2012年5月31日 星期四

qualified, half-assed, incompetent





For Some, Exercise May Increase Heart Risk
By GINA KOLATA 41 minutes ago

Could exercise harm some healthy people? Well-known researchers say the answer may be a qualified yes.



qualified[qual・i・fied]

  • レベル:大学入試程度
  • 発音記号[kwɑ'ləfàid | kwɔ'l-]
[形]
1 (職務・仕事などを遂行する)資質[能力]のある((for ...));(…するのに)適格の, 適任の, ぴったりの((to do));(法律上・慣習上必要な)条件を満たした, 資格[免許]のある
a qualified medical practitioner
免許のある開業医
wellpoorly] qualified officers
適格[不適格]な役人
a highly qualified person for the job
その仕事にまさに適した人
be qualified to vote
投票権がある.
2 修正[手直し, 手加減]した;制限[限定]された, 条件つきの
a qualified consent
条件つきの同意
a qualified acceptance
(手形の)制限引き受け, (契約の)条件つき承諾
in a qualified sense
ある限られた意味で.
qual・i・fied・ly
[副]
qual・i・fied・ness
[名]
階梯式教室、馬蹄型桌子,都是為了讓老師同學看到彼此,討論時容易產生火花。

學期中我把學校發給我的名牌搞掉了,自己做了一個,插進細縫中。

下課後, 老師跟我說:「我看不清楚你的名字。」

「為什麼?」「因為你做的名牌,名字和紙張底部之間的留白不夠,插進有深度的縫隙,

一半名字都塞進縫隙裡。」

我拿出名牌,果然是這樣,「你應該叫教務處幫你重做,他們做的名牌都是精密量過的,插進細縫中剛剛好。」

老師臨走前一語雙關地說:「把你那張half-assed的名牌丟吧!那張名牌只讓我們看到一半的你。」

當時我聽不懂「half-assed」(直譯:半個屁股)是什麼意思。

去查字典,上面寫著「凡事只做一半,不注重細節。」

沒錯,在那之前,我一直是個大而化之、半個屁股的人。

此書將對失聰者的辱稱"incompetent" 前後翻譯不一致
(ĭn-kŏm'pĭ-tənt) pronunciation
adj.
  1. Not qualified in legal terms: a defendant who was incompetent to stand trial.
  2. Inadequate for or unsuited to a particular purpose or application.
  3. Devoid of those qualities requisite for effective conduct or action.
n.
An incompetent person.

incompetently in·com'pe·tent·ly adv.

half-assed
(hăf'ăst', häf'äst')
adj. Vulgar Slang
  1. Not well planned or executed.
  2. Incompetent.
half-assed half'-assed' adv.

2012年5月29日 星期二

tenure/ eudal tenures, all-new,

The all-new installment of TASCHEN’s bestseller

In a world where products are out as soon as they’re in, where communicating without wires doesn’t come without strings, and even our accessories need accessories, we need simple tools. A book that helps us look inside because we are overloaded outside.





The Nobel committee’s embrace of Mr. Obama was viewed as a rejection of the unpopular tenure, in Europe especially, of his predecessor, George W. Bush.




feudal tenures,意思是授封於陪臣、騎士的土地權力。這種權利,原不過是一種租賃一使用權,所有權是屬於封建主的。梅因(《古代法》)說,它是仿效羅馬時代永田權的一種權利。後來它成了完全的所有權。

ten·ure (tĕn'yər, -yʊr') pronunciation
n.
    1. The act, fact, or condition of holding something in one's possession, as real estate or an office; occupation.
    2. A period during which something is held.
  1. The status of holding one's position on a permanent basis without periodic contract renewals: a teacher granted tenure on a faculty.
[Middle English, from Old French teneure, from tenir, to hold, from Latin tenēre, to hold.]
tenurial ten·u'ri·al (-yʊr'ē-əl) adj.
tenurially ten·u'ri·al·ly adv.

━━ n. (財産の)保有(権,期間,条件); 在職[任]期間[条件]; (大学教師などの)終身的地位.
tenure of life 寿命.
tenure-track, tenure・track ━━ a. 〔米〕 終身的教授職に至る地位にある.
ten・ur・i・al
 ━━ a.

2012年5月26日 星期六

psychic, Matthew effect, telepathic, pathetic


《中英對照讀新聞》Pentagon plans for telepathic troops within five years 五角大廈計劃5年內成立心電感應部隊

◎陳成良
The U.S. Army is dedicating millions of research dollars into discovering building helmets to allow soldiers to telepathically communicate with one another on the battlefield.
美國陸軍正投入數百萬美元研究經費,研製能讓士兵在戰場上透過心電感應進行交流的頭盔。

The technology, which seems like something out of a science fiction novel, would use electrodes to pick up code words that soldiers were thinking. Those codewords would then be transmitted back to a computer where the soldier’s position and message--telling, for instance, that it is safe to progress towards a target--which would be transmitted to their peers in the field.
這種技術看似源自科幻小說,將使用電極來收集士兵思考時的腦電波代碼。這些代碼隨後傳輸回一部電腦,電腦將士兵的位置和訊息,例如,朝某個目標行進是安全的等指令,傳送給戰場上的同袍。

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA)was established in 1958 and was dedicated to expanding the Department of Defense’ technology usage, some of which included state-of-the-art, and top secret, research into the mind.
國防先進研究計畫局(DARPA)成立於1958年,致力於推廣國防部的科技應用,其中包括最先進的、最機密的心智研究。

