提高写作，从阅读开始——每天一篇Economist文章
感觉现在写作已经到达了比较尴尬的境地了。表意没有困难，但是写出来的词句都不精炼。咨询了高人之后说我是没有“输入”，所以没有“输出”。之前搞申请，Economist也没有坚持看。现在有空了，重起炉灶。多话不说了，欢迎大家指教::z1：原文地址：
http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15570484&source=features_box_main
[color=Red]红色是不懂的地方[/color]，[color=Blue]蓝色是自己做的笔记[/color]：
GORDON BROWN is anything but idle these days. On February 22nd, [color=Blue]extolling(赞扬) [/color]the merits of Britain to representatives of 250 big companies at a Global Investment Conference in London, he was the perfect economic statesman. Two days earlier, speaking to the party [color=Red]faithful in Coventry(俗语?)[/color], he was a [color=Blue]gloves-off(习语：There is going to be a serious dispute. As if boxers had removed their gloves in order to inflict more damage.) [/color]political [color=Blue]streetfighter（见wiki：[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetfighter[/url]） [/color]as, in effect, he launched the Labour Party’s general-election campaign with the slogan “A future [color=Red]fair for all（应该是fair to all吧？）[/color]”. Whichever version is the real Mr Brown these days, the next couple of months (an election is due by June 3rd and expected on May 6th) will be testing ones.
In an interview with The Economist on February 22nd, Mr Brown touched on four main themes. The recent recession, he said, was “the first crisis of globalisation”, and required global solutions. The financial crisis of 2008-09 was “a huge turning point…The world has had to recognise its interdependence…” The question is whether the G20 will have sufficient momentum to deal with the outstanding problems, especially the regulation of global finance. On climate change, financial stability, nuclear weapons, terrorism, we need to be capable of “pushing for and delivering global solutions”. As to Europe’s role in this, the prime minister is concerned about its sluggish economic growth and ageing population. “Europe’s got to get a growth strategy,” he says.
The prime minister has had a [color=Red]torrid（炎热的引申为难熬的？）[/color]time lately. An unusually personal (“very difficult”) television interview on February 14th seems to have done him some good in the polls. But the bounce was overtaken by allegations at the weekend that workers at 10 Downing Street felt bullied, that the cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell, had spoken to the Mr Brown about controlling his temper and that employees had complained to a bullying helpline. “The cabinet secretary has made it clear that he’s had no inquiries, there’s been no [color=Blue]reprimand（责备）[/color], there’s been no private message to me…[The] story is completely wrong,” says Mr Brown.
With regard to the war of words between Labour and the [color=Blue]Tories（英国保守党）[/color] over fiscal policy, the government’s deficit-reduction plan “is probably the most ambitious of any of the G7 countries. It contains, obviously, [color=Blue]public-spending（见wiki：[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_spending#Public_spending_in_Europe[/url]）[/color] economies, cuts in some departments, efficiency savings in others, but protection of the front-line services in health and education and policing. It contains tax rises…I wish we hadn’t had to do that but…it is necessary to show that you have got a sensible and credible plan over a number of years…”
But with both Labour and the Tories talking of cutting the deficit over the next parliament, what once seemed a gulf between [color=Red]axe-wielding（挥舞斧头的？引申为嚣张的？）[/color] Tories and big-spending Labour has been reduced. So on the biggest question of the coming election, is there much of a difference? “There [color=Red]is（应该是are吧？）[/color] a big choice for 2010 and a big choice for the future,” the prime minister says. “I think people are going to take a very hard look at Conservative economic policy, because it has changed so much over days as well as weeks and [color=Red]there is no sense that have got a coherent way of dealing with the problems of 2010.（That 引导的是什么从句？）[/color]” As for the future: “they say they will cut the deficit faster, but at the same time they have these huge tax commitments,” he says, referring to Tory pledges to lower inheritance tax and recognise marriage in the tax code. “None of it [color=Blue]adds up（=makes sense）[/color].” And “there is a recklessness about Conservative policy where it changes every second day according to the latest fad.”
On public services, Mr Brown enumerates Labour successes such as reducing the number of failing schools, improving pupils’ performance, increasing the number who stay on at secondary school and attend university and speeding up care on the National Health Service. He promises further “personalisation” of services. The Conservatives, he says, would destroy the NHS guarantees that Labour has built up.
Mr Brown says he feels “no personal [color=Blue]animosity（仇恨）[/color]” towards anyone in politics, and that includes his Conservative opponent, David Cameron. It’s all about the policies. The coming contest is “the first election of the global age”. Labour hopes to [color=Blue]sort out（整理）[/color] the global financial system and the rules of world economic engagement, build up Britain’s infrastructure (in partnership with business), improve the skills of its workers and implement a creative, high-tech, low-carbon industrial policy designed to create the jobs of the future. All very admirable. But winning the election—no small challenge—seems easy by comparison. really an excellent way to improve English~
and the key is to persist~:loveliness: joker，同感+痛感。英语写作出不来漂亮的句子，原因就是输出太少。
我在日本，日语也是外语，非常受影响忘记英语。所以要加强英文学习。
我们一起来吧。
输出在我开那个帖子里，输入来你这里。okay？:loveliness:
回复 3# asahi 的帖子
sure...争取把学到的词句用上::81 我也在坚持看经济学人，很想知道你们是怎么使用这份杂志来提高写作的。有没有必要背诵一些句子。还有LZ这句：咨询了高人之后说我是没有“输入”，所以没有“输出”。不明白意思也:::z5
三楼小叮当版主的输出帖子是？
和LZ共勉。::z1
回复 5# fyshine 的帖子
阅读是输入啊，写作就是输出嘛。。。::z1输出见此：
[url]http://bbs.taisha.org/viewthread.php?tid=1484945[/url] 原文地址：
http://www.economist.com/world/united-states/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15570434&source=features_box2
HEALTH reform has been the Obama administration’s main domestic policy priority for nearly a year, but the president himself has been frustratingly slippery on the topic. Although he has given plenty of speeches on the topic and discussed various worthy ideas, he has sounded more like a [color=Red]chin-stroking（没查到）[/color] academic than a [color=Blue]tough-minded（坚强的，实际的）[/color] politician. Until now, he has preferred to let Congress come up with specific proposals. Then, on Monday February 22nd, Mr Obama at last unveiled his own set of proposals for reforming America’s troubled health system.
It is a gamble [color=Blue]bred（breed这里应该是当“导致”讲）[/color] of desperation. Mr Obama’s [color=Blue]aloof（疏远）[/color] strategy, adopted in response to the failure of Bill Clinton’s micro-managed attempt at health reform over a decade earlier, seemed shrewd just a few weeks ago. After months of [color=Blue]wrangling（争吵）[/color], the Democrats did manage to push (slightly different) reform bills through the House and the Senate; all they needed to do was to reconcile them into a final law. But before they could, the upset Republican victory in the recent Senate race in Massachusetts robbed the Democrats of the 60 votes they need for easy passage in the upper house.
That has made it extremely difficult for Democrats to pass health reform this year. But not impossible: Democrats could yet win over a few Republicans, or try to push a bill through the Senate using a [color=Blue]manoeuvre（运作）[/color] known as “budget reconciliation”—which requires 51, not 60, votes in that chamber. Either, veteran analysts agree, would be a long shot（a [color=Blue]venture（事业）[/color] involving great risk but promising a great reward if successful also : a venture unlikely to succeed）.
