世界在我們看不到的地方一直在改變著，利用英文新聞增加自己英文能力也多多了解世界的變化
Pacific Rim trade deal would barely nudge US growth, says report 報告指環太平洋貿易協定對美國經濟成長幾無助益 ◎茅毅
An ambitious Pacific Rim trade deal being touted by US President Barack Obama would add just 0.15 per cent annually to US economic output after 15 years and contribute to a loss of politically sensitive manufacturing jobs, according to an official study of its economic impact that is likely to fuel criticism of the pact.
歐巴馬正力推一項雄心勃勃的環太平洋貿易協定，根據一份評估隨該協定而來的經濟影響之官方研究報告，其生效15年後僅會讓美國出口年增0.15%，卻造成具政治敏感性的製造業工作減少，這份報告很可能加大外界對該協定的批評力道。
Ilana Solomon, a trade analyst for the Sierra Club, an environmental group opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership（TPP）, said an exhaustive 792-page review of the TPP by economists from the US International Trade Commission, mandated by Congress "offers further evidence that the TPP would be a disaster for working families".
反對跨太平洋夥伴協定（TPP）的環保團體「塞拉俱樂部」貿易分析師索羅門認為，受國會委託的美國國際貿易委員會（ITC）經濟學者撰寫的一份厚達792頁詳盡TPP評論，「為TPP對勞工家庭將是一場災難的看法提供進一步的證據」。
"ITC reports have a record of projecting economic benefits of trade agreements that have failed to materialise, so it is noteworthy that even the overly positive ITC acknowledges that the TPP would have real costs and estimates economic benefits that are slim."
「ITC提出的報告有預估外貿協定將帶來多少經濟利益但結果卻失準的紀錄，因此值得注意的是，這次連素來過於樂觀的ITC都坦承，TPP的確會帶來成本，且評估獲得的經濟利益微乎其微」。
The new ITC study estimated the TPP would add $42.7bn, annually to US real GDP over and above baseline estimates for US GDP by 2032, the 15th year after it comes into effect. The biggest beneficiaries of the deal would be the US agriculture industry with farm exports likely to increase $7.2bn, or 2.6 per cent, by 2032.
這份新的ITC研究評估，TPP將為美國實質國內生產毛額（GDP）年增427億美元，高於對該協定生效後第15年—即2032年之前的美國GDP基線預測。該協定的最大受惠者將是美國農業，農場出口很可能因此於2032年之前增加72億美元，或增加2.6%。
新聞辭典
tout：動詞，宣傳、吹捧、招徠。The minister has been touting these ideas for some time.（該部長長期宣揚這些構想。）
exhaustive：形容詞，詳盡的、徹底的。The missing document was found after an exhaustive search.（到處翻找後，丟失的文件尋獲了。）
beneficiary：名詞，受益者、受益人。
Parched fields force Thailand to look beyond rice 土地乾旱迫使泰國改種水稻以外的作物 ◎孫宇青
Thailand has long served as one of the globe’s main rice bowls, but chronic water shortages are pushing the country to move away from a grain that dominates its fields and has defined a way of life for generations.
泰國向來是全球稻米主要供應國之一，但長期缺水讓這個國家無法再固守單一作物，必須為往後的世代定義新的生存方式。
Laddawan has spent the past forty years coaxing rice from her plot in central Thailand, but she is tired of watching her farmland squeezed dry by increasingly severe droughts.
過去40年來，拉德旺一直在泰國中部的自家土地上細心照料水稻，但嚴重的旱災持續蹂躪這片土地，此情此景已讓她感到厭倦。
"I plan to replace some rice paddies with limes," she told AFP after attending a government-run workshop urging farmers to diversify their crops.
在參加完一場由政府舉辦、鼓勵農夫種植不同作物的農作坊後，她告訴法新社記者：「我打算不種稻米，改種萊姆了。」
At a workshop held in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok, Laddawan was sold the seeds fruit trees.
