2014年6月3日 星期二

Swedish cinemas introduce gender bias film rating 瑞典電影院引進偏重女性的電影評分制度

Swedish cinemas introduce gender bias film rating
瑞典電影院引進偏重女性的電影評分制度
2013-12-15◎俞智敏

A cinema group in Sweden has introduced a controversial new gender bias rating to shine a spotlight on sexism in films, but critics said the move could lead to self-censorship.
瑞典一個電影院集團最近引進一項爭議性的偏重女性新評分制度來凸顯影片中的性別歧視;但批評者認為,此舉恐導致電影工作者進行自我審查。

To receive the new "A" rating, films must feature at least two named female actors who have a conversation about anything other than a man.
獲得新制A級評等的電影,至少要有兩位有名字的女性角色進行一段除了討論男性以外的對話。

The rating is based on a test made popular in 1985 by the comic strip artist Alison Bechdel. While the so-called Bechdel Test seems easy enough, many blockbusters actually fail to make the grade, including "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the "Star Wars" films.
這項評分制度是根據漫畫家貝希朵於1985年所提出、並廣為人知的一項測試。儘管這項名為貝希朵測試的評分制度似乎很簡單,但許多熱門電影卻都未能達到標準,包括「魔戒」三部曲及「星際大戰」系列電影在內。

The rating project has the enthusiastic support of the state-owned Swedish Film Institute, which provides funding for virtually every homegrown Swedish movie -- and all 23 films released last year.
這項評分計畫受到國營瑞典電影學院的熱烈支持,該學院提供資金給幾乎所有的瑞典國產電影,去年上映的23部片就全數獲得該學院資助。

Nevertheless, the body’s vocal support for the gender bias rating has led critics to complain about state interference in Swedish cultural life.
但電影學院大力支持偏重女性評分制度,也引起批評者抱怨國家干涉瑞典的文化生活。

"It’s naive to think their reaction is not prescriptive. The Swedish Film Institute is a very powerful body in Swedish cinema," said Jan Holmberg, a film researcher and head of the Ingmar Bergman Foundation.
「若以為他們的反應不會造成限制性的後果就太天真了。瑞典電影學院在瑞典電影界勢力非常龐大,」電影研究者及伯格曼基金會主席荷姆伯格表示。

新聞辭典:

l   make the grade:片語,指表現令人滿意、達到預期目標如Many people apply for these positions, but only a few make the grade.(許多人申請這些職務,但只有少數人符合標準。)
l   vocal:形容詞,指暢所欲言的、直言不諱的,如He had always been a very vocal critic of the president.(他過去一直是總統最直率的批評者。)
l   prescriptive:形容詞,指規定的、指定的、限定的,如Critics claim the new rules are too prescriptive.(批評者聲稱新規定太過死板。)



Facebook boosts connections, not happiness:study 研究:臉書提升社會連結,非幸福感

Facebook boosts connections, not happinessstudy
研究:臉書提升社會連結,非幸福感
2013-10-12◎陳伃軒

People who use Facebook may feel more connected, but less happy.
使用臉書的人會覺得和社會有較多連結性,但卻不太快樂。

A study of young adults released Wednesday concluded that the more people used Facebook, the worse they subsequently felt.
這個針對年輕成年人的研究在星期三公佈,指出人們使用臉書越久,之後感覺更糟。

"On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection," said University of Michigan social psychologist Ethan Kross, lead author of the study.
「表面上看來,臉書提供寶貴的資源滿足人們對社會連結的基本需求」,密西根大學社會心理學家、該研究主要撰寫人伊森.克洛斯說。

"But rather than enhance well-being, we found that Facebook use predicts the opposite result -- it undermines it."
「但不是提高幸福感,我們發現使用臉書預示出相反的結果—它損害了它(幸福感)。」

The researchers recruited 82 young adults who had smartphones and Facebook accounts and assessed their subjective well-being by texting them at random times five times a day for two weeks.
研究人員召募82位擁有智慧型手機和臉書帳號的年輕成年人,利用長達2週在1天內隨機傳5次簡訊的方式,評估他們的幸福感。

