2024年12月31日 星期二

quit, quits, quitter. call it quits, requital, anti-smoking drive. The lesson, to us: Despite how harried our lives are, sometimes all we need to exercise our patience and focus is the opportunity.

If you want Times readers to look at something for 10 minutes, all you have to do is ask

In July, we ran an experiment challenging readers to look at the image of a painting for 10 minutes — as a way to train one’s ability to focus amid countless distractions. We were able to track how long our readers spent with the art.

The results? Plenty of people didn’t start. And a whole bunch dropped out quickly. But after that initial burst of impatience, the further our readers got, the more likely they were to stick with it. To our surprise, 25 percent finished.

We initially thought maybe 5 percent of readers at most would reach the 10-minute mark. The lesson, to us: Despite how harried our lives are, sometimes all we need to exercise our patience and focus is the opportunity.

That was a good excuse to run more art experiments— Francesca Paris and Larry Buchanan


如果你想讓時報讀者看某件事 10 分鐘,你要做的就是詢問

全部入住

10分鐘!

即時

放棄者


7 月份,我們進行了一項實驗,要求讀者觀看一幅畫的圖像 10 分鐘,以訓練人們在無數幹擾中集中註意力的能力。我們能夠追蹤讀者花在藝術上的時間。

結果?很多人都沒有開始。很快就有一大群人退出了。但在最初的不耐煩爆發之後,我們的讀者越深入,他們就越有可能堅持下去。令我們驚訝的是,25% 的人完成了。

我們最初認為最多 5% 的讀者會讀到 10 分鐘。給我們的教訓是:儘管我們的生活多麼忙碌,有時我們需要鍛鍊耐心和專注的只是機會。

這是進行更多藝術實驗的好藉口。 — 弗朗西斯卡·帕里斯和拉里·布坎南


More Tech Start-Ups Call It Quits
The deepening recession is speeding up the shakeout in Silicon Valley, forcing droves of start-ups to shut down or sell themselves at fire-sale prices.



Welcome to 2009: Google’s Marissa Mayer to call it quits?
ZDNet Blogs - USA
Marissa Mayer, one of Google’s oldest employees (that is, in years of service), may be considering a departure to what Gawker thinks is a more suiting ...


A Hedge Fund Hits Bottom

John Devaney, who made and then lost a fortune trading mortgage investments, has finally called it quits. (12 comments) More»

drive

A strong organized effort to accomplish a purpose. See synonyms at campaign.

quits

(kwĭts) pronunciation
adj.

On even terms with by payment or requital: I am finally quits with the loan.


quits Show phonetics
adjective INFORMAL
be quits to not owe money to someone or to each other now:
I paid for the tickets and you bought dinner so we're quits, I reckon.
Am I quits with you now?

call it quits
INFORMAL
to stop doing something, or to agree with someone that a debt has been paid and that no one owes anything more:
I paid for last week's shopping and you paid for this week's, so let's call it quits.


double or quits UK (US double or nothing)
(in games where money is risked) an agreement that the player who owes money will owe twice as much if they lose, but will owe nothing if they win

A charity in the Saudi capital Riyadh has come up with a novel incentive to encourage young men to quit smoking-an all-expenses-paid wedding. Hundreds of men have expressed interest in the anti-smoking drive.

沙烏地阿拉伯首都利雅德的一個慈善團體,提出一種新奇的方法鼓勵年輕人戒菸:所有開銷都付清的婚禮。數百名男性已表示有興趣參加這個戒菸活動◎鄭寺音



quit Show phonetics
verb [I or T] quitting, quit, quit
to stop doing something or leave a job or a place:
Would you quit your job if you inherited lots of money?
[+ ing form of verb] I'm going to quit smoking.
Quit wasting my time!
Press Q to quit the program.

quitter Show phonetics
noun [C] DISAPPROVING
a person who gives up easily instead of finishing something:
I'm no quitter.

re・quit・al

━━ n. 報い, 報償; 報復.
requite

quits


━━ a. あいこで ((with)).
call it quits 仕事[遊び]を切り上げる, やめる; 付き合いをよす.
cry quits 引分けにする.

Tontine, Breathe (new) life into, familiar paucity of information. A NEW LEASE OF LIFE. take on, with bated breath, take a deep breath, mephitic/ fetid,


Discover how Chicago’s vacant Sears stores are being reborn as new neighborhood hubs.
Tontines, a controversial investment arrangement that was often used as a plot device in murder mysteries, is experiencing a resurgence in Japan as a savings vehicle designed for the era of longevity.

