通勤學英語 15Mins Today

每日英語跟讀 Ep.784: About coronavirus: ‘Corona virus’ photos go viral on Twitter

武漢肺炎疫情全球延燒，然而，歐美地區仍然有少數人不清楚疫情。隨著武漢肺炎英文「coronavirus」與可樂娜啤酒（Corona)相似，許多人搞不清楚上網搜尋，因此讓全球Google搜尋關鍵字「可樂那啤酒病毒」自1月中（beer coronavirus) 暴增3200%。

The number of confirmed cases has continued to increase in Asia, but some people are still unfamiliar with the details of the virus outbreak. Some even have mistaken the word “coronavirus” with corona beer, leading to a 3,200% surge of the google search keyword “beer coronavirus.”

因為肺炎和可樂娜兩字令人混淆，有外國網友在推特（Twitter）分享道：「我不會得肺炎，因為我不喝可樂娜啤酒。」推特上網友瘋傳許多把可樂娜和肺炎做連結的圖片、留言。

Because of the similarity of the two words, some internet users said on Twitter, “I can’t get the coronavirus, I don’t drink alcohol.” Images related to the confusion also went viral on Twitter.

事實上，「可樂娜」一字源自於拉丁文皇冠的意思，因為新型冠狀病毒（武漢肺炎病毒）外觀有著尖刺，就像小皇冠，而得其名。

“Corona” comes from the Latin word “crown.” The virus is named accordingly due to its crown-like spikes.

對此，可樂娜的美國母公司Constellation Brands也有所回應。根據Business Insider報導，公司表示，他們相信大多數的消費者知道武漢肺炎病毒和我們並沒有關係。

In response to growing confusion regarding the virus name, the beer manufacturer said most of their customers understand the difference between the virus and the beverage and know that there’s no relation whatsoever between the two.

Next Article:

又一藝人發聲！吳鳳以母語籲土耳其　「幫台灣加入WHO」Turkish TV host voices support for Taiwan WHO bid

大陸武漢肺炎疫情擴及全球，鄰近病原區的台灣，礙於政治因素無法加入世界衛生組織（WHO），以接收第一手抗疫資訊，讓「防疫零漏洞」淪為口號。繼藝人黃立成後，2年前歸化中華民國籍的土耳其男星吳鳳，昨（3日）晚也在臉書發台灣發聲，他用母語向家鄉人說明：「為什麼台灣必須要加入WHO」！

The Wolrd Health Organization (WHO) again blocked Taiwan from recent coronavirus conferences under pressure from China. In response to media reports, Ugur Rifat Karlova, a Turkish TV show host who received Taiwan citizenship in 2018, voiced his support for Taiwan’s WHO bid in a video on Facebook on Monday, explaining his reasons to the Turkish people.

吳鳳拍了一支長度7分多鐘的影片，當中他用母語及中文向家鄉土耳其喊話，「許多土耳其人寄訊息給我，連我妹妹也擔心我們這邊的狀況，所以我決定拍這支影片，把目前台灣防疫的情況介紹給他們，再加上想要讓土耳其人也知道為什麼台灣必須要參加WHO，畢竟台灣的醫療技術跟科技都很先進，希望有更多國際力量一起為台灣發聲」！

In a 7-minute video, Rifat said in both Turkish and Chinese that many of his family members and friends in Turkey have expressed concern at the virus outbreak in Taiwan; therefore, he wanted to inform them and stress the need to join the WHO.

吳鳳說，台灣是醫療科技非常進步的國家，2300萬的人民都有健保，但很可惜台灣至今不是WHO的會員，「WHO對台灣這個做法很令人無法接受，其實不少發達國家如日本、加拿大、美國政府、歐盟都支持台灣成為WHO會員」！

He stressed that Taiwan has advanced medical technology and a throughout health care system. Yet, Taiwan is excluded from WHO even though many countries have expressed support for Taiwan’s bid to join the WHO, including Japan, Canada, the U.S. and the EU.

接著吳鳳向土國人解釋為何台灣必須要參加WHO，並呼籲土國人可以幫忙分享、一起支持台灣。吳鳳表示，台灣先前經歷過SARS，擁有這方面的經驗與先進的醫療科技，近期爆發的武漢肺炎是國際危機，對此，台灣可以提供不少幫助給其他國家。

Furthermore, Rifat reminded the Turkish people that Taiwan went through the SARS outbreak thanks to its advanced medical technology and the skills of its medical staff. With such experience, Taiwan could provide other countries with medical assistance.

