通勤學英語 15Mins Today

每日英語跟讀 Ep.795: The Price of Recycling Old Laptops: Toxic Fumes in Thailand’s Lungs

婦女們蹲伏在一間燈光昏暗的工廠的地上，整理被現代世界棄置的一些內容物：電池、電路板和成綑的電線。

Crouched on the ground in a dimly lit factory, women picked through the discarded innards of the modern world: batteries, circuit boards and bundles of wires.

她們或者用鐵鎚，或者徒手，拆解這些被稱作有害電子廢棄物或電子垃圾的廢品，再由男性工人鏟進一台鏗鏘作響的機器，以回收有用的金屬。有些男工用碎布包住臉來隔擋煙塵。

They broke down the scrap — known as hazardous electronic-waste, or e-waste — with hammers and raw hands. Men, some with faces wrapped in rags to repel the fumes, shoveled the refuse into a clanking machine that salvages usable metal.

當他們賣力工作之時，煙霧飄散至鄰近的村莊和工廠，居民對煙霧中有什麼物質一無所知—塑膠？金屬？誰知道！他們只知道聞起來很臭，讓人惡心。

As they toiled, smoke spewed over nearby villages and farms. Residents have no idea what is in the smoke — plastic, metal, who knows? All they know is that it stinks and they feel sick.

這間名為「新天空金屬」的工廠，是東南亞正蓬勃發展的電子垃圾業的一部分，是在中國大陸決定停止接收毒害其土地人民的全球電子垃圾後，應運而生。泰國特別成為這項產業的中心，過程中社運人士大力阻擋，政府則在公共安全與可觀的收益之間謀取平衡。

The factory, New Sky Metal, is part of a thriving e-waste industry across Southeast Asia, born of China’s decision to stop accepting the world’s electronic refuse, which was poisoning its land and people. Thailand in particular has become a center of the industry even as activists push back and its government wrestles to balance competing interests of public safety with the profits to be made from the lucrative trade.

去年泰國禁止外國電子垃圾進口，然而環境監控人員和產業專家說，新工廠仍然在國內各地開設，處理成噸的電子垃圾。

Last year, Thailand banned the import of foreign e-waste. Yet new factories are opening across the country, and tons of e-waste are being processed, environmental monitors and industry experts said.

「電子垃圾必須有去處。」以反對將垃圾傾倒至窮國為訴求的「巴塞爾行動網路」執行長吉姆．帕其特說，「中國就是把整個作業搬到東南亞。」

“E-waste has to go somewhere,” said Jim Puckett, executive director of the Basel Action Network, which campaigns against trash dumping in poor countries, “and the Chinese are simply moving their entire operations to Southeast Asia.”

他說：「賺錢的唯一方法，是用便宜、非法的勞力處理極為龐大的數量，而且大肆汙染環境。」

“The only way to make money is to get huge volume with cheap, illegal labor and pollute the hell out of the environment,” he added.

根據聯合國的統計，全球每年製造出5000萬噸電子垃圾，消費者習慣了丟掉前一年的機型，入手新款式。

回收這些小電器的觀念聽起來道德高尚：科技便利的無限循環。

Each year, 50 million tons of e-waste are produced globally, according to the United Nations, as consumers grow accustomed to throwing away last year’s model and acquiring the next new thing.The notion of recycling these gadgets sounds virtuous: an infinite loop of technological utility.

但是，從廢棄的手機、電腦和電視中採集微量的金銀銅之類貴金屬，其實是骯髒且危險的工作。

But it is dirty and dangerous work to extract the tiny quantities of precious metals — like gold, silver and copper — from castoff phones, computers and televisions.

曾經有許多年，中國大陸大量接收世界各地的電子廢棄物。然後在2018年，北京對外來電子垃圾關閉了大門。泰國和其他東南亞國家看到了機會，因為它們環境法律執行寬鬆，勞動力剝削容易，而且商界和政府間關係緊密。

For years, China took in much of the world’s electronic refuse. Then in 2018, Beijing closed its borders to foreign e-waste. Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia — with their lax enforcement of environmental laws, easily exploited labor force and cozy nexus between business and government — saw an opportunity.

「每一片電路板和每一條電線都能讓你賺不少錢，特別是毋須考慮環境或勞工時。」環境監督組織「泰國生態警示復甦」領導人潘重．沙也譚說。

“Every circuit and every cable is very lucrative, especially if there is no concern for the environment or for workers,” said Penchom Saetang, head of Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand, an environmental watchdog.

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/349813/web/

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.794: About technology - Used 99 Phones to Fake a Google Maps Traffic Jam

Three years ago, artist Simon Weckert noticed something unusual at a May Day demonstration in Berlin：Google Maps showed there was a massive traffic jam, even though there were zero cars on the road.