Based largely out of University of California-Irvine, in conjunction with labs in Philadelphia and Maryland, scientists are trying to improve so-called ’synthetic telepathy’ so that it could be used in a battlefield.
這項研究工作主要由加州大學爾灣分校負責,費城和馬里蘭州的一些實驗室也參與其中。科學家試圖改進所謂的「綜合讀心術」,這樣就能應用在戰場。

So far, 45 percent of the commands that are transmitted from one volunteer to another--like ’call in helicopter’ or ’enemy ahead’--are correct. That statistic is expected to improve.
目前,從一個志願受試者傳遞給另一個受試者的指令中,有45%是正確的,比如「呼叫直升機」或者「前方有敵人」等。這一統計數值預計會改善。

新聞辭典
telepathic:形容詞,心電感應的。名詞為telepathy,指在沒有任何線索的情況下,不通過語言或行為的交流而洞悉他人思想的功能,此能力能將某些訊息透過普通感官之外的途徑,傳到另一人的心中,又稱「心靈感應」或「他心通」。

 (tə-lĕp'ə-thē) pronunciation
n.
Communication through means other than the senses, as by the exercise of an occult power.

telepathic tel'e·path'ic (tĕl'ə-păth'ĭk) adj.
telepathically tel'e·path'i·cal·ly adv.
telepathist te·lep'a·thist n.

pathetic, -ical[pa・thet・ic, -i・cal]

  • レベル:大学入試程度
  • 発音記号[pəθétik, -ikəl]
[形]
1 〈光景・物語・手紙などが〉哀れな[をさそう], 痛ましい
a pathetic sight
痛ましい光景.
2 感動的な, 感動させる;感情による[から出た].
3 〈努力・利息などが〉ごくわずかの, まったく不十分な.
[後ラテン語←ギリシャ語pathētikós (páschein苦しむ+-IC=苦しみやすい→同情心をもちやすい)]
pa・thet・i・cal・ly
[副]((時に文修飾))哀れに(も).
state-of-the-art:形容詞,(科技、機電等產品)最先進的、最高級的。用法如state-of-the-art technology(尖端科技)。

in conjunction with:片語,與…共同;連用。例句:He runs a store in conjunction with his relative.(他與親戚共同經營一家商店。)





Google Instant: Quick, Quick, Quick–But Not Psychic

PC World

When Google CEO Eric Schmidt gave a keynote address at the IFA show in Berlin yesterday, he talked about "a
The Matthew effect in Google search?


psy·chic (sī'kĭk)

n.
A person apparently responsive to psychic forces.
See medium (sense 6).

adj. also psy·chi·cal (-kĭ-kəl)
Of, relating to, affecting, or influenced by the human mind or psyche; mental: psychic trauma; psychic energy.

Capable of extraordinary mental processes, such as extrasensory perception and mental telepathy.
Of or relating to such mental processes.

[From Greek psūkhikos, of the soul, from psūkhē, soul.]

psychically psy'chi·cal·ly adv.new definition of Google. ...

2012年5月23日 星期三

“up or down vote”, timetable, well-thought-out, distinguish



Op-Ed Contributor

The Crisis of European Democracy

By AMARTYA SEN
Reform on a well-thought-out timetable must be distinguished from reform done in extreme haste.




WASHINGTON — President Obama, beginning his final push for a health care overhaul, called Wednesday for Congress to allow an “up or down vote” on the measure, and sketched out an ambitious — and, some Democrats said, unrealistic — timetable for his party to pass a bill on its own within weeks.
“I believe the United States Congress owes the American people a final vote on health care reform,” Mr. Obama said during a 20-minute speech in the East Room of the White House. He said there was no point in starting over, as Republicans are demanding, and called on nervous Democrats to stick with him, declaring there was no reason “for those of us who were sent here to lead to just walk away.”

“up or down vote” 成或敗



thóught-óut[thóught-óut]

[形]((通例副詞を伴って))〈論拠・企画などが〉十分に考えた末の, 考え抜いた, 周到な
well thought-out
よく考え抜かれた
badly thought-out
十分に考え抜かれていない.

tímetàble[tíme・tàble]

  • レベル:大学入試程度
[名]
1 時刻[計画, 予定]表
Everything is on a timetable.
すべては予定表に載っている.
2 ((英))(授業の)時間割(((米))schedule);大学要覧(((米))catalog).

distinguish[dis・tin・guish]