Mr Obama insisted in his [color=Blue]state-of-the-union speech（见wiki：[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_Union_address[/url]）[/color] that he would push for comprehensive reform this year. He has promised to listen more carefully to Republican ideas and plans to hold a televised health summit with the opposition on February 25th. His aides suggest that he is now open to using the controversial tactic of budget reconciliation for health reform.
At heart Mr Obama’s reform proposals are similar to those contained in a comprehensive health bill passed by the Senate just before Christmas. Using a mix of regulation and subsidies, Mr Obama’ s plan would also restructure the health-insurance market so that individuals would be required to purchase coverage and insurers would be mandated to provide it. But [color=Blue]seizing on（seize on/upon sth recognize sth and exploit it, use it, etc eagerly and at once） [/color]recent popular outrage at rate increases announced by regional health insurers (rises of 39% were announced for some Californians, for example), Mr Obama’s proposal would go further, creating a panel to watch for “unreasonable or unjustified” increases.
Mr Obama’s plan does differ in some other ways. To get the Senate bill passed, Democratic leaders had to cut special deals that [color=Blue]stank [color=Black]of[/color]（seem very unpleasant, bad or dishonest）[/color] corruption. For example, labour unions hated a tax on [color=Blue]gold-plated insurance plans（参考资料：[url]http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112892160[/url]）[/color] found in the Senate bill (because their members often enjoy such plans), so dealmakers [color=Blue]carved out（build by hard work）[/color] an exemption for them. Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson refused to join the[color=Blue] caucus（a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction usually to select candidates or to decide on policy also : a group of people united to promote an agreed-upon cause）[/color] unless the federal government paid for his state’s extra costs for Medicaid, a government health scheme for the indigent. Now Mr Obama’s plan simply extends these special deals to everyone.
This largesse comes at a price. The administration estimates that its bundle of proposals will cost some $950 billion, a price tag which falls between the cost of the Senate bill ($871 billion) and the House version (over one trillion dollars). This estimate breaks Mr Obama’ s pledge to keep any reform effort under $900 billion. And that $950 billion figure may yet grow. The Congressional Budget Office, an official agency that is the referee in such matters, this week said that the president’s plan does not offer enough detail for the agency to determine its likely cost.
In sum, the proposal looks like a gamble. Because budget reconciliation must be finalised within two months, the strength of his hand will become clear shortly. Even if health reform does fail this year, however, critics can no longer say that was because Mr Obama refused to enter the [color=Blue]scrum（混战）.[/color]
回复 1# joker_gf 的帖子
Two days earlier, speaking to the party [color=Red]faithful in Coventry(俗语?)[/color],是speaking to (the party faithful) (in Conventry)么？对党的忠诚？Conventry就是一地名吧……？
with the slogan “A future [color=Red]fair for all（应该是fair to all吧？）[/color]”
人家好不容易想出来的口号你也要怀疑啊……？::z2 应该两个差不多的吧……？
The prime minister has had a [color=Red]torrid（炎热的引申为难熬的？）[/color]time lately.
是的吧……
what once seemed a gulf between [color=Red]axe-wielding（挥舞斧头的？引申为嚣张的？）[/color] Tories and big-spending Labour has been reduced.
差不多吧……激愤的？(helejixuede.....?::z2)
“There [color=Red]is（应该是are吧？）[/color] a big choice for 2010 and a big choice for the future,”
不太清楚……是不是两个 big choice 就是指的同一个choice……所以用了 is？或者是 and also a big choice for the future.....?
“I think people are going to take a very hard look at Conservativeeconomic policy, because it has changed so much over days as well asweeks and [color=Red]there is no sense that have got a coherent way of dealing with the problems of 2010.（That 引导的是什么从句？）[/color]”
主语从句……？there is no sense that (they == people?) have got a coherent way.....? 少了一主语……？
回复 7# joker_gf 的帖子
he has sounded more like a [color=Red]chin-stroking（没查到）[/color] academic类似于安抚政策……？
回复 8# Deutsch137 的帖子
最后那个句子经高人鉴定是错句。。。[url]http://bbs.taisha.org/thread-1486795-1-1.html[/url]
回复 10# joker_gf 的帖子
我觉得可能还是省略了 people 么.....把 because 那句去掉看，不就是 I think 后面加了两个从句么……然后第二个省略了主语 people.....? 帮我解答下面的问题吧::z1
The world`s food companies can claim to be [color=red]setting[/color] a good example:they have been working up quite...
这里的 setting，用的ing,不明白。
the actual level may be higher [color=red]still[/color] since the figures are based on polls asking people if they are fat, and self-reporting produces underestimates.
这里的still是副词吧，什么意思？
回复 11# Deutsch137 的帖子
whatever，就算是的话省略主语本来就是不对的。。。回复 12# fyshine 的帖子
不定式的进行时still修饰higher，副词 [quote]原帖由 [i]joker_gf[/i] 于 2010-2-25 22:07 发表 [url=http://www.taisha.org/bbs/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=17037981&ptid=1484821][img]http://www.taisha.org/bbs/images/common/back.gif[/img][/url]
不定式的进行时
still修饰higher，副词 [/quote]
这一句为什么要用动名词？
还有第二句里的still的意思是 仍然？
[[i] 本帖最后由 fyshine 于 2010-2-25 22:58 编辑 [/i]] 你用to set也没错，用进行时就是表示“正在”
非要翻成中文的话应该是“还要”：“实际水平可能（比这）还要高。。。” IT WAS only a matter of time before Google, the technology titan of the internet age, found itself in [color=Blue]antitrust（wiki：[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antitrust[/url]）[/color] trouble. On February 24th it emerged, through a post on one of Google’s official blogs, that the European Commission has launched a preliminary investigation into the firm’s online search and advertising businesses—the first antitrust inquiry Google has faced in Brussels, other than in [color=Blue]merger cases（合并案）[/color].
Three complaints triggered the investigation. Foundem, a British price-comparison service, and ejustice.fr, a French legal search-engine, say that Google has unfairly pushed them down the list of its search results. Ciao!, a European online-shopping site, has complained that Google dictates minimum bid levels in the auctions for advertising [color=Blue]slots（广告位）[/color] which appear next to its search results.
But the main force agitating against Google is Microsoft, its [color=Blue]archrival（主要对手）[/color]. It owns Ciao! and in recent months it has also [color=Blue]ramped up（=increase）[/color] its efforts to rally Google’s rivals and other companies whose business has been disrupted by the online giant. In Brussels, for instance, it is [color=Blue]bankrolling（=funding）[/color] an industry group called ICOMP, which has [color=Blue]lobbied（to attempt to influence or sway (as a public official) toward a desired action） [/color]the commission to look into these cases and counts Foundem among its members.
Whatever their merits, the cases mark the two areas where Google is most vulnerable when it comes to antitrust. For one, it dominates the market for online search in America, and even more so in Europe, where it has a market share of about 80%. The firm is now as essential a component of the market’s infrastructure as the physical network itself, critics say. This is why regulators are keen to ensure “search neutrality”. Adam Raff, a co-founder of Foundem, defines as this as “the principle that search engines should have no editorial policies other than that their results be comprehensive, impartial and based solely on relevance.”