3年前，藝術家賽門．威克特注意到柏林一場五一勞動節示威中有些不正常的地方，Google地圖顯示路上嚴重塞車，即使路上完全沒有車。

Weckert realized that it was the mass of people, or more specifically their smartphones, that had inadvertently tricked Google into seeing gridlock on an empty street.

威克特發現，是一大群人，更精確地說，是他們的智慧型手機不經意地欺騙了Google，讓它以為空蕩的街道上有交通堵塞。

Weckert borrowed phones from friends and from rental companies until he had acquired 99 devices, which he piled into a little red wagon. Over the course of a day, Weckert would walk up and down a given street, towing his smartphone-packed wagon behind him.

威克特向朋友與租借公司借來99支手機，並將它們堆在一個紅色的小型手拉車內。一整天，威克特在特定街道上遊走，並將裝滿智慧型手機的手拉車拖在身後。

Weckert says his wagon would create a long red line in the app, indicating that traffic had slowed to a crawl—even though there wasn’t any traffic at all.

威克特說，他的手拉車會在手機應用程式（app）上創造出一條長長的紅線，紅線代表交通狀況已經慢到難以前進，即使根本沒有任何車流量。

Next Article:

Brain freeze: Russian firm offers path to immortality for a fee 凍存大腦：俄羅斯公司收費提供永生之路

When Alexei Voronenkov’s 70-year-old mother passed away, he paid to have her brain frozen and stored in the hope breakthroughs in science will one day be able to bring her back to life.

阿列克西．沃龍寧科夫70歲的母親過世時，他付錢把她的大腦冷凍儲存，希望科技上的突破有朝一日能讓她起死回生。

It is one of 71 brains and human cadavers - which Russian company KrioRus calls its "patients" - floating in liquid nitrogen in one of several metres-tall vats in a corrugated metal shed outside Moscow.

這是71顆大腦與人類屍體的其中之──俄羅斯公司「克里歐魯斯」稱之為「病人們」──在坐落於莫斯科郊外一座金屬浪板棚子內，漂浮在裝有液態氮的多個數公尺高桶中。

They are stored at -196 degrees Celsius with the aim of protecting them against deterioration, although there is currently no evidence science will be able to revive the dead.

以攝氏零下196度保存，旨在避免它們變質，雖然目前沒有證據顯示，科學將可以讓死者復活。

"I did this because we were very close and I think it is the only chance for us to meet in the future," said Voronenkov who intends to undergo the procedure, known as cryonics, when he dies.

打算死時採用這套人體冷凍技術程序的沃龍寧科夫說，「我這樣做是因為我們很親密，我想這是我們未來相遇的唯一機會。」

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1350353 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1352636

每日英語跟讀Podcast，就在http://www.15mins.today/daily-shadowing

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Welcome to 15mins.today the home of English Shadowing. I'm your host Gavin and this is InTense Episode 36. Well guys in this episode we will be continuing with the definite article “ the,” and in this episode we are looking at when we don't use “the” for subjects, as in when we talk about what we studied at school or subjects we studied at university or what we're doing part time.

So, let's look at an example for instance, “When I was at university, I studied Property Law.” You notice no “the” in front of that. So, it's very simple, we talk about subjects, without “the” in front of them. Let's get started with our questions.

Drill Sentences:

Did Jane enjoy English at school? Yes, she enjoyed English at school.

Did Jane enjoy English at school? No, she did not enjoy English at school.

Did Peter study Computer Science at university? Yes, he studied Computer Science at university.

Did Peter study Computer Science at university? No, he did not study Computer Science at university.

Did John and Jane do well in Geography? Yes, they did well in Geography.

Did John and Jane do well in Geography? No, they did not do well in Geography.

What did you study at university? I studied Law at university.

What was your favorite subject at school? My favorite subject at school was History.

Is Brian studying Marketing part time? Yes, he is studying Marketing part time.

Is Brian studying Marketing part time? No, he is not studying Marketing part time.

Does Susan enjoy Accounting? Yes, she enjoys Accounting.

Does Susan enjoy Accounting? No, she does not enjoy Accounting.

Is Philosophy a useful subject? Yes, Philosophy is a useful subject.

Is Philosophy a useful subject? No, Philosophy is not a useful subject.

What was your best subject at school? My best subject at school was English.

What was your least favorite subject at school? My least favorite subject at school was Science.

Does Lillian have a Master’s in Robotics? Yes, she has a Master's in Robotics.

Does Lillian have a Masters in Robotics? No, she does not have a Master's in Robotics.

