通勤學英語 15Mins Today

每日跟讀#767: About Russia: ’They just want to take a selfie’： how TV show changed Chernobyl tourism

The hit TV series "Chernobyl" has attracted a new generation of tourists to the nuclear disaster zone but guides say that many are more interested in taking selfies than learning about the accident.

美國熱門電視影集《核爆家園》吸引一群新世代遊客造訪車諾比核災區，但當地導遊說，比起了解核災意外，很多人只想自拍。

Tourists now are often on the lookout for locations featured in the acclaimed HBO drama and can be surprised to discover that certain sites were fictional.

遊客現在大多是去探訪出現在這部備受讚譽的HBO影集中的地點，但他們可能會驚訝地發現，劇中有些場景是虛構的。

The abandoned site had already become a "dark tourism" destination, even before the eponymous TV show started broadcasting.

早在這個以車諾比為名的影集開播前，這個被遺棄的地方就已成為「黑暗旅遊」的目的地。

Some Ukrainian travel agencies have further adapted their tours to take in locations from the "Chernobyl" series and offer special trips, such as kayaking in rivers around the exclusion zone.

某些烏克蘭旅行社進一步改變行程，加入出現在《核爆家園》的地點，為旅客提供特別之旅，像是在禁制區附近的河流划皮艇。

In July, new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree that aims to develop the site further as a tourist attraction. In 2018, 72,000 people visited Chernobyl and it is expected to jump to 100,000 in 2019.

7月，新任烏克蘭總統佛拉迪米爾‧澤倫斯基簽署一項法令，進一步將車諾比地區打造成觀光景點。2018年，有7萬2000人造訪車諾比，2019年可望增至10萬人。

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Russia joins race to make quantum dreams a reality 俄羅斯加入量子戰局

Russia has launched an effort to build a working quantum computer, in a bid to catch up to other countries in the race for practical quantum technologies.

俄羅斯開始致力建造可投入應用的量子電腦，以期在實作量子技術的競爭中，趕上其他國家。

The government will inject around 50 billion roubles （US$790 million）over the next 5 years into basic and applied quantum research carried out at leading Russian laboratories, the country’s deputy prime minister, Maxim Akimov, announced on 6 December at a technology forum in Sochi.

俄羅斯副總理馬克司米．阿基莫夫12月6日在索契的一場科技論壇宣布，未來5年政府將投入約500億盧布（7.9億美元），推動國家重點實驗室在量子科學的基礎研究及應用。

Quantum technology already receives massive governmental support in a number of countries. The European Union’s €1-billion （US$1.1-billion） Quantum Flagship programme, first announced in 2016. Germany announced a €650-million national quantum initiative in August 2019. The Chinese and US governments are also spending billions on quantum science and technology programmes.

量子技術已獲得多國政府大力支持。歐盟2016年率先宣布一項10億歐元（11億美元）的量子旗艦計畫。德國2019年8月發表一項6.5億歐元的國家量子計畫。中國和美國政府同樣也在量子科學和技術項目投入數十億經費。

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1342518; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1344790

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Welcome to 15mins.today the home of English Shadowing. I'm your host Gavin and this is InTense Episode 33.

Well guys we're working on definite articles and we're working on the definite article “the” 'cause I think that's the only one there is and so today we're going to be looking at geography. That means countries and natural features like seas, oceans, mountains, and so on. When we use “the” with these things well we do not use articles, which is “the a an” before countries, states, cities, towns, continents, single lakes and single mountains.

Of course you notice “single” that means when we talk about a mountain range it's different and of course for every one of these rules there's always an exception. So, if we look at countries, we live in Taiwan, think of it like a name when we talk about a mounain and I'm going to Yamingshan, and when we talk about a mountain range though that is different. So, the Himalayas, so Mount Everest is in the Himalayas and again with lakes Lake Michigan is part of the Great Lakes and then of course we have to talk about the exceptions. So, they mentioned countries, now everybody knows one of my problems here all the students mess up with “the USA.”

We put “the” in front of USA, if you are unsure just use the word America, it's the same country but no “the” so we have “the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, The Czech Republic.” Now there are more countries that use “the.” So, if you want to you can Google “What countries use the in front of their names,” to cheat. I would suggest you use the word America or for the UK you could say Great Britain, and even the Netherlands has another name Holland, but some “the Czech Republic “ only has that one name so there you will have to remember. So, that is what we're going to be looking at our examples, so let's get started!