Ciao!’s complaint targets Google’s dominant position in search advertising. The firm accounts for more than 90% of this market in Europe—which makes it a problem that its advertising system is essentially a “black box”, critics say. It is not clear why certain advertisers have to pay a minimum bid, how advertisements are ranked or how it comes up with the amounts it pays websites when they run advertisements managed by the firm. Without more information, “advertisers and policymakers have no way of verifying whether the dominant firm has exercised its power responsibly,” ICOMP wrote in a recent paper.
Google admits that its offerings are not perfect, but argues that in the case of search this is because of technical challenges, not abuse of power. Online search is a very hard computer-science problem to crack, writes Julia Holtz, one of Google’s lawyers, in the blog post that made the commission’s investigation public. “Imagine having to rank the 272m possible results for a popular query like the iPod on a 14 by 12 screen computer screen in just a few milliseconds,” she explains. As for the lack of openness about how its advertising system works, Google argues that advertisers can always choose another provider of such services (although in practice its big market share gives them little choice).
More complaints to come
The preliminary investigation does not mean that the commission will definitely go after Google. In fact, only a small percentage of investigations result in adverse rulings. It is certain, however, that a lot of ink will be spilled over Google’s dominance and potential abuses. In America, similar cases are already pending. Last year TradeComet, a website operator, filed an antitrust complaint against Google there, accusing it of having unfairly raised advertising rates. And the Federal Trade Commission is looking into Google’s takeover of AdMob, a mobile-advertising firm.
There is more to come, since Microsoft and Google’s other rivals have a clear incentive to push these issues. Launching antitrust complaints has become something of a competitive weapon in the technology business. Firms often aim to restrain their rivals by tying them up in lawsuits or forcing them to make concessions to appease regulators. Even if Google never ends up in the [color=Blue]dock（put sb/be in the dock：accuse sb/be accused of doing sth wrong）[/color], Microsoft and its allies may still [color=Blue]nudge（to prod lightly : urge into action）[/color] it to change the way it does business, to their advantage. Getting Google to open up its advertising platform, in particular, is likely to make it less profitable and leave more money on the table for its rivals.
It is not just on antitrust that Google is facing rising complaints. Last week it hastily had to[color=Blue] revamp（更新） [/color]Google Buzz, a new social-networking service created to rival Facebook, after users claimed that it had breached their privacy by revealing their e-mail contacts. On the same day as it disclosed the European antitrust investigation, the company also said an Italian court had convicted three of its officials over a clip（a section of filmed, videotaped, or recorded material） posted on Google Video of a disabled child being bullied. The employees insisted that they had nothing to do with the video being uploaded and that it was removed quickly once complaints were made about it—not good enough, the prosecution argued.
Back in the [color=Blue]halcyon（=peaceful）[/color] days, not long ago, when Google was widely admired as among the planet’s coolest and most progressive companies, it might have been given the benefit of the doubt in all these cases, by the public at least. But as happened with Microsoft itself some years ago, Google seems now to have reached the stage where it is so dominant that its every move arouses suspicion.
经济类文章比较简单。 支持 。。。。。。。我也在看 不过每个礼拜 只有一篇。。。。
::21 ::21 ::21 [quote]原帖由 [i]Deutsch137[/i] 于 2010-2-25 11:45 发表 [url=http://bbs.taisha.org/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=17031809&ptid=1484821][img]http://bbs.taisha.org/images/common/back.gif[/img][/url]
Two days earlier, speaking to the party faithful in Coventry(俗语?),
是speaking to (the party faithful) (in Conventry)么？对党的忠诚？Conventry就是一地名吧……？
[/quote]
在wiki中（[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry#Politics[/url]）有提到：
Coventry is administered by Coventry City Council. The city is divided up into 18 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_%28politics%29]Wards[/url] each with three [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Councillor]councillors[/url]. [color=Red]Coventry has usually been controlled by the [/color][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_%28UK%29]Labour Party[/url][color=Red] over the past few decades, and at times they appeared to be in safe control.[/color] However the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Party_%28UK%29]Conservatives[/url]held control for a short time in the 1970s, and [color=Red]they have also been incontrol since June 2004. (For a time they held control on the castingvote of the Lord Mayor, but they won clear control at the localelections of 4 May 2006[/color]).
Coventry一直被工党控制，但是近年被保守党夺取。
但是不知道这里的Coventry是不是仅仅是个地名。 小叮当跟着joker学，再你的稿子上多整理一些。
IT WAS only a matter of time before Google, the technology titan of the internet age, found itself in [color=Blue][color=Red]antitrust（反垄断的）[/color][/color]trouble. On February 24th it emerged, through a post on one of Google’sofficial blogs, that the European Commission has launched a preliminaryinvestigation into the firm’s online search and advertisingbusinesses—the first antitrust inquiry Google has faced in Brussels,other than in [color=Blue]merger cases（合并案）[/color].
Three complaints[color=Red] triggered[/color] the investigation. Foundem, a Britishprice-comparison service, and ejustice.fr, a French legalsearch-engine, say that Google has unfairly pushed them down the listof its search results. Ciao!, a European online-shopping site, hascomplained that Google dictates minimum bid levels in the auctions foradvertising [color=Blue]slots（广告位）[/color] which appear next to its search results.
But the main force [color=Red]agitating[/color] against Google is Microsoft, its [color=Blue]archrival（主要对手）[/color]. It owns Ciao! and in recent months it has also [color=Blue]ramped up（=increase）[/color]its efforts to rally Google’s rivals and other companies whose businesshas been disrupted by the online giant. In Brussels, for instance, itis [color=Blue]bankrolling（=funding）[/color] an industry group called ICOMP, which has [color=Blue]lobbied（to attempt to influence or sway (as a public official) toward a desired action） [/color]the commission to look into these cases and counts Foundem among its members.
Whatever their merits, the cases mark the two areas where Google ismost vulnerable when it comes to antitrust. For one, it dominates themarket for online search in America, and even more so in Europe, whereit has a market share of about 80%. The firm is now as essential acomponent of the market’s infrastructure as the physical networkitself, critics say. This is why regulators are keen to ensure “searchneutrality”. Adam Raff, a co-founder of Foundem, defines as this as“the principle that search engines should have no editorial policiesother than that their results be comprehensive, impartial and basedsolely on relevance.”
Ciao!’s complaint targets Google’s dominant position in searchadvertising. The firm[color=Red] accounts for[/color] more than 90% of this market inEurope—which makes it a problem that its advertising system isessentially a “black box”, critics say. It is not clear why certainadvertisers have to pay a minimum bid, how advertisements are ranked orhow it [color=Red]comes up with t[/color]he amounts it pays websites when they runadvertisements managed by the firm. Without more information,“advertisers and policymakers have no way of verifying whether thedominant firm has exercised its power responsibly,” ICOMP wrote in arecent paper.
Google admits that its offerings are not perfect, but argues that inthe case of search this is because of technical challenges, not abuseof power. Online search is a very hard computer-science problem tocrack, writes Julia Holtz, one of Google’s lawyers, in the blog postthat made the commission’s investigation public. “Imagine having torank the 272m possible results for a popular query like the iPod on a14 by 12 screen computer screen in just a few milliseconds,” sheexplains. As for the lack of openness about how its advertising systemworks, Google argues that advertisers can always choose anotherprovider of such services (although in practice its big market sharegives them little choice).