拉德旺在曼谷附近暖武里省的一場農作坊上買到果樹種籽。
These alternatives will drastically reduce water consumption but also break the monoculture that has deteriorated Thai soil for decades.
這些替代方案將大幅縮減用水量，也將打破數十年來造成泰國土質惡化的單一作物栽培模式。
"We have no choice, we need to adapt," Laddawan said, explaining that she used to plant three rice crops annually, but next year will only have enough water for one.
拉德旺表示，她過去每年種植3次水稻，但水資源只夠在明年種1次，「我們沒有選擇，只能改變。」
新聞辭典
parched：形容詞，乾枯的；口渴的。例句：Due to low rainfall and record-breaking heat this summer, the land across the country is incredibly parched. （由於降雨量太少和破紀錄的高溫，整個國家的土地都乾涸了。
diversify：動詞，使多樣化。例句：To survive the economic depression, this company aims to diversify their products. （為了在經濟不景氣下存活，這家公司計畫拓展商品多樣性。）
Amid war, UN warns Syrians smoking in a grave health risk 聯合國警告戰火中的敘利亞民眾 抽菸嚴重危害健康 ◎茅毅
The World Health Organization has identified another grave risk to the health of Syrians in their war-torn country： tobacco.
在戰火蹂躪的敘利亞，世界衛生組織（WHO）已發現另一個對敘國民眾健康的嚴重風險：香菸。
In a statement last week, the U.N. health agency warned that ’’notwithstanding the current crisis in the country,’’ Syrian officials should collaborate with the U.N. health agency to control the use of tobacco and water pipes among its people, especially young adults, women and teenagers.
上週在一份聲明中，該聯合國保健機構警告，「儘管該國目前陷入危機」，敘國官員仍應與世衛組織聯手控管其人民使用香菸及水煙，尤其是年輕成人、女性與青少年。
WHO’s Syria representative, Dr. Elizabeth Hoff, warned that using tobacco and water pipes endangers the health and lives of smokers and people around them. Hoff said using water pipes to smoke shisha, a common pastime in the Middle East, is 20 times more dangerous than cigarette smoking. She urged Syrian officials to implement a ’’plain packaging’’ approach for cigarettes to reduce their ’’attractiveness and glamour.’’
WHO派駐敘國的代表霍芙博士警告，使用香菸和水煙會危及吸菸者與他們周遭人的健康和生命。水煙是中東常見的消遣，她指出，利用水管抽水煙（shisha：水煙的阿拉伯文）比抽菸還更危險20倍。她呼籲敘國官員對香菸採取「簡易包裝」的作法，以降低菸品的「吸引力和誘惑」。
Syria’s war is estimated to have killed several hundred thousand people amid the rise of the Islamic State group. But Dr. Ahmad Khlefawy, Syria’s deputy minister of health, said the war cannot be an excuse for Syrians to endanger their lives by consuming tobacco. He noted that Syria was one of the first countries to sign WHO’s global framework on tobacco control and to prohibit public smoking.
隨著「伊斯蘭國」崛起，據估計，敘國的戰爭已造成數十萬人喪生。但敘國衛生部副部長克里法維博士表示，敘利亞人不能用戰爭作為消費香菸而危害自己生命的託辭。克里法維注意到，敘國係率先簽署WHO的全球菸品控管架構，以及禁止在公共場所吸菸的國家之一。
Smoking is also banned by Islamic State, which considers the habit to be against the tenets of Islam.
「伊斯蘭國」同樣禁止吸菸，該集團視吸菸這個習慣違反伊斯蘭教教義。
新聞辭典
glamour：名詞，誘惑力、迷人。Who can resist the glamour of Helen?（誰能抗拒海倫的魅力？）
notwithstanding：介係詞，儘管。Notwithstanding the bad weather, the game went on.（雖然天候不佳，比賽照常舉行。）
tenet：名詞，信條、教義。One tenet among clinicians is respect for the patient.（尊重病人是醫師的一項原則。）
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