  • レベル:大学入試程度
  • 発音記号[distíŋgwiʃ]
[動](他)
1III[名]([副])]…を見分ける, 識別[弁別]する;…を(…と)区別する((from ...))(▼進行形不可)
distinguish the sound of the trumpets in an orchestra
オーケストラのトランペットの音を聞き分ける
fresh water fish as distinguished from salt water fish
海水魚と区別した淡水魚
It is important to distinguish good fromandevil.
善悪のけじめをつけることが肝要だ.
[類語]「(〜を〜と)区別する」の意ではtell ... apart, 次いでdifferentiateが一般的. 後者は特に部類としての区別という側面を含む. distinguishは類似物についてのしばしば個体レベルでの区別. discriminateは類似したものの間にすでに備わっている相違に気づき, それに基づいて選択, 異なる扱い方をするという意味合い.
2 ((通例canと共に用いて))〈物の〉(形状を)(視覚・聴覚などによって)はっきりと認める, 感知する. ▼進行形不可
Nothing could be distinguished in the fog.
もやが立ちこめて何も見えなかった.
3 〈物が〉…の区別の目安となる, を特色づける
His full beard distinguishes him.
豊かなひげが彼の特徴だ.
4 ((〜 -selfまたは受身))(…で)目立つ, りっぱ[有名]になる[である]((for, by ...;as ...))
be distinguished for one's learning
学識で名高い
He is distinguished as a painter.
彼は画家として有名だ.
5 …を(…に)分類する((into ...)).
━━(自)(…間の)相違を示す;(…を)弁別する, 見分ける((between ...))
distinguish between A and B
AとBを区別する
I cannot distinguish between the two.
両者の見分けがつかない.
[中英語. ラテン語distinguere(印で区別する)+-ISH. △DISTINCT
dis・tin・guish・er
[名]

2012年5月20日 星期日

blood·bath, “thrown out the child with the bath-water.”


The reaction against the Imitation theory has naturally and inevitably gone much too far. We have “thrown out the child with the bath-water.” All through the present book we have tried to show that art arises from ritual, and ritual is in its essence a faded action, an imitation. Moreover, every work of art is a copy of something, only not a copy of anything having actual existence in the outside world. Rather it is a copy of that inner and highly emotionalized vision of the artist which it is granted to him to see and recreate when he is released from certain practical reactions.

turn (sb) against sb/sth

The Bloodbath of British Banks

Following a huge loss by RBS on Jan. 19, investors turned against other City of London bastions, including Lloyds, Barclays, and even HSBC


2010/11/9 看伊拉克新聞

: blood·bath (blŭd'băth', -bäth') pronunciation
also
n.
Savage, indiscriminate killing; a massacre.

[名](革命・戦闘での)大虐殺(massacre).




bath[bath1]

  • レベル:大学入試程度
  • 発音記号[bǽθ | bɑ'ːθ]
[名](複〜s 〔bǽðz, bǽθs | bðz〕)
1 入浴;水浴び;日光浴
take [((英))have] a bath
入浴する(▼The baby's taking a bath. とすると赤ん坊がひとりで入浴している感じになる)
run a quick bath
さっとひと浴びする
give a person a bath
人をふろに入れる.
2 浴槽, 湯ぶね(▼((米))では通例bathtub);浴室, ふろ場. ⇒BATHROOM
a single room with a private bath
専用浴室つき1人部屋
run a bath
浴槽に湯[水]を入れる;入浴する, シャワーを浴びる.
3 ((しばしば〜sで単数扱い))
(1) (しばしばプールつきの)浴場, ふろ屋(bathhouse);((英古風))プール(swimming bath)
public baths
公衆浴場
Turkish bath
(トルコ風の)蒸しぶろ屋.
(2) (特に古代ローマの)大浴場(communal bath).
4 ((通例〜s))湯治場, 温泉地(spa).
5 [U]溶液, 処理液, 調合液;[C](溶液などの)容器
a fixing bath
(写真の)定着液.
6 《工学》…浴:砂・水・油などを媒体とする温度調節装置.
7 《冶金》炉底;鋼浴.
8 びしょぬれ
in a bath of perspirationsweat
びっしょり汗をかいて.
take a bath
(1) ⇒[名]1
(2) ((米略式))破産する;(…で)大損する((on, in ...)).
━━[動]((主に英))(他)〈赤ん坊・病人などを〉入浴させる(((米))bathe).
━━(自)入浴する.
bath・less
[形]入浴しないで;ふろのない.
 


2012年5月19日 星期六

walk on air, floating, walk through






Facebook Builds Network of Friends in Washington
By SOMINI SENGUPTA

Over the last five years, Facebook employees have met with members of Congress and walked them through ways to best to use the Web site.
I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current.

So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, embarked on a course that would shock Chicago society and forever change their lives.




James Michenerの本



我只有他的兩本浮世繪相關作品

The Floating World (1954)


And yet the platform here feels more like a space station than a stepping stone, so that is why, for once in my life, I am permitting myself the luxury of walking on air.
--Seamus Heaney – Nobel Lecture
Crediting Poetry
http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1995/heaney-lecture.html

「今日樂上樂,相從步雲衢。」(取材 朱自清《中國歌謠》)


 walk-through
 (wôk'thrū')
n.
  1. A brief rehearsal, as of a play or role, performed usually in an early stage of production.
  2. A television rehearsal during which no cameras are used.
  3. A thorough demonstration or explanation that details each step of a process.



walk on air
Feel elated or exuberantly joyful, as in She was walking on air after she found out she'd won the teaching award. This metaphoric term likens feeling happy to floating. [Late 1800s]
walk [float] on air[walk [float] on air]

((進行形で))(うれしくて)有頂天になる, 浮き浮きする.


