通勤學英語 15Mins Today

每日英語跟讀 Ep.K299: Sore throat in the morning? Try this herbal remedy

冬天有時候早上剛起床時，容易喉嚨卡卡的不太舒服。台灣中醫預防保健協會創會理事長樓中亮在臉書粉專「樓中亮中醫博士」發文分享，喉嚨痛是天冷常見的症狀之一，可能是以下三種情況造成：

First: chronic pharyngitis

You are probably in this category if it gets better after brushing your teeth, rinsing your mouth and drinking a sip of water. It can be caused by cold weather and relatively dry air, plus the fact that your mouth does not secrete enough saliva while you are asleep. You can use a humidifier while sleeping to help make the air more humid.

第一：慢性咽喉炎

如果刷牙漱口後，喝口水就好了，多半屬此類。由於天氣冷，空氣比較乾燥，加上睡覺時唾液分泌不足，就會造成這樣的情況。可以在睡覺時使用加濕器，幫助增加空氣濕度。

Second: allergic rhinitis (hay fever)

Allergies tend to involve a persistent stuffy and runny nose plus sneezing that lasts for more than two weeks. You might have a sore throat when you get up in the morning, but it only lasts for a few hours. This is because when you have a blocked nose you can only breathe through your mouth. If this exposes your throat to too much cold or dirty air, it can give you a sore throat. It will improve after drinking some water to soothe and clear your throat. Lou recommends getting a reasonable amount of regular exercise and avoiding ice-cold, deep-fried and sweet foods. He recommends drinking chicken soup, or else boiling up a soup with ginseng and dates and sipping it to strengthen the mucous membranes in your nose.

第二：過敏性鼻炎（花粉熱）

過敏通常會一直鼻塞、流鼻涕，加上持續超過兩個星期以上的噴嚏，早上起床會喉嚨痛，但只持續幾小時。這是因為鼻塞只能用嘴巴呼吸，喉嚨接觸到太多的冷空氣或髒空氣，而導致喉嚨痛，喝水潤喉、清潔之後就會改善。樓中亮建議，平時應適量運動，避免吃冰涼、油炸物及甜食，可喝雞湯或人蔘加大棗煮來喝，以強化鼻黏膜。

Third: having a cold

If a sore throat is accompanied by symptoms such as fever or lethargy, you may have caught a cold. Reduced saliva secretion during sleep can cause the mucous membranes in your nose or throat to become dry, which makes them less resistant to viruses. Viruses can stick to the dry mucous membranes while you are asleep and give you a cold. When you get up, make sure to keep warm and put on an extra layer of clothing before getting out of bed. You can also prevent colds by gargling daily with green tea.

第三：感冒

若除了喉嚨痛外，還伴有身體發熱或倦怠等症狀，那可能就是感冒了。由於睡覺的時候唾液分泌也會變少，當鼻腔或喉嚨的黏膜變乾後，對病毒的抵抗力下降，病毒就會在睡眠期間沾黏在乾燥的黏膜上，導致感冒。起床時要注意保暖添件外套再下床，平日可用綠茶漱口預防感冒。

For people who often overwork their throat or want to prevent a sore throat before it happens, Lou says you can prepare 10 grams each of dried lily petals, honeysuckle and platycodon (Chinese bellflower or balloon flower), and boil them in 600 milliliters to 1 liter of water or steep them in 100°C hot water and drink it in place of plain water to keep you throat healthy or relieve a sore throat.

針對平時會過度使用咽喉或想要及早預防喉嚨痛的民眾，樓中亮表示，可準備乾百合、金銀花、桔梗各十克，用六百毫升到一公升的水煮開，或用攝氏一百度的熱水沖泡，當開水喝，來保養或緩解喉嚨痛。Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2022/01/15/2003771379

每日英語跟讀 Ep.K298: Water-Stressed India Seeks a Tap for Every Home

The pipes are laid, the taps installed and the village tank is under construction — all promising signs that, come spring, Girja Ahriwar will get water at her doorstep and finally shed a lifelong burden.

管子鋪好，水龍頭裝好，村子的水槽正在建造。這些充滿希望的跡象顯示，春季來臨時，吉爾嘉．艾里瓦可以在家門口取到水，而且終於解除長期以來的負擔。

“I go out and put the jerrycans in the queue at around 5 a.m. and wait there with the children,” Ahriwar, a mother of three who lives in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, said about her routine of fetching from the village hand pump. “Sometimes it could take five or six hours. I have to stay there because if I leave, someone else moves ahead.”

「我大約在清晨5時出門，把大水桶排進隊伍，然後和孩子們一起等待」，住在印度中部中央邦、三個孩子的媽艾里瓦說，她的例行公事就是從村子的手動泵浦取水，「有時候得花五或六個小時，我必須一直留在這裡，因為如果我離開了，其他人就會搶先往前」。

India, one of the world’s most water-stressed countries, is halfway through an ambitious drive to provide clean tap water by 2024 to all of the roughly 192 million households across its 600,000 villages. About 18,000 government engineers are overseeing the $50 billion undertaking, which includes hundreds of thousands of contractors and laborers who are laying more than 2.5 million miles of pipe.

