11-06-09
巴塞羅納會議未能就氣候公約框架達成共識 (Officials: Global Climate Treaty to be Delayed)
在西班牙巴塞羅納舉行的國際氣候會議進入最後一天，但是各國官員未能就新的氣候公約框架達成共識。與會代表已經進行了一週的會議，以制定出一個初步計劃，爲超過190個國家下月在哥本哈根簽署該協議掃清道路。
但是聯合國氣候變化框架公約行政祕書星期五表示，要正式出臺一份具有法律效力的文件恐怕還需要一年的時間。談判代表們下個月在丹麥首都哥本哈根商討新公約的框架，正式的公約會在2012年最終敲定。現有的京都議定書 國際氣候公約將於2012年期滿失效。
Senior officials from countries around the world have entered the last day of a climate conference in Barcelona (Spain) without an agreement on a blueprint for a new climate treaty. Delegates have been meeting in the Spanish coastal city for a week to work out a plan that would clear the way for more than 190 nations to sign an accord next month in Copenhagen.
But a United Nations official (UN executive secretary of the Framework Convention on Climate Ivo de Boer) said Friday it may take another year to put in place a legally binding document. He said negotiators will meet in the Danish capital to try to agree on a framework for the treaty, which would be finalized in 2010. The current climate treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, expires in 2012.
簡明英漢詞典
legal binding
法律約束
美失業率上升至10.2% (US Unemployment Rate Soars, Hits 10.2 %)
美國十月份的失業率竄升到10.2%，達到1983年以來的最高點。美國勞工部星期五發表報告說，美國僱主10月份裁員減少，但是整個經濟失去了19萬個就業機會。在失業率上升的同時，解僱的速度從今年年初開始放慢。一月份美國失去了近75萬個就業機會。
有些經濟學者擔心高失業率會導致家庭收入減少，從而影響到美國的消費，而美國經濟大約70%都是靠消費推動的。上個星期的數據顯示，七、八、九三個月美國經濟擴張，這是一年多來首次增長。
The U.S. unemployment rate rose sharply to 10.2 percent in October, the highest level since 1983. Friday's report from the Labor Department says U.S. employers cut fewer workers in October than the prior month, but the overall economy still lost 190,000 jobs. While the unemployment rate is rising, the pace of layoffs has slowed from early this year, when nearly three-quarters of a million jobs were lost in January.
Some economists worry that high unemployment is cutting the incomes of U.S. households, which will hurt the consumer spending that propels about 70 percent of the U.S. economy. The downbeat jobs report follows last week's data showing the U.S. economy expanding in July, August, and September, the first growth in more than a year.
down‧beat 1 / ‘daʊnbiːt / adjective
not showing any strong feelings, especially not happy ones [≠ upbeat ] :
Al was surprisingly downbeat about the party.
11-06-09