通勤學英語 15Mins Today

每日英語跟讀 Ep.915: 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/

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.914: About Asia - Japanese cartoon ’Hamtaro’ used by Thai protesters to mock government

 

Hundreds of Thai protesters sang a Japanese cartoon jingle on Sunday with lyrics mocking the government as hungry hamsters feasting on taxpayer cash, part of a new protest movement by youth.

週日一場由年輕人主辦的新示威活動中，數百名泰國示威者唱著日本卡通歌謠，歌詞被改編為揶揄政府是蠶食稅金的飢餓倉鼠。

Thai youths have been defying a coronavirus ban on gatherings to hold rallies almost daily since last week. The first rally, by a group called the Free Youth Movement, drew more than 2,000 activists, one of the biggest anti-government protests since a coup in 2014.

泰國年輕人違反冠狀病毒聚集禁令，自上週起幾乎每天舉辦集會。第1場集會由名為「自由青年運動」的團體舉辦，吸引逾2000人參加，是自2014年政變以來，最大規模的反政府示威活動之一。

At Sunday’s demonstration, protesters sang new lyrics to the theme song for "Hamtaro". They ran in circles around Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, like hamsters running in a wheel.

在週日的示威中，示威者高唱填了新詞的「哈姆太郎」主題曲。他們繞著曼谷的民主紀念碑跑步，就像是倉鼠在滾輪裡奔跑。

Leaders of the Free Youth Movement have said they will return to the streets for another large-scale demonstration next week if their demands are not met, including dissolving parliament, revising a constitution written by the military and ending the harassment of government critics.

「自由青年運動」的領袖表示，如果他們的訴求沒有被滿足，下週將會以另一場大型示威重返街頭，訴求包括解散國會、修改軍方擬定的憲法，以及停止對批評政府人士的騷擾等。

 

 

Next Article

Balloon-like object in Japanese sky sets Twitter afire with talk of UFOs, Godzilla 日本天空中的氣球狀物體 導致推特的幽浮、哥斯拉話題沸騰

 

 

The appearance of a mysterious white object in the sky over northern Japan on Wednesday set social media ablaze, with speculation ranging from UFOs to coronavirus and North Korean propaganda.

週三現蹤於北日本上空的一個神秘白色物體，在社群媒體引爆話題，各種臆測由幽浮到冠狀病毒及北韓宣傳都有。

Television footage taken in the northeastern city of Sendai showed a balloon-like object above a cross, on which propellers seemed to be turning. Officials in the Sendai Weather Bureau said it had appeared near dawn and hung in the sky for hours, largely unmoving, until obscured by clouds.

攝於東北仙台市的電視影像顯示，一個氣球狀物體在一個十字架上方，上頭的螺旋槳似乎正在轉。仙台氣象局官員說，它在接近黎明時出現，並高掛空中數小時之久，大致上沒有移動，直到被雲層掩蓋。

By afternoon it was the third-most trending topic on Japanese Twitter, with theories including UFOs and North Korean balloons used to drop leaflets. One user said it could be spreading novel coronavirus, adding, "This gives me a very bad feeling, as if Godzilla might suddenly appear."

一直到下午，它高居日本推特第三熱門話題，各種推論包括幽浮乃至北韓用來投擲傳單的氣球。一名用戶說，它可能正在散播新型冠狀病毒，並補充道，「這給我一種很糟的感覺，好像哥斯拉可能突然出現。」

A Sendai government official said inquiries were still proceeding, with both the size of the object and its origin, as well as its function, undetermined. No move had been made to retrieve it as of late afternoon.

仙台一名政府官員說，調查仍在進行中，這個物體的尺寸和來源及其功能都還不確定。直到午後稍晚，還沒有任何取回它的行動。

"We have absolutely no idea what it is," said a weather bureau spokesman, declining to give his name. "It may be some kind of weather monitoring equipment, but it definitely isn’t ours."

 

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1387130 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1390831

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Welcome to 15mins.today, the home of English Shadowing, I am your host Gavin, and this is InTense Episode 57. Well, hooray guys! We are on the last one of the adjectives number 5, so we have covered four other ones in the previous episodes and today we're doing the fifth one.

 

They are called indefinite articles and what they are, they are adjectives that don't specify the specific amount of something, and I will give you some examples: all, each, more, several, another, either, most, some, any, few, neither, both, many, other, so there is a good list of indefinite adjectives, again, I will reiterate, as long as you know that these words are adjectives, it does not matter if you know they are indefinite adjectives, unless you really care about that. But most people would just be satisfied to know that these are adjectives. So, when I look at a sentence and I have to pull it apart for grammar, as long as I know it's an adjective, that's fine. That's what I learned at school, nobody ever asked me what adjective it was. What kind of adjective? I never learned this at school in basic grammar. As long as you know it is an adjective, you will be fine most of the time. But some people like to know things, so here you go. So, let's look at some examples.