印度是全世界用水最吃緊的國家之一，在2024年之前提供60萬個村落共約1億9200萬戶乾淨自來水，這項宏大的計畫已進行到一半。約1萬8000名政府工程師監督規模500億美元的工程，包括數十萬名包商和工人，鋪設超過250萬哩的水管。

The project has a powerful champion in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has slashed through India’s notorious red tape and pushed aside thorny political divisions to see it through. His success thus far helps explain his dominance over the country’s political landscape.

這項計畫有個有力的擁護者：總理莫迪，他打破印度惡名昭彰的官僚作風，把棘手的政治分歧暫放一邊，推動計畫。目前為止他的成功也顯示他在這個國家政治版圖的主導力。

Modi has remained popular despite a weak economy and a bungled initial response to the coronavirus that left hundreds of thousands dead. He has increasingly relied on communal politics, continuing to consolidate a Hindu nationalist base he has worked for decades to rally.

即使經濟疲弱，且一開始對新冠病毒的笨拙反應造成數十萬人死亡，莫迪仍舊廣得人心。他日漸依賴宗教團體式政治，持續鞏固印度教國族主義基本盤，他投注數十年整合這些勢力。

But the mission to deliver water to every household combines two of Modi’s political strengths: his grasp of the day-to-day problems of hundreds of millions of India’s poor and his penchant for ambitious solutions. Modi, who grew up in a poor village, has spoken emotionally about his own mother’s hardship in fetching water.

不過，將水送到所有家戶的任務，結合莫迪的兩個政治力量：他對印度數億貧窮人口日常問題的理解，以及喜好採取極具雄心的解決方案。在貧窮村莊長大的莫迪，曾充滿感情的談到母親以前取水的困難。

About one-sixth of India’s households had a clean water tap when the program, called Jal Jeevan Mission, began in 2019. Now, almost half have one.

當這個「水生活任務」2019年開始時，印度家戶有潔淨自來水者約六分之一。現在，幾乎一半。

“You rarely have this drive from the government, the head of state, and it is well funded. Behind the concept, there is budget,” said Nicolas Osbert, who leads the UNICEF water and sanitation unit in India. “All social sectors were impacted by COVID. Not this one. This one was preserved.”

「你很少能從政府或國家領袖獲得這種推動力，而且資金充裕。在這個概念後面，重點是預算」，聯合國兒童基金會印度分部水資源和衛生主管歐斯柏特說，「所有社福單位都遭遇新冠病毒衝擊，但這個沒有，這個計畫保留下來」。

The country’s water problem speaks to the mismatch between its global economic ambitions and the dire conditions of much of its 1.4 billion population, two-thirds of whom still live in rural areas.

這個國家的用水問題顯示，其全球經濟野心和14億人口中許多人的悲慘情況，頗不相配。印度人口三分之二住在鄉村地區。Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/6034821

Hello 通勤家族，1/25下午1點到3點，歡迎來年貨大街，迪化街永樂市場前的街頭播音室來跟我們互動見面！禮盒有限，先搶先贏喔 XDD

禮品通關密語: Happy birthday!

年貨大街街頭播音室官網: https://2022lunarnewyear.taipei

街頭直播室YouTube頻道: https://youtu.be/53M5nL75AhU

每日英語跟讀 Ep.K297: About Hollywood - ‘Golden Girl’ Betty White dies before her 100th birthday

Fans worldwide lost their TV sweetheart on Dec. 31, as legendary actress Betty White died at the age of 99 — just 17 days before what would have been her 100th birthday next Monday. White began her career in the late 1930s, and with a glorious run spanning over eight decades, held the Guinness World Record for longest TV career for a female.

全球影迷近日痛失電視老甜心！傳奇美國女星貝蒂懷特十二月三十一日過世，享年九十九歲——距離她下週一的百歲生日只差十七天。懷特在一九三○年代末期出道，精彩的演藝生涯橫跨八十多年，更是《金氏世界紀錄》最長電視生涯女性保持人。

White gained international fame for her role as “Rose” on “The Golden Girls,” a hit US sitcom aired between 1985 and 1992, and also won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmys in 2015. “My 100th birthday. . . I cannot believe it is coming up, and People Magazine is celebrating with me!” she twitted excitedly just three days before she died.

懷特因飾演熱門情境喜劇《黃金女郎》裡的「羅絲」聲名大噪，該劇在一九八五年至一九九二年播出，她還曾在二○一五年，獲頒艾美獎終身成就獎之殊榮。她在死前三天興奮地發推特說：「我的百歲生日…真不敢相信就要到了，而且《時人》雜誌要與我一起慶祝！」

“The Golden Girls” was about four older women sharing a home in Miami. In addition to White, the show featured Bea Arthur as “Dorothy,” Rue McClanahan as “Blanche” and Estelle Getty as “Sophia.” All four actresses have now passed away.

而《黃金女郎》這部影集，則是關於四位年長女性在邁阿密同居的趣事。除了懷特以外，還包括碧雅阿瑟飾演「桃樂絲」、露麥克連納罕飾演「白蘭琪」、艾絲特蓋提飾演「蘇菲亞」，可惜四位女主角均已相繼離世。Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2022/01/12/2003771170

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Cast celebrates 20th anniversary of ‘Harry Potter’ film series 《哈利波特》系列20週年 重返霍格華茲

The “Harry Potter” film series that consists of eight blockbusters has swept the world since the release of its first movie in 2001. To celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary, HBO launched a show titled “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” on New Year’s Day, as the lead actors and filmmakers were reunited.

