aria, convert, kick the habit, authorisation, authorization cards, converts to Catholicism

When the mayor of Wuhan was asked why he had not disclosed the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in his city, he replied that his hands were tied by laws that required him to seek authorisation from Beijing.Response to crisis exposes disadvantages of Xi Jinping’s highly centralised administration

FT.COM


Coronavirus outbreak poses challenge for China’s centralised political system
A majority of graduate students employed by the University have signed authorization cards in support of unionization, which satisfies the threshold to call an election to form a union.

Ma said he would name KMT vice chairman Chiang Pin-kung as Taiwan's chief negotiator in dealing with China.Chiang will head the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), which is in charge of civilian exchanges between the island and the mainland."SEF will be responsible for handling cross-strait relations, with the authorisation of the Mainland Affairs Council," Ma said, referring to Taiwan's top China policy decision-making body.Beijing unilaterally called off rapprochement talks in 1995 to protest the controversial US visit by the island's then president Lee Teng-hui, claiming it was part of his efforts to promote independence.

proxy(prŏk'sē) 
n., pl., -ies.

1. A person authorized to act for another; an agent or substitute.
2. The authority to act for another.
3. The written authorization to act in place of another.

BBC World Service

Scientists have discovered that kicking the habit can reduce the risk of developing lung cancer.

Scientists say the organs have the ability to undo damage caused by cigarettes

關於這個網站

BBC.CO.UK

Newsday - If you stop smoking, lungs can repair themselves. - BBC Sounds

British Museum


Georges Bizet's opera Carmen premiered ‪#‎onthisday‬ in 1875. Here's sheet music to the aria Habanera http://ow.ly/JHIuy



Banners in Riyadh are advertising the campaign slogan： "Kicking the habit is on you, and marriage is on us." The charity Purity says participants will complete a seven-day course to quit smoking. The name of the grand prize winner will be decided in a draw on 6 August. Twenty runners-up will get free furniture.

利雅德的旗幟上，都是此一活動的廣告標語：「戒菸靠你自己，結婚靠我們。」慈善團體「純潔」表示，參與者都將完成7天的戒菸課程。首獎贏家將於8月6日抽籤決定。20名亞軍可獲免費家具。

ariaLine breaks: aria

Pronunciation: /ˈɑːrɪə/

Definition of aria in English:

noun

Music

A long accompanied song for a solo voice, typically one in an opera or oratorio.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

Origin  Early 18th century: from Italian, from Latin aer 'air'.

kick the habit：片語，戒除惡習。例句：She used to be a heavy smoker but she kicked the habit last year.（她以前是老菸槍，不過去年戒了。）


kick a habit Also, kick it; kick the habit. Overcome or give up habitual use, especially of narcotics. For example, Smoking is addictive; it's not easy to kick, or If he doesn't kick the habit, he may not make it through school. This idiom uses kick in the sense of "get rid of." [First half of 1900s]


convert
verb [I or T]
to (cause something or someone to) change in form, character or opinion:
Could we convert the small bedroom into a second bathroom?
What's the formula for converting pounds into kilos?
He converted to (= starting believing in) Catholicism when he got married.
I used not to like exercise, but my sister has converted me (to it).

convert
noun [C]
someone who changes their beliefs, habits, or way of living:
a Christian/Buddhist convert
a convert to vegetarianism/wholemeal bread

conversion 
noun
1 [C or U] when someone or something is converted:
Her conversion to Buddhism/Islam was a very gradual process.
He used to be very right-wing, but he's undergone something of a conversion recently.
Solar power is the conversion of the sun's energy into heat and electricity.

