英语每日一听 | 每天少于5分钟

We belong to an organisation that puts you in touch with pet-sitters when you go away. People who can look after your house and animals while you're on holiday. And it was coming up for renewal, wasn't it? The subscription, yes.我们加入了一个组织，当你外出时，它会帮你联系宠物看护的人。他们可以在你度假期间照顾你的房子和动物。而我们的会员马上要续费了，是吗？对，就是订阅服务。

Every year. Fine. But what they didn't tell us was it was more expensive than the previous year.每年都要续费，好吧。但他们没告诉我们的是，这次续费比前一年更贵。

And what's more, it was more expensive, a lot more expensive than new customers were going to pay. We're looking at customers' loyalty. It wasn't the first time that we found out that we as existing customers were paying more for a product than new customers coming on.更糟的是，这次续费比新客户要付的钱贵得多。我们说的就是对老顾客忠诚度的“惩罚”。这不是第一次我们发现，作为老客户，我们反而比新客户付更多钱。

We're not the only ones. In the UK, Citizens Adv...

Iceland has no shortage of natural dangers – volcanic eruptions, glacial floods, scaldingly hot springs and bitterly cold winters. But it is at least one of the few places on Earth where humans don't have to worry about mosquitoes – until now.冰岛总是有各种各样的自然危险，那里有火山喷发、冰川导致的洪水、滚烫的温泉和苦寒冰冷的冬季。不过，冰岛至少是地球上少数几个人类不必担心蚊子的地方之一，直到现在。

Two females and a male have been caught on a sticky trap used to attract moths. They're a species that's resistant to the cold.两只雌蚊和一只雄蚊被一个用于吸引飞蛾的粘性陷阱所捕获。它们属于一种能抵抗寒冷的蚊种。

It isn't clear how many other mosquitoes are in Iceland or exactly how they got there. One scientist said he did not believe their arrival was linked to climate change and suggested they could have been stowaways on a ship.人们尚不清楚冰岛目前还有多少只蚊子，以及这些蚊子如何来到了这里。一名科学家表示，他不认为这些蚊子的到来和气候变化有关，并提出它们也可能是坐船抵达冰岛的 “偷渡者”。

"No pain no gain!" That's a mindset applied to many things – from working long hours when starting a new business, to studying hard for an important exam. And gym culture often encourages people to push themselves to their limits, leading people to have an all or nothing attitude, where they feel they must either have an extremely tough fitness regime, or do nothing at all. But what if it doesn't have to be this way? What if you can improve your fitness and wellbeing with minimal effort? Meet the new trend gainingtraction: zone zero exercise.“不劳无获！” 这种心态适用于许多事情——从创业初期的长时间工作，到为重要考试而刻苦学习。健身文化往往鼓励人们把自己推到极限，导致一种“要么全力以赴、要么干脆不做”的态度，仿佛非得执行极其严苛的健身计划，否则就是零运动。但事情真的一定要这样吗？如果只需付出最小的努力，也能提升健康与体能呢？让我们来认识一个正在流行的新趋势：零区运动（zone zero exercise）。

Zone training is about your heart rate. For example, zone 1 exercise requires 50% of your maximum heart rate, up to zone 5 which is 100% effort. Activities range from a dog walk or easy warm-up in zone 1, to a sprint up the stairs at zone 5. Think of zone zero as any kind of movement that keeps your heart rate below 50%. This cou...

We're talking about a restaurant. A restaurant that became the top-rated restaurant in London. Except that the restaurant was a fake.我们要谈的是一家餐厅——一家成为伦敦最高评分餐厅的餐厅。只不过，这家餐厅是假的。

It didn't exist. Yes, so we ask who did it, why he did it and how. Well, let's start with who, Richard.它根本不存在。那么我们来问：是谁干的？为什么要这么做？又是怎么做到的？我们先从“谁”开始吧，理查德。

It was a journalist, OK? By the name of Ubar Butler. And what's interesting was that his original job included writing fake reviews for TripAdvisor restaurants, even though he never went to them, right? And he saw that these fake reviews actually helped the restaurants to become very popular. The reviews were always positive.是一个记者，名叫乌巴·巴特勒。有趣的是，他之前的工作就是帮餐厅在TripAdvisor上写假评论——虽然他从来没去过那些餐厅。而且他发现，这些虚假的好评确实能让餐厅变得很受欢迎。

Yes, obviously the restaurants themselves paid for...

Hey, what's up guys, MKBHD here, still in Las Vegas, and I've seen a lot of self-driving tech so far here at CES, like if you walk through any of the halls with cars in them, there's tons of like open room concepts and things like that, but they feel kind of useless, you know, like as long as they're still in a concept phase, they don't really feel real yet.大家好，我是 MKBHD，现在还在拉斯维加斯。在今年的 CES 展会上，我已经看到了很多自动驾驶技术。走进任何一个汽车展厅，都能看到各种“开放空间”式的概念车，设计很炫，但感觉都没什么实际用途。你懂的，只要还停留在概念阶段，就让人觉得离现实还挺远的。

So then I got an email from a company called Yandex, you may know them as a Russian tech company, and they said, hey, come check out our autonomous car at CES.然后我收到一封来自一家叫 Yandex 的公司的邮件——你可能知道，这是一家俄罗斯科技公司。他们说：“嘿，来看看我们在 CES 上的无人驾驶汽车吧！”

I'm kind of thinking, okay, well, I've seen a lot of autonomous concepts and things like that...

