通勤學英語 15Mins Today

每日跟讀#739: Gymnastics move officially named after Taiwanese athlete

“Gymnast genie” Ting Hua-tien turned 17 on Oct. 11, and has just received a belated birthday gift. She has officially been awarded accreditation by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG, International Federation of Gymnastics) for a modified gymnastics move, given a “D” level of difficulty and named after her. Ting is the first Taiwanese to have ever achieved this.

體操精靈」丁華恬在十月十一日滿十七歲，近日終於收到遲來的生日大禮，憑藉改良後的地板動作，正式獲國際體操總會認可，未來有一D難度動作以「丁華恬」為名，成為台灣第一人。

There have been previous attempts by Taiwanese gymnasts to have moves they have developed named after them. Lin Hsiang-wei has tried to register the “Lin Hsiang-wei turn” on the pommel horse and “Pommel Horse King” Lee Chih-kai this year also applied. Unfortunately, in the end neither attempt proved successful.

台灣過去有多名選手開發新動作並申請命名，鞍馬好手林祥威以「林祥威轉體」及聲勢如日中天的「鞍馬王子」李智凱在今年進行申請，可惜兩人最終未能如願寫下歷史。

Ting performed her new move for the first time in an international competition at this year’s Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Melbourne. Since the move was a modified element of a longer routine, Ting was the first person in the world to actually perform it, and coach Tsai Heng-cheng decided to apply for it to be named after Ting before anyone else could do so, so that its level of difficulty could be reflected in the scoring.

丁華恬在今年世界盃墨爾本站首次在國際賽展現新動作，即使該動作屬透過改良並延伸出的另種套路，正好是世界第一位使用的選手，為了讓動作難度被承認及加分，教練蔡恆政才決定搶先申請命名。

After a long wait, the FIG finally officially announced that the move would be written into the history books as the “Ting Hua-tien move.” Now gymnasts from around the world can start applying the move in their routines in competitions.

經過許久等待，FIG近日終於正式公告確定「丁華恬」為名之動作能在歷史留名，目前各國選手也有人開始採「丁華恬」動作進行比賽。

According to Tsai, “The Ting Hua-tien routine is an extension of an original move, and I thought she performed it particularly well and that we could use it in international competitions. Then, during the Asian Championships one of the judges suggested that we apply for it to be named after her, and now it has been officially recognized, and become another element for us to include.”

Ting has made a name for herself in Taiwanese gymnastics this year: in addition to having a move named after her, she also qualified in this year’s 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships for the Tokyo Olympics, making her the first Taiwanese female gymnast in 51 years to qualify for the games.

蔡恆政透露：「丁華恬這套動作是從原有動作進行延伸，起初只想說做起來不錯，也能在國際賽使用，而當時在澳洲大獎賽有裁判建議我們申請命名，最後確定獲總會認證，成為意外的插曲。」

丁華恬是今年台灣體操最風光的女將，除了動作獲認可及命名，她在今年世錦賽搶下台灣相隔51年首張奧運女子體操入場券。

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2019/12/02/2003726788

更多跟讀練習單元，就在http://www.15mins.today/daily-shadowing

用email訂閱就可以收到所有15mins.Today最新節目通知。

每日跟讀#738: Communism crumbles: 30 years on since the fall of the Berlin Wall

Nov. 9 marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, an iconic physical representation of the Iron Curtain. The event led to the reunification of East and West Germany and the eventual collapse of the communist regimes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

十一月九日是柏林圍牆倒塌三十週年。作為最有代表性的具象化鐵幕，柏林圍牆的倒下不但揭開了東西德統一的序幕，最後更導致蘇聯及東歐共產主義政府的瓦解。

The Iron Curtain was an ideological and physical separation of communist Eastern Europe from the West following World War II. The term “iron curtain” was popularized after it was used by former British prime minister Winston Churchill in a landmark speech in the US in March 1946. “From Stettin [now called Szczecin] in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent,” declared Churchill, then leader of the opposition Conservatives. His comments were seen as an opening salvo in the Cold War that pitted the Soviet Union and the West against each other for more than four decades.

「鐵幕」是第二次世界大戰後，共產主義東歐與西方在意識型態上和實際上的分隔。

「iron curtain」（鐵幕）一詞被廣泛使用，是由於前英國首相溫斯頓‧邱吉爾一九四六年三月在美國發表的一場具里程碑意義的演說。時任英國反對黨領袖的保守黨黨魁邱吉爾說道：「從波羅的海的斯德丁〔現稱斯塞新〕到亞得里亞海的第里雅斯特，鐵幕橫跨〔歐洲〕大陸垂降下來」。邱吉爾此語被認為是冷戰的開場白，開啟此後四十多年蘇聯和西方之間的冷戰對抗。

The term had been coined earlier. Russian writer Vasily Rozanov, in his 1918 book The Apocalypse of Our Time, wrote “an iron curtain is being lowered, creaking and squeaking, at the end of Russian history.”

