（A）They say the economic slowdown of the past few years was not the only cause of high unemployment.
(B) They say robots could do almost all jobs in heavy industry in ten years.
明明是“他们过去说过”，为什么要用一般现在时 say，而不用一般过去时 said 呢？
不言而喻，在上面的句子里当然可以使用一般过去时 said，但是，使用一般现在时也是符合英语惯用法的。人们使用像 say, tell, hear, learn, realize, understand 这样一些动词的一般现在时表示过去，意在表明：虽然这些动作发生在过去，但它所产生的结果还在发生作用。例如：
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Labor leaders say they are not happy about robots taking jobs from people. But they say they understand that factories need the increased production that robots bring. They realize that companies must produce more if they are to compete and survive. Writer Robert Cartner of "Atlantic" magazine says that everyone is for technical progress. He says the more robots in use, the better. He says the important question is how to spread the higher earnings of increased production. (VOA) 一些劳工领导人说，他们对于机器人夺走人的工作感到不悦。但他们说工厂需要机器人来增加生产，这一点他们是理解的。他们也认识到，如果要竞争、要生存，公司就必须提高产量。在《大西洋》杂志上发表文章的作家罗伯特·卡特纳说，大家都赞成技术进步。他说投入使用的机器人越多越好。他还说重要的问题是如何分配生产增加后所带来的更高的收益。
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I hear that poor Mr Simpson has gone into hospital. (CGEL) 我听说可怜的辛普森先生已经去住院了。
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The Book of Genesis speaks of the terrible fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. (CGEL) 《创世纪》这本书讲述了所多马城和蛾摩拉城可怕的灾难。
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Tradition tells us that the first Thanksgiving in America was celebrated in 1621 by early Pilgrim settlers from England. 据传说，美国第一次庆祝感恩节是最早来美国定居的英国清教徒于1621年举行的。
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Your correspondent Smith writes in the issue of February 1st that the West is in the grip of a new economic crisis. 你们的通讯记者史密斯在二月一日出版的那一期里写道:西方正陷于新的经济危机之中。
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Oddly, Da Vinci appears to have forgotten paint the Cup of Christ. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 可奇怪的是, 达·芬奇好像忘了把圣杯画上去。(《达·芬奇密码》)