> Hurricane Fiona rips through powerless Puerto Rico
颶風“菲奧娜”登陸美國波多黎各

Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico’s southwest coast on Sunday as it unleashed landslides, knocked the power grid out, and ripped up asphalt from roads and flung the pieces around.
颶風“菲奧娜”18日在波多黎各的西南海岸登陸，引發了山體滑坡、摧毀了電網、掀翻了道路上的瀝青，碎片四處飛濺。

Hundreds of people were evacuated or rescued across the island as floodwaters rose swiftly.
隨著洪水迅速上漲，全島數百人被疏散或獲救。

Rushing rivers of brown water enveloped cars, first floors and even an airport runway in the island’s southern region. “The damages that we are seeing are catastrophic,” said Gov. Pedro Pierluisi.
在該島南部地區，湍急的渾濁洪水淹沒了汽車、淹沒了一樓、甚至淹沒了一條機場跑道。“我們看到的破壞是災難性的，”州長佩德羅?皮耶路易西說。

>US mortgage rates hit 14-year high as inflation soars
美國按揭利率創下14年新高 購房成本大增

The average interest rate on a 30-year mortgage hit 6.02% last week, more than double what it was a year ago.
上周，美國30年期房貸平均利率達到了6.02%，比一年前增長了一倍多。

For families hoping to buy a home, the moves compound affordability problems.
對于想要買房的家庭而言，房貸利率的上漲讓他們更加買不起房。

The rise comes as the US central bank aggressively raises rates in an effort to reduce the pressures driving up inflation across the economy.
此前為了緩解全美經濟面臨的通脹壓力，美聯儲曾大幅加息。

US consumer prices rose by 8.3% in the year to August, the fastest rate in almost 40 years, the Labor Department said last week.
美國勞工部上周稱，8月美國消費者價格同比上漲8.3%，漲幅創下近40年來之最。

Mortgage rates have spiked in anticipation of the moves.
抵押貸款利率在這些舉措的預期下飆升。

"Rates continued to rise alongside hotter-than-expected inflation numbers this week, exceeding 6% for the first time since late 2008," said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage firm that released the interest rate data.
發布這一利率數據的是政府贊助的住宅貸款抵押公司房地美，該公司的首席經濟學家山姆?卡特指出：“在通脹火熱程度超出預期的同時，房貸利率繼續上漲，自從2008年底以來首次突破6%。”

> Daily steps to cut risk of dementia
研究：走路可預防癡呆癥 步速比步數更重要

Want to reduce your risk of dementia?
想降低患癡呆癥的風險嗎？

Slap on a step counter and start tallying your steps -- you'll need between 3,800 and 9,800 each day to reduce your risk of mental decline, according to a new study.
一項新研究表明，每天走3800至9800步可降低智力退化的風險。

People between age 40 and 79 who took 9,826 steps per day were 50% less likely to develop dementia within seven years, the study found.
研究發現，40歲至79歲之間每天走9826步的人在七年內患癡呆癥的可能性降低50%。

Furthermore, people who walked with "purpose" -- at a pace of over 40 steps a minute -- were able to cut their risk of dementia by 57% with just 6,315 steps a day.
此外，那些以每分鐘超過40步的速度走路鍛煉的人每天只走6315步就能將患癡呆癥的風險降低57%。

Another editorial published in the JAMA Neurology journal argued that individuals looking to reduce their risk of dementia focus on their walking pace over their distance.
日前發表在《美國醫學會神經學雜志》上的另一篇評論文章稱，想降低癡呆風險的人應該注重步速而非步數。

The largest reduction in dementia risk -- 62% -- was achieved by people who walked at a very brisk pace of 112 steps per minute for 30 minutes a day, the study found.
研究顯示，那些每天以每分鐘112步的速度行走30分鐘的人癡呆風險降低最多，達62%。

> Bird flu endangers penguin colony in South Africa
禽流感危及南非企鵝棲息地

Four cases of avian flu, or bird flu, were confirmed among endangered penguins at Boulders Penguin Colony in Cape Town, a local news website reported, citing a clinical veterinarian.
南非新聞網站News24日前援引一位臨床獸醫的話報道稱，生活在開普敦伯爾德斯海灘企鵝棲息地的瀕危企鵝中確診了4例禽流感。

As of Sept 16, there had been four confirmed cases and another seven suspected cases, said Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) management.
桌山國家公園管理部門表示，截至16日，已有4例確診病例和7例疑似病例。

Once seabirds show symptoms of bird flu, they usually die soon afterward, News24 reported, quoting Dr David Roberts, a clinical veterinarian at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds.
News24援引南部非洲海岸鳥類保護基金會臨床獸醫大衛?羅伯茨的話稱，海鳥一旦出現禽流感癥狀，通常會很快死亡。

Now, conservationists worry the same fate could await the endangered penguins, if no quick action is taken.
環保人士現在擔心，如果不迅速采取行動，瀕危企鵝或面臨同樣的命運。

Roberts said that it could also pose a significant risk to breeding colonies if there is an outbreak in endangered species, like the African Penguin, Cape Cormorant and Cape Gannet.
羅伯茨表示，假設非洲企鵝、南非鸕鶿和海角塘鵝等瀕危物種中間暴發疫情，也可能對繁殖地構成重大威脅。

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