通勤學英語 15Mins Today

Welcome to 15mins.today the home of English Shadowing. I'm your host Gavin and this is InTense Episode 46.

Well guys, we're still busy with nouns, so we are going to be looking at something else and these are pronouns. Now pronouns are words we used to replace a noun, as in, “Is that Mary’s car?” and we would say, “Yes, it is her car.” The her we changed Mary to a pronoun. We could change dog to it and we do this to avoid repetition. So they're very, very common and I try to push them, because I know in Taiwan many people struggle with that, because they don't understand that if it's a person who is female or an animal that's female we change it to her. So, it is very difficult for many of my students to cope with and to get used to it. So, pronouns and we do it as I said to avoid repetition, and it gets very annoying if you don't do it, from personal experience I used to work on a help desk and I had one customer who would phone me and just use my name all the time, Hi Gavin, How are you Gavin? What's going on Gavin? Well Gavin, after 10 minutes of this I promise you, you are ready to climb the walls, because you don't want to hear your name, you want to hear you. 

Well there you go, so we're going to be looking at pronouns. Now there are quite a few number of pronouns, eight or nine different kinds, I can't exactly remember, but today we're going to be starting with the first one and that would be personal pronouns. Now personal pronouns are probably in some ways the most common and they are: I, me, mine, my, you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers, it for singular and for plural ones we have we, our, ours, you, your, yours, they, them, their, theirs and it's. Well those are the personal pronouns and if you notice we use them a lot and if you notice in the previous episodes I actually stopped using them because we were practicing the noun, so we did not change Maryto her. But now we are going to use them again, so let's start with personal pronouns and again I will underline them in the transcript below. Ok, let's look at our examples!

Is Jane happy? Yes, she is happy.

Is Jane happy? No, she is not happy.

 

Is the dog clean? Yes, it is clean.

Is the dog clean? No, it is not clean.

 

Are John and Mary busy? Yes, they are busy.

Are John and Mary busy? No, they are not busy.

 

Are you going to the fair? Yes, I am going to the fair.

Are you going to the fair? No, I am not going to the fair.

 

Do you like me? Yes, I like you.

Do you like me? No, I don't like you.

 

Is John attending the seminar? Yes, he is attending it.

Is John attending the seminar? No, he is not attending it.

 

Is that your dog? Yes, it is mine.

Is that your dog? No, it is not mine.

 

Are you happy? Yes, we are happy.

Are you happy? No, we are not happy.

 

Do you have to stop for red lights? Yes, you have to stop for red lights.

Do you have to stop for red lights? No, you do not have to stop for red lights.

Well there you go guys, I hope you use these examples to practice. Keep repeating and that's our first episodes on pronouns. Ok, so again I will underline the pronouns in the transcript below. Ok, have a great day and catch you next time, bye!

 

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Summary:

Vending machines in Germany are selling German sausages 24/7 and business is booming. These machines compliment the shops.

Snow was delivered to a ski resort via helicopter in France. Higher temperatures caused the need.

 

原文章討論: https://www.15mins.today/blog/ep-799-about-europe-sausage-vending-machines

Vocabulary and Sample Sentences:

Craving v. n. > have a strong desire for something

Do you crave a holiday? 

Do pregnant women have strong cravings?

Punnet n. > a small box or basket for soft fruit

Did they sell the strawberries in a punnet?

Are cherries sold in punnets?

Devoid adj.> have none / nothing

Is Taipei devoid of snow in winter?

Are the other planets devoid of water?

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.848: A Plot Twist Confounds Publishers 延後出書時間 新冠肺炎讓出版商措手不及

 

Months ago, in what now feels like another era, publishers planning their 2020 schedules hoped to avoid releasing books in the fall, typically the industry’s biggest season. Editors and writers worried that new releases would be lost in the deluge of political news leading up to the presidential election, so publishers jammed some of their biggest titles into the spring.

幾個月前（現在覺得當時就像另一個時代），規劃2020年時程的出版商希望避免在秋天出書，而秋天通常是出版業的大旺季。編輯和作者擔心，新書訊息會被美國總統大選投票前大量的政治新聞淹沒，所以出版商讓一些重磅新書通通擠在今年春天出版。

Now, a reverse exodus of sorts is taking place. Publishers are pushing back the release of dozens of books to summer and fall, in hopes that by then the coronavirus outbreak will be waning, bookstores will reopen, and authors will be able to tour and promote their work.