The researchers said the study, published in the scientific journal PLOS, was believed to be the first measuring Facebook’s impact on happiness and life satisfaction.
研究人員表示,這個發布在科學期刊「公共科學圖書館—綜合」的研究,被認為是第1個測量臉書對幸福感和生活滿足感的影響。

"This is a result of critical importance because it goes to the very heart of the influence that social networks may have on people’s lives," said University of Michigan cognitive neuroscientist John Jonides, another author of the paper.AFP
「這是個至關重要的結果,因為它直指社群網路對人類生活可能造成的影響」,密西根大學認知神經科學家、該研究另一位作者約翰.喬尼斯說。(法新社)

新聞辭典:

l   subsequently:副詞,隨後、接著。例句:He was arrested and subsequently sentenced to two years imprisonment.(他被逮捕,隨後被判監禁2年。)
l   invaluable:形容詞,貴重的。例句:He gave the invaluable jewels to me.(他把這個貴重珠寶給我。)
l   enhance:動詞,提高、增加。例句:This can greatly enhances the accuracy of fire support.(這個可以大幅增進軍火支援的精準度。)


Myanmar’s ‘tallest man’ undergoes successful surgery 緬甸「最高男」經歷成功手術

Myanmars tallest man undergoes successful surgery
緬甸「最高男」經歷成功手術
2013-11-12◎詹立群

Myanmar’s tallest man -- "Big Zaw" -- has returned from Singapore where doctors said he underwent successful brain surgery to remove a tumour responsible for his excessive growth.
緬甸最高的男人「大藻」從新加坡回家了,那裡的醫生說他經歷成功的腦部手術,移除一個讓他不斷長高的腫瘤。

Win Zaw Oo, who stands seven feet eight inches tall 233 centimetres arrived in Yangon on Thursday from the city-state.
身高78吋(233公分)的溫藻烏,週四從這個城市國家返抵仰光。

Media reports about "Big Zaw", who is believed to be the tallest man in the former junta-ruled nation, stirred global interest leading to offers to pay for the $55,000 surgery.
媒體有關「大藻」的報導,據信他是(緬甸)這個前軍事統治國家身高最高的男人,引起全世界注意,從而讓贊助者願意負擔這項55000美元的手術。

Win Zaw Oo, who has spent much of his life barefoot because his family was unable to afford special shoes, is significantly taller than the 168cm average Myanmar man.
溫藻烏身高明顯高於平均身高168公分的緬甸男性,他大多數時候光著腳,因為家裡買不起特製的鞋子。

His case has cast light on the limitations of Myanmar’s threadbare healthcare system, which was neglected during decades of army rule.
他的案例凸顯緬甸陳腐醫療體系的限制,這套系統在軍事統治下被忽略了數十年。

A new quasi-civilian regime took power in 2011, but medical care remains woefully inadequate.
新的半文人政權2011年起執政,但醫療照護依然嚴重不足。

新聞辭典:

l   undergo:動詞,經歷,蒙受。例句:The new car underwent its tests successfully.(新車順利通過測試。)
l   cast light on:片語,闡明,使人了解(某事)。例句:The discovery of the dinosaur skeleton may cast light on why they became extinct.(恐龍骨骸的發現可使人們進一步了解恐龍滅絕原因。)

l   inadequate:形容詞,不適當、不充分的。例句:The production is wholly inadequate to meet the demand.(那產量完全不足以應付需求。)

US woman’s pre-mastectomy dance video goes viral 美婦女乳房切除手術前的熱舞影片造成轟動

US womans pre-mastectomy dance video goes viral
美婦女乳房切除手術前的熱舞影片造成轟動
2013-11-13◎魏國金

A video showing a US woman leading a dance party in an operating theater just before undergoing a double mastectomy has gone viral online.
一段一名美國女子在進行雙乳切除手術前,率眾跳舞的影片在網路上造成轟動。

