01
oil plungesafter producers embark on① a price war
石油生產國價格戰致油價暴跌
Oil crashed the most in 29 years as Saudi Arabia and Russia vowed to pump more in a battle for market share just as the coronavirus spurs the first decline in demand since 2009. Futures② slumped③ by about 25% in New York and London last Monday as Moscow and Riyadh began an all-out④ price war after the collapse of talks between members of the OPEC+ alliance. Saudi Arabia slashed its official crude pricing and is threatening record output. Russia’s largest producer, meanwhile, said it will ramp up⑤ production next month. The oil price war rattled⑥ financial markets already on edge over the spreading coronavirus. (Bloomberg)
受新冠疫情影響，原油需求出現2009年以來的首次下降——此時，為爭奪市場份額，沙特阿拉伯和俄羅斯都揚言要擴大原油產能，油價因此受挫，創29年來最大跌幅。此前，OPEC+聯盟談判破裂，導致俄羅斯與沙特的價格戰全面開打。3月9日，紐約和倫敦交易所的原油期貨下跌約25%。沙特阿拉伯大幅下調官方油價，並威脅將產量提高至歷史高位。與此同時，俄羅斯最大的原油供應商表示，將在下個月提高產量。新冠病毒的擴散已重創金融市場，這場油價之戰令市場局勢更加緊張。
【註釋】
① embark on: to start to do sth. new or difficult 開始
② futures: [ˈfjuːtʃəz] n. goods or shares that are bought at agreed prices but that will be delivered and paid for at a later time 期貨
③ slump: [slʌmp] vi. to fall in price, value, number, etc., suddenly and by a large amount 突然暴跌
④ all-out: [ˌɔːlˈaʊt] adj. using or involving every possible effort and done in a very determined way 全部，極度，竭盡全力
⑤ ramp up: to make sth. increase in amount 提高，增加
⑥ rattle: [ˈrætəl] vt. to hit against something repeatedly and make a quick series of short, loud sounds（連續打擊）使發出短促尖利聲；【喻】嚴重影響
The oil price war follows a rift between Russian President Vladmir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
(Credit: CNN)
02
Biden takes command of① race
拜登逐漸掌控初選大局
Joe Biden took command of the Democratic presidential race last Tuesday, marshaling② a powerful multiracial coalition in the South and Midwest that swept aside Bernie Sanders. Replicating the combination of voters that delivered him broad victories on Super Tuesday, Biden won Michigan, Missouri, and Mississippi with overwhelming support from African Americans and with large margins among suburban and rural white voters. Tomorrow will be the second-biggest day of the entire primary③, following only Super Tuesday, when Florida, Arizona, Illinois, and Ohio vote. Next week will come Georgia, the type of Southern state with a large black population where Biden has been especially strong this year. However, April 4 will be the next best slate④ of states for Sanders, with contests in Alaska, Hawaii, Wyoming, all of which Sanders won in 2016. But they together have roughly the same number of delegates⑤ as Louisiana, which also votes on April 4, where a larger African-American population gave Hillary Clinton a big win four years ago. (The New York Times, NBC News)
喬·拜登組建了一支強大的多種族聯盟，3月10日橫掃美國南部和中西部數州的總統選舉初選，擊敗伯尼·桑德斯，開始掌控民主黨的預選局勢。拜登曾在“超級星期二”憑藉選民多樣性贏得廣泛勝利——這次在密歇根、密蘇里和密西西比，他憑藉同樣的優勢再度勝出：不僅得到了黑人的絕對支持，在郊區和農村的白人選民中票數也大幅領先。3月17日將是下一個大日子，重要性在初選中僅次於“超級星期二”——屆時，佛羅里達、亞利桑那、伊利諾伊和俄亥俄將舉行投票。下週還將迎來佐治亞的投票，佐治亞屬於黑人人口眾多的南方州，今年拜登在這些州的支持率特別高。不過，4月4日將是桑德斯的又一個絕佳機會——屆時，阿拉斯加、夏威夷和懷俄明將舉行投票，2016年桑德斯曾獲得它們的支持。但是，這些州的選民代表人數總和與路易斯安那大致相當，後者將在同一天舉行投票——路易斯安那黑人居多，4年前希拉里·克林頓在這裡大獲全勝。
【註釋】
① take command of: to begin controlling a group or situation and making decisions 開始控制
② marshal: [ˈmɑːʃəl] vt. to gather together and organize the people, things, ideas, etc. that you need for a particular purpose 組織
③ primary: [ˈpraɪmərɪ] n. an election in which people in a particular area vote to choose a candidate for a future important election【美】初選
④ slate: [sleɪt] n. a group of candidates or electors sharing a set of political views【美】候選人／選民名單
⑤ delegate: [ˈdɛləgɪt] n. a person who is chosen or elected to vote or act for others（選民）代表
Joe Biden in a campaign event in Ohio.