 

Drill Sentences:

 

Did John eat all the pizza? No, he did not eat all the pizza.

 

Is each appointment important? Yes, each appointment is important.

Is each appointment important? No, each appointment is not important.

 

Would you like more cake? Yes, I would like more cake.

Would you like more cake? No, I would not like more cake.

 

Were you in Tokyo for several days? Yes, I was in Tokyo for several days.

Were you in Tokyo for several days? No, I was not in Tokyo for several days.

 

Did Peter miss another meeting? Yes, he missed another meeting.

Did Peter miss another meeting? No, he did not miss another meeting. Would you like some tea? Yes, I would like some tea.

 

Would you like some tea? No, I would not like some tea.

 

Did either Suzan or James do the report? Yes, both Suzan and James did the report.

Did either Susan or James do the report. No, neither Suzan nor James did the report.

 

Did he use the other car? Yes, he used the other car.

Did he use the other car? No, he did not use the other car.

 

Did Gavin eat the most? Yes, he ate the most.

Did Gavin eat the most? No, he did not eat the most well.

 

There you go guys, some good examples. I hope this is helpful, again, I will underline the appropriate words in the transcript. I hope that is helpful. That's the end of adjectives. Hooray! We will move on to something new in the next episode. Take care and catch you in the next one bye, bye!

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Summary

Few years ago, delivery apps such as UberEats, GrubHub, FoodPanda, Deliveroo were the disruptive technology that gave way to a closer link between the gig economy and restaurants. Thanks to these apps, restaurants are able to make deliveries and reach more customers. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants that have turned to rely solely on these apps for business are feeling the pain- the pain of higher costs. With most of the delivery apps charging 40% of the order taken, restaurants are now losing money.

原文章討論: https://www.15mins.today/blog/ep-890-as-diners-flock-to-delivery-apps-restaurants-fear-for-their

Special thanks to Bingo! 更多賓狗時事英語在這裏: https://podcasts.apple.com/tw/podcast/%E8%B3%93%E7%8B%97%E6%99%82%E4%BA%8B%E8%8B%B1%E8%AA%9E-%E8%81%BD%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E-%E5%AD%B8%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87/id1494706447?l=en

 

Vocabulary and Sample Sentences

Delivery apps（Food-delivery apps） n. - 外送平台

Delivery apps deliver restaurant food and groceries. 

Foodpanda and UberEats are the most well-known food-delivery apps in Taiwan. 

Hostage n. - 被綁架的人

The tourists were taken hostage by the gunman. 

Wine growers have been held hostage to the interests of the cereal and soybean farmers. 

Deceptive adj. - 虛偽的，詐欺的

Appearances can be deceptive.

The firm is indicted for deceptive business practices.

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.913: About the US - US visa policy could force foreign students to leave

Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have filed a lawsuit against the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which will withdraw visas from foreign students whose courses go fully online in the fall semester. Numerous students on F-1 and M-1 visas could be forced to leave the country.

哈佛大學與麻省理工學院近日對美國移民暨海關執法局提告！該局決定如果外國學生就讀的學校秋季班全面實施線上授課，將會撤銷他們的簽證。持F-1和M-1簽證的大批學生，可能將被迫離開美國。

Over a million foreign students are studying in US colleges at the moment. According to Reuters, they mostly pay full tuition and injected nearly US$45 billion (about NT$1.33 trillion) into the US economy in 2018. The US limits online instruction for foreign students to one class or three credits per semester, but the ICE had temporarily relaxed the rule since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. About 9 percent of colleges are planning to go fully online this fall.

目前有超過一百萬外國學生在美求學，根據路透報導，國際學生大多是支付全額學費，在二○一八年，對美國經濟注入高達四百五十億美元（一兆三千三百億台幣〉。美國對留學生的授課有所限制，每學期只能有一門課或三學分採用線上教學，受到武漢肺炎（新冠病毒，COVID-19）疫情影響，執法局自三月起曾暫時放寬相關規定。約有百分之九的大學，計劃在秋季全面實施線上授課。

According to the Ministry of Education, there were a total of 23,469 Taiwanese students in the US during the 2018-19 academic year. The ministry suggests that students try to understand how their schools will offer courses to protect their own rights.