More complaints to come
The preliminary investigation does not mean that the commission willdefinitely go after Google. In fact, only a small percentage ofinvestigations result in adverse rulings. It is certain, however, thata lot of ink will be [color=Red]spilled over[/color] Google’s dominance and potentialabuses. In America, similar cases are already [color=Red]pending[/color]. [u]Last yearTradeComet, a website operator, filed an antitrust complaint againstGoogle there, accusing it of having unfairly raised advertising rates.[/u]And the Federal Trade Commission is looking into Google’s takeover ofAdMob, a mobile-advertising firm.
There is more to come, since Microsoft and Google’s other rivals have aclear incentive to push these issues. Launching antitrust complaintshas become something of a competitive weapon in the technologybusiness. Firms often aim to restrain their rivals by tying them up inlawsuits or forcing them to make concessions to appease regulators.Even if Google never ends up in the [color=Blue]dock（put sb/be in the dock：accuse sb/be accused of doing sth wrong）[/color], Microsoft and its allies may still [color=Blue]nudge（to prod lightly : urge into action）[/color]it to change the way it does business, to their advantage. GettingGoogle to open up its advertising platform, in particular, is likely tomake it less profitable and leave more money on the table for itsrivals.
It is not just on antitrust that Google is facing rising complaints. Last week it hastily had to[color=Blue] revamp（更新） [/color]GoogleBuzz, a new social-networking service created to rival Facebook, afterusers claimed that it had breached their privacy by revealing theire-mail contacts. On the same day as it disclosed the European antitrustinvestigation, the company also said an Italian court had convictedthree of its officials over a clip（a section of filmed, videotaped, orrecorded material） posted on Google Video of a disabled child beingbullied. The employees insisted that they had nothing to do with thevideo being uploaded and that it was removed quickly once complaintswere made about it—not good enough, the prosecution argued.
Back in the [color=Blue]halcyon（=peaceful）[/color] days,not long ago, when Google was widely admired as among the planet’scoolest and most progressive companies, [color=Red]it might have been given thebenefit of the doubt in all these cases,[/color] by the public at least. But ashappened with Microsoft itself some years ago, Google seems now to havereached the stage where it is so dominant that its every move arousessuspicion.
[color=DarkOrchid]trigger[/color]
[color=DarkOrchid]agitate[/color]
[size=10.5pt][b]ramp up[/b][/size]
{句動-1} : （一定の比率で）増やす、増加｛ぞうか｝［上昇｛じょうしょう｝・成長｛せいちょう｝］させる{句動-2} : 〈英俗〉手はずを整える
[color=DarkOrchid]account for 说明[/color]
[color=DarkOrchid]占[/color]
[color=DarkOrchid] ～の割合｛わりあい｝を占める、～から成る、～を計上｛けいじょう｝する[/color]
[color=DarkOrchid]Our company's sales in the U.S. alone account for about one third of the total revenue. 当社の米国市場における売り上げだけで、当社の総収入の3分の1を占めている。[/color]
[color=DarkOrchid]come up with [/color]
[color=DarkOrchid]to produce especially in dealing with a problem or challenge <came up with a solution>[/color]
[color=DarkOrchid]pending[/color]
[color=DarkOrchid]not yet decided : being in continuance <the case is still pending> [/color] [quote]原帖由 [i]asahi[/i] 于 2010-2-26 13:46 发表 [url=http://bbs.taisha.org/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=17046428&ptid=1484821][img]http://bbs.taisha.org/images/common/back.gif[/img][/url]
小叮当跟着joker学，再你的稿子上多整理一些。
IT WAS only a matter of time before Google, the technology titan of the internet age, found itself in antitrust（反垄断的）trouble. On February 24th it ... [/quote]日文解释牛逼啊 ::z3 球退日文入门材料？日标？ How[color=#0070c0] siestas([/color][font=Tahoma][size=10.5pt][font=Tahoma]an afternoon nap or rest)[/font][/size][/font] help memory
[b]Sleepy heads[/b]
[b]Researchers say an afternoon nap prepares the brain to learn[/b]
Feb 25th 2010 | SAN DIEGO | From [i]The Economist[/i] print edition
MAD dogs and Englishmen, so the song has it, go out in the midday sun. And the business practices of England’s[color=#0070c0] lineal descendant[/color]([font=Tahoma][size=10.5pt][font=Tahoma]A lineal descendant, in legal usage, refers to a blood relative in the direct line of descent)[/font][/size][/font], America, [color=red]will have you in the office from nine in the morning to five in the evening[/color], if not longer. Much of the world, though, prefers to take a siesta. And research presented to the AAAS meeting in San Diego suggests it [color=#ffc000]may be right to do so[/color]. It has already been established that those who siesta are less likely to die of heart disease. Now, Matthew Walker and his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that they probably have better memory, too. A [color=#0070c0]post-prandial[/color]([font=Tahoma][size=10.5pt][font=Tahoma]You use [b]post-prandial[/b] to refer to things you do or have after a meal.)[/font][/size][/font]
snooze(nap), Dr Walker has discovered, sets the brain up for learning.
The role of sleep in consolidating memories that have already been created has been understood for some time. Dr Walker has been trying to extend this understanding by looking at sleep’s role in preparing the brain for the formation of memories in the first place. He was particularly interested in a type of memory called episodic memory, which relates to specific events, places and times. This contrasts with procedural memory[color=red], of [/color]the skills required to perform some sort of mechanical task, such as driving. The theory he and his team wanted to test was that the ability to form new episodic memories deteriorates with accrued [color=#0070c0]wakefulness[/color][font=宋体][size=12pt]（[/size][/font][font=Tahoma][size=10.5pt][font=Tahoma]not sleeping or able to sleep[/font][/size][/font]）, and that sleep thus restores the brain’s capacity for efficient learning.
They asked a group of 39 people to take part in two learning sessions, one at noon and one at 6pm. On each occasion the participants tried to memorise and recall 100 combinations of pictures and names. After the first session they were assigned randomly to either a control group[color=red], which remained awake, or a nap group, which[/color] had 100 minutes of monitored sleep.
Those who remained awake throughout the day became worse at learning. Those who napped, by contrast, actually improved their capacity to learn, doing better in the evening than they had at noon. These findings suggest that sleep is clearing the brain’s short-term memory and ** way for new information.
It is already well known that fact-based memories are stored temporarily in an area called the [color=#0070c0]hippocampus[/color], a structure in the centre of the brain. But they do not stay there long. Instead, they are sent to the prefrontal cortex for longer-term storage. Electroencephalograms, which measure electrical activity in the brain, have shown that this memory-refreshing capacity is related to a specific type of sleep called Stage 2 non-REM sleep.
The ideal nap, then, follows a cycle of between 90 and 100 minutes. The first 30 minutes is a light sleep that helps improve [color=#0070c0]motor performance[/color][font=宋体][size=12pt]（[/size][/font]电动机性能）. Then comes 30 minutes of stage 2 sleep, which refreshes the hippocampus. After this, between 60 and 90 minutes into the nap, comes [color=#0070c0]rapid-eye-movement[/color][font=宋体][size=12pt]（[/size][/font][size=3][font=Tahoma][b]Rapid Eye Movement[/b] ([b]REM[/b]) [b]sleep[/b] is a normal stage of sleep characterized by the rapid movement of the eyes[/font]）, or REM, sleep, during which dreaming happens. This, research suggests, is the time when the brain makes connections between the new memories that have just been “downloaded” from the hippocampus and those that already exist—thus ** new experiences relevant in a wider context. [/size]
The benefits to memory of a nap, says Dr Walker, are so great that they can equal an entire night’s sleep. He warns, however, that napping must not be done too late in the day or it will interfere with night-time sleep. Moreover, not everyone awakens refreshed from a siesta.
