South Korea has declared two neighbouring cities ‘special care zones’, asking residents to confine themselves to their homes in a bid to contain one of the worst new coronavirus outbreaks outside China
Florence Nightingale contracted an illness in the Crimea, probably brucellosis*, which left her thereafter confined to her bed - her seclusion only enhanced her popular status.
*布魯氏菌病，
In its prime the bank was enigmatic and easily outshone its Wall Street rivals. How times have changed
Its search for a new identity captures the changes in global banking
ECONOMIST.COM
How the mighty Goldman Sachs has fallen
By JEFF ZELENY
Even before President-elect Barack Obama takes office, effectively crowning Chicago as the site of the Western White House, the city is basking in a moment of triumph that is spilling well beyond the confines of politics.
After balking during his wife’s campaign at releasing records of his business dealings and big donors to his presidential library, Bill would have to stop spewing about Barack and start spilling to him.
Nor is Pepys a particularly great prose stylist, certainly not by 17th-century standards, which prized cleverness and ornament.
The diary contains numerous set pieces -- such as the descriptions of the coronation of Charles II (where Pepys got so drunk he passed out and woke up in his own ''spew''), of the fire and the plague -- which he clearly took some time and trouble over. But there are great stretches that are written in, well, diaryese: up early and to work . . . away to My Lord So-and-So's . . . dine with Sir Such-and-Such . . . conversation with Mr. Somebody or other . . . was mighty merry . . . and so on, until at the end of a long day he closes with his trademark phrase ''and so to bed.''
set piece 或 setpiece 或 set-piece
標題模仿 SILK ROAD（絲路）。不過silk 當動詞通常指「玉米吐鬚、抽 絲」。Embracing World Heritage By Makoto Miyazaki Daily Yomiuri Photographer
When Japan started to modernize after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, its industries lagged far behind the United States and some European countries. In fact, the nation basically relied on the export of only one product for a major source of its funds--silk.
But even this industry was in decline as the quality of the silk products were considered inferior. So the Meiji government decided in 1870 to set up a state-of-the-art silk factory at Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture,
Paul Brunat, a French architect, was put in charge of its construction, which commenced the following year and was completed in July 1872. The plant began operations in October that year.
The Tomioka Silk Mill, which the government proposed in January as one of four sites to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, was the largest in the world at the time. It was equipped with silk reeling machine on which 300 people could work at the same time.
The factory employed more than 500 women, and while there is a famous story about women working in a silk reeling factory who were forced to work long hours for low pay, many of the women in the Tomioka plant were from the upper classes, and their treatment is said to have been fairly good.
Pay was decided depending on which of four ranks a person fell into. The highest-ranked workers were paid ¥1.25 a month--equivalent to between ¥150,000 and ¥250,000 today.
By 1909, Japan was leading the world in silk exports.
As most of the foreign currency earned from the exports was spent on the country's naval buildup, it was often said that silk produced military vessels. However, cheap and good-quality Japanese silk was coveted in other countries, and helped popularize the fabric.
The factory was added to the list of World Heritage nominees in recognition of its past importance.
Important buildings such as the manufacturing plant and the cocoon warehouses have been preserved in their original state. It is the only Meiji-era government factory to have remained in almost perfect condition.
The factory is open to the public, and visitors can wander inside and outside building. An hourlong guided tour is also held five times a day, with tours conducted by one of 52 volunteers, aged between 35 to 85, currently registered as guides.
Takatoshi Sato, 67, has been working as a volunteer guide for three years. He applied to become a guide because he wanted to learn more about the factory.
"I meet a lot of different people from various backgrounds through my work. I enjoy talking to them," Sato said.
The volunteer guides hold study sessions with a guest instructor once every two months and exchange ideas and information to help broaden their knowledge.
They also relate interesting anecdotes in the hope that visitors will acquire a better understanding of the factory's history.
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The Daily Yomiuri, The Yomiuri Shimbun
《國際先驅論壇報》報道，美國房屋貸款將面臨第二波的衝擊。此前主要是信貸記錄不良的業主無能力繼續供款，現在美國經濟放緩，越來越多信貸記錄良好的業主也開始拖欠供款。
報道說，比較次按貸款高一級的"Alt-A"（Alternative-A）貸款今年四月的逾期還款數目，比去年同期增加四倍。
A classification of mortgages where the risk profile falls between prime and subprime. The borrowers behind these mortgages will typically have clean credit histories, but the mortgage itself will generally have some issues that increase its risk profile. These issues include higher loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios or inadequate documentation of the borrower's income.
Investopedia Says:
These types of loans are attractive to lenders because the rates are higher than rates on prime classified mortgages, but they are still backed by borrowers with stronger credit ratings than subprime borrowers. However, with the higher rates comes additional risk for lenders because there is a lack of documentation - including limited proof of the borrower's income.
*** 養蠶 字源 silk 拉丁語
sericulture (′ser·ə′kəl·chər)
(agriculture) The raising of silkworms to produce raw silk.
spew
verb [I or T; + adverb or preposition]
If something spews liquid or gas or liquid or gas spews from something, it flows out in large amounts:
The volcano spewed a giant cloud of ash, dust and gases into the air.
The drains spew (out) millions of gallons of raw sewage into the river.
Paper came spewing from the computer printer.
pass out (BECOME UNCONSCIOUS) phrasal verb
to become unconscious for a short time, for example when ill, badly hurt or drunk:
I was hit on the head and passed out.
spew
━━ v. 噴出する ((out)); 吐く, へどを吐く ((up, out)); （怒りなどを）吐き出す［どっと出る］.
verb [I or T; usually + adverb or preposition] spilled or UK ALSO spilt, spilled or UK ALSO spilt
to (cause to) flow, move, fall or spread over the edge or beyond the limits of something:
I spilt coffee on my silk shirt.
You've spilt something down your tie.
Let's see if I can pour the juice into the glass without spilling it.
He dropped a bag of sugar and it spilt all over the floor.
Crowds of football fans spilled onto the field at the end of the game.
spill
noun [C]
an amount of something which has come out of a container:
a fuel spill on the road
Could you wipe up that spill, please?
In 1989, there was a massive oil spill in Alaska.
might (POWER)
noun [U]
power, strength or force:
Pizarro defeated the might of the Inca Empire with only a few hundred men.
She struggled with all her might to get free.
mighty
adjective LITERARY
very large, powerful or important:
In the next game they will face the mighty Redskins.
Through the fields flows the mighty River Po.
mighty
adverb MAINLY US INFORMAL
very:
They offered to raise salaries by 12% - that's a mighty generous deal.
mightily
adverb FORMAL
with great effort:
He spent ten years struggling mightily with the bureaucracy.
plural noun FORMAL
the outer limits of something:
the narrow confines of a religious life
within/beyond the confines of the city
verb
1 [T] to limit an activity, person or problem in some way:
Let's confine our discussion to the matter in question, please!
Please confine your use of the telephone to business calls.
By closing the infected farms we're hoping to confine the disease to the north of the region (= stop it from spreading to other areas).
2 [T usually passive] to keep someone in an enclosed place, often by force:
The hostages had been confined for so long that they couldn't cope with the outside world.
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