lose out, win through/win the day

Japanese businesses lose out in hiring of top Chinese talent
Asahi Shimbun
A Chinese MBA student, who used to work for Chinese affiliates of Mitsui & Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., says she will never again work at a Japanese company. ...

Game, set and match to Angela

Germany's chancellor wins the day at a European summit(33)

win through


Also, win the day. End successfully, be victorious, as in We didn't know until the very end if they would win through, or It seems that hard work won the day. The first term dates from the late 1800s and today is more often put as come through (def. 1). The variant originally alluded to the outcome of a battle and dates from the late


lose out

1. Fail to succeed, be defeated, as in The election's over, and you've lost out. [Mid-1800s]
2. Also, lose out on or in. Miss an opportunity to participate, as in We came so late that we lost out on our chance to see her dance, or The Republicans lost out in last fall's elections. [Colloquial; mid-1900s] Also see miss out on.

Mind-wandering, daydreaming

中英對照讀新聞／People spend half their waking hours daydreaming 白日夢耗去人一半清醒時間

◎國際新聞中心

People spend nearly half of their waking hours not thinking about what they are actually doing, according to a US study conducted via the iPhone. More than 2,200 volunteers downloaded an app which then surveyed them about their thoughts and mood at random times of day and night.

根據美國一份透過iPhone進行的研究，人每天清醒的時候，有將近一半時間沒想過他們真正在做甚麼。2200多名志願者下載一個應用程式，這個程式會隨時調查他們在日夜時的想法與心情。

The Science study suggested minds wander, even from demanding tasks, at least 30% of the time.

科學期刊的這份研究顯示，即使是工作很困難時，人的心思也有至少3成的時間會飄走。

Participants agreed to be contacted, at which point they selected what they were doing from a menu, whether they were actually thinking about it, and how happy or sad they felt. Remarkably, some participants were prepared to answer the survey even when making love.

參與者同意在被聯繫時，從選單中點選他們正在做甚麼、是否真的在思考這件事情、覺得多開心或多難過。讓人驚訝的是，一些參加者即便是在做愛時，也可以回答這份調查。

After gathering 250,000 survey results, the Harvard team concluded that this group of people spent 46.9% of their time awake with their minds wandering. Dr Matthew Killingsworth, one of the researchers, said： "Mind-wandering appears ubiquitous across all activities."

蒐集25萬份研究結果之後，哈佛團隊總結，這個組別的人，每天有46.9%的清醒時間是在神遊。其中一名研究人員齊林斯渥表示：「心不在焉的現象似乎出現在所有活動。」

新聞辭典

wander：動詞，失神、開小差。例句：My attention wandered. （我失了神。）

remarkably：副詞，特別到讓人驚訝或值得一提地，形容詞為remarkable。例句：The 20th century was remarkable for its inventions.（20世紀引人注目的是發明。）

ubiquitous： 形容詞，到處存在的。例句：Leather is very much in fashion this season, as of course is the ubiquitous denim.（本季皮料用得非常多，當然到處都可以看見的丹寧布也是。）

this time around, connectomics

Dr. Lichtman and his team of researchers at Harvard have built some unusual contraptions that carve off slivers of mouse brains as part of a quest to understand how the mind works. Their goal is to run slice after minuscule slice under a powerful electron microscope, develop detailed pictures of the brain’s complex wiring and then stitch the images back together. In short, they want to build a full map of the mind.

The field, at a very nascent stage, is called connectomics, and the neuroscientists pursuing it compare their work to early efforts in genetics. What they are doing, these scientists say, is akin to trying to crack the human genome — only this time around, they want to find how memories, personality traits and skills are stored.

bare-bone, submitting to the elements,

Jennifer Szymaszek for The New York Times

Mexico City Journal

A City’s Bare-Bones Embrace of Winter

By DAMIEN CAVE

Deep in Mexico’s Aztec roots, there is admiration for submitting to the elements, and it seems to re-emerge every winter with force.

bare-bone

pl.n. Informal
窮人
The basic elements or essentials: outlined the bare bones of the proposal.

bare-bones bare'-bones' (bâr'bōnz') adj.

postgraduate

鑑於國內醫界過於專科化，眼科醫師只看眼睛，肝膽腸胃科醫師只了解病人消化系統疾病，衛生署決議明年七月實施「一年期醫師畢業後一般醫學訓練計畫」（PGY），也就是醫學系學生需要多實習一年，「內外兼修、通盤了解」。 對於學生反彈，衛生署醫事處處長石崇良堅持，多一 ...

