通勤學英語 15Mins Today

每日英語跟讀 Ep.856: Farmworkers Once Unwelcome Are Now Deemed ‘Essential’

 

Like legions of immigrant farmworkers, Nancy Silva for years has done the grueling work of picking fresh fruit that Americans savor, all while afraid that one day she could lose her livelihood because she is in the country illegally.

就像大批農場移工一樣，南西·席爾瓦多年來從事於採摘美國人享用的鮮果的辛苦工作，她一直擔心有天會因非法居留而失去生計。

But the widening coronavirus pandemic has brought an unusual kind of recognition: Her job as a field worker has been deemed by the federal government as “essential” to the country.

但是，不斷擴大的新冠病毒大流行卻帶來一種不尋常的認可：她作為農場工人的工作，被聯邦政府視為國家所「不可或缺」。

Silva, who has spent much of her life in the United States evading law enforcement, now carries a letter from her employer in her wallet, declaring that the Department of Homeland Security considers her “critical to the food supply chain.”

席爾瓦一生中許多時間都在美國躲避執法部門，如今皮夾內有封雇主的信，聲明國土安全部認為她「對食品供應鏈至關重要」。

“It's like suddenly they realized we are here contributing,” said Silva, a 43-year-old immigrant from Mexico who has been working in the clementine groves south of Bakersfield, California.

席爾瓦說：「就好像他們突然意識到我們來到這兒是在貢獻。」43歲的她是來自墨西哥的移民，一直在加州貝克斯菲爾德以南的克萊門汀果園內工作。

It is an open secret that the vast majority of people who harvest America's food are immigrants in the country illegally, mainly from Mexico, many of them decadeslong residents of the United States. Often the parents of American-born children, they have lived for years with the cloud of deportation hanging over their households.

絕大多數採收美國食用農產品的工人都是非法移民，這是個公開的祕密，他們主要來自墨西哥，其中許多人在美國住了幾十年。他們通常在美國生下了子女，多年來一家人一直在遭驅逐出境的烏雲籠罩下生活。

The “essential work” letters that many now carry are not a free pass from immigration authorities, who could still deport Silva and other field workers at any time.

許多人目前所攜帶的「不可或缺工作」信件，並非移民當局所發的自由通行證，移民局仍然隨時可將席爾瓦跟其他無證農工驅逐出境。

But local law enforcement authorities said the letters might give immigrant workers a sense of security that they will not be arrested for violating stay-at-home orders.

但當地執法部門說，這些信可能會讓移工有種安全感，知道不會因違反居家避疫令而遭逮捕。

“If you have people who perceive that they may be stopped and questioned or deported because of their status, under these circumstances, having that letter makes them feel comfortable,” said Eric Buschow, a captain with the sheriff's office in Ventura County, where thousands of farmworkers labor in strawberry, lemon and avocado operations. “They can go to work. And their work is essential now.”

加州文杜拉郡警長辦公室隊長艾瑞克．布蕭說：「如果有些人覺得可能因自己身份而遭攔查、盤問或驅逐出境，有了那封信會讓他們感到放心。他們可以去工作。現在他們的工作是不可或缺的。」當地有成千上萬工人在草莓、檸檬和酪梨農場工作。

The pandemic has also put many of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's operations on hold. On March 18, the agency said it would “temporarily adjust its enforcement posture” to focus not on ordinary immigrants in the country illegally, but on those who pose a public safety or criminal threat.

這場全球大流行疫情還導致移民及海關執法局的許多行動暫停。該機構在3月18日表示，將「暫時調整執法方向」，重點不擺在普通無證移民，而是構成公共安全或刑事威脅的人。

“Those of us without papers live in fear that immigration will pick us up,” Silva said. “Now we are feeling more relaxed.”

席爾瓦說：「我們這些沒有證件的人生活在恐懼中，擔心移民局會把我們帶走。現在我們放心些了。」

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/352704/web/

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.855: With isolation, domestic abuse activists fear ‘explosive cocktail’

 

“Safer at Home.” It’s a slogan of choice for the mandatory confinement measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. But it’s not true for everyone.

為遏止冠狀病毒傳播而頒布的禁足令，選用「Safer at Home」（待在家更安全）作為口號，以強制民眾待在家。然而，待在家裡並非對每個人來說都會更安全。

As the world’s families hunker down, there’s another danger, less obvious but just as insidious, that worries advocates and officials: a potential spike in domestic violence as victims spend day and night trapped at home with their abusers, with tensions rising, nowhere to escape, limited or no access to friends or relatives — and no idea when it will end.