The [color=#0070c0]grogginess[/color]([font=Tahoma][size=10.5pt][font=Tahoma]weak and unsteady on the feet or in action)[/font][/size][/font] that results from an unrefreshing siesta is termed “sleep[color=#0070c0] inertia[/color]([font=Tahoma][size=10.5pt][font=Tahoma]If you have a feeling of [b]inertia[/b], you feel very lazy and unwilling to move or be active.)[/font][/size][/font]”. This happens when the brain is woken from a deep sleep with its cells still firing at a slow rhythm and its temperature and blood flow decreased. Sara Mednick, from the University of California, San Diego, suggests that non-habitual nappers suffer from this more often than those who siesta regularly. It may be that those who have a tendency to wake up groggy are choosing not to siesta in the first place.[color=#ffc000] Perhaps, though, as in so many things, it is practice that makes perfect.[/color]
[font=Tahoma][size=3]PS[/size][/font]
Hippocampus
[img]http://www.morphonix.com/software/education/science/brain/game/specimens/images/hippocampus.gif[/img]
[font=Tahoma][size=3] [/size][/font]
[font=Tahoma][size=3] [/size][/font]
[font=Tahoma][size=3]Question:[/size][/font]
1.will have you in the office from nine in the morning to five in the evening,
[font=宋体][size=12pt]为什么把[/size][/font]will
have [font=宋体][size=12pt]提在[/size][/font]you [font=宋体][size=12pt]前？[/size][/font]
2.This contrasts with procedural memory[color=red], of [/color]the skills required to perform some sort of mechanical task, such as driving.
[font=宋体][size=12pt]为什么用逗号和[/size][/font]of?
[font=宋体][size=12pt]倒装？[/size][/font]
3. After the first session they were assigned randomly to either a control group[color=red], which remained awake, or a nap group, which[/color] had 100 minutes of monitored sleep.
[font=宋体][size=12pt]这句结构看不懂，前一个[/size][/font]Which [font=宋体][size=12pt]指代[/size][/font] control group, [font=宋体][size=12pt]后一个[/size][/font]which[font=宋体][size=12pt]呢？[/size][/font]
[font=宋体][size=12pt]还有[/size][/font]either..or [font=宋体][size=12pt]用法[/size][/font]. 1. have u in...就是让你呆在。。。
2 .This contrasts with procedural memory, [color=Red]([/color]of the skills required to perform some sort of mechanical task, [color=Red])[/color]such as driving.
我猜测双逗号表示插入，相当于一个括号
3你断句断错了
After the first session they were assigned randomly to either a control group, which remained awake, [color=Red]||[/color]or a nap group, which had 100 minutes of monitored sleep. IT IS [color=Blue]tempting（诱人的）[/color] to dismiss the bipartisan health-reform summit [color=Blue]convened（召集）[/color] by Barack Obama on Thursday February 25th as a colossal waste of time. After all, the [color=Blue]gabfest（an informal gathering for general talk）[/color] involving senior Congressional leaders from both parties lasted well over six hours, with no tangible results. Neither side moved [color=Blue]one jot（very small amount）[/color] on any issue of substance and not one vote is likely to have changed on either side as a result of the summit.
And yet, the televised gathering was not pointless. For one thing, the sight of America’s leading politicians sitting together [color=Blue]amiably（和睦）[/color] for an entire day to discuss a matter as [color=Blue]inflammatory（tending to make people angry or over-excited）[/color] as health reform (think “death panels”) was itself heartening. Surprisingly, given the bitter partisan wrangling of late, they did so in a manner that was mostly civil and substantive. Towards the end of the long day, Joe Barton, a House Republican from Texas, even declared that he had never seen “so many members of the House and Senate behave so well for so long before so many television cameras.”
From the Republican point of view, the event accomplished two important things. First, Mr Obama was unable to outwit and outcharm them on camera, as he had done brilliantly during a televised exchange with House Republicans in late January. Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, their [color=Blue]stridently（(of a sound, esp a voice) loud and harsh; shrill）[/color] partisan leaders in the Senate and the House, wisely allowed other Republicans —more charismatic and competent, it must be noted—to do most of the talking. That allowed them to say no to Mr Obama’s plans without appearing, as is often the accusation with Republicans, merely the “Party of No”. Mr McConnell even admitted afterwards that “I would not call it a waste of time.”
The event went less well for Mr Obama. After a year of [color=Blue]dithering（to act nervously or indecisively : VACILLATE）[/color], he unveiled his own grand plan for reforming health care on the eve of the summit. This scheme closely resembles a health-reform bill passed by the Senate just before Christmas (the House passed a substantially different version earlier, and the two bills now need to be reconciled into a final health law). The big question before the summit was whether Mr Obama would really be open to modifying his plan to embrace Republican ideas, or whether the event was merely a sham.
In the event, Mr Obama appeared to make some progress on bipartisanship. He listened intently to Republican ideas—except the oft-repeated one to [color=Blue]scrap（to abandon or get rid of as no longer of enough worth or effectiveness to retain）[/color] Democratic efforts and just “start over”—and was often seen scribbling notes. At the end of the summit, he reviewed a number of areas where he believed the two parties had similar goals, and he asked the Republicans to think of ways to bridge the divide on them. Among those ripe for co-operation, he declared, were[color=Blue] tort（a wrongful act other than a breach of contract for which relief may be obtained in the form of damages or an injunction）[/color] reform, inter-state competition in health insurance, the creation of insurance exchanges and tackling fraud in Medicare (a government health scheme for the elderly).
This is not likely to [color=Blue]herald（announce the approach of sb/sth）[/color] the start of a new, incremental and heart-warmingly bipartisan approach to health reform, however. For one thing, Republicans made it clear that they are not willing to do anything to help Mr Obama pass health reform quickly. Mr Obama, for his part, made plain that he was willing to entertain Republican notions only as add-ons to his existing bill, not as an entirely new approach.
Rumours swirled during the summit that if Mr Obama’s big plan (which aims to extend health insurance to some 30m uninsured
[color=Blue][color=Red]punters（是船夫还是下注的人，不清楚）)[/color] [/color]fails to pass, he may then put forward a less ambitious scheme covering only half that number. But Kathleen Sebelius, the administration’s health secretary, denied this after the summit. Mr Obama himself rejected the [color=Blue]incremental approach（渐进方法）[/color]. He insisted, with some justification, that “baby steps” will not work because the pieces of the health-reform puzzle are tightly interlinked.
If so, that leaves Mr Obama with only one course of action: to push through some version of his health plan without Republican votes. It will be very difficult with only Democratic votes, given that moderates and progressives in his own caucus have misgivings. [color=Blue]Ramming（公羊->crash against sth）[/color] a [color=Blue]sweeping(having an extremely wide effect)[/color] health law through Congress on a highly partisan basis using procedural wheezes, Republicans repeatedly warned, will prove unpopular. Despite those obstacles, though, Mr Obama now seems ready for battle.
