―from "Snow Country" by Yasunari Kawabata
Kenneth Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, told Bloomberg that thawing the frozen credit markets is "the single most important thing" as Mr. Obama enters the White House.
Putin Warns West Against Expecting Easier Time with Medvedev
In talks with German Chancellor Merkel, Russian President Putin
warned the West against expecting a thaw in relations with Moscow
under his successor, Dimitry Medvedev.
Just about any sports movie, airport paperback or motivational tape delivers a few boilerplate rules for success. Believe in yourself. Don’t take no for an answer. Never quit. Don’t accept second best.
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By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
The Fed dramatically increased the amount of money it will create out of thin air to thaw frozen credit markets.
out of thin air
from nothing:
I can't come up with £10 000 out of thin air - it'll take a while to find that kind of money.
ground (LAND) Show phonetics
noun
1 the ground the surface of the Earth:
I sat down on the ground.
2 [U] soil:
soft/stony ground
The ground was frozen hard and was impossible to dig.
3 [C] an area of land used for a particular purpose or activity:
a football/training ground
ground Show phonetics
verb
1 [T always passive] If a ship is grounded, it cannot move because it has hit solid ground:
The oil tanker was grounded on a sandbank.
2 [T often passive] If aircraft are grounded, they are prevented from flying or forbidden to fly:
The snowstorm meant that all planes were grounded.
grounds Show phonetics
plural noun
the gardens and land that surround a building and are often enclosed by a wall or fence:
We went for a walk around the hospital grounds.
See also grounds.
boil•er•plate
Pronunciation: (boi'lur-plāt"), [key]
—n.
1. plating of iron or steel for making the shells of boilers, covering the hulls of ships, etc.
2. Journalism.
a. syndicated or ready-to-print copy, used esp. by weekly newspapers.
b. trite, hackneyed writing.
3. the detailed standard wording of a contract, warranty, etc.
4. Informal.phrases or units of text used repeatedly, as in correspondence produced by a word-processing system.
5. frozen, crusty, hard-packed snow, often with icy patches. Also,boil'er plate".
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
boiler・plate （契約書などの）決まり文句; 〔話〕 【コンピュータ】ボイラプレート, （ワープロ作成の通信文などの）反復使用語句.
thaw
━━ n., v. 雪［霜］解け（する，の陽気になる）; （冷凍ものが）戻る, 解凍する; 暖まる, 暖める ((out)); 打解け（てく）る, 打解けさせる.verb [I or T]
to (cause to) change from a solid, frozen state to a liquid or soft one, because of an increase in temperature:
Allow the meat to thaw properly before cooking it.
The sun came out and thawed the ice.
It's beginning to thaw (= The weather is warm enough for snow and ice to melt).
Compare freeze.
the thaw noun [S]
a period of warmer weather when snow and ice begin to melt:
The thaw has set in early this year.
thaw (BECOME FRIENDLY) Show phonetics
verb [I]
to become friendlier or more relaxed:
The report shows that relations between the two enemies may be thawing.
thaw Show phonetics
noun [S]
an increase in friendliness:
There are signs of a thaw in relations between the two countries.
1 則留言:
Taiwan-China meet begins to 'thaw the ice': president-elect
1 day ago
TAIPEI (AFP) — Weekend talks between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Taiwan's vice president-elect have started to "thaw the ice" in ties between the rivals, the island's incoming president Ma Ying-jeou said Monday.
The landmark meeting on Saturday between Hu and Taiwan's Vincent Siew on the sidelines of a regional forum in Hainan, southern China, "has started to thaw the ice across the strait," Ma told reporters.
Ma, who takes office on May 20, said he was encouraged by the Hu-Siew talks, which were the highest-level contact between the two sides since they split in 1949 at the end of a civil war.
"We'll push for the reopening of cross-strait negotiations after May 20," said Ma, of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party.
"Thanks to the Boao meeting, some of the barriers for the resumption of talks have been removed," he said. "The mainland authorities displayed goodwill at the forum."
Ma, who won the March presidential election in a landslide, campaigned on a pledge to boost Taiwan's sluggish economy.
As part of that pledge, he vowed to improve relations with China, increase trade, tourism and transport links, and work on a peace treaty to end hostilities.
He will succeed outgoing President Chen Shui-bian, who angered Beijing over the past eight years with his pro-independence rhetoric. China still views Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
The incoming president said Hu and Siew had exchanged views on cross-strait economic relations in a "natural, friendly and constructive atmosphere".
Ma also said that Beijing had "responded positively" to Taiwan's proposals on weekend charter flights and a further opening-up of the island to mainland tourists.
"That would make it easier in carrying out our policies after we take office," he said, adding that civilian bodies representing both sides had nearly completed technical talks on the two issues over the past few years.
Taiwan has banned direct trade and transport exchanges with the mainland since 1949, and visits to the island by mainland tourists are severely restricted.
Ma said he would name KMT vice chairman Chiang Pin-kung as Taiwan's chief negotiator in dealing with China.
Chiang will head the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), which is in charge of civilian exchanges between the island and the mainland.
"SEF will be responsible for handling cross-strait relations, with the authorisation of the Mainland Affairs Council," Ma said, referring to Taiwan's top China policy decision-making body.
Beijing unilaterally called off rapprochement talks in 1995 to protest the controversial US visit by the island's then president Lee Teng-hui, claiming it was part of his efforts to promote independence.
Siew said "no timetable" had been set for the normalisation of trade and economic ties with China.
A cautious Ma added: "As cross-strait ties did not become frosty overnight, and the icy mountain is big, it may take a long time to melt the ice."
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