「鐵幕」一詞之杜撰其實還要更早些。俄羅斯作家瓦西里‧羅札諾夫在他一九一八年的書《我們時代的啟示》中寫道：「鐵幕正被降下，在俄羅斯歷史的盡頭嘎吱嘎吱尖聲作響」。

The ideological barrier between Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and the West gradually became a physical one spanning thousands of kilometers. To stop citizens from fleeing to the West, Soviet-dominated Eastern European countries began erecting various forms of barriers using barbed-wire, ditches and concrete walls. The separations were controlled by alarms, watchtowers, mines and soldiers.

蘇聯控制的東歐跟西方之間的意識型態隔閡，逐漸成為橫跨數千公里的實體分界。被蘇聯支配的東歐國家為阻擋其國民逃向西方，開始用鐵絲網、壕溝和水泥牆架設各種形式的屏障，並以警鈴、瞭望塔、地雷和士兵戒備。

Socialist Hungary put up the first section in 1949, building a 260km barbed wire fence along its border with Austria. The Berlin Wall was an icon of the Iron Curtain. In 1952 Soviet-satellite East Germany constructed a 10m-wide barbed wire buffer along the entire length of its border with West Germany.

這分隔首次築起是在一九四九年，匈牙利社會主義政權在與奧地利的邊界架起了兩百六十公里長的鐵絲網藩籬。柏林圍牆是鐵幕的代表。一九五二年，蘇聯的附庸國東德，沿著與西德間的整條邊界建造了十公尺寬的刺網緩衝帶。

However, people were still able to get across in the divided city of Berlin, with about 3 million fleeing the East via this route between 1952 and 1961. To stop this important loss of manpower, East Germany in 1961 began constructing a wall. Made of reinforced concrete and wire mesh, the Berlin Wall stretched for 155km.

但人們還是可以穿越分裂的柏林市──在一九五二年到一九六一年之間，大約有三百萬人經由此路線逃離東柏林。為阻止這嚴重的人力流失，東德於一九六一年開始建造隔離牆。柏林圍牆由鋼筋混凝土和金屬絲網所築成，長達一百五十五公里。

Eastern European citizens were only allowed to visit the West under strict conditions and those who tried to cross over without permission did so at great risk. About 600-700 people died trying to escape East Germany, about 140 at the Berlin Wall.

東歐公民必須符合嚴格的條件才能夠造訪西方，未獲許可而試圖越境的人則冒了很大的風險。大約有六百至七百人因試圖逃離東德而死，約一百四十人死於柏林圍牆。

The first crack in the Iron Curtain appeared in May 1989 when Hungary decided to start opening its border with Austria. On Aug. 19 the frontier was to be symbolically opened for a few hours for a Pan-European Picnic. More than 600 East Germans holidaying in Hungary took advantage and fled to the West. It was the first mass exodus since the 1961 construction of the Berlin Wall.

Soon afterwards Eastern Europe’s communist regimes started to tumble.

鐵幕的第一個裂縫在一九八九年五月出現──匈牙利決定開始開放與奧地利的邊界。為配合和平示威活動「泛歐野餐」，該邊境原本只是要在八月十九日象徵性地開放數小時。六百多名在匈牙利度假的東德人便趁機逃往西方。這是一九六一年柏林圍牆樹立以來東德人民首次大規模出走。

此後不久，東歐各國的共產主義政權開始崩潰。

East Germans began to demonstrate, and on Nov. 9, 1989 the regime unexpectedly granted them the right to travel to the West freely. Thousands flocked to the wall, and disoriented border guards opened the checkpoints. Throughout the night, euphoric Berliners celebrated. Perching on the wall, they used pickaxes to knock out chunks. Within two years the Soviet Union had imploded; the Iron Curtain falling with it.

東德人開始示威，一九八九年十一月九日，東德政權出乎意料地授予人民自由前往西方的權利。數千人湧向隔離牆，不知所措的邊防軍打開了檢查哨站。欣喜若狂的柏林人整夜歡呼雀躍、坐在牆上，並用尖鋤把牆一塊塊打下。此後兩年間蘇聯內爆，鐵幕也隨之瓦解。

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2019/11/19/2003726077/2

更多跟讀練習單元，就在http://www.15mins.today/daily-shadowing

用email訂閱就可以收到所有15mins.Today最新節目通知。

Welcome to 15mins.today, the home of English Shadowing.