float
[動](自)
1I([副])]〈物が〉(液面に)浮く, 浮き上がる((up));〈船・気球などが〉浮かぶ, 浮流[浮遊]する, 漂う(⇒FLY1[類語]);〈鳥・雲・木の葉などが〉ゆっくり飛んで[流れて]いく, ひらひら飛ぶ((away, past));〈音・においなどが〉流れる, 漂ってくる;〈月・雲などが〉(空に)かかる;〈旗が〉ひるがえる
a small boat floating on the river
川に浮かぶ小舟
the moon floating in the sky
空にかかる月.
2 〈人が〉しとやかに動く[歩く]
She floated along the hall.
広間をしとやかに歩いていった.
3 〈幻想・考えなどが〉浮かぶ, 〈心が〉さまよう;〈決意などが〉(…間を)ぐらつく((between ...))
ideas floating in [through] one's mind
心に去来する考え.
4 ((ふつう進行形))〈思想・うわさなどが〉広まる, 流布する((about, around)).
5 〈人が〉さまよう, ぶらぶらする;ぼんやりと過ごす((about, around, round));〈住所などが〉転々と変わる
He floated through four years of college.
大学の4年間を漫然と過ごした.
6 〈会社・企画などが〉発足する, 設立される, 企てられる.
7 〈手形などが〉流通する;満期日になるのを待つ;〈通貨・交換レートが〉変動相場制である.
8 ((ふつう進行形))物がそこらあたりにある((around, about)).
9 (感情的に)高まる, うきうきする.
━━(他)
1III[名]([副])]〈物・船・気球などを〉浮かす, 浮かべる, 〈水・潮などが〉…を浮き上がらせる, 漂わせる.
2 〈町などを〉水浸しにする, 氾濫(はんらん)させる;〈田などに〉潅漑(かんがい)する.
3 …の表面をならす, 滑らかにする, 〈表面を〉(液体で)おおう, ぬらす.
4 〈思想・うわさなどを〉持ち出す, 流布させる.
5 〈会社などを〉発足させる, 設立する;企てる.
6 〈株式・債券を〉売り出す, 発行する;〈通貨・交換レートを〉変動相場制にする;〈ローンの〉交渉をする;((米))浮動手形を出す(((英))bounce).
━━[名]
1 浮くもの(いかだ・浮き草・浮標など);《配管・機会》浮球.
2 浮き上がらせるもの(浮き袋・救命具など);(水上飛行機の)フロート;《釣り》浮き;(魚の)浮き袋.
3 (パレードなどの)山車(だし), 台車;(家畜・重量物運搬用の)台の低い荷車;配達用電気自動車.
4 《建築》木[角]ごて;荒片目やすり;大理石をみがく道具.
5 変動相場制;((主に米))浮動証券[手形].
6 ((通例〜s))《演劇》脚光, フットライト.
7 ((ふつう複合語))((米))アイスクリームを浮かべた飲み物
a coke-float
コーラフロート.
8 ((英))(商店などのつり銭用)現金;少額の借金(loan);((俗))銭箱;その金.
9 浮動投票者;移動労働者.

2012年5月18日 星期五

come up roses, fork over, fingerprinting


WHY IS COLLEGE SO EXPENSIVE?
Many of the protesters occupying Wall Street and other places say they are upset about the rising price of going to college. Tuition and other costs have been going up faster than inflation, and family incomes can't keep up. Despite public outrage about the problem, there's little sign these costs will drop anytime soon. If you are a veteran of a public university, the jump in tuition at your alma mater might be downright jaw-dropping. Tuition at the University of California, Berkeley, was about $700 a year back in the 1970s. Today, U.C. Berkeley students have to fork over around $15,000 per year. That's a 2,000 percent increase. There's a simple explanation, according to Sandy Baum, who teaches at George Washington University. The piece is from NPR’s All Things Considered.






Food Stamps Are Not a Crime


Gov. Andrew Cuomo finally proposed the regulations that would end unnecessary fingerprinting of people who apply for food aid in New York State.

《中英對照讀新聞》’Bouquet Bandit’ busted in Brooklyn: police 警方在布魯克林逮捕「花束搶匪」
◎張沛元
’Bouquet Bandit’ busted in Brooklyn: police
警方在布魯克林逮捕「花束搶匪」
Cops were the ones who came up roses today after nabbing the "Bouquet Bandit" for pulling off two Chelsea bank robberies.
警方逮捕了在卻爾喜搶劫兩家銀行的「花束搶匪」,成為今天的最大贏家。
Edward Pemberton, 44, was busted just days after cops said he robbed a pair of Chelsea banks while carrying flowers or potted plants as props, police sources said.
警方消息人士指出,44歲的艾德華.潘姆伯頓在帶著充當道具的花束或盆栽植物搶劫兩家卻爾喜的銀行數日之後,遭到警方逮捕。
Cops said Pemberton, who worked several odd jobs in Chelsea where the robberies took place, lives in Brooklyn. He has had 14 previous arrests, mainly for drugs.
警方表示,目前住在布魯克林的潘姆伯頓,在銀行搶劫案發生地卻爾喜曾經打過一些零工。他過去有14次被捕紀錄,大多與毒品有關。
Cops used fingerprints left on the pink paper around the flowers to nab Pemberton.
警方利用留在包裹花束的粉紅色紙張上的指紋,循線逮捕潘姆伯頓。
The chrome-domed Pemberton packed fresh flowers and potted plants instead of a weapon for two heists, and even whipped out a threatening note from a bunch of sweet-smelling perennials demanding that a teller fork over a different kind of green.
禿頭的潘姆伯頓在兩次犯行中帶著新鮮花束與盆栽植物而非武器,他甚至從一束芬芳的多年生植物中掏出一張威脅字條,要求一名銀行行員拿出另一種綠色的東西給他。
新聞辭典
come up roses:俚語,結果相當順利或成功。例句:Those were difficult times but now everything’s coming up roses.(過去有過苦日子,但如今一切已否極泰來。)
1. Turn out extremely well, as in I had my doubts about this project, but now it's coming up roses. [Slang; c. 1960]
2. come up smelling like roses. Emerge untarnished from a difficult situation, have no stain on one's character, as in He was suspended for a month but still came up smelling like roses. Eric Partridge believed this usage originally was fall into shit and come up smelling like roses, but the vulgar initial phrase is now generally omitted. [Slang; first half of 1900s]