而此際，出版商可謂正大舉往反方向行動。出版商把數十本書的出版時間推遲到夏天和秋天，寄望屆時新冠肺炎疫情已見緩和，書店重新開門，作者得以巡迴宣傳新書。

Some of the most anticipated titles of the spring have been delayed by weeks or months.

今年春天最受矚目的一些新書，已延後數周或數月問世。

“Bookstores are shuttered, everyone right now is worried about their health and their livelihoods, there’s so much anxiety,” said writer Laila Lalami, whose new nonfiction book, “Conditional Citizens,” was scheduled to come out from Pantheon in April, but has been moved to the fall. “It makes sense to postpone it until there’s a bit more clarity, until we know what’s going to happen.”

作家萊拉．拉拉米的非小說新書「有條件的公民」，原定4月由美國萬神殿圖書出版，但已延到秋季。拉拉米說：「書店都關了，眼下人人都在擔心自己的健康和生計，非常焦慮，把出書時間延到情勢明朗些、我們知道接下來會怎麼樣的時候，合情合理。」

Some publishers are even moving books to next year.

有些出版商甚至把出書時間延到明年。

Such moves are a gamble, given the uncertainty surrounding the course of the epidemic and the economic crisis. Some publishers worry that the situation could be even worse in a few months, if more warehouses and distribution centers close, and if publishers have to confront reduced capacity at printing presses.

這是在冒險，因為疫情和經濟危機會如何發展，誰都說不準。有些出版商擔心，如果有更多倉庫和配送中心關閉，而出版商又必須應付印刷廠產能降低，情況會在幾個月之後變得更糟。

Paper shortages could also become an issue, as more paper stock gets consumed making cardboard for deliveries of essential products.

紙張短缺可能也會成為一個問題，因為會有更多庫存紙做成硬紙板，用來運送必需品。

“For authors, it’s really tough,” said Daniel Halpern, the publisher of Ecco. “You work on a book for two or three years, and suddenly you find it coming out in a plague. There’s so much unknown, and there’s so much changing every hour.”

艾科出版社創辦人哈爾朋說：「對作者來說，情況很不堪。你寫了兩、三年，突然發現要在瘟疫期間出書。很多事難以明瞭，很多事每小時都在改變。」

Publishers who are delaying books now, in hopes that they can sell more copies in the future, are facing revenue shortfalls in the meantime.

出版社現在推遲出書是希望未來賣掉更多書，但已同時面臨營收不足。

Artists in every field, from musicians, dancers and opera singers to actors and television writers, have seen their livelihoods and income disrupted, or in some cases evaporated, as theaters, comedy clubs and studios have closed in the face of the epidemic. In some ways, the publishing industry is better positioned than many other businesses to weather the impact of the coronavirus. Books are in a way an ideal medium for this moment: Reading is a solitary act, and people who are sheltering in place may turn to books for escape, solace and connection.

各個領域的藝術家，從音樂家、舞蹈家、歌劇演唱家到演員和電視編劇，生計和收入都受到衝擊，甚至斷絕，因為電影院、喜劇俱樂部和製片廠都在疫情中關閉。在某些方面，出版業比許多其他行業更有條件挺過疫情衝擊。書本堪稱度過此刻的理想工具：閱讀是獨自從事的行為，而且居家避疫者可藉閱讀尋求逃避、慰藉和連結。

But the longer the economic and public health crisis lasts, the harder it will be for publishers and book retailers to keep their companies afloat.

不過，這場經濟和公共衛生危機持續愈久，出版商和書店就愈難撐下去。

There’s a growing fear that the temporary closure of bookstores around the country may in many cases become permanent.

人們日益擔心，全美各地書店暫時關門，其中許多只怕再也開不了門了。

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

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.847: About scientific research - Certain Junk Foods Could Be Messing With Your Brain’s Appetite Control, Study Finds

 

Emerging evidence in humans suggests a typically Western high-fat, high-sugar ’junk food’ diet can quickly undermine your brain’s appetite control.

在人類中新發現的證據顯示，含有高脂高糖「垃圾食物」的典型西方飲食，可以快速破壞大腦對食慾的控制。

After indulging in a week-long binge of waffles, milkshakes and similarly rich foods, researchers in Australia found young and healthy volunteers scored worse on memory tests and experienced a greater desire to eat junk food, even when they were already full.

