et cetera, et cetera 英文人行道: passport, little thrill of holding a fresh passport before a big. triprainmaker, recliner, stamp on sth, put/set in motion. China’s Tech Rainmaker Vanishes, and So Does Business Confidence

2025年10月8日星期三

passport, little thrill of holding a fresh passport before a big. triprainmaker, recliner, stamp on sth, put/set in motion. China’s Tech Rainmaker Vanishes, and So Does Business Confidence

我們都知道，在長途旅行前拿到新護照的那種興奮感——聞著護照頁的香味，感覺世界就在等著你。但如果你近期計劃出行，那麼你可能需要面對一些變化，因為現在有一些重大新聞正在撼動國際旅行業。

從今年秋天開始，這項變革將對那些喜歡保留旅行過國家紀念品的旅客造成尤其沉重的打擊。在你的護照下次更新和下次旅行之前，最好先了解具體情況，以免措手不及。

更多資訊請見：bit.ly/422EqAV

We all know that little thrill of holding a fresh passport before a big trip—the smell of the pages and the sense that the world is just waiting for you. But if you’re planning a getaway anytime soon, you’re in store for some changes because there’s some major news shaking up international travel right now.

Starting this fall, that change will hit especially hard for travelers who love keeping mementos from the countries they’ve explored. Before your passport’s next renewal and your next trip, it’s worth finding out exactly what’s happening so you’re not unpleasantly surprised.

More here: bit.ly/422EqAV

中國科技界的「雨傘」消失，商業信心也隨之消散

包凡的公司表示，他目前無法聯絡。科技界的其他人士為他感到擔憂，擔心他的失蹤會暴露出中國對商業的強硬控制。

Bao Fan stands against a wall, wearing a gray suit, white shirt and no tie.

What are the most useless passports in the world?

When it comes to passports, it pays to be German

It'll be some time before Aghans are as free to trot the globe as Germans.

ECONOMIST.COM

一般字典只稱RECLINER為「活動躺椅,」。有的中文詞典還說可指：斜靠著、躺著的人。其實，它還可以指「斜靠的物」。

據 Yahoo辭典：斜靠著的人;躺著的人例 The recliner on the couch was asleep. 沙發上躺著的人睡著了。活動躺椅例 A man sat in a recliner drinking beer. 一個男人坐在活動躺椅上喝啤酒。

‘Put This Plan in Motion,’ Obama Urges Lawmakers
By JEFF ZELENY
President Obama urged Congress on Saturday to swiftly resolve its differences in the sweeping economic recovery measure and bring fiscal relief.

Putting Stamp on Afghan War, Obama Will Send 17,000 Troops

By HELENE COOPER

The order will add nearly 50 percent to the 36,000 American troops already there.

Some analysts have also said it could set in motion a long-anticipated round of consolidation in the pharmaceuticals industry. Investors were also wondering what the deal might mean for Crucell, which had been in deal talks with Wyeth.

We wrote to the passport office to set the whole process in motion.

Type: Public
On the web: http://www.ranbaxy.com Employees: 11,000
Employee growth: 53.3%
Ranbaxy Laboratories is quite the rainmaker in India's pharmaceutical business. The company is India's largest drug developer and manufacturer, with generics topping its list of products.

rain・maker　雨を降らす（能力のある）人; 人工降雨専門家; 〔米俗〕仕事をよくとってくる事業家; 顧客集めのうまい弁護士.

n.

Informal. One who is known for achieving excellent results in a profession or field, such as business or politics.
One who is believed to be capable of producing rain, as through magical or ritual actions.

stamp (MARK)
noun [C]
a tool for putting a mark on an object either by printing on it or pushing into it, or the mark made in this way:
A date stamp inside the front cover of a library book shows when it should be returned.

stamp
verb [T]
It is necessary to stamp your passport.
Every carton of yoghurt is stamped with a sell-by date.

stamp on sth phrasal verb
to use force to stop or prevent something that you consider to be wrong or harmful:
Any opposition to the new government was immediately stamped on by the army.

put/set sth in motion
to start a machine or process:
Once the printing processes have been put in motion, they're not so easy to stop.
We wrote to the passport office to set the whole process in motion.

recline
verb FORMAL
1 [I or T] to lean or lie back with the upper part of your body in a nearly horizontal position:
She was reclining elegantly on the sofa.
He reclined his head against/on my shoulder.

2 [T] If you recline a chair, you change the position of its back so that it is in a leaning position.

reclining
adjective [before noun]
The coach has air conditioning and reclining seats.

recliner
noun [C] 又稱為 recliner chair ；n. - リクライニングチェア
a chair in which you can lean back at different angles

***** 今天接到美國CPSC的一通知某折疊式活動倚的支稱有問題，必須回收。
Bond Manufacturing Co. Issues Recall for Folding Recliner Chairs That Can Collapse and Injure Users
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07222.html

我們查一下英文How Products are Made. Copyright © 2002 by The Gale Group, Inc. 關於 RECLINER的品質保證Quality Control，似乎都沒有明白提到它必須承受的壓力；
Furniture constructed for residential use is not required to undergo consumer testing, unlike furniture manufactured specifically for use in businesses, public buildings, or schools. However, furniture manufacturers consistently monitor quality by visual inspection; many have inspectors who examine each piece to ensure that it looks right (no protruding nails, puckers, etc.), feels right, and performs correctly. Once the piece passes visual inspection, the recliner is tagged and boxed for shipment out of the plant. Fabrics may be tested by the company to ensure that they conform to specifications such as fabric stretch, seam slippage, colorfastness, and flammability. Some companies conduct much more extensive testing on their residential-use motion furniture, so that they may assure their clients that the product will perform consistently.

*****Fitness Revolution in Motion
As they try to get children off their couches and onto their feet, schools and gyms in the Washington region and across the country are harnessing some of the same technology often blamed for making them fat: video games.
(By Lori Aratani, The Washington Post)

motion