通勤學英語 15Mins Today

每日跟讀#747: Scientists Now on Staff

Carmen Soto is a research scientist, with a master’s degree in ecology and natural resources from the National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco, Peru. In 1999, while writing her thesis on the “biological control for the potato moth and virus translocation in potatoes,” she met José Koechlin, the founder and chief executive of Inkaterra Hotels in Peru. He wanted to figure out how to control the wood weevil and moth, both of which had been attacking the eucalyptus beams and other wood used in building Inkaterra’s Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel. He offered Soto a full-time job to help him.

卡門．索托是研究科學家，擁有秘魯庫斯科聖安東尼艾博特國立大學的生態學與自然資源碩士學位。1999年，她在撰寫題為《馬鈴薯蛾的生物防治與馬鈴薯病毒轉移》論文時，遇見秘魯茵卡特拉飯店創辦人兼執行長何塞·科切林。科切林想弄清楚如何防治木頭象鼻蟲跟蛾，這兩種蟲一直在攻擊用來建造茵卡特拉馬丘比丘村飯店的桉樹樑與其他木材，於是他提供索托一份全職工作來幫忙。

Within a year, Soto was the resident biologist and orchid specialist at that hotel and at Inkaterra Asociación, the company’s nonprofit organization. Since then, she and her team of nearly a dozen workers have helped identify 372 orchid species, 22 of which are new. While continuing to identify new species of birds, butterflies and flora in the cloud forest, she also organizes specialized excursions for guests and educational workshops for area schoolchildren.

不出一年，索托成了該飯店及所屬公司非營利組織茵卡特拉協會的常駐生物學家和蘭花專家。到目前為止，她跟近十幾個員工的團隊幫助鑑定了372種蘭花，其中22種是新品種。在雲霧森林內持續鑑定鳥類、蝴蝶與植物新物種的同時，她還幫房客舉辦專門性的短程旅行，並為當地學童辦了教育講習班。

Eco-tourism has been a buzzword in the travel industry for some time now, with more and more hotels giving guests the option to reuse their sheets or to forgo housekeeping entirely in an effort to “protect the environment”. But some hotels, lodges and resorts have taken similar steps as Inkaterra, hiring scientists to conduct serious academic inquiry while also offering nature tours, workshops and classes for guests.

生態旅遊成為旅行業的流行語已有相當時日，愈來愈多飯店讓房客選擇重複使用床單或放棄房務整理，以「保護環境」，但一些飯店、小型旅館和度假村已採取跟茵卡特拉類似的措施，聘用科學家進行嚴肅的學術調查，同時為房客提供自然旅遊、工作坊和課程。

Hotel owners and managers say their ecological efforts trump any financial hits they may take.

飯店老闆和經理說，他們的生態努力勝過了任何他們可能遭受的經濟損失。

“Inkaterra has always had a very important global commitment to sustainability,” said Claire Andre, the research and development manager at Inkaterra Hotels. “If taken separately it may not be economically profitable”

茵卡特拉飯店研發經理克萊兒．安德里說：「茵卡特拉一直對永續性有著非常重要的全球承諾。若是分開來做的話，可能不會帶來經濟利益。」

Two years ago, Mashpi Lodge, perched at 3,117 feet and about a 3 1/2-hour drive from Quito, Ecuador, opened a research lab on its premises. The laboratory is accessible to guests as well as international students working on their dissertations.

兩年前，海拔3117英尺、距厄瓜多首都基多約三個半小時車程的馬緒比旅館，在自家用地上開設一個研究實驗室，而房客以及正在撰寫學位論文的外國學生均可使用該實驗室。

The lab is the creation of Carlos Morochz, who was hired two years before the lodge opened specifically “to conduct a thorough scientific study to fully understand the ecosystems within the reserve and gather as much information as possible about the plant and wildlife of the cloud and rainforests,” said Mashpi’s founder, Roque Sevilla. Today, Mashpi has 12 biologists on staff, and seven studies have been published about the frogs, flowers, butterflies and birds found there.

馬緒比旅館創始人羅克·賽維亞表示，實驗室是旅館開業的兩年之前即雇用的卡洛斯·莫洛茲所創立，而實驗室專門用以進行全面科學研究，以充分了解保護區內的生態系統，並盡可能地收集有關雲霧森林和雨林內植物與野生動物的資訊。目前，馬緒比旅館聘有12名生物學家，且已發表7篇有關當地蛙、花卉、蝴蝶和鳥類的研究報告。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/347420/web/

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每日跟讀#746: 60 Years of Higher Ed — Really?

The 60-year curriculum.