狂吃鬆餅、奶昔和類似的高脂食物一週後，澳洲研究人員發現，年輕健康的志願者在記憶力測試中成績欠佳，而且對垃圾食物更有食慾，甚至在吃飽之後還想吃。

The findings suggest something is amiss in the hippocampus - a region of the brain that supports memory and helps to regulate appetite. When we are full, the hippocampus is thought to quieten down our memories of delicious food, thereby reducing our appetite.

研究結果顯示問題出在海馬體，這個區域在大腦中支援記憶力，協助調節食慾。我們吃飽之後，海馬體被認為會使美食記憶不再活躍，從而降低食慾。

When it’s disrupted, this control can be seriously undermined.

當海馬體受到擾亂，對食慾的控制也會受到嚴重破壞。

Over the years, extensive research on juvenile mice has found the function of the hippocampus is very sensitive to ’junk food’ , but this has only recently been observed in young and healthy humans.

近年來對幼鼠進行的廣泛研究發現，海馬體對「垃圾食物」很敏感，但最近才在年輕健康的人群中發現這一問題。

 

Next Article

 

Squatting or kneeling is better for your posture than sitting all day, anthropologists claim 人類學家：蹲姿或跪姿比坐一整天來得好

Resting postures such as squatting or kneeling may be better for health because they require more muscle activity than sitting on a chair, researchers claim.

研究人員聲稱，蹲或跪這類休息姿勢也許更有益於身體健康，因為它們比坐在椅子上需要更多的肌肉活動。

The findings are based on data gathered from a hunter-gatherer population in Tanzania who wore devices that measured physical activity as well as periods of rest.

這些發現是根據從坦尚尼亞一個狩獵採集部落收集來的數據，這個部落的人佩戴裝置來測量他們的體力活動和休息時間。

Anthropologists from the US found that despite being sedentary for almost 10 hours each day, equivalent to clocking a shift in the office at the desk, the Hazda people appeared to lack the markers of chronic diseases associated with long periods of sitting.

美國的人類學家發現，儘管哈茲達部落的人每天靜止不動的時間將近10個小時，相當於在辦公桌前上一天班，但他們似乎並未出現久坐帶來的慢性病跡象。

They believe this is down to the ‘active rest postures’ used by the tribe.

他們相信，這歸結於該部落使用的「主動休息姿勢」。

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1368761 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1367176

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.846: Why Soap Works

It probably began with an accident thousands of years ago. According to one legend, rain washed the fat and ash from frequent animal sacrifices into a nearby river, where they formed a lather with a remarkable ability to clean skin and clothes. Perhaps the inspiration had a vegetal origin in the frothy solutions produced by boiling or mashing certain plants. However it happened, the ancient discovery of soap altered human history. Although our ancestors could not have foreseen it, soap would ultimately become one of our most effective defenses against invisible pathogens.

肥皂很可能源自幾千年前的一次意外發現。有個傳說這麼說，雨水把經常以動物獻祭留下的脂肪和灰燼沖到附近一條河中，形成了清潔皮膚和衣物效力驚人的泡沫。也許發明肥皂的靈感來自植物，來自把某些植物煮沸或搗碎成泥後產生的泡沫溶劑。不論肥皂如何發明，這個古老發現改變了人類史。雖然我們的祖先無法預見，肥皂最終卻成了我們防禦不可見的病原體的一大利器。

People typically think of soap as gentle and soothing, but from the perspective of microorganisms, it is often extremely destructive. A drop of ordinary soap diluted in water is sufficient to rupture and kill many types of bacteria and viruses, including the new coronavirus that is currently circling the globe. The secret to soap’s impressive might is its hybrid structure.

人們通常認為肥皂溫和怡人，但從微生物的角度來看，肥皂往往極具摧毀力。一滴普通肥皂的肥皂水足以破壞並殺死多種細菌和病毒，包括目前全球散播的新冠病毒。肥皂威力驚人，祕密在於其混合結構。

Soap is made of pin-shaped molecules, each of which has a hydrophilic head — it readily bonds with water — and a hydrophobic tail, which shuns water and prefers to link up with oils and fats. These molecules, when suspended in water, alternately float about as solitary units, interact with other molecules in the solution and assemble themselves into little bubbles called micelles, with heads pointing outward and tails tucked inside.

