zeitgeist , "upcycling",omnivore, self-inspecting, carnivore, dinosaurs

Dinosaurs are back in the news. Earlier this month, the computer-animated film, Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, was released worldwide. Shortly before that, scientists in Australia announced the discovery of the fossils of three new species of the prehistoric creatures. Two plant-eaters and a carnivore, they are the first large dinosaurs to be unearthed since 1981.
Now we know: she got an early start. Reborn, Journals & Notebooks, 1947-1963 (Farrar, Straus & Giroux; 318 pages), the first of three projected volumes selected from the diaries Sontag kept nearly all her life, is a portrait of the artist as a young omnivore, an earnest, tirelessly self-inspecting thinker fashioning herself into the phenomenon she will be. A typical entry: "Read the Spender translation of [Rilke's] The Duino Elegies as soon as possible." As soon as possible! She's 15.




Google Zeitgeist 2008
New York Times - United States
By Jack Bell This year’s Google Zeitgeist, where the Internet giant tracks the most popular search terms, revealed that when it comes to soccer in the ...A word for our times

The Oxford American dictionary's word of the year may not be one you've heard of. What's your buzzword of 2007?

November 19, 2007 1:30 PM |

Carnivores, omnivores, herbivores ... and now locavores. "Locavore" has been chosen by the New Oxford American Dictionary as its word of the year for 2007.

In case you're wondering, locavores are people who maintain a small carbon footprint by eating locally-produced food.

Other contenders for the dictionary's 2007 title included "upcycling" - the transformation of waste materials into something more useful or valuable - and the verb "to tase" (stun with a Taser).
stun gun noun [C]
a device which produces a small electric shock in order to stop an animal or human from moving temporarily without harming them permanently


omnivore

n.

1. An omnivorous person or animal.
2. One that takes in everything available, as with the mind.

[From New Latin Omnivora, omnivores, from neuter pl. of Latin omnivorus, omnivorous. See omnivorous.]

carnivore

zeit・geist

［G.］ n. （the ～ またはthe Z-） 時代精神.

You're not alone if you hadn't heard any of these before - we hadn't either. But what would you choose as the word that captures the zeitgeist of 2007?

strait-laced or straight-laced, acid - laced

strait-laced or straight-laced, acid - laced 

acid - laced classic.

strait-laced or straight-laced (strāt'lāst') adj.

1. Excessively strict in behavior, morality, or opinions.
2. Having or wearing a tightly laced garment.

[STRAIT, tightly (obsolete) + -laced (from LACE).]

straitlacedly strait'-lac'ed·ly (-lā'sĭd-lē, -lāst'lē) adv. straitlacedness strait'-lac'ed·ness n.

1Q Grp Net Pft Y17.87B Vs Y5.89B Pft Yr Earlier

Japan Daiwa Securities 1Q Grp Net Pft Y17.87B Vs Y5.89B Pft Yr Earlier
Wall Street Journal
Japan's second-largest securities business group by revenue said its net profit in the fiscal first quarter soared to Y17.87 billion from Y5.89 billion a ...

joint-stock, privatization

French Cabinet Moves Closer to Privatization of La Poste

The French cabinet approved a bill that will turn the country's postal service, La Poste, into a joint-stock company on Jan. 1.

joint-stock
株式組織; 共同出資.
joint-stock　a. 株式共有の.
joint-stock bank　〔英〕 株式銀行 ((略 JSB)).
joint-stock company　〔英〕 株式会社.
⇒joint
n.

Stock or capital funds of a company held jointly or in common by its owners.

Kevlar, sell, impeccable, hold your own

Police departments issue their officers Kevlar vests to stop bullets, and thick helmets and even shields to protect them from bottles and bricks. But there is nothing in the equipment room to give an officer thicker skin.

The Funeral: Your Last Chance to Be a Big Spender 

By GABRIELLE GLASER
A willingness to cater to individual tastes is helping the funeral industry hold its own during the recession.

The incident took place on Sunday about 75 miles off the coast of Hainan Island, just south of the Chinese mainland. The American vessel, the Impeccable, was carrying out a surveillance mission that involved towing sonar equipment designed for anti-submarine warfare, Pentagon officials said.

2. Are Evangelicals Really Sold on Palin?

By AMY SULLIVAN

Viewpoint: Her anti-abortion credentials are impeccable. But some of her views are at odds with younger Evangelicals

sell (PERSUADE) Show phonetics
verb [T] sold, sold
to persuade someone that an idea or plan is a good one and likely to be successful:
My boss is very old-fashioned and I'm having a lot of trouble selling the idea of working at home occasionally.
[+ two objects] The chance of greater access to European markets would help sell the President the scheme/sell the scheme to the President.
She's really sold on the idea of buying a new car.impeccable Show phonetics
adjective
perfect, with no problems or bad parts:
impeccable taste/manners/credentials
His English is impeccable.