熱門電影《哈利波特》系列總共拍了八部，自首部電影二○○一年上映以來便席捲全球。為了慶祝該系列問世二十周年，HBO於元旦製播特別節目《哈利波特二十周年：重返霍格華茲》，邀請主角與製片再度重聚一堂。

The series featuring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and a dozen big stars is undoubtedly one of the most successful movie franchise of all time, grossing as much as over US$7.7 billion (NT$213.3 billion). The show featured the cast reminiscing about the movies as well as festivities in the Great Hall of “Hogwarts” — a fictional wizarding school where all the magic happens.

該系列的主角包括「哈利」丹尼爾雷德克里夫、「榮恩」魯伯特葛林特、「妙麗」艾瑪華森及多位大牌明星，在全球狂賣超過七十七億美元（約兩千一百多億台幣），是史上最賣座的電影系列之一！大團圓特輯中，除了主角回顧當年拍片的部分，還有在「霍格華茲」大廳舉行的節慶活動——而這座虛構的魔法學院正是奇蹟發生的地方。

As the magic fever continues globally, fans are excited about the opening of the world’s fourth “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal Studios Beijing in September last year. The other three theme parks are located in Orlando, Osaka and Hollywood, respectively.

隨著這股魔法的熱潮持續延燒，全球第四座「哈利波特的魔法世界」主題樂園於去年九月，已在北京環球度假區盛大開幕，令所有影迷相當興奮。其它三座魔法主題樂園則分別位於奧蘭多、大阪、好萊塢。Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2022/01/05/2003770726

2021年度最後一場直播！快來在Clubhouse上跟我，Peddy，與通勤家族們一同過農曆年、練習英語！快加入 15Mins 通勤學英語直播室吧~

每日英語跟讀 Ep.K296: About Turkey - Wandering dog is Istanbul commuters’ best friend

In a packed Istanbul passenger ferry between Europe and Asia, all eyes turn to one commuter enjoying the view from his window.

在往來歐洲和亞洲的一艘擠得水洩不通的客運渡輪上，所有目光都轉向一位享受窗外美景的乘客。

A street dog with golden-brown fur, dark eyes and floppy ears, Boji has become a regular sight on ferries, buses and metro trains in Instabul. A devoted commuter, the dog enjoys long journeys on public transport, up to 30 kilometers on a regular week day.

Boji是一隻有著金棕色毛髮、黑色眼眸和下垂耳的流浪犬，牠已成為伊斯坦堡渡輪、公車和大眾捷運系統上的尋常景觀。這隻狗狗是忠實的通勤族，享受公共交通工具上的長長旅途，平日最遠可到30公里外。

Istanbul municipality officials who record Boji’s trips with a microchip say he drops by at least 29 metro stations a day and was even tracked at sea, taking a weekend break to the Princes’ Islands off the city’s coast.

透過晶片記錄Boji行程的伊斯坦堡市政府官員說，Boji一天至少途經29個捷運站，甚至也在海上現蹤，利用週末前往外海的王子島。

Boji respects public transport rules and waits for disembarking passengers before hopping on the train.

Boji遵從公共交通工具的規定，跳上公車前還會禮讓乘客先下車。

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Turks revive glory of tulips from Istanbul土耳其重現伊斯坦堡的鬱金香光采

伊斯蘭的叫拜樓、夕陽或博斯普魯斯海峽的風光，都不能讓4月的伊斯坦堡群眾發出愉快的低語，而是鬱金香。

With a tulip blooming for almost every one of its 12 million inhabitants the city hopes to remind the world that Turkey was the original home of the flower now more usually associated with clogs, cheese and windmills.

伊斯坦堡市的1200萬市民幾乎每人都有一朵鬱金香為其盛開，該市希望能藉此提醒世人，土耳其才是鬱金香的真正故鄉，雖然鬱金香現在更常讓人聯想到木鞋、起司與風車。

Tulips hail originally from eastern Turkey and the steppe of central Asia and were cultivated by the Ottomans, who took the flower to their imperial capital Istanbul. The word "tulip" derives from the Turkish word tulbent, referring to the Sultan’s turban headdress, which the flower resembled in shape.

鬱金香源起於土耳其東部一帶及中亞大草原，鄂圖曼土耳其人加以培育，並把這種花帶進帝國首都伊斯坦堡。鬱金香一字也是源自土耳其語的tulbent，意指蘇丹的頭巾，因為鬱金香的外形與頭巾很類似。

An angry mob uprising in the eighteenth century saw Istanbul’s opulent tulip gardens all but disappear, and the city had been largely without beds of the flower ever since.

18世紀所發生的憤怒群眾暴動，導致伊斯坦堡的富麗鬱金香花園幾乎全數消失，伊斯坦堡自此再也看不到鬱金香花床。

Today tulips line the Sea of Marmara coast, protrude from concrete islands amid Istanbul’s notoriously heavy traffic and nestle in colourful clusters by the city’s key tourist sights.

如今鬱金香則遍佈於馬爾馬拉海岸、突出於伊斯坦堡惡名昭彰的壅塞車陣間的安全島上，在該市重要觀光景點旁也可見到五彩繽紛鬱金香花叢。

Istanbul mayor Kadir Topbas hopes the brief period during which the flowers are in bloom will stir memories of their place in Turkish culture.