Imagine you're the mayor of a small, rural town. Over the years the houses have become empty as people move to the city for employment. An earthquake 50 years ago caused terrible damage and forced more families to leave their homes.想象一下，你是一座偏远小镇的市长。多年来，随着人们为了工作迁往城市，镇上的房屋逐渐空置。而且在五十年前，一场地震造成了严重破坏，迫使更多家庭离开家园。

And you find yourself facing the possibility of living in a ghost town but in a most beautiful area. We look at the strategy that one local council used to reverse their decline. So where are we, Jackie? On the Italian island of Sicily in a small town called Sambuca.于是你发现自己正面临着一个可能——生活在一座风景优美却濒临“鬼城”的地方。我们来看一个地方政府是如何扭转这种衰退的。那么，我们现在在哪儿呢，杰基？在意大利西西里岛，一个名叫桑布卡（Sambuca）的小镇。

Sounds great. So what was Sambuca like in the past then? Very different, Richard. It was a bustling town of about 9,000 people.听起来不错。那么，桑布卡过去是什么样的呢？完全不一样，理查德。那时它是一个热闹的城镇，约有九千名居民。

It was, well, and still is, on the top of a hill. And it's in a nature reserve about an hour's drive from the capital. Right, OK.它坐落在一座山顶上，现在依然如此。小镇位于一个自然保护区内，距离首都大...

In the UK, over 3 million people are vegetarian. That's 7% of the population. And in addition to that, a further 600,000 people, less than 2% of the population, are vegan.在英国，有超过三百万人是素食者，占全国人口的7%。除此之外，还有大约六十万人（不到2%）是纯素食者。

Yeah, now 600,000 is not a lot of people, but it's 4 more, 4 times more than in 2014. And half of these made the change just last year. In addition, a third of all Brits are reducing the amount of meat they eat.是的，六十万人并不是很多，但比2014年多了四倍。而且，其中一半人是在去年才改成纯素的。另外，三分之一的英国人正在减少他们吃肉的量。

Yes, and actually it's even predicted that vegans and vegetarians will make up a quarter of the British population by 2025. So, without doubt, this is a new and fast-growing area. We're looking at how UK companies are responding.没错，事实上，有预测认为到2025年，素食者和纯素食者将占英国人口的四分之一。因此，这无疑是一个新兴且增长迅速的领域。我们来看看英国的企业是如何应对的。

Now, Richard, tell us about Gregg's the Bakers. Yes...

Very recently, a restaurant in Manchester, in the north-west of England, won the city's first Michelin star in 40 years. We talk about the Michelin Guide and the effect of winning one of its prestigious stars. Yes, because this restaurant, Mana it's called, opened less than a year ago.最近，位于英格兰西北部的曼彻斯特有一家餐厅获得了该市四十年来的第一颗米其林星。我们今天要谈的，就是米其林指南以及获得这一权威星级后的影响。是的，这家名为 Mana 的餐厅开业还不到一年。

And as soon as it was awarded the star, it became fully booked for months ahead, well into the next year. Yeah, and good news also for Manchester, Richard. Once a restaurant in a town gets given a star, it elevates not just the restaurant's profile but that of the city too.一旦获得米其林星级，这家餐厅立刻变得一位难求，订位排到了好几个月之后，甚至延续到下一年。是啊，Richard，这对曼彻斯特来说也是个好消息。因为一旦一座城市有餐厅获得米其林星，不仅餐厅的声誉得到提升，整个城市的形象也会随之提高。

I mean, quite simply, peopl...

Sawflies are named after the saw-like organ used by the females to lay eggs in plants. The insects want to avoid killing the plants, which provide food for their larvae.锯蜂以它身上一种像锯子一样的器官命名，雌性锯蜂会用这个锯状器官在植物内部产卵。这种昆虫会尽量避免杀死植物，因为植物可以为它们的幼虫提供食物。

The researchers discovered that small serrations on the sawfly's teeth worked with larger protrusions to create a selective cutting action, allowing them to avoid cutting internal structures carrying water and nutrients. The team scaled up the mechanism and tested it on material mimicking human tissue.研究人员发现，锯蜂牙齿上较小的锯齿状突起和较大的突起物共同作用，从而创造出了一种具有选择性的切割动作，这种动作让锯蜂能够避免切断植物中含有水分和养分的内部结构。研究团队按比例放大了这一构造机制，然后在模拟了人体组织的材料上对其进行了测试。

Although more work is needed, they think there's potential for a surgical instrument based on this natural mechanism, which could instinctively avoid critical tissues whilst cutting.虽然尚有更多工作需要完成，但研究人员认为也许能够发明出一种基于这种自然机制的外科手术器械，这种器械可以在切割时本能地避开关键组织。

When you hear the word 'carnivore', do you think of lions and bears and sharks, or humans? Steak for breakfast, chicken breasts for lunch and salmon and lamb for dinner. No veg and no carbs. This is just a typical day for someone on the carnivore diet. It's a meal plan that only allows meat, poultry, eggs, fish, seafood, dairy products and water. It's animal-based opposed to plant-based. But why are some people following this diet? And what do nutritionists think about it?当你听到“食肉者”这个词时，你会想到狮子、熊和鲨鱼，还是人类？早餐是牛排，午餐是鸡胸肉，晚餐是三文鱼和羊肉——没有蔬菜，也没有碳水化合物。这就是一个典型的“食肉饮食”者的一天。这种饮食方式只允许食用肉类、禽类、鸡蛋、鱼类、海鲜、乳制品和水——完全以动物性食物为主，与植物性饮食截然相反。但问题是，为什么会有人选择这种饮食方式？而营养学家对此又怎么看？

The carnivore diet is a type of ketogenic diet. Normally the body uses glucose from carbohydrates as energy, but when there's a lack of this, the liver breaks fat down into ketones. This essentially means the body can fuel itself using fat instead of sugar. Followers of the diet may experience weight loss, especially early on. One reason for this is that protein is highly satiating, so you consume fewer calories. On t...