PGY是醫學教育的萬靈丹嗎? 醫學教育改革之我見謝豐舟近來醫學教育界為了所謂PGY（Post Graduate Year）的問題鬧得沸沸揚揚。為了知道PGY到底是怎麼一

postgraduate

(pōst-grăj'ū-ĭt, -āt')
adj.
Of, relating to, or pursuing advanced study after graduation from high school or college.

n.
One who is engaged in postgraduate study.

unafraid and incautious, fearless, Amygdala

Humans, Like Animals, Behave Fearlessly Without the Amygdala

By SINDYA N. BHANOO

A patient with rare brain damage is unafraid and incautious.

municipality, science, run chickens, chicken run

Taiwan sees birth of four special municipalities
Taipei Times
The nation's five special municipalities, home to 60 percent of the population, began operations yesterday, starting a new phase in Taiwan's administrative ...




“My theory about politics is that if they will just leave me alone, we’ll do just fine,” he said in 1993. “We pretty much stay home and run chickens.”
Donald J. Tyson, Food Tycoon, Is Dead at 80

science

[名][U][C]1 科学, 学問（の一分野）, …学 an exact science ［exact sciences］精密科学 the applied sciences応用科学 cultur... 音譯:サイエンス

science fiction

[U]空想科学小説（略：S.F.）.

science park

((英))先端科学産業団地.

run
7 （家畜の）飼育場, 放牧場；（動物の）通り道.


municipality
[名]（市・町などの）地方自治体；市［町］当局, 自治体当局.

(myū-nĭs'ə-păl'ĭ-tē)
n., pl., -ties.

1. A political unit, such as a city, town, or village, incorporated for local self-government.
2. A body of officials appointed to manage the affairs of a local political unit.

play musical chairs

Obama Staff Plays Musical Chairs
The president is restructuring the White House to adapt to the new political climate, but advisers won't know where they're sitting until January.


play musical chairs

Move around from position to position, such as the jobs in an organization. For example, Bob took over for Tom, who took over for Mary, who got Bob's title--the boss loves to play musical chairs with the staff. This expression alludes to the children's game in which children walk around a number of seats while music plays, and there is one less chair than players. When the music stops the players must sit down, and the player who is left standing is eliminated. Then another chair is removed, and the game goes on until only one player is left sitting.類似大風吹遊戲 [c. 1900]

meridian, acupuncture

Traditional map of 经络, the acupuncture meridians

meridian

• [mərídiən]

[名]

1
(1) 子午線；経線

the prime meridian
本初子午線.

(2) （天球の）子午線

the celestial meridian
天体子午線.

2 ((the 〜))((文))（繁栄・発展などの）絶頂, 頂点；最高潮, 全盛期

We have passed the meridian (of life).
（人生の）最盛期を過ぎてしまった.

━━[形]

1 子午線の, 経線の.

2 正午の, 真昼の

the meridian hour
正午.

3 最盛期の, 頂点の.

［ラテン語merīdiānus （medius真中の＋dies日＋-AN＝日の真中の）. mediusの-d-はdの繰り返しを避けて-r-に変わった. ⇒BELFRY］

游

A drugstore in Osaka's Chuo Ward with signs in Chinese to help Chinese visitors (Kenta Sujino)

		在水中行動。如：「游泳」。詩經˙邶風˙谷風：「就其淺矣，泳之游之。」淮南子˙墬形：「食水者善游能寒，食士者無心而慧。」
		遨遊。通「遊」。墨子˙貴義：「子墨子南游於楚，見楚獻惠王。」
		交往。通「遊」。左傳˙隱公三年：「其子厚與州吁游，禁之不可。」
		飄蕩不定。如：「游民」﹑「游資」﹑「氣若游絲」。新唐書˙卷九十五˙竇威傳：「周洛間，因隋亂，人不土著，軌下令諸縣，有游手末作者按之，由是威信大行，民皆趨本。」
		河流﹑江河的段落。如：「上游」﹑「中游」﹑「下游」。詩經˙秦風˙蒹葭：「溯洄從之，道阻且長，游之宛在水中央。」史記˙卷七˙項羽本紀：「古之帝者地方千里，必居上游。」

Chinese train driver manual –in English?