肥皂由大頭針形狀的分子構成，每個分子都有親水性的頭，容易跟水結合，還有疏水性的尾巴，避開水而傾向與油脂結合。這些分子懸浮在水中時，輪流以單個單元的形態漂浮，與溶劑中其他分子互動，並與其他分子結合成為小氣泡，稱為「微胞」，頭朝外，尾巴向內收攏。

Some bacteria and viruses have lipid membranes that resemble double-layered micelles with two bands of hydrophobic tails sandwiched between two rings of hydrophilic heads. These membranes are studded with important proteins that allow viruses to infect cells and perform vital tasks that keep bacteria alive. Pathogens wrapped in lipid membranes include coronaviruses, HIV, the viruses that cause hepatitis B and C, herpes, Ebola, Zika, dengue, and numerous bacteria that attack the intestines and respiratory tract.

一些細菌和病毒有脂質膜，這種膜像是雙層微胞，兩圈疏水性的尾巴被兩圈親水性的頭包夾。這些膜密布著重要的蛋白質，蛋白質使病毒有能力感染細胞，並負責維持細菌存活的重要任務。有脂質膜的病原體包括冠狀病毒、人類免疫缺乏病毒、導致B型和C型肝炎的病毒、疱疹、伊波拉、茲卡、登革病毒，以及眾多攻擊腸道和呼吸道的細菌。

When you wash your hands with soap and water, you surround any microorganisms on your skin with soap molecules. The hydrophobic tails of the free-floating soap molecules attempt to evade water; in the process, they wedge themselves into the lipid envelopes of certain microbes and viruses, prying them apart.

當你用肥皂和水洗手時，你是用肥皂分子包圍皮膚上的所有微生物。自由漂動的肥皂分子的疏水性尾巴努力避開水，在這過程中，這些尾巴插入一些細菌和病毒的脂質外層，把外層撬開。

“They act like crowbars and destabilize the whole system,” said professor Pall Thordarson, acting head of chemistry at the University of New South Wales. Essential proteins spill from the ruptured membranes into the surrounding water, killing the bacteria and rendering the viruses useless.

澳洲新南威爾斯大學化學系代理主任索達森教授說：「這些尾巴的作用就像鐵撬，破壞整個系統。」重要蛋白質從破掉的膜散落到周圍的水中，使細菌死亡，病毒失效。

In tandem, some soap molecules disrupt the chemical bonds that allow bacteria, viruses and grime to stick to surfaces, lifting them off the skin. Micelles can also form around particles of dirt and fragments of viruses and bacteria, suspending them in floating cages. When you rinse your hands, all the microorganisms that have been damaged, trapped and killed by soap molecules are washed away.

一些肥皂分子會聯手破壞使細菌、病毒和汙垢附著在皮膚表面上的化學鍵，把這些汙物帶離皮膚。肥皂微胞也能在汙垢粒子和病毒細菌碎片周圍形成，把汙物關在漂浮的牢籠中。當你洗手時，所有被肥皂分子破壞、困住和殺死的微生物都被沖走。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/351877/web/

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.845: About odd news - Novelty toilet roll cakes keep Finnish baker in business

 

A quick-thinking Helsinki bakery has saved itself from financial ruin during the new coronavirus pandemic by creating a cake that looks like a toilet roll.

（芬蘭首都）赫爾辛基一家腦筋動得快的烘焙坊，創造出看似衛生紙捲的蛋糕，在新型冠狀病毒大流行期間，拯救自己免於破產。

The dismayed staff at the Ronttosrouva bakery found all their orders cancelled last month, at the same time as panicked consumers began to hoard toilet roll. This sparked the idea of a toilet roll cake made of oat batter, passion fruit mousse and covered with white fondant.

「倫托斯洛瓦」烘焙坊員工上個月驚慌地發現，他們所有的訂單都被取消了；在此同時，惶恐的顧客開始囤積衛生紙。這個現象刺激店家想出以燕麥蛋糕和百香果慕斯製作而成、並在外層覆上白色翻糖的衛生紙捲蛋糕。

The first five cakes sold within an hour, baker Uliana Timofeeva told Reuters, and the cake became a social media hit.