當全世界的家庭都蟄居屋內，有識之士及官員也擔憂會有另一種危險（雖不像病毒的威脅顯而易見，卻也是同樣險惡）：受害者與施虐者每天從早到晚一同困在家中，可能會使家庭暴力事件激增──由於對峙情況加劇、無處可逃、與親朋好友缺乏往來，也不知道這一切何時會結束。

“An abuser will use anything in their toolbox to exert their power and control, and COVID-19 is one of those tools,” said Crystal Justice, who oversees development at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, a 24/7 national hotline in the United States. In cities and towns everywhere, concern is high, and meaningful numbers are hard to come by. In some cases, officials worry about a spike in calls, and in others, about a drop in calls, which might indicate that victims cannot find a safe way to reach out for help.

「施暴者利用所能掌握的任何工具來施加權力及控制，武漢肺炎便是其中一種工具」，「全國家暴熱線」主管克莉絲多‧賈斯提斯表示。該熱線為二十四小時全年無休的全美服務。各地的城鎮都非常關注此問題，但卻很難獲得有意義的數字。在某些情況，官員擔心求助電話數目激增；其他時候，則擔心電話數量減少，因為這可能表示受害者找不到安全的方式來尋求幫助。

In Los Angeles, officials have been bracing for a spike in abuse. “When cabin fever sets in, give it a week or two, people get tired of seeing each other and then you might have domestic violence,” said Alex Villanueva, the sheriff of Los Angeles County.

在洛杉磯，政府一直在為施暴案的激增做準備。洛杉磯郡警長艾利克斯‧維拉紐瓦表示：「〔禁足〕大約一兩個星期後幽閉煩躁症發作，人們會對彼此感到厭倦，然後家庭暴力便可能會發生」。

“One of the key challenges of this health pandemic is that home isn’t a safe place for everyone,” said Amanda Pyron, executive director of The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, based in Chicago. “Victims and the abusers have to stay at the scene of the crime.”

「這種大流行病的主要挑戰之一是，家裡並非對每個人來說都是安全的地方」，芝加哥「網絡：反家暴倡議」（The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence）的執行董事阿曼達‧派蓉說道。「受害者與施暴者只能待在犯罪現場」。

Similar concerns have arisen in hard-hit continental Europe. In France, “it’s an explosive cocktail,” says Nathalie Tomasini, a leading lawyer for domestic violence victims there. Being trapped in an apartment with an abusive partner, she said, is akin to “a prison with no open window.”

受疫情重創的歐洲大陸也有類似問題引起關切。法國為家暴受害者辯護的名律師納塔莉‧托馬西尼表示，在法國，「這樣的混居是容易引爆的」。她說，跟有施暴傾向的伴侶一起困在公寓裡，就像是身處在「沒有窗戶的監獄」。

In addition to intimate partner violence, concerns have also been raised about child abuse. In jurisdictions everywhere, the chief worry is not only that coronavirus tensions could trigger more abuse, but that with kids out of school, more cases could go unreported or unnoticed.

除了親密伴侶的暴力，虐待兒童問題也引發關注。各地司法機關主要擔憂的，不僅是冠狀病毒之緊張情勢可能引發更多虐童事件，而是孩子不上學，可能會讓更多案件沒被通報或未被察覺。

“If kids are not at school, those reports aren’t getting made,” said Jessica Seitz, public policy director for the advocacy group Missouri Kids First. “That’s really a crack in the system.”

倡議團體「密蘇里州兒童優先組織」（Missouri Kids First）的公共政策主任潔西卡‧塞茲表示：「如果孩子們不在學校，這些案件就不會被通報」。「這真是系統的漏洞」。

Without educators in place, “We really need neighbors to check on next-door children and children in the neighborhood,” said Tom Rawlings, director of Georgia state’s Divisionof Family and Children Services.

喬治亞州家庭與兒童服務處主管湯姆‧洛林斯表示，沒有教育工作者在崗位上，「我們真的需要鄰居來查看隔壁和附近的孩子」。

Back at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which is based in Austin, Texas but has staff working remotely now, advocates are urging people in potentially risky situations to use the more discreet chat and text options available on their Web site, and to formulate a personal safety plan. This could include setting up a standing call with relatives or establishing a code phrase to signal an emergency.

上述全國家暴熱線之辦公室設於德州奧斯汀市，但其人員目前是以遠距方式工作。該熱線呼籲身處此風險境地的人在聊天及傳簡訊時使用更秘密的網站選項，並擬定人身安全計畫。這可包括設定聯繫親戚的常備電話，或建立暗號密語來表示緊急狀況。

Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/04/07/2003734104

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.854: About nature - Nature crisis: ’Insect apocalypse’ more complicated than thought

Previous research indicated an alarming decline in numbers in all parts of world, with losses of up to 25% per decade. This new study, the largest carried out to date, says the picture is more complex and varied.

過去的研究指出，全球各地（的昆蟲）數量令人憂心地下降，每10年至少減少25％。這份迄今最大的新研究卻表明，情況其實更加複雜與多變。

Land-dwelling insects are definitely declining the authors say, while bugs living in freshwater are increasing. The overall picture is complex - even in close geographical areas, some insects can be doing well next door to members of the same species who are struggling.