fork something over (to someone):俚語,把某物交給某人(通常指的是錢)。例句: Fork over the cash you owe me!(把你欠我的錢交出來!)
a different kind of green:此處的green(綠色)在俚語中指的是錢,也就是綠色的美鈔。文中所提及的兩種green,分別是綠色植物與美鈔。例句:I’ve run out of green stuff. Can you loan me a few bucks?(我沒錢了。借些來花花好吧?)

2012年5月17日 星期四

vice versa, conundrum, Jesuits, missionary,recorder





 
The Chinese Recorder 《教務雜誌》
  • 書名:The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal (全套 75 冊)
  • 編輯委員:汪靈光、查時傑(主編)、項潔
  • 出版資訊:臺大出版中心、基督教與中國研究中心, 2012年2月10日 , ISBN: 978-986-02-7510-0
  • The Chinese Recorder《教務雜誌》全套75冊首次完整問世,內容詳載1867~1941 西方宣教士在中國信息交流全記錄。




Jesuits :耶穌會士。詳見 Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus :耶穌會:由聖納爵.羅耀拉 St. Ignatius de Loyola 1540? 年所創立,從事教育文化、外方傳教、大眾傳播、社會等工作。俗稱 Jesuits
n. Roman Catholic Church
An order of regular clergy, founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola in 1534, that is strongly committed to education, theological scholarship, and missionary work.The society had its beginnings in the small band of six who together with St. Ignatius took vows of poverty and chastity while students at Paris. Their first plan was to work for the conversion of Muslims. Unable to go to the Holy Land because of the Turkish wars, they went to Rome and received ordination. Their constitution was approved by Pope Paul III (1540), and St. Ignatius was made (1541) general. The order then immediately began to expand.


Jesus :耶穌:意為上主施救 Yahweh is salvation ,亦即救世主;為天使向聖母報告喜訊時所取之名(瑪一 21 )。源自希伯來文 Yeshu ;希臘話稱 Iesous 。在近東、西班牙和拉丁美洲,耶穌是很通俗的名字。參閱 Jesus Christ


The China Conundrum



What seems a boon for American colleges and Chinese students is, on closer inspection, a tricky fit for both. 




recorder[re・cord・er]

  • レベル:大学入試程度
  • 発音記号[rikɔ'ːrdər]
[名]
1 録音[録画]装置
a tape [a video(tape)] recorder
テープ[ビデオ]レコーダー.
2 リコーダー:昔の縦型フルート.
3 (各種の)記録器, 登録機;(電信の)受信器.
4 記録官[係], 登録者, 登記係.
5 《英国法》刑事法院臨時裁判官.



conundrum

(kə-nŭn'drəm) pronunciation
n.
  1. A riddle in which a fanciful question is answered by a pun.
  2. A paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem; a dilemma: "the conundrum, thus far unanswered, of achieving full employment without inflation" (Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.).
[Origin unknown.]


conundrum[co・nun・drum]

  • レベル:社会人必須
  • 発音記号[kənʌ'ndrəm]
[名](語呂(ごろ)合わせの)なぞ, 判じ物;難問
pose a conundrum
難問を提出する.

Vice versa

Meaning

The reverse of the previous statement, with the main items transposed. Vice versa originates as Latin, with the literal translation being 'the other way round' or 'the position being reversed', but is now fully absorbed into English.
The phrase is usually used to imply the complement of a statement without expressing as much in words. For example:
"Fish can't live where we are most comfortable, and vice versa".
It is often misspelt as visa versa.

Origin

The English language has many expressions that refer to things being the wrong way around - 'inside out', 'upside down', 'topsy-turvy', 'the cart before the horse', 'arsy versy' etc. Even the commonplace word 'preposterous' literally means 'back-to-front'. This extravagance may be accounted for by an age-old English preoccupation with the supernatural and things that are not as they should be - the struggle between good and evil in other words.
'Arsy versy' is the oldest of these expressions, but this has now gone out of regular use and has been replaced by its modern compatriot 'arse about face'. It is first found in Richard Taverner's Prouerbes or adagies with newe addicions, gathered out of the Chiliades of Erasmus, 1539:
"Ye set the cart before the horse - cleane contrarily and arsy versy as they say."
Vice-versa'Vice versa' is also found in print quite early, as in Anthony Copley's An answere to a letter of a Jesuited gentleman by his cousin, 1601:
"They are like to bee put to such a penance and the Arch-Priests vice-versa to be suspended and attained as Schismaticall."
In 1915, the psychologist Edgar Rubin created a 'face/vase' cognitive illusion that is a visual equivalent of the phrase. Sadly, being Danish, Rubin described the conundrum as a 'synsoplevede figurer' (visual figure) and missed the linguistic open goal of calling the illusion 'Vase versa'.

rack up, whopping, ramp up, ratchet up, morphing

Editorial: JPMorphing
JPMorgan Chase’s whopping trading loss has revived calls for a tougher version of the Volcker Rule, but Jamie Dimon isn’t dropping his campaign against regulation. 



