2008年7月31日 星期四

mirage, pension, call on sth, call off

Calling on Gospel to Call Off Debt
Following the advice of their pastor, the men and women shuffled to the altar, cut up their credit cards and placed them near his feet.
(By Ovetta Wiggins, The Washington Post)







The prophet of pensions
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
Management guru Peter Drucker predicted in 1950 that unfunded pensions would turn out to be a "mirage." Workers at many failed companies later learned this ...



pension was found in the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary at the entries listed below.


mirage
noun [C]
1 an image, produced by very hot air, of something which seems to be far away but does not really exist

2 LITERARY a hope or desire that has no chance of being achieved:
Electoral victory is just a distant mirage.


call off


1. Summon away, restrain, as in Please call off your dog. [Early 1600s]
2. Cancel some plan or undertaking, as in She decided to call off their engagement, or In case of rain the picnic will be called off. [Late 1800s]


call sth off (ACTIVITY) phrasal verb [M]
to decide that a planned event, especially a sports event, will not happen, or to end an activity because it is no longer useful or possible:
Tomorrow's match has been called off because of the icy weather.
The police have called off the search for the missing child until dawn tomorrow.


call on sth (USE) phrasal verb FORMAL
to use something, especially a quality that you have, in order to achieve something:
She would have to call on all her strength if she was to survive the next few months.

call on sb
(ASK) phrasal verb [+ to infinitive]
to ask someone in a formal way to do something:
They're calling on all men and boys over the age of 14 to join the army.
FORMAL I now call on everyone to raise a glass to the happy couple.

2008年7月30日 星期三

the 用例

BBC一篇報導Cambridge一段如下
錯誤在 parade 應大寫
其實還要加 the
包括 應是
the BBC
這the 最容易為非以英文為母語者忽略
譬如說
書明Out of the Crisis
由於中文中沒the "直接"翻譯回去就沒啦

我們可以看這字典中之 the相關詞



parade
3 UK a row of shops

4 UK Parade used in the names of some roads:
It's a small road off Park Parade.

剑桥大学有许多石结构建筑,沿着国王学院(King's College)正面的那条国王大街(King's parade? 應是 * The Kings Parade)便可一览无遗。
Kings College chapel and shops on the Kings Parade, Cambridge
Kings College chapel and shops on the Kings Parade, Cambridge

tomalley, get baked

In New England, lobster officials want to get out the message that lobster meat is safe to eat. Most consumers already avoided the tomalley before the FDA advisory, they said.
"Yes, the tomalley during red tide season is not good. But once you get rid of the tomalley, the lobster meat is terrific," Spinazzola said.




www.boston.com/.../galleries/lobsters?pg=12

第12步
Scrape out the green tomalley, or liver, from the lobster's body. Some recipes, such as baked stuffed lobster and lobster bisque, use the liver.


Urban Dictionary: get baked

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=get%20baked

get baked. Smoking a larger than normal quantity of marijuana, usually resulting in a good few hours of laziness, desire to eat fast food (or junk food) and/or fall ...

tomalley

(tə-măl'ē, tŏm'ăl'ē) pronunciation
n., pl. -leys.
The soft, green liver of cooked lobster, considered a delicacy.
[Galibi tamali.]
Wikipedia article "Tomalley".

tomalley

(tə-măl'ē, tŏm'ăl'ē) pronunciation

2008年7月29日 星期二

newspeak

newspeak

('spēk', nyū'-) pronunciation

n.

Deliberately ambiguous and contradictory language used to mislead and manipulate the public.

[From Newspeak, a language invented by George Orwell in the novel 1984.]

