01
The country faces the possibility of fresh elections after the failure to form a government without the anti-immigration, pro-Russian Freedom Party (FPÖ), which secured a historic first place finish in a nationwide vote in September.
由于未能在没有反移民、亲俄的自由党(FPÖ)参与的情况下组建政府,该国面临重新选举的可能性。自由党在9月的全国投票中获得历史性的第一名。
Nehammer, who also announced he would stand down as leader of the moderate conservative People’s party (ÖVP), had been tasked by the country’s president with seeking to form a coalition after all the other parties in parliament ruled out working with the FPÖ’s hardline leader Herbert Kickl.
内哈默宣布他将辞去温和保守的人民党(ÖVP)领导人的职务。在议会中所有其他政党排除与FPÖ的强硬派领导人赫伯特•基克尔(Herbert Kickl)合作后,他受该国总统委托寻求组建联盟。
——本文2024年1月5日发布于FT中文网,英文原题为 Austrian chancellor resigns as efforts to exclude far right collapse
02
The owl: symbol of wisdom, knowledge, transformation and good fortune. What better herald of the New Year could I hope for, winging its silent way into my inbox? Sadly, however, the owl in question is not Athena’s companion, swooping low over my personal battlefield to signal imminent victory in ongoing fights, as it was said to do for the Ancient Greeks. No, this creature is a Kermit-green animation, only too vocal and emotionally volatile in alarming ways.
猫头鹰:智慧、知识、转变和好运的象征。还有什么比这更好的新年使者呢?它悄无声息地飞入我的收件箱。然而,遗憾的是,这只猫头鹰并不是雅典娜的伙伴,像古希腊人所说的那样,低空飞过我的个人战场,预示着即将到来的胜利。不,这个生物是一个柯密特绿色的动画,过于健谈且情绪波动大,以令人不安的方式表现出来。
I refer, of course, to Duo. The crazy anthropomorphised personification that pursues users of the Duolingo language-learning app, with his huge eyes, cutesy beak, tufty feathers and mastery of arch emotional manipulation. As the last person in my family and social circle to sign up, this summer I embarked on Duolingo’s Italian course on my smartphone. Ever since, there has been a flapping and hooting nag on my tail.
我指的当然是多儿(Duo)。这个疯狂的拟人化形象追逐着多邻国(Duolingo)语言学习应用的用户,拥有大大的眼睛、可爱的喙、蓬松的羽毛,以及对情感操控的高超掌控力。作为我家人和社交圈中最后一个注册的人,今年夏天我在智能手机上开始了多邻国的意大利语课程。从那时起,就有一个拍打翅膀和鸣叫的提醒一直在我身后。
The emails have subject fields that veer from, “We missed you last week!” to, “Your Italian skills are getting mouldy” (complete with nausea emoji). At the more extreme end is a full-on weep from Duo lamenting that he’s been dumped. Those big eyes sure do fill up quickly, but us unfeeling humans should expect nothing less: “You made Duo sad — but he kept learning without you.”
这些电子邮件的主题从“我们上周想念你!”到“你的意大利语技能正在发霉”(还配有恶心的表情符号)。更极端的是多儿的全情哭诉,感叹自己被抛弃了。那些大眼睛确实很快就充满了泪水,但我们这些无情的人类对此应该毫不意外:“你让多儿伤心了——但他在没有你的情况下继续学习。”
——本文2024年1月5日发布于FT中文网,英文原题为 Duolingo’s nagging owl leaves us with nowhere to hide
03
AI start-ups focused on creating digital “scribes” for health professionals raised $800mn in 2024, compared to $390mn in 2023, according to data from PitchBook.
——本文2024年1月5日发布于FT中文网,英文原题为 Healthcare turns to AI for medical note-taking ‘scribes’
04
New York on Sunday became the first US city to launch a congestion charge zone, after the controversial scheme aimed at easing traffic and raising billions of dollars for local transit was beset by years of delays and legal challenges.
纽约在周日成为第一个启动拥堵收费区的美国城市。此前,这项旨在缓解交通并为当地交通筹集数十亿美元的有争议计划经历了多年的延误和法律挑战。
The scheme, which was paused by New York governor Kathy Hochul in June last year before being revived at a lower price than the original fee of $15, is expected to cut the number of vehicles entering the zone each day by around 10 per cent. It will also help to raise $15bn for the MTA to put towards public transit projects.
该计划于去年6月被纽约州州长凯西•霍楚尔暂停,然后以低于最初15美元的价格重新启动,预计每天进入该区域的车辆数量将减少约10%。它还将有助于为MTA筹集150亿美元,用于公共交通项目。
——本文2024年1月6日发布于FT中文网,英文原题为 New York becomes first US city to introduce congestion charging
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