Sporting events and organisations have long looked to sponsorship for a way of surviving. For many, without financial support of sponsors, they simply wouldn't be able to compete. We're talking about one particular area of concern in sponsorship.体育赛事和组织长期以来都依靠赞助来维持生存。对许多赛事而言，如果没有赞助商的资金支持，他们根本无法继续竞争。我们今天要谈的是赞助领域中的一个特别值得关注的问题。

Yeah, now we both remember, Richard, the dominance of tobacco companies sponsoring major events, especially things like Formula One. Yes, the Marlborough McLaren cars, for instance. Yeah.是的，Richard，我们都还记得，以前烟草公司主导了大型赛事的赞助，尤其是像一级方程式赛车这样的赛事。没错，比如万宝路赞助的迈凯伦车队。

Now, that's not allowed anymore. But there's a new industry taking over, isn't there? And that is gambling and betting. Betting companies take £14.4 billion from punters every year.如今，烟草赞助已经被禁止了。但现在有一个新的行业正在接手，不是吗？那就是博彩业。博彩公司每年从赌客那里获得高达144亿英镑的收入。

In the UK. Yes, that is equal to about £200 from every man, woman and child. It's a huge amount.在英国，这相当于全国每个男人、女人和孩子各贡献了约200英镑。这是一个庞大的数字。

Yeah. So why has this happened? How has it happened? A...

The British Pest Control Association says its members have recorded an increase in complaints about rat activity around the UK. Cleankill, a company that operates in the south of England, says it's seen a 20% rise in call-outs about rats in the last two years, and climate change may be playing a role.英国虫害防治协会称，其成员记录了英国各地对老鼠的活动情况投诉数量的增长。一家在英格兰南部地区开展业务的名为 “Cleankill” 的公司称，他们在过去两年中发现由老鼠引起的呼叫请求上升了 20%，而气候变化可能是其中一个原因。

A study published earlier this year of 16 cities around the world, mostly in North America, found a strong link between rising temperatures and rat activity. The researchers believe warmer winters enable rats to reproduce more rapidly.今年早些时候发布的一项针对全球 16 座主要分布在北美洲的城市的研究发现气温上升和老鼠的活动情况之间有密切联系。研究人员认为，更温暖的冬季让老鼠能以更快的速度繁殖。

But there are also other issues at play. Pest controllers say our overflowing bins, fractured communities and growing appetite for fast food all allow rats to thrive.不过依然有其它因素在发挥作用。害虫防治人员表示，人们满当当的垃圾桶、分崩离析的社区关系和快餐食品盛行都让老鼠得以快速成长。

After MIT Professor Joseph Weizenbaum created the chatbot Eliza, he became concerned that people who had used the programme started to act as if it was human. This might sound like a modern problem, but Eliza was created in 1966. If a programme from the 1960s was capable of tricking people into thinking it was human, what effect could the large-language-model-based chatbots of the 2020s have?麻省理工学院教授 Joseph Weizenbaum 创建聊天机器人 Eliza 后，他开始担心使用该程序的人开始表现得像人类一样。 这听起来像是一个现代问题，但 Eliza 是在 1966 年创建的。如果 1960 年代的程序能够欺骗人们认为它是人类，那么 2020 年代基于大型语言模型的聊天机器人会产生什么效果呢？

Modern philosophers and technology experts have discussed whether AI could develop consciousness. Sentience is difficult to define, but the fact that large language models respond by mathematically calculating the probability of certain patterns appearing suggests that it would be hard to consider them to be alive. However, in terms of our responses to them, what matters is not whether they are sentient, but wh...

For our last business podcast, we talked about the big PLCs, the companies traded on the stock exchange.在上一期商业播客中，我们谈到了大型公众有限公司（PLCs），也就是在证券交易所上市的公司。

We're talking about the stock exchange. Richard, what is it?我们现在要谈的是证券交易所。Richard，它是什么？

The stock exchange is also called the stock market and essentially it is a market.证券交易所也叫股票市场，本质上它就是一个市场。

It's where the big companies, the shares in the big companies are bought and sold. Simple as that.在那里，大公司的股票被买卖。就是这么简单。

Now, Richard, I have to confess my image of the stock market comes from films where you often see scenes of people throwing their arms in the air and, you know, lots of pieces of paper.Richard，我得承认，我对股票市场的印象来自电影——你经常看到人们挥舞着手臂，还有满天飞的纸片。

It seems very mad. What's happening there?看起来很疯狂。那是怎么回事？

Well, that doesn't really...

People often ask me what we do, and I reply by saying we have an internet business. But we don't actually have a... we're not actually a company, are we, Richard?人们经常问我我们是做什么的，我通常回答说我们有一家互联网业务。但实际上我们并没有……我们其实不是一家公司，对吧，Richard？

No we're not, we are going to talk about companies, in particular PLCs. So, OK, what is a PLC? A PLC, a public limited company, is one which has a number of shares which are publicly traded on the stock exchange.没错，我们不是。接下来我们要谈的是公司，特别是股份有限公司（PLC）。那么，什么是 PLC？PLC，也就是公众有限公司，是一种拥有股票，并且这些股票可以在证券交易所公开交易的公司。

So, when you say shares... Well, the company is divided into shares, so you own a share of the company. A portion of the company. Exactly.那么，当你说“股份”时……公司被分成许多股份，所以你拥有公司的一个股份，也就是一部分公司。没错。

So these shares are bought or sold on the stock exchange, and so the value goes up and down.这些股份可以在证券交易所买卖，因此它们的价值会上下波动。

Is there a certain number of sha...