教育部則表示，二○一八至一九學年，台灣留美學生人數為兩萬三千三百六十九人。教育部建議留學生先了解就讀學校授課方式，才能維護自身的權益。

Next Article:

Rapper Kanye West may drop out of presidential race 饒舌歌手肯伊威斯特 總統夢不樂觀

Just days after rapper Kanye West announced his presidential bid on US Independence Day, his campaign specialist Steve Kramer revealed that West may be pulling out of the race. “He’s out,” Kramer told New York Magazine on the phone. West only qualified to appear on Oklahoma’s presidential ballot.

肯伊威斯特在美國獨立紀念日宣布參選總統。然而才經過短短幾天，這位饒舌歌手的競選專家史蒂夫克拉瑪透露，威斯特可能退出選舉。克拉瑪在電話中向《紐約雜誌》證實︰「他出局啦！」威斯特僅取得被列在奧克拉荷馬州總統選票上的資格。

West, previously a strong supporter of US President Donald Trump, tweeted his intention to run for president this year to challenge Trump. “I’m taking the red hat off,” the billionaire said in an interview, pledging to run the country like the nation “Wakanda” in superhero film Black Panther if elected. In response, Trump said West’s declaration was “very interesting,” but it may be too late for him to register in some states.

威斯特曾是美國總統唐納川普的死忠支持者，他在推特公開宣布今年將挑戰川普總統大位。這位億萬富翁在接受訪問時說︰「我要把（川普的）紅色競選帽脫掉」，誓言將美國打造成超級英雄電影《黑豹》中的國家「瓦干達」。而川普則回應，威斯特的宣言「很有趣」，但提到他在某些州可能會來不及註冊。

The US presidential election on Nov. 3 is more than three months away, and West has already missed the deadline to get his name on the ballot in some states. His family is concerned that he was suffering a “bipolar disorder” given his presidential aspirations.

將在十一月三日登場的美國總統大選，距今只剩三個多月了，威斯特已錯過好幾州的登記截止期限。他的家人則表示擔憂，認為對總統大位的渴望讓他飽受躁鬱症之苦。

Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/07/24/2003740440 ; https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/07/17/2003740036

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.912: Kodak Struggles to Envision a Viable Future After Film

 

Of the roughly 200 buildings that once stood on the 525-hectare campus of Eastman Kodak’s business park in Rochester, New York, 80 have been demolished and 59 others sold off. Terry Taber, 60, and a loyal Kodak employee of 34 years, still works in one of the remaining Kodak structures, rubble from demolition not far from its doors.

 

伊士曼．柯達位於紐約州羅徹斯特、占地525公項的商業園區曾矗立約200棟建築，現在80棟拆了，59棟賣了。60歲的泰瑞．塔柏是幹了34年的忠實員工，仍在留下的一棟建築物中工作，拆除大樓的瓦礫就在不遠處。

 

Mr. Taber oversees research and development at Kodak. Many people might be surprised to know that Kodak is still in business at all, much less employing someone in the hopeful-sounding enterprise of developing new technology ideas. But if the film company, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2013, has any light in its future, Mr. Taber is likely to have something to do with it.

 

塔柏在柯達負責研發部門。許多人想不到柯達仍在運作，更別說還雇人從事聽來充滿希望的新科技開發。但如果這家2013年破產後重新站起的軟片公司前途有任何希望，大概都跟塔柏有關。

 

In basement labs, some of the 300 scientists and engineers who work for Mr. Taber are studying nanoparticle wonder inks, cheap sensors that can be embedded in packaging to indicate whether meats or medicines have spoiled, and touch screens that could make smartphones cheaper.

 

在地下室的實驗室，塔柏手下300位科學家和工程師中的一些人正在研究奈米分子神奇墨水，可嵌入包裝以顯示肉類或藥品是否變質的低價感應器，以及讓智慧手機更便宜的觸控螢幕。

 

Much of this is old stuff, left over from the company’s glory days. But Mr. Taber’s boss hopes that somewhere in those projects there might be a nugget of gold.

 

這些研究多非新創，而是這家公司輝煌時期留下的。不過塔柏的老闆希望能在這些計畫的某處挖到金塊。

 

“I’m mining the history of this company for its underlying technologies,” said Jeff Clarke, 53, who became Kodak’s chief executive last year. Mr. Clarke has no delusions that Kodak could bring those technologies to market on its own; it will need corporate partners to make actual products. “We’ll never be able to prosecute the value of our intellectual property with Kodak-branded sales,” he said in an office in the same tower where George Eastman once looked out on his global tech empire.

 

53歲的傑夫．克拉克去年出任柯達執行長，他說：「我正在挖掘這家公司的歷史，尋找潛藏的技術。」他並不奢望柯達能獨力把這些技術帶進市場，它需要企業夥伴製成實際商品。他在辦公室中說：「靠著柯達品牌產品的銷售，永遠無法讓我們的智慧財產發揮它的價值。」喬治．伊士曼當年曾從同一棟高樓眺望他的全球科技帝國。

 

Kodak is to digging deep into a legacy of innovation in the photography business and seeing if its remaining talent in optics and chemistry can be turned into new money in other industries.