2 [C] a place for living in that has been changed from its previous use:
a barn/factory conversion

convertible 
adjective
1 able to be arranged in a different way and used for a different purpose:
a convertible sofa-bed

2 SPECIALIZED describes a type of money that can be easily exchanged into other types of money:
a convertible currency/bond

convertible Show phonetics
noun [C] (ALSO soft top)
a car with a soft roof which can be folded back:
a Volkswagen convertible
See picture .

converter Show phonetics
noun [C] (ALSO convertor)
a machine or device that changes something into a different form



━━ vt. 変える, 転換［転向，改心］させる ((to, into)); 両替する; 【ラグビー・アメフト】コンバートする; 【コンピュータ】(2種のコードを）変換する.
━━ vi. 転向する; 改宗する; 転換［転用］できる; 両替［換算］される; 【ラグビー・アメフト】コンバート（に成功）する.
convert to one's own use　横領する.
━━ n. 改宗［転向］者 ((to)).
con・vert・ed　━━ a. 転換された; 改造された; 転向した; 改宗した.
con・vert・er, con・ver・tor　━━ n. convertする人; 【電気】変流［換］器; 【冶】転炉; 【コンピュータ】変換器 ((変換用のプログラムや装置)).
converter reactor　【化】転換炉 ((原子炉の一種)).
con・vert・i・ble　━━ a., n. 転換［両替］できる ((into)); 折りたたみ式の; 幌付き自動車.
con・vert・i・bil・i・ty　n. 転換［交換］可能なこと; 兌(だ)換性.
con・vert・i・bly　ad.
convertible bond　転換社債.
convertible currency　交換可能［兌換］通貨.
convertible note　兌換券.
convertible security　転換証券.

三省堂提供「EXCEED 英和辞典」より凡例はこちら


Tony Blair converts to Catholicism

Former British prime minister Tony Blair has converted to Roman Catholicism. Blair, whose wife and four children are Catholic, was received into the Catholic Church on Friday in a move that had been widely expected after he stepped down from power in June. It had been claimed that Blair had wanted to convert sooner, but that could have affected his position in delicate negotiations between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Conversion could also
have put Blair at odds with his government's stance on stem-cell research, abortion and gay rights.

布萊爾皈依天主教
布萊爾過去信仰新教聖公會，但是他21日受洗成為羅馬天主教徒，私人彌撒儀式由羅馬天主教樞機主教奧康納主持。
《星期日泰晤士報》報道說，天主教的教友希望布萊爾解釋在擔任首相期間對同性戀權益，墮胎和幹細胞問題所採取的"站不住腳的"的立場。
《星期日郵報》將布萊爾的天主教信仰與現任工黨內閣成員進行了一番對比。報道說，政府內閣成員中有不到一半公開承認他們信仰上帝。在22名內閣大臣中，只有8人表示他們是基督徒，2人表示他們是無神論者。

布萊爾過去信仰新教聖公會，現在皈依羅馬天主教

restive, replete with factions.

The north-east is still replete with factions. It has spawned more than 125 insurgencies since the 1950s https://econ.st/31eBxwk

But for every group that is placated there are new malcontents

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ECONOMIST.COM

A restive corner of India is becoming more peaceful

But

There are parchments of painstaking calligraphy, replete with fabulous swirls and curlicues, and magic carpets wider than the Bosphorus.


 It may take ages for a Japanese garden to come to maturity, to say nothing of the gardener. And yet, for all its mystery, the Japanese garden reveals itself as a capacious symbol of the human soul, replete with exactly the kinds of “borrowed landscapes” we live with. But we call them our personal histories.

Music, culture, or art based on the experiences produced by psychedelic drugs: the songs were fine, replete with the cheerful dissonance of psychedelia San Francisco, the birthplace of psychedelia










 replete

な意味(…で)飽食して、(…で)充満して、(…を)十分に持って

flat, flat-out,(the) rest is history, confluence, pad, terrace(d) house, get along

Henri Matisse
The Terrace, Saint-Tropez, 1904

Cash is one of mankind's greatest inventions. Yet a growing number of economists are calling for cash to be phased out, and an increasing number of shops and restaurants are flat-out refusing to accept it


Woody Allen recalls how he might have got an idea for a film set in Paris. The rest is (not) history.