We're talking about product placement.我们在谈植入式广告。

Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, has grown both on TV and on the big screen.植入式广告，也称为嵌入式行销，在电视和大银幕上都越来越常见。

OK, OK, Jackie, I've heard of product placement but what exactly is it?好，好，Jackie，我听说过植入式广告，但它到底是什么呢？

Well, basically it means a deliberate inclusion of a product or a brand for promotional purposes.简单来说，就是为了宣传目的而刻意把产品或品牌放入内容中。

If we think about, Richard, think about the 1986 film, Top Gun, right?如果我们想一下，Richard，想想1986年的电影《壮志凌云》，对吧？

Oh, one of my favourites.哦，那是我最喜欢的电影之一。

Now there's a particular product worn by many of the characters but especially by Tom Cruise, Maverick, right?片中很多角色都戴了一样特定产品，尤其是汤姆·克鲁斯扮演的Maverick，对吗？

I know this, I know this, he's so cool, isn't he? Because of the aviator sunglasses.我知道，我知道，他超级酷，对吧？因为那副飞行员太阳镜。

Yeah, so... Ray-Bans.对，就是……雷朋（Ray-Ban）。

We're talking about Instagram and why it's a useful platform for businesses. You know my first question, of course, Jackie. I know nothing about Instagram.
我们在谈论 Instagram，以及为什么它对企业来说是一个有用的平台。当然，你知道我第一个问题是什么，Jackie。我对 Instagram 一无所知。

What is it? Well, it's an American photo and video sharing social networking service and it's owned by Facebook.
它是什么？它是一个美国的照片和视频分享社交网络服务，由 Facebook 所拥有。

Aha! I know all about Facebook, the world's top social media platform. Yeah.
啊哈！我对 Facebook 很了解，它是世界顶级的社交媒体平台。是的。

With about one and a half billion users? No, almost 2.4, Richard. Oh, wow. I know.
大约十五亿用户？不，接近二十四亿，Richard。哦，哇。我知道。

Instagram, on the other hand, has one billion users but considering it was launched in 2010, this is actually quite amazing. Facebook bought it in 2012 for about a billion dollars. Wow, big, big numbers.
另一方面，Instagram 有十亿用户，但考虑到它是在 2010 年推出的，这实际上相当惊人。Facebook 在 2012 年以约十亿美元的价格收购了它。哇，真是巨大的数字。...

In an underground car park in Paris, I encountered something I didn't expect. I had to wipe the spores off my camera. I was in a huge mushroom farm.在巴黎的一处地下停车场，我遇到了一件意想不到的事情。我不得不用手擦去相机上的孢子，因为我置身于一个巨大的蘑菇农场中。

So why was it down here? When housing blocks like this sprouted up in Paris in the 1960s and 70s, it was common practice to also build underground parking for residents. So beneath Paris, there are millions of square meters of car park. But car ownership is in steady decline in Paris, a trend city authorities are keen to encourage.那么，为什么农场会在这里呢？当上世纪六七十年代巴黎建起这样的大型住宅区时，人们通常会为居民修建地下停车场。于是，在巴黎地下，隐藏着数百万平方米的停车空间。然而，如今巴黎的汽车拥有量正在稳步下降，而这正是市政府乐于推动的趋势。

And thanks to technology, there are new ways to get around the city. Some underground car parks now find themselves surplus to requirements. City officials have been running competitions to find new leases of life for them.多亏了科技的发展，人们有了更多在城市中出行的新方式。于是，一些地下停车场变得多余。市政官员因此举办竞赛，征集这些空间的新用途。

One of the winners of these was urban farmers, Cycloponics. They've...

Huntington's is one of the most brutal and devastating of all diseases. It's caused by a faulty gene which progressively destroys brain cells, which then affects all parts of the body. Symptoms tend to first appear in your 30s or 40s, leading to death within 20 years.亨廷顿病是最凶残和最具破坏性的疾病之一。这种疾病是由一种基因缺陷引起的，这种基因缺陷会渐进性地破坏脑细胞，进而影响身体的所有部位。亨廷顿病的症状通常在 30 多岁或 40 多岁时首次出现，然后会在 20 年内导致死亡。

The treatment is a gene therapy which is injected deep into the brain during lengthy surgery. The drug enters cells and delivers a new piece of DNA, which blocks the production of a faulty protein. The trial involved 29 patients. Only the topline results have been released by the company, but these show that three years after surgery, the disease was slowed by an average of 75%, based on measures including cognition, movement and the ability to manage in daily life.本次用于治疗这种疾病的新手段是一种基...

Have you ever been alone in a room, heard someone coming, and been able to identify who it was based solely on the recognisable stomp of their shoes? Maybe you've experienced seeing a group in the distance, too far to recognise faces, but you're absolutely sure one blurry figure is your friend because of the way they're swinging their arms when they walk. Research suggests that a person's movement signature, or the way they move, could be as unique as a fingerprint. So, what makes up a person's movement signature?您是否曾经独自一人待在一个房间里，听到有人走过来，并且仅根据可识别的鞋子踩踏声就能够识别出是谁？ 也许您曾经历过在远处看到一群人，距离太远而无法识别面孔，但您绝对确定一个模糊的人物是您的朋友，因为他们走路时摆动手臂的方式。 研究表明，一个人的运动特征或运动方式可能像指纹一样独特。 那么，一个人的动作特征是由什么组成的呢？

We all have a particular way of moving our faces. One person might purse their lips when they're angry. Another might squint their eyes or pull their face into a grimace, and these movement patterns help us recognise familiar people, even in poor visibility. Another reliable clue for identifying people is their gait. The combination of stride...