閱讀全文


北京真的準備好了﹖

2008年07月28日13:31



京奧運會組織者表示他們已經兌現了申奧時的承諾﹐
而眼下圍繞著媒體準入、互聯網審查以及空氣污染的批評之聲愈顯沸沸揚揚。

眼下距離奧運會開幕還有11天時間﹐數以千計的運動員、記者以及觀眾已開始涌入北京。七年前北京申辦奧運之時曾許下了一系列承諾﹐表示要讓這個城市為此次國際盛會做好準備﹐其中包括改善基礎建設、整治污染、開放國外媒體報導等等。

特別報導
2008年北京奧運會
北京市規劃委員會(Beijing Municipal Planning Commission)副主任談緒祥在週日的新聞發佈會上表示﹐北京2008年奧運會將使用的37個競賽場館和56個訓練場館已全面竣工﹐即將迎來世界各國的賓朋。但是與會記者仍不依不饒地追問中國政府對其他承諾的履行情況。

雖然報導奧運的註冊記者人數已達到了大約2萬人﹐但他們當中有些人表示自己並不能以習以為常的自由方式進行報導。上週在場面混亂的最後一批奧運門票銷售現場﹐中國警察和香港記者之間爆發了肢體衝突。至少一名記者遭到了警方拘留﹐而且當時的錄像顯示身著制服的警察粗暴地詢問、有時還推擠、攻擊了幾名記者。香港記者協會(Hong Kong Journalists Association)將這一事件稱為對新聞自由的肆意踐踏。

北京奧組委媒體運行部部長孫維佳並未在週日的新聞發佈會上對這一系列事件置評﹐但他表示中國政府已經創造了一個非常良好、非常自由的監管環境。

中國方面還投入了大量資源來加強安全保衛﹐防範在奧運期間可能出現的恐怖襲擊和政治抗議。上週五﹐美國某恐怖活動監控公司披露了一段從一自稱為土耳其斯坦伊斯蘭黨(Turkistan Islamic Party)的組織獲得的錄影﹐他們威脅稱將在奧運期間發動襲擊﹐並表示為近期中國幾起致人傷亡的爆炸事件負責。

該組織的真實身份尚不明瞭﹐但似乎和聚居於中國西部新疆地區、一直對中央統治有所不滿的維吾爾族有關。雖然一些非官方背景的專家對該聲明中關於爆炸案部分的表述存有疑問﹐但中國安全部門很快就排除了這種可能。中國官方媒體新華社表示﹐沒有證據顯示這些爆炸事件是恐怖團體所為。

對奧運組織者來說﹐最顯而易見的挑戰是依然嚴重的污染問題。當週日奧組委舉行奧運村開村儀式時﹐北京仍籠罩在一片濃霧之中﹐從臨近的高速公路都幾乎看不見“鳥巢”體育場。雖然從7月20日開始北京就已經嚴格執行了機動車單雙號分日行駛的規定、限制路上車流規模﹐但上週四至週日的空氣污染指數仍達到了輕度污染的3級。雖然名義上是“輕度污染”﹐但這仍屬於較為嚴重的空氣污染狀況﹐也超出了中國的國家標準。

北京市環保局副局長杜少中表示﹐近日來北京潮濕少風的天氣不利於污染物擴散。

他還表示﹐不可能能僅憑能見度、或逐日比較來判斷空氣污染的情況。杜少中指出﹐從過去連續九年來看﹐北京的空氣質量一直在改善。

杜少中指出﹐他相信到8月份時北京四項主要污染物指標能符合世界衛生組織(WHO)的要求﹐如果遇到極端的、不利於污染物擴散的氣象條件﹐北京市將在已有措施基礎上採取更為嚴格的控制措施﹐確保奧運會期間北京空氣品質良好。

他表示﹐這一切最終應該於奧運會來檢驗。

另一個與媒體相關的批評是互聯網的接入問題﹐根據其一貫做法﹐中國政府會過濾掉與政治和色情有關的內容。國際奧委會主席雅克•羅格(Jacques Rogge)今年4月份在接受採訪時曾表示﹐他已經得到了北京方面的保證﹐絕不會審查註冊記者的網絡使用。

但是在剛剛開放的北京奧運會主新聞中心(Main Press Center)里﹐仍有十餘個網站無法登錄﹐其中包括部分知名媒體的網站﹕香港發行量第二大的報紙《蘋果日報》(Apple Daily)以及英國廣播公司(British Broadcasting Corp.)的中文網站等等。其他不能登錄的網站還有國際救援組織樂施會(Oxfam)的香港網站﹐維基百科(Wikipedia)中文版以及香港影星劉德華(Andy Lau)的個人網站。

