这里是KTS新闻汇总栏目！
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一周的新闻热点
还有雅思托福考试变动
以及留学政策的变化
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1.香港教育局提供约6亿元纾困津贴 幼稚园及私立中小学受惠
香港特区政府教育局30日宣布，将向学校发放新一轮“防疫抗疫基金”下的纾困津贴及资助，涉及总开支约6亿元(港币，下同)，预计有约1000所幼稚园和约180所私立中小学日校受惠。
为减轻全港幼稚园、私立中小学日校及提供非正规课程的私立学校(一般称为补习学校)因疫情而暂停面授课堂所带来的财政困难，“防疫抗疫基金”将向其提供一笔过津贴。香港特区立法会财务委员会12月21日通过新一轮“防疫抗疫基金”拨款，教育局随即安排陆续发放教育范畴相关的津贴。
教育局发言人表示，每所幼稚园及私立中小学日校，会获发放6万元至16万元不等的一笔过津贴，预计约1000所幼稚园和约180所私立中小学日校受惠，涉及额外开支约1.35亿元。
至于提供非正规课程的私立学校，每所在获邀申请当日已根据《教育条例》注册并仍然营运的学校，将获提供一笔过4万元的纾困津贴，预计惠及约2700所提供非正规课程的私立学校，涉及额外开支约1.08亿元。
此外，“防疫抗疫基金”亦会向以下供应商和服务提供者提供一笔过纾困津贴，因其服务及收入在学校暂停面授课堂／半日课堂和停止校内活动期间受严重影响，涉及额外开支约3.62亿元，包括在小学、中学以及专上院校的餐饮供应点(即小卖部、食堂及餐厅)的营运者，每一供应点8万元；小学及中学的饭盒供应商，每一服务学校1万元；每名校巴司机1万元，每辆校巴的保姆可获1万元；在学校担任导师、教练、培训人员及兴趣班的营办者，每人7500元。
2.驻英使馆发布调整邮寄办理护照、旅行证收费方式的通知
其他证件业务的缴费方式维持不变。
3.希腊在新年夜和元旦封锁令依旧 将讨论学校重开问题
据希腊《中希时报》报道，希腊12月28日通报新增新冠确诊病例476例。希腊政府发言人佩萨斯表示，对于本周即将到来的新年夜和元旦，目前实施的各项限制措施将继续有效，并称预计本周将举行会议，讨论重新开放学校的问题。
雅典-比雷埃夫斯医院协会主席帕格尼28日表示，从目前的情况看，2021年年初各阶段学校重新开学都将是相对安全的，但人们仍然需要减少聚会活动，人员的聚集可能会出现新冠病例激增的情况。
在学校重新开放这一问题上，传染病学专家戈戈斯的态度则更为谨慎。他说，根据疫情数据显示，在新年假期结束后，小学有望首先开学。之后可以根据实际的流行病学数据，允许中学重新开放。他同时建议，企业继续采取让员工远程办公的形式运作。他还提到关于零售行业重新开放的问题，政府和医学专家组将在新年假期结束后进行讨论。
China adds 119 drugs to list
119种药品新纳入医保
China has included 119 more kinds of drugs on its national medical insurance reimbursement list, delivering greater price cuts and benefiting more people, the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) said at a press conference Monday. Ninety-six of the new additions to the list are exclusive drugs that offer lower prices through negotiation and 16 were newly put on the market this year, the NHSA said.
国家医疗保障局12月28日召开新闻发布会表示，有119种药品新纳入2020年国家医保目录，其中包括谈判调入的96种独家药品和16种今年新上市的药品。这些药品的价格大幅降低，惠及更多群众。
Altogether, a record number of 162 drugs on the list were negotiated for price reduction.
共计有162种药品进行了谈判，为历史最多的一次。
A deal was reached for 119 of the drugs, with their prices dropping an average of 50.64 percent.
最终有119种药品谈判成功，谈判成功的药品平均降价50.64%。
The inclusions also helped expand the scope of reimbursement to cover more diseases, including COVID-19.
此次药品目录调整也有助于扩大报销范围，覆盖了新冠肺炎等多种疾病的用药。
So far, all the medicines listed in China's latest diagnosis and treatment plan for COVID-19 have been added to the reimbursement list, the NHSA said.
国家医疗保障局表示，最新版国家新冠肺炎诊疗方案所列药品已被全部纳入。
China currently has 2,800 kinds of medicines on the medical reimbursement list, including 1,374 traditional Chinese patent medicines.