Drill Sentences:

Is Jane from Canada? Yes, she is from Canada.

Is Jane from Canada? No, she is not from Canada.

Are Peter and John from the Netherlands? Yes, they are from the Netherlands.

Are Peter and John from the Netherlands? No, they are not from the Netherlands.

Do you go to the USA often? Yes, I go to the USA often.

Do you go to the USA often? No, I do not go to the USA often.

Do you go to America often? Yes, I go to America often.

Do you go to America often? No, I do not go to America often.

Is Mont Blanc in the Alps? Yes, Mont Blanc is in the Alps.

Is Mont Blanc in the Alps? No, Mont Blanc is not in the Alps.

Are Lake Ontario and Lake Huron two of the Great Lakes? Yes, Lake Ontario and Lake Huron are two of the Great Lakes.

Are Lake Ontario and Lake Huron two of the Great Lakes? No, Lake Ontario and Lake Huron are not two of the Great Lakes.

Is Mount Fuji in Japan? Yes, Mount Fuji is in Japan.

Is Mount Fuji in the Japan? No, Mount Fuji is not in Japan.

Is Yamingshan the tallest mountain in Taiwan? Yes, Yamingshan is the tallest mountain in Taiwan.

Is Yamingshan the tallest mountain in Taiwan? No, Yamingshan is not the tallest mountain in Taiwan.

Is Peter visiting Scotland? Yes, he is visiting Scotland.

Is Peter visiting Scotland? No, he is not visiting Scotland.

Is the UK one country? No, the UK is not one country.

Is the UK one country? Yes, the UK is one country.

Is Great Britain one country? Yes, Great Britain is one country.

Is Great Britain one country? No, Great Britain is not one country.

Have you been to Thailand? Yes, I have been to Thailand.

Have you ever been to Thailand? No, I have not been to Thailand.

Is Omaha in the USA? Yes, Omaha is in the USA.

Is Omaha in the USA? No, Omaha is not in the USA.

Is Beijing in Vietnam? Yes, Beijing is in Vietnam.

Is Beijing in Vietnam? No, Beijing is not in Vietnam.

Is the Philippines in Asia? Yes, the Philippines is in Asia.

Is the Philippines in Asia? No, the Philippines is not in Asia.

Is Kenting in Taiwan? Yes, Kenting is in Taiwan.

Is Kenting in Taiwan? No, Kenting is not in Taiwan.

Do you live in Sanchong? Yes, I live in Sanchong.

Do you live in Sanchong? No, I do not live in Sanchong.

Well guys there you go, keep repeating, now obviously many of the things i said were incorrect in some way, we know Mount Fuji is in Japan, but that’s nothing, we are just lying a little bit. So great, I hope you practice, practice, practice and listen for the “the, the Philippines" another one of those exceptions and they are near us. So, remember that. thanks guys and have a great day, bye!

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On average, students who graduate from public university in the US is expected to have over USD35000 in student debt loan. Official government statistics also indicates that 71% of US students are burdened with student loans, with minorities – black women hit the hardest. For students, it’s the inability to repay the loans on time that is incurring additional interest, and over time the debt just keeps piling upwards.

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Singapore schoolchildren is struggling with stress from school. According to news reports, the number of schoolchildren seeking psychiatric help is increasing. To ease the pressure of students, the government removed some exams in primary and secondary schools and group the students according to ability in math and science classes.

Full article here: https://www.15mins.today/blog/724-about-education-student-debt-a-life-sentence-for-millions-of

Vocabulary and Sample Sentences:

Debt n. A sum of money that is owed or due / a feeling of gratitude for a service or favor

• You will be in debt if you borrow money from the bank that you cannot pay back.

• Thank you for the help, I am in your debt.

Burden v. n. A heavy load ; load heavily

• The student loans over time will become a huge burden for the graduates.

• Please don’t burden yourself with too much debt before you get a job.

Anxiety n. adj. A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about uncertain outcome

• Compared to student in other countries, Singaporean students suffer from greater anxiety.

