DVD protects South Carolina firefighter from being shot ＤＶＤ
保護南卡羅來納州消防隊員免於遭到槍擊
2008-03-07◎張沛元
A South Carolina man is thankful for a DVD that ended up taking a bullet for him.
一名南卡羅萊納州男子感謝一片幫他擋子彈的ＤＶＤ。
Colleton County Fire and Rescue Director Barry McRoy says he was leaving a Waffle House restaurant in the town of Walterboro on Saturday morning when two men ran in fighting over a gun. Police say a bullet hit one of the struggling men, shattered a window and then hit McRoy.
克萊頓郡消防暨救難隊長貝瑞．麥克羅伊說，他週六一早正要離開瓦特伯洛鎮上一家Waffle House連鎖餐廳時，2名男子跑進店內爭奪一把槍。警方表示，其中一名男子身中一槍，這枚子彈打碎一扇窗後擊中麥克羅伊。
The bullet hit a DVD McRoy was carrying in his pocket. He suffered a bruise but didn’t realize he had been shot. As he told a police officer what happened he noticed a bullet hole in his jacket, the shattered DVD case and a piece of the bullet.
這枚子彈擊中麥克羅伊口袋裡裝著的一片ＤＶＤ。他僅受到擦傷，根本不曉得自己中彈。當他向一名員警描述事發經過時，才注意到自己的外套上有一個子彈孔、破裂的ＤＶＤ盒外殼，以及一片子彈碎片。
"I was saved by a DVD," McRoy says. "How lucky can you get?"
「一片ＤＶＤ救了我一命，」麥克羅伊說。「你還能幸運到什麼地步呢？」
The DVD was nicked. It was a gift from an employee who had recorded a TV show about fire extinguishers.
這片因此缺了一角的ＤＶＤ，是他僱用的一個人送給麥克羅伊的禮物，裡面錄了一個介紹滅火器的電視節目。
新聞辭典
protect someone from Verb+ing：避免某人…。與protect有關的棒球用語，protect the plate，無論投手投什麼球都要揮棒以免被三振；protect the runner，無論投手投什麼球都要揮棒以便壘上跑者能盜壘或進行打代跑戰術。
end up：片語，達到最後處境或地位，落得…結局或下場。例句：After 10 years of hard work, she ended up getting nothing but being fired.（她辛苦工作了10年後，什麼也沒得到還被炒魷魚。）
2013年4月9日 星期二
Woman eyes skydive record over Everest 一名女子打算創造跳傘飛越聖母峰的紀錄
Woman eyes skydive record over Everest
一名女子打算創造跳傘飛越聖母峰的紀錄
2008-09-14◎胡立宗
Woman eyes skydive record over Everest
一名女子打算創造跳傘飛越聖母峰的紀錄
A British woman plans to make a parachute jump over Mount Everest hoping to become the first woman ever to skydive over the world’s highest peak, organizers said Sunday.
一名英國女子計畫在聖母峰上空跳傘，以成為第一位跳傘飛越世界最高峰的女性，活動主辦單位週日表示。
Holly Budge, 29, plans to throw herself out from 465 feet above Everest, hurtling past it, before landing in a mountain meadow at 12,350 feet.
29歲的荷莉．芭姬計畫在聖母峰上空465呎處離機，飛越山巔後降落在12,350呎處的山地草原上。
She plans to attempt her dive in October after taking off from an airstrip in Syangboche in the Khumbhu region of northeast Nepal, home to Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at 29,035 feet.
她計畫在10月份從祥波切高原的跑道出發進行跳傘。祥波切位於尼泊爾東北部的加德滿都地區，屬於全球最高29,035呎的聖母峰的一部分。
"I’m excited, confident, scared, all in one," Budge said by e-mail from Britain.
「興奮、自信、害怕，全都是我的寫照」，芭姬發自英國的電子郵件說。
Budge said she has done lots of skydiving before, including from small planes, balloons and helicopters. "But this is going to be completely different from anything I’ve done before," she said.