研究報告作者群指出，陸棲昆蟲正在減少，棲息於水中的蟲則在增加。總體情況是複雜的，即使是在相近的地理區域，有些昆蟲可以活得很好，隔壁區域的同種昆蟲，卻必須奮力存活。

Ann Swengel, one of the authors on the paper has spent more than 30 years studying butterflies in parts of the US. "We’ve seen so much decline, including on many protected sites. But we’ve also observed some sites where butterflies are continuing to do well," she said. "It takes lots of years and lots of data to understand both the failures and the successes, species by species and site by site."

論文作者之一安‧斯文格，已研究美國部分地區的蝴蝶超過30年。「我們已經看到（昆蟲）大量減少，包括在許多保護區裡。但我們也觀察到某些保護區中的蝴蝶持續活得很好」，她說。「要了解失敗與成功、不同物種、不同地點之間的關係，需要花費多年時間與大量資料」。

 

Next Article

 

Deserted Thai beaches lure rare turtles to build nests 人跡罕至的泰國海灘吸引稀有龜類築巢

Thailand has found the largest number of nests of rare leatherback sea turtles in two decades on beaches bereft of tourists because of the coronavirus pandemic, environmentalists say.

生態學家表示，由於冠狀病毒全球大流行，泰國海灘少了遊客，卻迎來大量稀有的棱皮龜築巢，數量創20年新高。

The 11 turtle nests authorities have found since last November were the highest number in 20 years, said Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong, the director of the Phuket Marine Biological Center.

普吉島海洋生物中心主任貢吉亞特表示，當局自去年11月以來發現11個海龜巢，為20年之最。

"This is a very good sign for us because many areas for spawning have been destroyed by humans," he told Reuters. No such nests had been found for the previous five years.

他告訴路透：「我們覺得這是非常好的跡象，因為許多產卵地都遭到人類破壞。」 過去5年完全沒有發現海龜巢。

"If we compare to the year before, we didn’t have this many spawn, because turtles have a high risk of getting killed by fishing gear and humans disturbing the beach."

「如果和1年之前比較，那時的蛋沒這麼多，因為當時海龜面臨高風險，或被漁具糾纏致死，或在海灘上遭人類侵擾。」

Leatherbacks are the world’s largest sea turtles. They are considered endangered in Thailand, and listed as a vulnerable species globally by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

棱皮龜是全世界最大的海龜。牠們在泰國被視為瀕危動物， 也被「國際自然保育聯盟」列為全球易危物種。

 

 

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1371916 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1372165

 

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Welcome to 15mins.today the home of English Shadowing. I'm your host Gavin and this is Intense Episode 47. Well guys, we have been looking at nouns and right now we're busy looking at pronouns.

Now for the previous episode, Episode 46, we looked at personal pronouns, for Episode 47 we'll be looking at possessive pronouns, and these pronouns show ownership. So these are: your, yours, his, hers, its, ours, their, theirs, whose. Ok, so, “Is that hers? Yes, it is hers. Is that car his? Yes, it is his car.”So, those are the pronouns, they show possessiveness, just like if we don't use the pronoun Gavin's watch, the dog’s tail, so instead of the dog we will be using its tail. Right so the possessive pronoun of the dog’s becomes its and Gavin’sbecomes his and Mary’s becomes hers. Ok, so let's look at some examples!

Is that Jane's watch? Yes, it is hers.

Is that Jane's watch? No, it is not hers.

 

Is that john and Mary’s sandwich? Yes, it is theirs.

Is that John and Mary’s sandwich? No, it is not theirs.

 

Is that plant yours? Yes, it is ours.

Is that plant yours? No, it is not ours.

 

Is that their car? Yes, it is their car.

Is that their car? No, it is not their car.

 

Is that the dog’s bowl? Yes, it is its bowl.

Is that the dog’s bowl? No, it is not its bowl

 

Whose bowl is it? It is the dog’s bowl.

Whose plant is it? It is theirs.

 

Is that Peter's pen? Yes, it is his pen.

Is that Peter's pen? No, it is not his pen.

 

 

Well there you go guys, just some quick examples of possessive pronouns. Now just one word of caution, possessive pronouns do not carry an apostrophe S, contractions do, so: yours, its, theirs, whose. Those all are just one word, they do not carry an apostrophe. So I hope that helps, keep practicing and I'll catch you in the next episode, bye!

 

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Summary:

The first article talks about masks in the office, is it rude or not? What is the correct etiquette? Is it an overreaction?

Napping is very healthy; it is good for the heart. One or two maps a week helps fight heart disease.

原文章討論: https://www.15mins.today/blog/ep-802-about-health-wearing-masks-in-office

 

Vocabulary and Sample Sentences:

Etiquette > polite behavior in society or a profession

Is it good etiquette to clean the white board before you vacate a classroom?

Is burping bad etiquette in Chinese culture?

 

Raging > very strong emotions / forces of nature / pain or illness

Is there a raging fear of infection in the world?