Things turned upside down for many businesses earlier this year. We're looking at how two companies made changes to survive. So, OK, Richard, what happened? In March 2020, companies in the UK, they were told that they weren't allowed to offer over-the-counter services.今年年初，许多企业的经营状况被彻底颠覆。我们今天要看看两家公司是如何调整策略以求生存的。好的，Richard，当时发生了什么？2020年3月，英国政府宣布企业不得提供柜台服务。

So obviously that would affect many high-street shops. Yes, indeed, all high-street shops and including those who sell fish and chips. So the Chesterfield Group in the UK owns 40 fish and chip restaurants, serving about 50,000 people every week.显然，这一规定会影响许多街边商店。没错，所有街头商铺都受到了影响，其中包括炸鱼薯条店。英国的切斯特菲尔德集团拥有40家炸鱼薯条餐厅，每周为大约五万人提供餐饮服务。

However, of course, the coronavirus lockdown forced the restaurants to close for all walk-in customers. So therefore no customers at all then? They lost all their customers in one fail swoop. Right.然而，由于新冠封锁政策，这些餐厅不得不关闭所有堂食服务。那么，这是不是意味着他们一个顾客都没有了？没错，他们在一夜之间失去了所有顾客。

So what the CEO, James Lipscomb, did was he realised the company was running out of cash fast, so he had to do som...

When we moved to Portugal, it was the third country that we had lived in while working on our podcasting website. Yeah, we realised that, of course, working digitally, you can live anywhere in the world. And with online teaching these days, it's become even easier.当我们搬到葡萄牙时，那已经是我们在经营播客网站期间居住过的第三个国家了。是啊，我们意识到，既然是数字化工作，那其实你可以生活在世界的任何角落。而如今随着线上教学的普及，这变得更加容易了。

Yes, and perhaps it's not surprising that there's been a really sharp increase in the no longer work from a set office. So if you can do your job by opening a laptop in any location in the world, why not move from one virtual desk in your home country to another on the other side of the globe? We're talking about digital nomads. Yes, and interestingly, there are actually some countries which are actively encouraging business people to...

My friend Anne says that when her children were very small and they received presents, it was the packaging that excited them the most. First they would play with the brightly coloured wrapping paper, then they would play with the box, opening and closing it and when it was empty, filling it with toys they already had. It wasn't until some time later that their attention was drawn to the actual present that had been inside.我的朋友安妮说，她的孩子在很小的时候，每当收到礼物，最让他们兴奋的其实是包装。起初，他们会先玩那色彩鲜艳的包装纸，然后再玩盒子——开开关关，等到盒子空了，还会把自己已有的玩具放进去。直到过了好一阵子，他们才会注意到盒子里真正的礼物。

That is so true. We're talking about the importance of packaging, in particular the design. Yeah, because adults too are drawn towards a product because of the packaging.的确如此。我们今天要谈的是包装的重要性，尤其是包装的设计。是的，因为成年人也常常因为包装而被某个产品吸引。

Now if you go to any supermarket, you'll see the shelves are completely stacked with similar products from different b...

We're looking at the wine industry. Yeah, we're looking at two countries whose wine industries have faced two very different problems recently. Richard, we're starting with South Africa.我们来看看葡萄酒产业。是的，我们要谈的是两个国家，它们的葡萄酒产业最近面临着截然不同的问题。理查德，我们先从南非开始吧。

Tell us about that. Yes, well they've been making wine for quite some time, since 1659, and they are the eighth largest wine producer, producing 3.3% of the world's wine. Who do they export to? Mainly to Europe.说说南非的情况吧。好的，他们酿酒的历史可以追溯到1659年，是世界第八大葡萄酒生产国，占全球葡萄酒产量的3.3%。那他们主要出口到哪里呢？主要是欧洲。

It's 13% to the UK, 11% to Germany and 3% toFrance. So they're doing quite well. Well, as it happens, wine production in South Africa has actually been gradually falling.出口比例是：英国13%、德国11%、法国3%。所以总体来说，他们的表现还不错。不过事实上，南非的葡萄酒产量近年来一直在逐渐下降。

Now it's mainly because of the drought that they've been having over the last few years. Right, but for this podcast, we're talking about a specific problem they have now. Yes, they have had a specific problem this year, is that they've got a surplus stock of about 300 million litres of wine, which is about 400 million bottles.主要原因是过去几年他们经历了严重的干旱。没错，但在这期节目中，我们要...

Since TV advertising began, there has always been food adverts aimed at children. Yes, sweets, chocolate, ice cream. But that may be about to change.自从电视广告诞生以来，就一直有针对儿童的食品广告。是的，糖果、巧克力、冰淇淋——但这种情况可能即将改变。

We're looking at the UK's radical plans for advertising of junk food for children.我们今天要看看英国针对儿童垃圾食品广告的一项激进计划。

There's growing concern, isn't there, Richard, that children's health is being negatively affected by how food products are marketed to children.人们越来越担心，不是吗，理查德？孩子们的健康正受到食品广告营销方式的不良影响。

Yes, in the UK, the government have estimated that children under the age of 16 are exposed to billions of food adverts online every year.是的，据英国政府估计，16岁以下的儿童每年在网上接触到数十亿条食品广告。

But now the government's decided to do something about it. They plan to ban all junk food adverts on TV before nine o'clock in the evening and a total ban online.但现在，政府决定采取行动。他们计划在晚上九点前禁止所有垃圾食品电视广告，并在网络上全面禁止此类广告。

The total ban online. This is not just for children, is it?网络上的全面禁令。这不仅仅是针对儿童的，对吧？

