'Hamilton' and 'Harry Potter' Productions Try to Outwit Scalpers

By MICHAEL PAULSON and BEN SISARIO

As "Hamilton" heads to London and "Harry Potter" comes to New York, the two plays are experimenting with measures to limit reselling of their tickets.

Sir Joshua Reynolds | Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus | Oil on canvas | 1788

note：zone archaic A belt or girdle worn round a person’s body.

Monica Almeida/The New York Times

Santa Monica Journal
Where the Median Is a No-Pilates Zone

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

In response to complaining neighbors, Santa Monica park rangers are breaking up unauthorized exercising on traffic medians. College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S.
By TAMAR LEWIN
Tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007, while median family income rose 147 percent.

英航的Elemis Travel Spa位於南翼Galleries Club候機室內，環境清幽雅致，共設有六間獨立房間，選用的全是英國護膚名牌Elemis的產品。療程則遍及面部、肩膊、手腳及背部等身體不同部位，針對不同人的需要，對於鬆弛神經，按摩師建議我作一個Stress-Away Shoulder to Scalp的按摩，雖只是短短十五分鐘的按壓，只覺體內神經通暢不少，登機後壓力銳減大半，看來可睡一個好覺了。至於有小童同行的乘客也不用擔心，大可將小朋友安置於Kids Zone內，便有多元化遊戲讓他們玩個痛快。

Google Sets Plans to Sell E-Books

Google said it plans to launch a service that will let publishers sell digital versions of their books directly to consumers, a step that would pit it against Amazon.

Online Sales Make Hot Tickets Harder to Get By BEN SISARIO
Ordinary consumers are being pitted against professional scalpers who scoop up large numbers of tickets in a flash.

The New York Times's Stephen Labaton and Edmund L. Andrews report that the new proposal was created amid a "spirited internal debate" that pitted Mr. Geithner, the newly confirmed Treasury secretary, against some of the president's top political hands.

Prop 8 Donor Web Site Shows Disclosure Law Is 2-Edged Sword
By BRAD STONE
A Web site makes donors’ information public, pitting concepts of political transparency and privacy against each other.

R.I.M. is trying to expand beyond its traditional base of corporate and government users by marketing less costly, multimedia BlackBerrys. That strategy has pitted the Canadian company against much larger consumer electronics companies, including Apple.

pit sb/sth against sb/sth phrasal verb
to cause one person, group or thing to fight against or be in competition with another:
It was a bitter civil war, that pitted neighbour against neighbour.
[R] The climbers pitted themselves against the mountain.

(from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

scalpern. (skălp"ẽr)
1. One who, or that which, scalps.
2. (Surg.) Same as Scalping iron, under Scalping.
3. A broker who, dealing on his own account, tries to get a small and quick profit from slight fluctuations of the market. [Cant]
4. A person who buys and sells the unused parts of railroad tickets. [Cant]

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

scalp

━━ n. （毛のはえた）頭皮; （首からはぎ取った）頭皮; 〔話〕勝利（記念）品.

be after [out of] …'s scalp　人をやっつけようとしている.
━━ vt. …の頭皮をはぐ; 髪の毛を短く切りすぎる; 〔米話〕利ざやかせぎをする; 〔米話〕ダフ屋をする; 酷評する.

scalp・er　━━ n. 頭皮をはぐ人; 〔米話〕ぴんはねする人, 利ざやを稼ぐ人; 〔米話〕ダフ屋（ticket scalper）.

protracted
adjective
lasting for a long time or made to last longer:
protracted negotiations
a protracted argument/discussionThe euro zone's economy shows signs of slowing sharply, and the limited flexibility of its labor markets, coupled with policy makers' reluctance to cut interest rates aggressively, could lead to a protracted slump.

protract
verb [T] FORMAL
I have no desire to protract the process.

Line breaks: zone

Pronunciation: /zəʊn/

Definition of zone in English:

noun

1An area or stretch of land having a particular characteristic, purpose, or use, or subject to particular restrictions:a pedestrian zonea 40-km demilitarized zonefigurative United are still in the relegation zone

MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES SYNONYMS

1.1Geography A well-defined region extending around the earth between definite limits, especially between two parallels of latitude:a zone of easterly winds

MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES

1.2(also time zone)A range of longitudes where a common standard time is used.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

1.3(the zone) informal (Especially in sport) a state of such concentration that one is able to perform at the peak of one’s physical or mental capabilities:I was in the zone, completing the first nine holes in one under par

2chiefly Botany & Zoology An encircling band or stripe of distinctive colour, texture, or character.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

3archaic A belt or girdle worn round a person’s body.

verb

[WITH OBJECT]Back to top

1Divide into or assign to zones.

1.1(often as noun zoning) Divide (a town or piece of land) into areas subject to particularplanning restrictions:an experimental system of zoning

MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES

1.2Designate (a specific area) for use or development as a particular zone in planning:the land is zoned for housing

MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES

2archaic Encircle as or with a band or stripe.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

Phrasal verbs

zone out: North American informal Fall asleep or lose concentration or consciousness:I just zoned out for a moment

central reservation UK noun [C usually singular] (US AND AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH median strip)
the narrow piece of land between the two halves of a large road

median Show phonetics
adjective SPECIALIZED
describes the value which is the middle one in a set of values arranged in order of size:
Median household income fell last year.

median Show phonetics
noun [C] SPECIALIZED