不少台灣網友看完影片，感動地說：「謝謝你為台灣在國際上發聲」、「謝謝您對台灣無私的精神」、「真正的台灣郎」、「比台灣人更愛台灣」！

In response to the video, netizens commented said: “Thank you for voicing out for Taiwan.” One said, “Thank you for your selfless love for Taiwan.” The other said, “You are a real Taiwanese.” 

Source article: https://chinapost.nownews.com/20200204-947423;https://chinapost.nownews.com/20200207-950216

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Welcome to 15mins.today the home of English Shadowing. I'm your host Gavin and this is In-Tense Episode 34. And today we are continuing with our use of the definite article “the.” And today we're going to be looking at something quite simple, the names of companies.

Now just like people's names, when we use company names we do not put “the” in front of it, unless the company has “the” in its name. So, if the company is called The Bike Shop it will be called The Bike Shop. Now the only exception I know to this rule would be hotels, because usually what happens if you look at Taipei city we have one Regent Hotel so, “I'm going to the Regent.” Because there is one specific Regent Hotel, if we had 10 Holiday Inns, then we could say, “I'm going to a Holiday Inn. Which one? Oh, the one next to the airport.” Because we have one big airport again, so with company names no “the.”

So think about it, the only exception is hotels, because we have usually have one of those, so the Seven Seas Hotel, the Ambassador Hotel, the Hyatt, the Caesar Park, the Hilton Hotel. Otherwise for other companies no, “I work for Asus. I work for Acer. I work for IBM.” Great, very simple let's get started with our questions.

Drill Sentences:

Does Jane work for Asus? Yes, she works for Asus.

Does Jane work for Asus? No, she does not work for Asus.

Do you like Microsoft? Yes, I like Microsoft.

Do you like Microsoft? No, I do not like Microsoft.

Does Apple sell expensive products? Yes, Apple sells expensive products.

Does Apple sell expensive products? No, Apple does not sell expensive products.

Is Asus a Taiwanese company? Yes, Asus is a Taiwanese company.

Is Asus a Taiwanese company? No, Asus is not a Taiwanese company.

Does Toyota make good cars? Yes, Toyota makes good cars.

Does Toyota make good cars? No, Toyota does not make good cars.

Do you own a Seiko watch? Yes, I own a Seiko watch.

Do you own a Seiko watch? No, I do not own a Seiko watch.

Will John and Mary be staying at the Brother Hotel? Yes, they will be staying at the Brother Hotel.

Will John and Mary be staying at the Brother Hotel? No, they will not be staying at the Brother Hotel.

Have you ever stayed at The Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong? Yes, I have stayed at The Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong.

Have you ever stayed at The Four Seasons hotel in Hong Kong? No, I have never stayed at The Four Seasons hotel in Hong Kong.

Do you work for Samsung? Yes, I work for Samsung.

Do you work for Samsung? No, I do not work for Samsung.

Well, there you go guys. I hope that helps, so don't forget usually for companies no “the,” unless the company has “The” in its name, except for hotels and that's only for hotels that do not have many branches in a city. So, have a great time and keep practicing, bye!

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Summary:

The boom of sharing economy brought about many types of transportation sharing companies around the world. However, in some countries, sharing economy battle to catch on. For many bike sharing companies, Rome is a difficult city to develop. In 2013, Rome discontinued the bike sharing program after the program ran out of money. Few years ago a Hong Kong company gave up their business in Rome because many of their bicycles landed up in the Tiber river. From there, a Singapore company also left Rome when the romans stole the bikes and broke them down for parts. Uber is confident that its sharing program will grow in Rome.

原跟讀文章: https://www.15mins.today/blog/745-maybe-this-time-the-bikes-won-t-end-up-in-the-river

Vocabulary and Sample Sentences:

Pull the plug idiom. – cancel / discontinue

• The city of Rome pull the plug on its bike sharing program when it ran out of money.

Run out of ph.v- used up (of supply)

• The bank ran out of new bank notes over the Chinese New Year.

Clog v. – blocked or become blocked

• The highway is clogged with holiday traffic.