  
━━ a. 罪を犯さない; 欠点のない, 非のうちどころない.
impeccably Show phonetics
adverb
She was impeccably dressed.

hold your own (ALSO hold your (own) ground)
to be as successful as other people or things in a situation:
Josie can hold her own in any argument.




Kevlar 杜邦公司的強力纖維

all over the board, on board

2009年 06月 23日 11:13

Big Three Car Makers Boost Their Quality Scores

Detroit's car makers increased their new-vehicle quality scores by an average of 10% in an influential industry survey despite being rocked by bankruptcies and the recession.

Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group LLC reduced the number of troubles reported by consumers during their first 90 days of ownership, according to the annual J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality study. Toyota Motor Corp. led all the makers, with its Lexus brand finishing in the top spot, while BMW AG's Mini was last.

The results come at a time when quality and brand image are under intense pressure as auto makers are forced to make deep worker cuts and idle factories, which can lead to production problems.

The quality gap between the foreign brands and U.S. auto companies is now the smallest it has ever been, said David Sargent, J.D. Power's vice president of automotive research. The domestic brands lagged behind the foreign auto makers by just six points.

'Domestic and import initial quality is equal for cars, and the domestics have a slight edge for trucks,' Mr. Sargent said in a speech Monday in Detroit. 'Imports have a significant edge for crossovers.'

The biggest surprise was Chrysler. The company's iconic Jeep brand, which finished last in quality in 2008, climbed four spots in the rankings. Jeep had 137 problems per 100 vehicles -- 29 fewer than last year. The industry average was 108 problems per 100 vehicles.

Chrysler, which filed for bankruptcy April 30 and merged its assets with Fiat SpA, undertook a massive overhaul of its brands in 2008. Many of the vehicles were outfitted with new technologies and redesigned to focus on consumer comfort.

Problems tracked by J.D. Power can range from wind noise to transmission failure. The vehicles were evaluated between November through February.

Toyota's Lexus beat Porsche Automobil Holding SE with 84 problems compared to Porsche's 90. Porsche had the top spot for the past two years. GM's Cadillac finished in third with 91 problems followed by Hyundai Motor Co. at 95 and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. at 99.

Ford's Mercury and Ford nameplates scored above average, but the Lincoln brand finished in 27th place with 129 problems. Lincoln finished 15th last year. Volvo, which Ford is trying to sell, was 24th.

Ford, which has sidestepped the need for federal aid, is relying on product introductions to drive purchases. The company is still losing billions of dollars a year. GM and Chrysler both took federal aid late last year to continue operating during the economic downturn.

GM's vehicles were all over the board. Chevrolet finished in ninth place with 103 problems, but its GMC and Buick came in 18th and 19th, respectively. Buick, with its 117 problems, tied with the industry average last year.

Saturn, Saab and Hummer all finished well below the industry average. Saab was the lowest ranking nameplate with 138 problems. GM is in the process of selling off Saturn, Hummer and Saab as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. It also plans to close its Pontiac brand, which finished in 22nd place with 118 problems. BMW's Mini finished last with 165 problems.

Jeff Bennett

2009年 06月 23日 11:13

“底特律三巨頭”汽車質量上升

儘

管破產和衰退動搖了“底特律三巨頭”﹐在一項很有影響力的行業調查中﹐三巨頭的新車質量得分卻平均上升了10%。

據J.D. Power & Associates年度新車質量調查顯示﹐在新購車輛的最初90天中﹐消費者報告的福特汽車(Ford Motor Co.)、通用汽車(General Motors Corp.)和克萊斯勒(Chrysler Group LLC)汽車問題減少。豐田汽車(Toyota Motor Corp.)領先於所有汽車生產商﹐該公司旗下的雷克薩斯(Lexus)品牌奪得榜首﹐而寶馬汽車公司(BMW AG)的Mini品牌則是最後一名。

目前﹐由於汽車生產商被迫大幅裁員、關閉工廠﹐可能會造成生產問題﹐汽車質量和品牌形像因此處於巨大的壓力之下。

J.D. Power負責汽車研究的副總裁薩金特(David Sargent)說﹐目前外國品牌和美國汽車企業之間的質量差距是有史以來最小的。本土品牌只落後於外國汽車廠商6分。

薩金特週一在底特律發表演講時說﹐國產汽車和進口汽車的初始質量不相上下﹐本土品牌在卡車質量上還要略高﹐而進口汽車在混型車上有明顯優勢。

最出人意料的是克萊斯勒。該公司的標志“吉普”(Jeep)品牌2008年的質量得分最低﹐今年則上升了4個名次。每100輛吉普車有137個問題﹐比去年少29個。行業平均水平為每100輛車中有108個問題。