芭姬說她一直愛玩跳傘，不論是從小飛機、熱氣球還是直升機她都跳過，「但這次將跟以前的經驗完全不同」。
新聞辭典
skydive：動詞，跳傘。跳傘的動詞英文一般常用「parachute」，skydive雖然也是跳傘，但更強調開傘前的急速下滑，因此又有人稱做「天潛」（sky + dive）。
throw someone out：片語，把某人丟出去，本文的throw herself out意思是把自己從飛機上丟出去，也就是跳出飛機。
hurtle：動詞，猛衝、飛馳。He hurtled past the checkpoint. （他飛也似地繞過了檢查哨）
一名女子打算創造跳傘飛越聖母峰的紀錄
2008-09-14◎胡立宗
Woman eyes skydive record over Everest
一名女子打算創造跳傘飛越聖母峰的紀錄
A British woman plans to make a parachute jump over Mount Everest hoping to become the first woman ever to skydive over the world’s highest peak, organizers said Sunday.
一名英國女子計畫在聖母峰上空跳傘，以成為第一位跳傘飛越世界最高峰的女性，活動主辦單位週日表示。
Holly Budge, 29, plans to throw herself out from 465 feet above Everest, hurtling past it, before landing in a mountain meadow at 12,350 feet.
29歲的荷莉．芭姬計畫在聖母峰上空465呎處離機，飛越山巔後降落在12,350呎處的山地草原上。
She plans to attempt her dive in October after taking off from an airstrip in Syangboche in the Khumbhu region of northeast Nepal, home to Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at 29,035 feet.
她計畫在10月份從祥波切高原的跑道出發進行跳傘。祥波切位於尼泊爾東北部的加德滿都地區，屬於全球最高29,035呎的聖母峰的一部分。
"I’m excited, confident, scared, all in one," Budge said by e-mail from Britain.
「興奮、自信、害怕，全都是我的寫照」，芭姬發自英國的電子郵件說。
Budge said she has done lots of skydiving before, including from small planes, balloons and helicopters. "But this is going to be completely different from anything I’ve done before," she said.
芭姬說她一直愛玩跳傘，不論是從小飛機、熱氣球還是直升機她都跳過，「但這次將跟以前的經驗完全不同」。
新聞辭典
skydive：動詞，跳傘。跳傘的動詞英文一般常用「parachute」，skydive雖然也是跳傘，但更強調開傘前的急速下滑，因此又有人稱做「天潛」（sky + dive）。
throw someone out：片語，把某人丟出去，本文的throw herself out意思是把自己從飛機上丟出去，也就是跳出飛機。
hurtle：動詞，猛衝、飛馳。He hurtled past the checkpoint. （他飛也似地繞過了檢查哨）
2013年4月7日 星期日
經常帳
經常帳
2008/09/02-劉傑中
經常帳又稱為經常項目，是國際收支平衡表中的3大項目之1，與「資本帳」和「金融帳」相對。經常帳是國際收支平衡表中最重要、最基本的收支項目，內容主要包含「商品」、「服務」、「投資所得」、「其他商品、勞務及所得」以及「片面轉移」等5項。
而經常帳餘額計算方式則為，出口的商品和服務減去進口的商品和服務，然後再加上投資所得，或者淨收入的出口和進口，以及片面轉移。簡單的說，就是在一段時間內，某經濟體與他國財務與勞務間的交易金額。
倘若經常帳餘額為正值，顯示該國資本向外流出的數值大於外國流入的數值，也就是「經常帳順差」，在一定程度上代表該國經濟活動強健，對匯率有提升效果；反之則為「經常帳逆差」。不過一般熟知的貿易順、逆差，實際上僅就經常帳之中的「商品」、「服務」等前4大項計算，而不包含片面轉移，因此二者不能完全劃上等號。
2013年4月3日 星期三
Sweet deal：Companies and U.S. team up to map cocoa DNA 完美交易：企業與美國政府合作繪製可可DNA
Sweet deal：Companies and U.S. team up to map cocoa DNA
完美交易：企業與美國政府合作繪製可可DNA
2008-06-30◎俞智敏
Chocolate maker Mars Inc, computer giant IBM and the U.S. Department of Agriculture said recently they would team up to map the DNA of the cocoa tree to try to sweeten the crop’s $5 billion market.
巧克力製造大廠瑪士公司、電腦業龍頭IBM公司及美國農業部最近表示，他們將合作繪製可可的DNA，好繼續拓展價值50億美元的可可市場。
"Sequencing the cocoa genome is a significant scientific step that will allow more directed breeding of cocoa plants and perhaps even enhance the quality of cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate," Mars said in a statement.
「替可可基因圖譜排序是一項重大的科學躍進，能使可可更進一步定向培育，或許還能改善可可豆的品質，可可為巧克力最重要的成分，」瑪士公司在聲明中指出。
"The collaboration will enable farmers to plant better quality cocoa and, more importantly, help create healthier, stronger cocoa crops with higher yields, pest and disease resistance, and increased water and nutrient use efficiency."