通过本次目录调整，国家医保目录内的药品总数为2800种，其中中成药1374种。
[Photo/Chinadaily]
Orange alert for cold wave
全国多地过山车式降温
China's meteorological authority on Monday issued an orange alert for a cold wave as a strong cold front will sweep across most parts of Central and East China.
12月28日，中央气象台发布寒潮橙色预警，我国中东部大部地区将开启"速冻"模式。
From Monday to Thursday, the temperature in most parts of Central and East China is expected to drop by 10 degrees Celsius, while temperatures in some areas in Northwest, Northeast, North and South China will drop by 12 degrees Celsius to 16 degrees Celsius, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC).
中央气象台表示，从12月28日至31日，中东部大部地区的气温将下降10摄氏度，西北、东北、华北和华南部分地区的气温将下降12-16摄氏度。
The cold wave will bring gales to the aforementioned regions and some sea areas near East and South China, the NMC said.
寒潮还将给上述地区和东部和南部部分海域带来大风。
The center advised the public to take precautions against the cold weather and strong winds.
气象台建议公众注意防范寒冷强风天气带来的不利影响。
China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
我国的天气预警信号分为四级，由四种颜色表示，按照严重程度依次为红色、橙色、黄色和蓝色。
The center issued its last orange warning in 2016.
中央气象台上次发布寒潮橙色预警是在2016年。
[Photo/Chinadaily]
Beijing-Xiong'an intercity railway
京雄城际铁路全线开通
The Beijing-Xiong'an intercity railway opened to traffic on Sunday, connecting the Chinese capital with the Xiong'an New Area. The railway is 91 kilometers long and has a maximum design speed of 350 kilometers per hour.
北京至雄安新区城际铁路(京雄城际)于12月27日实现全线贯通，线路全长91公里，最高设计时速350公里。
The stretch between Beijing West Railway Station and Daxing airport opened in September 2019.
京雄城际铁路北京西至大兴机场段已于2019年9月开通运营。
Passengers can take high-speed trains from Beijing West directly to Xiong'an New Area, with the shortest commuting time at 50 minutes. The journey between Daxing airport and Xiong'an will be about 19 minutes.
The construction of the Beijing-Xiong'an intercity high-speed railway started in February 2018.
京雄城际铁路2018年2月开工建设。
Xiong'an Railway Station has a construction area of 475,200 square meters, the size of 66 soccer fields, and is designed to resemble dew on a lotus leaf.
雄安站总建筑面积47.52万平方米，相当于66个足球场，形似荷叶上的一滴露珠。
[Photo/Chinadaily]
2021 festival travel rush
2021春运火车票今开售
China is expected to see 407 million railway passenger trips during the upcoming 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, according to the national railway operator. An average of 10.18 million railway trips will be made every day during the travel rush from Jan 28 to March 8 in 2021, China State Railway Group said Tuesday.
国铁集团12月29日介绍称，2021年铁路春运自1月28日开始，3月8日结束，共40天，全国铁路预计发送旅客4.07亿人次，日均发送旅客1018万人次。
Passengers can buy tickets as early as 30 days prior to their planned trip. On Wednesday, travelers can buy tickets for Jan 28, the first day of the travel rush.
按照火车票提前30天发售的安排，12月30日，铁路部门开始发售1月28日春运首日的火车票。
Railway authorities will adopt epidemic prevention measures and arrange the journeys in an orderly manner. Such measures include preventing overcrowding and providing separate seating areas for passengers with fever symptoms, the company said.
据国铁集团介绍，铁路部门将采取疫情防控举措，确保春运平稳有序，包括严格控制列车超员率，预留发热旅客隔离席位等。
Experts suggested that people cut down on unnecessary journeys or follow the government's advice and avoid peak travel times.
专家建议人们减少不必要的出行，或者遵循政府的建议，错峰出行。
The country will increase its railway transport capacity during the period, with about 5,000 pairs of passenger trains to be put into operation on a daily basis, up 4.5 percent from a year ago.
春运期间，铁路部门将增加运力。2021年春运将安排图定旅客列车5000对左右，同比增长4.5%。
[Photo/Chinadaily]
Britons flee Swiss resort
英国游客海外逃避隔离
British tourists fled the Swiss ski resort of Verbier "clandestinely" under cover of darkness rather than submit to a new quarantine imposed on UK visitors, a local official said on Monday.
瑞士官员12月28日称，瑞士滑雪胜地韦尔比耶的一些英国游客无视新的隔离要求，趁着夜色不告而别。
The exact number of tourists who left the resort has not been confirmed.
