●The Tokyo Olympic Games has been rescheduled1

The Tokyo Olympic Games has been rescheduled to July 23 to August 8， 2021， organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic2 Games announced3. The Paralympic Games will be held from August 24 to September 5 next year. Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori told a news conference that the decision is important. They had also talked about the possibility to host the Games in the spring but finally chose summer.

IOC （International Olympic Committee） President Thomas Bach expressed his confidence that the IOC can “master this unprecedented4 challenge”.

“Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel，” he said.

○東京奥运会改期

东京2020年奥运会和残奥会主办方宣布，东京奥运会改在2021年7月23日至8月8日举行。残奥会将于明年8月24日至9月5日举行。2020年东京奥运会主席森喜朗在新闻发布会上表示，这一决定非常重要。他们也讨论过在春天举办奥运会的可能性，但最后选择了夏天。

国际奥委会主席托马斯·巴赫表示，他相信国际奥委会能够“驾驭这一前所未有的挑战”。

他说：“人类现在正身处黑暗的隧道中。2020年东京奥运会能成为这条隧道尽头的一盏明灯。”

●Finland tries to stop falling birth rates

Parents in Finland will get seven months to spend with their babies. This is almost double the amount of the current leave. Each parent will get 164 days and give up to 69 of their days to their partner. Single parents will get 328 days. Current parental leave gives four months to mothers and two months to fathers. The government explained it wants to put the child “at the centre of family benefits and promote wellbeing”.

○芬兰设法阻止出生率下降

在芬兰的父母将有七个月的时间来陪伴他们的宝宝。这几乎是目前假期的两倍。每位父母将获得164天的假期，父母中的一方最多可以送69天假期给对方。单身父母将获得328天的假期。而目前母亲的育儿假为四个月，父亲的为两个月。政府解释说，他们希望把孩子放在“家庭福利的中心，并增进福祉”。

【Notes】

1. reschedule [     ] vt. 重新排定日程

2. Paralympic [     ] n. 残奥会

3. announce [     ] vt. 宣布

4. unprecedented [     ] adj. 空前的;无前例的