英文的學習不能等

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Brian: I am too excited to take care of these trivial things.

Brian：我實在太興奮，沒辦法去處理這些瑣碎的事了！

Jocelyn: Hey, remember we are backpackers? There won't be any tour guides waiting for us in Thailand so we have to make sure everything is right before we take off.

Jocelyn：喂，記得我們是要自助旅行嗎？可不會有任何導遊在泰國等我們，所以我們必須在出發前，確定一切都安排好了。

Brian: All right, all right. So, what do we need?

Brian：好啦，好啦。那我們需要些什麼？

Jocelyn: Let me check the list. We need to prepare a digital camera, batteries, an adapter, stationery, sunglasses, suntan lotion, bathing suits, flashlights, a calculator, a hairdryer, toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, socks, slippers…

Jocelyn：我來看看這份清單喔。我們需要準備數位相機、電池、插座轉換器、文具用品、太陽眼鏡、防曬油、泳裝、手電筒、計算機、吹風機、牙刷、牙膏、梳子、襪子、拖鞋...

Brian: Whoa, whoa…hold on for second! Are you sure we are going to carry all that stuff to Thailand? Remember, we are going traveling, not emigrating!

Brian：哇，哇... 等一下！你確定我們真的要帶這些東西去泰國？記得嗎？我們是要去旅行，不是要移民耶！

Jocelyn: I think you are right, but I am a little bit nervous. It's my first time to go backpacking.

Jocelyn：我想你是對的。不過我有一點緊張，這可是我第一次自助旅行啊。

Brian: Don't worry. I believe we'll have a wonderful trip. Just don't forget to bring your passport and keep yourself in a good mood! Everything is going to be alright!

Brian：別擔心。我相信我們會有個美好的旅程。只要別忘記帶你的護照，還有維持好心情！一切都會沒問題的！

  (其實兩個都是男的喔XD)

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On my way home from work yesterday evening, I was starving. Suddenly, I saw a Japanese restaurant, so I decided to go in and grab a bite to eat. Everything on the menu looked delicious. I ordered various kinds of sushi1. In no time at all, my table was full of food that I liked. The sushi with shrimp was particularly tasty. I wanted to share it with my family, so I ordered some more to go.

　　After the meal, it was time to pay the bill. When I saw the check, I was amazed at the total and kept staring at the cash register2. This wonderful meal cost $5,000! It was so expensive that I had to go get more money from the ATM3 next door. Finally, I walked home with a full belly4 and an empty wallet.

  (網球界台灣之光　盧彥勳)

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Unit 3 Your Skin 1 : Clean And Clear

Aubrey: You have such clear skin!

Grace: Why thank you. I have an excellent 2 dermatologist 3 .

Aubrey: Then I should see your doctor because my soap isn't cleaning my face well.

Grace: That's because soap 4 is harsh 5 .

Aubrey: So how do you prevent 6 acne 7 ?

Grace: I follow a strict 8 skin care regimen 9 .

Aubrey: What does it involve 10 ?

Grace: Every morning I wash my face with a cleanser 11 and rinse 12 with a toner 13 . The toner keeps my skin color even. Then I apply moisturizer 14 .

Aubrey: And in the evening?

Grace: I use an astringent 15 to get the dirt from the day out of my pores 16 .

Aubrey: All those products sound expensive.

Grace: It's a small price to pay for nice skin.


-Susan Buchman

China's Pay Rises 中國薪資提升

Salaries in China are on average still just a quarter of those in Brazil, another emerging economy.
Will Foxconn's wage rise force salaries up?
Factory owners elsewhere don't believe wages will rise across the board.
While they may not make the same products that Foxconn does, they compete for young workers from the same shrinking pool.
Yet they say Foxconn's 70% pay rise, done to stabilize a workforce that showed an alarming tendency to commit suicide, only goes to show that they weren't paying their workers enough in the first place.

Foxconn workers needed to do overtime to make enough money to take home.
Other companies believe that it is enough to ensure that their staff develop new skills, remain happy and not want to leave.
Labor activists agree.

While they welcome increased pay packets at companies like Foxconn, they warn that it is equally, if not more, important to treat their workers better.
Otherwise, the gains will be short-lived.

