A dramatic increase in violent crime is challenging American cities from coast to coast.

暴力犯罪的急劇增加，讓橫跨美國東西兩岸的各個都市面臨了嚴峻挑戰。

In early December, ABC News reported that at least 12 US cities saw more murders in 2021 than they'd ever seen before.

在 12 月初時，ABC新聞報導指稱至少有 12 個美國城市在 2021 年時發生的謀殺案比以往任何時候都多。

That number rose to at least 13 cities after Milwaukee, Wisconsin joined the list.

而這個數字在威斯康辛州的米爾瓦基也加入行列之後，增加到了 13 個城市。

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; Louisville, Kentucky; Austin, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; the problem was all over the map.

賓夕法尼亞州的費城、奧勒岡州的波特蘭、肯塔基州的路易斯威爾、德克薩斯州的奧斯汀、新墨西哥州的阿布奎基；問題遍布整個美國地圖。

Experts and government officials have cited several reasons for it.

專家和政府官員列舉了幾個原因。

Problems rippling from the COVID pandemic, underfunded and understaffed police forces, not enough crime-fighting resources.

問題的根源來自 COVID 疫情大流行、資金與人手不足的警隊、打擊犯罪的資源不足等。

The US government has set aside hundreds of millions of dollars for law enforcement and community programs aimed at curbing crime.

美國政府已撥出了數億美元用於旨在遏制犯罪的執法和社區計劃。

And state, city, and community officials have promised action locally.

各州、城市和社區官員們也承諾了會在當地採取行動。

There were cities whose murder rate actually decreased last year, according to the Washington post.

根據《華盛頓郵報》報導，有的城市去年的謀殺率實際上反而有所下降。

They included Boston, Massachusetts and Dallas, Texas.

其中包括了馬薩諸塞州的波士頓，以及德克薩斯州的達拉斯。

Pharmacies in those cities and all across the country are expecting shipments of face masks from the federal government; specifically, these are N95 masks.

在這些城市與全國各地的藥店都在期待由聯邦政府捐贈的口罩；確切來說是 N-95 口罩。

Health officials say they give the best protection against the spread of disease.

衛生官員表示這種口罩能為防止疾病傳播提供最好的保護力。

400 million of them are being distributed; the Biden administration says it's the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in US history.

政府正在分發 4 億個此類口罩；拜登政府表示，這是美國歷史上最大規模的個人防護用具部署計畫。

There's no charge for them, though critics say this is a government program and would be funded by tax revenue.

這些都是不用收費的，然而有批評者認為這終究是一個政府項目，最後仍須以稅金來資助。

Some health officials have said the Biden administration needs to do more to make COVID tests and masks available, that it's been too focused on vaccines.

一些衛生官員表示，拜登政府需要放更多的心思在讓人們能夠接受病毒檢測和獲得口罩上面，並認為政府過去太專注於疫苗上。

President Joe Biden says the N95 masks are an important tool to stop the contagious Omicron variant of COVID.

喬·拜登總統說，N95 口罩是防堵極具傳染性的 Omicron COVID 變異株的重要工具。

There are indications that it's slowing down in some places; infections and hospitalizations are decreasing.

有跡象表明，在部分地區中病毒的擴散正在逐漸放緩，感染和住院人數都有所減少。

And while it's infected both the unvaccinated and the vaccinated, some health experts are hopeful that Omicron might leave people with immunity to COVID in the future.

而儘管無論是否接踵了疫苗都依舊有病患感染到了病毒，一些健康專家認為 Omicron 有希望使人們在未來對於 COVID 產生免疫力。

Across the Atlantic, the future is uncertain for the nation of Ukraine.

在大西洋彼岸，烏克蘭的未來仍舊充滿著不確定性。

There's been a conflict taking place there in the eastern part of the country since 2014.

自 2014 年以來，該國的東部地區便一直發生著衝突。

People who want closer ties to neighboring Russia have been fighting against the Ukrainian government, which wants closer ties to other European countries.

希望與鄰國俄羅斯建立起更緊密聯繫的人民，正不斷與希望與其他歐洲國家建立更緊密聯繫的烏克蘭政府對抗。

Russia supports the side that wants independence; NATO and alliance of European and north American countries support the Ukrainian government.