China's trade surplus ballooned unexpectedly last month, ratcheting up pressure on the government to allow the yuan to appreciate faster. The data come as U.S. and Chinese officials have been discussing issues including trade and the yuan, among other issues.



Microsoft racked up a whopping $8.5 billion phone bill to buy Skype even though there were no signs of other serious bidders, as the software giant moved aggressively to ramp up its growth.

whopping

(hwŏp'ĭng, wŏp'-) pronunciation Slang.
adj.
Exceptionally large: "yet another whopping pay raise" (Lee Atwater).

adv.
Used as an intensive: a whopping good joke.

[Present participle of WHOP .]

ramp up
Increase rapidly. Describes the expected performance of sales and profits of a new business, which increase rapidly until a plateau is reached at maturity.


The UK university that’s open to cash strapped students

From next year, British universities will be able to charge tuition fees of around 11,000 euros a year. That's more than triple the amount they're currently allowed to charge.

This move towards what's seen as a more US-style model of college funding started about 5 years ago with the introduction of much lower tuition fees. But with students not used to the idea of racking up debts before the age of 21, many have turned to other alternatives. One distance learning university that turned 40 last year has seen a large increase in the number of younger students. Nik Martin reports from Milton Keynes.




rack up
Accumulate or score, as in Last night's episode of that new sitcom racked up at least fifteen points in the ratings. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]

 morph3 (môrf) pronunciation

v., morphed, morph·ing, morphs.
v.tr.
To transform (an image) by computer: cinematic special effects that morphed the villain into a snake.

v.intr.
To be transformed: "Yesterday's filmstrip has morphed into today's school computer" (Clifford Stoll).

[Shortening of METAMORPHOSE.]

 


2012年5月16日 星期三

clean-living, ding, bid-rigging, price-fixing, spot-fixing

Out with the red wine and foie gras:half the French cabinet are fighting the fat to please their clean-living boss President Nicolas Sarkozy and his supermodel wife.
和紅酒、鵝肝醬說拜拜了:法國內閣半數首長正努力對抗肥胖,以迎合他們注重養生的老闆、總統薩科茲和他的超級名模妻子。管淑平

clean-living:形容詞或名詞,健康生活、健康生活的。例句:Clean-living may help slow our body aging, according to a scientific study.(健康生活或許有助於減緩我們的身體老化,根據一份科學研究指出。)


 Spot-fixing controversy highlights corruption in Indian cricket

 Spot-fixing refers to illegal activity in a sport where a specific part of a game is fixed. Examples include something as minor as timing a no ball or wide delivery in cricket or timing the first throw-in or corner in association football. Spot-fixing attempts to defraud bookmakers illegally by means of a player agreeing to perform to order by pre-arrangement.[1] As such spot-fixing differs from match fixing, where a whole match is fixed, or point shaving, a specific type of match fixing in which corrupt players (or officials) attempt to limit the margin of victory of the favoured team. Spot-fixing is more difficult to detect than match fixing or point shaving. Spot-fixing is most associated with the betting markets of the Indian subcontinent where bets can be placed on individual deliveries in a cricket match.[2] The advent of Twenty20 cricket is said to have made spot-fixing more difficult to detect[3] as has the growth of Internet gambling and spread betting.



clean-living
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: adj. - Morally pure.


Dinging Japan's Car-Parts Industry


If it sometimes seems car parts are just too expensive, that's because they are.
In recent months, three Japanese car-parts companies have agreed to pay a combined $748 million in fines for bid-rigging and price-fixing in the U.S. The amount paid by the three—Tokyo-listed Furukawa Electric and Denso, as well as Yazaki, a private company—is more than the total of levies collected by the U.S. Justice ...
ding
(dĭng) pronunciation

v., dinged, ding·ing, dings.
v.intr.
  1. To ring; clang.
  2. To speak persistently and repetitiously.
v.tr.
  1. To cause to clang, as by striking.
  2. To instill with constant repetition: dinged advice into my head.
n.
A ringing sound.

[Partly imitative and partly alteration of DIN.]

ding2 (dĭng) pronunciation
n. Informal
A small dent or nick, as in the body of a car.

tr.v., dinged, ding·ing, dings.
  1. To dent or nick.
  2. To hit or strike: was dinged on the head by a ball.
  3. Slang. To shoot, especially with a gun.
[From ding, to strike, beat on, pound (from Middle English dingen, akin to Old Norse dengja) and from DING1.]


2012年5月13日 星期日

Neptune, Poseidon, sidereal, captor, captive, mercy or revenge




In Libya, the Captors Have Become the Captive

By ROBERT F. WORTH
The future of Libya depends on mercy or revenge.


captive
[名]1 囚人, 捕虜(prisoner);捕獲された動物.2 恋のとりこ, (…に)魅了された人((of, to ...)).━━[形]1 捕虜になった;囚人の;幽閉[監禁]された;つながれた...
captive audience
とらわれの聴衆[観客]:乗り物の中などで聞きたくもない放送を聞かされる乗客など.

captor[cap・tor]

  • レベル:社会人必須
  • 発音記号[kǽptər]
[名]捕獲者;(賞の)獲得者.
Neptune: the eighth planet from the sun was discovered (1846)

━━ n. 【ローマ神話】ネプチューン ((海神)); 【天文】海王星; 海洋.