That points to the biggest reason to think the summit was not a waste of time: it made clear that Mr Obama, after months of sitting on the sidelines, now [color=Blue]has steel in his spine(乌龟吃秤砣[/color]::z2[color=Blue])[/color]. If Republicans do not come up with a reasonable set of compromise measures over the next few weeks to add to his plan, he says that he intends to forge ahead[color=Blue]（forge ahead advance or progress quickly; take the leading position in a race, etc）[/color] anyway. The final verdict, he insisted, will come from the voters: “We’ve got to go ahead and make some decisions, and then that’s what elections are for.” [quote]原帖由 [i]tin@milk[/i] 于 2010-2-27 00:04 发表 [url=http://bbs.taisha.org/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=17054399&ptid=1484821][img]http://bbs.taisha.org/images/common/back.gif[/img][/url]
日文解释牛逼啊 ::z3 球退日文入门材料？日标？ [/quote]
我在做英日翻译，积累单词和表达方式哦 [quote]原帖由 [i]joker_gf[/i] 于 2010-2-27 19:09 发表 [url=http://bbs.taisha.org/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=17063234&ptid=1484821][img]http://bbs.taisha.org/images/common/back.gif[/img][/url]
1. have u in...就是让你呆在。。。
2 .This contrasts with procedural memory, (of the skills required to perform some sort of mechanical task, )such as driving.
我猜测双逗号表示插入，相当于一个括号
... [/quote]::11 ::11 谢谢斑竹 COLOMBIA'S Constitutional Court, by blocking President Álvaro Uribefrom seeking the presidency ever again, resolved the two-time leader’s [color=Blue]quandary（difficult situation）[/color] over whether to try to stay in power or leave with his legacy intact. The country had been on [color=Blue]tenterhooks（on tenterhooks in a state of uneasiness, strain, or suspense <the waiting kept us on tenterhooks>）[/color] for months while it awaited the approaching decision of the court which finally made its [color=Blue]ruling（裁决）[/color] late on Friday February 26th.
By a vote of 7 to 2 the court concluded that a [color=RoyalBlue]referendum (全民公决)[/color]that would have sought to allow Mr Uribe to run for a third term inelections in May was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the measurewas [color=Blue]fraught with（=filled with）[/color]irregularities and “substantial violations to democratic principles.”With the court resolving what Mr Uribe had called his “dilemma of thesoul” over whether to run again, the popular president said after theruling that he would work for Colombia “from any trench” for the restof his life.
The Constitutional Court approved an amendmentin 2005 that allowed Mr Uribe to run for a second term, which he won in2006. But the wording of the court’s ruling [color=Blue]foreshadowed（be a sign or warning of (sth to come or about to happen)）[/color]Friday’s decision, specifically permitting re-election only one moretime. In the latest ruling the court said the proposed referendum wouldhave attempted to change the spirit of the constitution and would havealtered the system of checks and balances.
It ruled that apetition campaign that started the referendum process and its passagethrough Congress was loaded with irregularities, which the courtpresident said was a “grave violation” of electoral laws and proceduralnorms. Also in its passage through Congress the ambiguous wording ofthe referendum question was changed to allow the president to seekimmediately a third term, rather than after four-year gap. The courtsaid that the change was unconstitutional.
The rulingdemonstrated the court’s independence, which Mr Uribe’s critics claimedhad been lost through a blurring of lines between the branches ofgovernment. A former court [color=Blue]magistrate（a principal official exercising governmental powers over a major political unit (as a nation)）[/color], Manuel José Cepeda, said the ruling was a “triumph” for state institutions that many had worried would not work.
Withthat, what promises to be an intense presidential campaign to succeedMr Uribe begins in earnest. Mr Uribe’s former defence minister, JuanManuel Santos, leads opinion polls. Until the court ruling he was noteven a declared candidate. But supporters of Mr Uribe are [color=Blue]split（[/color][color=Blue]cause people to) separate or divide into (often opposing) groups or parties [/color][color=Blue][color=Blue]）[/color][/color].Of the 46% of Colombians who would have voted for Mr Uribe had he beenable to run, only a third said they would transfer their vote to MrSantos, according to one poll.
The other supporters of MrUribe are divided among seven other candidates ranging from a pair ofconservatives, Noemi Sanin and Andrés Felipe Arias, to Gustavo Petro onthe left. It is still unclear whether parties that had rallied behindMr Uribe during his two terms as president will agree to support asingle unified candidate for the first round of voting on May 30th. OnMarch 14th Colombians will vote in legislative elections that willindicate how the political forces will regroup after the court’s ruling.
Sofar Mr Uribe has not named anyone as his preferred successor but hascalled on whoever it turns out be to continue his policies. In a speechafter the court’s ruling he said: “we must not lose our path.”
Mostcandidates have vowed to carry on with policies which are credited withbeating back FARC rebels from important urban areas and bringingrampant violence under control. With American aid and a wealth tax MrUribe expanded the security forces by half. And improved security inturn helped to boost the economy. However, murder rates have [color=Blue]spiked（an abrupt sharp increase (as in prices or rates)）[/color]in the past year and guerrillas have intensified their attacks ongovernment forces. Mr Uribe's second term has also been marred byscandals over human-rights abuses by troops and the illegal wiretappingof his opponents by the state intelligence agency.
Yet, whenMr Uribe first took office, back in 2002, Colombia was in seriousdanger of becoming a failed state. Mr Uribe has indeed accomplishedmuch. [color=Red]But for Colombia to progress it needs stronginstitutions that would have been in danger of erosion under the ruleof an eternal strongman.（这个地方我觉得不是but，应该用and；也有可能是那个虚拟语气我没理解到位）[/color]
今天的文章好简单。。。
JUST six weeks after an earthquake killedover 200,000 people in Haiti, another huge tremor has shaken Latin America.Early in the morning on Saturday February 27th, a massive 8.8-magnitudequake—the fifth-largest recorded since 1900—rocked the Pacific coast of centralChile. Lasting for nearly 90 seconds, it knocked out electricity, water, andtelephone services in a wide stretch of the country, and damaged the Santiagoairport terminal, some 325 kilometres from the [color=Blue]epicentre[/color][font=宋体][color=Blue]（震中）[/color][/font]. The resulting tsunami prompted evacuations as far away as Japan,although the waves inflicted little damage outside Chile and the warnings werelater cancelled.At least 76 aftershocks followed. MichelleBachelet, the country’s president, said it would take three days to produce thefirst reliable evaluations of the quake’s impact, but she estimated that 1.5mhomes were damaged and 2m people were affected by the disaster. Governmentofficials have already confirmed over 700 deaths.
The images that filled the airwaves andinternet shortly after the shock—collapsed buildings, crumpled roads, carsturned over and boats swept inland—were strikingly reminiscent of those seen inHaiti. A crumbling prison wall allowed 300 prisoners to escape from a jail inChillán, a city close to the [color=#4f81bd]epicentre[/color],of which only 60 have since been recaptured. In Concepción, a city of 700,000people, 115km from the quake’s source, a 15-storey block of flats collapsed,trapping 100 people, and a biochemical laboratory at the city university caughtfire. The port of Talcahuano was flooded, and heavy damage was reported intowns such as Dichato, Curico, and Talca. Bridges and roads were wreckedthroughout the affected region. As a result the start of the school year isbeing postponed until March 8th.