孫維佳在新聞發佈會上回答相關提問時表示﹐他並未聽說這件事﹐並強調互聯網接入不成問題。隨後又有幾名記者向他反映了在主新聞中心的類似經歷﹐孫維佳表示他會過問此事。

上週的售票事件不僅給中國的新聞自由度打上了一個問號﹐而且也令人懷疑中方到底有沒有準備好迎接大賽期間涌入的人潮。預計屆時將有至少40萬外國人來到中國﹐而且還有數十萬國人從其他省市來到北京觀賽。

警察與記者發生衝突時正值北京方面出售最後一批約82萬張奧運門票之際。雖然售票計劃早已敲定﹐但警方在如山似海的人潮面前仍顯得準備不足。

新華社報導﹐在高峰時﹐有逾三萬人在奧運主會場門前排隊輪候。報導稱﹐炎熱的天氣以及長時間的等待令人們情緒激動﹐隨著人群開始爆發爭吵﹐相關部門不得不部署更多警力維持秩序。該報導稱一些國內以及海外記者試圖進入管制區。

北京市公安局的一位官員上週五表示﹐該局並不清楚此事。

上週五﹐來自香港《南華早報》(South China Morning)的攝影記者王智強被警方拘留。據他所說﹐他當時正在拍攝購票人群涌向售票窗口的混亂場面。新華社報導﹐王智強穿過了路障進入了管制區﹐並踢傷了一名民警的襠位。

王智強在接受電話採訪時表示他被一名警察推搡﹐可能無意間踢到了他。王智強說他被拘留了六個小時。

《南華早報》發表聲明指出﹐我們相信王智強只是在完成攝影記者的工作﹔無論是記者、警察﹐還是上萬排隊買票的北京市民都是有關方面未能合理安排有序售票方案的受害者。

此外﹐在YouTube Web上發佈的一段由香港電視廣播(Television Broadcasts Ltd.)拍攝的錄像顯示奧運場館附近混亂不堪﹐許多人在警方的推擠下向後退去。該視頻還顯示﹐警方試圖通過劃線驅使記者後退﹐使之無法拍攝當時場景。然後一個警察從警戒線下方鑽過﹐攻擊了一位不肯挪動的記者﹐將他推倒在地。

另一段由Network of the World發佈的視頻顯示﹐一些警察在平息了一場爭鬥之後要求在一旁報導的記者出示證件。一位警官一一盤問記者來自哪家媒體。一個記者回答說來自香港﹐這位警官表示﹐哦﹐你來自香港﹐但你現在人在北京﹐就必須遵守北京的法律。

香港外國記者俱樂部(Foreign Correspondents' Club)的發言人莫泛思(Francis Moriarty)說﹐該組織將舉行會議探討這一系列事件。

他表示﹐該組織一直嚴肅看待此類干預新聞自由的事件﹐特別是在中國政府此前承諾將保證記者報導自由的情況下﹔我希望此事不要重演。

Geoffrey A. Fowler / Mei Fong / Loretta Chao

2008年7月28日 星期一

Cloud GatesTrinity

Cloud Gate 雲門
2005年

The Big Bean
The official name of this sculpture is "The Cloud Gate" but I doubt you'll hear it called that anywhere other than in Chicago PR materials. I've heard it called, "The Big Bean," "The Jelly Bean," "The Kidney Bean," and just plain old "The Bean." Whatever you call it, it's an attention grabber.
http://twothingsatonce.typepad.com/photos/chicago_2003/04mpark06.html


Frugal Traveler | Chicago

Amid Architectural Glories, Piles of Cheap Fun

Peter Wynn Thompson for The New York Times

Anish Kapoor’s “Cloud Gate,” one of the modern touches in Millennium Park in the Loop, literally reflects some of Chicago’s notable architecture.