Since the end of the cold war one simple geopolitical rule has endured: do not take on America. This rule still holds—but it is no longer quite as compelling as it once was. The military playing field is more even than it has been for many years. That is a big problem for the Westhttp://econ.st/1I22JA6

More than 400 people are missing and feared dead, after a tourist ferry with 458 people aboard overturned on the Yangzi river in stormy weather on the evening of June 1st. If the death toll is as bad as it might be, this would be the worst boat disaster in the history of the People’s Republic of China. Citizens are watching their government’s rescue effort with bated breath—and with an all too familiar paucity of information http://econ.st/1KJFble

MORE than 400 people are missing and feared dead. Journalists have been kept from the scene. If the death toll is as bad as it might be, this would be the worst boat...
ECON.ST


It reads like one of those French art-house movies about theatrical marital breakdown, shot in close-up and set in an elegant apartment. Yet this is not fiction, but real life, as recounted by Valérie Trierweiler, the former partner of François Hollande, France's president. Her tell-all book on their split is now available in English, here's our take on the original http://econ.st/1FjMgDR ‪#‎econarchive‬


Walking a tightrope into history - Thousands watched with bated breath as a blindfolded Nik Wallenda completed high-wire walks 500ft above the city of Chicago bbc.in/1t5tBD3
Japanese Pensions Moving Into Alternatives Overseas
Wall Street Journal (blog)
Since the Bank of Japan unleashed a massive new easing program last month, European and U.S. investors have waited with bated breath for more BOJ bond buys to push Japanese lifers overseas.



tontine (English pronunciation: /tɒntn/) is an investment plan for raising capital, devised in the 17th century and relatively widespread in the 18th and 19th centuries. It combines features of a group annuity and a lottery. Each subscriber pays an agreed sum into the fund, and thereafter receives an annuity. As members die, their shares devolve to the other participants, and so the value of each annuity increases. On the death of the last member, the scheme is wound up.
Tontines are regulated in Europe under the Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament[1] and are still common in France.[2]
Questionable practices by U.S. life insurers in 1906 led to the Armstrong Investigation in the United States restricting some forms of tontines. Nevertheless, in March 2017, The New York Times reported that tontines were getting fresh consideration as a way for people to get steady retirement income.[3]


2020/02/19 - new lease of life definition: 1. an occasion when you become more energetic and active than before: 2. an increase in the period…. Learn more.
Breathe (new) life into definition is - to give new energy and excitement to (something). 


take
particular version of or approach to something:his own whimsical take on life

Definition of take on in English:

British informal Become very upset, especiallyneedlessly:don’t take on so—no need to upset yourself
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
  • Don't take on so, it will all turn out right in the end.
bated


Pronunciation: /ˈbeɪtɪd/

Definition of bated
adjective



(in phrase with bated breath)
  • in great suspense; very anxiously or excitedly:he waited for a reply to his offer with bated breath

Origin:

late 16th century: from the past participle of obsolete bate 'restrain', from abate


Take a Deep Breath

mephitic (muh-FIT-ik)

adjective: Poisonous or foul-smelling.

Etymology
From Latin mephitis (foul smell).

Usage
"Jack Black is a sterling example of the actor who starts out seeming like a breath of fresh air, and then turns into something stale, fetid, mephitic, nauseating." — Joe Queenan; Do You Remember When Jack Black Was Funny?; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 9, 2009.


What afetid form of humour
━━ a. 悪臭を放つ.
fetid
[形]((形式))悪臭ふんぷんたる, たまらなく臭い.
fet・id・ly
[副]

drought, paucity, buzz-worthy, scarcity. The surprise was how clearly it could be detected, given the paucity of data on these idiosyncratic, ultra-low-turnout elections.

The biggest surprise, for me, wasn’t simply that there was a decent correlation between turnout and results. The surprise was how clearly it could be detected, given the paucity of data on these idiosyncratic, ultra-low-turnout elections.

A serious drought in Taiwan is threatening the island's chip industry.