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.783: As Climate Risks Rise, More Cities Tell Developers ‘No’

Glimpsed from a kayak on West Neck Creek, this swampy piece of land, a pocket of red maple and loblolly pine tucked behind growing subdivisions, does not look like the stuff of existential debate.

美國維吉尼亞州維吉尼亞海灘市南部的「西頸河自然區」，從一隻獨木舟上看去，有片生長著紅花槭和火炬松的沼澤地隱藏在日漸擴增的住宅群後方，看來不像是一場存亡論戰的題材。

But this is where Virginia Beach, squeezed between the clamor for new housing and the relentlessness of flooding worsened by climate change, decided to draw its line in the mud.

這塊泥地卻是維吉尼亞海灘市決定劃清界線的地方。這座城市處在兩股壓力的擠壓之下，一邊是人們對新住宅的強烈需求，另一邊則是因氣候變遷而加劇的無情洪患。

The city last year became one of a small but growing number of communities willing to say no to developers — despite their political and economic clout — when it rejected a proposal to build a few dozen homes on this soggy parcel of 50 acres, arguing that those homes would be unsafe. The developers sued, accusing officials of making their project a scapegoat as voters clamored for action after disastrous flooding.

維吉尼亞海灘市去年無視於開發商的政治與經濟影響力，決定向開發商說不，加入美國為數不多、但逐漸增加的群體的行列，當時市府拒絕了在這片50英畝濕地上建造數十間住宅的提案，認為這些房子安全堪虞。開發商控告市府，在選民疾呼為災難性洪水拿出行動之際，把他們的建案當作替罪羊。

In May, a judge ruled that Virginia Beach was within its rights to stop the development. The city’s experience could become a harbinger for others nationwide.

今年五月，法官裁定維吉尼亞海灘市有權終止開發案。這座城市的經驗可能預示美國其他城市會走的路。

“It’s a confrontation with reality,” Bobby Dyer, Virginia Beach’s mayor, said in an interview in his office. “Not everybody’s going to be happy.”

維吉尼亞海灘市市長戴爾在辦公室受訪時說：「這是跟現實對抗，不是每個人都會高興。」

As the Trump administration reverses efforts to fight global warming, local officials around the country are forced to grapple with more intense flooding, hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters. That pressure is colliding with development, which provides jobs, homes and taxes but which also can increase the future risk of disaster as construction spreads into floodplains or forests that are prone to calamity.

由於川普政府取消許多對抗全球暖化的措施，美國各處地方官員不得不應付更大的洪水、颶風、野火等災害。災害帶來的壓力與開發產生了衝突，開發土地能帶來就業機會、住宅和稅收，但由於建築範圍擴展到易生災情的氾濫平原和森林，使當地未來受災的風險增高。

The outcome of that battle will shape Americans’ vulnerability to climate change for generations — and so far, development seems to be prevailing. In many coastal states, homes are going up at the fastest rate in the most flood-prone areas. The number of new houses in what experts call the wildland-urban interface, where the wildfire threat tends to be greatest, increased 41% nationwide between 1990 and 2010.

這場戰役的結果，會決定未來幾個世代美國是否容易受氣候變遷危害，到目前為止，開發似乎占上風。在許多沿海州，新房子在最容易發生洪災的地區增加最快。專家所謂荒野與都市交界地帶，往往是野火威脅最大的地方，美國這種地帶的新屋數量卻在1990年到2010年間成長了41%。

But as the financial and emotional costs of disasters increase, so does the evidence of a shifting mindset.

不過，隨著災害造成的金錢與精神損失不斷增加，人們的心態也在改變。

The Pew Charitable Trusts, a research and advocacy group, released a report describing how a few cities and states have successfully reduced flooding vulnerability. Their actions are “a recipe for success” for others, said Laura Lightbody, director of Pew’s flood-prepared communities initiative.

美國研究與遊說團體「皮尤慈善信託基金」發布報告，描述一些城市和州如何成功降低洪水來襲時的損害。皮尤基金群體防範洪災措施主任蘿拉．萊特巴迪說，這些地方採取的行動是其他地方「成功的訣竅」。

The examples include Norfolk, Virginia, which last year imposed new rules on developers, including a requirement that every new home be elevated.

成功案例包括維吉尼亞州諾福克市，去年對開發商實施新規定，其中一項是要求每間新房地基都要墊高。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/347894/web/

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.782: To Woo Amazon, Nothing's Too Weird

Business leaders in Tucson, Arizona, have tried to mail Amazon’s chief executive, Jeff Bezos, a 21-foot cactus. The largest conference room in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, mayor’s office has been converted to a war room, with 50 volunteers poring over videos of Bezos.