Published: November 4, 2007

TO drive into Chicago on a sunny Friday afternoon is to experience the city the way God — or at least the holy trinity of Daniel Burnham, Louis H. Sullivan and Mies van der Rohe — intended it. Iconic skyscrapers rise from the strip-mall-strewn prairie to pierce the blue in a jumble of geometries, their glinting glass, steel, stone and concrete announcing the power and prestige of the capital of the Midwest.



Trinity

Trinity, Holy:三位一體;天主聖三:即聖父、聖子、聖神(靈)。唯一的天主,卻有三位。天主聖三奧蹟包括愛的給予〔陽〕、愛的接受〔陰〕、愛的合一〔合〕。又稱 Blessed Trinity。

Trinity Sunday:聖三節(瞻禮);聖三主日:特別敬禮天主聖三的主日,通常在聖神降臨後的主日。

三一妙身無原真主阿羅訶

三一分身景尊彌施訶

三一淨風無言之新教

trinity

Elohim God

Messiah

The Holy Spirit ruah

sweetheart, sweetmeats, Roman Holiday, meat,nub

Definition

nub Show phonetics
noun [U]
the most important or basic part of something:
What do you think is the nub of the problem?


2004年
思果(1989)譯《大衛‧考勃菲爾》,
書中大衛把 sweetheart誤聽為 sweetmeats,思果譯為「戀人」「蓮仁」,其實也在譯原文的修辭創意(思果討論時 把這句歸為雙關語,其實應為「飛白」修辭格,也即因字形、語音相近而寫錯說錯)。
假如再深入討論 sweetmeat到底是什麼東西便譯死了。 」

wo:「我想sweetheart和 sweetmeats或可分別譯為「甜心」和「甜點」。」


ch(張華):「sweetheart和sweetmeats的上下文,我也沒讀過,只不過從思果的文章讀到而已。引文打錯了一個字:蓮人應為蓮仁。我看思果的譯文時,閃過的一個念頭是這兩個詞或可譯為「甜心」與「點心」。反正達意便可。

由「借形」修辭格想到你(hc按:「小讀者」)日前提到的Roman Holiday(重溫林以亮的文章),發現這個成語可有三個面向:

一、「甲方」(羅馬人)的角度:把快樂建築在人的痛苦上。

二、「乙方」(奴隸)的角度:犧牲自己,娛樂他人(你文中的用法)

三、「借形」用法:也即只採用字面的意義,我覺得電影用的是這個層面。 」


****關於sweetheart 和 sweetmeats

先了解一下對小朋友最重要的甜嘴:

sweetmeat
noun [C] OLD-FASHIONED蜜餞、甜食、甜點
a small piece of sweet food, made of or covered in sugar

網路上許多文本,譬如:

Chapter 5 - David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
' I AM SENT AWAY FROM HOME'

By and by, he said: 'No sweethearts, Ib'lieve?... Sweetmeats did you say, Mr. Barkis?' For I thought he wanted something else to eat, and had pointedly alluded to that description of refreshment. 'Hearts,' said Mr. Barkis. 'Sweet hearts; no person walks with her!'. 'With Peggotty?'. 'Ah!' he said. 'Her.'. 'Oh, no. She never had a sweetheart.'. ...

**** meat古來有"食物"意。所以新譯就直接採"food"

One man's meat is another man's poison. SAYING
said to emphasize that people like different things)

我對於'meat"感興趣,所以查
Webster's 1913 Dictionary 之網頁
http://www.hyperdictionary.com/search.aspx?define=meat
\Meat\, n. [OE. mete, AS. mete; akin to OS. mat, meti, D. met hashed meat, G. mettwurst sausage, OHG. maz food, Icel.matr, Sw. mat, Dan. mad, Goth. mats. Cf. {Mast} fruit,{Mush}.]



1. Food, in general; anything eaten for nourishment, either by man or beast. Hence, the edible part of anything; as, the meat of a lobster, a nut, or an egg. --Chaucer.


