Voice 等

Voice

“Many journalists should apologize to the players. It isn’t easy going from being nobodies back home to winning three matches at a World Cup. At the training camp， we had to swallow what you all said about us — the worst Argentine team you’d ever seen. All of a sudden we’re an excellent team... the most handsome people!”

—Maradona said at the press conference after his team getting past the group stage at the 19th World Cup. Before this， many journalists were suspicious of their strength.

“This is a critical moment in the development of long-term relations. We should seize the opportunity to work to-

gether and build mutual trust. This agree-

ment not only influences the development of the economies on both sides of the Straits， it is also a new milestone for them.”

—Chiang Pin-kung， chairman of Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation， said ahead of the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement(ECFA). The ECFA could boost trade already worth $100 billion and ease political ties between the export-reliant island and the world’s third-largest economy.

【W(wǎng)ords】

journalist 記者swallow 忍受

suspicious 懷疑的mutual 相互的

strait 海峽

Taiwan’s Straits Exchange

Foundation

臺灣海峽交流基金會

boost 推進export-reliant 依賴出口的

KAZAKHstAn Building A GiAnt indoor city

As the world’s second coldest capital， Astana is situated deep in Kazakhstan’s northern grasslands， where temperatures drop to -40℃ in the winter， but people could soon be able to sun themselves on a beach， or go for a boat ride thanks to plans for an indoor city capable of housing 20，000 people.

Mr Aytekin Gultekin， president of Sembol， a Turkish construction firm， said that Astana and Dubai were similar — they are both fast-growing cities that can only exist with climate control. “Here it is exactly the same situation as Dubai， but here it is too cold， and there it is too hot，” he said.

Sembol is soon to finish its work on an indoor park， shopping and entertainment complex called Khan Shatyr — a tent based around a cable structure. Its upper zone has a tropical climate， with an indoor “beach”， water slides， wave machines and tropical gardens. Lower zones have a one-rail system， a running track， a small amusement park， and a shopping complex. The Indoor City will take the same concept to another scale.

To build it， Sembol had to hire and train up to more than 400 Turkish mountain climbers who could work at 150 m high in extreme wind and cold.

Question: What is similar and what is different between Astana and Dubai?

(Find the answer in this issue)

【W(wǎng)ords】

Kazakhstan哈薩克斯坦Astana阿斯塔納

(哈薩克斯坦新首都)

situate 位于Turkish 土耳其的 Dubai迪拜

complex聯(lián)合體Khan Shatyr “可汗之帳”cable structure 索式結(jié)構(gòu)

tropical熱帶的slide 滑道amusement 娛樂

The Oil Disaster

An explosion on April 20， 2010 aboard a drilling rig working on a well one mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico has led to the largest oil spill in American history.

It was without question an environmental tragedy. The oil spill would have threatened the sensitive coast and resulted in the worst man-made environmental disaster.

The broken drilling pipe currently leaks 42，000 gal. of oil a day. The result is an oil slick on the surface of the water， covering more than 1，800 sq. miles， just 20 miles from the delicate Gulf coastline.

Meanwhile， the mix of oil and chemical dispersants washing up on the Gulf shoreline could be immediately dangerous， especially for the tens of thousands of workers and volunteers involved in the clean-up. And we don’t know what shape the impact of the disaster will take — mentally， physically， emotionally — on the people of the Gulf， now and for generations to come. Much is unknown about the long-term health dangers of an oil spill.

Though the problem is serious， the good news is that the oil company take an active attitude to solve it. They have already cut an underwater pipe to install a containment cap to capture part of the oil， and a series of measures are taken successively.

【W(wǎng)ords】

explosion 爆炸drilling rig 鉆臺

Gulf of Mexico 墨西哥灣

spill 泄漏 tragedy 災(zāi)難

drilling pipe 鉆桿

gal. 加侖 gallon的縮寫oil slick 浮油膜

sq. 平方square的縮寫

dispersant 分散劑impact 影響

containment cap 收集罩

successively 陸續(xù)

Schindler’s List

Schindler is a German businessman in Poland who sees an opportunity to make money from the Nazis’ rise to power. He starts a company to make cookware， using flattery and bribes to win military contracts， and brings in accountant Stern to help run the factory. By hiring Jews， Schindler has a unpaid labor force. For Stern， a job in a war-related factory could mean survival for himself and the other Jews working for Schindler.

However， in 1942， all Jews are sent to the Labor Camp. Schindler arranges to continue using Jews in his factory， but， as he sees what is happening to his employees， he begins to develop a conscience. He realizes that his factory is the only thing preventing his staff from being shipped to the death camps. Soon Schindler demands more workers and starts bribing Nazi leaders to keep Jews on his employee lists and out of the camps. By the time Germany falls to the allies， Schindler has lost his entire fortune， and saved 1，100 people from likely death.

The film won seven Academy Awards， including Best Picture and Best Director. In 2007， it was ranked on the list of the 100 best American films of all time.

【W(wǎng)ords】

Nazi 納粹黨

cookware 炊具flattery 奉承

bribe 賄賂

military contract 軍方合同accountant 會計

Jew 猶太人

survival幸存Labor Camp 勞工營

conscience良知

ally同盟國fortune財產(chǎn)

Academy Award 奧斯卡金像獎