伊斯坦堡市長托普巴斯希望，在鬱金香盛開的短暫期間，能讓世人想起這些花兒在土耳其文化中的地位。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1495447 ; https://mypaper.pchome.com.tw/maple20131116/post/1326676163

Topic: Traditional Toys May Beat Gadgets in Language Development

嬰兒筆電，嬰兒手機，交談農場，這些都是當前推出快速又先進的玩具，許多被當成激發嬰兒語言技能的工具行銷。

Baby laptops, baby cellphones, talking farms — these are the whirring, whiz-bang toys of the moment, many of them marketed as tools to encourage babies' language skills.

不過，新研究報告質疑這類電子玩具是否會使嬰兒跟父母的口頭交流減少，這種交流對認知發展極其重要。

But a new study raises questions about whether such electronic playthings make it less likely that babies will engage in the verbal give-and-take with their parents that is so crucial to cognitive development.

發表於「美國醫學會小兒科學期刊」的該研究報告發現，嬰兒與父母玩廣告中特別宣傳能促進語言發展的電子玩具時，父母說話及對嬰兒發聲的回應，要比玩傳統玩具如積木或閱讀硬頁書時來得少。嬰兒玩電子玩具時發聲也較少。

The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, found that when babies and parents played with electronic toys that are specifically advertised as language-promoters, parents spoke less and responded less to baby babbling than when they played with traditional toys like blocks or read board books. Babies also vocalized less when playing with electronic toys.

帶領研究的弗拉格斯塔夫北亞利桑納大學傳播科學與溝通障礙副教授安娜．索沙說：「我的直覺是，他們讓嬰兒跟玩具互動，自己退居一邊。」

"My hunch is that they were letting the baby interact with the toy and they were on the sidelines," said Anna V. Sosa, an associate professor of communications science and disorders at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, who led the study.

這項研究建立在日漸增多的一些研究結果之上，既有結果顯示電子玩具和電子書可能使父母較少與小孩進行最有意義類型的口語交流。

天普大學心理學教授凱西．赫許帕塞克說：「當使用這類工具與裝置時，父母們就會閉口。你做的是更多行為規範，像是『別碰那』或『做這個』，甚至啥也不做，因為電子書與玩具已代勞了。」赫許帕塞克未參加上述研究，但此前對電子書跟電子形狀分類盒的研究有類似發現。

The study builds on a growing body of research suggesting that electronic toys and e-books can make parents less likely to have the most meaningful kinds of verbal exchanges with their children.

"When you put the gadgets and gizmos in, the parents stop talking," said Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple University who was not involved in the new study, but who has found similar effects with e-books and electronic shape-sorters. "What you get is more behavioral regulation stuff, like 'don't touch that' or 'do this,' or nothing because the books and toys take it over for you."

她並補充道：「玩玩具應是玩具只占10%，90％由小孩做主，許多這些電子玩具卻是玩具占了90%以上，小孩只能補白。」

索沙說，她對結果感到驚訝。她原本預期一些父母嬰兒組玩某種玩具時說話較多，而其他組則是在玩另種玩具時說較多話。

She added, "A toy should be 10 percent toy and 90 percent child, and with a lot of these electronic toys the toy takes over 90 percent and the child just fills in the blank."

Sosa said she was surprised by the results. She had expected some parent-baby pairs would talk more with one type of toy, while others would talk more with another.

然而，結果卻幾乎一致。玩電子玩具時父母平均每分鐘說40字，少於玩傳統玩具的56字，及讀書時的67字。

But the results were consistent almost across the board. When electronic toys were being used, parents said about 40 words per minute, on average, compared with 56 words per minute for traditional toys and 67 words per minute with books.

這是個小型研究，共26個家庭參與，多為受過良好教育的白人家庭。因此研究人員說，若以更大、更多樣化的群體為研究對象，結果可能不同，但這個研究仍值得注意，因為它盡力捕捉現實世界中無研究人員觀看下的居家親子遊戲時間。

The study was small — 26 families — and most were white and educated. So the researchers say the results might be different with a larger and more diverse group. But the study is notable because it sought to capture real world parent-child playtime in their homes without researchers watching.

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/292769/web/

Next Article

Topic: Boffin Barbie- toy creator honors vaccine co-creator

Toy giant Mattel said Wednesday last week it hoped to “inspire the next generation” after creating a model of its iconic Barbie doll in honor of Sarah Gilbert, co-creator of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

玩具大廠美泰兒公司上週三表示，為表彰牛津／阿斯捷利康冠狀病毒疫苗之共同發明人莎拉‧吉伯特，該公司為其著名產品芭比娃娃開發了新款，希望能「鼓舞下一代」。

Gilbert said she found the news “very strange” but hoped “children who see my Barbie will realize how vital careers in science are to help the world around us.”

吉伯特聽聞此消息，說她覺得「挺怪的」，但希望「看到我的芭比娃娃的孩子們會了解，科學職業對幫助我們周遭的世界是多麼重要」。

“My wish is that my doll will show children careers they may not be aware of, like a vaccinologist.”

