音声プラットフォーム「Voicy」で毎朝6時30分に更新中の英語ニュースチャンネル「Voicy News Brief with articles from New York Times」。このチャンネルでは、The New York Timesの記事をバイリンガルのパーソナリティが英語で読み上げ、記事と英単語を日本語で解説しています。英語のニュースを毎朝聴いて、リスニング力の向上と英語学習にお役立てください。
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目次
5/9(月)の放送の英文記事と英単語：病原体、悪化、暴露
Signs of an Animal Virus Discovered in Man Who Received a Pig’s Heart
genetically 遺伝的に
disclosure 公表、発覚、暴露
facilitate 促進する、容易にする
pathogen 病原体
deterioration 悪化、劣化、低下
revelation 暴露、発覚
regenerative 再生させる、更生させる
著者： Roni Caryn Rabin
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
Traces of a virus known to infect pigs were found in a 57-year-old Maryland man who survived for two months with a heart transplanted from a genetically altered pig, according to the surgeon who performed the procedure, the first of its kind.
The disclosure highlights one of the most pressing objections to animal-to-human transplants, which is that widespread use of modified animal organs might facilitate the introduction of new pathogens into the human population.
The presence of the virus’s DNA in the patient may have contributed to his sudden deterioration more than a month after the transplant, said the surgeon, Dr. Bartley Griffith of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
But there was no evidence that the patient developed an active infection with the virus or that his body had rejected the heart, Griffith added.
The patient, David Bennett Sr., had been extremely ill before the surgery and had numerous other complications after the transplant. He died March 8.
Griffith’s revelations about the viral traces found in the patient, made last month during an American Society of Transplantation meeting, were first reported by MIT Technology Review.
In an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, Griffith and his colleague, Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin, scientific director of the cardiac xenotransplantation program at University of Maryland Medical Center, said that they were saddened by the loss of Bennett but that they were not deterred from their goal of using animal organs to save human lives.
“This doesn’t really scare us about the future of the field, unless for some reason this one incident is interpreted as a complete failure,” Griffith said. “It is just a learning point. Knowing it was there, we’ll probably be able to avoid it in the future.”
The pig, which had been genetically modified so that its organs would not trigger rejection by the human immune system, was provided by Revivicor, a regenerative medicine company based in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Company officials declined to comment Thursday, and officials with the Food and Drug Administration, which gave the transplant surgeons emergency authorization for the operation on New Year’s Eve, said they could not immediately respond to questions.
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5/10(火)の放送の英文記事と英単語：を段階的に廃止する、原油、妨害する
G-7 Nations Pledge to Ban or Phase Out Russian Oil
phase out … …を段階的に廃止する
erode (権利などを)損なう、低下させる
should it be (banned) もし (禁止) されたら
*should + (代)名詞 + 動詞
⇒ 未来仮定 ( =If ) 例： “Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.”
crude oil 原油
thwart 妨害する、阻止する
ultimate goal 最終目標
著者：Emma Bubola and EduardoMedina
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
Leaders of the Group of 7 nations pledged during a virtual meeting Sunday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to ban or phase out Russian oil, aiming to still further erode Russia’s economic standing as it pursues its invasion of Ukraine.
The group did not provide details but said in a statement that the plans would be enforced in a “timely and orderly fashion, and in ways that provide time for the world to secure alternative supplies.”
Oil is a top export for Russia, and Moscow would almost certainly sustain a big economic blow should it be banned, but parts of Europe are heavily dependent on its oil and thus are also vulnerable.
The United States, which imported a relatively small amount of energy resources from Russia, has already banned the import of Russian oil and gas.
The European Union, which gets about a quarter of its crude oil imports from Russia, has also announced plans for phasing out Russian oil but is still in talks to formalize the decision. The bloc is too dependent on Russian gas to consider banning it in the short term but has laid out plans to become progressively independent from it.