Jessica Chastain: “I heard a story… oh, I can’t believe I’m gonna tell you this. This woman, she’s very famous, she’s been nominated for many, many Oscars. For one film, the man got paid $4m and she got $250,000.”

Jessica Chastain: ‘It’s a myth that women don’t get along’

The Oscar-nominated actor gets fired up about equal pay, refusing to play…

THEGUARDIAN.COM|由 SOPHIE HEAWOOD 上傳

It seems that Mr. Collins, for all his exacting approaches to time management and research, has been blessed with something he cannot control: repeated bouts of flat-outluck.

Markets in Asia Are Flat

This explosion of information technology, when combined with an unusual confluence of dramatic — and ongoing — news events, has led many people to conclude that they have given their lives over to a news obsession. They find themselves taking breaks at work every 15 minutes to check the latest updates, and at the end of the day, taking laptops to bed. Then they pad through darkened homes in the predawn to check on the Asian markets.

terrace (GROUND) noun [C]

1 a flat raised area

 a flat area of stone or grass outside a house, where people sit and sometimes eat

3 one of several narrow strips of land which are built like steps on the slope of a hill and which are used for growing crops on

terrace 

verb [T]

to build narrow strips of land on a slope so that people can plant crops there

the terraces plural noun UK SPECIALIZED

wide steps on which people stand to watch a football match

terrace (HOUSE) noun [C] UK

a row of often small houses joined together along their side walls

terraced

adjective (ALSO terrace) UK

a terraced house

ter・race

━━ n. 台地, 高台（の家並，に沿った道路）; （庭などの）段; テラス; 平屋根; 歩廊; 【地学】段丘; 〔米〕 （植樹した）中央分離帯; （フットボールの）立ち見の見物席; 〔英〕 連棟式集合住宅.

━━ vt. terraceにする.

 ter・raced　━━ a.

terrace(d) house　〔英〕 テラスハウス ((連棟式集合住宅(terrace)の1戸分)).

confluence

n.

A flowing together of two or more streams.

The point of juncture of such streams.

The combined stream formed by this juncture.

A gathering, flowing, or meeting together at one juncture or point: “A confluence of negative events conspired to bring down bond prices” (Michael Gonzalez).

pad 2 (păd) pronunciation

v., pad·ded, pad·ding, pads. v.intr.

To go about on foot.

To move or walk about almost inaudibly.

v.tr.

To go along (a route) on foot: padding the long road into town.

n.

A muffled sound resembling that of soft footsteps.

A horse with a plodding gait.

[Perhaps from Middle Dutch paden, tread a path, from pad, pat, path.]

flat-out
adj. Informal.
Thoroughgoing; out-and-out: a flat-out promotional campaign; a flat-out deception.


flat
adj., flat·ter, flat·test.

1. Having a horizontal surface without a slope, tilt, or curvature.
2. Having a smooth, even, level surface: a skirt sewed with fine flat seams.
3. Having a relatively broad surface in relation to thickness or depth: a flat board. See synonyms at level.
4. Stretched out or lying at full length along the ground; prone.
5. Free of qualification; absolute: a flat refusal.
6. Fixed; unvarying: a flat rate.
7. Lacking interest or excitement; dull: a flat scenario.
8. 1. Lacking in flavor: a flat stew that needs salt.
   2. Having lost effervescence or sparkle: flat beer.
9. 1. Deflated. Used of a tire.
   2. Electrically discharged. Used of a storage battery.
10. Of or relating to a horizontal line that displays no ups or downs and signifies the absence of physiological activity: A flat electroencephalogram indicates a loss of brain function.
11. Commercially inactive; sluggish: flat sales for the month.
12. Unmodulated; monotonous: a flat voice.
13. Lacking variety in tint or shading; uniform: “The sky was bright but flat, the color of oyster shells” (Anne Tyler).
14. Not glossy; mat: flat paint.
15. Music.
    1. Being below the correct pitch.
    2. Being one half step lower than the corresponding natural key: the key of B flat.
16. Designating the vowel a as pronounced in bad or cat.
17. Nautical. Taut. Used of a sail.

adv.

