VOA常速英语2021--东京奥运会创意总监让女性艺人扮猪而引咎辞职（在线收听）

The European Commission's chief executive has criticized Anglo-Swedish vaccine-maker AstraZeneca on Wednesday, accusing the embattled pharmaceutical company of delaying Europe's coronavirus vaccination campaign and warning the EU is weighing export bans to ensure supplies. Ursula von der Leyen said that the company originally pledged to deliver 90 million doses of its shot in the first three months of the year. It later said it could only provide 40 million, then more recently only 30 million. She also said the EU exports vaccines to other countries but threatened to withhold the shots from other nations that do not reciprocate. "We want to see reciprocity and proportionality in exports. And we are ready to use whatever tool we need to deliver on that." The escalating concern is another setback for the EU's vaccination drive, which has been plagued by shortages and other hurdles and is lagging well behind campaigns in Britain and the United States.

欧盟委员会首席执行官周三抨击了英瑞疫苗制造商阿斯利康，指责这家处境艰难的制药公司拖延了欧洲的冠状病毒疫苗接种活动，并发出警告称欧盟正在权衡出口禁令，以确保供应。乌尔苏拉·冯·德·莱恩表示，阿斯利康公司最初承诺在今年前三个月提供9000万剂疫苗。后来说只能提供4000万，最近又说只能提供3000万。她还表示，欧盟会向其他国家出口疫苗，但威胁说，欧盟不会向其他不互惠的国家提供疫苗。“我们希望看到出口的互惠性和相称性，并准备使用我们所需的任何工具来实现这一目标。”人们不断升级的担忧是欧盟疫苗接种运动面对的另一挫折。该运动一直受到剂量短缺等障碍的困扰，致使欧盟的接种速度远远落后于英国和美国的接种运动。

Tokyo Olympics creative head Hiroshi Sasaki said he has resigned after making a derogatory comment about a popular female Japanese entertainer in the latest controversy over insensitive remarks toward women to hit the Games organizers. Sasaki, who was the head creative director for the opening and closing ceremonies at this year's Games, said he had told a planning group through a group chat that comedian Naomi Watanabe, who is heavyset, could play a role as an "Olympig." Sasaki said in a statement to Olympic organizers that his words were "inappropriate" and apologized to Watanabe and to those offended by his remarks. Last month, Yoshiro Mori stepped down from his role as president of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee after causing a furor with sexist remarks when he said women talk too much in meetings.

东京奥运会创意负责人佐佐木宏表示，他已经辞职，原因是他最近对一位日本当红女艺人发表的贬损性评论引发了争议，其对女性的漠视言论让奥运会主办单位勃然大怒。曾担任今年奥运会开幕式和闭幕式创意总监的佐佐木宏表示，他在群聊中告知策划组，身材圆润的喜剧演员渡边直美可以扮演“奥林pig”的角色。佐佐木宏在向东奥主办单位发表的声明中说，他言论“不当”，并向渡边直美和那些对他的言论感到冒犯的人道歉。上个月，森喜朗辞去了东京2020年组委会主席的职务，因为他说女性在会议上说得太多，引起了一场性别歧视言论的骚动。

New York Metropolitan Opera conductor James Levine has died of natural causes in Palm Springs, California. He was 77. AP's Margie Szaroleta has more. James Levine conducted for the Cleveland Orchestra and Chicago's Ravinia Festival but his acclaimed fame was presiding over the New York Metropolitan Opera for four decades. He conducted 2,552 performances, endorsed the orchestra's world-class reputation. He was forced out in 2016 due to Parkinson's disease and became music director emeritus. He was fired in 2018 over allegations of sexual misconduct. Levine had planned to perform this past January in Italy but the concert was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. I'm Margie Szaroleta. Visit voanews.com for more. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd, VOA news.

纽约大都会歌剧院指挥詹姆斯·莱文在加州棕榈泉自然死亡。享年77岁。请听美联社记者玛姬·萨罗莱塔带来报道。詹姆斯·莱文曾为克利夫兰管弦乐团和芝加哥拉维尼亚音乐节担任指挥，但他在纽约大都会歌剧院担任音乐总监长达四十年之久，声名鹊起。他指挥了2552场演出，帮助乐团获得世界级声誉。2016年，他因帕金森病被迫离职，并成为名誉音乐总监。他在2018年因性行为不端的指控被解雇。莱文原计划今年1月在意大利演出，但音乐会由于新冠疫情而取消了。我是玛姬·萨罗莱。你可以通过voanews.com浏览更多新闻。我是大卫·伯德，为您远程报道美国之音新闻。