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每日跟讀#766: Veggie food suppliers target meat lovers

The juiciest topic in the global food industry this year is artificial meat featuring its own “blood.” When the US company Beyond Meat went public on the NASDAQ on May 2, its shares surged 163 percent, with shares being purchased by Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, former McDonald’s president Don Thompson and Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-shing. The rise in environmental and health consciousness has seen a rapid increase in business opportunities for environmentally friendly foods associated with vegetarian and vegan diets.

今年全球餐飲業最火熱的話題就是會流出「血水」的人造肉！美國Beyond Meat於去年五月二日那斯達克掛牌上市，當日股價大漲百分之一百六十三，包括比爾蓋茲、李奧納多狄卡皮歐、麥當勞前執行長唐湯普生、香港首富李嘉誠都掏錢投資。因環保與健康意識興起，素食與蔬食帶來的綠色「食」尚商機正快速襲捲全球。

Studies are increasingly showing that excessive meat consumption is harmful to health. In 2003, an American health advocate revived “Meatless Monday,” promoting the idea of refraining from eating meat every Monday. The practice was taken up in many countries, including the US, Canada, Brazil and Italy. For those of us who simply must have meat, and for whom a vegetarian meal constitutes a form of torture, artificial meat or veggie meat substitutes are the best option. According to a United Bank of Switzerland (UBS) report, veggie meat sales are predicted to soar from US$4.6 billion in 2018 to US$85 billion in 2030.

越來越多的研究發現，過量攝取肉食對健康造成危害，美國學者在二○○三年發起「週一無肉日」，推廣每週一不吃肉的活動，包括美國、加拿大、巴西、義大利等國陸續加入。但對無肉不歡的人來說，吃素是件痛苦的事，於是人造肉或是素肉成為最佳選項。根據瑞銀報告顯示，素肉銷售從二○一八年的四十六億美元，預估至二○三○年將達八百五十億美元。

Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are currently the two largest producers of artificial meat in the world. Both companies are targeting not vegetarians but meat eaters, hoping to break away from the idea that vegetarian foods are meat substitutes.

Beyond Meat與Impossible Foods為目前全球兩大人造肉廠商，兩家大廠瞄準的都不是素食者，而是吃肉的人，希望跳脫以素食為肉品替代物的框架。

According to Beyond Meat’s chief growth officer, Chuck Muck, when the company approached stores and supermarkets, it asked them to display the product together with the meat products, to be sold together with real meat, and not to place it in the vegetarian foods section, as they wanted to attract meat-eaters, too. Impossible Foods founder Patrick Brown says, “We score zero points if a vegan or vegetarian buys our burger. The more of a meat lover they are, the more they are our target customer.”

Beyond Meat首席增長官查克莫克說，Beyond Meat和超商、超市等通路業者接洽時，要求一定要把產品擺放在肉類區，和真肉一起販賣，而非放在蔬食區，因為要讓吃肉的人也可以接受Beyond Meat；Impossible Foods創辦人派崔克布朗也說：「若是純素或一般素食者購買我們的漢堡肉，我們得到的是零分，越愛吃肉的人，才是我們真正的目標顧客。」

In April last year, Burger King teamed up with Impossible Foods to promote a veggie hamburger, calling it the Impossible Whopper, which was convincing enough that not even the Burger King staff could tell the difference between the two. This increased Burger King’s customer flow by 18.5 percent. The popularity of the Impossible Whopper led McDonald’s to team up with Beyond Meat to trial an artificial meat burger in Canada, followed by KFC working with Beyond Meat to produce Beyond Fried Chicken. With major fast food companies one after the other embracing artificial meat, the potential market for vegan foods knows no bounds.

去年四月，漢堡王和Impossible Foods推出素肉漢堡，取名為「不可能華堡」，逼真到讓連漢堡王內部員工也無法分辨真偽，為漢堡王提高百分之十八點五的客流量。因「不可能華堡」爆紅，勁敵麥當勞也和Beyond Meat在加拿大試推人造肉漢堡，就連肯德基也和Beyond Meat推出人造肉炸雞（Beyond Fried Chicken）。在速食巨頭紛紛投向人造肉的懷抱下，顯示出蔬食市場的無限潛力。

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/01/06/2003728761

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每日跟讀#765: Climate change exposes future generations to life-long health harm

A child born today faces multiple and life-long health harms from climate change, growing up in a warmer world with risks of food shortages, infectious diseases, floods and extreme heat, a major global study has found.