 Were there raging bushfires in Australia?

 Do you have a raging headache?

 

Nap > short sleep, usually in the day

Do you enjoy taking a nap?

Are naps particularly important for young children?

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.853: Why the Global Recession Could Last a Long Time

 

The world is almost certainly ensnared in a devastating recession delivered by the coronavirus pandemic.

這個世界幾乎可以確定，已經因冠狀病毒大流行而陷入毀滅性經濟衰退。

Now, fears are growing that the downturn could be far more punishing and long lasting than initially feared — potentially enduring into next year, and even beyond — as governments intensify restrictions on business to halt the spread of the pandemic, and as fear of the virus reconfigures the very concept of public space, impeding consumer-led economic growth.

人們現在日益擔心，由於各國加強限制商業活動以阻止疫病蔓延，加上對此病毒的恐懼重新界定了公共空間的概念，導致消費導向型經濟成長受阻，經濟衰退期只怕會比當初擔心的更為艱難與持久，可能持續到明年，甚至更久。

So long as human interaction remains dangerous, business cannot responsibly return to normal. And what was normal before may not be anymore. People may be less inclined to jam into crowded restaurants and concert halls even after the virus is contained.

只要人際互動依然危險，商業就無法可靠地恢復正常。以前視為平常的事恐將永遠不再如常了。即便在病毒受到控制後，人們也不再那麼願意擠進擁擠的餐廳和音樂廳了。

The abrupt halt of commercial activity threatens to impose economic pain so profound and enduring in every region of the world at once that recovery could take years. The losses to companies, many already saturated with debt, risk triggering a financial crisis of cataclysmic proportions.

商業活動突然停止，可能立即給世界各地帶來深刻而持久的經濟痛苦，以致可能需要數年才能復甦。許多公司已經負債累累，這些損失有可能引發一場規模巨大的金融危機。

“This is already shaping up as the deepest dive on record for the global economy for over 100 years,” said Kenneth S. Rogoff, a Harvard University economist. “Everything depends on how long it lasts, but if this goes on for a long time, it’s certainly going to be the mother of all financial crises.”

哈佛大學經濟學家羅格夫說：「這是一百多年來，全球經濟紀錄上最嚴重的衰退。一切都取決於它會持續多久，但若這種情況持續很長，它肯定會成為所有金融危機的根源。」

The situation looks uniquely dire in developing countries, which have seen investment rush for the exits this year, sending currencies plummeting, forcing people to pay more for imported food and fuel, and threatening governments with insolvency — while the pandemic threatens to overwhelm inadequate medical systems.

開發中國家的情況看來尤其嚴峻，這些國家今年出現投資退潮情形，導致幣值暴跌，人們被迫為進口食品與燃料支付更多費用，並且使政府面對無力償債的危機，而這個全球大流行疾病有可能壓垮不健全的醫療體系。

Among investors, a hopeful scenario holds currency: Once the virus is contained, enabling people to return to offices and shopping malls, life will snap back to normal.

在投資人看來，一種充滿希望的前景仍然存在，即一旦病毒受到控制，人們能夠重新回到辦公室與購物中心，生活將迅速恢復正常。

But the world that emerges is likely to be choked with trouble, challenging the recovery. Mass joblessness exacts societal costs. Widespread bankruptcy could leave industry in a weakened state, depleted of investment and innovation.

然而，新出現的世界很可能會陷入困境，使經濟復甦受到挑戰。大規模失業使社會付出代價。普遍的破產恐使得產業處於虛弱狀態，致使投資與創新能力枯竭。

If anxiety endures and people are reluctant to spend, expansion will be limited — especially as continued vigilance against the coronavirus may be required for years.

若焦慮持續且人們不願花錢，經濟擴張將會相當有限，尤其是在可能必須對冠狀病毒持續保持警戒許多年的情況下。

“The psychology won’t just bounce back,” said Charles Dumas, chief economist at TS Lombard, an investment research firm in London. “People have had a real shock. The recovery will be slow, and certain behavior patterns are going to change, if not forever at least for a long while.”

倫敦投資研究公司TS Lombard首席經濟學家查理．杜馬斯說：「人們的心理不會輕易就恢復。人們受到了很大的震撼。恢復過程將是緩慢的，某些行為模式將會改變，就算不是永久性的，至少也會持續很長一段時間。」

 

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/352454/web/

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.852: Old media suddenly has the upper hand

 

The coronavirus pandemic has torn the veil off a long-obscured and frightening reality: Our economies are unconscionably fragile, propped up by low-wage jobs, and our health systems are tissue-thin. As companies go bankrupt and workers are laid off by the millions, it seems likely that most major economic and cultural institutions will suffer the shock of transition, if not extinction.