 

柯達正深入挖掘在攝影產業的創新遺產，看看能否把光學和化學方面殘餘的才能在其他產業化為新財源。

 

For Kodak, the advent of digital photography was ruinous. Today it has $2 billion in annual sales, compared with $19 billion in 1990 when consumer film was king. It now has 8,000 employees worldwide; it had 145,000 at its peak.

 

對柯達而言，數位攝影的來臨具毀滅性。消費用底片稱王的1990年，柯達年營業額達190億美元，如今僅有20億美元。目前全球員工8000人，顛峰時期有14萬5000人。

 

Since emerging from bankruptcy, the company has mostly served niche film markets – there are still a few directors who refuse to shoot digital. Much of its revenue comes from legacy businesses. For Kodak’s new chief executive, along with veterans like Mr. Taber, the key to survival is in its research legacy, thousands of patents and a coterie of scientists who are making new discoveries.

 

這家公司自破產東山再起後，大多服務專業底片市場－仍有一些電影導演拒絕數位拍片。它的多數營收來自舊產業。對於柯達新執行長，以及塔柏這樣的資深員工來說，生存關鍵在於它的研究資產，數以千計的專利，加上一群持續有新發現的科學家。

 

At the research lab, a laser prints a 256-count mesh of silver wires, thinner than a credit card, in one second. That technology could be the basis of a new kind of phone screen, cheaper and more useful than the touch screen. It is work that Mr. Taber and his veteran team are clearly proud of.

 

在研究室，一台雷射機器一秒就能印出256針的銀線網，比一張信用卡還薄。這項技術可作為新型手機螢幕的基礎，比觸控螢幕更便宜，也更實用，塔柏和他的資深團隊顯然引以為傲。

 

“People ask me why I’m still here,” he said. “It’s because I see the possibilities.”

 

他說：「人們問我為何還在這裡，因為我看到了可能性。」

 

If any future is coming for Kodak, it had better hurry up.

 

如果柯達前途仍有可為，它最好加快腳步。

 

Mr. Clarke is impatient. He came to Kodak a year ago and says he was shocked that the company had done so little to capitalize on the work of its scientists. Kodak’s technology for packaging sensors, he noted, was developed years ago. No one had figured out what to do with it. “We missed enormous opportunities,” he said.

 

克拉克沒什麼耐心了。他一年前來到柯達，非常驚訝這家公司在利用科學家的成果方面做得如此之少。他指出，柯達的包材感測器技術多年前就開發出來，卻沒人想出該如何利用。他說：「我們錯過了大好機會。」

 

Kodak has a market capitalization of about $800 million. He noted that GoPro, a maker of cameras for extreme sports, is worth more than six times as much.

 

柯達的市值約8億美元，他指出，極限運動相機製造商GoPro市值是柯達的6倍以上。

 

With $750 million in cash, a 2014 net loss of $114 million and possibly more losses this year, the company needs to find partners. Among his partners for future business is Bobst, a $1.3 billion Swiss company that makes machinery to manufacture cardboard boxes. Bobst is interested in using Kodak’s digital printing technology to personalize packaging, said Jean-Pascal Bobst, the chief executive. “It could be revolutionary for corrugated boxes.”

 

柯達有7.5億美元現金，2014年淨虧損1.14億美元，今年可能更多，它需要夥伴。未來商業夥伴中的博斯特是市值13億美元的瑞士公司，生產製作紙箱的機器，它對將柯達的數位印刷技術用於客製化包裝很感興趣，執行長尚-巴斯卡．博斯特說：「這可能是瓦楞紙箱的大變革。」

 

Kodak diversified into pharmaceuticals, paying $5.1 billion for Sterling Drug in 1988. Kodak’s researchers invented digital photography and put the technology in professional cameras in the 1990s. There were plans to move to digital consumer cameras, but the cash Kodak made on traditional photography made it complacent. By 2001, even before smartphone cameras, film sales started to fall by 20 to 30 percent every year. The 3.5 billion meters of film Kodak manufactured as late as 2007, enough to circle the earth about 88 times, has shrunk 96 percent.

 

柯達當年也投資於製藥業，1988年以51億美元買下施德齡製藥。1990年代柯達研究人員發明數位攝影術，並把這項科技用於專業相機。當時原本有生產消費者數位相機的計畫，但是柯達在傳統攝影領域賺的錢讓它自滿。到了2001年，甚至在智慧手機附帶相機之前，底片銷售額開始每年下滑二至三成。2007年柯達製造的軟片總長仍有35億公尺，足以繞地球88圈，迄今已縮減96％。

 

At an October meeting of 80 employees, Mr. Clarke was asked when Kodak’s 20-plus years of layoffs would end. “My answer, of course, was ‘Never,’ ” he recalled. “No individual company can say that things aren’t going to change.”