創 世 紀 Genesis 1:29 [hb5]  神說、看哪、我將遍地上一切結種子的菜蔬、和一切樹上所結有核的果子、全賜給你們作食物。

[kjv] And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
[bbe] And God said, See, I have given you every plant producing seed, on the face of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit producing seed: they will be for your food:


又:
創 世 紀 Genesis 9:3 [hb5] 凡活著的動物、都可以作你們的食物、這一切我都賜給你們如同菜蔬一樣。

[kjv] Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
[bbe] Every living and moving thing will be food for you; I give them all to you as before I gave you all green things.


2. The flesh of animals used as food; esp., animal muscle; as, a breakfast of bread and fruit without meat.

它的一些引伸意很有意思:

meat (INTEREST) noun [U]
important, valuable or interesting ideas or information:

[n] the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story")
It was a nicely written article and quite amusing but there wasn't much meat to it.

meaty adjective
having a lot of important or interesting ideas:
a meaty book/letter/report
She has written some wonderfully meaty parts for older actresses.


meat-and-potatoes adjective [before noun] US
more basic or important than other things:
For many unions, the meat-and-potatoes issue is no longer pay increases but job security.


be meat and drink to sb
If a difficult or unpleasant activity is meat and drink to someone, they enjoy doing it very much and find it easy.

****ch
「Roman Holiday(重溫林以亮的文章),發現這個成語可有三個面向:一、「甲方」(羅馬人)的角度:把快樂建築在人的痛苦上。二、「乙方」(奴隸)的角度:犧牲自己,娛樂他人(你文中的用法)三、「借形」用法:也即只採用字面的意義,我覺得電影用的是這個層面。 」」

hc
很有意思。Herbert Simon在自傳中用它說一流的學術界競爭激烈,所以一不小心就淪為他人的「羅馬人消遣的格鬥戲」(希望以後找機會確定我的記"譯)。

這回我查《英漢大詞典》,學到它的另外一典故,即 Byron(1788-1824)的名詩 Childe Harold

Google一下即可查出處
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto iv. Stanza 140. Author: George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron.
There were his young barbarians all at play; There was their Dacian mother: he, their sire, Butcher'd to make a Roman holiday! Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto iv. Stanza 141. ...

housebroken

He's housebroken--more or less.

WordNet: housebroken
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The adjective has one meaning:

Meaning #1: of pets; trained to urinate and defecate outside or in a special place
Synonym: house-trained

low-swung speedster

A low-swung foreign speedster with no top drifted into the parking lot and a man got out of it and use the dash lighter on a long cigarette.


speedster
n.
  1. One who drives very fast.
  2. A fast car.
  1. 高速的駕駛者,跑者,車輛等
  2. 超速行車者
LOW-SWUNG (車)身低

give (someone) the shake

I didn't bother him enough to him the shakes.

give (someone) the shake Slang.

  1. To escape from or get rid of: We managed to give our pursuers the shake.

discount, literacy, cough in pieces


Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?
Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?
Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times
The Simses of Old Greenwich, Conn., gather to read after dinner. Their means of text delivery is divided by generation.
Is the Internet the enemy of reading, or has it created a new kind of reading, one that society should not discount?

ALDI, short for "ALbrecht DIscount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany and one of the largest retail chains worldwide.



◎喬志高 「比爾和珠迪」 (人間副刊20040810--香港明報月刊同步刊登本文另一版本。)
「她說她祖先是德國人。她的芳名叫Gertrude,暱稱Trudy。比爾更親熱地喊她Trude。…… 忽然間女孩子一陣咳嗽,全身抖顫,咳個不停,慌得比爾不知所措。珠迪勉強笑著道:「That's all right Let me cough in pieces!」〔cough in peace〕(「沒關係。讓我咳碎了心罷!」〔讓我咳得安心罷〕。)……」


....if you don’t want your heart broken in pieces,


piece (PART) Show phonetics
noun [C]
a part of something:
a piece of cloth torn from her coat
He cut the cake into six pieces.
This jigsaw puzzle has two pieces missing.
The vase lay on the floor in pieces (= broken into small parts).
She tried to break/tear a small piece off the edge.
The building was taken apart and reassembled piece by piece (= one part after another) in America.

literacy 
noun [U]
1 the ability to read and write:
Far more resources are needed to improve adult literacy.