冠狀病毒大流行揭露了一個長久以來隱晦而駭人的現實：我們的經濟脆弱到荒謬的地步，是靠低薪工作支撐起來的，而且我們的衛生保健系統單薄地像衛生紙一樣。隨著公司破產和數以百萬計的人員被解僱，多數主要經濟與文化機構看來都將遭受轉型的衝擊──如果沒有被完全消滅的話。

These include the media, which have a key role to play in shaping how we think of and act upon this new world.

這些機構也包括媒體——媒體在形塑我們對這新世界的看法與行動上，扮演著關鍵的角色。

Clearly, many periodicals will not survive the loss of revenue from sales and advertising. For better and worse, the landscape of news and opinion looks to become far less diverse. Small magazines, especially non-profit ones, are most vulnerable.

顯然，銷售及廣告等收入的損失會讓許多刊物撐不下去。無論如何，新聞及輿論刊物的多樣性看來似乎會大大減少。小眾雜誌，尤其是非營利性的雜誌，所受到的打擊最大。

Some losses should not be mourned. The social media “influencers” who broadcast conspiracy theories linking COVID-19 to 5G signal masts should long ago have been consigned to history’s wastebasket. It’s about time, too, that the culture of celebrity was fatally undermined.

對於某些損失，我們不需哀悼。散布5G基地台會造成武漢肺炎傳播這種陰謀論的社群媒體網紅，老早就該被丟進歷史的垃圾桶裡了。名人這種文化也該被徹底推翻了。

And one can only hope that the credibility of partisan outlets such as Fox News, which aggressively downplayed news of the pandemic, lethally influencing US President Donald Trump, will be impaired, especially in the eyes of its elderly audience, which is most exposed to the virus.

希望這也會削弱像福斯新聞這種黨派傳聲筒媒體的可信度，尤其是在年長觀眾心目中的可信度—福斯新聞對這大流行病的報導極度輕描淡寫，對美國總統唐納‧川普造成極危險的影響，而這些年長的觀眾也是受害於病毒最深的一群人。

The institutions of the much-maligned “legacy media” actually have the best chance of surviving and even flourishing in the future. Rogue challengers to their authority arose in part because the traditional media failed to anticipate or diagnose correctly the financial crisis of 2008. Fortunately, the traditional media now have a chance to rebuild their reputation and even augment their essential role in democratic societies.

備受毒舌唱衰的「傳統媒體」機構，未來其實最有可能生存下來，甚至繁榮起來。對傳統媒體之威信挑戰最烈者之所以出現，部分原因是傳統媒體未能對二○○八年的金融危機做出正確預測或診斷。

幸好，傳統媒體現在有機會重建其聲譽，甚至增強它在民主社會中不可或缺的作用。

The experience and fear of death, and the mass destruction of livelihoods, calls for the utmost precision in information and analysis. There is no dearth of issues where the traditional media should be able to establish permanent superiority over their upstart rivals with a mix of intellectual rigor and compassion.

人們對死亡的體驗與恐懼、疫情對生計的大規模破壞，都需要資訊及分析的精準度達到最高。傳統媒體在許多議題上，應可憑藉知識上的嚴謹以及關懷，在與新興對手的競爭中建立長久的優勢。

There are imbalances in coverage to be addressed. The plight of many people most intensely affected by the crisis — teachers, nurses, cleaners and carers, not to mention the poor, the elderly and the disabled — has very rarely featured in mainstream accounts. The BBC, for one, has rapidly reemerged not only as a source of unbiased news and scientific opinion, but also as a champion of the poorly paid people on the frontlines of the struggle against the virus.

新聞報導的不平衡，則需要解決。許多受疫情危機影響最劇的人——教師、護理師、清潔工及看護者，更不用說窮人、老人與身心障礙人士——其困境很少出現在主流報導中。但英國廣播公司（BBC）卻迅速重整旗鼓，不僅提供公正的新聞與科學評論，而且還為身處對抗病毒前線卻薪資微薄的人發聲。

As the biggest crisis since World War II unfolds, the challenges before the traditional media will be manifold and steep.

身處於第二次世界大戰爆發以來的最大危機，傳統媒體所面臨的挑戰將是多方面的、艱鉅的。

Social unrest, manifested last year in a global wildfire of street protests, is likely to intensify. Moreover, the state, whose urgent intervention in public and private life is being widely demanded and welcomed, could become oppressively overbearing. It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of many democratic societies, presently led by criminally inept and deluded politicians, will depend on how well the news outlets that survive perform their duty.

街頭抗議活動去年在全球延燒，此社會動盪可能還會加劇。此外，因控制疫情需要而對公共及私人生活實施緊急干預且廣為民眾接受的國家，其政府可能會變得暴虐專橫。毫不誇張地說，目前由極度無能與受騙的政客所領導的許多民主國家，其命運將取決於倖存下來的那些新聞媒體所履行職責的能力。

Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/04/21/2003734969

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.851: ‘Friendship’ groups could help flamingos stay in the pink

 

The sight of tens of thousands of flamingos flocking together to create a huge pink cloud may be one of the wonders of the natural world but research suggests that within these vast congregations, individual birds form intimate, long-lasting friendship groups.

