> UK first to OK Moderna's updated COVID-19 shot against Omicron
英國批準莫德納新冠疫苗加強針

British drug regulators have become the first in the world to approve an updated version of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine that includes protection against the Omicron variant.
英國藥品監管機構已成為世界首個批準莫德納公司新冠疫苗的更新版本的國家機構，該疫苗包括對奧密克戎變體的對抗保護。

In a statement on Monday, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it had given the green light to Moderna's combination "bivalent" vaccine, which will be used as an adult booster shot and will be offered to people aged 50 and over starting in the fall.
英國藥品和保健品管理局在當地時間8月15日的一份聲明中表示，它已經為莫德納公司的“二價”組合疫苗開了綠燈，該疫苗將被用作成人加強針，并將從今年秋季開始提供給50歲及以上人群。

Each dose of the booster shot will target both the original COVID-19 virus that was first detected in 2020, and the Omicron BA.1 variant that was first picked up in November 2021.
加強針將針對2020年首次發現的原始新冠病毒和2021年11月首次發現的奧密克戎BA.1變種。

On Friday, Germany's health minister said the European Medicines Agency might clear tweaked COVID-19 boosters next month.
8月12日，德國衛生部長說，歐洲藥品管理局可能在下個月批準經過調整的新冠加強針。

> Biden signs Inflation Reduction Act into law
美國總統拜登簽署《2022年通脹削減法案》

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, a scaled-down version of the massive "Build Back Better" package he and many Democrats envisioned last year.
當地時間8月16日， 美國總統拜登簽署了《2022年通脹削減法案》，這是他和許多民主黨人去年設想的大規模“重建美好未來”方案的縮減版。

Touting it as a "historic bill," Biden said at the White House that it will lower costs for American families, combat the climate crisis, reduce the deficit, and finally make the largest corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
拜登在白宮表示，這項“歷史性的立法”將降低美國家庭的成本，應對氣候危機，減少赤字，并最終使大型公司支付公平份額的稅款。

The bill includes a roughly $400 billion investment in fighting climate change, measures to make prescription drugs more affordable, and a 15-percent minimum tax on most corporations that make more than $1 billion per year.
該法案包括一項大約4000億美元的投資，以應對氣候變化，采取措施使處方藥更實惠，以及對年收入超過10億美元的大多數公司征收15%的最低稅。

The legislation would generate nearly $300 billion in net revenue over a decade.
該立法將在十年內產生近3000億美元的凈收入。

Democrats had been eager to push through their domestic policy ambitions before the mid-term elections, but Republicans strongly opposed the bill, arguing that tax increases would impose burdens on US businesses and workers and hurt the economy.
民主黨人一直渴望在中期選舉前推動他們追求的國內政策目標，但共和黨人強烈反對該法案，認為增稅將給美國企業和工人帶來負擔，并損害經濟。

> Water may have been brought to Earth by asteroids
地球上的水或來自含水小行星

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) published a research report in Nature Astronomy on Monday, suggesting that the Earth’s water may have been brought by asteroids.
日本宇宙航空研究開發機構JAXA于8月15日在《自然?天文學》發表研究報告，認為地球上的水或許是由小行星帶來。

In order to study the origin of life and the universe, Japan launched the asteroid probe Hayabusa 2 in 2014. In 2018, it arrived at asteroid Ryugu, and successfully collected rock samples from it. The recovery capsule returned to Earth in 2020.
為研究生命和宇宙起源，日本于2014年發射小行星探測器“隼鳥2號”，2018年抵達小行星“龍宮”，并成功采集了其巖石樣本，“隼鳥2號”回收艙于2020年返回地球。

The researchers studied eight particles from Ryugu and found phyllosilicates, which are formed by chemical reaction between non-aqueous silicate minerals and liquid water, indicating that liquid and frozen water were both present.
報告中提到，研究人員通過研究8顆“龍宮”沙粒，發現其中均存在頁硅酸鹽，它是通過非含水硅酸鹽礦物和液態水的化學反應形成，表明“龍宮”上或存在過液態水和冰凍水。

> New Zealand tourism minister makes pitch to rich travelers
新西蘭旅游部長：歡迎富人，拒絕窮游

New Zealand’s tourism minister has again expressed his aversion to budget travelers, saying the country will not seek to attract those who “travel around our country on $10 a day eating two-minute noodles”.
新西蘭旅游部長近日再次表達了他對窮游游客的反感。他聲稱新西蘭不希望吸引那些“每天只花10美元，吃著方便面游遍我們國家的游客”。

Stuart Nash said the country would continue to focus on “high quality” big spenders, despite one expert saying such visitors typically had a much higher environmental footprint and didn’t necessarily contribute more to the economy.
斯圖爾特?納什表示新西蘭會繼續公然招徠那些“高質量”的揮金如土的富人游客，盡管一位專家指出，這類游客通常產生的碳足跡高得多，而且他們不一定會對新西蘭經濟做出更大貢獻。

At an announcement last Wednesday about plans to bolster the tourism workforce as the country’s borders reopened, Nash said it would continue to focus on “big spender” visitors.
隨著新西蘭國境重新開放，納什在8月10日宣布將增加旅游業從業人員，并表示新西蘭會繼續招徠“大手筆”游客。

“In terms of targeting our marketing spin, it is unashamedly going to be at…high-quality tourists,” he said.
他說：“我們的營銷策略會毫不掩飾地...... 面向高質量游客。”

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