2 knowledge of a particular subject, or a particular type of knowledge:
Computer literacy is becoming as essential as the ability to drive a car.
discount (NOT CONSIDER) Show phonetics
verb [T]
to decide that something or someone is not worth consideration or attention:
You shouldn't discount the possibility of him coming back.
discount (REDUCTION) Show phonetics
noun [C]
a reduction in the usual price:
They usually give you a discount if you buy multiple copies.
They offer a 10 percent discount on rail travel for students.

discount Show phonetics
verb [T often passive]
discounted goods/rates

discount store noun [C]
a shop which sells its goods at cheap prices

德国经济 | 2008.03.04

廉价超市成“大众情人”

初到德国的外国人,几乎都会得到这样的好心提醒,要购物就上阿尔迪(Aldi)和利德(Lidl),因为那里的商品物美价廉 ,不致刚来德国钱包就开始啜泣。而今,不仅是初来乍到的外国人,就连德国人自己也对这类廉价超市连锁宠爱有加。据一项调查的统计数据显示,每一个德国人每 周至少会有一次去这些超市购物。

除了阿尔迪(Aldi)和利德 (Lidl)之外,在德国廉价超市的名单上,潘尼(Penny),普鲁斯(Plus)和诺尔玛(Norma),也榜上有名。虽然它们建立的初衷主要是为中 低收入的工薪阶层,无固定收入居民及退休的老年人提供便利,但是,凭借稳定的货源和质量,低廉的价格和以大众为导向的服务理念,这些廉价超市的触角,已经 日渐伸入了其他收入阶层,几乎成为所有德国人的购物乐土。
阿尔迪,利德胜利进军
市场资讯和媒体公司尼尔森(Nielsen)最 新的一项调查显示,仅在2007年,每一个德国人在廉价超市的平均购物次数达70次,其中,“阿尔迪”和“利德”的粉丝更是比06年多出两倍;每次购物的 平均花销为17,99欧元,也就意味着,在07年一年中,这些廉价超市从每个消费者的腰包中就有1259欧元进帐。有这么忠实的粉丝,这些超市的营业额自 然也不差,去年,其营业额在德国零售业总营业额的比例已经上升到36.7%。
与廉价超市的红火势头相比,其他的购物场所则显得冷清不少。根据尼尔森调查,去年,德国人光顾这些地方的频率仅为30次/每户,而在2500平方米以上的大型商场的购物开支也远不如廉价超市,仅为843欧元/每户。
在德国遍地开花的廉价超市中,阿尔迪继续稳坐头 把交椅。以前的统计数据显示,90%的德国人一年至少会光顾一次阿尔迪。而根据此次新的市场调查,2007年,每户德国人在那里的平均消费高达573欧。 利德的业绩也不俗,以416欧元/每户的年平均消费额成为了该行业的第二大巨头。
花更多的钱为日常生活买单
根据尼尔森的调查,07年,德国人用于日常生活,即食品,饮料和洗涤清洁用品的总开销约为1320亿欧元,比06年相比多了将近36亿欧。
开支增长的原因可以从以下几个方面来解释:增值税税率提高,日常消费品物价上涨,失业率有所下降。而据《图片报》报道,廉价超市将会吸引更多的德国人,因为食品的价格正在不断攀升。
尽管廉价超市的生意红火得让人眼羡,但不可否认,在去年,它们商品价格的上涨幅度却明显高于其他超市和卫生用品商店。根据市场调查机构GfK的最新数据,与去年同期相比,单单在12月,阿尔迪,利德和其他廉超连锁的物价水平就上涨了近10个百分点。
xiao wan

be a hoot, bladder, heartbreaking Alzheimer's disease

The heartbreaking long goodbye

By David Willis
BBC News in Missouri

Dianne Kerley and Flossie
Dianne struggles to communicate with her mother
The old lady stared blankly, not a hint of recognition on her face.