中国高铁偏爱英文操作手册？

Chinese train driver manual –in English?

吉密欧

China’s railway ministry boasts that the country’s rapidly multiplying, state-of-the-art high speed trains are now completely homegrown, having been created by armies of Chinese engineers. But, it now seems the engineers who have come up with all this authentic intellectual property are even smarter than the ministry would have us believe. After designing and building the new high-speed trains proliferating across the country they apparently decided to write the instruction manuals for train drivers in English, instead of their native Chinese.	中国铁道部夸口说，中国各地迅速涌现的、工艺一流的高铁列车，如今完全是国产的，由大批中国工程师设计建造。
This little fact was revealed in a glowing piece of propaganda published by the Chinese Communist Party that profiled “China’s Number 1 high speed train driver” – a man called Li Dongxiao. In the interview with state media, Li brags about making a bet with a German engineer who said there was no way Li could learn to drive the new “home-grown” Chinese high-speed trains in time for the first pre-Olympics trial of the Beijing to Tianjin express line in 2008. But Li said through tireless work and indomitable persistence he and his team were able to translate the English instruction manual into Chinese on their own and learnt to drive the new trains within just nine days. Li won the bet with the German engineer, whose involvement in the “home-grown” high speed train project is not explained. However, Li’s account does make one wonder why the Chinese engineers who came up with such advanced high-speed rail technology decided to write instruction manuals in perfect technical English for Chinese drivers, who only speak Chinese. Another possible explanation is that in the rush to adapt and “digest” foreign rail technology from companies like Siemens, Alstom, Bombardier and Kawasaki somebody forgot to translate the instruction manuals before they re-branded the trains “Chinese”. The railway ministry has said in a statement long ago that there is absolutely no doubt about the origins of its technology: “China Railways has already grasped the core technology for trains that operate at speeds over 200kmh…and China Railways has the autonomous intellectual property rights for such trains.” Now that the Chinese market is dominated by state-controlled domestic companies, the big international train producers are trying to catch a ride with them as the Chinese manufacturers start to peddle their technology overseas, with the help of cheap credit from Chinese banks. We’ll have to wait and see what language the training manual will be in for American, Australian, Brazilian, Thai and Saudi Arabian drivers when those countries start to buy “home-grown” Chinese trains.	然而，目前看来，创造出这项正版知识产权的工程师们的聪颖程度，甚至超出了铁道部试图让我们相信的水平。在设计并建造了眼下正覆盖全国各地的新型高铁列车之后，他们似乎决定用英语——而非中文——编写供列车司机使用的操作手册。
	这件小事是从中共发表的一篇热情讴歌“中国高铁一号司机”李东晓事迹的宣传材料中发现的。
	在接受国有媒体采访时，李东晓大谈自己和一位德国工程师打赌的事情。那位德国工程师说，李东晓绝对不可能按时学会驾驶新型“国产”高速列车，完成2008年奥运会前京津城际高速铁路的首次试运行。
	但李东晓表示，经过昼夜奋战和不懈努力，他和他的团队在短短9天内，硬是把英文的操作手册翻译成了中文，并且学会了驾驶这种新型列车。
	李东晓打赌赢了那位德国工程师，而至于“国产”高速列车项目为什么会有德国工程师参与，相关报道中没有进行解释。
	然而，李东晓的叙述让人不由生出这样的疑问：发明了如此先进的高速铁路技术的中国工程师，为什么要用纯技术英语编写操作手册，给只讲中文的中国司机看呢？
	另一个可能的解释是，由于急于吸收和“消化”西门子(Siemens)、阿尔斯通 (Alstom)、庞巴迪(Bombardier)和日本川崎重工(Kawasaki Heavy Industries)等外国公司的铁路技术，有些人忘了在将列车冠以“中国品牌”之前，应该事先翻译好操作手册。
	中国铁道部很早以前就在一份声明中表示，中国高铁技术的来源是毋庸置疑的。“中国铁路已经掌握了时速200公里及以上动车组核心技术……中国铁路拥有这类动车组的自主知识产权。”
	中国市场被本国国有控股公司主导，中国制造商在本国银行廉价信贷的协助下，正开始把技 术卖到海外，而大型跨国列车生产商则试图跟着它们搭个便车。当其它国家开始购买中国“国产”列车时，这些企业将为美国、澳大利亚、巴西、泰国和沙特等国的 列车司机提供什么语言的培训材料呢？我们将拭目以待。
	译者/何黎