蛋糕師傅烏里安娜‧提摩費娃告訴《路透》，最先做好的5模蛋糕1小時內就賣光，還在社群媒體上造成轟動。

The bakery now has hundreds of orders and its owner Saana Lampinen has even been able to hire two extra people. "For us it’s a game changer and I am relieved because I know all my employees are safe for months," she said.

這家烘焙坊現在接下數百張訂單，老闆沙娜‧蘭皮寧甚至還有能力另聘2名人手。她說：「對我們來說，這是扭轉情勢的一次嘗試，我現在鬆了一口氣，因為我知道所有員工接下來幾個月都不用擔心飯碗了。」

 

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Iceland recommends hugging trees instead of people 冰島建議人們用抱樹取代抱人

With countries imposing lockdown to block the spread of the virus, the Icelandic Forestry Service has taken a weird approach to the situation.

隨著各國實施封鎖措施防堵病毒傳播，冰島林業局採取一個奇怪的方法處理這種情況。

The Icelandic Forestry Service has asked citizens to hug trees and plants while maintaining social distancing. Forest rangers at Hallormsstaður National Forest in East Iceland are cleaning up the snow from roads so locals can go and hug trees.

冰島林業局讓公民去抱樹與植物，同時保持社交距離。冰島東部Hallormsstaður國家森林的森林保育員，正在清理路上的積雪，以便當地人可以去抱樹。

"When you hug [a tree], you feel it first in your toes and then up your legs and into your chest and then up into your head," forest ranger Þór Þorfinnsson tells the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. "It’s such a wonderful feeling of relaxation and then you’re ready for a new day and new challenges."

「當你抱住（一棵樹），你會感覺到它先是出現在你的腳趾，接著上到你的小腿，並且進入你的胸膛，進入你的頭」，森林保育員索芬森告訴冰島國家廣播公司，「這是一個奇妙的放鬆感受，然後你就會準備好面對新的一天與新的挑戰」。

Þorfinnsson recommends that not everyone should embrace the first tree they see; potential huggers should venture deeper into the forest.

索芬森建議，不是每個人都應該擁抱看見的第一棵樹，有潛力的擁抱者應該冒險進入森林深處。

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1367430 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1369486

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.844: Why Is the Monarch Butterfly Population Declining? 

Western monarch butterflies spend their winters in Pismo Beach and other sites on the central California coast. A few months later, they breed in the Central Valley and as far north and east as Idaho.

美國西部帝王斑蝶會在加州中部沿岸皮斯摩海灘市等地過冬。幾個月後，會在加州中部「中央谷地」，以及往東北方向最遠可到愛達荷州的地區交配。

But where they go in between remains an open question.

不過，這中間的空檔帝王斑蝶去了哪裡，仍沒人知道。

Now, a group of researchers wants the public’s help to solve that mystery.

現在，一群研究人員希望民眾幫忙解開這個謎。

They would like anyone who spots a monarch north of Santa Barbara this spring to snap a quick picture. The researchers — from Washington State University, Tufts University, the nonprofit Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, and the University of California, Santa Cruz — need photographic evidence, a date and a location to confirm where the monarchs might be living. (Photos and information can be emailed to [email protected] or uploaded on the iNaturalist app.)

他們希望，今年春天凡是在加州聖塔芭芭拉市以北發現帝王斑蝶的人，都拍下快照。這群研究人員來自華盛頓州立大學、塔夫茨大學、非營利組織澤西斯無脊椎動物保育協會和聖塔克魯茲加州大學，他們需要照片、拍攝日期和地點，用以確定帝王斑蝶的棲地。（照片和資訊可以用電郵寄到[email protected]，或用iNaturalist app上傳。）

“Something’s going on in early spring,” said Cheryl Schultz, a professor at Washington State University, in Vancouver.

加拿大溫哥華市華盛頓州立大學教授雪柔．舒茲說：「有某種事情在早春發生。」

Researchers know that winter survival isn’t the issue in the short term, she said. But they don’t know whether the monarchs are not making it to breeding sites, not finding plants to nourish them along the way, or not able to find mates.

舒茲說，研究人員知道，帝王斑蝶安度冬天短期內不是問題，研究人員不知道的是，帝王斑蝶是否到不了交配的地點，是否在沿途找不到植物供給營養，是否找不到交配對象。

The Western monarch population, which lives west of the Rocky Mountains, stood in the millions in the 1980s. In 2017, an annual count found 200,000 butterflies. In 2018, the tally fell to about 30,000 — a figure that held steady last year, said Elizabeth Crone, a biology professor at Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts.