The toy company created models in honor of five other women in the sciences: US healthcare workers Amy O’Sullivan and Audrey Cruz, Canadian campaigner Chika Stacy Oriuwa, Brazilian researcher Jaqueline Goes de Jesus and Australian medic Kirby White.

「希望我的玩偶會向孩子們展示他們可能不知道的職業，比如說疫苗學家」。

這家玩具公司也設計了其他款式，來表彰五位科學界的女性：美國醫護人員艾米‧奧沙利文及奧黛莉‧克魯茲、加拿大活動人士奇卡‧史岱西‧奧里瓦、巴西研究人員賈克琳‧戈耶思‧德‧杰索斯，以及澳洲醫師克兒比‧懷特。

“Barbie recognizes that all frontline workers have made tremendous sacrifices when confronting the pandemic and the challenges it heightened,” said Lisa McKnight, senior vice president of Barbie and dolls at Mattel.

美泰兒公司芭比娃娃及玩偶部門高級副總裁麗莎‧麥克奈特表示：「芭比肯定所有前線工作人員，在面對疫情大流行及加劇的挑戰時，都做出了巨大犧牲」。

“To shine a light on their efforts, we are sharing their stories and leveraging Barbie’s platform to inspire the next generation to take after these heroes and give back.”

“Our hope is to nurture and ignite the imaginations of children playing out their own storyline as heroes.”

「為彰顯其努力，我們分享他們的故事，並利用芭比娃娃這平台，來激勵下一代追隨這些英雄並做出回饋」。「我們希望培養及點燃孩子的想像力，讓他們在遊戲扮演角色時，有自己的英雄故事」。Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2021/08/09/2003762257

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Topic: Giant Japanese robot spurs hopes for tourism after virus hit 受病毒衝擊後 巨大的日本機器人為觀光業燃起希望

An 18-metre “Gundam” robot that can walk and move its arms was unveiled in Japan on Monday amid hopes that it will help invigorate tourism hit by COVID-19.

一個18公尺、可以走動及移動手臂的「鋼彈」機器人週一在日本亮相，希望它能幫忙振興受到2019冠狀病毒疾病衝擊的觀光業。

The robot is modelled after a figure in “Mobile Suit Gundam”, a Japanese cartoon first launched in the late 1970s about enormous battle robots piloted by humans. The series spawned multiple spin-offs and toys and gained a worldwide following.

這個機器人仿照「機動戰士鋼彈」其中一款打造，這部日本卡通於1970年代晚期首度發表，描述了由人類操控之大型戰鬥機器人。一系列漫畫催生出多項衍生產品與玩具，並獲得全球關注。

It will be the centrepiece of the Gundam Factory Yokohama, a tourist attraction that opens on Dec. 19 in the port city.

它將是12月19日於橫濱這個港市開張的觀光景點「橫濱鋼彈工廠」最引人入勝的核心。

“I hope this will lead to stimulating tourism demand and revitalising local areas,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference.

內閣官房長官加藤勝信在記者會說，「我希望這會帶動刺激觀光需求並振興當地。」

Source article:  https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1417730

年貨大街街頭播音室公告

1/25下午1點到3點，歡迎來年貨大街，迪化街永樂市場前的街頭播音室來跟我們互動見面！禮盒有限，先搶先贏喔 XDD

禮品通關密語: Happy birthday!

年貨大街街頭播音室官網: https://2022lunarnewyear.taipei

街頭直播室YouTube頻道: https://youtu.be/53M5nL75AhU

主題: 常見的慣用語的背景故事 Common idioms and their backstory

1. Spill the beans (揭露秘密)

Meaning: To leak a secret

Origin: The consensus is that it is most likely derived from an ancient Greek voting process, which involved beans. People would vote by placing one of two colored beans in a vase, white typically meaning yes and black or brown meaning no. This meant that should someone spill the beans, the secret results of the election would be revealed before intended. Hence, spilling the beans is related to revealing secret information.

Example: I heard that you are dating someone. Spill the beans!

2. Give the cold shoulder (無視/不理會一個人)

Meaning:

Ignoring someone or making it clear that they aren’t welcome.

Origin:

In medieval England, it was customary for the dinner host to give his guests a cold piece of shoulder meat (from whatever dish they were eating) as a polite way of saying it was time to leave.

Example: I was angry at the clerk, so I gave him the cold shoulder.

3. The cat is out of the bag (秘密已皆知)

Meaning:

The secret has been revealed.

Origin:

So, it turns out people actually did put cats in bags. Centuries ago it was common for street vendors to sell piglets in bags. Sometimes these vendors were deceitful and put a cat in the bag hoping the buyer wouldn’t notice. If the cat got out of the bag before the purchase was complete, the secret was out.

Example: Everybody heard about the merger. The cat is out of the bag.

4. An arm and a leg (非常高價)

Meaning:

A large expense or amount of money.

Origin:

There’s some disagreement about whether this originated around the time soldiers were losing limbs fighting for their country in WWI and WWII, or if it dates back to the time when oil painting portraits were a popular thing. Since oil painters would charge based on the size of the painting, it was more expensive to have your arms and legs included in the painting, compared to just your head and shoulders.

Example: I don’t want to buy something that is going to cost an arm and a leg.