俄羅斯支持想要獨立的一方，而北約以及由歐洲與北美國家所組成的聯盟則支持著烏克蘭政府。

So you can see how there's international interest in what happens here.

因此你可以想見這會如何影響到國際間的利益糾葛。

Russia has gathered tens of thousands of troops near its western border with Ukraine, and though Russia says it has no plans to invade, the Ukrainian government and its allies are concerned that Russia will.

俄羅斯在其與烏克蘭的西部邊境附近聚集了數萬軍隊，而儘管俄羅斯說它沒有入侵的計劃，烏克蘭政府及其盟友仍擔心俄羅斯會入侵該國。

The US has sent weapons and military equipment to the Ukrainian government.

美國已向烏克蘭政府送出了武器和軍事裝備。

In December, President Biden said he had ruled out sending American troops into a potential conflict there.

在十二月時，貝登總統曾說過他已經排除了派遣美國軍隊參與該國潛在衝突的可能性。

But last week, the US leader said if Russia moved against Ukraine, the US would send troops into the region.

但在上週這位美國領導人又表示，如果俄羅斯對烏克蘭採取行動，美國便會派遣軍隊至該地區。

And this week, America told non-essential staff and family members at a US Embassy in Ukraine to leave.

到了本週，美國下令所有駐烏克蘭大使館的非必要員工與家眷須撤離該國。

All sides involved have been holding meetings to try to calm down the situation.

有關各方一直在舉行會議以試圖平息局勢。

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelinski says everything is under control, but at the same time, his government is also building up its military presence in Eastern Ukraine.

烏克蘭總統弗拉迪米爾·澤倫斯基表示一切都在控制之中，但與此同時，他所職掌的政府卻也在加強對烏克蘭東部的軍事整備。

The Ukrainians don't want to, uh, contribute in any way, shape, or form to panic.

烏克蘭方不想因為任何動作或形式來讓大眾開始恐慌。

They're worried that the local population here will get nervous if they see that the US is starting to evacuate some non-essential personnel and family members.

他們擔心如果這裡的當地居民看到美國開始疏散一些非必要人員和家眷，便會開始感到緊張。

They're worried that that projects, uh, an image, potentially, that there really is Russian aggression expected imminently.

他們擔心這可能會投射出一種想像，一種預期俄羅斯很快就會開始侵略的想像。

But, uh, while everyone is waiting for the diplomatic process to play out and... and hoping that it bears some fruit, there's no question that very real preparations are being made on all sides for the possibility of a military conflict.

但是儘管所有人都在等待外交談判的進展並希望確實有所成果，無庸置疑地，各方都在為可能爆發的軍事衝突做足了最實際的準備。

NATO has just announced that it will be sending, uh, additional resources, ships, fighter jets to deployments of NATO in eastern Europe; that has already been greeted, uh, by the Kremlin with a negative tone saying that this is increasing tensions.

北約剛剛宣佈它將在東歐的北歐基地派遣額外的資源、戰艦和戰機，而克里姆林宮則以負面的態度相迎，表示這種行為會使局勢更加緊張。

The Kremlin [is] also grousing about what they called "informational hysteria" and accusing the Ukrainians of building up, uh, military personnel and hardware along the border with the Donbas region, which is where those pro Russian separatists are based.

克里姆林宮還抱怨對方「在資訊上歇斯底里」，並指責烏克蘭人正在作為親俄羅斯的分離主義分子基地的頓巴斯地區的邊界上，集結軍事人員和設備。

It would come as no surprise to many, though, that, of course, the Ukrainians are building up their presence along their border there because that is exactly where many fear some type of incursion may occur, if and when it does so.

不過對許多人來說，烏克蘭人會在該處邊界上籌備軍事力量乃是理所當然，因為此處正是許多人擔心俄國可能以某種形式入侵的可能地點。

So I think it's a sense of people still hoping that the diplomatic efforts might bear some fruit, but preparing, in the meantime, for the worst as well.

所以我認為整體的感覺是，人們仍然希望外交上的努力可以產生一些成果，但於此同時也在做最壞的打算。

10-second trivia: Which of these inventions was developed for the space program in the 1960s?