(Credit: AP)
03
Coronavirus outbreak is a pandemic①, says WHO
世衛組織宣佈新冠肺炎是全球性大流行病
After weeks of resisting mounting② pressure from scientists, politicians and others, the World Health Organization has decided to describe the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic. The virus is now in more than 100 countries. It has infected more than 150,000 people including celebrities and government officials. US President Trump tested negative after hosting a meeting at his Florida resort with a Brazilian delegation, some of whom tested positive. More than 5,000 people have been killed. Several nations have closed schools in a bid③ to stop the virus, and Italy has entered an unprecedented countrywide lockdown④. US President Trump imposed a 30-day ban on travel from Europe to the US. Britain won praise for its robust economic response, which, in addition to billions of pounds for hospitals and workers sidelined⑤ by illness, included a sharp interest rate cut by the Bank of England. But the world still faces troubles. In the US, the delay in developing coronavirus test kits⑥ and the scarcity of tests have made it impossible for officials to get a true picture of the scale of the outbreak. (Nature, The New York Times)
科學家、政客等各方人士向世界衛生組織不斷施壓數週後，世衛組織終於決定將新冠肺炎疫情定性為“全球大流行”。新冠病毒現已擴散至100多個國家，感染者已超過15萬人，其中不乏名人政要。美國總統特朗普也接受了病毒檢測，原因是此前他曾在佛羅里達莊園會見一個巴西代表團，團中數人後來病毒檢測呈陽性——特朗普檢測結果呈陰性。疫情已致逾5000人喪命。為阻止病毒傳播，多個國家已關閉學校，意大利則史無前例地封鎖了全境。特朗普下令禁止歐洲赴美旅客入境，禁令有效期30天。英國政府出資數十億英鎊補貼醫院和因病缺勤的職工，同時央行大幅降息——這些強勁的經濟應對措施贏得了好評。但是，全球仍然面臨著重重困難。在美國，新冠病毒檢測試劑研發緩慢，檢測嚴重不足，以致政府官員無法瞭解疫情發展的真實狀況。
【註釋】
① pandemic: [pænˈdɛmɪk] n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world 大流行病
② mounting: [ˈmaʊntɪŋ] adj. increasing, often in a manner that causes or expresses anxiety（常指造成問題或麻煩的事物）越來越多
③ bid: [bɪd] n. an effort to do sth. or to obtain sth. 企圖，努力，爭取
④ lockdown: [ˈlɒkˌdəʊn] n. an official order to control the movement of people or vehicles because of a dangerous situation【美】封鎖
⑤ sideline: [ˈsaɪdˌlaɪn] vt. to prevent sb. from having an important part in sth. that other people are doing 使不能參加
⑥ kit: [kɪt] n. a set of tools or equipment that you use for a particular purpose 成套工具，工具包
A visual aid to understand the difference between epidemic, pandemic and outbreak.