數以萬計的紅鶴聚在一起、形成一片巨大的粉紅色雲彩，如此景象可說是自然世界的一幅壯麗奇景，不過研究指出，在這些大規模集會中，個別的紅鶴也會組成親密且友誼長存的小團體。

A five-year study of captive flocks in Gloucestershire has found that flamingos spend large amounts of time with specific close “friends” in groups of up to four or five. The report says that some of these friendship groups appear to avoid others they do not get along with. No loners were spotted but some individuals, dubbed “social butterflies” by the researchers, did flit from group to group.

關於英國格洛斯特郡圈養紅鶴群體的一份五年期研究發現，這種鳥類會花上大量時間和特定的紅鶴「知己」相處，組成小團體的紅鶴數量則多達四到五隻。報告指出，有些友誼團體的組成原因似乎是為了避免和其他不對盤的紅鶴相處。在觀察過程中，研究人員並未發現「紅鶴獨行俠」，不過某些被研究人員稱為「交際花」的紅鶴個體卻會翩然穿梭在不同團體間。

It has long been known that gatherings of flamingos in the wild, which can number up to two million individuals, are complex social structures. It is also known that the birds have very different individual characteristics. Some are pushy and aggressive, barging their way into the middle of the best feeding areas, while others are quieter, feeding around the edge and trying to not get in other flamingos’ way. But there are many mysteries, including how long pairs stick together.

科學家很早就發現野外紅鶴的大型集會──數量可上看兩百萬隻──含有複雜的社會結構，也知道這種鳥類彼此個性迥然相異。有些紅鶴強勢且帶有侵略性，經常魯莽地衝進最好的覓食區中間；有些紅鶴則比較安靜，會在周圍覓食，盡量不要擋到其他紅鶴的路。儘管如此，還是有許多謎團尚未解開，例如一對紅鶴會在一起多久。

Scientists from the University of Exeter studied about 350 birds, comprising four species, at the WWT Slimbridge wetland center. The researchers have not yet been able to establish how long pairs mate for but did spot consistent friendship groups.

英國艾希特大學的科學家在「野禽與濕地信託基金會」的斯林布里奇溼地中心內，對四種紅鶴共三百五十隻個體進行研究。研究人員仍無法確定一對紅鶴會維持伴侶關係多久，不過他們卻發現穩定維持的友誼團體。

Paul Rose, a zoologist and ornithologist, said: “Our results indicate that flamingo societies are formed of long-standing friendships rather than loose, random connections.” “Flamingos don’t simply find a mate and spend their time with that individual. We see pairs of males or females choosing to hang out, we see trios and quartets that are regularly together.” “Flamingos have long lives — some of the birds in this study have been at Slimbridge since the 1960s — and our study shows their friendships are stable over a period of years. It seems that, like humans, flamingos form social bonds.”

動物學家、同時也是鳥類學者的保羅‧羅斯指出：「我們的研究結果顯示，紅鶴社會是由穩固的友誼所形成，而非鬆散、隨機的來往關係。」他表示：「紅鶴並不會輕易地找配偶，就這樣跟對方共度時光。我們看到的是，一對一對的公鳥或母鳥選擇一起閒晃，也看到三隻或四隻經常一起行動的組合。」他進一步指出：「紅鶴生命很長──這份研究裡面甚至有些個體從一九六○年代就待在斯林布里奇（溼地中心）了，而我們的研究顯示，紅鶴的友情穩定持續了好幾年。看起來，紅鶴就像人類一樣，會形塑社會聯繫。」

The study could not establish how long pairs mate for but did spot consistent “friendship” groups. Previous studies have found strong social networks in species ranging from zebra finches to red jungle fowl. The vastness of flamingo groups in the wild means it is hard to study individuals or groups.

雖然該研究無法肯定一對紅鶴會在一起多久，但是他們卻觀察到穩定的友誼團體。之前的研究曾經許多物種中發現堅固的社會網絡存在，其中包括斑胸草雀以至於紅色原雞（譯註：目前多數學者認為的家雞祖先）等多樣物種。然而，野外紅鶴群體的規模十分龐大，使得研究個體或族群相當困難。

For the Gloucestershire study, ringed birds were photographed between three and four times a day to establish which were sticking together. The friendship groups identified contained between two and five individuals and were inevitably both male and female. The study examined flocks of Caribbean, Chilean, Andean and lesser flamingos at the wetland center. The flocks varied in size from just over 20 to more than 140.

在這份格洛斯特郡的研究中，研究人員對戴有識別腳環的紅鶴們一天拍上三到四次照片，確認出哪幾隻經常黏在一起活動。他們辨識出的友誼團體通常包含兩隻到五隻個體，而且一定同時有公母。該研究檢驗的對象為溼地中心內的加勒比海紅鶴（又稱美洲紅鶴）、智利紅鶴、安第斯紅鶴、以及小紅鶴。鳥群的大小各不相同，有的二十隻，有的超過一百四十隻。

It found that seasons affected social interactions, with more bonds forming in spring and summer — the breeding season. But the health of the birds did not seem to matter. They maintained their groupings even if one of them was not in tip-top condition.