It has been suggested that one in three jobs that exist today will eventually be done by smart machines, robots and software. Some say as soon as 2025. The robots, it seems, are taking over.有人指出，当今存在的工作中有三分之一最终将由智能机器、机器人和软件来完成。有些人甚至认为这一切最早会在2025年发生。看来，机器人正逐步接管人类的工作。

Now we have some podcasts about the rise of automation, we're looking at jobs that only humans can do. Right then, Jackie, give me a job then that robots can't do that humans can. Well, they can't taste like humans.现在，我们有一些关于自动化崛起的播客，来探讨那些“只有人类能做的工作”。好吧，杰姬，那你给我举个例子，机器人无法胜任而人类可以完成的工作。——“嗯，它们不会像人类那样‘品尝’。”

Already in the food industry, robot vision is used to grade food, it can identify foreign components, plastic for example. Yes, it can see things, can't it, with cameras. Read barcodes, etc, etc.其实在食品行业，机器视觉已经被用来为食品分级，它还能识别异物，比如塑料。——“是啊，它能通过摄像头‘看见’东西，还能读取条形码之类的。”

Now, there are e-noses that can prevent food poisoning. E-noses? Well, they can smell for things like salmonella or e.coli.现在还有“电子鼻”，可以用来预防食物中毒。——“电子鼻？那是什么？”——“它...

A global level study by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations says that one third of food, roughly 1.3 billion tonnes, is wasted every year.联合国粮食及农业组织（FAO）的一项全球性研究显示，全球约有三分之一的食物——大约13亿吨——每年被浪费掉。

Yes, but it's also estimated that about 815 million people in the world are suffering from chronic undernourishment.是的，但据估计，全球约有8.15亿人长期营养不良。

Yes, we're looking at organisations who are addressing the difference.是的，我们来看看那些试图弥合这种差距的组织。

Yes. Now, let's start in India where almost 190 million people go to sleep every day hungry. Now, you know India very well, Richard.好的。我们先从印度说起，那里的大约1.9亿人每天都带着饥饿入睡。理查德，你对印度很熟悉吧。

There's a huge difference, isn't there, between the haves and the have-nots?在印度，富人和穷人之间的差距非常大，不是吗？

Yes, there is indeed. And back in 2014, an initiative called No Food Waste was started.确实如此。早在2014年，一个名为“No Food Waste（不浪费食物）”的倡议诞生了。

No Food Waste? Yes, it's a very simple idea.“不浪费食物”？是的，这是一个非常简单的理念。

In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left the first human footprints on the moon. They also left two pairs of boots, a handful of tools, and four vomit bags. This lunar litter was far from the last space junk humanity has produced. In 2006, Suni Williams lost her camera while tussling with a stuck solar array on the ISS. And the following year, a similar job resulted in the loss of a bag filled with $100,000 worth of tools. These accidental satellites typically have short lifespans, before falling back to Earth and burning up in our atmosphere. However, other...

We're talking about The Dragon's Den.我们今天要谈的是《龙穴》（The Dragon’s Den）这档节目。

Yes, so Richard, what is The Dragon's Den?是的，那么，Richard，《龙穴》到底是什么节目呢？

Well, the BBC describes it as a show where budding entrepreneurs get three minutes to pitch their business ideas to five multi-millionaires who are willing to invest their own cash.BBC 的官方描述是：这是一个节目，让有抱负的创业者在三分钟内向五位愿意用自己资金投资的百万富翁展示他们的商业创意。

Now it's the multi-millionaires, isn't it Richard, who are the dragons and they can be very fierce indeed.而这些百万富翁就是所谓的“龙”，对吧，Richard？他们确实非常强势。

They're very cutthroat, aren't they?他们可谓是相当“冷酷无情”的，对吧？

So, as part of their opening pitch, the entrepreneurs are required to specify the amount of money they require from the dragons. And what percentage that will get of their company.所以在开场陈述中，创业者必须说明他们希望从这些“龙”那里获得多少资金，以及愿意出让公司多少股份。

Right, the equity, plus they have to say how much they think the company could be worth.对，就是股权比例。此外，

We're talking about marketing terms used on food products and deciding if they are officially recognised terms or not.我们今天要讨论的是食品包装上常见的营销术语，并判断这些术语是否是官方认可的。

Richard? Yes. A popular term used on many products, organic.Richard？是的。一个在许多产品上都能看到的热门词——“有机”。

Right, yes. So, do you think organic is a legitimate term?好，对。那么你认为“有机”是一个合法、正规的术语吗？

Yes, I think you have to pass certain standards to label your product organic.是的，我认为要想在产品上标注“有机”，必须通过一定的标准。

Yeah, it's one of the most strict labels.没错，这是最严格的标签之一。

Right, OK. It means that 95% of the ingredients have to originate from organically produced plants or animals.是的，确切地说，这意味着产品中95%的成分必须来自有机种植或有机饲养的动植物。

Which means that no pesticides or herbicides.也就是说，不能使用农药或除草剂。

Exactly. And also it means that there are no GMO, no genetically modified organisms in the food as well.没错，而且还意味着食品中不能含有任何转基因成分。

OK, that makes sense. Very strict. Free range.好，我明白了，非常严格。那么“放养（Free range）”呢？

When we first started podcasting many, many years ago, other podcasters who didn't have worksheets to sell suggested that those who used their podcasts to buy me a coffee. Yeah, buy me a coffee. It was a way of generating a small income for their work, wasn't it? And also advertisements on sites are also one way of making money and there are a few websites that don't have Google Ads or something similar on them.当我们许多年前刚开始做播客时，那些没有可出售资料的播客主持人建议听众通过“请我喝杯咖啡”的方式来支持他们。对，“请我喝杯咖啡”。这是一种为他们的工作赚取一点收入的方式，不是吗？另外，网站上的广告也是赚钱的一种途径，很少有网站上没有谷歌广告或类似的内容。

Yeah, absolutely. But for this week's podcast, we're looking at an alternative way of making money, Patreon. OK, Jackie, so what is Patreon? Well, it's an American membership platform.没错，完全正确。但对于这周的播客来说，我们要看一种不同的赚钱方式——Patreon。好的，Jackie，那Patreon是什么呢？它是一个美国的会员制平台。

It's a way of helping creators and artists earn a monthly income. It provides the tools to run a subsc...