Deborah Cohan, a trained gynecologist, can be seen getting down — dressed in full pre-op gown and colorful protective cap — with a team of anesthetists and other surgical staff.
影片畫面可以看到,專業婦科醫師黛博拉.柯漢,穿戴全套病患手術衣與彩色手術帽,與一組麻醉團隊及其他手術工作人員共舞。

By Thursday more than 1.4 million people had viewed the 6-minute video showing them dancing to the Beyonce song "Get Me Bodied," Cohan gyrating energetically with a huge smile on her face.
至週四為止,已超過140萬人點閱這段6分鐘的影片,片中顯示他們隨著碧昂絲的歌曲「貼身共舞」起舞,柯漢笑容洋溢地起勁迴旋。

"Nothing brings me greater joy than catalysing others to dance, move, be in their bodies," she said in a blog post before the operation at the University of California at San Francisco UCSF Medical Center on Tuesday.
「沒有比帶動其他人擺動身軀跳舞,帶給我更大的喜悅。」她週二在加州大學舊金山分校(UCSF)醫學中心進行手術前,在部落格上寫道。

In her "Deborah’s Healing Journey" blog, posted on the website of non-profit Caring Bridge, she asked people to film or picture themselves dancing to the Beyonce tune, wherever they were.
在她發表於非營利組織「愛心橋」網站上的部落格「黛博拉的醫治之旅」上,她要求人們無論置身何處,拍攝他們隨同碧昂絲這支曲調起舞的影片或照片。

"Are you with me people?" the Harvard-educated obstetrician-gynecologist at UCSF asked in the post, which had over 100,000 visits, and which also featured a picture of her hugging a tree, dressed only in bra and panties.
「你們與我同在嗎?」這位在哈佛大學受教育、任職於UCSF的婦產科醫師貼文提問,該部落格已逾10萬人造訪,該部落格也以一張她僅穿胸罩與內褲、張手環抱一棵樹的照片為特色。

Messages of support flooded in. "So inspiring," wrote one, while another added "Youre such a brave woman. Keep rocking out!"AFP
支持的訊息湧入。「非常激勵人心」,一則訊息寫著,另一則補充說︰「你是一位如此勇敢的女子。繼續搖滾下去!」(法新社)

新聞辭典:

l   get down︰(非正式用語,多用於歌詞內)跳舞。Lets get down.(讓我們跳舞吧。)
l   gyrate︰動詞,旋轉、迴旋。例句︰All the attention gyrated around her.(所有的注意力都圍著她轉。)

l   catalyze︰動詞,催化、促成、鼓動、根本改變。例句︰ Changes in student enrollment that have catalyzed the educational system.(學生註冊方式的改變促成教育系統的根本轉變。)

2014年6月2日 星期一

Jamaica embraces controversial Super Bowl ad 牙買加欣然接受引發爭議的超級盃廣告

Jamaica embraces controversial Super Bowl ad
牙買加欣然接受引發爭議的超級盃廣告
2013-04-21 俞智敏

Jamaica is embracing a controversial Super Bowl commercial that depicts a white office worker from the U.S. Midwest feigning the Caribbean island’s lilting patois accent to display a cheerful, upbeat outlook.
牙買加正欣然接受一支引發爭議的超級盃廣告片,片中描繪一名來自美國中西部的白人上班族刻意模仿這個加勒比海島國的輕快方言口音,以展現一種愉快、歡樂的態度。

Some U.S. critics have described the Super Bowl ad from Volkswagen of America as offensive and culturally insensitive, apparently seeing the commercial as an echo of segregation-era depictions of white people posing as happy-go-lucky black folk. Jamaica’s population is predominantly black.
部分美國批評者形容這支由福斯汽車美國分公司所製作的廣告片令人反感和缺乏文化敏感性,他們顯然認為這支廣告反映出種族隔離時代白人刻意假扮成個性樂天的黑人的手法。牙買加人口絕大多數為黑人。

But the charged reaction has met with puzzlement in Jamaica, which has very visible white, Asian, Middle Eastern and mixed-race minorities that also often speak with the local accent.
但這些激烈的反應卻讓牙買加人感到困惑,牙買加境內也有很明顯的白人、亞裔、中東及混血等少數族裔,他們說話也都帶有當地口音。

