> Squeezed by inflation, families are tightening their holiday budgets
通脹陰影籠罩美假日購物季，消費者不再“買買買”

A November Quinnipiac poll found 47% of Americans have less in savings than they did just a year ago.
美國昆尼皮亞克大學11月的一項民意調查發現，47%的美國人儲蓄比一年前少。

The same poll found 42% plan to spend less on gifts this season and only 8% plan to spend more.
調查還發現，42%的受訪者今年購物季計劃減少禮物支出，只有8%的受訪者計劃增加支出。

Overall holiday spending hasn't slowed yet, according to the National Retail Federation, but many families are making sacrifices to buy presents for their loved ones.
全美零售商聯合會稱，圣誕假期的整體消費還未放緩，但許多家庭已經在為禮物開支而讓步。

Janette Duvall, a school bus driver in Maryland, is relying on coupons for the first time to afford gifts for her family.
馬里蘭州校車司機珍妮特?杜瓦爾第一次用優惠券為家人買禮物。

While inflation is squeezing her budget, she wants to make sure her kids have something to open on Christmas, even if she can't buy anything for herself.
高通脹限制了她的預算，即使不能為自己買任何東西，她仍希望孩子們在圣誕節能夠收到禮物。

"I will do whatever I can, but I will, of course, look for something cheaper this year," she said. "Not everybody will have the same quality of gift they used to get."
杜瓦爾說：“我會盡我所能，但今年我肯定會選擇更便宜的。并不是每個人都會得到與以往一樣的禮物?！?/p>

In a Gallup poll this month, 55% of Americans said rising prices have caused financial hardship for their household, and 13% say that hardship is "severe."
本月蓋洛普民意調查顯示，55%的美國人表示物價上漲使他們囊中羞澀，13%的人表示經濟“非常”困難。

Second-grade teacher Lindsay Cook said her family has been living paycheck to paycheck for the first time.
二年級教師林賽?庫克稱，她家第一次過上“月光族”的生活。

For months, she and her husband, a school security officer, have been dipping into savings and using credit cards to keep up with higher prices on food, gas, energy, as they take care of their two children.
庫克的丈夫是一名學校警衛，家里有兩個孩子。幾個月來，為了負擔上漲的食品、汽油、能源支出，他們一直在動用儲蓄和信用卡。

Recession concerns are also impacting family spending.
對經濟衰退的擔憂也影響著家庭支出。

Karissa Warren spoke with CNN in March when she could barely afford to fill her gas tank because of surging fuel prices.
今年3月，卡里莎?沃倫曾接受CNN采訪。當時由于油價飆升，她幾乎沒錢加滿油箱。

With gas prices down, and after receiving a raise at work, Warren felt more secure heading into the holidays.
隨著天然氣價格的下降，以及獲得加薪，沃倫以為自己可以安度假期。

Then she received news that she's getting laid off from her job.
但現在，她收到了被解雇的消息。

"It just kind of blew everything up," she said about her budget. "Now, it's like, anything extra is out of the question."
談到購物預算，沃倫稱：“這簡直是把一切都搞砸了?，F在，任何額外支出都是不可能的。”

> Cambridge University to return over 100 looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria
劍橋大學將向尼日利亞歸還百件貝寧青銅器

The University of Cambridge will return more than 100 looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria.
近日，劍橋大學宣布，將向尼日利亞歸還100多件曾遭到英軍掠奪的貝寧青銅器。

In the 1897 attack, the British burned the city’s palace and exiled Benin’s Oba, or king.
在1897年的襲擊中，英國人燒毀了城市的宮殿，并流放了貝寧的國王。

Thousands of brasses and other works – known collectively as the “Benin bronzes” – were taken and later sold off in London.
成千上萬的銅器和文物被掠走后在倫敦被賣掉。

The artefacts ended up being scattered around the world in museums in the UK, Europe and the US, with claims for their restitution dating back to the mid-20th century.
現如今，這些文物散落在世界各地的博物館中，尼日利亞從20世紀中期起就一直致力于收回這些流浪異國的文化遺產。

A university spokesperson said: “The Charity Commission has considered and approved the return of 116 historical objects, often referred to as the Benin bronzes, from the University of Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology to the National Commission of Museums and Monuments (NCMM) of Nigeria. The university is now working with the commission to finalise next steps regarding these Benin bronzes, and we will communicate these in due course.”
劍橋大學的一位發言人說:“慈善委員會已經批準將116件存于劍橋大學考古和人類學博物館的貝寧青銅器歸還給尼日利亞國家博物館和紀念碑委員會。我們現在正在與委員會合作，來確定關于處理這些貝寧青銅器的下一步措施，后續的溝通也將會持續?！?/p>

The announcement by Cambridge comes as institutions and museums come under mounting pressure to return looted artefacts.
劍橋大學宣布這一消息時，許多機構和博物館正出于多方壓力陸續歸還掠奪的文物。

In July, Germany handed back two bronzes and put more than 1,000 other items from its museums’ collections into Nigeria’s ownership.
今年7月，一家位于德國科隆的博物館就向尼日利亞歸還了兩件青銅器以及其博物館收藏的1000多件其他物品。

Last month, the Horniman Museum, in south London, returned looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria.
上個月，倫敦南部的霍尼曼博物館也向尼日利亞歸還了被掠奪的貝寧青銅器。

Earlier this month, it was reported that the chair of the British Museum, George Osborne, had held talks with the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, regarding the possible return of the Parthenon marbles.
針對文物的歸還問題，大英博物館董事會主席、前財政大臣喬治?奧斯本還與希臘總理基里亞科斯?米佐塔基斯就歸還帕臺農神廟大理石的可能舉行了會談。

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