We're talking about how technology has really changed the face of business. 我们在谈论技术是如何改变商业面貌的。

To be more specific, We're really talking about the internet, aren't we?更具体一点，我们其实是在谈论互联网，不是吗？

Yeah. I mean, nowadays, Richard, every company, whether they provide a service or sell a product, they have a website.是啊。我的意思是，如今，Richard，不论一家公司是提供服务还是销售产品，他们都有自己的网站。

Or at the very least, a Facebook page.或者至少也会有一个 Facebook 页面。

Yeah. Now, you mentioned Facebook, Richard.是的。你刚才提到 Facebook，Richard。

The rise of social media has really changed business, hasn't it?社交媒体的兴起确实彻底改变了商业模式，不是吗？

I mean, it wasn't that long ago that you really needed to be able to, what, write a professional email.我的意思是，不久之前，一个人只需要会写一封专业的电子邮件就够了。

But today, business owners, what, they must be able to communicate on Twitter, they need to engage regularly on Facebook, have a LinkedIn accou

Nasa's Perseverance Rover has spent the past four years exploring an area of Mars called the Jezero Crater. It's dry and dusty, but billions of years ago, it was thought to be an ancient lake with a river flowing into it.美国国家航空航天局的 “毅力” 号火星车在过去四年里探索了火星上被称为杰泽罗陨石坑的区域。这片区域干燥并布满灰尘，但科学家认为数十亿年前这里是一个古湖泊，有一条河流汇入其中。

The intriguing rocks were found on the riverbed. They have unusual ringed markings, nicknamed 'leopard spots' by the researchers, and black dots the team are calling 'poppy seeds'. These features are actually minerals, and the scientists think they could have been produced by chemical reactions associated with microbes.这些引人注目的岩石就是在这里的河床上被发现的。它们带有被研究人员戏称为 “豹纹” 的不同寻常的环状斑纹，以及被研究团队称为 “罂粟籽” 的小黑点。岩石上的这些特征其实是矿物质，而科学家们认为这些矿物质可能产生自与微生物相关的化学反应。

Life isn't the only possible explanation. The minerals could have been made by natural geological processes. The only way to find out for sure is to bring the rocks back to Earth for analysis. Missions to return samples have been proposed, but there's uncertainty because of the proposed cuts to Nasa's budget.生命并不是对这些矿物质的唯一解释。这些矿物质也可能产生于自然地质作用的过程。唯一能查明真相的方式就是把这些岩石带回地球进行分析。已经有人提议开展航天任务带回这些样本，但这尚存在不确定性，因为已有提议削减美国国家航

The researchers describe this artificial intelligence model as like a weather forecast for your health. But instead of warning of a 70% chance of rain, it tells you the risk of more than a thousand diseases. The AI has learned to spot patterns hidden in the types and timings of different medical diagnoses, so now it can look at a patient and predict what is likely to come next.研究人员称，这个人工智能模型就好像一个对我们健康状况发出的 “天气预报”。只不过它并不是对 70% 的降水概率做出预警，而是告诉人们一千多种疾病的患病风险。这个人工智能模型已经学会了如何发现隐藏在不同医学诊断类型和时间中的模式，因此现在它可以通过观察一个病人来预测接下来很可能会发生什么。

The AI was trained using more than 400,000 people's anonymous medical records from the UK and tested on nearly two million people's records in Denmark.这个人工智能模型使用了来自英国 40 多万人的匿名医疗记录进行训练，然后在丹麦接近两百万人的医疗记录上进行了测试。

But what can we do with such predictions? People are already offered a cholesterol-lowering statin based on a calculation of their risk of a heart attack or stroke. Understanding how diseases unfold could lead to new ways of intervening early. The AI could also help inform screening programmes or help hospitals plan for future demand, like estimating how many heart attacks might happ

An asteroid ended the age of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Could something as catastrophic as that happen again?6600 万年前，一颗小行星结束了恐龙时代。 如此灾难性的事情还会发生吗？

Asteroids are something astronomers closely track. Recently, the asteroid named 2024 YR4 made headlines for its tiny, but real, chance of colliding with Earth in 2032. In February 2025, NASA increased the impact probability of this asteroid hitting us to 2.3%. Scientists have calculated that YR4 is between 40m and 90m in diameter. It would have the power of a nuclear bomb if it was to hit Earth, causing severe damage if the impact was in a populated area. However, Dr Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society urges calm. He s...

Everyone knows that dogs are supposed to be our best friends. Could it be that they know what we are thinking? Whether it's getting excited at the prospect of a walk or knowing that tasty food is coming soon, are our dogs reading our minds?

每个人都知道狗应该是我们最好的朋友。 难道他们知道我们在想什么吗？ 无论是对散步的前景感到兴奋，还是知道美味的食物即将到来，我们的狗会读懂我们的心思吗？

Now, by mind-reading we're not talking about knowing our deepest thoughts in detail, but various psychologists have suggested that dogs might have a theory of mind. What this means is that they are aware that other creatures, like humans, are able to see and understand things in different ways. In various experiments it appears that dogs are able to identify who is paying them attention. They are more likely to ask for food from someone if there is...