「這項合作將使農民種植更高品質的可可，更重要的是，有助於生產出更強健的可可作物、產量更高、對病蟲害抵抗力更強，同時增進水源與養份的有效利用。」
While conventional plant breeding techniques can transform a crop, having the complete genome offer researchers the opportunity to take short-cuts to changing the plant’s qualities.
儘管傳統的植物品種培育技術也能改良作物，但擁有完整的基因圖譜，研究人員在改變植物品質時就有機會採取捷徑。
The first crop to have its genome sequenced was rice -- an international effort that took years and which was finished in 2002. In April, a team at the University of Hawaii sequenced the genome of a genetically engineered papaya.
第一種完成基因定序的作物為稻米，這項國際合作的結果耗時數年，才終於在2002年完成。今年4月夏威夷大學團隊則替一種經基因改造的木瓜完成基因定序。
新聞辭典
sweet deal：片語，指划算、令人滿意的交易，如︰It’s a sweet deal for the companies who get these franchises.（對於取得這些經銷權的公司而言，這是一項划算的交易。）標題中的sweet deal為雙關語。
sweeten：動詞，非正式用語，指增加擔保品，或提高…的價值，或使更具吸引力，如︰The management sweetened the deal by offering an extra 2% to staff on the lowest end of the pay scale.（公司高層額外提供薪資最低的員工2%加薪，以增加達成協議的機會。）
yields：名詞，指產量、收穫量、利潤，如︰Crop yields have declined steadily.（作物的產量逐漸下滑。）
完美交易：企業與美國政府合作繪製可可DNA
2008-06-30◎俞智敏
Chocolate maker Mars Inc, computer giant IBM and the U.S. Department of Agriculture said recently they would team up to map the DNA of the cocoa tree to try to sweeten the crop’s $5 billion market.
巧克力製造大廠瑪士公司、電腦業龍頭IBM公司及美國農業部最近表示，他們將合作繪製可可的DNA，好繼續拓展價值50億美元的可可市場。
"Sequencing the cocoa genome is a significant scientific step that will allow more directed breeding of cocoa plants and perhaps even enhance the quality of cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate," Mars said in a statement.
「替可可基因圖譜排序是一項重大的科學躍進，能使可可更進一步定向培育，或許還能改善可可豆的品質，可可為巧克力最重要的成分，」瑪士公司在聲明中指出。
"The collaboration will enable farmers to plant better quality cocoa and, more importantly, help create healthier, stronger cocoa crops with higher yields, pest and disease resistance, and increased water and nutrient use efficiency."
「這項合作將使農民種植更高品質的可可，更重要的是，有助於生產出更強健的可可作物、產量更高、對病蟲害抵抗力更強，同時增進水源與養份的有效利用。」
While conventional plant breeding techniques can transform a crop, having the complete genome offer researchers the opportunity to take short-cuts to changing the plant’s qualities.
儘管傳統的植物品種培育技術也能改良作物，但擁有完整的基因圖譜，研究人員在改變植物品質時就有機會採取捷徑。
The first crop to have its genome sequenced was rice -- an international effort that took years and which was finished in 2002. In April, a team at the University of Hawaii sequenced the genome of a genetically engineered papaya.
第一種完成基因定序的作物為稻米，這項國際合作的結果耗時數年，才終於在2002年完成。今年4月夏威夷大學團隊則替一種經基因改造的木瓜完成基因定序。
新聞辭典
sweet deal：片語，指划算、令人滿意的交易，如︰It’s a sweet deal for the companies who get these franchises.（對於取得這些經銷權的公司而言，這是一項划算的交易。）標題中的sweet deal為雙關語。
sweeten：動詞，非正式用語，指增加擔保品，或提高…的價值，或使更具吸引力，如︰The management sweetened the deal by offering an extra 2% to staff on the lowest end of the pay scale.（公司高層額外提供薪資最低的員工2%加薪，以增加達成協議的機會。）
yields：名詞，指產量、收穫量、利潤，如︰Crop yields have declined steadily.（作物的產量逐漸下滑。）
Man in wheelchair charged with drink-driving坐輪椅男子被控酒後駕駛
Man in wheelchair charged with drink-driving
坐輪椅男子被控酒後駕駛
2008-07-01◎羅彥傑
Man in wheelchair charged with drink-driving
坐輪椅男子被控酒醉駕車
Police in Australia have charged a man for drink driving in a motorised wheelchair after he was found to be six times over the legal alcohol limit, local media reported last week.
