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

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


 The hourlong hearing, punctuated by an angry outburst by Mr. Giuliani, was the most contentious yet in the winding search for his personal assets, which he was ordered to hand over to the two women more than a month ago.

 

 

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8日 星期二

recapture, lecture/in-game capture,

A Year After the Raid, Why Obama Owns the Osama bin Laden Narrative
By Jon Meacham
Judging from the Republican response, President Obama's ad asking whether Mitt Romney would have ordered the raid that captured Osama bin Laden raises serious questions


 Sneak Peek: 17 Screens from The Elder Scrolls Online
By Matt Peckham
Here's a glimpse of what the game looks like, from concept art to in-game captures.



Most of them were nominal powers or pertained to particular facilities that had been built or leased by the Government, with the privilege of recapturing them in an emergency like the present. Some of the powers were important and extensive, however, like the broad ones authorizing recapture of the many airfields and plants built during World War II.


BATTLE FOR A MARKET
As higher ed technology leaders convene in Anaheim for the annual meeting of Educause, the battle for the lecture capture market is growing more intense -- and the definition of the market may be changing as well. At Educause a year ago, there was still debate regarding how to win over faculty members skeptical of lecture capture -- a service in which class lectures are recorded and preserved in a digital library, frequently with additional materials such as relevant slides, quizzes or summaries. This year, the pre-meeting buzz has been less about debating whether lecture capture will take off than over which companies and which approaches are mostly likely to succeed. Some lecture capture companies are aligning themselves with big publishers -- while others say they are content not to. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.







capture
(kăp'chər) pronunciation
tr.v., -tured, -tur·ing, -tures.
  1. To take captive, as by force or craft; seize.
  2. To gain possession or control of, as in a game or contest: capture the queen in chess; captured the liberal vote.
  3. To attract and hold: tales of adventure that capture the imagination.
  4. To succeed in preserving in lasting form: capture a likeness in a painting.
n.
  1. The act of catching, taking, or winning, as by force or skill.
  2. One that has been seized, caught, or won; a catch or prize.
  3. Physics. The phenomenon in which an atom or a nucleus absorbs a subatomic particle, often with the subsequent emission of radiation.
[From French, capture, from Old French, from Latin captūra, a catching of animals, from captus, past participle of capere, to seize.]


[動](他)
1 …を(力・計略によって)捕える, つかまえる;…を捕虜にする;…をぶんどる;〈要塞(ようさい)・陣地などを〉攻略[占領]する. ▼catchより形式ばった語
capture a thief
泥棒を捕える.
2 〈賞品・票などを〉獲得する;〈市場を〉占める.
3 …を(写真・文章などに)うまくとらえる[表現する]((on, in ...));〈人・心などを〉とらえる
capture her charm on canvas
彼女の魅力をカンバスにとらえる
capture the world's attention
世界の注目を集める.
4 《チェス》〈相手の駒などを〉とる.
5 《物理学》〈原子核が〉〈粒子を〉獲得する.
━━[名]
1 [U]捕獲, 逮捕;捕虜になる[する]こと;(敵地の)占領;略奪.
2 捕虜;獲物, ぶんどり品, 賞品, 賞金.
3 《チェス》相手の駒をとる手.
4 [U]《物理学》(放射性)捕獲.
5 《コンピュータ》キャプチャー:表示された画面をそのままの形で保存すること.
6 《地理》(川の)争奪.
[中フランス語←ラテン語captūra (capereとる+-tus +-URE=捕えられること)]
cáp・tur・er
[名]
recapture

(rē-kăp'chər) pronunciation
n.
    1. The act of retaking or recovering.
    2. The condition of having been retaken or recovered.
  1. Law. The act or an instance of retaking booty or goods.
  2. Something recaptured.
  3. The lawful taking by a government of a fixed amount of the profits of a public-service corporation in excess of a stipulated rate of return.
tr.v., -tured, -tur·ing, -tures.
  1. To capture again.
  2. To recall: an attempt to recapture the past.
  3. To acquire by the government procedure of recapture.


 in-game
 (¦vər·chə·wəl ′wərld)
(computer science) A navigable visual digital environment.

2012年5月6日 星期日

scoundrel, varlet, scallywag/scalawag, compound

varlet (noun) A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel.
Synonyms:knave, rapscallion, rascal, rogue, scallywag
Usage:What a brazen-fac'd varlet art thou, to deny thou knowest me!