The island’s government has endorsed the commercial, which shows an ebullient white worker from the U.S. state of Minnesota trying to cheer up glum colleagues with a Jamaican patois accent because he is so happy with his Volkswagen.
牙買加政府已表態支持這支廣告片,片中一名來自明尼蘇達州的白人上班族興高采烈地試圖用牙買加方言口音說話,好讓悶悶不樂的同事們高興起來,因為他對自己新買的福斯汽車很滿意。

Tourism Minister Wykeham McNeill said he believes the Super Bowl commercial has the potential to increase tourist arrivals. "I think this is a very creative commercial which truly taps into the tremendous appeal that brand Jamaica and its hospitable people have globally," McNeill said in a statement. AP
觀光部長麥克尼爾表示,他相信這支超級盃廣告片可能增加前往牙買加觀光的遊客人數。「我認為這是一支很有創意的廣告,真正掌握了牙買加品牌及其好客人民在全球的廣大吸引力,」麥克尼爾在聲明中指出。(美聯社)

新聞辭典:

l   embrace:動詞,指欣然接受、同意,如 These ideas have been widely embraced by a the scientific community.(這些主張廣獲科學界接受。)
l   happy-go-lucky:形容詞,指逍遙自在的、隨遇而安的,如She has a happy-go-lucky disposition.(她的個性很樂天。)

l   charged:形容詞,指緊張的、可能引起激烈反應的,如The singer gave an emotionally charged interview.(這位歌手在接受訪問時情緒激動。)

Ballerina brain holds secret to balance:study 研究:女芭蕾舞者的大腦掌握平衡的秘密

Ballerina brain holds secret to balancestudy
研究:女芭蕾舞者的大腦掌握平衡的秘密
2013-11-09◎陳伃軒

Years of training cause structural changes in a ballerina’s brain that help her stay balanced in the pirouette, said a report Friday that may aid the treatment of chronic dizziness.
週五一份報告指出,女芭蕾舞者的大腦因多年的訓練產生結構性改變,幫助她在急速旋轉時可以保持平衡,並稱這可以幫助慢性頭昏的治療。

Brain scans of professional ballerinas revealed differences from other people in two parts of the brain one that processes input from the balancing organs in the inner ear, and another responsible for the perception of dizziness.
專業女芭蕾舞者的大腦掃描顯示,大腦有兩處與其他人不同:一處是處理來自內耳中平衡器官的輸入指令,另一處則是負責頭暈覺知。

Most people, after turning around rapidly, feel dizzy for a period thereafter.
大多數人,在迅速轉圈之後,會有一段時間感到頭暈。

This is because of the fluid-filled chambers of the ear’s balance organs, which sense the rotation of the head through tiny hairs that perceive the fluid swishing about. The fluid continues to move for a while after the spin -- which creates the perception that one is moving when still -- hence the dizziness.
這是因為耳朵平衡器官中充滿液體的腔室,透過細毛感知液體流動進而感覺到頭部旋轉。在旋轉過後液體會繼續流動一陣子—在人靜止時創造出持續移動的感覺—因此感到頭暈。

Ballet dancers can perform multiple pirouettes with little or no feeling of dizziness -- a feat that has long puzzled researchers.
芭蕾舞者可以表演多次豎趾旋轉且鮮少或根本不會覺得頭暈—這是個讓研究者一直困惑的技藝。

The pirouette sees a dancer execute one or more full-body turns on the toe or ball of one foot.
豎趾旋轉是指舞者用腳趾或踮腳進行一至多個全身旋轉。

"Ballet dancers seem to be able to train themselves not to get dizzy, so we wondered whether we could use the same principles to help our patients," Barry Seemungal from Imperial College London’s medicine department said in a statement on the study published in the journal Cerebral Cortex.AFP
「芭蕾舞者看似可以控制自己不感到頭暈,所以我們想知道是否可以運用同樣的道理來幫助我們的病患」,倫敦大學帝國學院醫學系的貝瑞.希姆葛在刊載於「大腦皮層」期刊的研究聲明中說。(法新社)