I’m your host Gavin and this is InTense Episode 29. Well guys in this episode we will be looking at prepositions, and we'll be looking specifically at those that we use for where we are. Where are you? I am “at in on” whatever.

So it's very simple we are going to start very big and then focus more and more inward. So let's start big, we are in a galaxy, we are in the Milky Way, we are in the universe. Where in the universe are we located? We are in this solar system showing that the biggest of all sizes we start with “in” from there we go and we focus down to where we are. And we are on Earth, so we live on Earth in the Milky Way galaxy that's great. So we are on Earth, now we go back to “in.” We are in the northern hemisphere. So there's the Southern Hemisphere which is below the Equator and the Northern Hemisphere which is above the Equator, and we live in the Northern Hemisphere. And from there we go down to our country, and we lived in Taiwan, in Thailand, in Australia, you live in a country.

So from a country we go down again and “Where do you live? I live in Taipei City.” So I live in Taipei City, in Taiwan, in the northern hemisphere, sorry, and then on Earth and in the Milky Way galaxy. Right, now we are in Taipei and here's an interesting one, “What street do you live on? I live on Jongshan Street. I live on Nanjing Street.” So on a street, in a city, on a street. I should add a district, if you live in Songshan, if it's a district you can use “in.” But the street is “on,” so that's correct. So in Taipei, in Songshan, on Nanjing Road. Okay so we are on our road, we are in a building, you can ,if you know the name, you can say “We are in the Chicken Building.” If you know the name of the building. Great and from there I will say, “Where are you in the building?” Oh, I'm on the third, floor on the fourth floor. On the floor and after your floor, you can say I'm in room 55, in office 23, or in apartment 26 D. So we're in an apartment and when we get in the apartment, we are in a room.

“ I'm in the bathroom, in the living room, in the kitchen.”

Now the one that's interesting is, if we are at a place, like a shop and we know the name, “I'm in a shop.” But if we know the name, we could say, “I am at Sogo, I am at my bank, I am at my hospital.” Or we usually save “the” because we usually attend the same hospital so, “I'm at the hospital.” Now for those of you work in the office, I am in the office, I am at work and I'm sitting at my desk. So that is I think, it’s about as close as we can get to it. So I hope that helps with using prepositions of location. So let's get started with the questions!

Drill Sentences:

Is it in our solar system? Yes, it is in our solar system.

Is it in our solar system? No, it is not in our solar system.

Is it on Earth? Yes, it is on Earth.

Is it on Earth? No, it is not on Earth.

Is it in the Southern Hemisphere? Yes, it is in the Southern Hemisphere.

Is it in the Southern Hemisphere? No, it is not in the Southern Hemisphere.

Is it in India? Yes, it is in India.

Is it in India? No, it is not in India.

Is it in Bangkok? Yes. it is in Bangkok.

Is it in Bangkok? No. it is not in Bangkok.

Is it in the Jongshan area? Yes. it is in the Jongshan area.

Is it in the Jongshan area? No. it is not in the Jongshan area

Is it on Main Street? Yes. it is on Main Street.

Is it on Main Street? No. it is not on Main Street.

Are you at 101? Yes. I am at 101.

Are you at 101? No. I'm not at 101.

Are you in 101? Yes. I am in 101.

Are you in 101? No. I am not in 101.

Are you on the third floor? Yes. I am on the third floor.

Are you on the third floor? No. I am not on the third floor.

Are you in apartment 5c? Yes. I am in apartment 5c.

Are you in apartment 5c? No. I am not in apartment 5c.

Are you in the bathroom? Yes. I am in the bathroom.

Are you in the bathroom? No. I am not in the bathroom.

Where are you? I am at work, at my desk.

Do you like shopping at Sogo? Yes. I like shopping at Sogo.

Do you like shopping at Sogo? No. I do not like shopping at Sogo.

Well guys, I hope that helps, keep repeating and repeating. Have a great day and catch you next time, bye!

Summary:

This article discusses how vegan meat products are taking the world by storm, India being one of the first markets due to the huge number of vegans there.

Taiwan has joined the world with many outlets now selling vegan options and also vegan meat burgers from various suppliers. The future seems to be plant-based meat!

Vocabulary and Sample Sentences:

Vegan n.: A person who eats no animal products at all, only plant based products.

1. Are you a vegan?

Chain n.: A group pf restaurants, hotels or shops.