 

克拉克去年10月在和80名員工的一場會議中被問到，柯達長達20多年的裁員何時結束，他回想：「我的答案當然是『永遠不會結束』，沒有任何一家公司敢說事情絕不會改變。」

 

In December, Mr. Clarke made good on his word, with more restructuring and layoffs.

 

克拉克說到做到，去年12月宣布進一步重組及裁員。

 

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/276646/web/

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.911: Drones to robots: Pandemic fuels US autonomous delivery

 

Cough medicine, snacks, baking ingredients: Kelly Passek has shopping delivered weekly to her yard in Christiansburg, Virginia — by a drone.

 

止咳藥、零食、烘焙原料：無人機每週都會將凱利‧帕賽克所採購的物品送到她在美國維吉尼亞州克里斯琴斯堡的院子裡。

 

The flying vehicle comes with little fuss, hovering briefly over her yard and letting down its package. “It’s very fast — even the noise you hear is no more than 30 seconds,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

 

這飛行器飛來，幾乎沒有引起什麼騷動，在她院子上空短暫徘徊，將包裹垂降下來。她告訴湯森路透基金會說：「這很快——即便是聽到聲音的時間也不超過三十秒」。

 

The service is a pilot project by Google parent Alphabet Inc’s drone delivery business Wing, which is operating similar projects in Finland and Australia. In Christiansburg, residents who sign up can get drone delivery from a locally owned business, a national pharmacy and FedEx.

 

該服務是Google母公司Alphabet公司的無人機投遞業務Wing的試營運項目，Wing也在芬蘭及澳洲提供類似的服務。在克里斯琴斯堡，參加試營運的居民可收到由無人機外送的當地一商家、一家國營藥局，以及聯邦快遞貨品。

 

RISING DEMAND

As with other autonomous delivery services, both airborne and terrestrial, Wing has seen a major uptick in interest amid the coronavirus pandemic, as emergency regulations keep people at home and complicate many of the simplest tasks.“For a while, they (Wing) were the only one with toilet paper. It turned from being a novelty to being a service that’s used because it’s necessary,” said Passek, whose first drone delivery was in October.

 

需求上升

如同其他空運及陸上運輸自動投遞業務，在冠狀病毒疫情中，Wing也引起人們極大的興趣，因為緊急法規使民眾只能待在家無法出門，讓許多最簡單不過的事都變得困難重重。

帕賽克說：「有一段時間，他們（Wing）是唯一買得到衛生紙的管道。它從新奇的事物變成了必需的服務」。帕賽克第一次收到無人機的外送是在去年十月。

 

The pandemic-era rise in focus on autonomous delivery is also prompting local officials and others to think about how these services use public space in their cities.

 

自動投遞在疫情中興起，備受關注，也促使地方官員及其他人思考這些服務運用城裡公共空間的方式。

 

“Cities aren’t necessarily built for robots roaming around,” said Christopher Bruno, economic development director with Fairfax City, Virginia, which recently helped start a robot delivery service. “That’s something we’re monitoring.”

 

「城市不一定適合機器人四處漫遊」，維吉尼亞州費爾法克斯市經濟發展主管克里斯多夫‧布魯諾表示，「這是我們正密切觀察的」。該市最近協助建立了機器人投遞服務。

 

ECONOMIC LIFELINE

Wing was formed in 2012, and last year it became the first drone company to be approved as an air carrier by the federal government.

 

經濟救生索

Wing成立於二○一二年，去年成為第一家被聯邦政府核准為空運業者的無人機公司。

 

Within its 4.8km-radius Christiansburg delivery area, residents can sign up for the service and get deliveries within about 10 minutes. They also brought in more local businesses, providing an economic lifeline for some: about a quarter of sales at a local cafe now come from drone delivery, while a coffee shop is selling twice as much cold brew as pre-pandemic.

 

在克里斯琴斯堡方圓三英里的外送範圍內，居民可註冊使用該服務，並在約十分鐘內收到。

Wing還將更多當地商家納入，對某些商家來說，這成了經濟救生索：一家當地的小餐館，現在四分之一的銷售是來自無人機外送；而一家咖啡店所賣的冷萃咖啡數量，如今是疫情爆發前的兩倍。

 

Globally, the company saw demand increase 350 percent month over month in signups for service from February to April. That prospect of economic stimulus has been a draw for some pandemic-hit cities.

