The President asked, why had he returned to France when he did, and not sooner?

庭长问他为什么到那时候才回到法国，而没有早些回来？

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By the end of the century, if not sooner, the world's oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate, according to a new study.

据一项新的研究显示，最晚到本世纪末，全球的海洋会因气候变暖而变得更蓝、更绿。

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We sent out a very clear message that we believed in an orderly transition, a meaningful transition, and a transition that needed to happen not later, but sooner.

奥巴马说：“我们发出了一个非常清晰的信息，那就是我们相信会出现一个有秩序的过渡，一个有意义的过渡，而这个过渡需要更快地进行。

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She urged both sides to return to talks as soon as possible and backed Israel's assertion that all demands over settlements should be dealt with during negotiations,not sooner.

VOA: standard.2009.11.01

Unfortunately Mr Herbert has not been able to announce when his emergency bill will appear, or what is going to be in it - the House was pretty incredulous, and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper wasted no time in tearing into the government for not acting sooner, and for not being able to offer MPs a timetable for action.

BBC: Police minister Nick Herbert under pressure over bail

"I expect a full and detailed explanation from the Rutgers administration as to why Mr. Rice was not dismissed sooner and how exactly that decision was made, " said Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, a Democrat, who implied that legislative action could be taken if the university isn't forthcoming.

WSJ: Rutgers Fires Head Basketball Coach Mike Rice

Some economists are surprised that the trade deficit, especially with euro-zone countries, did not widen sooner than it did and has not widened by more.

ECONOMIST: The economy