Bixi

bicycle+taxi

Bixi (or BIXI in some marketing pieces) is a public bicycle sharing system launched in May 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

In Montreal, the system provided 3,000 bicycles and 300 stations located around Montreal's central core by June 2009,^[2] expanding to 5,000 bicycles and 400 stations later that summer.^[3] Bixi marked its one-millionth ride on October 26, 2009.^[4]

lemur, baguette

Robin Hammond for The New York Times

Only in Madagascar

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN 3:33 PM ET

Where else can one find dancing lemurs, perfect beaches like the above on Ste. Marie and Paris-grade baguettes?

Not to be confused with Breadstick.

A baguette (pronounced /bæˈɡɛt/) is "a long thin loaf of French bread"^[1] that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, though not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length, crisp crust, and slits that enable the proper expansion of gases.

A standard baguette has a diameter of about 5 or 6 cm (2 or 2⅓") and a usual length of about 65 cm (24"), although a baguette can be up to a meter (39") long.

lemur
n. - 狐猴
(lē'mər)
n.
Any of several small arboreal, mostly nocturnal primates chiefly of the family Lemuridae of Madagascar and adjacent islands, having large eyes, a long slim muzzle, and a long tail.

[New Latin Lemur, genus name, back-formation from Latin Lemurēs, lemures (from their ghostly appearance and their nocturnal habits).]

Oxford English Dictionary，OED

English

OED第一版出齊後 清華大學的 葉公超 (“牛津字典的貢獻” 《新月》一卷七號)和浦江清 (“牛津英文大字典” 《國聞周報》1928/5/13)兩老師都撰文介紹過

《牛津英語詞典》（英語：Oxford English Dictionary，OED）是由牛津大學出版社出版的詞典，被視為最全面和權威的英語詞 典。截至2005年11月30日，該詞典收錄了301,100主詞彙，字母數目達3億5千萬個。詞典亦收錄了157,000個以粗體印刷的組合和變形，以 及169,000個以粗斜體印刷的短語和組合，令詞典收錄的詞彙達到616,500個。另外，詞典共列出137,000條讀音、249,300個詞源、577,000個互相參照和2,412,400句例子。

牛津詞典旨在收錄所有已知詞彙的用法，以及詞彙在不同地區之英語的變化（請參看1933版詞典的前言）。第一版前後花了71年編寫，其中22年是準備工作（1857年至1879年）。在實際編輯的49年間（1879年至1928年），共用了四個主編，每名主編約有六個助手，還有在英美登報招募的約1,300個義工提供引句。

不少對英語詞彙的學術研究都以牛津詞典作為切入點。而詞典對詞彙拼法的要求，影響了不同地區的書面英語。

Publication dates
1888	A	A New ED	Vol. 1
1893	C	NED	Vol. 2
1897	D	NED	Vol. 3
1900	F	NED	Vol. 4
1901	H	NED	Vol. 5
1908	L	NED	Vol. 6
1909	O	NED	Vol. 7
1914	Q	NED	Vol. 8
1919	Si	NED	Vol. 9/1
1919	Su	NED	Vol. 9/2
1926	Ti	NED	Vol. 10/1
1928	V	NED	Vol. 10/2
1928	all	NED	12 vols.
1933	& sup.	Oxford ED	13 vols.
1972	A	OED Sup.	Vol. 1
1976	H	OED Sup.	Vol. 2
1982	O	OED Sup.	Vol. 3
1986	Sea	OED Sup.	Vol. 4
1989	all	OED 2nd Ed.	20 vols.
1993	all	OED Add. Ser.	Vols. 1–2
1997	all	OED Add. Ser.	Vol. 3

６歳の園児、英検準２級合格 授業は週１時間だけだけど

日本英語検定協会が実施する英検準２級に、岡山県備前市吉永町福満の幼稚園児、林桜子さん（６）が合格した。高校中級程度とされる試験だけに、幼稚園児の合格は珍しい。

　桜子さんに英語圏での生活経験はなく、３年ほど前から少人数制の英語教室に通うだけ。それも授業は週１回、約１時間ほどだ。ただ、母・祥子さんが必ず教室で学習を見守り、家でのレッスンを欠かさないという。