There needs to be an improvement in working conditions, because people don’t just need more money.
They are human beings who need their dignity and need to be treated more fairly.
Just as Foxconn has realized after complaints of overwork, insults and late breaks, it is important that there are support programs in place that meet the needs of its employees.
 
Yet much of the international and local media are largely ignoring another issue.
It is very unfair that the double-digit salary increases given to the workforce at big companies are making headlines, yet meanwhile millions of others are getting left behind.
 
Low wages are a fact of life for many people in China, and there's no sign this will be changing anytime soon. 
People like street cleaners haven't seen their wages rise, and their bosses are extremely unlikely to give up profits to fund a pay increase.

Higher wages might be on the cards for a small minority, but many poor Chinese still suspect that society in China is becoming less equal and more unfair.

中文和英文的結構有先天上的不同
因此在obstacle與barrier雖然都是翻譯成 障礙
但是在用法上有完全不同的意思
要用對一定要搞清楚

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本週話題焦點：行前準備（ 準備旅遊用品）

Brian: I am too excited to take care of these trivial things.
我實在太興奮，沒辦法去處理這些瑣碎的事了！

Jocelyn: Hey, remember we are backpackers? There won't be any tour guides waiting for us in Thailand so we have to make sure everything is right before we take off.
喂，記得我們是要自助旅行嗎？可不會有任何導遊在泰國等我們，所以我們必須在出發前，確定一切都安排好了。

Brian: All right, all right. So, what do we need？
好啦，好啦。那我們需要些什麼？

Jocelyn: Let me check the list. We need to prepare a digital camera, batteries, an adapter, stationery, sunglasses, suntan lotion, bathing suits, flashlights, a calculator, a hairdryer, toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, socks, slippers…
我來看看這份清單喔。我們需要準備數位相機、電池、插座轉換器、文具用品、太陽眼鏡、防曬油、泳裝、手電筒、計算機、吹風機、牙刷、牙膏、梳子、襪子、拖鞋...

Brian: Whoa, whoa…hold on for second! Are you sure we are going to carry all that stuff to Thailand? Remember, we are going traveling, not emigrating！
哇，哇... 等一下！你確定我們真的要帶這些東西去泰國？記得嗎？我們是要去旅行，不是要移民耶！

Jocelyn: I think you are right, but I am a little bit nervous. It's my first time to go backpacking.
我想你是對的。不過我有一點緊張，這可是我第一次自助旅行啊。

Don't worry. I believe we'll have a wonderful trip. Just don't forget to bring your passport and keep yourself in a good mood! Everything is going to be alright！
別擔心。我相信我們會有個美好的旅程。只要別忘記帶你的護照，還有維持好心情！一切都會沒問題的！

Small Nuclear Reactors the Next Big Thing
下一件大事，小型核子反應爐

When most people think of nuclear power plants, massive industrial sites come to mind.

Yet several companies are now working on a new generation of reactors that are about the same size as a refrigerator.

One such company is Hyperion Power Generation.

Within a year, this Santa Fe-based company should be applying for a license for downsized nuclear reactor units that could provide electricity for small factories or towns too remote to be connected to the grid.

Hyperion claims that, provided its technology gets a US government license, it has over 150 purchase commitments from customers ranging from mining to telecom companies.

According to the International Energy Agency World, global electricity demand is estimated to grow annually by 2.7 percent until 2015, and then by 2.4 percent until 2030.

While large-scale and unpopular multi-gigawatt nuclear plants have a price tag of around $6 billion, the cost of a 25-megawatt Hyperion reactor, which could power 20,000 homes, is $50 million.

Each unit is transportable by lorry, could fit inside a small room and would require less maintenance, making it a super safe, small and simple micro-grid solution.

Environmentalists are concerned that terrorists could hijack a reactor and directly use it to cause a meltdown or use it to fabricate fissile materials for later use in a weapon.

Hyperion dismisses those concerns, saying that the units are fitted in multiple sealed chambers that would be put in an underground vault.

This would protect it from natural threats and unwanted tampering, especially as guards and dogs would be on the scene.

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話題焦點：行前準備（訂飯店 II）

大家在學到關係代名詞時
一定常常搞不太清楚用的時機

that what這兩個最常用到的
一起來搞清楚吧!