The G-7 also said it would take steps to stop the provision of key services on which Russia depends and to toughen sanctions against the financial elites who support President Vladimir Putin, as well as their family members.
The White House also announced new sanctions Sunday against three Russian state television outlets and said it would prohibit Americans from providing accounting or consulting services to anyone in Russia.
The G-7, which includes some of the world’s biggest economies, said member nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — would also continue to provide billions of dollars in military aid and intelligence to Ukraine, which has helped the country thwart Russian forces.
During the meeting Sunday, Zelenskyy pleaded Ukraine’s case with the world leaders, saying his ultimate goal was to force the full withdrawal of Russia’s army.
The G-7, in its statement, said member nations had assured Zelenskyy of their “continued readiness to undertake further commitments to help Ukraine secure its free and democratic future.”
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5/11(水)の放送の英文記事と英単語：曲がって進む、堆積物、入り組んだ
In Alabama’s 19th Unnamed Cave, a Trove of Ancient Dark-Zone Art
veer 方向を変える、(急に)曲がって進む
sediment deposit 堆積物
stoop かがむ、身を落とす
convoluted 入り組んだ
shard (瀬戸物、陶器などの)破片
sedentary 座っている、移動しない、定住性
著者：Christine Hauser
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
The cave meanders for 2 miles under northern Alabama, with passages that veer into mysterious so-called dark zones, sediment deposits, a waterfall and deep pools. Ancient footprints are embedded in its remotest passage. The names of Union soldiers from the Civil War remain scrawled on a wall.
Stooped over because the ceiling was so low, Alan Cressler unclipped a light from his helmet July 30, 1998, and raked the beam across the surface above him.
The artwork of a fellow human who lived many centuries ago came into view: possibly a bird, with a rounded head.
“Once I saw that, I am like, ‘OK,’” Cressler, who now works for the U.S. Geological Survey, said in an interview this past week. “It gives me chills today to talk about it. I just recognized the immediate importance of it.”
With an archaeologist, an expert in 3D photography and others, Cressler further explored the cave, known as the 19th Unnamed Cave, and its art over the years. This past week, they published their findings in the journal Antiquity. The study highlighted the role of 3D technology in uncovering art that was not initially visible to Cressler more than 20 years ago, when he was pressed so close to the ceiling that he could not see the full array that radiated in all directions above him.
Jan Simek, an archaeologist with the University of Tennessee and co-author of the paper, said the cave art was among the largest found in North America, deep in a convoluted dark zone where natural light could not reach.
Using radiocarbon dating and analysis of pottery shards, the researchers estimate that the art dates to the Middle and Late Woodland periods, or between the years 500 and 1000, when farming, hunting and gathering gave way to food production and sedentary life.
There are figures with human features, a coiled snake with a tail rattle and forked tongue and a 10-foot-long serpent winding its way across the expanse.
Ghostly humanoid figures are adorned in regalia. Charred fragments of river cane suggest the artwork could have been a team effort, with someone holding a torch while the artist, or artists, worked.
The use of 3D modeling in Alabama’s 19th Unnamed Cave “promises a new era of discovery of ancient cave art” because it reveals images that could not be perceived otherwise, the researchers said.
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5/12(木)の放送の英文記事と英単語：取り締まる、広告業界、呼び起こす
Netflix Tells Employees Ads May Come by End of 2022
tier 段、層
cracking down 取り締まる
Madison Avenue 広告業界
evoke 呼び起こす、想起させる
let’s say 仮に～
著者：John Koblin and Nicole Sperling
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
Netflix could introduce its lower-priced ad-supported tier by the end of the year, a more accelerated timeline than originally indicated, the company told employees in a recent note.
In the note, Netflix executives said that they were aiming to introduce the ad tier in the final three months of the year, according to two people who shared details of the communication, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe internal company discussions. The note also said that they were planning to begin cracking down on password sharing among its subscriber base around the same time, the people said.
