1. Russia suggested that its citizens living in Syria should leave in light of its “difficult military and political situation”. On Friday Syrian rebels moved closer to Homs, a city between Aleppo and Damascus, the capital. Syrian and Russian warplanes reportedly struck the north of Hama province. The rebels have captured the cities of Hama and Aleppo following a surprise insurgency on November 27th. 俄羅斯建議其居住在敘利亞的公民離開，理由是當前「艱難的軍事和政治局勢」。週五，敘利亞叛軍向霍姆斯推進，該城市位於阿勒頗與首都大馬士革之間。據報導，敘利亞和俄羅斯的戰機對哈馬省北部進行了空襲。叛軍於11月27日發動突襲，隨後占領了哈馬和阿勒頗兩座城市。敘利亞的動亂主要源於2011年開始的內戰，其背景和影響如下： 2. Burkina Faso’sruling military junta issued a decree sacking the interim prime minister and dissolving the government. The decree said that officials would continue serving in their roles until a new cabinet could be formed. The prime minister was appointed shortly after the** junta** seized power in 2022, in what was Burkina Faso’s second coup in less than a year. 布吉納法索執政的軍事政變政府發布法令，宣布解職過渡期總理並解散政府。法令指出，在新內閣組成之前，各官員將繼續履行其職責。這位總理是在2022年軍事政變政府上台後不久被任命的，而這次政變是布吉納法索一年內的第二次政變。過去十年，布吉納法索經歷了政治動蕩、政變、恐怖主義威脅和人道危機，以下是關鍵事件和背景： 3. American employers added 227,000 jobs in November, a rebound from a revised figure of 36,000 in October. (Last month’s jobs report was affected by hurricanes and strikes.) Analysts had expected 200,000 new roles. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in November, up from 4.1% in October. The data could** confirm expectations** for a quarter-point rate cut in December. 美國雇主於11月新增22.7萬個就業崗位，相較於10月經修訂後的3.6萬人實現大幅回升。（上月的就業報告因颶風和罷工受到影響。）分析師原預測新增就業崗位為20萬。11月失業率從10月的4.1%升至4.2%。該數據可能印證市場對12月進行四分之一個百分點利率下調的預期。 4. An appeals court in Washington, DC, upheld a law that could ban TikTokon national-security grounds. The law requires that TikTok be sold to a non-Chinese owner by January 19th or shut down. In May the social-media giant sued to block the law, arguing that it violates free speech. Donald Trump, who is set to take office a day after it comes into effect, has previously vowed to “save TikTok”. 美國華盛頓特區的一家上訴法院維持了一項可能基於國家安全理由禁止 TikTok 的法律。該法律要求 TikTok 必須在1月19日之前出售給非中國的所有者，否則將被關閉。今年5月，這家社交媒體巨頭提起訴訟以阻止該法律，主張其違反言論自由。唐納·川普將於該法律生效後一天正式上任，他此前曾承諾要「拯救 TikTok」。 5. The European Union and Mercosur—a customs union made up of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay—signed a long-awaited trade deal. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, called it a “win-win” agreement, with EU companies saving €4bn ($4.2bn) on export duties per year. That will** invigorate** an ailing Mercosur. But French farmers will probably continue to oppose the deal. 歐盟與南方共同市場（Mercosur）——由阿根廷、玻利維亞、巴西、巴拉圭和烏拉圭組成的關稅同盟——簽署了一項期待已久的貿易協議。歐盟委員會主席烏爾蘇拉·馮德萊恩稱其為一項「雙贏」協議，預計歐盟企業每年將節省40億歐元（約42億美元）的出口關稅，這將為陷入困境的南方共同市場注入活力。然而，法國農民可能會繼續反對該協議。 6. America’s agriculture department ordered the country’s milk supply to be tested for the H5N1 avian flu virus, beginning in six states this month. Those that farm, transport or process unpasteurised milk will be required to share samples. Infected cattle must be reported and monitored. The bug, which has been spreading rapidly among dairy cows in 2024, has the potential to cause a human pandemic. 美國農業部下令對全國的牛奶供應進行H5N1禽流感病毒檢測，本月起將在六個州展開檢測。從事生產、運輸或加工未經巴氏殺菌牛奶的相關單位必須提交樣本。受感染的乳牛必須被通報並接受監測。該病毒自2024年以來在乳牛間快速傳播，具有引發人類大流行的潛在風險。 ***12/01 TOEFL Questions Speaking no1 Score for students based on ONE long assignment or SEVERAL short assignments? Writing 1. Replace old historic building or preserve it -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

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