新聞辭典:

l   dizzy:形容詞,頭暈目眩的、愚蠢的。動詞,使頭暈眼花。例句:She was dizzy and close to fainting.(她頭暈還差點昏倒。)
l   chamber:名詞,房間、(體內)腔室、會場。形容詞,私人的、室內的。例句:The heart has four chambers.(心臟有四個腔室。)
l   spin:動詞,紡紗、結網、旋轉。例句:The spider was spinning a web.(蜘蛛正在結網。)



Florida mom’s photos used in bogus Match.com profiles 佛羅里達媽咪的照片被用在約會網站假人物簡介

Florida moms photos used in bogus Match.com profiles
佛羅里達媽咪的照片被用在約會網站假人物簡介
2013-12-17◎詹立群

Not a day goes by when someone doesn’t tell me that they saw my pictures posted on Match.com or another web site,” says Yuliana Avalos, a Florida mom and part-time model who never actually signed up for the site.
「我沒有一天不被告知說我的照片被放上『配對』網站或其他網站」,尤里亞娜.阿法若斯說,(她是來自)佛羅里達州的母親及兼職模特兒,她從未真正加入網站。

The popular dating site is engaging in “one of the biggest conspiracies ever executed on the Internet,” the class-action Manhattan Federal Court suit says.
那個受歡迎的約會網站涉入「網際網路所發生的最大陰謀之一」,曼哈頓聯邦法庭集體訴訟起訴書說。

Thousandsof others, including celebrities, soldiers and adult actresses, have had their pictures plucked from Facebook and other sites and used for bogus profiles as well – even though they are not and never weremembers of Match’s dating sites, the suit says.
其他「數千人」,包括名人、軍人及成人片女優,他們的照片被從臉書或其他網站下載,也被用做假人物簡介,雖然他們「現在不是也未曾加入」配對約會網站會員,起訴書說。

Inflating the number of profiles on Match and its other 25 dating sites is good for their business.
把配對網站及其另外25個約會網站的人物簡介數量灌水,對它們的生意有幫助。

The suit also says the company could easily crack down on the numerous bogus profiles by using facial recognition software, but chooses not to.
起訴書也說,(網站)公司可輕易地藉由使用臉部辨識軟體抑制數量龐大的假人物簡介,卻選擇不這麼做。

新聞辭典:

l   conspiracy:名詞,陰謀、共謀。例句:He claimed that it was all a conspiracy againt him.(他說這一切都是針對他的陰謀。)
l   inflate:動詞,膨脹、浮誇。例句:He inflated his chest to make his concluding speech.(他挺起胸膛開始說結語。)
l   crack down on:片語,制裁、鎮壓。例句:The police began to crack down on speeding.(警方開始取締超速。)


Tall women face higher cancer risk︰study 研究:高個女子罹癌風險較高

Tall women face higher cancer riskstudy
研究:高個女子罹癌風險較高
2013-11-07◎國際新聞中心

Taller women may face a higher risk of many cancers than their shorter counterparts, according to a US study.
個子較高的女性罹患多種癌症的風險,可能高於較矮的女性,根據美國一項研究。

Researchers looked at a sample of nearly 145,000 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 for the analysis published in the US journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
美國癌症研究學會期刊「癌症流行病學、生物標記與預防」刊登的分析顯示,研究人員觀察將近145000名過了更年期的5079歲女性為樣本。

They found that each additional 10 centimeters of height was linked to a 13 percent higher risk of getting cancer.
他們發現,身高每高10公分,罹癌風險就多13%。

After 12 years of following women who entered the study without cancer, researchers found links between greater height and higher likelihood of developing cancers of the breast, colon, endometrium, kidney, ovary, rectum, thyroid, as well as multiple myeloma and melanoma.
研究人員發現,參與研究時並未罹癌的女性,在12年追蹤期間,有身高較高與罹患乳癌、大腸癌、子宮內膜癌、腎臟癌、卵巢癌、甲狀腺癌、多發性骨髓瘤及黑色素瘤的關聯性。

