harsh. tenuous, harshing, harshly, metallic, Race Time. has a tenuous hold on power. Deadly Fire Exposes Harsh Conditions Migrant Workers Face in South Korea

Deadly Fire Exposes Harsh Conditions Migrant Workers Face in South Korea

Activists say the blaze that killed 23 laborers at a battery plant, most of them from China, shows that such workers need better protection.

Blinken Lays Out Possible Endgame in Gaza Under Palestinian Authority

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Gaza should be overseen by the Palestinian Authority, which has a tenuous hold on power in the West Bank.

We’ve dreamt of colonizing the stars since our first tenuous steps across the moon, yet fifty years after the Apollo 11 mission, the prospect of living and working beyond the bounds of Earth remains tantalizingly out of reach. In his latest book, Spacefarers: How Humans Will Settle the Moon, Mars, and Beyond, Christopher Wanjek examines humanity’s obsession with space travel, why our dreams of living among the stars haven’t yet come to fruition and what it will take to finally get our interstellar efforts off the ground. In the excerpt below, Wanjek compares life inside a sturdy metal tube hurtling through low Earth orbit to life inside a sturdy metal tube hurtling through Earth’s oceanic depths.

Times Literary Supplement

"My impression is that the title ‘professor’ is used with the most enthusiasm by those with the most tenuous claim on it..."What's a 'professor'? | Mary Beard  Part of the issue is that often ‘Professor’ is a pretty undefined term.WWW.THE-TLS.CO.UK

North Korea Accuses U.S. of Disrupting Its Internet

By MARTIN FACKLER

The nation blamed the U.S. for disruptions to its already tenuous connection, and insisted it did not hack Sony Pictures.

Russian Proposal Catches Obama Between Putin and House Republicans
By PETER BAKER

The twists and turns in the Syria debate have whipsawed the United States capital and made a tenuous situation even more volatile for President Obama.

 

Japan's Growth Outlook Remains Tenuous Despite Rebound1

EDITORIAL

Changing the Chemistry of Earth's Oceans

The burning of fossil fuels since the beginning of the industrial revolution is causing acidification, a change in the chemical balance that threatens the oceans' web of life.

China’s Exports Perch on Uncertain Truck System

By DAVID BARBOZA 6 minutes ago

Trucking’s tenuous status in China was underscored by a strike of 2,000 truckers complaining about rising fuel costs and transportation fees.

Better Numbers

The job market is showing slow and steady improvement. Employment is on the upswing, but the hole is deep and the gains tenuous.

Engadget

ENGADGET.COM

Hitting the Books: What astronauts can learn from nuclear submariners

In his latest book, Spacefarers: How Humans Will Settle the Moon, Mars, and Beyond, Christopher Wanjek examines humanity’s obsession with space travel, why our dreams of living among the stars haven’t yet come to fruition and what it will take to finally get our interstellar efforts off the grou...

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The EconomistThe number of coffeeshops in the Dutch capital has fallen by half since 1995, from 350 to just 167. From the archive


Why Amsterdam’s coffeeshops are closing
The Netherlands’ increasing intolerance towards pot is harshing the mellow
ECONOMIST.COM


British writer under fire after claiming Ireland has 'tenuous claim to nationhood'
A UK columnist has come under fire after suggesting that Ireland is not a real country.
INDEPENDENT.IE


Gaza Cease-Fire in Jeopardy

»PHOTOS | The Obama administration's Middle East envoy, George J. Mitchell arrives in Israel as renewed clashes threaten tenuous cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.


New Attacks From Gaza and Israel Test Truce
By ISABEL KERSHNER
Rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza into Israeli territory, and a bombing raid in response, further strained a tenuous two-week-old truce.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced, "Hamas was hit hard" during more than three weeks of fighting, but he also said that Israeli troops would continue fighting if Hamas failed to put down its weapons. The tenuous cease-fire followed a day of heavy Israeli bombardment and criticism from the United Nations after an Israeli attack killed two young brothers (ages 5 and 7) in a U.N. school.