Next to her on the bed sat two of her closest relatives - her daughter and grandson.

They hugged her, teased her, squeezed her hand: nothing.

They talked of hobbies, and pets, and adventures from her past: not a word.

Then - briefly - the haunted expression grew into a smile and both planted kisses on her pallid skin.

For Dianne Kerley and her son Mike it was the best they could hope for.

Fifteen years ago Dianne's 78-year-old mother Flossie (Mike's grandmother) was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Since then she has lost not only her memory, but the ability to look after herself, as well as the ability to walk and talk.

Traumatic deterioration

They say that Alzheimer's begins with forgetting your keys and ends with you forgetting what your keys are for, but it is a whole lot worse than that.

Flossie
Flossie no longer recognises her family

Before long Flossie's sense of balance and co-ordination will be compromised.

In the final stages of the disease so too will her ability to breathe.

Until then all Dianne and Mike can do is undertake a heartbreaking weekly pilgrimage to a nursing home in eastern Missouri and watch her fade away before their eyes.

"It was two years ago - at Thanksgiving," said Dianne, recalling the last time her mother recognised her.

"Ten or 12 seconds and then it was gone.

"She was like: 'Well hi! How are you?' and I'm like: 'Well, we sure do miss you,' and she was like: 'You do?. Then all of a sudden the fog just went over - and that was it."

It is difficult to imagine a slower, more agonising death.

Alzheimer's leaves the patient a prisoner in their own body whilst systematically eroding everything about them that makes them human.

What should be the golden years are marked by blank stares and tragically unrequited expressions of love.

My own grandmother

Flossie's situation reminded me of my grandmother.

Sprightly and independent, she was like a granny from central casting - white hair, glasses, rocking chair and slippers.

Family
It is very traumatic for Dianne and Mike

She came to live with us shortly after my parents married and she was a hoot.

She helped out at children's tea parties, always had the best biscuits in the house, and allowed me to watch shows on her black and white TV that my mother frowned on.

But as the years went by, Granny started to change.

Not only would she say the same things, she would do the same things, time and time again.

She would list the names of everyone in the family before arriving at mine, come in to tell us something and then forget what she had come to say.

All the time she was becoming befuddled by tasks which once seemed second nature.

Slowly but surely her sharp mind and sense of fun began to fade like a tropical sunset.

When she lost control of her bladder my mother decided she could not cope and we put her in a home.

The first time I visited she barely recognised me.

A few more trips and she had lost the ability to speak.

Months later a nurse rang to say granny had faded away in her sleep.

We shed a tear then breathed a huge sigh of relief.

New hope

The fact is that even though Alzheimer's was discovered more than 100 years ago it is only in the last two decades that we have really come to know anything about it.

Lab work
Trials of new treatments are in progress

Lack of funding has a lot to do with it.

The US government spends roughly eight times as much on cancer research as is does researching Alzheimer's disease, and half what it spends on substance abuse.

Finally, though, there is some hope.

This week the Irish-American company Elan and the US firm Wyeth will jointly announce they are pressing ahead with the $300m (£151m) trial of a drug which could block the production of a protein called beta amyloid which many scientists believe causes Alzheimer's.

Present in all of us, too much beta amyloid can cause plaques to form in the brain, and those plaques feast on brain cells.

There is a lot at stake, not least financially. If a drug is discovered which prevents Alzheimer's half the population of the US alone could eventually end up taking it.

Need is great

Never has the need been greater: as the first baby boomers turn 60 the fear is the heath care system could be overwhelmed by what some are predicting could be an epidemic of Alzheimer's disease.

It costs $50,000 a year just to keep Flossie in a nursing home.

Back in Missouri, Mike and Dianne are bidding her farewell: "There's that pretty smile, sleep tight OK?"

Flossie sits perfectly still - beyond hooded eyelids brain cells are dying.

As she reaches the hallway Dianne stifles a tear.

Hers is the heart-rendering tragedy of the long goodbye.

