川普示意美国可能重返TPP
美国总统川普星期四下令他的最高经济和贸易顾问们考虑重新加入跨太平洋合作关系协定(TPP)。去年，在上任总统三天后，川普宣布放弃美国与11个国家签订的这项贸易协定。
来自农业州的议员们在白宫参加了农业贸易问题的会议后说，川普让他的新任经济顾问拉里·库德洛和美国贸易代表罗伯特莱特希泽考虑重新加入TPP有什么好处。这项协定是前总统奥巴马时期谈判达成的。
川普经常表明他更喜欢美国与其它国家达成双边贸易协定，而不是多边协定。他认为，在那些大范围贸易协定中，美国得不到好处。他为什么现在愿意考虑重新加入TPP，目前还不清楚。
TPP没有包括仅次于美国的世界第二大经济实体中国。在美国退出TPP之后。另外11个国家自行达成协议并在上个月签署了《全面与进步跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》(CPTPP)。
在川普把记者请走之前的会议开场发言期间，川普让议员们放心，在中国发出新的关税威胁以及美国和加拿大与墨西哥紧张谈判之际，他打算为美国的农民谋求更好的贸易协定。
他说：“当我们一切都完成的时候，将会很好的。农民们的情形会非常的棒。农业会得到100%的照料。”
这位美国领导人说，“中国一向对美国农民很差”，他提到北京禁止销售美国牛肉长达14年，直到去年才解禁。
最近，川普宣布打算对价值1500亿美元的中国进口产品征收新的或更高的关税之后，中国表示将对一系列的美国产品征收新的关税，这些产品包括小麦、大豆、玉米、蔓越莓和橙汁，这让美国农民担心他们的生计受到了威胁。
Trump Suggests US Possibly Rejoining TPP
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered his top economic and trade advisers to look into rejoining the Pacific-rim trade pact with 11 other countries that he abandoned last year three days after he assumed power.
Farm-state lawmakers, after attending a White House meeting on agricultural trade, said Trump told his new economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to weigh the benefits of re-entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership that had been negotiated by the administration of former President Barack Obama.
Trump has often stated his preference for bilateral trade deals, the United States with one other country, rather than multinational pacts, in the belief that the United States does not fare well in bigger trade deals. It was not immediately clear why he now is open to rejoining the TPP.
After the U.S. dropped out of the Pacific-rim deal — one that did not include China, the world's second biggest economy after the U.S. — the 11 remaining countries formed their own pact, signing a deal last month called the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership.
During opening statements at the meeting before Trump shooed out reporters, he assured the lawmakers that he intends to negotiate better trade deals for the American farmer in the face of threatened new Chinese tariffs and as contentious negotiations evolve with Canada and Mexico.
"It'll be very good when we get it all finished," Trump said. "The farmers will do fantastically well. Agriculture will be taken care of 100 percent."
The U.S. leader contended that "China has consistently treated the American farmer very poorly," noting that Beijing had until last year blocked U.S. beef sales for 14 years.
Now, in response to Trump's announced intention to impose new or higher tariffs on $150 billion worth of Chinese imports, China says it will impose new levies on an array of U.S. exports, including wheat, soybeans, corn, cranberries and orange juice, raising fears among U.S. farmers that their livelihoods are threatened.
研究：动物玩具广受青睐实际对野生动物有害
儿童喜爱动物看来理所当然，但是科研人员说，儿童对动物的喜爱实际上可能会淡化公众头脑中有关这些动物濒临灭绝的境地。
PLOS Biology杂志上刊登的研究列举了作者认为全世界最受人喜爱的动物：老虎、狮子、大象、长颈鹿、豹、熊猫、猎豹、北极熊、灰狼和大猩猩。
科研人员说，这些动物经常在漫画和电影中以及以玩具的形式出现，使人们产生了这些动物的“假象数量”。人们因为觉得这些动物随处可见，所以会认为它们在野生环境中没有灭绝的危险。
论文作者列举了广受欢迎的法国儿童玩具“苏菲长颈鹿”的例子。2010年法国总共销售了80万个苏菲长颈鹿，这个数量相当于非洲野生长颈鹿实际总量的8倍还要多。
论文作者建议玩具公司以及任何使用濒临灭绝动物为商标的人捐出部分利润，用于保护野生动物。
Study: Popularity of Wildlife Could Actually Cause Harm
Kids and animals are a natural match, but researchers say the love youngsters have for animals may actually be clouding the public's mind about how endangered they are.
The study in the journal PLOS Biology lists what the authors say are the world's 10 most charismatic animals: tigers, lions, elephants, giraffes leopards, pandas, cheetahs, polar bears, gray wolves and gorillas.
They say the common appearance of these animals in cartoons, movies, and toys have led to what they call "virtual populations" -- people believe these animals are not at risk of extinction in the wild because they appear to be everywhere.
The study uses the popular French baby toy "Sophie the Giraffe" as an example. Eight-hundred thousand Sophie toys were sold in France in 2010 -- more than eight times the number of real giraffes living in Africa.
The authors recommend toy companies and anyone else who uses endangered species as trademarks donate some of their profits to wildlife conservation.