問題在Proteus 其實是"衛星"海神

In Greek mythology, the prophetic old man of the sea and the shepherd of sea animals such as seals. He was subject to Poseidon. He knew all things — past, present, and future — but disliked telling what he knew. Those who wanted information from him had to catch him sleeping and bind him. He would try to escape by changing his form, but if a captor held him fast he gave the wished-for answer and plunged into the sea.





Nep·tune
( nĕp'tūn', -tyūn') pronunciation
n.
    1. Roman Mythology. The god of water, later identified with the Greek Poseidon.
    2. The sea.
  1. The eighth planet from the sun, having a sidereal period of revolution around the sun of 164.8 years at a mean distance of 4.5 billion kilometers (2.8 billion miles), a mean radius of 24,000 kilometers (15,000 miles), and a mass 17.2 times that of Earth.
[Latin Neptūnus.]


伽利略 著『星際信使』( Sidereus Nuncius, or, The Sidereal Messenger)

范龢惇 譯徐光台 譯 ,台北:天下文化2004
原書名為拉丁文,日本通常翻譯為『星界的報告』(星界の報告, 星界の報 1620)

現在義大利有一科學使雜誌叫 Nuncius
趁機會學學sidereal這字:
\Si*de"re*al\, a. [L. sidereus, from sidus, sideris, a
constellation, a star. Cf. {Sideral}, {Consider}, {Desire}.]
相反詞 (Antonyms): civil(定義 of divisions of time) legally recognized in ordinary affairs of life; "the civil calendar"; "a civil day begins at mean midnight" 例:the civil year 日曆年,民用年(區別於天文年).)
Definition: 1. Relating to the stars; starry; astral; as, sidereal
astronomy. 星的,星座的,恒星的
[adj] of or relating to the stars or constellations; "sidereal bodies"; "the sidereal system"


[adj] (of divisions of time) determined by daily motion of the stars; "sidereal time"

2. (Astron.) Measuring by the apparent motion of the stars;
designated, marked out, or accompanied, by a return to the
same position in respect to the stars; as, the sidereal
revolution of a planet; a sidereal day. 根據恒星測定的

「……1609年秋天,伽利略將20倍率的望遠鏡指向天際,
伽利略揭露了令人驚奇的天文景觀:月球表面上的高山、裸眼見不到的恆星、銀河中個別的星星與繞著木星這顆行星運轉的四顆衛星。他把這些現象記錄下來,加上邏輯的推論,成了《星際信使》一書。
在科學出版品中,伽利略的《星際信使》或許是一本最戲劇化的科普書。它的問世,使得伽利略幾乎在一夕之間成為名聞歐洲的學者,伽利略的發現使得哥白尼行星系統終於獲得接納。更重要的是,伽利略所改良的望遠鏡成為第一個放大人類感官的儀器,這項現代科學儀器的原型永遠的改變了科學的實作活動,也開啟宇宙研究的新章。」
「……. 譯自拉丁文版的《星際信使》英譯本,加上萊斯大學范龢惇教授的英文簡介、注釋與結論,展示了伽利略做為科學家與解說者的豐富才能,同時也讓我們一瞥導致他日後與天主教會之間產生災難性衝突的人格特質。……..然而,現代讀者仍未視此為伽利略最高尚的成就,我們也不指稱Io、Europa、Callisto、及Ganymede為麥第奇恆星、行星或衛星,或者把它們當成實際上歸屬於麥第奇家族的任何事物。使用麥第奇之名並沒有什麼不對,他們確實是開明的領導者。不過我們應該將凱撒的歸於凱撒。在天文學的領域中,我們指稱木星最大的四顆衛星為「伽利略衛星」。確切的說,木星四大衛星的宇宙之舞並非塵世的紀念物,而是在向現代科學方法首要的實踐者致敬。」(徐遐生 向現代科學方法首要的實踐者致敬 這中文序是從英文翻譯出的。我很佩服徐校長。)

2012年5月11日 星期五

pep rally/spray,condolences,commiseration


 

 

 

Leveson Inquiry: Cameron 'sent commiserations to Rebekah Brooks'

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Rebekah Brooks: "I received some indirect commiserations from politicans"


Prime Minister David Cameron sent Rebekah Brooks a "keep your head up" message when she quit News International, she has said.

 

Black Friday Shopper Injures 20 With Pepper Spray

Woman in Los Angeles Wal-Mart tried to gain upper hand on fellow consumers by attacking them.




Jobs Fans Mourn World-Wide
As news spread of the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Apple fans began gathering at the company's headquarters in California and chain of stores world-wide to express their condolences.


condolence

  • [kəndóuləns]
[名][U]悔み, 弔慰, 哀悼;((しばしば〜s))お悔やみ, 哀悼の言葉, 弔辞
a letter of condolence
悔やみ状
express [offer] one's condolences to ...
…に哀悼の言葉[弔意]を述べる.

condolence (noun) An expression of sympathy with another's grief.
Synonyms:commiseration
Usage:I hoped that my words of condolence would offer the grieving family some comfort.


commiseration

(kə-mĭz'ə-rā'shən) pronunciation
n.
The feeling or expression of pity or sorrow. See synonyms at pity.
[名]((形式))[U][C](人への)同情((for ...));哀れみ;((〜s))(…についての)哀れみ[同情]の言葉((on, over ...)).

