2009年11月28日 星期六

(From Many, One/ "E Pluribus Unum"

The latin motto of the USA is?

"E Pluribus Unum", (From Many, One).

2009年11月27日 星期五

au revoir, the kindness of strangers



the kindness of strangers
Quote:

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." — Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire

au re·voir (ō' rə-vwär') pronunciation

interj.
Used to express farewell.

[French : au, till the + revoir, seeing again.]

2009年11月26日 星期四

express , regular service , foreign service

The Korea Train eXpress (KTX) is South Korea's high-speed rail system, which connects the capital Seoul to Busan and Mokpo. Operated by Korail, the train's technology is largely based on the French TGV system, and has a top speed of 350 km/h, limited to 300 km/h during regular service for safety.[1]




foreign service 領事人員

n.
  1. The diplomatic and consular staff of the United States.
  2. foreign service The diplomatic and consular personnel of a nation's foreign office.

2009年11月25日 星期三

Light Electric Vehicle

台灣開始在行政部門主導下開發LEV(Lightelectric Vehicle)。LEV意為小型電動車。目前雖沒有明確定義,多指電動兩輪車、電動三輪車以及醫療福祉用電動四輪車……

2009年11月24日 星期二

pronounced, loss-making, bleed loss, pronounced dead


In the middle of the afternoon on Friday, Sept. 11, police say Mr. Pang's mother discovered the financier lying in bed, not breathing, at his home in a gated oceanfront community in Newport Beach, Calif. A family friend called 911. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital early the next morning.



TOKYO, April 15 (Reuters) - Japan is looking at providing support to loss-making chipmaker Elpida Memory (6665.T), including possibly injecting public money, but is still far from making a decision that could anger overseas rivals, government sources said.

Elpida, the world's No.3 DRAM maker, and even industry leaders Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and Hynix Semiconductor Inc (000660.KS) have bled losses as prices slump amid chronic oversupply.

German Doctor Shortage Begins Bleeding Into the West
The doctor shortage that has long plagued the health care system in
eastern Germany is becoming more pronounced in the western part of
the country, experts say.
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evwjd5I44va89pI8

bleed PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Hide phonetics
verb bled, bled
1 [I] to lose blood:
Your arm is bleeding.
He was bleeding heavily.

2 [T] OLD USE to make someone lose blood, as a cure for an illness

3 [T] If you bleed a closed system such as a radiator or a brake, you remove air or liquid from it to make it work correctly.



pronounced
Show phonetics
adjective
very noticeable or certain:
I'm told I have a very pronounced English accent when I speak French.
She's a woman of very pronounced views which she is not afraid to air.

2009年11月22日 星期日

coast, coast through, get your brain in gear, myopic


The Vatican said it was shocked by the ruling, calling it "wrong and myopic" to exclude the crucifix from education. The Italian government says it will appeal against the decision.

梵蒂岡則表示對此項判決感到震驚,並稱把十字架排除在教育之外「既錯誤且短視」。義大利政府已表示將會繼續上訴。


Nearly half of British workers say mid-morning on Tuesday is the moment when they feel most stressed at work, a study suggests.

將近一半的英國上班族說,週二中午是他們在一週工作當中感到壓力最大的時刻,一份研究指出。管淑平

The makers of the health supplement Bimuno polled 3,000 adults and found most workers coast through Monday getting their brain in gear and catching up with gossip from the weekend through social networking sites.

營養補充品Bimuno製造商調查3000名成人,發現大多數上班族都是輕鬆度過週一,讓他們的頭腦準備就緒、透過社交網站了解週末期間發生的八卦。




A company can coast for a long time when it starts with a dominant share of an enormous and hard-to-penetrate market in the world's largest economy─but given enough time, and enough incrementally myopic decisions, and it will eventually run out of momentum.


