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今天的Google首頁，你知道是誰嗎？

Be careful when playing Santa at the office. Giving certain gifts could get you in trouble.
扮聖誕老人在辦公室裡大派禮物可要當心。送禮不當可能會惹禍上身的。
A Victoria's Secret gift card for the cute girl who works in the neighboring cubicle? Not appropriate. A dictionary for the new co-worker whose misspellings on email you've had to correct? It probably won't be appreciated.
例如，給臨桌的可愛女孩送張Victoria's Secret性感內衣的代金卡？這可不太合適。或者給在電子郵件中常犯拼寫錯誤，弄得你要幫他糾正的新同事送本字典？這或許也不會讓對方心生感激。
Here are some guidelines for appropriate gift giving in the workplace
下面提供了一些工作場合適宜的送禮建議：
　　
➤送上司：
Generally, it's not appropriate to give your boss a gift. It can come with mixed messages. People worry that it seems like you are trying to buy favoritism.
一般來講，給上司送禮物是不合適的。這樣做可能會傳遞一些複雜的資訊。人們擔心這看上去好像是你在討好上司。✽
Instead, see if co-workers would like to contribute to a gift for the boss from the whole office. If you're charged with buying the gift, stick with office-related items or something that fits with the subject of your company's work. Or, if your boss has a hobby or interest, such as golf, consider a gift that plays to that.
相反，看看同事是否願意湊錢、以整個辦公室的名義給上司送個禮物。如果你負責買禮物，要買與辦公有關的用品，或是符合公司工作內容的禮物。如果你的上司有什麼興趣或愛好的話，比如打高爾夫球，你還可以考慮買相應的物品作為禮物。✽
　　
➤送同事：
You and co-workers also can chip in to get small gifts for people working under you, like the receptionist or mailroom staff.
你和同事還可以湊錢給級別比你們低的同事買點小禮物，比如前臺或收發室的人。✽
If you're exchanging gifts with co-workers, it's best to buy something simple for everyone in your team or group. Keep individual gift giving outside the office.
如果你要和同事互換禮物，最好是買些對你們小組或團隊中每個人都適用的簡單禮物。不要在辦公室裡單獨送禮物。✽
For the boss as well as co-workers, avoid items that are too personal--say, perfume, scented bath products, jewelry, lingerie or other clothing. Also steer away from alcohol and tobacco products.
無論是對上司還是同事，都要避免送過於私人性的禮物，比如香水、帶香味的沐浴產品、珠寶、內衣或其他衣服。此外，還要避免送煙酒。✽
Gag gifts can cause problems as well. "Not everyone translates humor the way you might" and you risk off ending someone. Cash is a no-no as are gifts that are too expensive. You're going to look like you are just trying to win favor.
帶有惡作劇性質的禮物也可能會帶來問題。並非每個人都會以你那樣的方式欣賞幽默，你可能會冒犯什麼人。現金或是過於貴重的禮物都是禁忌。因為這些讓你看起來好像是在努力贏得好感。✽
You don't have to reciprocate if a co-worker gives you a gift.
如果同事送禮物給你，你不一定要回贈。✽
　　
➤送客戶：
It's your call whether to buy gifts for clients, vendors or people you have a professional relationship with outside the office.
是否要給客戶、供應商或辦公室以外和你有業務關係的人買禮物，這就要你自己拿主意了。✽
If your office sends out gifts to clients and vendors, there's no need to do something on top of that. Write a nice card if you feel like that person really made your year.
如果你們辦公室給客戶或供應商送了禮物，你就沒有必要再額外送了。如果你覺得對方在這一年裡真是你的貴人，那麼就送張精美的卡片。✽
If you decide to buy gifts for clients or vendors, make sure their company guidelines allow them to accept gifts. You also should check your company's gift-giving guidelines, especially if you plan to use company funds to purchase presents.
如果你決定給客戶或供應商買禮物，要確保他們的公司行為守則允許他們接受禮物。你還應該查看自己公司的送禮規定，特別是如果你打算用公司的錢買禮物的話。✽
If you attend a holiday party with colleagues in someone's home, make sure you bring a hostess gift. While wine is usually a popular hostess gift, it may not always be appropriate if it's a work event. A nice box of chocolates or a poinsettia plant are good options.
如果你和同事到別人家裡開節日派對，一定要給女主人帶一份禮物。儘管葡萄酒通常是非常受歡迎的禮物，但如果是與工作相關的活動，就並不一定合適了。這時一盒上好的巧克力或者一株一品紅都是不錯的選擇。✽

聽力是托福考試最難的一項，也是占比重最大的一項。所以一定要重視托福聽力的備考。托福聽力考試備考中，語法和托福聽力有什麼關係呢? 為大家解析托福聽力與語法的關係，希望對大家托福備考有所幫助。

顏色詞除表示其具體實際的色彩外，還會由於不同國家的不同文化而具有不同的涵義。例如a white day可譯為“白色的日子”，但在英國，白色往往表 示“純真”、“崇高”、“吉祥”、“幸福”之意。a white day意為“吉日” 或“喜慶的日字”。下面就各種顏色詞分別舉例略作說明。