練習時間：

請分享一個過去的經驗/故事作為以上慣用語的應用

Hello 通勤家族，1/25下午1點到3點，歡迎來年貨大街，迪化街永樂市場前的街頭播音室來跟我們互動見面！禮盒有限，先搶先贏喔 XDD 

禮品通關密語: Happy birthday!

年貨大街街頭播音室官網: https://2022lunarnewyear.taipei

每日英語跟讀 Ep.K295: Can Germany’s New Chancellor Revive the Left in Europe?

Last December, as he was plotting what most considered to be a hopeless bid to become Germany’s next chancellor, Olaf Scholz interrupted his campaign preparations for a video call with an American philosopher.

去年12月，蕭茲策畫競選德國下任總理，被多數人認為毫無希望之際，他為了與一名美國哲學教授視訊通話而暫停參選準備工作。

Scholz, a Social Democrat, wanted to talk to the philosopher, Michael J. Sandel of Harvard, about why center-left parties like his had been losing working-class voters to populists, and the two men spent an hour discussing a seemingly simple theme that would become the centerpiece of the Scholz campaign: “Respect.”

社會民主黨籍的蕭茲想跟美國哈佛大學哲學教授桑德爾談談，像他的黨這類中間偏左政黨為何失去勞動階級選民，眼看這些人轉而支持民粹主義者。兩人花了一小時討論一個看似簡單、後來成為蕭茲競選骨幹的主題「尊重」。

Scholz is Germany’s ninth postwar chancellor — and the first Social Democrat in 16 years — succeeding Angela Merkel and heading a three-party coalition government. Defying polls and pundits, he led his 158-year-old party from the precipice of irrelevance to an unlikely victory — and now wants to show that the center-left can again become a political force in Europe.

蕭茲是德國戰後第九位總理，也是16年來首位社民黨籍總理，接替梅克爾並領導三黨聯合政府。他打破民調和專家預測，帶領他那成立158年的政黨，走出被認為無關緊要的險境，取得難以置信的勝利，如今他希望展現中間偏左勢力能再度成為歐洲一支政治力量。

For the center-left in Europe, Scholz’s victory comes at a critical moment. Over the past decade, many of the parties that once dominated European politics have become almost obsolete, seemingly bereft of ideas and largely abandoned by their working-class base.

對歐洲中間偏左勢力而言，蕭茲勝選的時機很重要。過去十年來，許多一度主導歐洲政治的這類政黨變得幾乎被淘汰，他們看來沒有主張，而且大致被他們的勞動階級基本盤放棄。

The political energy has been on the right, especially the populist far right, with many American conservatives flocking to countries like Hungary to study the “illiberal democracy” of Viktor Orban, that nation’s far-right prime minister.

政治能量在右派這邊，尤其是民粹極右派，許多美國保守派人士湧入匈牙利這類國家，研究該國極右派總理奧班的「不自由民主思想」。

“The biggest concern in politics for me is that our liberal democracies are coming increasingly under pressure,” Mr. Scholz says about himself on the Social Democrats’ website. “We have to solve the problems so that the cheap slogans of the populists don’t catch.”

蕭茲在社民黨網站上描述自己：「對我而言政治上最大的憂慮是，我們的自由民主政體承受愈來愈大的壓力。我們必須解決這些問題，好讓民粹主義者的廉價口號無法打動人心。」

Last year, in the middle of the first Covid-19 lockdown, Mr. Scholz read Professor Sandel’s latest book, “The Tyranny of Merit” in which the Harvard philosopher argued that the meritocratic narrative of education as an engine of social mobility had fueled resentment and contributed to the rise of populists like Mr. Trump.

去年德國實施首次新冠肺炎防疫封鎖時，蕭茲閱讀了桑德爾教授最新著作「成功的反思」，這位哈佛哲學教授在書中主張，菁英領導體制陳述的「教育是社會流動的動力」，助長憤恨並促成美國前總統川普這種民粹政治人物崛起。

“The backlash of 2016 vividly expressed that simply telling people, ‘You can make it if you try,’ was not an adequate response to the wage stagnation and job loss brought about by globalization,” Professor Sandel said in an interview. “What Social Democratic elites missed was the insult implicit in this response to inequality, because what it said was, ‘If you’re struggling in the new economy, your failure is your fault.’”

桑德爾受訪時說：「2016年的強烈反應鮮明表達出，僅僅告訴人們『去嘗試就能做到』，並非對全球化造成的薪資停滯和失業的適切回應。社民黨菁英沒注意的是，這種對於不平等現象的回應隱含著侮辱，因為它說的是，『如果你在新經濟裡苦苦掙扎，你失敗是你自己的錯』。」Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/5970225

每日英語跟讀 Ep.K294: Omicron rewrites COVID plan for 2022

變種病毒Omicron正在歐洲與美國快速傳播，科學家對明年COVID-19疫情的預期也隨之改寫。就在數週前，疾病專家預測，歷經Alpha、Beta、Gamma和Delta變種病毒所帶來的一連串病例激增後，各國將在二○二二年開始擺脫疫情。率先突圍的會是因感染及疫苗接種而大量接觸冠狀病毒的人群。

In those places, COVID was expected to ease into an endemic disease, hopefully with less-severe periodic or seasonal outbreaks. Vaccines, available for much of 2021 only in wealthy nations, could reach the majority of the global population by the end of the year ahead.