In Philadelphia, hundreds of Wharton Business School students have a new fall semester assignment: Pitch the city to Amazon. And the mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, flew to Seattle last week to walk as close to Amazon’s headquarters as is publicly accessible.

亞歷桑納州土桑市的商界領袖試圖郵寄一株21呎高的仙人掌給亞馬遜執行長傑夫．貝佐斯。奧克拉荷馬州土爾沙市市長辦公室最大的一間會議室已改為戰情室，50名志工正在鑽研貝佐斯的各項影片。

在費城，賓州大學華頓商學院的數百名學生有一個新的秋季班作業：向亞馬遜推銷費城。加拿大安大略省渥太華市市長上周則飛往西雅圖，在對大眾開放的區域內，走到最靠近亞馬遜總部的地方。

“It’s like ‘The Amazing Race,'” said Jim Watson, the mayor of Ottawa. “You’ve got this cast of characters running toward the Holy Grail.”

Amazon, on the hunt for a place to build a second headquarters, where it plans to invest $5 billion and create 50,000 jobs, has begun an enormous competition among cities across North America. With a loose set of requirements such as proximity to an airport and walkability, the e-commerce behemoth has set officials on a journey to sell their towns, with the aim of getting in on what some are calling one of the largest economic development deals of the century.

渥太華市長吉姆．華森說：「它就像 《驚險大挑戰》。有這麼一堆角色衝向聖杯。」

亞馬遜正在尋找建造第二個總部的地點，計畫投資50億美元，創造5萬個就業機會。這項計畫已在北美各城市之間掀起巨大的競爭。由於開出的一系列條件十分寬鬆，如靠近機場、適宜步行等，亞馬遜這家電子商務巨擘已讓一些官員踏上推銷他們城市的旅程，目的是成為號稱本世紀最大經濟開發交易案的一份子。

That sometimes means going to extreme lengths to draw Bezos’ eye. Is Bezos impressed?

“We’re energized by the response,” said Adam Sedo, an Amazon spokesman. “We invited cities to think big, and we are starting to see their creativity.”

有時這意味得走極端才能吸引貝佐斯的眼光。貝佐斯被我們打動了嗎？

亞馬遜發言人亞當．塞多說：「這種回響很令人鼓舞。我們邀請各城市放膽去設想，而我們已開始看到他們的創意。」

For Jeff Cheney, the mayor of Frisco, Texas, a city of 160,000 about a half-hour drive from Dallas, the courtship includes offering to build his city around Amazon.

“Our city’s only about 60 percent built out, so we’ve got a lot of available land where we can build to suit,” Cheney said. “We play to win. We’re innovators. We’re forward thinkers, and we’re serious.”

對德州佛里斯科市長傑夫．錢尼來說，追求亞馬遜的方法包括提議以亞馬遜為中心建造城市。佛里斯科市距達拉斯約半小時車程，人口16萬。

錢尼說：「我們的城市只開發了約6成，我們還有很多可用的土地，可配合要求建造。既然加入了競爭就非贏不可。 我們是創新者。 我們是前衛的思想家，而且我們是認真的。」

City applications are not due until Oct. 19, but Cheney has already sent a video letter to Amazon. The video opens on him holding an Amazon box and saying, “Amazon, you’re growing your business, and we want to grow with you.” Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, is seen talking about catching the “Frisco Flu,” which the mayor’s office said was a phrase Jones came up with. Cheney also gets a Jamba Juice (Jamba Juice is based in Frisco).

In Canada, the selling point is, well, Canada.

城市申請的截止日期為10月19 日，但錢尼已發送了一封影片信函給亞馬遜。影片一開始是他手拿一個亞馬遜紙箱說道：「亞馬遜，你正在發展你的事業，我們希望和你一起成長。」職業美足聯盟球隊達拉斯牛仔隊東家傑里．瓊斯則將他得了「佛里斯科流感」掛在嘴上，市長辦公室說，這是瓊斯自己想出來的一句台詞 。錢尼則是得到一杯Jamba果汁（Jamba果汁集團總部在佛里斯科）。

在加拿大，唔，賣點就是加拿大。

Source: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/319070/web/

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