美國西部的帝王斑蝶棲息在洛磯山脈以西，在1980年代多達數百萬隻。2017年的年度調查顯示還有20萬隻。2018年剩下大約3萬隻。麻州梅德福市塔夫茨大學生物學教授伊麗莎白．克隆說，去年也差不多是這個數量。

The monarch’s decline is part of a larger trend among dozens of butterfly species in the West,said Matt Forister, an insect ecologist at the University of Nevada.

內華達州雷諾市內華達大學昆蟲生態學者佛瑞斯特說，帝王斑蝶數量減少，是美西數十種蝴蝶數量減少的更大趨勢的一部分。

Research pins the loss of Western butterflies on a variety of factors, including development, climate change, farming practices, and the widespread use of pesticides by farmers and on home and business lawns, Forister said.

佛瑞斯特說，研究人員認為美西蝴蝶數量減少有多種原因，包括開發、氣候變遷、農作方式，以及農民、家庭和商業草坪廣泛使用農藥。

For example, Schultz said farms used to have rough, weedy borders that were great breeding grounds for the types of plants that monarchs love. Newer farming practices have pushed crops to the edge of the fields, leaving no room for these weedy margins, she said.

舒茲說，例如先前農場邊緣往往未開墾且雜草叢生，是帝王斑蝶喜愛的植物種類的沃土。她說，比較新穎的農耕方式會把作物種到農場邊緣，不讓這些邊緣有長出雜草的空間。

Another factor, she said: Some homeowners, eager to attract monarchs, have planted tropical milkweed. Although the butterflies will feed on them, these plants tend to spread disease because they don’t drop their leaves, Schultz said, which may be contributing to the declining monarch population. Native milkweed supports the population without this risk, she said.

舒茲說，另一因素是，有屋主想吸引帝王斑蝶，就種了熱帶乳草。雖然帝王斑蝶會來吃，但乳草不掉葉子，容易傳播疾病，可能造成帝王斑蝶數量減少。她說，本地乳草能餵養帝王斑蝶，卻沒有這種風險。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/352162/web/

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.843: Atomic bombs and whale sharks: How to calculate age of world’s largest fish

 

Scientists have figured out how to calculate the age of whale sharks — Earth’s largest fish — with some guidance from the radioactive fallout spawned by Cold War-era atomic bomb testing.

 

科學家近日從冷戰時代原子彈試爆產生的放射性落塵獲得指引，想出了如何計算地球上最大型魚類──鯨鯊──年齡的方法。

 

By measuring levels of carbon-14, a naturally occurring radioactive element that also is a by-product of nuclear explosions, the researchers determined that distinct bands present inside the shark’s cartilaginous vertebrae are formed annually, like a tree’s growth rings. It was already known that these bands existed and increased in number as a shark aged. But it was unclear whether new rings appeared yearly or every six months.

 

藉由測量碳十四的含量，研究人員判斷鯨鯊軟骨脊椎裡面的獨特圓形紋路是每年都會形成的，就像是樹木的年輪。碳十四是一種自然產生的放射性物質，同時也是核爆的副產品。科學家先前已知這類生長紋的存在，也了解紋路數量會隨著鯨鯊年紀增加，但是當時並不能確定鯨鯊是每年還是每六個月就會長出一圈新的生長紋。

 

The researchers compared carbon-14 levels in the rings to data on fluctuations in its global presence during the busy years of atmospheric nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s. “These elevated levels of carbon-14 first saturated the atmosphere, then oceans and moved through food webs into animals, producing elevated levels in structures such as the vertebrae of whale sharks,” said marine ecologist Joyce Ong of Rutgers University in New Jersey, lead author of the study published on April 6 in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

 

一九五○和一九六○年代是各國頻繁進行高空核試驗的時期。研究人員遂將鯨鯊生長紋裡面的碳十四含量和這些年間全球碳十四含量變化的數據相互對照。這篇研究在四月六日發表於期刊《海洋科學前沿》，主要作者為美國紐澤西羅格斯大學的海洋生態學家喬依絲‧翁（音譯），她指出：「核試爆增加的碳十四含量先是充斥在大氣層中，再進入海洋，然後經由食物網進入動物體內，造成動物生理結構中──例如鯨鯊的脊椎骨──出現高含量的碳十四。」

 

Scientists now will be able to calculate a whale shark’s age after its death — one ring equals one year. But just as importantly the study established that these endangered marine giants possess a very slow growth rate.