COVID在這些地方預計將減輕為一種地方流行病，週期性或季節性地流行，疫情可望不那麼嚴重。二○二一年大部分時間只有富裕國家才有的疫苗，到了明年年底，其覆蓋率或將遍及全球大多數人口。

But the rapid spread of the highly-mutated Omicron variant, identified in late November, and its apparent ability to reinfect people at a higher rate than its predecessors, is undermining that hope.

但十一月下旬所發現高度突變的Omicron變種，它的迅速傳播，以及它明顯比前代病毒更容易讓人再度感染，正讓這個希望破滅。

Already, countries are reverting to measures used earlier in the pandemic: restricting travel, reimposing mask requirements, advising against large gatherings for the winter holidays. While it is not quite back to square one, much more of the world will need to be vaccinated or exposed to COVID to get past the worst of the pandemic, disease experts said.

各國再度實施了疫情初期所採取的措施：限制旅行、規定配戴口罩、建議寒假期間不要參加大型聚會。疾病專家表示，這雖然不是完全回到起點，但世界上有更多地方需要接種疫苗或接觸COVID，方能度過疫情最嚴峻的時期。

More than 270 million people have been infected with COVID, according to the World Health Organization, while an estimated 57 percent of the global population has received at least one vaccine dose, representing potential protection that did not exist two years ago.

根據世界衛生組織的數據，超過二點七億人感染過COVID，而估計全球有百分之五十七的人口接種了至少一劑疫苗，這潛在的保護力是兩年前所沒有的。

“Even if that immunity is not as good against Omicron, it doesn’t mean that it’s worthless. And that immunity is more effective against serious illness than it is against getting infected at all,” said Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins.

即便這種免疫力對Omicron不那麼有效，這並不表示它毫無價值。而且這種免疫力對於防重症比防感染更為有效，約翰霍普金斯大學傳染流行病學家大衛‧道迪醫師表示。

So far, most of the studies looking at the effectiveness of vaccines against Omicron have focused on neutralizing antibodies, which latch on to the virus and prevent it from entering and infecting cells. Blood test results from fully vaccinated people show Omicron has learned to escape neutralization; a booster dose might restore that protection.

到目前為止，大多數針對Omicron疫苗有效性的研究都集中在中和抗體上，這些抗體會附著在病毒上並防止其進入和感染細胞。完全接種疫苗民眾之驗血結果顯示，Omicron已學會逃避中和；注射追加劑可能會讓此保護力恢復。

Immune system T cells, which destroy infected cells, also appear still to be able to recognize the variant. Many experts believe this second line of defense will prevent hospitalizations and deaths.

摧毀受感染細胞的免疫系統T細胞似乎仍能識別Omicron變種。許多專家認為，這第二道防線可避免住院及死亡。Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2021/12/28/2003770287

每日英語跟讀 Ep.K293: Next step is circular lighting! Signify head highlights benefits of circular economy

大多數的企業採用線性工作流程製造產品，也就是順著「取用」、「製造」、「使用」及「丟棄」的流程公司販賣產品後，消費者在產品生命週期結束時將這些產品丟棄。而這間企業想要針對此流程減少產品對環境帶來的負面影響，這就是為什麼昕諾飛使用3D印表機來製做燈具。

Most companies develop their business in a linear way: take, produce, use and dispose. They sell their products, and customers dispose them after their lifetime. This company wants to reduce the negative impact products can have on the environment that’s the reason why they produce their luminaires with a 3D printer.

「台灣社會具極高的永續意識。」昕諾飛台灣總經理余泳濤告訴The China Post，更表示台灣政府現在也在推動「五加二」產業政策，其中便包含循環經濟相關政策。

“Taiwan society has a very high awareness of sustainability,” Eric Yu, General Manager & Vice President of Signify Taiwan (昕諾飛台灣總經理余泳濤) told The China Post, noting that the government’s “5+2 Policy” rightly includes policies related to the so-called “Circular Economy.”

昕諾飛早在五年前便將3D列印燈具的服務擴及全球，在台灣，昕諾飛更與台北101合作，在35樓的Sky Park區執行試驗性計劃，利用3D列印燈具提供更友善的工作環境。

Signify has rolled out 3D print light as a service model globally over the past five years. In Taiwan, the company has worked with Taipei 101 on a pilot project at the Sky Park located on its 35th floor. The project uses 3D print plus light as a service.

「我們致力於減少生產過剩對環境造成的負面影響。」余泳濤說道，並補充說道，燈具由許多零件組成，包含反射器、模塊、固定裝置和電源供應，這些零件各有不同的生命週期。

“We have worked on reducing the negative impact of the overproduction on the environment,” Yu added, noting that luminaires are composed of several components, including the reflector, module, fixture, and power supply – all with different lifespans.

考慮到這點，昕諾飛透過客製化的的照明解決方案滿足不同的商務需求，且會依據一套明瞭且可永續的關鍵績效指標來達成客戶需求。解決方案包含設計、建造、操作以及維護等。

With this observation in mind, Signify has created lighting solutions customized to suit your business needs, in line with a clear set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for sustainability. These solutions include everything from design and build to operation and maintenance.

公司也可以不必購買，透過租賃燈具，減輕初期預算負擔。

Companies can also choose to rent the lighting system instead of owning it, giving them financial flexibility right from the start.