1. Is KFC a global chain restaurant?

Wholly adv.: Completely / totally

1. Is the product wholly organic?

用email訂閱就可以收到所有15mins.Today最新節目通知。 

每日跟讀#737: Be All That You Can Be: Protect Artworks

It’s no secret that the war-ravaged nations where U.S. soldiers have been enmeshed in conflict for nearly two decades are home to many of civilization’s oldest and most prized antiquities and cultural treasures.

眾所皆知，美軍將近20年來捲入一些國家的衝突，而這些飽受戰爭蹂躪的國家，正是人類文明最古老且最珍貴的文物和文化寶藏所在之地。

But in the heat of battle in Afghanistan or Iraq, how are troops to know whether they are taking their positions behind mounds of insignificant rubble or inside the precious remains of a 3,000-year-old temple complex?

不過，軍隊在阿富汗或伊拉克激戰時，又怎麼能知道所在陣地是無關緊要的瓦礫堆後方，還是珍貴的3000年古廟遺跡之內？

The Pentagon’s answer is to take a page from one of World War II’s most storied military units, the teams of art experts known as the Monuments Men who recovered millions of European treasures looted by the Nazis.

美國國防部的因應之道，是取法於二次世界大戰中最有名的軍事單位之一，也就是由一群藝術專家組成團隊，去找回納粹劫掠的數以百萬計的歐洲珍寶，這些團隊被稱為「大尋寶家」。

The Army is forming a new group with a similar mandate to be composed of commissioned officers of the Army Reserve who are museum directors or curators, archivists, conservators and archaeologists in addition to new recruits with those qualifications. They will be based at the Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

美國陸軍正建立一個新團隊，職責與「大尋寶家」類似，除了新聘具備博物館館長或策展人、檔案專業人員、文物保存人員、考古學家等資格人才外，還徵召目前從事這些職務的陸軍預備役軍官。他們會駐守在北卡羅來納州布雷格堡的陸軍民事與心理作戰司令部。

“In conflict, the destruction of monuments and the looting of art are not only about the loss of material things, but also about the erasure of history, knowledge, and a people’s identity,” Richard Kurin, an anthropologist and Distinguished Scholar at the Smithsonian, said. “The cooperation between the Smithsonian and the U.S. Army aims to prevent this legal and moral crime of war.”

人類學家、美國史密森學會「傑出學者」庫林說：「在衝突中，破壞歷史遺跡和洗劫藝術品，不只造成物質損失，還抹滅了歷史、知識和民族認同。史密森學會和陸軍這項合作旨在防止這種法律和道德上的戰爭罪行。」

Scott DeJesse, a Texas painter and lecturer at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and an Army Reserve colonel who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the new group’s mission is not to hunt down missing works of art in castles and salt mines, as the World War II force did. Instead it is to provide a scholarly liaison for military commanders and the local authorities to help secure the cultural heritage of the regions involved and rebuild civil society in war and disaster zones.

德傑斯是德州的畫家、賓州卡萊爾市美國陸軍戰爭學院的講師，也是陸軍預備役上校，曾在伊拉克與阿富汗服役，他說，新團隊的任務不像二戰的大尋寶家那樣，要在城堡和鹽礦場裡找到下落不明的藝術品，而是要為軍事指揮官和當地政府提供與學界溝通的管道，以保護相關地區的文化遺產，並在戰區和受害地區重建公民社會。

The new group will also aim to inform the U.S. military and allied forces of sites to avoid in airstrikes and ground fighting, and places where it should try to forestall looting. Those prevention and detection efforts conform to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property, which the United States joined in 2009.

新團隊還有另一個任務，就是告知美軍和盟軍從事空襲及地面作戰時該避開哪些地方，還有該在哪些地方預防文物遭洗劫。這些預防和偵察措施與1954年「保護文化財產的海牙公約」精神一致。美國2009年加入公約。

The initiative comes at an urgent time for a region where human settlement dates back as far as 10,000 years and includes the remnants of Mesopotamian, Sumerian, Persian, Assyrian and Babylonian cultures. Afghanistan has been pillaged and desecrated by the Taliban for two decades; the Islamic State has wrought destruction and looted artifacts in Iraq, Syria and Libya; and rebel factions have sacked museums and mosques in Yemen.

新單位設立出現在對某一地區十分緊要的時刻。這地區一萬年前就有人類居住，有美索不達米亞、蘇美、波斯、亞述、巴比倫文化的遺跡。阿富汗文物被神學士組織搶劫和褻瀆已有20年；激進組織「伊斯蘭國」在伊拉克、敘利亞和利比亞大舉破壞和劫掠文物；葉門的博物館和清真寺亦遭叛軍洗劫。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/347108/web/

更多跟讀練習單元，就在http://www.15mins.today/daily-shadowing

用email訂閱就可以收到所有15mins.Today最新節目通知。