The real beauty of inhalers is how they get these medications into your lungs. They work by suspending, or aerosolizing, medications into the air to be easily inhaled. Each type of inhaler does this in a slightly different way.吸入器真正的妙处在于，它能将药物高效地送入肺部。它的原理是将药物悬浮在空气中，或将其雾化成可吸入的微粒。而不同类型的吸入器实现这一过程的方式略有不同。

Dry powder inhalers require a person to breathe in to aerosolize a powder medication.干粉吸入器需要使用者主动吸气，使粉末状药物被雾化并吸入肺部。

Nebulizers, on the other hand, use either ultrasonic vibrations or compressed air to turn liquid medication into a mist.雾化器则利用超声波震动或压缩空气，将液态药物转化成细微的雾状颗粒。

The pressurized metered-dose inhaler works a lot like hairspray. This medicine is dissolved in a fluid called a propellant, and it's under high pressure. This causes the fluid and medication mixture to shoot out in a fast-moving mist.加压定量吸入器（MDI）的工作方式与喷发胶非常相似。药物被溶解在一种称为推进剂的液体中，并处于高压状态。当按下装置时，药液与药物的混合物会以高速喷出，形成可吸入的雾气。

But this mist can sometimes be hard to coordinate with bre...

In chronic bronchitis, the airway’s lining is inflamed and produces more mucus to trap incoming smoke or dust particles. And the little hairs lining the airways that normally help push the mucus out are often damaged, so the mucus gets stuck. During a COPD attack, rescue inhalers open the airways, just as they do for asthma.在慢性支气管炎中，气道的内壁会发炎，并分泌出更多的黏液来捕捉进入的烟雾或灰尘颗粒。而那些原本排列在气道上的微小毛发（纤毛），通常负责将黏液向外排出，却常常受到损伤，导致黏液堆积无法排出。当COPD（慢阻肺）发作时，急救型吸入器可以像治疗哮喘一样，帮助打开气道。

Preventative inhalers are used daily to stop asthma and COPD symptoms before they even start. They often contain both a corticosteroid, which reduces inflammation, and a long-acting bronchodilator.预防型吸入器则是每天使用，用来在哮喘或COPD症状出现之前就加以控制。它们通常同时含有糖皮质激素（可减少炎症）和长效支气管扩张剂。

In fact, one class of bronchodilators for patients with COPD is related to the compounds in thorn apples. These drugs block signals from the nerves that tell the airway muscles to contract. Those same nerve signals are thought to be responsible for increasing mucus in the lungs, so these drugs may help clear the airways as well.事实上，用于治疗COPD患者的一类支气管扩张剂，其化学成分与曼陀罗中的化合物有关。这类药物通过阻断神经向气道肌肉发出的收缩信号来起作用。而这些神经信号也被认为会促进肺部

So how do they work? When you take a breath, air travels through your lungs using tubes called airways, or bronchi. The airways funnel to sacs, called alveoli, where your red blood cells absorb all the oxygen your body needs.那么，它们是如何起作用的呢？当你吸气时，空气通过称为气道或支气管的管道进入肺部。气道最终通向被称为肺泡的气囊，红血球就在这里吸收身体所需的全部氧气。

But if you have asthma, the muscles around your airways may tighten, the lining of your airways may get inflamed, and your lungs may make too much of the mucus they use to trap dust and germs. Essentially, this clogs the pipes and makes it difficult to exhale.但如果你患有哮喘，气道周围的肌肉可能会收缩，气道内壁可能发炎，而肺部可能会产生过多的黏液——这种黏液原本用于捕捉灰尘和病菌。结果就像管道被堵住一样，使呼气变得困难。

Rescue inhalers deliver a medication called a bronchodilator that quickly relaxes these muscles, making it easier to breathe. These bronchodilators are short acting, lasting around four hours.急救型吸入器会输送一种名为“支气管扩张剂”的药物，它能迅速放松这些肌肉，使呼吸变得顺畅。这类支气管扩张剂属于短效药物，作用时间大约为四小时。

Rescue inhalers can be used for COPD, too. COPD is a catch-all term to desc...

Early 20th century writer, Marcel Proust, finished his magnum opus “In Search of Lost Time” from bed— in a cork-lined room to keep allergens out. Proust suffered from severe asthma. At the time, there weren’t great treatments. When breathlessness set in, he’d burn powders that filled the space with smoke and fumes. Or, for a quick fix, he’d smoke a doctor-recommended anti-asthma cigarette. These powders and cigarettes commonly contained thorn apple, which can open your airways. However, both were clearly terrible ideas. Smoking and fumes bring damaging, carcinogenic toxins into your lungs.二十世纪初的作家马塞尔·普鲁斯特，在床上完成了他的鸿篇巨著《追忆似水年华》——他住在一个用软木塞包裹的房间里，以隔绝过敏原。普鲁斯特患有严重的哮喘，而当时并没有有效的治疗方法。当他呼吸困难时，会燃烧一些粉末，使房间充满烟雾和气味；或者，为了快速缓解，他会抽医生推荐的“抗哮喘香烟”。这些粉末和香烟通常含有曼陀罗成分，可以帮助打开气道。然而，这两种做法显然都是糟糕的主意——吸入烟雾会把有害的致癌毒素带入肺部。

Thankfully, today we have inhalers— simple but powerful devices that deliver lung medications straight to the source and without the nasty side effects of smoke inhalation.幸运的是，如今我们有了吸入器——这种简单而强大的装置能将药物直接输送到肺部病灶处，而不会产生吸入烟雾带来的副作用。

Inhalers are mainly used to treat two conditions: asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. And there are two main types: preventative inhalers and rescue inhalers. Preventa