 

由二月到四月的用戶註冊數來看，Wing的全球需求量每月增加了百分之三百五十。對一些受疫情重創的城市來說，經濟振興的可能性是很大的吸引力。

 

About 402km northeast of Christiansburg, Fairfax City officials struck an agreement with an autonomous delivery service of an entirely different kind: small, cube-shaped robots that slowly trundle down sidewalks and across streets.

 

費爾法克斯市政府官員簽訂了一項協議，在克里斯琴斯堡東北約兩百五十英里處，運用另一種完全不同類型的自動送貨：在人行道及街道上緩慢移動的小型立方體機器人。

 

Bruno had heard about delivery robots on the campus of a nearby university, operated by a company called Starship Technologies.

 

布魯諾聽說過附近一所大學的校園裡設有配送機器人，這種機器人是由一家名為Starship 的科技公司所營運

 

Eventually, a tie-up was born: Starship would operate a fleet of delivery robots, while the city provided a US$10,000 grant so that local businesses would not initially have to pay commission.

The company, which operates in five countries, has gained another 180,000 customers this year.

 

最後，一種合作方式誕生了：Starship負責營運一批送貨機器人，費爾法克斯市政府則提供一萬美元的資助，讓本地商家就不必一開始就要支付佣金。

Starship在五個國家∕地區營運，今年又新增了十八萬名客戶。

 

Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/07/28/2003740644

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.910: Artist picks up brush after 60 years to depict scenes of rustic Taiwan

 

When he was still only 11 years old, watercolor artist Lin Ying-che, born in Chiayi County’s Puzi City, was taught by Wu Mei-lin, an established artist at the time. Lin would later have to put his dreams of being a painter on hold as he had to turn his attention to looking after his family. Even his wife had no idea that he was able to paint, and it wasn’t until after he retired at the age of 75 that Lin picked up the brush again, after a gap of over 60 years. Over the following decade, he has been painting scenes of farming villages as he remembers them, as well as temples around Taiwan. He has exhibited his work in Taiwan and overseas, and was once selected for a national landscape painting award in Japan. One elderly Taiwanese living in Japan back then was even moved to tears when viewing his painting, as they were reminded of the Taiwan of their childhood.

 

出身於嘉義縣朴子市的水彩畫家林英哲，十一歲曾受畫壇大師吳梅嶺指導，但扛下家庭重擔後就將畫家夢想藏在心裡，連老婆都不知道他會畫畫；七十五歲退休後，林英哲相隔六十多年才重拾畫筆，十多年來畫遍舊時台灣農村記憶與各地宗教廟宇，曾在國內外開展，入選日本全國自然繪畫大賞，甚至還有旅居日本的台灣長輩看到畫作時掉淚，看到小時候台灣的景象。

 

This year, Lin returned to his hometown to visit the Tian Gong Tan temple in Puzi City and paint the temple architecture. On Thursday last week, he donated the finished painting to the Tian Gong Tan, which was received by temple chairman Lin Po-wen. At the event, Puzi City Mayor Wu Pin-jui awarded Lin honorary citizenship of Puzi City.

 

林英哲今年回到家鄉到訪朴子天公壇，為天公壇建築作畫，上週四將畫作贈給天公壇廟方，由主委林博文代表接受，朴子市長吳品叡並頒贈朴子市榮譽市民狀給林英哲。

 

A smiling Lin, who is now 86, says that when he was a young boy, the artist Wu Mei-lin showed him how to sketch from nature, and tried to persuade him not to give up painting. When Lin left National Chiayi Industrial Vocational High School, however, he had to go out and earn a living to contribute to the family keep, since he was the eldest son. After he started working he was too busy, and being an artist was a dream that he never was able to realize. Fast forward over 60 years to when he retired, and Lin recalled his boyhood dreams and the feeling of the farming village of his childhood: he decided to revisit, through his watercolors, the good old days when the people around him labored to improve their lives.

 

已八十六歲的林英哲笑說，年幼時吳梅嶺大師曾帶他去寫生，鼓勵他不要放棄作畫，但嘉義高工畢業後，身為長子需扛起家計，創業後忙於事業，畫畫成為他一直沒有實現的夢想。經打拚六十多年退休後，因憶起兒時夢想及年幼時農村的印象，決定用水彩將古早時的回憶、台灣人努力打拚的過去描繪出來。

 

“Even my wife had no idea I could paint,” Lin said, chuckling. Nobody in the family knew he could, until he picked up his brush again in 2010 and turned his attention to creating with watercolors. When his daughter-in-law saw his paintings she took photos and posted them online, and to their surprise someone in the art world contacted them about Lin taking part in an exhibition. Since the appearance of his work in the 2011 Art Revolution Taipei exhibition, he has continuously been invited to take part in exhibitions. When people in the Japanese art world caught sight of his paintings, he was invited to exhibit there. In recent years he has also shown his work on many occasions throughout Taiwan. His work focuses mainly on Taiwanese agricultural scenes, depicted in a realist style and painted in meticulous detail.