The move represents a gamble for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is facing a tenuous political future as the credit crisis takes a toll on the U.K. economy. Mr. Brown has been harshly criticized for his handling of the early stages of the crisis, which included the first bank run in the U.K. in more than a century.
此舉對英國首相布朗(Gordon Brown)來說可謂一次豪賭。由於信貸危機令英國經濟遭受了損失，布朗的政治前途非常嚴峻。布朗在危機早期的處理方式受到了公眾的嚴厲批評，當時英國出現了100多年來首次銀行擠兌現象。



The NYT's assessment of the Iraqi security situation boils down to its opening questions: "What's going right? And can it last?" On the surface it looks like a military victory: the Iraqi army has quashed Shiite militias in a number of hotspots, driving violence to its lowest level in more than four years. But the farther into the article one reads, the more unusual factors there are propping up the peace, including high recruitment for the Iraqi army, high oil revenues fending off inflation, tenuous deals with militias (including paying some insurgents to help keep the peace) and some very convenient assistance by American special forces. T




Automakers Race Time as Their Cash Runs Low
By BILL VLASIC
As G.M. and Ford burn through their reserves and slash more costs to try to stay afloat, the future looks tenuous.

Dalai Lama Harshly Condemns China Over Tibet

By EDWARD WONG 7:31 AM ET

The furious tone of the speech followed a new clampdown by China tied to the anniversary of an uprising.

metallic━━ a. 金属（質・性）の; （人が）冷たい.

adj.

1. Of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a metal.
2. Containing a metal: a metallic compound.

Features include ultraefficient air conditioners, dual-pane windows with a metallic coating that blocks out the sun's heat and low-flow toilets.

NS Optimum Ltd., a British company, developed a PC called Argon that looks like a metallic skull with glowing red eyes.

1. Having a quality suggesting or associated with metal, especially:
   1. Lustrous; sparkling: metallic colors.
   2. Sharp-tasting: an unpleasant, metallic flavor.
2. Harshly resonant: “the strange metallic note of the meadow lark, suggesting the clash of vibrant blades” (Ambrose Bierce).

n.

1. A yarn or fiber made of or containing metal.
2. A fabric, typically shiny or iridescent, made of such yarn or fiber.

harsh

adjective

1 unpleasant, unkind, cruel or unnecessarily severe:

harsh criticism

The children had had a harsh upbringing.

We thought the punishment was rather harsh for such a minor offence.

"There is no alternative, " she said in a harsh voice.

He said some harsh words (= spoke unkindly) about his brother.

2 too strong, bright, loud, etc:

harsh chemicals/lighting

harshly 

adverb

I thought she'd been treated rather harshly.

harshness 

noun [C]

Urban Dictionary: harshing

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=harshing

To bring someone down from a good feeling. Dude, you're harsing my mellow. by jsaun April 30, 2005. 27 9. Mug icon. Golden Shower Plush. He's warmer than ...

tenuous
adjective
1 A tenuous connection, idea or situation is weak and possibly does not exist:
We were only able to make a tenuous connection between the two robberies.

2 LITERARY thin, weak and easily broken

adj.

1. Long and thin; slender: tenuous strands.
2. Having a thin consistency; dilute.
3. Having little substance; flimsy: a tenuous argument.

[Latin tenuis.]

ten・u・ous

━━ a. 細い, 薄い; 希薄な; 微々たる; 実質のない.
te・nu・i・ty
　━━ n. 細い［薄い］こと; 希薄［貧弱］（さ）.
ten・u・ous・ly　━━ ad.
ten・u・ous・ness　━━ n.

race (COMPETITION)
noun [C]
1 a competition in which all the competitors try to be the fastest and to finish first:
Do you know who won/lost the race?
Let's have a swimming race.
They're taking part in a race to the top of Ben Nevis.

2 an attempt to be the first to do or to get something:
Kieran and Andrew are in a race for promotion.
[+ to infinitive] Three newspapers are involved in a race to publish the story.
Another candidate has now entered the presidential race (= attempt to be elected as president).
Finishing this project by December is going to be a race against time/the clock (= an attempt to finish fast within a time limit).

race
verb [I or T]
to (cause to) compete in a race:
He has been racing for over ten years.
I used to race (against) him when we were boys.
He's racing three of his dogs on Saturday.

racer Noun [C]
1 a person or thing that races

2 a racing bike

races
plural noun
a series of horse races in a particular place on one day:
He often has a day at the races.

racing 
noun [U]
1 competition in races:
I enjoy cycling, but I'm not interested in racing.
I like watching horse/motor racing on television.

2 horse races