　父親の会社経営、徹浩さんも祥子さんも「英語は学校で習っただけ」で、わが子には海外で通用する職業についてほしいと教室通いを勧めた。楽しみながらス ムーズに「英語耳」が身についたといい、祥子さんは「大人は耳から入った英語を日本語に訳して理解する。桜子は聞いた英語が直接、会話につながっているよ うです」と驚いている。

　１月に４級、６月に中学卒業程度の３級に合格。「日常生活に必要な英語を理解して使うことができる」レベルの準２級には１０、１１月、岡山市でマークシート式試験や面接を受けた。

　日本英語検定協会によると、２００６年以降の県内の準２級合格の最年少は、０６年７歳、０７年７歳、０８年５歳、０９年６歳。全国では４歳が合格した例もある。（平尾清）

flames did not distinguish, novelty

Variety Performance

當晚查爾斯（Prince Charles）伉儷盛裝乘勞斯萊斯禮車出行，準備出席一年一度王室綜藝表演（Royal Variety Performance），不料車隊卻駛入倫敦西區示威現場，遭近300名示威者包圍。 群眾搖晃座車、又踢又打、還丟漆彈攻擊，高喊「拿下他們的頭」。

variety
A variety show.

and vs with

a and b 合著
a with b --b協助

The Right to Win
by Cesare Mainardi with Art Kleiner

A is from Mars, B is from Venus

Google is from Mars, Apple is from Venus
Digitaltrends.com
The emergence of ChromeOS highlights some of the fundamental differences between Google and Apple, and how each fundamentally appeals to a different ...


Mars/Venus 截然不同氣質的"行星"

congeries, spur-of-the moment, Briefing Room

The Portable Nabokov (originally published as Nabokov's Congeries) Selected with the author's collaboration and with a critical introduction ...

Drew Angerer/The New York Times
Clinton Holds Court in Briefing Room

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR 23 minutes ago

Former President Bill Clinton held a remarkable, spur-of-the-moment news conference to announce his backing for the tax compromise President Obama reached this week.

spur-of-the moment
(spûr'əv-THə-mō'mənt)
adj.
Occurring or made hastily on impulse: a spur-of-the moment choice.


congeries

(kən-jîr'ēz', kŏn'jə-rēz')
n. (used with a sing. verb)
A collection; an aggregation: "Our city, it should be explained, is two cities, or more-an urban mass or congeries divided by the river" (John Updike).

[Latin congeriēs, from congerere, to heap up. See congest.]

Communal Digital Newsstand/dailies and weeklies

French Publishers Fight Back With a Communal Digital Newsstand

By ERIC PFANNER

Eight leading dailies and weeklies in France are trying to create a single online portal.

Point-and-Shoots Stay Home

In Smartphone Era, Point-and-Shoots Stay Home

By SAM GROBART

The point-and-shoot camera is being shoved aside for the smartphone camera that improves with each new model.

Cold War/missile shield/Prime Minister/ President

Putin warns West over missile shield

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow will build up
its nuclear forces if it is left out of Western missile defense plans. His
remarks echo earlier comments by Prime Minister (錯誤 應該是President ) Dmitry Medvedev.



冷戰= cold war

n.

1. often Cold War A state of political tension and military rivalry between nations that stops short of full-scale war, especially that which existed between the United States and Soviet Union following World War II.
2. A state of rivalry and tension between two factions, groups, or individuals that stops short of open, violent confrontation.

楊聯陞說應該是"冷和"

Cold War/missile shield

Putin warns West over missile shield

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow will build up
its nuclear forces if it is left out of Western missile defense plans. His
remarks echo earlier comments by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

冷戰= cold war

n.

1. often Cold War A state of political tension and military rivalry between nations that stops short of full-scale war, especially that which existed between the United States and Soviet Union following World War II.
2. A state of rivalry and tension between two factions, groups, or individuals that stops short of open, violent confrontation.

楊聯陞說應該是"冷和"

belligerent by the week, cynical diplomacy-as-usual.

China, the Enabler

North Korea is becoming more belligerent by the week, but China is still playing cynical diplomacy-as-usual.

by the day

Also, by the hour or week or month or year. According to a specific time period, as in I'm renting this car by the day, or He's being paid by the hour. This usage generally describes some kind of rate. [1400s]