Last month, Netflix stunned the media industry and Madison Avenue when it revealed that it would begin offering a lower-priced subscription featuring ads, after years of publicly stating that commercials would never be seen on the streaming platform.
But Netflix is facing significant business challenges. In announcing first-quarter earnings last month, Netflix said that it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of the year — the first time that has happened in a decade — and expected to lose 2 million more in the months to come. Since the subscriber announcement, Netflix’s share price has dropped sharply, wiping away roughly $70 billion in the company’s market capitalization.
Reed Hastings, Netflix’s co-chief executive, told investors that the company would examine the possibility of introducing an advertising-supported platform and that it would try to “figure it out over the next year or two.”
Netflix currently offers a variety of payment tiers to access its streaming service; its most popular plan costs $15.49 a month. The new ad-supported tier will cost less. Other streaming services have similar plans.
Indeed, in the note to employees, Netflix executives evoked their competitors, saying that HBO and Hulu have been able to “maintain strong brands while offering an ad-supported service.”
Last month, Netflix also announced that it intended to begin charging higher prices to subscribers who share their account with several people.
“So if you’ve got a sister, let’s say, that’s living in a different city; you want to share Netflix with her, that’s great,” Greg Peters, Netflix’s chief operating officer, said on the company’s earnings call. “We’re not trying to shut down that sharing, but we’re going to ask you to pay a bit more to be able to share with her.”
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5/13(金)の放送の英文記事と英単語：阻害する、害する、絶対主義者
Musk Says He Would ‘Reverse the Permanent Ban’ of Trump on Twitter
Alienate 阻害する
Undermine 害する
Absolutist 絶対主義者
Petri dish シャーレ
Subvert 腐敗
著者：Mike Isaac
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
Elon Musk said Tuesday that he would “reverse the permanent ban” of former President Donald Trump on Twitter and let him back on the social network, in one of the first specific comments by Musk of how he would change the social media service.
Musk, who struck a deal last month to buy Twitter for $44 billion, said at a Financial Times conference that the company’s decision to bar Trump last year for tweets about the riot at the U.S. Capitol was “a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.” He added that it was “morally wrong and flat-out stupid” and that “permanent bans just fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter.”
Musk’s remarks were a preview of the kinds of changes he might make at Twitter, which he is expected to take ownership of in the next six months. The billionaire has called himself a “free speech absolutist” and has said he is unhappy with how Twitter decides what can and cannot be posted online.
Trump, who has since begun a social media site called Truth Social, did not respond to a request for comment. Last month, Trump said that even with Musk buying Twitter, he did not plan to return to the platform and was “going to stay on Truth.”
Twitter declined to comment.
Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, said that free speech online needed to come with guardrails.
“Mr. Musk: Free speech is wonderful; hate speech is unacceptable,” he said. “Do not allow 45 to return to the platform. Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech or falsehoods that subvert our democracy.”
Even with Musk’s comments, Trump’s potential return to Twitter remains far from assured.
Investors have questioned whether Musk’s deal for Twitter would be completed. The company’s shares closed Tuesday at $47.26, well below the $54.20 that Musk agreed to pay for them. Musk is also still securing financing for his takeover.
Musk referred to the possibility of the deal not closing Tuesday and of nothing happening with Trump’s Twitter account. “Obviously, I don’t own Twitter yet,” he said. “So this is not a thing that will definitely happen because what if I don’t own Twitter.”
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5/14(土)の放送の英文記事と英単語：賠償金、補償、唖然とする
Surfside Condo Collapse Victims Reach $997 Million Settlement
settlement 賠償金
compensate 補償
staggering 唖然とする
testimony （法廷での）証言
pitted against 互いに対抗している
from scratch ゼロから
class-action 集団訴訟
著者：Patricia Mazzei and Livia Albeck-Ripka
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
MIAMI — Families of the victims of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida, that killed 98 people last year have reached a $997 million settlement to compensate them for their staggering losses of life.