研究同時發現，季節會影響紅鶴的社會互動，春夏兩季──也就是繁殖季──通常會形成較多組社會聯繫。另一方面，它們的健康狀況似乎不會對社交帶來影響。就算其中一隻並不在絕佳狀態，火鶴們還是會維繫自己的團體。

Rose said sticking together in smaller groups could help the individuals find food, keep an eye out for predators and know when the whole flock was about to move. He believes the same sort of social groupings identified at Slimbridge would happen in the wild and understanding the birds’ inter-flock relationships could help conservation work.

羅斯表示，一起待在小集團裡面可以幫助紅鶴個體找尋食物、注意掠食者、並且知道整個群體什麼時候會開始移動。羅斯相信，他們在斯林布里奇辨識出的社會性聚集行為同樣會出現在野外群體中，而且，了解這些鳥類在群體內部發展出的關係有助於保育工作。

More immediately it may inform how flamingos in captivity are cared for. “When moving birds from one zoo to another, we should be careful not to separate flamingos that are closely bonded to each other,” he said. The findings are published in the journal Behavioural Processes.

這項觀察最立即的影響在於提供圈養紅鶴更好的照顧方式。羅斯指出：「當我們要把紅鶴搬去另一間動物園時，應該要小心不要分開那些彼此緊密相繫的紅鶴們。」這份研究日前刊登在期刊《Behavioural Processes》。

Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/05/03/2003735699

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.850: Japan taking another look at ancient ‘seal’ custom to push telework

 

With efforts to promote telecommuting lagging despite the coronavirus crisis, Japan is taking another look at an ancient custom that stubbornly remains an analogue anomaly in an otherwise high-tech nation: the need to stamp documents with seals.

日本雖面臨冠狀病毒危機，但遠距辦公之推行仍遲遲沒有跟上腳步。這讓日本重新審視一個古老的慣例：文件需加蓋印章。在這高科技的國家，這種做法反其道而行，像類比的異常現象仍頑固地存在著。

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called on citizens to stay at home, aiming for a 70 to 80 percent reduction in contact to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, but the goal has proved elusive.

為對抗新型冠狀病毒之傳播，日本首相安倍晉三已呼籲民眾待在家，希望能藉此減少百分之七十至八十的接觸，但事實證明此目標是可望而不可及的。

“I want the relevant ministries to conduct necessary reviews rapidly,” Abe told a meeting of his economic and fiscal policy council last Monday, according to the Web site of his official residence. He singled out changes to the “system and custom of seals and submitting paperwork” as necessary for promoting remote work.

根據日本首相官邸網站所發佈的消息，安倍上週一在經濟財政諮詢會議中表示：「我希望有關部會迅速進行必要的檢討」。為落實遠距工作，他特別指出「印章及文書呈遞的制度與慣例」是必須要改變的。

Abe’s government itself has also hindered social distancing efforts. The process of applying for government subsidies to prevent job losses during the current crisis has required small businesses to hand over papers in person at unemployment offices, exposing them to the risk of infection.

安倍政府本身也成為保持社交距離的阻力。因應當前疫情危機，小型企業可申請政府補助以避免裁員，但申請流程卻要求他們親自到失業輔導辦公室去繳交文件，這會讓他們暴露在感染的風險中。

Last Monday, though, Abe instructed Cabinet ministers at a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP), to overhaul regulations and identify inconvenient and unnecessary steps in administrative procedure such as a traditional seal or face-to-face paper submission — a prelude to scrapping or simplifying them eventually.

但在上週一的經濟財政諮詢會議，安倍指示內閣大臣們通盤檢討相關法規，找出行政程序中不便及不必要的步驟，例如傳統的用印或當面繳交文件──然後最終要廢除或簡化這些步驟。

Usually a small cylinder carved with the characters for a person or company’s name, hanko or inkan are pressed on red ink pads and then stamped on documents as needed.

「判子」（印章）或稱「印鑑」，通常為小圓筒狀，刻有個人或公司名稱的漢字，其用法為按壓紅色印台後，在文件指定處蓋章。

A custom originally imported from China over a thousand years ago, the use of hanko was formalized by Japan’s modern government in the mid-1800s, with citizens required to legally register one with their name to use on important papers and documents.

印章的使用在一千多年前從中國傳入日本，一八○○年代中期被日本現代政府立為正式規定，要求國民依法在名下註冊一枚印鑑，以便在重要文件上蓋章。

In business, they can be used on virtually everything, from contracts to applications and even just to show that everybody in an office has seen a particular memo.