澳洲警方控告一名乘坐電動輪椅的男子酒醉駕車，理由是他被人發現其酒精濃度超過法律規定上限，當地媒體上週報導說。
Police in the tropical northern Queensland city of Cairns said the man had a blood alcohol reading of 0.31, and was so drunk he was asleep at the controls of his motorised wheelchair in a turning lane of a major highway.
熱帶的昆士蘭北部城市肯因茲警方說，這名男子的血液酒精值讀數達0.31，他醉到在一條主要公路的迴車道上操控其電動輪椅時，竟然還睡著。
"It beggars belief," Police Inspector Bob Walters told the Cairns Post newspaper, adding wheelchairs, bicycles, horses and skateboards were all considered to be vehicles under the state’s road laws.
「真令人難以置信，」警局督察鮑勃．瓦特斯告訴《肯因茲郵報》，強調輪椅、腳踏車、馬與滑板全都被視為是應受該州道路法規範的交通工具。
"It’s unlawful, it is unacceptable and people should realise it could lead to a fatality," he said.
「這於法不合，令人無法接受，而且大家應體認到這可能會導致有人喪命。」他說。
Other motorists on the four-lane highway had to swerve to avoid the wheelchair, police said.
這條四線道公路的其他駕駛人必須突然偏離方向來避開這部輪椅，警方說。
新聞辭典
It beggars belief：成語，指令人難以置信。例句：It beggars belief that so much money can be spent on the project.（很難相信這項計畫竟然可以花費這麼多錢。）beggar是乞丐之意，當動詞有使貧窮，使不能（使無力）之意。例句：The scenery beggars description.（風景之美非筆墨所能形容）。
fatality：名詞，死亡者、死亡事故。例句：The accident caused several fatalities.（這起事故造成數人死亡。）
swerve：動詞，突然偏離方向。例句：The car swerved sharply to avoid hitting a bycycle.（汽車突然急轉彎，以免和腳踏車相撞。）
坐輪椅男子被控酒後駕駛
2008-07-01◎羅彥傑
Man in wheelchair charged with drink-driving
坐輪椅男子被控酒醉駕車
Police in Australia have charged a man for drink driving in a motorised wheelchair after he was found to be six times over the legal alcohol limit, local media reported last week.
澳洲警方控告一名乘坐電動輪椅的男子酒醉駕車，理由是他被人發現其酒精濃度超過法律規定上限，當地媒體上週報導說。
Police in the tropical northern Queensland city of Cairns said the man had a blood alcohol reading of 0.31, and was so drunk he was asleep at the controls of his motorised wheelchair in a turning lane of a major highway.
熱帶的昆士蘭北部城市肯因茲警方說，這名男子的血液酒精值讀數達0.31，他醉到在一條主要公路的迴車道上操控其電動輪椅時，竟然還睡著。
"It beggars belief," Police Inspector Bob Walters told the Cairns Post newspaper, adding wheelchairs, bicycles, horses and skateboards were all considered to be vehicles under the state’s road laws.
「真令人難以置信，」警局督察鮑勃．瓦特斯告訴《肯因茲郵報》，強調輪椅、腳踏車、馬與滑板全都被視為是應受該州道路法規範的交通工具。
"It’s unlawful, it is unacceptable and people should realise it could lead to a fatality," he said.
「這於法不合，令人無法接受，而且大家應體認到這可能會導致有人喪命。」他說。
Other motorists on the four-lane highway had to swerve to avoid the wheelchair, police said.
這條四線道公路的其他駕駛人必須突然偏離方向來避開這部輪椅，警方說。
新聞辭典
It beggars belief：成語，指令人難以置信。例句：It beggars belief that so much money can be spent on the project.（很難相信這項計畫竟然可以花費這麼多錢。）beggar是乞丐之意，當動詞有使貧窮，使不能（使無力）之意。例句：The scenery beggars description.（風景之美非筆墨所能形容）。
fatality：名詞，死亡者、死亡事故。例句：The accident caused several fatalities.（這起事故造成數人死亡。）
swerve：動詞，突然偏離方向。例句：The car swerved sharply to avoid hitting a bycycle.（汽車突然急轉彎，以免和腳踏車相撞。）
2013年3月31日 星期日
Yanks unearth Sox jersey at new stadium 洋基隊在新球場挖出紅襪隊球衣
Yanks unearth Sox jersey at new stadium
洋基隊在新球場挖出紅襪隊球衣
2008-04-21◎俞智敏
So much for the curse. The New York Yankees have ended a construction worker’s attempt to jinx their new stadium with a buried Boston Red Sox jersey.