Wimbledon, the world's oldest tennis tournament, begins on June 27th, bringing its traditional grey skies, expensive strawberries—and paucity of British winners. From the 2013 archive




Greece is running short of time. In the next few days either a new deal will be done or bank failures will lead to Grexit. In either case, the damage done by this period of uncertainty and financial drought will be severe. Here is why http://econ.st/1UzXsor


Taiwan's Yani Tseng shoots 63 to take lead in LPGA Tour's Safeway ... The Republic

PORTLAND, Oregon — Yani Tseng moved into position to end a long victory drought, shooting a 9-under 63 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead into the final ...

 

 

 

  In N.Y. Mayoral Race, Small Checks From Hedge Fund Giants

By ALEXANDRA STEVENSON

New York law caps individual contributions to mayoral candidates, but records for 2013 are notable for their paucity of donations from hedge fund managers.
Widespread Drought Is Likely to Worsen
Widespread Drought Is Likely to Worsen

 

More than 400 people are missing and feared dead, after a tourist ferry with 458 people aboard overturned on the Yangzi river in stormy weather on the evening of June 1st. If the death toll is as bad as it might be, this would be the worst boat disaster in the history of the People’s Republic of China. Citizens are watching their government’s rescue effort with bated breath—and with an all too familiar paucity of information http://econ.st/1KJFble

Drug Scarcity's Dire Cost, and Some Ways to Cope
By RONI CARYN RABIN


Production problems have disrupted treatment plans. Experts advise patients to take a number of practical steps.

drought

Pronunciation: /draʊt/
Translate drought | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish

noun

  • a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water: the cause of Europe’s recent droughts [mass noun]:crops have failed because of drought
  • [usually with modifier] a prolonged absence of something specified:he ended a five-game goal drought
  • [mass noun] archaic thirst.

Origin:

late Old English drūgath 'dryness', of Germanic origin; compare with Dutch droogte; related to dry

drought[名][C][U]1 (特に長期の)日照り, 干ばつ;渇水 drought damage干害.2 (物の長期の)払底, 欠乏, 枯渇 drought of funds資金不足.3 ((方言))の...

droughty[形](-i・er, -i・est)1 乾燥した.2 日照り続きの, 干ばつの.3 ((方言))のどのかわいた.drought・i・ness[名]


scarcity
(skâr'sĭ-tē) pronunciation
n., pl., -ties.
  1. Insufficiency of amount or supply; shortage: a scarcity of food that was caused by drought.
  2. Rarity of appearance or occurrence: antiques that are valued for their scarcity.

Japan's iPad Frenzy Signals Sea Change
The debut of Apple's iPad in Japan is generating a level of hype and excitement rarely seen these days for a new electronics product in this gadget-loving nation, underscoring the paucity of buzz-worthy, homegrown devices.

pau·ci·ty ('sĭ-tē) pronunciation
n.
  1. Smallness of number; fewness.
  2. Scarcity; dearth: a paucity of natural resources.
[Middle English paucite, from Old French, from Latin paucitās, from paucus, few.]


buzz

Syllabification: (buzz)
Pronunciation: /bəz/
Translate buzz | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish

noun

[in singular]
  • a low, continuous humming or murmuring sound, made by or similar to that made by an insect:the buzz of the bees a buzz of conversation
  • the sound of a buzzer or telephone.
  • informal a telephone call:I’ll give you a buzz
  • informal a rumor:the buzz is that he’s in big trouble
  • an atmosphere of excitement and activity:there is a real buzz about the place
  • informal a feeling of excitement or euphoria:I got such a buzz out of seeing the kids' faces
  • informal a general sense of excitement about or interest in someone or something, as reflected in or generated by media coverage or word of mouth:they created a huge buzz with their latest album the film has already generated a lot of buzz in the industry

verb

[no object]
  • 1make a humming sound:mosquitoes were buzzing all around us
  • (often as noun buzzing) (of the ears) be filled with a humming sound:I remember a buzzing in my ears
  • signal with a buzzer:the electric bell began to buzz for closing time [with object]:he buzzed the stewardesses every five minutes
  • [with object] informal make a telephone call to (someone).
  • 2 [with adverbial of direction] move quickly or busily:she buzzed along the highway back into town
  • [with object] Aeronautics, informal fly very close to (another aircraft, the ground, etc.) at a high speed.
  • 3(of a place) have an air of excitement or purposeful activity:the club is buzzing with excitement
  • (of a person’s mind or head) be filled with excited or confused thoughts:her mind was buzzing with ideas

Phrasal Verbs

buzz off

[often in imperative] informal go away.