克萊斯勒於4月30日申請破產保護﹐並把資產與菲亞特(Fiat SpA)合併。2008年﹐該公司進行了大規模的品牌改革。很多汽車都裝配了新技術﹐並進行了重新設計﹐更偏重於消費者舒適性。

J.D. Power跟蹤到的問題包括風噪聲、傳動系統故障等各類問題。評估時間為去年11月至今年2月。

豐 田汽車的雷克薩斯有84個問題﹐擊敗有90個問題的保時捷(Porsche Automobil Holding SE)奪冠。過去兩年來保時捷一直把持著冠軍寶座。通用汽車旗下的凱迪拉克(Cadillac)有91個問題﹐位居第三﹔現代汽車(Hyundai Motor Co.)有95個問題﹐排第四﹔本田汽車(Honda Motor Co.)有99個問題﹐排第五。

福特的水星(Mercury)和福特(Ford)品牌得分高於平均水平﹐不過林肯(Lincoln)品牌有129個問題﹐位居第27。林肯去年排名第15位。福特正試圖出售的沃爾沃(Volvo)品牌排第24位。

福特汽車沒有申請聯邦救助﹐目前正依靠產品推介推動購買。該公司每年仍虧損數十億美元。通用汽車和克萊斯勒去年底雙雙接受了聯邦救助﹐以便在經濟低迷中繼續運營。

通用汽車旗下品牌大放異彩--翻譯錯誤 all over the board 指"表現差異甚大" 。雪佛蘭(Chevrolet)有103個問題﹐位居第9﹐不過GMC和別克(Buick)分列第18和19位。別克去年有117個問題﹐與行業平均水平持平。

土 星(Saturn)、薩博(Saab)和悍馬(Hummer)均遠遠低於行業平均水平。薩博是排在最末位的品牌﹐有138個問題。作為破產重組的一部分﹐ 通用汽車正在出售土星、悍馬和薩博。該公司還計劃結束龐蒂亞克(Pontiac)品牌﹐該品牌有118個問題﹐排第22位。寶馬旗下的Mini有165個 問題﹐排在最末一名。

Jeff Bennett

on board
Joining in or participating, as in The department head addressed the new employees, saying "Welcome on board," or The opera company has a new vocal coach on board to help the soloists. This expression alludes to being on or in a vessel, airplane, or other vehicle. [Colloquial; second half of 1900s]

all over the board

1. (idiomatic) Showing a wide range of values with no particular pattern.

   The numbers I got for that were all over the board.

IPO Fiesta May Become Siesta

IPO Fiesta May Become Siesta

From Mexico City to Buenos Aires , investors are wondering whether the downturn in emerging-market shares will halt a big surge of IPOs in Latin America .

(Spanish)

fiesta ＝festival, party, celebration, feast, holiday.
siesta ＝ nap.

governess, Byronic

Charlotte Brontë was the most professional of the sisters, consciously trying to achieve financial success from the family's literary efforts. Her novel Jane Eyre, the story of a governess and her passionate love for her Byronic employer, Mr. Rochester, is ranked among the great English novels.


governess Hide phonetics
noun [C]
(especially in the past) a woman who lives with a family and teaches their children at home


BYRONIC
a.

Pertaining to, or in the style of, Lord Byron.

With despair and Byronic misanthropy.

Thackeray

screen (PICTURE), screening

YouTube to Screen Short Films

Google's YouTube plans to launch an area on the video-sharing site for independent filmmakers to show their work and generate revenue for the films' producers.

Banned East German film receives long-awaited premiere

A film banned by the former East Germany has finally been given its first
public screening. The black-and-white comedy from 1965 was considered too
controversial by authorities at the time.

The DW-WORLD Article
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=ew18s3I44va89pI5

<– Back to results

screen (PICTURE) Show phonetics
noun [C]
1 a flat surface in a cinema or on a television or a computer system on which pictures or words are shown:
Our television has a 19-inch screen.
Coming to your screens (= cinemas) shortly, the amazing adventures of 'Robin Hood'.
Her ambition is to write for the screen (= for television and films).
Write the letter on the computer, then you can make changes easily on screen.


2 the small screen television:
He's made several films for the small screen.

3 the big screen cinema:
So this is your first appearance on the big screen?

screen Show phonetics
verb [T]
to show or broadcast a film or television programme:
The programme was not screened on British television.

screening Show phonetics
noun [C]
a showing:
There will be three screenings of the film - at 3, 5 and 7 p.m.
screening
n.