10 秒小知識：下列何者是在 1960 年代的太空計畫發展下所發明出的物品？

Floppy disc, memory foam, Explorer 1 satellite, or Carbon water filter?

磁片、記憶泡棉、探險者 1 號衛星，還是活性碳濾水器？

American engineer Charles Yost developed memory foam for NASA Astronauts in the 1960s.

美國工程師查爾斯·約斯特在 1960 年代時為美國太空總署的太空人們開發了記憶泡棉。

Freeze-dried foods, portable hand vacuums, scratch-resistant lenses, smoke detectors.

冷凍乾燥食品、手持式吸塵器、耐刮鏡片、煙霧偵測器。

Not all of these inventions were created for space exploration, but they all saw improvements under space programs that eventually made their way to store shelves.

雖然上述發明並不是都是為了太空探索而被創造出來的，但它們在太空計畫下歷經了多次改良，並在最後成了貨架上的商品。

Flash forward a few decades; the International Space Station cost $150 billion to build and it takes several billion dollars to maintain it every year.

稍微快進個幾十年；國際太空站的建造費用為 1500 億美元，且每年需要幾十億美元的維護費用。

Critics say it hasn't yielded enough scientific advancements to justify its cost.

批評者說，它並沒有產生出符合其成本的夠多科學進步。

But a European astronaut has been working to apply the research it has conducted to modern life on Earth.

但一名歐洲太空人一直在努力將國際太空站所所進行的研究，應用在地球上的現代生活。

When you look at the Earth from the Space Station, it's... it's absolutely magical; it glows in blue and it's the most beautiful scenery you could possibly imagine.

當你從太空站看向地球時，它... 它看起來神奇無比。它閃耀著藍色的光芒，並且是你所能想像到最為美麗的景色。

When you take a step back and you see the Earth in its entirety, you understand it is just an oasis, uh, in the cosmos.

當你退一步看到地球的全貌時，你會明白它簡直是宇宙中的一片綠洲。

All... all around, there's nothing⏤no life, just blackness, emptiness.

環顧周圍，什麼東西都沒有－沒有生命，只有一片黑暗的虛空。

And there's this... this blue ball with everything we need to sustain human life and life in general, which is absolutely fragile, and it makes you want to cherish the Earth.

而這樣一顆蔚藍的球體承載著我們維繫人類生命所需的一切，它是如此的脆弱，讓你對地球更加地感到珍惜。

I'm Thomas Pesquet; I'm an astronaut for the European Space Agency.

我是所屬於歐洲太空總署的太空人 Thomas K.。

I'm coming back for my second mission to space, all on board the International Space Station; it's a permanent laboratory that orbits the Earth.

我即將完成我的第二次太空任務，全程都住在國際太空站上。這是個在軌道上繞著地球打轉的永久實驗室。

Just like us on the... onboard the space station, the Earth is a spaceship and... and we are its crew.

就如同我們登上太空站一樣，地球也是艘宇宙船，而我們都是它的船員。

It flies around the sun, it has limited resources, it has some protection means, but that can be overcome.

它繞著太陽飛行，上面的資源有限，具有些保護手段，但這是可以克服的問題。

You don't control the amount of resources that you have onboard, but you have to manage them.

你不能控制船上的資源數量，但你必須管理它們。

And what you can control: the way you care about the spaceship, the way you maintain it, because you want the flight to be as long and peaceful as possible.

你能控制的是如何照顧這艘飛船的方式，如何維護它的方式，因為你希望能儘可能長久而平穩的繼續飛行下去。

I'm an ambassador for the Food and Agricultural Organization of [the] United Nations.

我是聯合國糧食及農業組織的大使。

During my mission on the Space Station, we had a lot of research done on plants because space is a harsh environment for plants.

在太空站執行任務的期間，我們對植物進行了大量的研究，因為太空對於植物來說是一個相當惡劣的環境。

By studying plants in the environment of space, then we can study how they can resist to a drought or water scarcity, and then we can feed all those results, uh, to research being made on earth and to create some more resistant crops, the crops that will resist to climate change.

通過研究太空環境中的植物，我們便能研究它們如何抵禦乾旱和缺水，接著將所有這些結果反饋給地球上正在進行的研究，並創造出更能抵抗氣候變遷更具抗性的作物。

We've also worked a lot on all our packaging, just like on earth.