1. 1. Level with the ground; horizontally.
   2. On or up against a flat surface; at full length.
2. So as to be flat.
3. 1. Directly; completely: went flat against the rules; flat broke.
   2. Exactly; precisely: arrived in six minutes flat.
4. Music. Below the intended pitch.
5. Business. Without interest charge.

n.

1. A flat surface or part.
2. A stretch of level ground. Often used in the plural: salt flats.
3. A shallow frame or box for seeds or seedlings.
4. A movable section of stage scenery, usually consisting of a wooden frame and a decorated panel of wood or cloth.
5. A flatcar.
6. A deflated tire.
7. A shoe with a flat heel.
8. A large flat piece of mail.
9. A horse that competes in a flat race. Also called runner.
10. Music.
    1. A sign (♭) used to indicate that a note is to be lowered by a half step.
    2. A note that is lowered a half step.
11. Football. The area of the field to either side of an offensive formation.

v., flat·ted, flat·ting, flats. v.tr.

1. To make flat; flatten.
2. Music. To lower (a note) a semitone.

v.intr. Music.
To sing or play below the proper pitch.

[Middle English, from Old Norse flatr.]

flatly flat'ly adv.
flatness flat'ness n.

flat out 

Pronunciation: /ˌflat ˈaʊt/ 

1As fast or as hard as possible:the whole team is working flat out to satisfy demand

More example sentences

2informal, chiefly North American Without hesitation or reservation:she flat out said she didn’t trust her fellow board members(as adjective flat-out) flat-out perjury

More example sentencesSynonyms

3Lying stretched out, especially asleep or in a state of exhaustion:he lay flat out, breathing heavily

Definition of get along

1. intransitive verb

2. 1a :  to proceed toward a destination :  progressb :  to approach an advanced stage; especially :  to approach old age
3. 2:  to meet one's needs :  manage got along

 on a minimum of clothing>

3:  to be or remain on congenial terms

(the) rest is history

Fig. Everyone knows the rest of the story that I am referring to. Bill: Then they arrested all the officers of the corporation, and the rest is history. Bob: Hey, what happened between you and Sue? Bill: Finally we realized that we could never get along, and the rest is history.

declared a global health emergency. in Emergency Session to Resolve Crisis

2020.1.31
Live figures from the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak in China that has been declared a global health emergency.

Buckingham Palace in Emergency Session to Resolve Harry and Meghan Crisis By MARK LANDLER Everyone involved wants a quick resolution, but they have to be wary of setting precedents that could harm the monarchy.

2007年12月15日 星期六

the bench and session

bench 
noun [C]
a long, usually hard, seat for two or more people, often found in public places, or a long table for working on:
a park bench (= a seat in a public garden)
a work bench (= a table for working at)

the benches plural noun
in the British parliament building, the seats used by the members:
There was jeering from the Labour benches.serve/sit/be on the bench
to work as a judge or magistrate
session (FORMAL MEETING) Show phonetics
noun [C or U]
a formal meeting or series of meetings of an organization such as a parliament or a law court:
The parliamentary session is due to end on May 27th.
The UN Security Council met in emergency session to discuss the crisis.

Judge removed

自由時報《中英對照讀新聞》Judge removed for jailing people over ringing cell phone為了手機鈴聲大作而把民眾關進監牢的法官遭到革職

◎張沛元

A judge was removed from the bench for jailing 46 people after none would admit to having a cell phone that began ringing during his court session.