You can watch David Willis's report on BBC World News America at at 0030 BST on BBC News and at 0000 BST (1900 ET / 1600 PT) on BBC World News and BBC America (for viewers outside the UK only).


Are you or is someone you know suffering from Alzheimer's disease? Are you affected by the issues in this story? Send us your comments using the form below.



Definition

<– Back to results

be a hoot INFORMAL
to be very amusing:
He's an absolute hoot.

Definition

<– Back to results

bladder Show phonetics
noun [C]
a bag-like organ inside the body of a person or animal, where urine is stored before it leaves the body:
to empty your bladder (= urinate)

Idle Thoughts, whip sb into sth, party whip



Conservative MP Nick Boles quits party whip - BBC News




I went to the Todoroki Valley in southern Tokyo the other day. Thanks to the verdant foliage over the trilling stream, the temperature was about 5 degrees cooler than in the city. As I ambled along a footpath, I came across a slender waterfall that Buddhist monks use for training. The cascading water formed a refreshing parabola. I had the idle thought that the water hitting the crown of my head should instantly whip me into shape.


Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, published in 1886, is a collection of humorous essays by Jerome K. Jerome. It was the author’s second published book and it helped establish him as a leading English humorist. While widely considered one of Jerome’s better works, and in spite of using the same style as Three Men in a Boat, it was never as popular as the former. The book was out of print for many years, but a paperback edition became available in 2002. A second "Idle Thoughts" book, The Second Thoughts of An Idle Fellow, was published in 1898.
Project Gutenberg: Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow
whip sb into sth phrasal verb
If you whip someone into a particular state, you quickly and effectively cause them to be in that state:
Karl Smith, the 19-year old singer, had whipped the crowd of teenage girls into a frenzy merely by removing his shirt.
The prime minister's final speech had the desired effect, whipping his party into a patriotic fervour.

inferior, inferiority complex, partake

My wife tried it, too. She drinks espresso and does not like tea unless it's iced. As iced tea, she liked red espresso fine. But she raised a question I was silently thinking: Why wouldn't people who don't drink coffee, and prefer tea, simply have a cup of tea brewed the conventional way?

Oddly, red espresso earned Best New Product in the specialty beverage category at the Coffee Association of America's Conference & Exhibition last May. That's a little like New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning getting voted Most Valuable Player by Major League Baseball.

One reason tea drinkers might like red espresso—an idea mentioned to me by the company and spelled out on a PowerPoint presentation somewhere, I presume—is that red espresso enables tea drinkers to partake more of the café culture. Call me crazy, but I don't think tea drinkers at Starbuck's (SBUX) sitting with coffee drinkers are experiencing an inferiority complex. Do they feel they need to sit at another table from their friends?



Definition

partake (TAKE PART) PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Phonetic PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Hide phonetics
verb [I] partook, partaken OLD-FASHIONED OR FORMAL
to become involved with or take part in something:
She was happy to partake in the festivities.

partake (EAT/DRINK) PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Phonetic PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Hide phonetics
verb [I] partook, partaken OLD-FASHIONED OR HUMOROUS
to eat or drink:
Would you care to partake of a little wine with us?

inferior PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Phonetic PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Hide phonetics
adjective
1 not good, or not as good as someone or something else:
These products are inferior to those we bought last year.
She cited cases in which women had received inferior health care.
It was clear the group were regarded as intellectually/morally/socially inferior.
Compare superior (BETTER).

2 SPECIALIZED lower, or of lower rank:
an inferior officer
Compare superior (BETTER).

inferiority PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Phonetic PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Hide phonetics
noun [U]
His ill treatment as a child had given him a strong sense of inferiority.
Compare superiority at superior (BETTER).
inferiority complex noun [C]
a feeling that you are not as good, as intelligent, as attractive, etc. as other people:
He's always had an inferiority complex about his height.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: inferiority complex

Acute sense of personal inferiority, often resulting in either timidity or (through overcompensation) exaggerated aggressiveness. Though once a standard psychological concept, particularly among followers of Alfred Adler, it has lost much of its usefulness through imprecise popular misuse.