2010年5月31日 星期一

surprise attack/ inspection, vanish

Senior U.S. officials say the sinking of a South Korean warship revealed that years of spending had still left the country vulnerable to surprise attack.


******
Decades of Economic Gains Vanish for Blacks in Memphis
By MICHAEL POWELL
The combination of growing foreclosures and rising unemployment have destroyed black wealth and income and erased two decades of slow progress.


vanish
intr.v., -ished, -ish·ing, -ish·es.
    1. To pass out of sight, especially quickly; disappear. See synonyms at disappear.
    2. To pass out of existence.
  1. Mathematics. To become zero. Used of a function or variable.

[Middle English vanisshen, alteration of Old French esvanir, esvaniss-, from Vulgar Latin *exvanīre, alteration of Latin ēvānēscere : ē-, ex-, ex- + vānēscere, to vanish (from vānus, empty).]

vanisher van'ish·er n.
vanishingly van'ish·ing·ly adv.
vanishment van'ish·ment n.

so last year/ khaki uniform/ understaffed

《中英對照讀新聞》Khaki is so last year...卡其制服太落伍了…

◎管淑平

An Indian police force has drafted in one of the country’s top fashion designers to overhaul its distinctive khaki uniforms.

一支印度警察部隊已經徵召該國一名頂尖時尚設計師,大幅改造其獨樹一格的卡其制 服。

The police in the western state of Maharashtra have invited fashion designer Manish Malhotra, who made his name dressing leading Bollywood actresses, to give their officers a smart new look, the reports said.

西部馬哈拉什特拉邦警方邀請為寶萊塢知名女星做造型出名的時尚設計師馬尼什.馬爾霍特拉,賦予警察一個入時的新 面貌,報導說。

Malhotra had shown four to five new designs in blue and dark blue to senior police officers in the state capital, Mumbai, and a final choice was being considered.

馬爾霍特拉已提出4到5份藍色和深藍色的新設計式樣,給該州首府孟 買的警方高層,現正等待最後決定。

"Manish has been working on this project for four months. The Mumbai police is looking for a chic uniform and they feel Malhotra is the right man for them," an unnamed "industry insider" was quoted as saying.

「馬尼什已在這項計畫上努力了4個月。孟買警方正在尋找一種符合潮流的制服,他們覺得馬爾霍特拉是適合 的人選」,報導引述一名未具名的「產業界內幕人士」的說法。

Khaki uniforms were first introduced in the 19th century under British rule.

卡其制服最初是在19世紀英國統治時期引進。

The change, if approved, comes as part of an overhaul of police in Mumbai in the wake of the deadly 2008 Islamist militant attacks on the city when the force was found to be lacking training, equipment and manpower.

這 項變革,如果獲得通過的話,將是孟買警方鑑於2008年伊斯蘭好戰份子攻擊事件,所推動的改革的一部分,當時警方被發現缺乏訓練、裝備和人手。

Security experts have said that urgent investment was needed to boost police numbers across India, with many areas understaffed, particularly of experienced senior officers.

安全專家曾表示,需要立刻投入資源提升全印度警察人力,印度部分地區警力不足, 尤其是有經驗的高階警官。

新聞辭典:

last year:俚語,落伍的、過時的。

chic:形容詞,符合潮流的、時髦的。

例句:Try to get some chic outfits! The way you dress is so last year. (去找些時髦的衣服吧!你的穿著打扮太落伍了。)

understaffed: 形容詞,人力不足的。例句:Our department is hugely understaffed.(我們的部門人力嚴重不足。)

2010年5月13日 星期四

fib/The survival of the fibbest

The survival of the fibbest
New studies suggest that lying starts young—as young as 2 years old—and that what happens in our brains when we lie is different in adults than children.

c. f. The survival of the fittest


1. World's Most Shocking Apology: Oprah to James Frey By Belinda Luscombe
After annihilating James Frey on live TV for fibbing in his memoir, Oprah tells the author of 'A Million Little Pieces' she owes him "an apology"



fib
n.

An insignificant or childish lie.

intr.v., fibbed, fib·bing, fibs.

To tell a fib. See synonyms at lie2.

[Perhaps from obsolete and dialectal fible-fable, nonsense, reduplication of FABLE.]

fibber fib'ber n.

2010年5月10日 星期一

when your ship comes in/when personal ship come home/in/factory ship

factory ship noun

Click to hear the UK pronunciation of this wordClick to hear the US pronunciation of this word n [C]
a large ship which has equipment for keeping the fish caught by other smaller ships fresh, usually by freezing them



when personal ship come home/in

when your ship comes in

if you talk about what you will do when your ship comes in, you mean when you are rich and successful

When my ship comes in, I'll build you a huge house in the country.

2010年5月7日 星期五

Fionn, Cyrillic alphabet, extended family

Our children started their lives with blended cultural expectations. We named Fionn Alexander after a mythological Irish hero/pagan and a Russian saint and Kirill Barney Patrick after the monk who established the Cyrillic alphabet. They spend summer holidays at our holiday cottage in Mayo [Ireland] sometimes with my extended family. This has given them a strong connection to Ireland.


我和我的家人正在探索我们的下一趟国际之旅。


一旦我和我的公司就几个可能的地点列出清单,每个家庭成员便将开始投票。我妻子是一位艺术家,对于充满挑战和刺激的环境,和我有着同样的热情。米哈伊尔·戈尔巴乔夫(Mikhail Gorbachev)刚刚打开国门,她就离开了俄罗斯,从此再也没有回头。


我 们的孩子是带着对文化融合的期许开始他们的人生的。我们以爱尔兰神话英雄/异教徒和俄罗斯圣人的名字为菲昂·亚历山大(Fionn Alexander)命名,而基里尔·巴内·帕特里克(Kirill Barney Patrick)的名字则来自创立了西里尔字母的僧侣。他们有时来我们在(爱尔兰)梅奥的度假小屋,和我们的大家庭一起过暑假。这使他们和爱尔兰之间建立 起强大的纽带。

extended family

n.
  1. A family group that consists of parents, children, and other close relatives, often living in close proximity.
  2. A group of relatives, such as those of three generations, who live in close geographic proximity rather than under the same roof.
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Irish Mythology
Pronounced: FIN, FYOON

Means "fair" or "white" in Gaelic. Fionn mac Cumhail was a legendary Irish hero who became all-wise by eating an enchanted salmon. He fought against the giant Fomors with his son Oisin and grandson Oscar.


2010年5月2日 星期日

reculer pour mieux sauter

Main Entry: re·cu·ler pour mieux sau·ter

Pronunciation: \rə-kue-lā-pür-myœ-sō-tā\
Function: foreign term
Etymology: French

: to draw back in order to make a better jump

truth serum, rack, screw

rack肢刑, screw "指"刑

truth serum 實情注射
n.
Any of various hypnotic or anesthetic drugs, such as scopolamine or thiopental sodium, used to induce a subject under questioning to talk without inhibition.