> Alaska Airlines has created a coffee that it says tastes better in the sky
航空公司推出“在空中更好喝的”新型咖啡

Drinking bad coffee is just one of the many downsides of flying.
咖啡難喝只是乘坐飛機的眾多痛點之一。

Alaska Airlines thinks it has a solution.
關于這一點，阿拉斯加航空公司認為自己找到了解決辦法。

Alaska has created a custom blend with Portland-based roaster Stumptown to make a coffee that’s immune from the altitude-changing effects, like tasting bitter and weak, that airborne-served coffee typically creates.
阿拉斯加航空公司與總部在美國波特蘭市的咖啡品牌“樹墩城”合作推出了一種定制混合咖啡，這種咖啡不受海拔變化的影響。在飛機上沖泡出的咖啡通常都會受高海拔的影響變得苦澀，咖啡味也會變淡。

The custom coffee, a first for a major airline, will exclusively be served on every Alaska flight by December 1.
這是大型航空公司首次推出這種定制咖啡，從12月1日起將會在阿拉斯加航空公司的每個航班上專門供應。

Taste and smell are inextricably combined and people’s sense of smell is significantly altered in the sky.
口感和氣味之間有一種密不可分的聯系，人們的嗅覺在高空中會發生很大改變。

Food and drinks taste different because pressurized cabins lower blood oxygen levels, which reduces the ability of olfactory receptors (i.e. the ability to smell).
由于密封機艙會降低血氧水平，從而降低嗅覺能力，這會讓食物和飲料的味道變得不同。

The extremely dry air of the cabin, with its humidity levels lower than that of the Sahara Desert, also affects the nose.
機艙內的空氣極度干燥，濕度水平比撒哈拉沙漠還要低，這也會影響嗅覺。

To combat those effects, Alaska turned to Stumptown’s Holler Mountain, a medium-dark blend, for the base, then infused it with punchier notes that taste like marshmallows, browned butter and toffee as well as a “delicate hint” of citrus oils and cherry essence.
為了對抗這些影響，阿拉斯加航空公司選擇用樹墩城的中深度烘培咖啡豆Holler Mountain打底，加入吃起來像棉花糖、焦黃油和太妃糖的、味道更強烈的咖啡豆，以及帶有柑橘油和櫻桃香精的清香的淺烘咖啡豆。

As a result, the coffee’s notes have a more “complex” taste when consumed in the air.
這樣加工而成的咖啡在高空中飲用時有一種更為“復雜”的口感。

The coffee has been in development for a year, with the airline telling CNN that 20 different versions were tested, including during flights and with blind surveys.
阿拉斯加航空公司告訴美國有線電視網，這款咖啡的開發持續了一年，他們對20種不同版本進行了測試，包括在飛行途中的測評和不記名調查。

Alaska Airlines even taste-tested the blend with creamer and Biscoff cookies to “ensure the best combination”.
該航空公司甚至將這種混合咖啡與奶精和比斯考夫餅干一起試味，來“確定最佳組合”。

However, the freshly brewed partnership with Stumptown means that Alaska is ending its decade-long partnership with fellow Seattle-based coffee company, Starbucks.
不過，阿拉斯加航空公司與樹墩城咖啡的新合作關系意味著阿拉斯加航空結束了與總部在美國西雅圖的星巴克咖啡長達十年的合作。

Alaska said it is “grateful to our friends at Starbucks and proud to have served their coffee on board our flights for years.”
阿拉斯加航空公司表示：“感恩星巴克的朋友們，也為多年來在我們的航班上供應星巴克咖啡而感到自豪?！?/p>

> US overdose deaths continue to rise, data shows, with ‘devastating impact’ on population
美國藥物濫用致死人數持續上升 對人口造成“毀滅性影響

There were 112,024 overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in May in the US, compared with 109,261 in the 12-month period ending in May 2022, a 2.5% increase.
報道稱，截止今年5月的12個月內，全美共有112024人因服藥過量死亡，而截至2022年5月的12個月內為109261人，增幅為2.5%。

Dr. Katherine Keyes, a professor of epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, noted that the increase is leveling off.
哥倫比亞大學梅爾曼公共衛生學院流行病學教授凱瑟琳?凱斯博士指出，這一增長趨勢正在趨于平穩。

“We still have an extraordinary number of overdose deaths that is orders of magnitude higher than we’ve seen in previous years,” she said. However, “the increase that we [saw] in 2021 has slowed down.”
她說：“美國仍然有大量的服藥過量死亡病例，比前幾年高出幾個數量級。但較2021年的增速有所放緩?！?/p>

Overdose deaths in the US spiked 30% between 2019 and 2020 and rose another 15% between 2020 and 2021, according to the CDC.
美國疾控中心數據顯示，2019年至2020年間，藥物濫用致死人數激增30%，2020年至2021年間又上升了15%。

“There were extraordinary increases in 2020 and 2021 that have started to flatten out in 2022 – now going into 2023. They’re not declining yet,” Keyes said. “But the pace of the increase is certainly slowing.
“2020年和2021年出現了異常增長，但在2022年開始趨于平緩，2023年仍沒有下降趨勢，但增長速度肯定在放緩。

"So that is both good news and indicative of a continuing public health crisis.”
CNN稱，這既是一個好消息，也預示著一場持續的公共衛生危機。

Keyes highlights that these small accumulation of overdose deaths are still putting 2023 on track to be another devastating year amid the drug epidemic.
凱斯強調，藥物濫用致死人數慢慢積累，2023年或將成為又一個毒品泛濫的災難性年頭。

“It’s still slightly higher than previous 12-month periods. So, it certainly still indicates a devastating impact on population health,” she said.
她說：“藥物濫用致死人數仍然略高于之前的12個月。因此，這無疑表明藥物濫用仍然對人口健康存在毀滅性影響。”

Certain states – particularly in the western United States – have seen steep increases in deaths in comparison with national totals.
與全美總死亡人數相比，一些州，特別是西部州死亡人數急劇增加。

Washington had the highest increase: more than 37% from the year ending May 2022 to the year ending this May, from 2,373 to 3,254.
華盛頓州增幅最高：從截至2022年5月的一年到截至今年5月的一年，增幅超過37%，從2373增至3254。

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