pep

((略式))[名][U]活気, 元気, 活力.
━━[動](〜ped, 〜・ping)(他)(自)(…を)元気[活気]づける[づく]((up)).
[PEPPERの短縮形]Alex Hatem

College Flash Mobs Become Pep Rallies By TAMAR LEWIN Colleges across the country are welcoming students with spontaneous outbursts of dancing, like this group of Wellesley students dancing to Katy Perry’s “Firework.” Alex Hatem College Flash Mobs Become Pep Rallies

Gift Horse,Trojan War/Horse, Achilles' heel, myrmidon

 


The euro crisis


Google To Newspaper Industry: Don't Shoot The Gift Horse That Feeds You
Washington Post
Google's been taking a beating from the newspaper industry lately, and Rupert Murdoch in particular. But the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal let Google ...

 Achilles' heel

(ə-kĭl'ēz) pronunciation
n.
A seemingly small but actually crucial weakness.

[From Achilles' being vulnerable only in the heel.]

TROY
also Il·i·on (ĭl'ē-ən, -ŏn') or Il·i·um (-ē-əm) An ancient city of northwest Asia Minor near the Dardanelles. Originally a Phrygian city dating from the Bronze Age, it is the legendary site of the Trojan War and was captured and destroyed by Greek forces c. 1200 B.C. The ruins of Troy were discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1871.


Troy (Troia), otherwise known as Ilium, an ancient city famous in legend; its siege by the Greeks is the subject of Homer's Iliad (see TROJAN WAR and TROJAN HORSE above). Its site in north-west Asia Minor some 6 km. (4 miles) from the Aegean Sea, a little south of the Hellespont, was identified at the modern Hissarlik by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, who between 1870 and 1890 excavated the occupation mound, composed of the accumulated debris of centuries. He and later archaeologists have established nine principal strata, representing nine successive periods of occupation (called Troy I, Troy II, and so on), dating from the Bronze Age to Roman times.



Spotlight:
Trojan Horse
Trojan Horse
Trojan horse: fact or fiction? The story of the Trojan horse was first told in Homer's Odyssey. He wrote of Paris' abduction of Helen, which caused the Trojan War. He wrote of the city of Troy and the Spartan warriors who, led by Achilles, set out to conquer it. And he wrote of the gift of a huge wooden horse that the Greeks supposedly left for the people of Troy — a gift that held dozens of Greek soldiers, who conquered the city. Most researchers believe that the story is just that — a beautifully written story. It has yet to be definitively proven or disproven, though archeologists led by Heinrich Schliemann found evidence of a city that was destroyed at around the time of Homer's Troy in the location indicated by Homer.



Quote:
"After the event, even a fool is wise."Homer



 
Myrmidon

n.
  1. Greek Mythology. A member of a warlike Thessalian people who were ruled by Achilles and followed him on the expedition against Troy.
  2. myrmidon A faithful follower who carries out orders without question.
[From Middle English Mirmidones, Myrmidons, from Latin Myrmidones, from Greek Murmidones.] ant

2012年5月10日 星期四

wan, lignify, ossify, unbowed



He still tells the story about the call he got at 2 a.m. from the woman in Chandler who was upset about changes in her garbage pick up, and the ossified joke concerning two Irish brothers (“The only ethnic group in America you can still joke about”) boozed up at a bar.


Spain Unbowed on Cajas
Despite complaints from Spain's ailing savings banks that reform efforts are moving too swiftly, the Spanish government is standing firm in its push to quickly convert the local institutions into traditional banks.


unbowed

(ŭn-boud') pronunciation
adj.
  1. Not bowed; unbent.
  2. Not subdued; unyielding: "My head is bloody but unbowed" (W.E. Henley).


os·si·fy (ŏs'ə-fī') pronunciation
v., -fied, -fy·ing, -fies. v.intr.
  1. To change into bone; become bony.
  2. To become set in a rigidly conventional pattern: "The central ideas of liberalism have ossified" (Jeffrey Hart).
v.tr.
  1. To convert (a membrane or cartilage, for example) into bone.
  2. To mold into a rigidly conventional pattern.
[Latin os, oss-, bone + -FY.]
ossific os·sif'ic (ŏ-sĭf'ĭk) adj.
lignify (LIG-nuh-fy)

verb tr.: To convert into wood.
verb intr.: To become wood or woody.

Etymology
From Latin lignum (wood). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leg- (to collect), which is also the source of lexicon, legal, dialogue, lecture, logic, legend, logarithm, intelligent, diligent, sacrilege, elect, and loyal. Earliest documented use: 1828.

Usage
"Many leguminous plants offer edible products in addition to their seeds. Many of their immature pods are edible two or three weeks before the fibres lignify to render them inedible." — Lam Peng Sam; Make Your Landscape Edible; The New Straits Times (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); Dec 2, 2000.


wan


adjective wanner, wannest LITERARY
(of a person's face) paler than usual and tired-looking

wanly

adverb LITERARY


(wŏn) pronunciation
adj., wan·ner, wan·nest.
  1. Unnaturally pale, as from physical or emotional distress.
  2. Suggestive or indicative of weariness, illness, or unhappiness; melancholy: a wan expression.
intr.v., wanned, wan·ning, wans.
To become pale.

[Middle English, pale, gloomy, from Old English wann, gloomy, dark.]
wanly wan'ly adv.
wanness wan'ness n.