就像在地球上一樣，我們也在包裝方面做出了很多努力。

We're trying to limit the production... the use of plastic, the production of waste, and, so, we came up with edible packaging, which is just a... such a fantastic and simple concept.

我們正努力限制生產... 限制塑膠的使用、限制垃圾的產生。因此我們使用了可食用包裝，而這是個相當傑出且單純的概念。

We need foam to protect everything from shocks during launch into space; so, what we did is, we turned that foam into food and it's like gingerbread.

我們需要泡棉來保護火箭上的所有東西在發射到太空時不會受衝擊。因此我們便把這些泡棉轉化成食物，吃起來就像是薑餅一樣。

Now our packaging is, at the same time, our source of food.

現在我們的包裝同時也是食物來源。

It reduces the need to send cargo up; it reduces the production of trash.

它減少了須要發射貨艙到太空站上的需求；它減少了垃圾的產出。

It's... it's brilliant.

它... 真是太棒了。

So, hopefully, that technology can also transfer to packaging on the ground, and then we can reduce our environmental footprint every time we go buy something in the supermarket.

因此，希望這種技術也能轉移到地球的包裝上，讓我們能減少每次去超市買東西時對環境的影響。

If we set ourselves on the right path, there's nothing we cannot do.

如果我們走在通往正確目標的道路上，沒有什麼是我們做不到的。

We built that unbelievable facility in space; we're using it every day.

畢竟我們都能在太空中建造這樣一個令人難以置信的設施，而且每天都還在使用它了。

Peaceful cooperations between countries that were not always friends.

而歷史上並非總是盟友的國家們能在上面和平地合作無間。

And, so, if we can transfer that model to the way we deal with the environment, I think we'll get there.

因此如果我們能夠將這種模式轉移到我們處理環境的方式上，我想我們一定能夠成功。

I'm optimistic for the future.

我對未來保持樂觀的態度。

If we can make a space station fly, then we can save the planet

既然我們都能讓太空站升空了，那麼我們就肯定能拯救地球。

Ice bites, ice jams, and ice pancakes sound like new menu items at "Icehop".

霜咬、凌汛和煎餅冰聽起來像是冰店裡的新菜色。

But these unique formations recently appeared in Lake Michigan, not far from Chicago, Illinois, and meteorologists say they're of the ice pancake variety.

但是這些獨特的結構物最近出現在離伊利諾伊州芝加哥城不遠處的密歇根湖，而氣象學家說它們是煎餅冰的一種。

They form when chunks of ice start bumping into each other as they float on the waves.

當大塊的冰塊在海浪上漂浮並開始相互碰撞後，便形成了這些冰塊。

Eventually they get these round, raised edges and⏤voila! Ice pancakes.

在相互碰撞後它們的邊緣被磨得渾圓且凸起，然後－煎餅冰就誕生了。

Mother Nature commonly serves these up in the Arctic, but it takes several days of subfreezing temperatures for them to form in the lower 48 states.

這種現象通常會在北極地區自然出現，但在偏南方的美國 48 州的，要連續好幾天的零下低溫才會形成。

For "coniceours", they sound like an "ice" addition to a dessert menu.

它們聽起來就像是甜點菜單上的冰甜新菜色。

It might include "icebox" cookies, apple "pice", pumpkin "ice" latte, "cold-cross" buns.

搞不好裡面還有冰心餅乾、蘋果冰派、南瓜香冰拿鐵、十字冰包呢。

Unless you're a snowbird, everyone loves "frosting", so let's go ahead and set the table with some fresh "picetries" or chocolate chip "cookice", 'cause that would be the "icing" on the "crepe".

除非你是個嚮往南國溫暖的北方人，大家都愛雪白的糖霜吧，所以快整理好桌子，準備好一些新鮮的糕點或是巧克力碎片餅乾吧！這樣絕對是雪中送炭，錦上添花。

From Springfield, Tennessee, we heard from Springfield High School on our YouTube channel.

我們在我們的 YouTube 頻道上聽到了來自田納西州春田市的春田高中的鼓勵。

Thank you for your comment on Monday's show.

謝謝你對週一節目的評論。

I'm Carl Azuz.

我是 Carl Azuz。