 

科學家現在能夠藉此在鯨鯊死後計算出它的年齡──生長紋一圈代表一歲。但是，這篇研究還提出另一項同樣重要的論點：這類瀕危的巨大海洋動物生長速率非常緩慢。

 

“For the management of any marine species, knowledge of growth rate is critical as it determines the resilience of populations to threats such as fishing. Fast-growing species have fast rates of replacement and can withstand relatively high losses, whereas slow-growing species have low rates of replacement and are much less resilient,” said marine biologist and study co-author Mark Meekan of the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Perth.

 

該研究的共同作者、澳洲海洋科學研究所的海洋生物學家馬克．米肯表示：「對於任何海洋物種的管理而言，生長速率是至關重要的知識，因為這項因素直接影響海洋生物族群面對包括漁業在內等威脅的恢復能力。長得快的物種替換速率也快，因此可以耐受相對高強度的數量損失；相較之下，生長緩慢的物種替換速率較低，族群恢復能力也比較弱。」

 

Whale sharks are filter feeders, swimming great distances through the world’s tropical oceans to find enough plankton to sustain themselves. They have a brownish-grayish color on the back and sides with white spots, with a white underside.

 

鯨鯊是濾食型動物，每每要穿梭於世界各地的熱帶海洋中、游上好遠的距離才能夠找到足夠餵飽它們的浮游生物。鯨鯊背部呈現褐灰色，兩側帶有白色的斑點，腹部也是白色的。

 

The researchers tested carbon-14 levels in long-dead whale sharks whose remains were stored in laboratories. The oldest one tested, stored in Pakistan, had lived 50 years. “We thought that it was possible that they could reach ages of as much as 100 years, but we weren’t really sure as we had no validated data on age,” Meekan said.

 

研究人員進行碳十四含量測驗的對象來自於死亡已久、身體保存在世界各地實驗室裡的鯨鯊。測驗對象中最年長的一隻保存在巴基斯坦，它活了五十年。米肯指出：「我們之前以為，鯨鯊最高可以活到一百歲，但是我們沒有有效的資料佐證，不能完全確定。」

 

“We still can’t say for certain if these sharks live to be 100 years old, but it now seems much more likely given that our largest shark was 50 years old at 10m in length and it is well documented that these sharks can get almost double this size, to around 18m in length.”

 

米肯表示：「我們目前還是不能肯定地說這些鯊魚可以活到一百歲，不過這個推測現在看起來更有可能發生，因為我們測驗的最大隻鯨鯊活到了五十歲，身長十公尺，在此同時，有充分的紀錄顯示這些鯊魚可以長到將近兩倍的長度，也就是大約十八公尺。」

 

Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/04/19/2003734865

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.842: About Korea - Back to school, at home

 

A sense of excitement and anxiety was missing from the classroom on the first day of the new spring semester.

 

在（南韓）新的春季學期第一天（譯按：自3月延至4月9日），開學的興奮感和焦慮感卻從教室裡消失無蹤。

 

Middle school English teacher Yoon Suk-joon, 58, was all alone as lessons began, with no students around. He greeted his students in a virtual classroom, with a laptop, headset and projector. Some 45 students clicked on a link via Google Classroom, to check in for a 45-minute interactive live class.

 

58歲的國中英語教師尹錫俊（譯音）在開始上課時獨自一人，四周沒有任何學生。他在一間虛擬教室，藉由一台筆記型電腦、耳機麥克風與一部投影機，跟自己的學生打招呼。約45名學生透過「Google雲端教室」，用滑鼠點選一個連結，以簽到一堂長45分鐘的互動直播課程。

 

Educators are inexperienced in holding classes online, and smart devices and internet connections are not equally available for all schools and students. Neither can all parents afford to supervise their children taking online classes at home.