当地还没有确认具体的逃离游客人数。
Switzerland is one of dozens of countries to have banned travel from the UK over a new, potentially more transmissible coronavirus variant that was reported in the UK.
最近，英国报告了一种新的新冠病毒变体，可能传播性更强，因此瑞士等数十个国家暂停了与英国的旅行往来。
On Dec 21, the Swiss Federal Council imposed an entry ban and a retroactive 10-day quarantine period on all travelers from the UK and South Africa, meaning anyone who entered Switzerland from the two countries since Dec 14 is required to quarantine.
12月21日，瑞士联邦议会发布了针对所有英国和南非旅客的入境禁令和10天隔离期规则，凡是12月14日之后从南非和英国两国来到瑞士的旅客，都必须完成10天的隔离期。
Asked about the run-away tourists, Health Minister Alain Berset said he didn't know the current whereabouts of the tourists, but suspected that they had gone home.
当被问及逃走游客时，瑞士卫生部长阿兰•贝尔塞表示目前不知道这些游客的下落，怀疑他们已经返回英国。
[Photo/Chinadaily]
Japan tightens entry ban
日本暂停外国人新入境
Japan on Saturday decided to ban the entry of most foreign nationals, except those from the Chinese mainland, Vietnam, Singapore and other regions that have managed to bring COVID-19 under control, from Dec 28 to the end of January, following the detection of a new variant of the novel coronavirus in arrivals from Britain.
鉴于近日有从英国出发、到访日本的人员被检测到了变异新冠病毒，日本政府12月26日决定，从12月28日起至明年1月底暂停批准外国人入境，来自中国大陆以及越南、新加坡等疫情控制较好的地区的人员除外。
Chinese visitors can enter Japan without a nucleic acid test certificate, and those with short-term non-business visas are required to complete a 14-day quarantine upon arrival, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare told CCTV, adding that visitors cannot take public transport after arriving in Japan.
中央电视台记者致电日本厚生劳动省获悉，中国大陆访日人员入境前无需提交核酸检测证明，持短期商务以外签证的入境人员需要在抵达后自主隔离14天，抵达日本后不能乘公共交通工具。
[Photo/Chinadaily]
UK bans multi-buy offers
英垃圾食品禁'买一送一'
The UK will ban "buy one get one free" promotions for food high in fat, sugar or salt and free refills of sugary soft drinks in restaurants beginning in April 2022, the government said on Monday, its latest step in its plan to tackle obesity and improve public health.
英国政府12月28日表示，从2022年4月起，政府将禁止针对高脂肪、高糖和高盐食品推出的"买一送一"促销活动，餐馆不允许再对含糖饮料提供免费续杯，这是英国政府为解决肥胖问题、改善公众健康迈出的新的一步。
The government said obesity is one of Britain's biggest long-term public health problems, with almost two-thirds of adults in England overweight and one in three children leaving primary school overweight or obese.
英政府称，肥胖已经成为英国最严重的公众长期健康问题之一，英格兰近2/3的成年人超重，1/3的小学毕业生面临超重或肥胖问题。
The measures also will restrict where in a store promotions on such products can be advertised, and unhealthy promotions will not be allowed at checkouts, shop entrances or at the end of aisles.
[Photo/Chinadaily]
December deadliest in US
美新冠疫情12月'最致命'
December has been the nation's deadliest month since the COVID-19 pandemic's start - with more than 63,000 Americans lost to the virus in the past 26 days.
12月成为美国疫情暴发以来"最致命"的月份。截至12月26日，超过6.3万名美国人在本月因感染新冠病毒去世。
In comparison, the entire month of November saw about 36,964 deaths. The authorization of two COVID-19 vaccines in December offered some hope of a light at the end of the tunnel. But experts continue to warn that the pandemic is not over and another surge stemming from the Christmas holiday could be on its way.
相比之下，11月美国有36964人因感染新冠病毒去世。尽管12月两种新冠疫苗在美国获批带来疫情结束的一线希望，但多位专家警告，疫情尚未结束，且圣诞假期后感染病例可能会增多。
The nation's top infectious disease expert Fauci described the potential rise in cases as a "surge upon a surge". COVID-19 hospitalization numbers across the US are already at record levels.
美国顶级传染病专家福奇博士说，感染病例可能会"一波接一波"增多。目前全美确诊病例住院治疗人数已达疫情以来最高纪录。
On Sunday, the country recorded its fourth-highest number of hospitalizations with more than 118,720 COVID-19 patients nationwide, according to the Covid Tracking Project. This is the 26th consecutive day that the US has remained above 100,000 current hospitalizations.