Yet despite these similarities—and the factthat Saturday’s quake was hundreds of times more powerful than the one thatstruck Haiti—the gap between the two countries’ levels of development anddisaster preparation means that the aftermath will be very different. While Haitiis the poorest country in the western hemisphere, Chile has been one of LatinAmerica’s better-performing economies for years, and living standards aresimilar to those of large middle-income countries like Russia and Mexico. Thatwealth has enabled it to invest in transport and health infrastructure that farsurpasses Haiti’s. This has ensured that search and rescue teams can reachtheir destinations quickly, and that survivors will receive prompt medicalattention.
Moreover, unlike Haiti, which had notsuffered an earthquake since 1770, Chile lies in one of the world’s mostseismically active zones, along the Pacific “ring of fire.” Just off its coastis the Nazca plate, which rests below the south-eastern Pacific Ocean andslides beneath the South American tectonic plate by some 9 centimetres a year.The geological fault-line between them has seen 13 earthquakes of magnitude 7or higher since 1973, as well as the single biggest tremor in recorded history,a magnitude 9.5 quake that struck Valdivia in 1960. As a result, Chileanleaders have had both the foresight to establish strict building codes, and themoney and institutional strength to enforce them. Chile was also luckier thatthe quake's epicentre was much deeper down in the earth than in Haiti, [color=Blue]mitigating[/color][font=宋体]（缓和）[/font]
itsdestructive power. Moreover the quake did not strike so close to the country'scapital city.
Thus, even though Saturday’s quake washundreds of times more powerful than Haiti’s, the human losses are expected tobe a great deal less severe. Given the degree of destruction in smaller townsclose to the epicentre and of older buildings in big cities, the current deathtoll is sure to rise. But even if the losses of life reach into the thousands,that would pale in comparison to the horror in Port-au-Prince in January.Although nature decides when and where disasters strike, it is still humans whodetermine how much suffering they [color=Blue]inflict（使承受）[/color]. 支持一下::z1 支持joker，加油！:loveliness: [quote]原帖由 [i]joker_gf[/i] 于 2010-2-26 09:49 发表 [url=http://bbs.taisha.org/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=17043740&ptid=1484821][img]http://bbs.taisha.org/images/common/back.gif[/img][/url]
Coventry一直被工党控制，但是近年被保守党夺取。
但是不知道这里的Coventry是不是仅仅是个地名。[/quote]
.....::z8
是本身很复杂呢还是你想得太多了呢……？::z2 [quote]原帖由 [i]joker_gf[/i] 于 2010-2-27 21:23 发表 [url=http://bbs.taisha.org/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=17064748&ptid=1484821][img]http://bbs.taisha.org/images/common/back.gif[/img][/url]
which aims to extend health insurance to some 30m uninsured [color=Blue][color=Red]punters（是船夫还是下注的人，不清楚）[/color][/color][/quote]
船夫……？会不会是引申为比较下层的人们……？？
应该不会是下赌注的人的吧……？ [quote]原帖由 [i]joker_gf[/i] 于 2010-2-28 10:09 发表 [url=http://bbs.taisha.org/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=17069539&ptid=1484821][img]http://bbs.taisha.org/images/common/back.gif[/img][/url]
Yet, when Mr Uribe first took office, back in 2002, Colombia was inserious danger of becoming a failed state. Mr Uribe has indeedaccomplishedmuch. [color=Red]But for Colombia to progress itneeds strong institutions that would have been in danger of erosionunder the rule of an eternalstrongman.（这个地方我觉得不是but，应该用and；也有可能是那个虚拟语气我没理解到位）[/color][/quote]
是虚拟语气吧……？前面说了progress，后面说would have been in danger么……从这时态的构成也应该是虚拟语气的吧…… 楼主文章哪找的啊 。。是每期的ECON print?
回复 34# tin@milk 的帖子
[url]www.economist.com[/url]每天首页的头条
回复 33# Deutsch137 的帖子
关键是逻辑不对: 他确实贡献了很多，但是哥伦比亚也需要这样的人？不能用但是啊回复 36# joker_gf 的帖子
混乱了……::13 THE world’s big insurers and banks arestruggling to find ways to take full advantage of the historic opportunityoffered by the surging demand for financial services from Asia’s burgeoningmiddle-classes. Until its downfall in 2008 AIG was [color=Blue]leagues ahead（league is a former measureof distance.） [/color]of most rivalsin this respect. Founded in Shanghai in 1919, it had thrived through decades ofpolitical and economic turmoil to become one of only a few financial firms thatstretches from one end of the continent to the other. In most Asian countriesit is one of the biggest foreign insurers and, in some cases, it ishead-to-head with national champions.However, since the parent company’sspectacular collapse and rescue by the American taxpayer, AIG’s huge andprofitable Asian life-assurance subsidiary, AIA, has been[color=Blue] lumbered with(lumber sb (withsb/sth) give as a burden or an inconvenience to sb)[/color] an unwilling owner,unstable management and unresolved questions over its future. Such uncertaintyis especially damaging for an assurer, whose customers need to be sure it willsurvive long enough to pay out on policies decades in the future.
Finding a credible new owner for AIA,ideally one with long experience in Asia, is an obvious solution. This is thelogic behind the proposed $35.5 billion purchase of the firm by Prudential ofBritain, announced on March 1st. The deal, if it [color=Blue]comes off (=succeeds)[/color], is an audacious one.Prudential (which is unrelated to the American insurer of the same name)intends to pay a sum greatly exceeding its own market value, which was around$23 billion before the proposal was announced.
Although the emergence of a buyer for AIAwas abrupt, it should hardly have come as a surprise. AIG executives have been [color=Blue]criss-crossing(forming a criss-crosspatterm on) [/color]Asia in recent months, going through the complex [color=Blue]sifting(put (sth) through a sieve)[/color]required to separate legally the parent company’s many divisions in preparationfor a [color=Blue]piecemeal(piece by piece)[/color] sale. A widely publicised plan to [color=Blue]spin off(from wiki: A spin-off (or spinoff) is a neworganization or entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a newcompany formed from a university research group.)[/color] AIA through a publicoffering on the Hong Kong stockmarket was emphatically endorsed by [color=Blue]legions(large number of people)[/color]of investment bankers who stood to make a killing on underwriting [color=Blue]fees(承销费用)[/color], but otherwise left much to be desired.
Among other problems, such a share offeringwould have meant a substantial [color=Blue]stake(money,etc risked or gambled on the unknown result of a future event) [/color]remainingwith the American government, which has neither the capacity nor theinclination to manage a private insurance company. That would, presumably, havebeen equally [color=Blue]unpalatable(unpleasantto taste)[/color] in the countries where AIA operated: their insuranceregulators have recently found themselves in the odd position of overseeing acompany whose top management resided in the White House. [color=Red]On a practical level, enthusiasm for a public offering waxedwith the broader enthusiasm that emerged at the end of last year for newlistings, and has since waned as the offerings market has sputtered. (listing 和 sputter 在这里的含义不是很清楚)[/color]Although investors were potentially interested in a [color=Blue]flotation (starting of a new company by selling shares init to the public) [/color]of AIA, its size would have tested the market’scapacity.