一名因為手機鈴聲大作但又沒人承認而把46人關進監牢的法官，遭到革職。

(新聞辭典

bench： 名詞，長椅，法官，法官席；運 動比賽中的板凳球員。on the bench：片語，擔任法官；等待出賽。例句：The old gentleman sitting on the bench looks like my late grandfather.（那位坐在長椅上的老先生長得很像我已故的祖父。）)

hc評:
這一段的翻譯漏了"during his court session"(在他審理庭上(鈴聲大作而無人認帳))
整篇文章沒交待這是那一國的怪事---法官也不能隨便革職的...

2016年1月29日 星期五

emerge (APPEAR), emergency, intestinal parasite, detach, army, presenter

Contrary to the wild accusations against him, Barack Obama is not the hidden hand behind the Middle East's tumult. In truth, he hates to take sides, fearing that any fresh entanglements may prove as bloody and costly as George W. Bush's. But sometimes sides should be taken. Detachment can also be a sin http://econ.st/17dz2bY

In Some Swimming Pools, a Nasty Intestinal Parasite

By SARAH ARNQUIST

A swimming pool can offer relief from summer heat, but swimmers should know what they are jumping into. It could be a soup of nasty parasites.

Many of the shoppers and even the store manager said they had no idea that months earlier the same toy, made by Montreal-based Mega Brands Inc., had been recalled around the world, including in China. An American child had died after swallowing tiny magnets that detached from a similar Magnetix toy, and more than two dozen other children had required emergency intestinal surgery.

許多消費者甚至商場經理都表示﹐他們並不知道幾個月前這種由蒙特利爾玩具公司Mega Brands Inc.出品的玩具在全球範圍被召回﹐其中也包括中國。該產品召回的原因是一名美國兒童在玩類似款型的Magnetix玩具時﹐將積木上的小磁石拆下並吞 入肚中﹐最終不治而亡。此外還有幾十名兒童也因為相同原因而進行了緊急腸道手術。

“When you think of artists today like Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, who have armies of assistants virtually creating their work, does it really matter?” Mr. Elderfield said. “I don’t think it does. In de Kooning’s case, we know his hand is in all his work.”

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, has suggested creating a “super- sovereign reserve currency” to replace the dollar over the long run. He would sharply enhance the global role of special drawing rights, the international asset created by the International Monetary Fund in the late 1960s and just given an enormous boost by the decision of the Group of 20 to expand its issuance by $250bn (€189bn, £171bn). These are the first big proposals for international monetary reform from China or indeed any emerging market economy and deserve to be taken seriously for that reason alone.

Auto parts supplier Delphi said Thursday it has won approval from nearly all of its creditors, and cleared away an objection by bondholders, for its plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Go to Article from the Associated Press via Forbes»

emerge (BECOME KNOWN) Show phonetics

verb [I]

to become known, especially as a result of examination or questioning:

The facts behind the scandal are sure to emerge eventually.

[+ that] It has emerged that secret talks had been going on between the two companies before the takeover was announced.

She's the most exciting British singer to emerge on the pop scene for a decade.emerge (APPEAR) Show phonetics

verb [I]

1 to appear by coming out of something or out from behind something:

She emerged from the sea, blue with cold.

2 to come to the end of a difficult period or experience:

The Prince emerged unscathed from the scandal.

emergence Show phonetics

noun [U]

the process of appearing:

The emergence of small Japanese cars in the 1970s challenged the US and European manufacturers.

emerging Show phonetics

adjective [before noun] (FORMAL emergent)

starting to exist:

Western governments should be giving more aid to the emerging democracies of the Third World.

emergent economies/markets

(from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

emerge 

IN BRIEF: To appear. Also: To rise from.

 Only through art can we emerge from ourselves and know what another person sees.

Tutor's tip: After you "emerge" (to become visible; to become apparent) from the locker room you might "immerge" (to plunge) into a swimming pool.

army

(är'mē) 

n., pl., -mies.