"新冠病毒追踪项目"网站统计数据显示，12月27日全美有超过118720名确诊患者住院治疗，是疫情暴发以来住院人数的第四高，也是美国连续第26天新冠患者住院总人数超过10万人。
"When you're dealing with a baseline of 200,000 new cases a day and about 2,000 deaths per day, with the hospitalizations over 120,000, we are really at a very critical point," Fauci said. "As we get into the next few weeks," he added, "it might actually get worse."
福奇说："目前美国每日起码新增确诊病例20万例、每天新增死亡病例2000例、住院人数超过12万，确实处在一个非常危急的节点。未来几周情况可能更糟。"
[Photo/Chinadaily]
Student-don relationship ban
牛津大学拟禁止师生恋
Oxford University is considering banning romantic and sexual contact between academics and students.
牛津大学正考虑颁布新规，禁止教师与学生发展恋爱关系以及发生性接触。
The proposed shake-up would see the institution become only the second top UK university to outlaw such relationships.
牛津大学或将成为第二个明令禁止"师生恋"的英国顶级高校。
Any don found flouting the policy, which would apply to any academic directly teaching or supervising a student, could face sanctions, ranging from a formal warning to dismissal.
新规将针对所有授课教师或学生导师，若违反禁令，轻者会被正式警告，重者将被解雇。
There are fears that an unofficial acceptance of romantic liaisons between staff and students puts women at risk of harassment. There are also concerns that students' grades could suffer if they complain.
一些人担心若学校默许师生之间存在亲密关系，女性会有被骚扰的风险，还有人担心举报教师性骚扰行为的学生的成绩可能会受到影响。
Earlier this year, University College London became the first Russell Group university to introduce a ban on romantic and sexual relationships between lecturers and their students.
今年早些时候，伦敦大学学院成为罗素盟校中第一所禁止师生恋的大学。
[Photo/Chinadaily]
Global vaccine supply increases
世卫将获近20亿剂疫苗
The WHO announced that COVAX has agreements in place to access nearly 2 billion doses of several promising vaccine candidates on Friday, and first deliveries are anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2021.
世界卫生组织12月18日宣布，已与多个疫苗研发或生产机构就疫苗采购事宜签署协议或意向声明，保证世卫组织主导的COVAX全球新冠疫苗计划将能获得近20亿剂新冠疫苗，这些疫苗最快将从明年一季度起提供给参与计划的各经济体。
The initiative said it aims to deliver 1.3 billion doses of approved vaccines next year to 92 eligible low- and middle-income economies.
COVAX明年将向92个符合条件的中低收入经济体提供13亿剂获批疫苗。
All 190 economies that have signed up to COVAX will “have access to doses in the first half of 2021, with first deliveries anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2021 – contingent upon regulatory approvals and countries’ readiness for delivery,” it said in a statement.
New agreements announced on Friday include an advance purchase agreement with AstraZeneca for 170 million doses, and a memorandum of understanding for 500 million doses from Johnson & Johnson.
12月18日宣布的新协议包括与阿斯利康签订的1.7亿剂疫苗预购协议，以及与强生签署的5亿剂疫苗谅解备忘录。
[Photo/Chinadaily]
2020 deadliest year in US history
美死亡人数为历史之最
This is the deadliest year in US history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time - due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic.
今年是美国历史上死亡人数最多的一年，预计将首次超过300万——造成这一局面的主要原因是新冠肺炎疫情。
Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months. But preliminary numbers suggest that the US is on track to see more than 3.2 million deaths this year, or at least 400,000 more than in 2019.
今年的死亡率最终数据要数月后才会公布。但初步数据显示，美国今年死亡人数可能达到320万以上，比2019年至少多出40万。
US deaths increase most years, so some annual rise in fatalities is expected. But the 2020 numbers amount to a jump of about 15percent, and could go higher once all the deaths from this month are counted.
美国的死亡人数逐年增多，因此今年死亡人数上升可以预见。但2020年的死亡人数将增长约15%，如果加上本月的死亡人数，数字可能会更高。
That would mark the largest single-year percentage leap since 1918. Life expectancy for 2019 rose by about six weeks to 78.8 years, but it could end up dropping as much as three full years in 2020, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
这将是1918年以来美国死亡人数增长幅度最大的一年。美国疾病控制和预防中心表示，美国2019年人均预期寿命增加了大约6周，至78.8岁。但美国2020年人均预期寿命最多可能减少3年。
The coronavirus pandemic has become the third leading cause of death, behind only heart disease and cancer.
新冠肺炎已成为今年美国人口第三大死因，仅次于心脏病和癌症。
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