewer days with air pollution compared with last year, thanks to the wider promotion of clean energy and reduction in polluting emissions, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on Monday.
生態(tài)環(huán)境部11月30日表示，由于清潔能源的廣泛推廣和污染排放的減少，我國(guó)的空氣污染天數(shù)比2019年同期減少。
Data from the ministry showed that both the frequency and intensity of air pollution have decreased this year.
生態(tài)環(huán)境部的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，污染過(guò)程的次數(shù)和污染程度均比去年有所下降。
On polluted days since fall, the average density of PM2.5 dropped by 8.2% from last year, to 167 micrograms per cubic meter.
今年進(jìn)入秋冬季以來(lái)，幾次污染過(guò)程PM2.5日均值的峰值濃度平均值為167微克/立方米，比去年下降8.2%。
Between Oct 1 and Nov 26, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster and surrounding areas experienced 17.4% fewer polluted days than during the same period last year, the ministry said.
10月1日至11月26日，京津冀及周邊地區(qū)輕度及以上污染的天數(shù)比2019年同期減少17.4%。
Ministry spokesman Liu Youbin said heavy pollution was also largely reduced.
生態(tài)環(huán)境部新聞發(fā)言人劉友賓表示，空氣達(dá)到重度污染過(guò)程較去年次數(shù)大幅減少，程度減輕。
Since fall started, China has experienced two rounds of heavy pollution, a 50% reduction year-on-year.
今年秋冬季以來(lái)只有2次是重污染過(guò)程，次數(shù)比去年同期減少了50%。

>Arecibo Observatory collapses
美阿雷西博望遠(yuǎn)鏡坍塌
The instrument platform of the 305-meter telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico collapsed overnight, according to the National Science Foundation.
美國(guó)國(guó)家科學(xué)基金會(huì)確認(rèn)，位于波多黎各的阿雷西博望遠(yuǎn)鏡的設(shè)備平臺(tái)坍塌。阿雷西博望遠(yuǎn)鏡口徑305米，是地球上最強(qiáng)大的望遠(yuǎn)鏡之一，坍塌是對(duì)它的最后一擊。
It's a final blow to one of the most powerful telescopes on Earth that has aided astronomical discoveries for 57 years and withstood hurricanes, earthquakes and tropical storms.
工作57年來(lái)，阿雷西博望遠(yuǎn)鏡為眾多天文發(fā)現(xiàn)提供了幫助，并經(jīng)受住了颶風(fēng)、地震和熱帶風(fēng)暴的考驗(yàn)。
Engineers assessed the damage and determined that all three of the telescope's support towers broke off, sending the 900-ton instrument platform plummeting down to the dish below.
工程師已評(píng)估了損壞情況，確定望遠(yuǎn)鏡的三個(gè)支撐塔全部斷裂，重達(dá)900噸的設(shè)備平臺(tái)墜落到下面的碟形反射盤(pán)上。
The telescope's support cables also dropped.
此外，望遠(yuǎn)鏡的支撐鋼纜也已斷裂。
The collapse occurred just weeks after NSF announced that the telescope would be decommissioned and disassembled through a controlled demolition after sustaining irreparable damage earlier this year.
幾周前，美國(guó)國(guó)家科學(xué)基金會(huì)宣布，阿雷西博望遠(yuǎn)鏡在今年早些時(shí)候遭受了無(wú)法修補(bǔ)的損毀，將被關(guān)閉并以可控方式拆除。

>UK approves Pfizer vaccine
英國(guó)批準(zhǔn)輝瑞新冠疫苗
Britain has become the first country in the West to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for public use.
英國(guó)成為首個(gè)批準(zhǔn)新冠疫苗供民眾使用的西方國(guó)家。
The UK Department of Health and Social Care confirmed in a statement to British news agencies that the vaccine developed jointly by American drugmaker Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech would be distributed starting next week.
英國(guó)衛(wèi)生和社會(huì)保健部在一份發(fā)給英國(guó)媒體的聲明中證實(shí)，美國(guó)制藥商輝瑞和德國(guó)生物新技術(shù)公司聯(lián)合研制的新冠疫苗將從下周起開(kāi)始發(fā)放。
Pfizer was the first of three major Western pharmaceutical companies to apply in both the US and Europe for emergency use authorization.
輝瑞是三家大型西方制藥公司中首個(gè)在美國(guó)和歐洲同時(shí)申請(qǐng)緊急使用授權(quán)的公司。
In line with planning in the US, British front-line healthcare workers, care home residents, the very elderly and people with underlying conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 complications are expected to get the first doses of the vaccine.
同美國(guó)的計(jì)劃一樣，英國(guó)一線的醫(yī)護(hù)人員、養(yǎng)老院居民、高齡老人和特別容易發(fā)生新冠肺炎并發(fā)癥的基礎(chǔ)病患者將優(yōu)先接種新冠疫苗。
Pfizer's vaccine, like the Oxford and Moderna formulas, requires two doses about a month apart. 輝瑞疫苗和牛津、莫德納的疫苗一樣，都需要接種兩劑，間隔時(shí)間一個(gè)月。
Matt Hancock, Britain's top public health official, noted the logistical complexities of distributing the Pfizer vaccine, which needs to be stored at around -94 degrees Fahrenheit, but said Britain would get its first 800,000 doses delivered next week.
英國(guó)衛(wèi)生部部長(zhǎng)漢考克指出了發(fā)放輝瑞疫苗在物流傳輸上的復(fù)雜性，該疫苗需要在零下94華氏度(零下70攝氏度)的溫度條件下儲(chǔ)存，但他表示下周第一批疫苗共80萬(wàn)劑將運(yùn)送到英國(guó)。
The UK has a total of 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine on order, enough to fully treat 20 million people.
英國(guó)共下單了4000萬(wàn)劑輝瑞疫苗，足以讓2000萬(wàn)人接種。

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