Photo-Illustration of Bo Xilai by Miles Donovan for TIME

share


In China these days, the last refuge of both scoundrels and heroes is turning out to be a U.S. diplomatic compound. Two unscripted but parallel dashes for safety have riveted the world and, more important, have affirmed long-foreshadowed plot points in the narrative of the 21st century's would-be superpower: first, that the People's Republic is in the hands of an elite riddled with corruption and nepotism, and second, that those who crusade for the basic legal rights of the powerless must on occasion deal with feudal repression. Those elements have always lurked amid the often dazzling spectacle of modern China. Now...



compound[com・pound2]

  • 発音記号[kɑ'mpaund | kɔ'm-]
[名]
1 (一般に)壁などで囲まれた地区[場所], 構内.
2 《歴史》(インド・中国などの)ヨーロッパ人地区;(南アフリカの)黒人・非ヨーロッパ系労働者の飯場.
3 (捕虜)収容所.
[マレー語kampong(住宅群)]
 
 
[形]((通例限定))
1 複数の部分[要素, 成分]からなる, 合成の;混成の, 混合の, 複合の
a compound substance
合成物.
2 複数の機能[作用]を有する
The ear is a compound organ.
耳はいろいろな働きをする器官だ.
3 《文法》
(1) 重文の;重複文の.
(2) 〈語が〉複合の
a compound noun
複合名詞.
4 《植物》複合の, 複式の;《動物》複合の, 群体をなす
a compound fruit
複合果, 集合果(クワの実など)
a compound leaf
複葉
a compound coral
群体サンゴ.
5 《音楽》複合拍子の
compound time
複合拍子.
━━[名]
1 混合[複合, 合成]物;複合的要因[要素];《化学》化合物.
2 《文法》複合語(compound word):2つ以上の語が結合してできた語(例hilltop).
3 《植物》複葉.
━━[動] 〔kmpáund〕 (他)
1 〈成分などを〉(…と)混ぜる((with ...));混合して(…を)作る((into ...));〈薬などを〉調合する.
2 〈物を〉(…で)作る, 組み立てる, 構成する;〈全体としてまとまった物を〉(…で)形成する((of, from ...)).
3 …を(負債を一部支払って)示談にする;《法律》〈犯罪を〉(被害者が告訴しない条件で加害者から賠償を取り)私和する
compound a crime
犯罪を私和する.
4 ((米))〈利子を〉複利で支払う.
5 ((しばしば受身))…の度合いを増す;〈問題などを〉悪化させる;〈怒り・侮辱などに〉輪をかける.
━━(自)(←(他))
1 (…と)折り合う, 妥協する, 和解する((with ...))
compound with a person for ...
…のことで人と妥協する.
2 示談にする.
3 合成[混合]物となる.
[中フランス語←ラテン語compōnere (com-共に+pōnere置く=合わせて置く)]
com・pound・er
[名]

scalawag[scal・a・wag]

  • 発音記号[skǽləwæ`g]
[名]
1 ((略式))やくざ者, ならず者.
2 《米国史》南北戦争後の再建期に共和党の政策を支持した南部の白人.

varlet[var・let]

  • 発音記号[vɑ'ːrlit]
[名]((古))
1 従者, 従僕, 召し使い;騎士に仕える小姓(page).
2 ならず者, 悪漢, ごろつき.

scoundrel[scoun・drel]

  • 発音記号[skáundrəl]
[名]((古風))無頼漢, ならず者, やくざ者, 悪党.
scoun・drel・ly
[形]((文))不道徳な;悪党の.

2012年5月1日 星期二

zeotot, missionary zeal, mormon, manipulator, "misaligned"

Lay’s narrow worldview is extreme; his zealotry, if anything, works as an argument for civilian control of the armed forces.

Is China a currency manipulator?