新聞辭典:

coast through:片語,順利地、輕鬆地通過。例句:They coast through the national tennis championship.(他們在全國網球錦標賽輕鬆過關斬將。)

get brain in gear:片語,讓腦袋思路清晰。例句:You’d better get your brain in gear for the coming presentation.(你最好整理好你的腦袋,以備即將而來的簡報。)


myopic:形容詞,(帶有不贊成意味)原指近視的,引申指缺乏遠見的、目光短淺的,如Their myopic refusal to act now will undoubtedly cause problems in the future.(他們拒絕採取行動的短視作法,未來一定會引發更多問題。)


get your brain in gear (informal)
to make yourself start thinking clearly and effectively I've got to get my brain in gear for the meeting this afternoon.


coast

n.
    1. Land next to the sea; the seashore.
    2. Coast The Pacific coast of the United States.
  1. A hill or other slope down which one may coast, as on a sled.
  2. The act of sliding or coasting; slide.
  3. Obsolete. The frontier or border of a country.

v., coast·ed, coast·ing, coasts. v.intr.
    1. To slide down an incline through the effect of gravity.
    2. To move effortlessly and smoothly. See synonyms at slide.
  1. To move without further use of propelling power.
  2. To act or move aimlessly or with little effort: coasted for a few weeks before applying for a job.
  3. Nautical. To sail near or along a coast.
v.tr. Nautical.

To sail or move along the coast or border of.

[Middle English coste, from Old French, from Latin costa, side.]

coastal coast'al ('stəl) adj.

win-win, Double Win, total win

Yet when he read about the beer-brewing package offered by another Saugatuck B & B, Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast, he decided to book a surprise trip for his wife’s birthday. “She looked at me like I literally had a third eye in the middle of my forehead,” said Mr. Loney, who usually leaves reservations up to her. Since he likes beer and she likes B & Bs, he said, it was a “total win situation.”



HEARD ON THE STREET
Double Win in Buying Back Bank Bonds
There haven't been too many genuine win-win-win situations in the financial markets recently. But the current tide of banks offering to exchange or buy back their battered subordinated debt at hefty discounts to face value seems to be one of them.


Infrastructure

It's a barter deal - what the Chinese side loves to call "win-win". Not aid with strings attached, like Western powers have given DR Congo over the years, but pure business.

W. Edwards Deming建議
這win-win用法 應改為"win,win".

win-win

(wĭn'wĭn')

adj.

Of or being a situation in which the outcome benefits each of two often opposing groups: a win-win proposition for the buyer and the seller.

win-win Show phonetics
adjective [before noun]
describes a situation, plan, etc. in which you cannot lose, whatever choice of action you make, or in which all the groups involved will gain benefits:
This is a win-win situation for her, because whoever wins this match, she's still going to be champion.
Promoting fairtrade is a win-win option, because everyone, both producers and consumers, benefits.



afterpiece

afterpiece
n.
A short comic piece performed after a play.
Meaning #1: a brief dramatic piece (usually comic) presented after a play


  • 1. 劇の終了後{しゅうりょうご}に演じられる寸劇{すんげき}
  • 2. 結びの言葉{ことば}

2009年11月14日 星期六

Out-of-Town Tryout

Dell's Out-of-Town Tryout for Smartphones
By SAUL HANSELL
Dell is entering the smartphone market with a new handset to be sold in Brazil and China.


tryout
n.
  1. A test to ascertain the qualifications of applicants, as for an athletic team or theatrical role.
  2. An experimental performance of a play before its official opening.

2009年11月8日 星期日

ringside seat, go-go, boom-and-bust

Jonathan A. Knee had a ringside seat during the go-go, boom-and-bust decade and into the 21st century, at the two most prestigious investment banks on Wall Street--Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. I


As Leaders Wrestle With Economy, Developing Nations Get Ringside Seats

The noun ringside has one meaning:

Meaning #1: first row of seating; has an unobstructed view of a boxing or wrestling ring
Synonym: ringside seat

2009年11月7日 星期六

stick out like a sore thumb, in my book


Helen Bostock, a horticulture advisor at the UK’s Royal Horticultural Society, says that while a true-blue rose sounds fabulous, it could stand out like a "sore thumb".