為期60年的課程。

It’s a new way of thinking about higher education. Not as a discrete four years of classroom learning, but stretching over the six decades or so that today’s college students are expected to work over their lifetime.

這是對高等教育的一種新思維，不再是獨立的四年課堂學習，而是延伸60年左右，也就是目前的大學生預計一生之中將會工作的年數。

The 60-year curriculum, which is more an evolving model than a concrete program, is primarily taking shape in the continuing education arm of universities, with the goal of developing a higher education model that is much more nimble. It needs to respond quickly to the reality that employees now change jobs and careers many times and that rapidly evolving industries require them to continually learn new skills.

這種60年的課程與其說是個具體學程，不如說是個正在演進中的模式，主要是在大學的繼續教育部門中形成，目標是發展出一種靈活得多的高等教育模式。它必須對眼下員工經常更換工作和職業，快速演變的產業又需要他們不斷學習新技能的現實迅速做出反應。

“The real driver of the 60-year curriculum is the job market and length of life,” said Huntington D. Lambert, the dean of the division of continuing education and university extension at Harvard University, who is a leader in the movement.

這項運動的領導者之一，哈佛大學繼續教育暨大學延伸院長杭亭頓．藍伯特說：「真正驅動60年課程的力量，來自就業市場和人的壽命。」

The employee of the future, he added, “typically will have a new job every five years, probably for 60 to 80 years, and probably every one of those will require skills you did not learn in college.”

他接著說，未來的員工「很可能在60到80年的時間裡，通常五年就換個工作，而且可能每樣工作都必須具備在大學裡沒有學到的技能」。

While the 60-year curriculum may sound like a new name for lifelong learning, the difference is that it focuses on how an institution can provide formal education courses and programs, said Gary Matkin, dean of the Division of Continuing Education and vice provost of the Division of Career Pathways at the University of California at Irvine.

爾灣加州大學繼續教育學暨職涯路徑學院院長蓋瑞．麥特金表示，雖然60年課程聽起來可能像是終身學習的一個新名稱，但不同之處在於，它側重於一個機構如何提供正規的教育課程跟學程。

“The 60-year curriculum is really the organizing principle behind a lot of different trends in higher education, including the trend of being more accountable and very relevant to the work force needs of a particular region,” said Matkin, who is credited with coining the phrase. “It’s not just inward looking, in terms of students, but also outward looking in how the university can really help the community.”

麥特金說道：「60年課程實際上是高等教育中許多不同趨勢背後的組建原則，包括對特定區域勞力需求更負責任且高度相關的趨勢。它不是只從學生的角度出發向內省視，還向外探看大學如何才能真正幫助社區。」麥特金被公認為這個新名詞的締造者。

It also includes more short courses that emphasize job skills — both hard skills, such as a new computer language or technology, and soft skills, such as learning how to engage in difficult conversations — using real-life problems and case studies.

另外它還納入更多強調工作技能的短期課程，包括新的電腦語言或科技這類硬技能，與學習如何參與困難對話等軟技能，這些課程觸及現實生活中的問題，並做個案研究。

Many continuing education programs already offer some of the elements. For example, the University of Washington Continuum College, which is the continuing education and professional development division of the University of Washington in Seattle, offers 99 certificate programs — most noncredit — as well as 111 graduate degree programs.

許多繼續教育學程已提供前面提到的某些元素，例如華盛頓大學教育拓展學院提供99個證書學程（大多為非學分學程）及111個研究生學位學程。該學院是西雅圖華盛頓大學的繼續教育和專業發展部門。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/346874/web/#2L-15887608L

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每日跟讀#745: Maybe This Time, the Bikes Won’t End Up in the River

In 2013, Rome pulled the plug on its bike share program after it ran out of money and cars kept double-parking in front of its bike racks. Last year, a Hong Kong company gave up after many of its green bicycles ended up in the Tiber river. Months later, a Singapore company bailed after Romans stole the yellow bikes and broke them down for parts.

2013年，由於經費用盡，加上老有汽車並排停在單車架前，羅馬終止了單車共享計畫。去年，在旗下許多綠色自行車落得葬身台伯河的下場後，一家香港公司打了退堂鼓。數月後，一家新加坡公司在羅馬人偷走其黃色單車並拆解拿走零件後，也離開了。

Rome has been a bike share wasteland, but Uber says things will be different for the shiny new red bikes it has introduced all over the city.

羅馬一直是單車共享難以生存的荒原，但優步宣稱，它在全市推出的閃亮紅色新單車會讓情況改觀。

“We’ve tested ours on Rome’s cobblestones,” said Michele Biggi, manager of Uber’s Jump electric-bike program in southwestern Europe, who added that previous competitors’ bikes weren’t up to the city’s demands and “could have fallen down with just a gust of wind.”