 

「連太太都不知道我會畫畫」，林英哲笑說，全家人都不知他會作畫，直到二○一○年重拾畫筆，專心水彩創作，媳婦看到他的畫作後照相上傳網路，竟有藝文界人士看到後邀展。從二○一一年台北新藝術博覽會開始展出後邀約不斷：有日本藝文界人士看到後力邀到日本開展，近年來多次在全台各地辦展。畫作主要呈現台灣農村景色，畫工精細寫實。

 

Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/07/27/2003740596

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.909: About UK - BBC host responds to controversial rice-making video

 

馬來西亞網紅Uncle Roger週六在推特PO出與BBC美食頻道主持人赫莎（Hersha Patel）見面，談論關於去年BBC Food錄製如何做「蛋炒飯」的爭議影片。

 

Malaysian influencer “Uncle Roger” said on Saturday that he met with BBC Food host Hersha Patel to talk about her controversial video on how to make “egg fried rice” that was released by BBC Food last year.

 

Uncle Roger於7月8日YouTube頻道上傳一則影片近日爆紅，影片中他吐槽廚師赫莎製作蛋炒飯的方式，像是用濾網幫米瀝水、用英式茶杯量米、沒有火的爐子炒飯等等，違反亞洲人對於蛋炒飯製作方式的理解，引起網友熱議。

 

Uncle Roger’s YouTube video about the proper way to make egg fried rice has gone viral since its release on July 8.

 

Why? Patel used an English teacup to measure the rice; she drained rice with a strainer; and, used a cooktop to fry the rice. Her cooking method provoked a backlash from people across Asia.

 

網友紛紛留言回應：「各位先生女士，這是在教你『不要』這樣做蛋炒飯」、「每個亞洲人都知道炒飯要用隔夜飯」、「BBC主持人：『這集教你如何惹怒亞洲人。』」

 

In response to the video, many commented, “ladies and gentlemen, this is NOT how to cook rice,” while others said that every Asian knows that you should use cold, leftover cooked rice to make fried rice.”One said, “BBC woman: “This is an episode of how we can trigger Asians.”

 

隨後，Uncle Roger週六轉推赫莎貼文，附上兩人談話影片，文內寫道，「最新進展：Ungle Roger和製作蛋炒飯的女士@hershapatel1合作。」

 

Then on Saturday, Uncle Roger retweeted a post from Patel with a video of the two talking, which read, “Big development: Uncle Roger is now making a collab with egg fried rice lady @hershapatel1.”

 

另一方面，赫莎推文寫道，「致我的新朋友／酸民，＠MrNigelNg與我花了一下午的時間討論關於我製作蛋炒飯的『罪行』」。

 

Patel said in her tweet: “To all my new friends/haters @MrNigelNg and I have just had a lovely afternoon discussing my ‘crimes’ against rice… watch this space.. collab coming soon, give me a follow! #riceislife #uncleroger”.

 

影片中，Uncle Roger表示剛剛才和赫莎享用晚餐，呼籲網友別再欺負赫莎，「請不要在Instagram上發布任何冒犯的內容。否則，羅傑叔叔會去找你。」

 

“I just had dinner with this lady. Don’t post anything mean on Instagram, otherwise, Uncle Roger will come for you,” Uncle Roger said in the video.

 

赫莎則反駁道，「我被酸民嗆爆了，當時我只是做我的工作，照著BBC給的食譜製作，我知道怎麼炒飯。」

 

“I’ve been trolled. I was doing a job for BBC presenting the recipe, I know how to cook rice,” Patel explained.

 

最後，Uncle Roger預告下一支影片內容赫莎將會示範炒飯的「正確」作法，要大家敬請期待。

 

Uncle Roger ended by announcing the next video in which Patel will demonstrate the right way to make fried rice.

 

Next Article:

 

台灣美食再次紅到國外！英國女歌手大讚「這個」 | Dua Lipa praises ‘deliciousness’ of Taiwan treat

 

一向非常受歡迎的台灣美食因知名女歌手杜娃‧黎波（Dua Lipa）週一的IG貼文再次被世界看見。

 

Dua Lipa’s recent post about Taiwanese “Brown Sugar Boba Ice Cream Bar” (小美焙炒黑糖珍奶雪糕) has brought a new Taiwan delight into the spotlight.