1. screenings (used with a sing. or pl. verb) Refuse, such as waste coal, separated by a screen.
2. The mesh material used to make door or window screens.
3. A presentation of a movie.
4. A systematic examination or assessment, done especially to detect an unwanted substance or attribute.

be behind us, “ER”, greed, hubris, by training

Economist Stiglitz says the worst of the crisis may not be behind
us

G-8 leaders met this week in the Italian town of L’Aquila to discuss
pressing global issues, including the economic crisis, which is far from
over. European Business Week spoke to Nobel Laureate and renowned
economist Prof. Joseph Stiglitz about some of the issues impacting the
economic landscape.

The DW-WORLD Article
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=ew198eI44va89pI1



A hubristic GM failed to change with the times
The Age - Melbourne,Victoria,Australia
Sloan also created the first multi-division company, inspiring the world's most renowned management thinker, Peter Drucker, to write Concept of the ...
He is a lawyer by training, but made the transition to the fashion business when Gucci -- one of his clients -- hired him to join the company.








A doctor by training — he also created the hit television series “ER” — Mr. Crichton used fiction to explore the moral and political problems posed by modern technology and scientific breakthroughs, which in his books defied human control or ended up as tools used for evil ends. In his fictional worlds, human greed, hubris and the urge to dominate were just as powerful as the most advanced computers.

ER (HOSPITAL)
noun [C usually singular]
US ABBREVIATION FOR emergency room


hubris
noun [U] LITERARY
very great pride and belief in your own importance:
He was punished for his hubris.n.
Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance: “There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris” (McGeorge Bundy).

[Greek, excessive pride, wanton violence.]

hubristic hu·bris'tic (-brĭs'tĭk) adj.
hubristically hu·bris'tic·al·ly adv.

You used to need hubris, millions of dollars and the support of a great research university to imagine building a replacement for the human eye.

Now it's become dream and quest material for artists and tinkerers.


train (PREPARE)
verb [I or T]
to prepare or be prepared for a job, activity or sport, by learning skills and/or by mental or physical exercise:
She trained as a pilot.
[+ to infinitive] Isn't Michael training to be a lawyer?
[R + to infinitive] I've had to train myself to be more assertive at work.
She trained hard for the race, sometimes running as much as 60 miles a week.
HUMOROUS I'm trying to train my boyfriend to do the occasional bit of housework.

trained
adjective
I didn't realize Philippa was a trained nurse.
Are you trained in the use of this equipment?
HUMOROUS "Did I hear you say your children cleared up after the party?" "Oh yes, I've got them well-trained!"

trainee
noun [C]
a person who is learning and practising the skills of a particular job:
a trainee dentist/electrician

trainer
noun [C]
a person who teaches skills to people or animals and prepares them for a job, activity or sport:
They showed pictures of the horse and its trainer (= the person who prepared it for its races).
A lot of wealthy people have their own personal trainer (= a person they employ to help them exercise).
See also trainer.

training
noun [U]
the process of learning the skills you need to do a particular job or activity:
a training course
a teacher-training college
New staff have/receive a week's training in how to use the computers.



behind
adv.

1. In, to, or toward the rear: We walked behind.
2. In a place or condition that has been passed or left: I left my gloves behind.
3. In arrears; late: I fell behind in my payments.
4. Below the standard level; in or into an inferior position: Don't fall behind in class.
5. Slow: My watch is running behind.
6. Archaic. Yet to come.

prep.

1. At the back of or in the rear of: He sat behind her.
2. On the farther side or other side of; beyond: The broom is behind the door.
3. In a place or time that has been passed or left by: Their worries are behind them.
4. 1. Later than: The plane was behind schedule.
   2. Used to indicate deficiency in performance: behind us in technological development.
5. 1. Hidden or concealed by: hatred hidden behind a bland smile.
   2. In the background of; underlying: Behind your every action is self-interest.
6. In a position or attitude of support: The leaders have the army behind them.
7. In pursuit of: The police were hard behind the escapees.

n.
Informal. The buttocks.

[Middle English bihinde, from Old English behindan.]

China v. Rio Tinto

A case that spotlights the mainland's weak rule of law.

v 告 控訴

versus 
preposition
1 (WRITTEN ABBREVIATION v or vs) used to say that one team or person is competing against another:
Tomorrow's game is Newcastle versus Arsenal.

2 (WRITTEN ABBREVIATION v or vs) used in legal cases to show who a person is fighting against:
Abortion was legalized nationally in the United States following the Roe versus Wade case.

3 used to compare two things or ideas, especially when you have to choose between them:
private education versus state education

(from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

ver・sus

  

［prep. （訴訟・競技などで）…対 ((略 v., vs.)).