The settlement, revealed at a court hearing Wednesday and still pending final approval, includes insurance companies, developers of an adjacent building and other defendants in the extensive civil case. It comes six weeks before the anniversary of the tragedy June 24.
“I’m shocked by this result — I think it’s fantastic,” said Judge Michael Hanzman of the Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County.
Before Wednesday’s surprise announcement, the judge had approved a far smaller settlement of $83 million to be split among condo unit owners for their property losses. No compensation had been determined for the families of the dead, who would now receive the $997 million.
How the money will be divided among the relatives of the 98 victims will be determined in the coming weeks. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is still investigating what caused the 13-story, 135-unit building to partially crumble in the middle of the night, a review that could take years.
The differing compensation for victims’ families, who lost loved ones, and survivors, who lost condo units, led to significant friction between the groups and to raw, emotional court testimony at a hearing in March that pitted the two sides against each other.
At first, any settlement seemed unlikely. Some victims’ families argued that all the money recovered through the lawsuit should go to them, and none to the unit owners. Hanzman disagreed, saying unit owners had to rebuild their lives from scratch after their steep economic losses.
Hanzman approved that $83 million settlement in March, with no guarantee that more money would follow for the victims’ families — and the possibility of a long, dragged-out trial that could last years, as many class-action cases do.
The much larger settlement for the victims’ families made public Wednesday came about after the developers of the adjacent luxury building, Eighty Seven Park, and a slew of contractors and consultants who had been sued or investigated by the victims’ lawyers signed on.
In all, the total amount recovered for both the victims’ families and the survivors could surpass $1.1 billion.
Hanzman said he would like to finalize the settlement before June 24 and compensate survivors and victims’ families by the fall.
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5/15(日)の放送の英文記事と英単語：弁解する、正反対、押し売りする
Robredo Admits Defeat in Philippine Presidential Election
Mar 損なう、台無しにする
Plead 弁解する、弁論する 、嘆願する
Sordid 汚い、卑劣な、あさましい
Antithesis 正反対、対照、アンチテーゼ
Tout 押し売りする、うるさく勧誘する
Concession 譲歩、免許、採掘権・使用権
著者：Sui-Lee Wee and Camille Elemia
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
QUEZON CITY, Philippines — Leni Robredo, the outgoing vice president of the Philippines, acknowledged Friday her loss in one of the most consequential presidential elections in the country’s history, urging her supporters to accept the results of the vote and to keep fighting disinformation.
Speaking at a rally at the Ateneo de Manila University, where thousands of her supporters had gathered, Robredo did not mention the apparent winner, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the country’s late dictator.
Protests against Marcos erupted after preliminary results Monday night showed he had won by the biggest margin in more than three decades. But the election had been marred by complaints of vote buying and broken ballot-counting machines.
Robredo said her team was still looking into the reports of voter fraud but stressed that “as the picture becomes clearer, we need to start accepting that the results of the elections did not go according to our plan.”
“We need to accept the majority’s decision,” she said. “I plead that you join me in this cause.”
Robredo then criticized the “massive machinery to spread hate and lies,” without elaborating. “This stole the truth, as it also stole our history and future,” she said.
Disinformation is not unique to the Philippines, but it has flourished in recent campaigns. The outcome of this election shows how the Marcos family has been successful, at least in part, in rebranding its legacy. It has told Filipinos to “move on” from its sordid past and emphasized that the violent 20-year rule of Marcos’ father was marked by dozens of infrastructure projects and strong economic growth.
Many of the young supporters in the crowd cried when they saw her take the stage. In the months leading up to the election, hundreds of thousands of them had mounted an unprecedented grassroots movement, going door to door to campaign for the only woman in the race. Her supporters saw her as the antithesis to Marcos, touting her as a leader with a track record who could bring about change.
Although Robredo did not offer a formal concession, her remarks acknowledged her almost certain defeat. Official results of this week’s election are expected by the end of the month.
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