正文文本

China and the European Union have announced the completion of their negotiations over a bilateral investment agreement.
The announcement was made during a meeting between President Xi Jinping and European leaders via video link.
The Chinese president called the agreement "balanced and high-standard," expecting it to provide greater market access, a higher level business environment, and stronger institutional guarantees for mutual investment.
He says the treaty will greatly boost the global recovery in the post-pandemic era and enhance the confidence in economic globalization and free trade.
The European leaders called the completion of the negotiations a milestone in the development of EU-China relations, calling for closer cooperation between the two sides on issues such as sustainable development and WTO reform.
The purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51.9 in December.
The figure edged down 0.2 points from last month, but still remains in expansion territory.
Meanwhile, the index for the non-manufacturing sector stood at 55.7, down from 56.4 in November.
China's market regulator has fined JD.Com, Alibaba's Tmall and Tencent-backed Vipshop 500 thousand yuan each, roughly 77 thousand US dollars, for irregular pricing.
The retail giants have been blamed for pricing strategies related to the Double-11 shopping spree, such as increasing prices prior to offering discounts, false promotion and inducing transactions.
China is taking steps to prevent monopolistic behavior by internet firms.
Earlier this month, the State Administration of Market Regulation announced fines on Alibaba, China Literature, and Shenzhen Hive Box for not reporting deals subject to anti-trust reviews.
U.S. COVID-19 deaths have surpassed 340 thousand with the national case count topping 19.6 million.
The country saw the deadliest day since the pandemic began on Tuesday, with over 37 hundred deaths associated with the virus reported.
An updated forecast has projected close to 570 thousand COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. by April 1, based on current scenarios.
The British government says it will put huge swathes of England into strict COVID-19 restrictions to counter a highly infectious variant.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the National Health Service is under significant pressure and fast action is needed.
"There are over 21,000 people in hospital with coronavirus right now. And we can see the impact that this is having. The threat to life from this virus is real and the pressures on the NHS are real too."
Britain is the first country in the world to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneva COVID-19 vaccine.
The British regulator says one dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is around 70% effective after 21 days and before the second dose is given.
The effectiveness is up to 80% when there is a three-month interval between first and second doses.
The UK government has ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
It will start to be administered on Monday, starting with the most at risk groups.

Turkey is now testing samples from the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from China's Sinovac.
The shipment of 3 million doses is part of a deal for a total of 50 million.
The Turkish Health Minister says authorities will begin inoculations after the testing process is completed.
First, Ankara plans doses for health workers and those older than 65, followed by those older than 50 and suffering at least one chronic illness.
Last week, Turkish researchers said interim analysis showed the Chinese vaccine was over 91 percent effective.
The last full moon of the year cast its glow over Greece on Wednesday.
This full moon is known as the "Cold Moon."
It has also been referred to as the "Long Night Moon" by the native American Mohican tribe, as it's closest to the winter solstice and will shine above the horizon for longer than most full moons.

参考译文

中国与欧盟宣布，完成双边投资协定的谈判。
习近平主席与欧洲领导人进行视频会晤时共同宣布了这一消息。
中国国家主席称这是一份“平衡、高水平的”协定，期望其能为相互投资提供更大的市场准入、更高水平的营商环境以及更有力的制度保障。
他表示，这一协定将极大的拉动后疫情时期世界经济复苏，增强经济全球化和自由贸易的信心。
欧洲领导人称谈判的完成是欧中关系发展的里程碑，呼吁双方在可持续发展和世贸组织改革等问题上加强合作。
12月中国制造业采购经理指数为51.9%。
该数据较上月小幅下降0.2个百分点，但仍处于扩张区间。
与此同时，非制造业指数为55.7%，低于11月的56.4%。
因定价不规范，中国市场监管机构对京东、阿里巴巴旗下的天猫以及腾讯支持的唯品会各处以50万元（约合7.7万美元）罚款。
这些零售巨头因“双十一”购物狂欢价格策略受指责，这些策略包括先提价后打折、虚假促销、诱导交易等。
中国正在采取措施防止互联网企业的垄断行为。
本月早些时候，国家市场监管总局宣布对阿里巴巴、阅文和深圳丰巢处以罚款，原因是这些公司未申报接受反垄断审查的交易。
美国新冠肺炎死亡人数已超34万人，全美病例总数超过1960万例。
周二是美国疫情爆发以来最致命的一天，据报道，与病毒相关的死亡人数超过3700人。
根据目前情况进行的最新预测显示，预计到4月1日，美国新冠肺炎死亡人数将接近57万人。
英国政府表示，将对英格兰大片地区实施严格的新冠肺炎限制措施，以应对高传染性的病毒变种。
英国卫生大臣马特·汉考克表示，国家医疗服务体系面临巨大压力，需要迅速采取行动。
“目前有超过2.1万人因冠状病毒住院。我们可以看到这带来的影响。这种病毒对生命的威胁是真实存在的，对英国国家医疗服务体系的压力也是真实存在的。”
英国是世界上首个批准牛津-阿斯利康新冠肺炎疫苗的国家。
英国监管机构表示，一剂牛津-阿斯利康疫苗在21天后和第二剂接种之前的有效性约为70%。
第一剂和第二剂之间间隔三个月时，有效性可达80%。
英国政府已订购1亿剂牛津-阿斯利康疫苗。
英国将于周一从风险最高的人群开始接种。
土耳其目前正在测试来自中国科兴生物制品有限公司的首批新冠肺炎疫苗样品。
这批300万剂疫苗是总额为5000万剂的交易的一部分。
土耳其卫生部长表示，有关部门将在测试过程完成后开始接种。
土耳其政府计划首先为卫生工作者和65岁以上的老年人接种，然后为50岁以上和患有至少一种慢性病的人群接种。
上周，土耳其研究人员表示，中期分析显示中国疫苗的有效性超过91%。
周三，希腊迎来今年最后一轮满月。
这轮满月被称为“冷月”。
它也被美国本土的莫西干族称为“长夜月”，因为它离冬至最近，在地平线上方的照耀时间将比大多数满月更长。

重点讲解

重点讲解：
1. prior to 在…之前；先于；
It happened prior to his arrival.
这事发生在他到达以前。
2. be subject to 受…支配的；服从于…的；
This is subject to your approval.
请你审批。
3. a total of 总数；总共；
The project which began in 2007 is supposed to cost a total of 8,000,000,000 dollars.
这项工程从2007年开始，预计总共花费80亿美元。
4. be known as 称为；叫做；
She was known as the "Iron Lady".
大家都称她为“铁娘子”。