一項大型全球研究發現，今日出生的孩童，面臨著氣候變遷帶來多項終生的健康危害──他們在暖化的世界長大，伴隨著糧食短缺、傳染性疾病、洪水，以及極端高溫等風險。

Climate change is already harming people’s health by increasing the number of extreme weather events and exacerbating air pollution, according to the study published in The Lancet medical journal. And if nothing is done to mitigate it, its impacts could burden an entire generation with disease and illness throughout their lives.

根據這份發表於醫學期刊《刺胳針》的研究指出，氣候變遷造成極端天氣事件不斷增加，空氣汙染持續惡化，早已開始傷害人類健康。而且，如果不採取任何行動來緩和情況，氣候變遷的影響將帶來疾病和病痛，加重一整個世代終生的負擔。

“Children are particularly vulnerable to the health risks of a changing climate. Their bodies and immune systems are still developing, leaving them more susceptible to disease and environmental pollutants,” said Nick Watts, who co-led the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change study. He warned that health damage in early childhood is “persistent and pervasive,” and carries lifelong consequences. “Without immediate action from all countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions, gains in wellbeing and life expectancy will be compromised, and climate change will come to define the health of an entire generation,” he told a London briefing.

《刺胳針健康與氣候變遷倒數計時》的研究共同主持人尼克‧沃茲指出：「孩童面對變遷氣候的健康風險特別脆弱。小孩的身體和免疫系統仍然在發展階段，使得他們更容易受到疾病和環境污染物影響。」

Yet introducing policies to limit emissions and cap global warming would see a different outcome, the research teams said. In that scenario, a child born today, would see an end to coal use in Britain, for example, by their sixth birthday, and the world reaching net-zero emissions by the time they were 31.

The Lancet study is a collaboration by 120 experts from 35 institutions including the WHO, the World Bank, University College London and China’s Tsinghua University.

不過，研究團隊表示，推出政策限制氣體排放，並控制全球暖化程度，則會出現不同的結果。在那樣的情況下，舉例而言，今天出生的孩童會在六歲生日那天看到英國停止使用燃煤，並在三十一歲時看到全球達成淨零碳排放的目標。《刺胳針》這項研究是一百二十位專家的合作成果，他們來自三十五個機構，其中包括世界衛生組織、世界銀行、倫敦大學學院，以及中國的清華大學。

On a “business-as-usual” pathway, with little action to limit climate change, it found that amid rising temperatures and extreme weather events, children would be vulnerable to malnutrition and rising food prices, and the most likely to suffer from warmer waters and climates accelerating the spread of infectious diseases such as dengue fever and cholera.

研究發現，如果照著「一切照常進行」的路徑發展，只採取少許行動限制氣候變遷，除了持續攀升的氣溫和極端天氣事件之外，孩童容易受到營養不良以及食物價格上漲的影響，也最可能面臨暖化的水源和氣候，加速登革熱和霍亂等傳染性疾病的傳播。

Among the most immediate and long-lasting health threats from climate change is air pollution, the researchers said. They called for urgent action to reduce outdoor and indoor pollution through the introduction of cleaner fuels and vehicles, and policies to encourage safe and active transport such as walking and cycling.

研究人員表示，氣候變遷帶來最立即且持續最久的健康威脅就是空氣汙染。他們呼籲各國政府採取緊急行動，藉由引進較乾淨的燃料和交通工具，以減少室外和室內的污染，並推出政策鼓勵大眾採取安全且自主性較高的通勤方式，包括步行和騎腳踏車。

The WHO says that globally in 2016, seven million deaths were due to the effects of household and ambient air pollution. The vast majority of these were in low and middle-income countries. “If we want to protect our children, we need to make sure the air they breathe isn’t toxic,” said Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson, a global health specialist at Britain’s Sussex University who worked on the Lancet study.

世界衛生組織表示，二○一六年全球有七百萬人的死亡原因來自於家庭和周遭環境中的空氣汙染。這些人絕大多數都居住於中低收入國家。英國薩塞克斯大學的全球健康專家索妮雅‧阿耶布─卡爾森參與了這份研究，她表示：「如果想要保護我們的孩子，就必須確定他們呼吸的空氣是無毒的。」

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2019/11/17/2003725971/2

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