Oct 11th 2011, 14:17 by The Economist online
The yuan/dollar exchange rate and America's trade deficit with China
ON OCTOBER 11th the Senate is due to vote on a bill that would lead to sanctions being taken against countries whose currencies are "misaligned". One currency in particular—the yuan—is on the minds of legislators. But as the chart below suggests, the recent relationship between China's currency and America's trade deficit with China is not what China hawks in the Senate think it is. Rather than a cheap yuan leading to a flood of Chinese imports, the yuan has actually strengthened as the deficit has widened. There are many things American companies dislike about the way business is done in China: intellectual-property theft, the impossibility of winning government contracts, baffling rules on corporate ownership and so on. However the place for fixing these things is the World Trade Organisation, not Congress. President Obama's administration has already passed on two opportunities to label China a currency manipulator, out of a well-founded fear of sparking a trade war. Senators should do the same (while hoping that China responds to their sabre-rattling by letting the yuan rise a little more, as happened the last time the Senate came close to passing a similar measure, in 2005).


World-class organization and management guru Peter Drucker told me at a Harvard seminar on voluntarism in 1989 that "the Mormons are the only utopia that ever worked."
Once Missionaries, Now Salesmen
A security company in Utah is employing Mormons with prior experience going door-to-door for their faith.


But as always with Wright, the complexity of his approach reveals itself only after you begin to fit the pieces together. For Wright, the singular masterpiece was never enough. His aim was to create a framework for an entire new way of life, one that completely redefined the relationships between individual, family and community. And he pursued it with missionary zeal.



His uncompromising, unforgettable zeal.



An authorised life by William Simpson, “The Prince”, which came out in 2006, reflected Bandar’s considerable talent for self-promotion. But in his new biographer he has met his match. During Mr Ottaway’s 35 years at the Washington Post, the reporter observed the Saudi diplomat closely and interviewed him often. When it came to royal leaks, the Post was Prince Bandar’s paper of choice. No outsider can fully penetrate the Saudi kingdom’s opaque world of court intrigue and Islamic zealotry, but Mr Ottaway does a creditable job. The portrait of Bandar that emerges is of a fighter pilot, drawn reluctantly into diplomacy, who became one of the master manipulators of that craft.


Mormon Church.
n.
  1. An ancient prophet believed to have compiled a sacred history of the Americas, which were translated and published by Joseph Smith as the Book of Mormon in 1830.
  2. A member of the Mormon Church. Also called Latter-day Saint.
adj.
Of or relating to the Mormons, their religion, or the Mormon Church.

Mormonism Mor'mon·ism n.



zeal・ot


━━ n. 熱中[熱狂,狂信]者.
zeal・ot・ry ━━ n. 熱狂.

zealotry

zeal 
noun [S or U] ━━ n. 熱心, 熱中 ((for)).
great enthusiasm or eagerness:
reforming/missionary/religious zeal
Another factor fueling the zeal of many Chinese demonstrators could be that they, too, intend to return home; the Chinese government is widely believed to be monitoring large e-mail lists.



mission (PEOPLE) Show phonetics
group noun [C]
a group of people whose job is to increase what is known about their country, organization or religion in another country or area, or the place where such people are based:
More funds are needed to establish trade missions in eastern Europe.
The Methodist mission is situated in one of the poorest parts of the city.

missionary Show phonetics
noun [C]
a person who has been sent to a foreign country to teach their religion to the people who live there:
He did missionary work for the Presbyterian Church in Alaska.
missionary zeal noun [U]
extreme enthusiasm


a zeal for money-making

zealot 
noun [C] ━━ n. 熱中[熱狂,狂信]者.
a person who has very strong opinions about something, and tries to make other people have them too:
a religious zealot

zealous 
adjective ━━ a. 熱心な, 熱狂的な ((for, in; to do, in doing)).
enthusiastic and eager:
a zealous supporter of the government's policies

zeal:熱心;心火;神火;熱忱:愛天主的實際行動。
13這樣,我的忿怒纔可以發洩,我的怒火在他們身上纔會平息,得到了報復;當我的憤怒在他們身上發洩時,他們要承認我,上主,在妒火中講了話。13And I will accomplish my fury, and will cause my indignation to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I shall have accomplished my indignation in them.


我要这样成就怒中所定的。我向他们发的忿怒止息了,自己就得着安慰。我在他们身上成就怒中所定的那时,他们就知道我耶和华所说的是出于热心
Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

以西结书(Ezekiel) -- 第 5 章
厄則克耳 Ezekiel

zeal, apostolic:傳教神火;宣傳宗教之熱忱。
Zealots:狂熱份子;熱誠派;愛國份子。