「你可以選擇燈具的材質」他繼續說道，「甚至可以將公司的logo印在燈具上」。這些步驟都可以在線上完成，而且不限數量，代表昕諾飛可以依照環境量身打造最合適的燈具。

“You can choose the texture of the luminaires,” he went on. “You can even put your company logo onto it.” Everything is done online and there is no minimum quantity required, meaning that Signify can produce specific luminaires for specific environments.

「循環經濟源自於滿足消費者的需求」，他解釋道，「顧客不想要知道太多技術層面的資訊，他們真正想要的最適合與辦公室光線的燈具。」

“The Circular Economy all starts with the needs of customers,” he explained. “Customers don’t want to understand too much about the technical parts. What they really need is proper illumination, whether they can combine the natural light in their office building.” Source article: https://chinapost.nownews.com/20220104-3016351

每日英語跟讀 Ep.K292: Chinese burgers’ tastiness lies in its fillings

說到西方代表食物的話，不少人第一時間都會聯想到漢堡，而在東方其實也有著與漢堡極為相似的食物，那就是肉夾饃。

When it comes to food that best represents the West, many people will first think of hamburgers. In the East, there are also foods that are very similar to burgers, and one of them is “Roujiamo.”

肉夾饃是陝西著名小吃，是由兩種食物搭配的絕妙組合：臘汁肉，白吉饃。兩者互為烘托，將各自滋味發揮到極致。饃香肉酥，肥而不膩，回味無窮。

Roujiamo is a famous snack in Shaanxi Province, China. It is a wonderful combination of two foods: braised pork and crispy baked bread. They complement and maximize the taste of each other when paired together. The fragrant bread combined with the crispy meat leaves a lasting and pleasant aftertaste in everyone’s mouths.

臘汁肉歷史悠久，聞名中國，配上白吉饃，有著中式漢堡的美譽，揚名中外，深受人們喜愛，更在2016年，肉夾饃入選了陝西省第5批非物質文化遺產名錄。

Braised pork has a long history and is well-known in China. When it’s paired with the bread, it becomes the famous “Chinese burger.” Popular in both China and abroad, this special burger is loved by many.

In 2016, Roujiamo was selected as the 5th intangible cultural heritage in Shaanxi Province.

外地人首次聽說肉夾饃，都認為是病句，這是與古漢語有關，肉夾饃，其實是「肉夾於饃」。「肉」字放在前面起到強調的作用，引人垂涎。但也有另外一說，另一種說法是以前人們叫“肉夾饃”為“饃夾肉”，方言聽起來像“沒夾肉”。於是就一心急，叫成了“肉夾饃”，聽起來也較為順耳。

When foreigners first hear of Roujiamo, many will think they misheard as the Chinese pronunciation sounds like faulty wording. This is owing to its origin in ancient Chinese. Roujiamo, means “bread with meat”. One explanation for the interesting syntax is that the word “meat” is placed in front for emphasis; however, some believe that it could be due to the olden days, when people called “bread with meat” as ” meat with bread”. As local dialect made it sound like “no meat”, cooks were desperate to change its wording so that customers won’t be deterred from trying out the dish for a lack of meat.

Chen Xinxu製作肉夾饃已有41年之久，今年62歲的他，人生將近有三分之二的時間都與肉夾饃為伍，他在採訪中提到製作肉夾饃中的臘汁肉是相當講究的，必須挑選豬的前腿肉，吃起來才會有「肥而不膩、瘦而不柴」的口感。

Chen Xinxu has been making Roujiamo for 41 years now. At the age of 62, he has spent almost two-thirds of his life making the gravy meat that is central to Roujiamos. In the interview, he mentioned that the meat in the gravy sauce is a very important element in the production of the special local cuisine. He revealed that they must select the front leg of the pig as it tastes “fatty but not greasy,” and is “lean but not tough.”

他也說道：「製作臘汁肉最重要的是選料，以及將豬前腿肉的血水漂洗乾淨、豬毛拔除完畢之後，再用30多種調料，煮20個小時才行」不難得知製作臘汁肉的過程其實是十分繁複且需要具備耐心的。

He also revealed, ” The most important thing in making braised pork is to choose the ingredients.”

“After rinsing the blood and removing the hair from the pork, [we] use more than 30 kinds of seasoning, [and] cook [it for] 20 hours,” he added. It is clear that the process of making the gravy sauce is very complicated and requires patience.

從小就學習如何製作肉夾饃的Chen Xinxu也在影片中談到：「製作肉夾饃是我第一份工作，至今我依然非常熱愛這份工作。」

Chen Xinxu, who has been learning how to make Roujiamos since he was a kid, also remarked that it was actually his first job, and to this day, he still enjoys it very much.

肉夾饃這看似簡單、常見的一份傳統小吃，其實背後隱藏著許多繁雜的程序，每一道工序都內含著師傅的堅持及用心，中國地域遼闊，每個地區都有許多屬於自己特色的小吃，等待著我們去發掘。

Roujiamo appears to be a simple and common traditional snack, but in fact, there are many complicated procedures hidden behind the scenes. Each process showcases the insistence and dedication of the master. With such a vast region like China, every corner has their own specialties and it’s up to us to seek them out and appreciate them to their full extent. Source article: https://chinapost.nownews.com/20210813-2705964