Given the American government’s massivefinancial support for AIG, a case could be made that it is under no pressure tomove quickly on separating out its Asian operations. However, there are goodreasons to move fast. Many long-term employees of AIA were quitting. Workingfor a firm overseen by Congress is not only a recipe for constant friction overpay and bonuses; it also carries the risk that the firm’s strategy will bedictated by shifting political currents an ocean away. Worse still, theuncertainty was in danger of driving customers away. AIA’s competitors would bedelighted for it to continue in its present, awkward situation for as long aspossible.
Completing the deal and thereafterintegrating AIA will present formidable challenges
For Prudential, completing the deal andthereafter integrating AIA will present formidable challenges. It must firstpersuade its shareholders to [color=Blue]stump up(pay (a sum ofmoney))[/color] $20 billion to help finance the takeover—the biggest rightsissue the London stockmarket has seen—as well as raising another $5billion-worth of bonds to finance the cash part of its bid. The prospect of [color=Blue]dilution(a lessening of real value (as of equity) by adecrease in relative worth specifically : a decrease of per share value ofcommon stock by an increase in the total number of shares) [/color]helps toexplain a sharp fall in its share price when the proposed deal was announced.
The Pru will also have to work hard tosecure regulators’ approvals for the merger in every country where AIAoperates. Just as tricky will be combining AIA’s management and operations withthose of Prudential. Clashes of culture and personality are almost inevitablewhere the acquired and the acquirer have different nationalities—especially ina case like this, in which a much smaller firm is taking over a bigger, brasherone.
On top of all this there is the possibilitythat another bidder could emerge, either for AIA as a whole or for parts of it,throwing a spanner in the works. If Prudential had to come up with more moneyto [color=Blue]see off(force sb to leave a place, eg by chasinghim)[/color] a rival, so much greater would be the risk that the merged companyis born financially fragile. And that would take AIA back to where it started. Looking for ET
Signs of lifeAs the search for alien life turns 50, its practitioners find new methodsFeb 25th 2010 | SAN DIEGO | From [i]The Economist[/i] print edition
HALF a century ago a radio astronomer called Frank Drake thought of a way to calculate the likelihood of establishing contact with aliens. He suggested the following figures should be multiplied: how many stars are formed in the galaxy in a year; what fraction of these have planets and thus form solar systems; the average number of planets per solar system that have the potential to support life; on what percentage of those where it is possible do such biospheres actually form; what percentage of such biospheres give rise to intelligent species; what percentage of intelligent life is able to transmit signals into space; and for how long could such intelligence keeps sending signals.
This calculation became celebrated as the Drake equation—perhaps the best attempt so far to tame a wild guess. Most of the terms remain hard to [color=#0070c0]tie down[/color]([font=Tahoma][size=10.5pt][font=Tahoma]A person or thing that [b]ties[/b] you [b]down[/b] restricts your freedom in some way.)[/font][/size][/font], although there is a consensus([font=Tahoma][size=10.5pt][font=Tahoma]A [b]consensus[/b] is general agreement among a group of people.)[/font][/size][/font] that about ten stars are formed per year in the galaxy. Also, recent searches for extrasolar planets have concluded that planets are not rare.
At the AAAS, Dr Drake [color=#0070c0]reflected on[/color][font=宋体][size=12pt]（反思）[/size][/font] his search for alien signals. One reason this is hard is that radio telescopes must chop the spectrum([font=宋体][size=12pt]光谱[/size][/font]) into fine portions to study it, like tuning into a signal on a car radio. Another is the[color=red] trade off [/color]between a telescope’s field of view and its magnification. Small telescopes see a lot of sky but can detect only strong signals. Large ones, which can detect weak signals, have a narrow focus. Astronomers therefore have difficulty looking both carefully and comprehensively.
Dr Drake said there may be another difficulty. Researchers tend to look for signals similar to those now made by humanity. The Earth, though, is getting quieter because the rise of spread-spectrum communication makes stray emissions less likely than in the past.
Spread-spectrum works by smearing a message across a wide range of frequencies. That has the advantages of combating noise and allowing many signals to be sent at once. But it also makes those signals hard for eavesdroppers to hear (which is why spread-spectrum is beloved by military men). If [color=#ffc000]technologically sophisticated[/color] aliens came to the same conclusions, and thus used spread-spectrum technology, humans would have a hard time hearing them. Dr Drake suggests, therefore, that there might be only a narrow window of time in the development of civilisations, analogous([font=Tahoma][size=10.5pt][font=Tahoma]If one thing is [b]analogous[/b] [b]to[/b] another, the two things are similar in some way. (FORMAL)[/font][/size][/font] to the past 50 years on Earth, during which noisy electromagnetic signals are generated in large amounts.
It is, however, also possible that someone is actively trying to send signals to the Earth. If that were the case, the best way to do this, reckons Paul Horowitz, a physicist at Harvard, is with a laser.
Although radio power has changed little over the decades, the power of lasers has grown exponentially. Today’s most powerful versions can shine ten thousand times brighter than the sun, though only for a billionth of a second. If aliens have made similar progress, and point a laser towards the Earth’s solar system, such brief flashes would be detectable at a distance of many light-years. Dr Horowitz has already set up one suitable detector and this, because no huge magnification is involved,[color=#ffc000] is capable of looking at [/color]broad swathes of sky.
There is also potential for improvement on the radio side. For many years, the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico, which is 300 metres across, has led the search for alien life. (Sadly, its founder, William Gordon, died on February 16th.) [color=#ffc000]Now the Chinese are building a 500-metre telescope, known as FAST, in Guizhou province, and an international collaboration called the Square Kilometre Array is trying, as its name suggests, to build a grid of radio-telescopes over a square kilometre of land in either South Africa or Australia.[/color] Both may be helpful. As indeed may a large new telescope in northern California built by Paul Allen, a [color=#0070c0]co-founder[/color]([font=宋体][size=12pt]共同创始人[/size][/font]) of Microsoft.
Many of the terms in the Drake equation are likely to remain elusive[font=宋体][size=12pt]（[/size][/font][font=Tahoma][size=10.5pt][font=Tahoma]Something or someone that is [b]elusive[/b] is difficult to find, describe, remember, or achieve.[/font][/size][/font]）, so it is still impossible to predict how likely such efforts are to succeed.[color=#ffc000] But even after 50 fruitless years—if the eagerness in the eyes of Dr Drake and his colleagues is [/color][color=red]any guide[/color][color=#ffc000]—it still is fun looking. [/color]
[font=Tahoma][size=3][/size][/font]
[font=Tahoma][size=3][/size][/font]
Another is the[color=red] trade off [/color]between a telescope’s field of view and its magnification.
Trade off [font=宋体][size=12pt]如何理解？取舍？[/size][/font]
But even after 50 fruitless years—if the eagerness in the eyes of Dr Drake and his colleagues is any guide—it still is fun looking.
[size=3][font=Tahoma]Any guide[/font]什么意思？[font=Tahoma]If[/font]表达什么意思？[/size]
[[i] 本帖最后由 tin@milk 于 2010-3-2 13:02 编辑 [/i]]
回复 39# tin@milk 的帖子
Another is the trade off between a telescope’s field of view and its magnification.你大概不是学理科的
望远镜的视野和放大倍数之间是有一个折中关系的，视野越大放大倍数越小，反之亦然
我觉得可以理解为Any guide= anything that guides