(Credit: News18 creatives)
04
a frenetic① week in the global markets
全球股市瘋狂的一週
The global market rout② eased last Friday and US stock futures pointed higher following the largest one-day sell-off③ on Wall Street since 1987, as central banks launched new liquidity④ measures to stem⑤ the coronavirus-induced sell-off. US stocks triggered a “circuit breaker⑥” for the second time last week after Donald Trump banned Europeans from travelling to the US. European equities⑦ suffered their worst single session⑧ in history last Thursday, while the S&P 500 experienced its fastest descent into a bear market on record. But sentiment improved last Friday as government after government stepped in with attempts to cushion⑨ the financial and economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak. Wall Street rallied⑩ into the close, sending the S&P 500 index of US equities up 9.3 per cent. (The Financial Times)
新冠病毒引發股市拋售，多國央行紛紛出臺流動性政策。3月13日，全球股市崩盤的局勢有所緩和，美股期貨走高，而此前華爾街出現了1987年以來最大單日拋售量。上週，美股兩次“熔斷”，第二次發生在特朗普下令禁止歐洲公民入境之後。3月12日堪稱歐股史上的最慘交易日。與此同時，標普500指數跌入熊市，崩盤速度創下新紀錄。但多國政府紛紛介入，力圖緩解新冠疫情的經濟、金融影響，3月13日，市場情緒有所改善。當天，華爾街股市反彈，至收盤，標普500指數上漲9.3%。
【註釋】
① frenetic: [frɪˈnɛtɪk] adj. involving a lot of energy and activity in a way that is not organized 極度激動的，狂熱的，瘋狂的，精神錯亂的
② rout: [raʊt] n. a situation in which sb. is defeated easily and completely in a battle or competition 潰敗，潰退，大敗
③ sell-off: n. the sale of a large number of stocks and shares, after which their value usually falls【美】（股票）拋售
④ liquidity: [lɪˈkwɪdɪtɪ] n. the state of owning things of value that you can easily be exchanged for cash 流動性
⑤ stem: [stɛm] vt. to stop sth. that is flowing from spreading or increasing 遏制
⑥ circuit breaker: a financial regulatory instrument that is in place to prevent stock market crashes from occurring, and is implemented by the relevant stock exchange organization 熔斷機制
⑦ equity: [ˈɛkwɪtɪ] n. the ordinary shares of a limited company「-ties」普通股，股票
⑧ session: [ˈsɛʃən] n. a period of time given to or set aside for the pursuit of a particular activity, esp. a business period on a stock exchange or another financial or commodity market 交易日
⑨ cushion: [ˈkʊʃən] vt. to make the effect of a fall or hit less severe 緩衝
⑩ rally: [ræli] vi. (esp. of share prices or a country’s money) to increase in value after falling in value 降後復漲，止跌回升
A trader at the New York Stock Exchange
(Credit: AP)
05
Bill Gates cuts formal ties with Microsoft
比爾·蓋茨辭去微軟官方職務
Microsoft marked the end of an era last Friday when Bill Gates stepped down from its board, severing① all official ties with the company he co-founded and helped turn into a tech colossus②. The billionaire said he chose to leave Microsoft’s board—in addition to Berkshire Hathaway’s on Friday—“to dedicate more time to philanthropic③ priorities including global health and development, education, and my increasing engagement in tackling climate change.” For the first time since he co-founded the company in 1975 with his childhood friend, the late④ Paul Allen, he has no formal role at the company. Still, Gates, who will be a technical advisor to current CEO Satya Nadella, said that the move “in no way means stepping away from the company.” (Fortune)
3月13日，比爾·蓋茨宣佈退出微軟董事會，至此他在微軟已無任何正式職務。蓋茨是微軟的聯合創始人，在他的努力下，微軟成為了一家科技巨頭。蓋茨的離開標誌著微軟一個時代的落幕。同一天，蓋茨還退出了伯克希爾·哈撒韋公司的董事會。這位億萬富翁表示，選擇退出是“為了有更多時間可以投身慈善事業需優先關注的一些領域，包括全球健康與發展、教育，以及氣候變化問題——在應對氣候變化這一方面，我的參與越來越多”。這是蓋茨自1975年與兒時夥伴保羅·艾倫（已故）一同創立微軟以來首次不在公司擔任任何正式職務。但他仍是現任首席執行官薩提亞·納德拉的技術顧問。他表示，退出董事會“絕不意味著離開公司”。
【註釋】
① sever: [ˈsɛvə] vt. to completely end a relationship or all communication with sb. 斷絕，中斷
② colossus: [kəˈlɒsəs] n. a person or thing that is extremely important or large in size 大人物，大企業，大國
③ philanthropic: [ˌfɪlənˈθrɒpɪk] adj. connected with the practice of helping the poor and those in need, esp. by giving money 慈善的
④ late: [leɪt] adj. no longer alive 已故的
(Credit: Bloomberg)
（復旦大學江默柔、黃子欣編譯，重光會王暖流審訂）
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