Well there you go guys, keep repeating the questions and the answers and practice, practice, practice and catch you next time, thank you! Bye, bye!

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Summary:

This article discusses how the idea of blue light being bad for us at night might be wrong, that yellow light at night in night mode is doing more bad for us than low level blue light. This came from experiments with mice so whether this is true for humans is up for debate. The only solution is to turn off your phone.

討論的文章: https://www.15mins.today/blog/752-not-such-a-bright-idea-why-your-phone-s-night-mode-may-be

Drill Sentences:

Feature: Something important or interesting of a thing

1. Does your new phone have many features?

Disrupt: To make it difficult for something ro continue in the same way.

1. Are disruptive technologies changing the world?

Biased: A tendency to show favor towards something

1. Are people biased in politics?

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.793: Their Home Is Yours

戴懷特和女友康斯坦絲．韓森去年七月規劃秘魯之行時，決定不住飯店，改住寄宿家庭。寄宿家庭位在庫斯科省聖地牙哥區，每晚35美元（約台幣1050元），物超所值，而65歲的主人媽媽、寡婦瑪麗更用溫暖的接待贏得了他們的心。

While planning a trip to Peru last July, Brian Twite and his girlfriend, Constance Hansen, decided to skip hotels and stay with a host family. At $35 a night, the accommodation in the Santiago district of Cusco was a bargain. But the warmth of their host mother, a 65-year-old widow named Marie, won them over.

戴懷特回憶說：「我們醒來時她就會大喊『孩子們！』，要我們過去吃早餐。」戴懷特是美國芝加哥人，從事製造業物流工作。

“We’d wake up and she’d yell, ‘Chicos!’, calling us for breakfast down the hall,” said Twite, a Chicagoan who works in manufacturing logistics.

32歲的戴懷特說，在秘魯聖谷遊覽一整天後，他很感謝能回到寄宿家庭，跟瑪麗和她的兒子喬納森分享當天趣事。戴懷特說：「我們坐下來用餐，談談那天發生的事。他們會問，『你們做了什麼？去了哪些地方？』這真的很美妙，住飯店你不會得到這種經驗。」

After a long day of sightseeing in the Sacred Valley, Twite, 32, said he was grateful to come home and share highlights of his day with Marie and her son, Jonathan. “You sit down to a meal and talk about your day. They asked us, ‘What did you do? Where did you go?’ That was really magical because you don’t get that with a hotel.”

隨著近年來旅客日益渴望更為親密，由當地人主導，且不一樣的經驗，傳統上是背包客和外國交換學生的選擇的寄宿家庭體驗，也以新方式興起。

As travelers’ appetites move toward wanting more intimate, locally driven and nongeneric experiences in recent years, homestays — traditionally the fallback for backpackers and foreign exchange students — are emerging in a new light.

英國英格蘭約克郡退休都市計畫師卡魯瑟斯，上月預訂了在巴基斯坦一個寄宿家庭的住宿，他說：「這是對你到訪的地方產生真切感受的最好方式。」

“It’s the best way to get a feel for the place you’re visiting,” said Cliff Carruthers, a retired urban planner in York, England, who booked a homestay in Pakistan last month.

總部在倫敦的高檔行程旅行社「狂野邊界」創辦人畢爾比說，現在他販售的行程中，80%包含某種形式的寄宿家庭體驗。一些人氣行程也經過修改，納入寄宿家庭體驗，例如2013年推出的巴勒斯坦步行遊覽行程，現在主打薩努爾村住宿。

At London-based Wild Frontiers, a luxury tour planner, the founder, Jonny Bealby, says 80% of his tours today include at least some kind of homestay. In some cases, popular itineraries have been revised to include a homestay; a walking tour of Palestine that’s been offered since 2013, for example, now features a village stay in Sanur.

畢爾比說，「這是為了迎合客人需求」，倫敦、波士頓和紐約的客人似乎願意放棄每晚入住豪華飯店的便利，「他們要的是接地氣」。

“It’s being driven by the customer,” Bealby said, noting that travelers from London, Boston and New York seem willing to forgo the conveniences of a plush hotel every night. “What they want to do is connect.”

Homestay.com旅行社創立於2013年，目前在142個國家有業務，總經理伊馮．費萊說：「這絕對需要一些信任。事實上，你是進入這個人的家，所以必須懷著尊重的心。」

“It absolutely takes a bit of trust,” said Yvonne Finlay, managing director at Homestay.com, which launched in 2013 and now operates in 142 countries. “Effectively, you’re coming into this person’s home. So there needs to be that element of respect.”

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/349813/web/

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