 

（南韓的）教育工作者缺乏遠距教學的經驗，各校及每位學生可用的智慧型設備和網際網路連線亦不相同。也不是所有學生的家長，都抽得出時間去監督子女在家上線上課程。

 

Next Article

 

Korea’s front-line virus fighters get creative to up their games 南韓前線抗疫戰士發揮創意來提升成效

 

Health care workers at the forefront of South Korea’s virus battle are coming up with novel ways to better arm themselves.

 

位於南韓抗疫前線的醫療照護人員，正想出加強武裝自己的新奇法子。

 

A virus testing booth developed by a doctor at a public health center in southern Busan allows health workers to wear minimum protection as they swab patients.

 

由該國南部釜山一名公共衛生中心醫師研發的一種病毒檢測亭，讓醫療人員在用棉花拭子採集檢體時，得以穿戴最少的防護裝備。

 

"Health care providers require no personal protective equipment as they stand inside the booth and take samples from patients using the gloves protruding outwards," said Dr Ahn Yeo-hyun, who has been working there since December 2016.

 

「提供醫療照護的人員，當他們站在這種亭子內，用向外伸出的手套採集病人身上的樣本時，不需要任何個人防護裝備」，自2016年12月起在該中心服務至今的安餘賢博士說道。

 

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1363755 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1365327

 

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.841: About USA - The most talked about moment from the SAG Awards? Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston meeting face-to-face

 

Their marriage ended nearly 15 years ago, but many pop culture junkies are still holding out hope that Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt will someday get back together. The one-time power couple gave fans a tiny sliver of hope when they bumped into each other at the SAG Awards on Sunday night — oblivious that their interaction would be more talked about than any of the awards.

 

他們的婚姻在近15年前告吹，但許多流行文化迷仍懷抱珍妮佛．安妮斯頓與布萊德．彼特有一天能復合的希望。這對演藝界強強聯手的前任夫妻週日晚間在美國演員工會獎（頒獎典禮）的不期而遇，帶給粉絲些許希望——渾然未覺他們的交流，會比任何獎項更為人津津樂道。

 

The stars’ five-year marriage famously ended in 2005 and Pitt soon started dating his co-star from "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," Angelina Jolie. Jolie and Pitt married in 2014 and raised six children together but separated in 2016 ultimately divorced in 2019.

 

這對明星的5年婚姻在2005年高調告終，彼特隨即與當時合演電影「史密斯任務」的女星安潔莉娜．裘莉交往。裘莉與彼特在2014年結婚，共同扶養6名子女，但2016年分居，最後在2019年離婚。

 

Now, fans appear to be having a frenzy online. The video of Pitt watching Aniston’s speech received 4 million views overnight and the couple’s interaction received its own "Twitter Moment."

 

粉絲如今看似在網路上陷入瘋狂。彼特觀看安妮絲頓發表得獎感言的影片，點閱率一個晚上就達400萬，兩人的互動也有其專屬的推特Moment（譯註：整合熱門推文的功能，目前僅限美國市場）。

 

"Brad gazing at Jen made my day, month and year," one person tweeted.

 

「布萊德凝視珍讓我一整天、一整個月與一整年都好開心」，有人的推文如此寫道。

 

Next Article:

 

Banned! New York sends plastic bags packing 禁！紐約掰了塑膠袋

 

Consumerist mecca New York targets its throwaway culture this weekend with a ban on single-use plastic bags that has been years in the making and is still rare in America.

 

消費主義勝地紐約針對當地「用了就丟」的文化，祭出一紙禁用拋棄式塑膠袋的禁令；這道禁令花了數年時間制定，在美國還相當少見。

 

Environmental activists welcome the new law but caution that exemptions will weaken its effect, while some small businesses worry the ban might negatively impact their profits.

 

環保運動人士歡迎這項新法，但也提醒例外條款將削弱該法令的效力，一些小型商家也擔心，這項禁令或許會損及他們的營收。

 

New York’s older residents note that plastic bags only became available in US grocery stores in 1979, signaling how quickly habits can change.

 

紐約老一輩的居民提到，美國零售店直到1979年才開始提供塑膠袋，這表示要改變習慣有多快。

 

"When I was growing up we brought our own bags," shopper Denise Shaleaon told AFP, adding of the ban: "The New Yorker will have to live with it!"

 

消費者夏利恩告訴法新社，「我成長過程中，我們都自備袋子」，並說這項禁令「紐約客不喜歡也得接受」。

 

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1348727 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1367681

 

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