英國皇家園藝學會的園藝顧問波斯塔克女士則認為,儘管真正的藍玫瑰聽起來很吸引人,但卻可能顯得格格不入。

She is doubtful that a blue rose would be anything other than a novelty. "A red rose signifies passion, but blue is a bit cold in my book."

她很懷疑藍玫瑰除了新奇外還能有什麼其他意義。「紅玫瑰象徵熱情,但就我看來,藍色實在有點不討喜。」

stand out/stick out like a sore thumb:片 語,指因與周遭環境格格不入而引起注意。例句:Kenny stuck out like a sore thumb at the party. He was the only person wearing a suit and a tie.(肯尼在派對裡引人側目,他是全場唯一一個穿西裝打領帶的人。)

in my book:片語,(非正式用法)指依我的看法、我認為。例句:She’s never lied to me, and in my book that counts for a lot.(她從不曾對我說謊,我認為這可算得上彌足珍貴。)

2009年11月6日 星期五

grouping, conscripts, proliferation, G20

Social service providers fear military conscription cuts

The German government's plans to cut military conscription to six months
will also apply to those who opt to do community service instead. Community
groups warn of exploding costs and cuts to social services.

The DW-WORLD Article
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=ew2djsI44va89pI1



在二十國集團(Group of 20, 簡稱G20)峰會即將在倫敦召開之際﹐中國央行從週一以來已四次發表文章。中國央行在這篇文章中提到了當前金融危機引發的問題以及必要的應對措施。




Will Proliferating App Stores Lead To Confusion ...
Washington Post - United States
Pretty much everyone is looking to launch one: Palm, RIM, Nokia, Google, Samsung and Microsoft have all announced plans, not to mention the app stores ...



FAS - safety issues at nuclear storage depots

A grouping of US scientists critical of nuclear proliferation has
claimed that an internal US Air Force investigation has found that
nuclear weapon storage sites in Europe fail to meet safety standards
set by the Pentagon. On its Internet site, the Federation of
American Scientists, which was set up shortly after World War Two,
estimates that between 200 and 350 nuclear bombs are still stored in
underground vaults under US guard at airbases in Belgium, the
Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Britain and Turkey. The federation
cites problems with fencing and inconsistencies in personnel,
including the use of conscripts to guard weapons with as little as
nine months active duty experience.


conscription
n.
  1. Compulsory enrollment, especially for the armed forces; draft.
  2. A monetary payment exacted by a government in wartime.

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group (SET) Show phonetics
noun [C]
a number of people or things that are put together or considered as a unit:
I'm meeting a group of friends for dinner tonight.
The car was parked near a small group of trees.
She showed me another group of pictures, this time of children playing.

group Show phonetics
verb [I or T; + adverb or preposition]
to form a group or put people or things into a group:
We all grouped together round the bride for a family photograph.
I grouped the children according to age.
The books were grouped by size.

grouping Show phonetics
noun [C]
several people or things when they have been arranged into a group or are being considered as a group:
There exist two clearly defined political groupings in the country - the establishment and the dissidents.


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

proliferate Show phonetics
verb [I] FORMAL
to increase greatly and suddenly in number:
Small businesses have proliferated in the last ten years.

proliferation Show phonetics
noun [U] FORMAL
The past two years have seen the proliferation of TV channels.


non-proliferation PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Phonetic PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Hide phonetics
noun [U]
the limitation of the spread and/or amount of something, especially nuclear or chemical weapons:
a non-proliferation treaty

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the draft (MILITARY) MAINLY US noun [S] (UK conscription)
the system of ordering people by law to join the armed forces:
He avoided the draft because of a foot injury.

draft MAINLY US PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Phonetic PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Hide phonetics
verb [T usually passive] (UK conscript)
He was drafted (into the army) at eighteen.

draftee PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Phonetic PhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhoneticPhonetic Hide phonetics
noun [C] US
a person who has been ordered by law to join the armed forces