優步南歐地區Jump電單車計畫經理米歇爾．畢吉說：「我們已在羅馬的鵝卵石街道上做過測試」，並指以前競爭對手的單車未達到城市的要求，「可能光是一陣風吹過就倒下了」。

He has big plans for the Uber bikes, he said, which “will change Rome and give the city a new lifeblood.”

他說，他為優步單車制定宏偉計畫，這「將改變羅馬且給這座城市注入新的生命力」。

Uber and its competitors have already introduced similar pedal-assisted bikes and electric scooters in Paris; London; Lisbon, Portugal; Brussels and other cities that in several cases are overrun with rolling menaces. (Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, has decried “the scooter anarchy.”) But Rome, the first Italian city to get Uber’s electric-bicycle service, is not any other European city.

優步及其競爭對手已在巴黎、倫敦、里斯本、布魯塞爾及其他城市推出類似的助力單車和電動滑板車，而其中有些城市狀況連連。（巴黎市長安妮．伊達戈曾譴責「滑板車無政府狀態」）。然而，第一個獲得優步電動自行車服務的義大利城市羅馬，可不是任何其他歐洲城市。

Rome could be a bike-share dream in one respect: There is no shortage of demand. The city has only two finished subway lines (a third is perennially under construction), and buses come late, fail to show up and occasionally explode.

從某方面來說，羅馬可以成為共享單車的夢幻國度：不乏需求。該市只有兩條完工的地鐵線路（第三條一直在興建中），而公車則會晚點、不出現，偶爾還會爆炸。

Driving on the city’s notoriously clogged streets is a nightmare. Parking is worse.

在這個城市塞到爆的街道上開車有如噩夢一場，找地方停車更會要了老命。

But the obstacles to a bike share program are daunting: Rome’s infamous potholes, its mounds of uncollected trash, double-parked cars, a strong vandal spirit in place since the actual Vandals sacked Rome, and a local resistance to change and physical exertion.

Rome’s embattled mayor, Virginia Raggi, urged Romans to show that the city is civilized after all.

但單車共享計畫遇到的阻礙也令人生畏：羅馬惡名昭彰的路面坑窪、成堆待收的垃圾、並排停放的汽車、自真正的汪達爾人洗劫羅馬以來就一直存在的強烈破壞精神，以及當地人對改變和體力消耗的抗拒。陷入困境的羅馬市長拉吉敦促羅馬市民，以行動證明這座城市畢竟是文明的。

“If we don’t want these bikes to be badly treated, guess who it is up to?” Raggi said at the Uber bikes’ unveiling Oct. 21. “Romans themselves are the first defense against degradation.”

拉吉10月21日在優步單車發布會上說：「如果我們不希望這些單車受到虐待，猜猜要靠誰呢？羅馬人自己是抵禦毀壞的第一道防線。」

The company is introducing a fleet of 2,800 bicycles that can be left practically anywhere, and they seem to be everywhere.

該公司正推出總數2800輛的自行車隊，使用後幾乎隨處皆可停放，而它們也似乎無所不在。

But not all Romans are fans. “Rome Is Gross” a well-known social media feed decrying the city’s degradation, has posted complaints about the high price of the Uber bikes, which cost 50 cents to unlock and then 20 cents for every minute of use. That is about the rate charged by car-sharing services.

但並非所有羅馬人都很喜歡。譴責城市退化的著名社交媒體消息「羅馬讓人噁心」抱怨優步單車收費高昂，解鎖價格為50美分，每用一分鐘收費20美分，這跟汽車共享服務費率差不多。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/347676/web/#2L-16028705L

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每日跟讀#744: About health: Skin problems related to sugar intake

A study conducted by the Queensland University of Technology found that consuming a lot of sugar boosts your dopamine level as much as cocaine does and once it falls down you would want that dopamine boost again.

昆士蘭科技大學的一項研究發現，攝入大量的糖能像古柯鹼一樣提高多巴胺濃度，一旦多巴胺濃度下降，你會想要再次攝入糖來刺激多巴胺分泌。

The inflammation that happens when you eat foods with a high glycemic index can worsen certain skin conditions. High-glycemic foods such as white bread, soda, salad dressings, candy, and other baked goods contain refined and processed sugars and starches that cause your insulin to spike.