詛咒的威力也不過如此。紐約洋基隊已經終止了一名建築工人把一件波士頓紅襪隊球衣埋在洋基隊新球場，企圖讓洋基隊倒楣的計畫。
Team officials watched as construction workers removed the jersey, with slugger David Ortiz’s name on it, from 2 feet of concrete in a service corridor of the stadium that’s under construction.
球隊官員看著建築工人從正在興建的球場工作通道中、厚達2英尺的水泥板底下取出這件球衣，球衣上還繡著紅襪隊強打歐提茲的名字。
The team says a construction worker--who is a Red Sox fan--buried the jersey there while on the job. Two other supervisors found the tattered shirt recently.
球隊方面表示，一名身為紅襪隊球迷的建築工人，趁著工作之便，把球衣埋在球場裡。另外2名監工最近發現了這件已經變得破破爛爛的球衣。
The Yankees plan to donate the jersey to charity, and may pursue a lawsuit against the construction worker.
洋基隊打算把這件球衣捐給慈善機構，而且還可能對這名建築工人提告。
新聞辭典
unearth：動詞，指（從地下）挖出、發掘，如Building at the site was halted after human remains were unearthed earlier this month.（此工地在本月初挖出人類骨骸後，建築工作已經暫停。）
so much for sth：片語，表達對某事的失望或不如預期、不過爾爾，如He told me how his parents divorced, then said, so much for the storybook romance.（他告訴我他的父母已經離婚，然後又說，故事書裡的浪漫愛情也不過如此。）
jinx：文中做動詞，指使某人倒楣、招來惡運，如The strike has jinxed my plans to go hiking this weekend.（這次罷工打亂了我準備本週末去爬山的計畫。）亦可做名詞，指惡運、掃把星、不祥的人，如There’s a jinx on this computer--it’s gone wrong three times this morning!（這台電腦被下了咒，光今天早上電腦就當機了3次。）
洋基隊在新球場挖出紅襪隊球衣
2008-04-21◎俞智敏
So much for the curse. The New York Yankees have ended a construction worker’s attempt to jinx their new stadium with a buried Boston Red Sox jersey.
詛咒的威力也不過如此。紐約洋基隊已經終止了一名建築工人把一件波士頓紅襪隊球衣埋在洋基隊新球場，企圖讓洋基隊倒楣的計畫。
Team officials watched as construction workers removed the jersey, with slugger David Ortiz’s name on it, from 2 feet of concrete in a service corridor of the stadium that’s under construction.
球隊官員看著建築工人從正在興建的球場工作通道中、厚達2英尺的水泥板底下取出這件球衣，球衣上還繡著紅襪隊強打歐提茲的名字。
The team says a construction worker--who is a Red Sox fan--buried the jersey there while on the job. Two other supervisors found the tattered shirt recently.
球隊方面表示，一名身為紅襪隊球迷的建築工人，趁著工作之便，把球衣埋在球場裡。另外2名監工最近發現了這件已經變得破破爛爛的球衣。
The Yankees plan to donate the jersey to charity, and may pursue a lawsuit against the construction worker.
洋基隊打算把這件球衣捐給慈善機構，而且還可能對這名建築工人提告。
新聞辭典
unearth：動詞，指（從地下）挖出、發掘，如Building at the site was halted after human remains were unearthed earlier this month.（此工地在本月初挖出人類骨骸後，建築工作已經暫停。）
so much for sth：片語，表達對某事的失望或不如預期、不過爾爾，如He told me how his parents divorced, then said, so much for the storybook romance.（他告訴我他的父母已經離婚，然後又說，故事書裡的浪漫愛情也不過如此。）
jinx：文中做動詞，指使某人倒楣、招來惡運，如The strike has jinxed my plans to go hiking this weekend.（這次罷工打亂了我準備本週末去爬山的計畫。）亦可做名詞，指惡運、掃把星、不祥的人，如There’s a jinx on this computer--it’s gone wrong three times this morning!（這台電腦被下了咒，光今天早上電腦就當機了3次。）
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