1. 1. A large body of people organized and trained for land warfare.
   2. often Army The entire military land forces of a country.
   3. A tactical and administrative military unit consisting of a headquarters, two or more corps, and auxiliary forces.
2. A large group of people organized for a specific cause: the construction army that built the Panama Canal.
3. A multitude; a host: An army of waiters served at the banquet. See synonyms at multitude.

[Middle English armee, from Old French, from Medieval Latin armāta, from Latin, feminine past participle of armāre, to arm, from arma, arms.]

About Stephen Sackur

HARDtalk is broadcast on the BBC News Channel and BBC World News

Stephen Sackur, HARDtalk's presenter, has been a journalist with BBC News since 1986.

Before taking over on the BBC News 24 and BBC World flagship current affairs interview programme, he had been based in Brussels for three years as the BBC's Europe Correspondent.

Prior to this, Stephen was the BBC's Washington Correspondent from July 1997.

He has interviewed Presidents George W Bush and Bill Clinton, covered the 2000 US Presidential Elections, the Clinton scandal and impeachment trial.

Stephen has also been the BBC Middle East Correspondent in both Cairo (from 1992 to 1995) and Jerusalem (from 1995 to 1997), covering the peace process, the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the emergence of the Palestinian Authority under the late Yasser Arafat.

Stephen was appointed as a BBC Foreign Correspondent in 1990.

He was part of the BBC's team of correspondents covering the Gulf War, spending eight weeks with the British Army when the conflict began.

Stephen filming the programme introduction in Moscow

He was the first correspondent to break the story of the mass killing on the Basra road out of Kuwait City, marking the end of the war. He wrote a book about his experiences - On The Basra Road - named as one of the Books of the Year by The Spectator magazine.

He travelled back to Iraq just after the downfall of Saddam Hussein and filed the first television reports on Iraq's mass graves containing the bodies of thousands of victims of Saddam's regime.

Born in Lincolnshire, Stephen was educated at both Cambridge and Harvard universities.

He is married with three children.

emergency noun [C or U]

something dangerous or serious, such as an accident, which happens suddenly or unexpectedly and needs immediate action in order to avoid harmful results:

How would disabled people escape in an emergency?

Is the emergency exit suitable for wheelchairs?

The pilot of the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing on Lake Geneva.

e・mer・gen・cy

 

--> 

━━ n. 緊急時, 急場; 急患.
 in an emergency / in case of emergency　非常の場合.
 emergency brake　非常ブレーキ.
 emergency door [exit]　非常口.
 emergency measures　応急策.
 emergency medical technician　救急看護師［救命士］.
 emergency room　救急室.
 emergency services　緊急救援活動.

三省堂提供「EXCEED 英和辞典」より凡例はこちら

noun

• 1 [mass noun] the state of being objective or aloof:he felt a sense of detachment from what was going on

• 2 Military a group of troops, aircraft, or ships sent away on a separate mission:a detachment of Marines [mass noun]:the Squadron went on detachment to Malta
• a party of people separated from a larger group:a truck containing a detachment of villagers

• 3 [mass noun] the action or process of detaching; separation:structural problems resulted in cracking and detachment of the wall

Origin:

mid 17th century: from French détachement, from détacher 'to detach' (see detach)

detach

Pronunciation: /dɪˈtatʃ/

Translate detach | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish

verb

[with object]

• 1 disengage (something or part of something) and remove it:he detached the front lamp from its bracket figurativea willingness to detach comment from political allegiance
• [no object] be easily removable:the screen detaches from the keyboard

• 2 (detach oneself from) leave or separate oneself from (a group or place):a figure in brown detached itself from the shadows figurativethe newspaper detached itself from the political parties
• (be detached) Military (of a group of soldiers or ships) be sent on a separate mission: our crew were detached to Tabuk for the exercise

Derivatives

detachability
noun

detachable

adjective

Origin:

late 16th century (in the sense 'discharge a gun'): from French détacher, earlier destacher, from des- (expressing reversal) + attacher 'attach'

Spelling help

The ending of detach should be spelled -ach.