The height association remained even after scientists adjusted for factors that might influence these cancers, such as age, weight, education, smoking habits, alcohol consumption and hormone therapy.
即便是在科學家調整可能影響這些癌症的年齡、體重、教育、抽菸習慣、飲酒量與荷爾蒙治療等因子之後,與身高的關聯性依舊存在。

新聞辭典:

l   counterpart:名詞,對應的人(或物)。例句:The prime minister is to meet his European counterparts to discuss the war against drugs.(總理將與歐洲各國總理會面,商討對抗毒品之戰。)
l   additional:形容詞,額外的。例句:There will be an extra charge for any additional passengers.(任何額外的乘客都會多收費。)

l   likelihood:名詞,可能性。例句:There is little likelihood now that interest rates will come down further.(利率現在要更低的可能性很小。)

Boat carrying 70 Muslim Rohingya sinks off Myanmar 搭載70名羅興亞穆斯林的船在緬甸外海沉沒

Boat carrying 70 Muslim Rohingya sinks off Myanmar
搭載70名羅興亞穆斯林的船在緬甸外海沉沒
2013-11-06◎魏國金

A boat carrying at least 70 Muslim Rohingya capsized and sank Sunday off the western coast of Myanmar. Only eight survivors have been found.
一艘搭載至少70名羅興亞穆斯林的船隻,週日在緬甸西岸外海翻覆沉沒。只發現8名生還者。

The boat was in the Bay of Bengal and headed for Bangladesh when it went down early Sunday, said Abdul Melik, who works for a humanitarian organization in the region.
這艘船週日稍早滅頂時位於孟加拉灣,朝著孟加拉前進,任職該區一個人道組織的麥利克說。

The incident comes after the United Nations warned that an annual and often deadly exodus of desperate people from Myanmar’s Rakhine state appears to have begun. The exodus usually kicks off in November, when seas begin to calm following the annual monsoon. As many as 1,500 people have fled in the last week.
這起事故發生在聯合國警告緬甸若開邦的絕望民眾,顯然已展開往往釀成死亡的年度逃亡潮之後。這類逃亡潮常於11月、年度雨季後海象開始平穩時拉開序幕。上週有多達1500人出逃。

In Sunday’s incident, Melik said the wooden boat, which was carrying at least 70 Rohingya from Ohn Taw Gyi village, left at around 3 a.m. and broke apart about four hours later. Women, children and babies were among those on board.
在週日的這起事故中,麥利克指出,這艘至少搭載70名來自翁道基村的羅興亞人的木船,約於凌晨3點離開,約4小時後船隻解體。船上有婦女、兒童與嬰兒。

Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million, has been gripped by sectarian violence in the last 18 months, leaving more than 240 people dead and causing 250,000 to flee from their homes. Most of the victims have been Rohingya, a long persecuted Muslim minority in the country, with Buddhist mobs chasing them down with machetes, iron chains and bamboo clubs.
緬甸,一個6000萬人口中主要為佛教徒的國家,過去18個月來一直籠罩在宗派暴力之中,造成逾240人死亡,25萬人逃離家園。大多數受害者是長期在這個國家中被壓迫的穆斯林少數族群羅興亞人,佛教暴民持開山刀、鐵鏈與竹棍追打他們。

The U.N. says it expects this years exodus to be on one of the biggest on record because of the violence.AP
聯合國指出,由於暴力橫行,今年的逃亡潮可能會創下紀錄。(美聯社)

新聞辭典:

l   kick off︰動詞片語,開始、引起。例句︰The concert kicked off with a folk song.(音樂會以一首民謠揭開序幕。)
l   predominantly︰副詞,佔主導地位的、佔支配地位的。例句︰Some careers are still predominantly male-oriented.(有些職業主要仍以男性為導向。)
l   grip︰動詞,握緊、抓牢。例句︰An anarchic fervour gripped the campus.(無政府主義的狂熱籠罩校園。)