印章幾乎可以用在商務的各方面，從合約到申請文件，甚至只是用來表示辦公室裡所有人都已看過某份章程。

Comments were not immediately obtainable from hanko maker associations, but many Japanese have expressed their frustration with the custom on social media.

印章製造商工會之看法尚不得而知，但社群媒體上已有許多日本人對此傳統做法表達了無力感。

“Just to complete my work, how many thousands of times — no, hundreds of thousands of times — have I had to press my hanko on papers?” wrote Twitter user “Mayumi_ma-na.”

「我只不過是要完成工作，就得要把我的印章蓋在文件上幾千次──不，成千上萬次嗎？」推特用戶「Mayumi_ma-na」寫道。

“There are plenty of sectors that no longer rely on these seals! Why can’t we just sign things?”

“Using a seal is nonsense,” Hiroaki Nakanishi, head of the big business lobby Keidanren, said on the group’s YouTube channel. “Everything can be done with a signature or an electronic signature. Using a seal as proof of identity doesn’t fit with the current digital age,” he added. He suggested the seals themselves could be kept as works of art.

「有很多部門都已經不需要依賴這些印章了！難道我們不能直接簽名嗎？」

「使用印章是很愚蠢的」，企業遊說重要團體「日本經濟團體聯合會」之會長中西宏明，在該組織的YouTube頻道上說道。「一切都可透過簽名或電子簽章來完成。把印章用作身份證明並不適合當前的數位時代」，他補充道。他建議印章本身可以當做藝術品來保存。

Apart from technical issues, almost half of respondents cited the difficulty managers face in assessing employee performance when they cannot see their team in person as a reason for avoiding remote work.

除技術問題外，有近一半的受訪者指出，若經理無法跟工作團隊實際面對面，就難以評估員工的績效，這也是他們避免遠距工作的原因。

Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/05/05/2003735809

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.849: About food - Do your bit for farmers and eat more fries, Belgians urged

 

With potato farmers and processors struggling, Belgians are being urged to eat more fries to offset a slump in demand during the coronavirus pandemic.

隨著馬鈴薯農人和加工者努力求生存，比利時人正被敦促要多吃一點薯條，來彌補這波冠狀病毒全球大流行期間暴跌的需求。

Belgium is the world’s largest exporter of fries and other frozen potato products, its processors converting 5.3 million tonnes of potatoes into fries, mash and crisps per year and sending them to customers in more than 160 countries.

比利時是薯條和其他馬鈴薯冷凍製品的世界最大出口國，加工人員每年把530萬公噸的馬鈴薯變成薯條、薯泥和洋芋片，送到逾160國顧客手中。

Restrictions to halt the spread of the coronavirus have forced the closure of cafes and restaurants, the industry’s prime customers for fries, and processing firms have seen demand fall by as much as 80%.

制止冠狀病毒傳播的禁令，迫使身為該產業薯條主要顧客的咖啡廳和餐廳關閉，加工企業的需求量下降多達8成。

“We know Belgians like their fries, it’s intangible heritage our frying culture, so we ask Belgians to consume an extra portion of fries to allow us to process more potatoes and to avoid food waste,” Romain Cools, secretary-general of industry group Belgapom, told Reuters TV.

產業團體貝勒哈彭（譯按：比利時馬鈴薯貿易和加工業協會）秘書長羅曼．庫斯告訴路透電視，「我們知道比利時人喜歡薯條，那是我們油炸文化的無形遺產，所以我們要求比利時人多吃一份薯條，讓我們得以加工更多馬鈴薯及避免食物浪費。」

 

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A pastry chef in Germany offers edible sales receipts 德國一名點心師傅提供可食用收據

Since 1 January 2020, German law demands from retailers that they print a receipt for every purchase. However, the regulation has triggered not only anger but also artistic action among some of the affected businesses.

自2020年1月1日起，德國法律要求零售業者印出每筆消費的收據。然而，這項規定不只點燃了憤怒，還激起了受影響業者的藝術行動。

A French pastry chef in Bavaria decided to protest in an original way against this new law, by adding an edible receipt made of sugar on some of his pastries.

一名巴伐利亞的法式點心師傅決定用一種原始的方式抗議新法，為他的部分糕點加上一張用糖做成的可食用收據。

"At the moment, many bakers are protesting against these receipts and we thought we could also protest - in our own way. In France, we usually go out into the street, but this time we preferred to make a receipt that can be eaten, people can take it with them and that is, I think, also a nice form of protest," Ludovic Gerboin, Master baker said.

「當時，許多烘焙師都為了收據抗議，而我們認為可以用我們自己的方式抗議。在法國，我們通常會走上街頭，但這次我們選擇製作一張可以吃的收據，人們可以攜帶它在身邊，我想這也是一種好的抗議方式」，專業烘焙師魯多維奇．格博因說。

The promotions are well received by customers, even though normal receipts are still required in addition to their edible counterparts.

這項活動大獲顧客好評，雖然他們還是得額外開出正常的收據。

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1350979 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1369914

 

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