 

來自英國的她近期在自己的IG上貼出一張台灣小美焙炒黑糖珍奶雪糕照片，並附上「來一點甜甜的」(sumfing sweet) 字樣發文，引起她4,930萬粉絲的好奇，到留言區問他雪糕的味道，還有來自台灣的粉絲開心的在下面留言：這是來自台灣的！看到留言區被塞爆關於雪糕的問題，杜娃‧黎波也跳出來分享雪糕真的非常好吃 (“came through with the DELICIOUSNESS!”) 有些紛絲甚至好心地在下面為其他人解惑，表示這個雪糕是波霸奶茶口味，可以在華人超市買到。

 

Fans from all over the world have since commented on her post, asking if the ice cream tastes as delicious as it looks, with Dua Lipa commenting back: came through with the DELICIOUSNESS!Many also asked where they could buy it, and helpful Taiwanese fans quickly replied: “It’s bubble milk tea flavor! Super good! You can find it at any Chinese grocery store (or some of the Asian grocery stores).”

 

出生於英國的杜娃‧黎波已在短短時間內發出許多成名曲，包括 ”“Be the One”, “IDGAF” 和“New Rules”也在2018 年奪下全英音樂獎兩大獎項，更在2019年拿下格萊美獎的「最佳新人獎」。

 

Hailing from the U.K., Dua Lipa has released hit singles such as “Be the One”, “IDGAF” and “New Rules.” She has received a Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act in 2018 and a Grammy for “Best New Artist” in 2019.

 

而這次爆紅的小甜品正是來自台灣的「小美焙炒黑糖珍奶雪糕」冰品，為小美冰淇淋近幾年所新推出的超人氣商品，標榜以濃郁黑糖混和奶香，再搭配冰凍過還是Q彈好吃的珍珠，原汁原味的保住新鮮感。

 

The ice cream bar is the latest invention from Taiwan-based “Shao-mei Ice Cream”. The popular ice cream combines brown sugar with milk-tea flavors, and chewy and tasty bobas, making every mouthful a delight.

 

Source article: https://chinapost.nownews.com/20200728-1599858 ; https://chinapost.nownews.com/20200728-1595452

 

每日英語跟讀Podcast，就在http://www.15mins.today/daily-shadowing每週Vocab精選詞彙Podcast，就在https://www.15mins.today/vocab每週In-TENSE文法練習Podcast，就在https://www.15mins.today/in-tense

 

 

 

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Welcome to 15mins.today, the home of English Shadowing, I am your host Gavin, and this is InTense Episode 56. Well guys we are busy with adjectives, words that describes nouns and pronouns and in the previous episodes we've covered common adjectives, proper adjectives and compound adjectives. Today we're looking at the 4th one, and these are a special kind of adjective. They are articles, and that would be definite articles the and indefinite articles, a and an. 

 

We have covered those in episode 26, 30, 33, 34, 35 and I'm sure more than that. And so, we've actually covered them, so here is the key, articles are adjectives, that is all we need to say. So, if you want to, you can go look back in our backlog and I covered them extensively. Articles like, “It is the Earth.” And those are the three, the, a and an. Um, the especially I covered in detail, because it's very difficult to remember when to use the and when not to. We did a whole series in the 30s. I think it started with 33 onwards. I don't know how many I did, because in Taiwan people struggle with the definite article the so, let's just do a couple of examples. And all the definite and indefinite articles are adjectives, great!

 

Drill Sentences:

 

Is the movie finished? Yes, the movie is finished.

Is the movie finished? No, the movie is not finished.

 

Was it a beautiful day? Yes, it was a beautiful day.

Was it a beautiful day? No, it was not a beautiful day.

 

Did you receive the email? Yes, I received the email.

Did you receive the email? No, I did not receive the email.

 

Did he give you an apple? Yes, he gave me an apple.

Did he give you an apple? No, he did not give me an apple.

 

Did John buy an iPhone? Yes, he bought an iPhone.

Did John buy an iPhone? No, he did not buy an iPhone.

 

Did you feed the dog? Yes, I fed the dog.

Did you feed the dog? No, I did not feed the dog.

 

Did Candace prepare the report? Yes, she prepared the report.

Did Candace prepare the report? No, she did not prepare the report.

 

 

Well guys, there you go short and sweet. I will underline the definite and indefinite articles in our transcript, and those are all adjectives. This was a quick and easy one. I'll catch you in the next episode, bye bye!

 

每日英語跟讀Podcast，就在http://www.15mins.today/daily-shadowing每週Vocab精選詞彙Podcast，就在https://www.15mins.today/vocab每週In-TENSE文法練習Podcast，就在https://www.15mins.today/in-tense

 

 

 

用email訂閱就可以收到通勤學英語節目更新通知。