在吃一些高升糖指數的食物時，引起的發炎會讓一些皮膚狀況惡化。高血糖食物，例如白麵包、汽水、沙拉醬、糖果以及其他含有精製加工的糖及澱粉之烘焙食物，會導致胰島素飆升。

Rising insulin levels subsequently increases the inflammation in the skin. And since inflammation is a key component in the formation of acne, you end up seeing flare-ups and an increase in the amount of acne on your face.

不斷上升的胰島素水平接著會加劇皮膚發炎，而發炎是粉刺形成的一個關鍵因素，因此臉上的粉刺會爆發，數量也會增加。

Too much sugar can also aggravate other skin conditions such as rosacea, eczema and psoriasis. Because of this, if you have any kind of inflammatory issues, it is best to avoid excessive sugar intake.

過多的糖還會加重其他皮膚問題，比如酒糟性皮膚炎、濕疹和乾癬。正因為如此，有發炎困擾的人最好避免攝入過多的糖。

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’Global epidemic’ of childhood inactivity 「全球流行性的」孩童運動不足

Four in five 11- to 17-year-olds around the world are not taking enough physical exercise, according to the first such analysis.

全球介於11歲至17歲的孩童，有5分之4的比例運動不足，根據一份首見的此類型分析。

The study, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal and produced by researchers from the World Health Organization （WHO）, finds that more than 80% of school-going adolescents globally did not meet current recommendations of at least one hour of physical activity per day – including 85% of girls and 78% of boys.

該研究發表在「刺胳針兒童暨青少年健康」期刊，由世界衛生組織（WHO）的研究人員執行，發現全球超過80％在學的青少年，沒有達到每天至少1小時的運動建議量，其中包括85％女孩、78％男孩沒達標。

The study – which is based on data reported by 1.6 million 11 to 17-year-old students – finds that across all 146 countries studied between 2001-2016 girls were less active than boys in all but four （Tonga, Samoa, Afghanistan and Zambia）.

根據160萬名11歲至17歲學童的通報資料，該研究發現，全球146個國家在2001年至2016年間，女孩的運動量皆低於男孩，但有4個國家（東加、薩摩亞、阿富汗、尚比亞）例外。

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1335936 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1336658

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每日跟讀#743: French government spells out pension plan to calm strikes

France’s prime minister said Wednesday that the full retirement age will be increased for the country’s youngest, but offered concessions in an ill-fated effort to calm a nationwide protest against pension reforms that critics say will erode the nation’s way of life.

法國總理週三宣布，政府將對國內最年輕的世代提高法定退休年齡，但同時也做出讓步，只是仍然無法平息全國各地針對年金改革的抗議。批評者認為，年金改革將侵蝕法國的生活方式。

The government is trying to make the pensions system sustainable and simpler but is facing public pressure, including a week of the most debilitating transport strikes in decades.

法國政府試圖讓該國的年金制度得以永續發展，並且將其簡化，卻同時面臨公眾壓力，包括持續一整個星期、堪稱數十年來影響最嚴重的交通運輸業大罷工。

All metro lines bar two were closed and many train routes remained canceled as unions dug in their heels against President Emmanuel Macron, whom they accuse of shaping policies in favor of the rich.

地鐵全面停駛，只剩兩條路線仍在營運，許多火車班次繼續停開，因為工會下定決心拒絕向總統艾曼紐‧馬克宏妥協，他們指控馬克宏制定政策來圖利富人。

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe detailed the pension reforms in a speech on Wednesday in central Paris, saying that the French “will need to work longer.” People born after 1974 will have to work until the age of 64 to get a full pension, instead of 62 previously. Those born before that date will not be affected in any way, he said.

法國總理艾德華‧菲利普週三在巴黎的一場演講中詳細說明了年金改革制度，並表示法國人「將會必須工作久一點」。他指出，一九七四年之後出生的人將要工作到六十四歲才能領到全額年金，而非現行規定的六十二歲，而該日期之前出生的人將不會受到任何影響。

The system replaces a complicated pension system that included dozens of special privileges for some sectors, like public transport, with one set of rules for all.

新制度將以一套全體適用的規則取代現行複雜的年金制度，現行制度中包含數十種給予大眾運輸等行業的特別優惠。

Philippe said the changes would ensure the pension system is “fair and sustainable” in the face of a growing population with a record number of people over 90.

菲利普總理表示，面臨逐漸增加的人口、超過九十歲的人數破紀錄，這項改變將會確保年金制度「公平而且能夠永續維持」。

Many French people and the unions leading the strikes fear the new system will force people to work longer for smaller pension allocations.

許多法國人，以及主導罷工的工會，都相當擔心這項新制度將會強迫人們工作得更久，最後卻只能換來較少的年金分配額。

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