✎✐日本小鎮有望書寫“零廢物”傳奇✎✐
Kamikatsu – Japan’s aspiring zero-waste town
　　
✒ We’ve heard many stories of individuals across the world who’ve adopted a zero-waste lifestyle, but it’s not often that we come across an entire community that is trying to become waste-free. The residents of Kamikatsu, Japan, take recycling so seriously that they actually hope to become the nation’s first zero-waste community by 2020.
採取“零廢物”生活方式的個人屢見不鮮，力圖實現“無廢棄”目標的群體倒很少見。日本上勝町的居民在回收利用廢物時相當嚴謹，事實上，他們希望到2020年時，能把家鄉建設成日本首個“零廢物”小鎮。
✒ Kamikatsu has no garbage trucks – so residents need to compost their kitchen scraps at home. They also have to wash and sort the rest of their trash into 34 different categories, and bring it to the recycling center themselves where workers make sure that the waste goes into the correct bins. It apparently took some time for the residents to get used to this rule, but they eventually managed to adapt to the drastic changes and are now seeing them as normal.
上勝町沒有垃圾車——因而居民需要在家中將廚餘垃圾製成堆肥。除此之外，他們必須先清洗廢物，並對照34種分類標準一一歸類，然後再將其送至回收中心，那裡的工人會確保廢物被正確放入相應的回收箱。顯然，適應回收規則需要時間，但上勝町的居民最終成功適應了這些巨變，並漸漸變得習以為常。
✒ The Japanese town has turned recycling into a streamlined process – there are separate bins for different types of paper products – newspapers, magazines, cartons, and flyers. Even plastic bottles and their caps go into different bins as do aluminum, spray, and steel cans are collected separately too. Many of these items are resold or repurposed into usable clothing, toys, and accessories. The labels on each bin show the recycling process for that specific item, so the residents know exactly what happens to their trash.
這個日本小鎮讓回收過程變得既精簡又高效——上勝町針對各類紙製品（譬如報紙、雜誌、紙箱及傳單）設置了不同的回收箱。甚至連塑膠瓶和瓶蓋都必須分開投放，鋁罐、噴霧罐和鋼罐也必須歸類至不同的回收箱。人們會再次出售某些廢物，或將其重新用於衣物、玩具和首飾上。每個回收箱都貼有展示此類廢物回收過程的標籤，這樣，居民們就能清楚得知廢物的處理方式。
✒ Reuse is highly encouraged in Kamikatsu – they have a local kuru-kuru shop where residents can exchange used items with new things at no extra cost. And the kuru-kuru factory employs women to make bags, clothes, and stuffed dolls out of discarded items. Businesses are also encouraged to participate in responsible waste management – the town has a zero-waste brewery, housed in a building constructed of reused materials.
上勝町特別鼓勵居民重複使用物品——當地設有kuru-kuru商店，人們可以以舊換新，而無需支付額外費用。kuru-kuru工廠會雇傭女工用廢棄物品製作包包、衣物或填充玩偶。上勝町支持各類企業參與廢物管理以增強企業的責任感——小鎮裡有一家“零廢物”釀酒廠，它位於採用可再生材料建造的房屋內。
✒ With a population of just over 1,700, Kamikatsu recycles about 80 percent of its trash and only 20 percent goes to landfills, so you could say that the town is very close to achieving its goal. They’ve been practicing prudent waste management for the past 13 years after declaring their zero-waste ambition in 2003 and giving up their old practice of dumping trash into open fires.
小鎮僅有1700多人，卻回收了近八成的廢物，需要運至垃圾填築地的廢物只剩兩成，從某種程度上來說，小鎮已快要達成“零廢物”的目標。2003年時，上勝町宣稱要實現此目標，他們放棄了焚燒垃圾的舊做法。此後的13年裡，他們始終嚴格踐行廢物管理規則。
✒ “If you get used to it, it becomes normal,” a Kamikatsu resident said in a video made by YouTube channel Seeker Stories. “It can be a pain, and at first we were opposed to the idea. Now I don’t think about it. It’s become natural to separate the trash correctly.”
“當你習慣回收廢物後，這事兒就會顯得很平常，”在YouTube“探索者所見” （Seeker Stories）頻道攝製的錄影中，一位元上勝町的居民如是說道。“回收廢物很麻煩，我們起初都反對這一提議。但現在，我根本不會想太多。對我來說，正確分類廢物再自然不過了。”
✒ All the recycling facilities in Kamikatsu are managed by a Zero Waste Academy which also regularly hosts groups of local schoolchildren and foreign visitors, educating them on the benefits of a zero waste lifestyle. Every years, the Academy receives around 2,500 visitors from all around the world, all eager to learn more about zero-waste and how Kamikatsu has managed to implement its principles in such a short period of time.
上勝町所有的回收廠都歸零廢物協會管理，該協會還定期組織當地小學生及外國遊客參觀學習，教導他們採取“零廢物”生活方式的益處。每年，協會都會接待2500多人到訪，這些來自世界各地的人渴望能更多地瞭解“零廢物”，同時也迫切想知道上勝町在短時間內成功踐行廢物管理規則的秘訣。

A study that analyzed the DNA of self-professed 'night owls' and 'morning larks' found that people who like to rise early tend to be thinner than those who go to bed later.

春節假期大概是我們一年中聚餐、聚會最密集的一段時間，親戚、朋友、同學分撥聚，分時段聚。總之就是聚會高峰期。這樣的時段，不學點跟party有關的短語可怎麼行？！
　　
1. the life and soul of a party 派對台柱/派對擔當

倫敦地鐵的不成文禁忌 你都知道嗎？🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃
How to behave on the Tube: unbreakable rules of the London Underground
　　
♝Transport for London caused fear, shock, panic and dismay at Holborn station back in November when they piloted a new crowd control system that flew in the face of traditional tube travel etiquette.
去年11月，倫敦霍爾本車站試行了一項新的人流管控制度。這一新制度打破了傳統的地鐵乘車禮儀，讓倫敦市民惶恐、震驚、慌亂和沮喪。
For three weeks, station staff actively encouraged travellers to stand on both the left and right sides of the escalator, breaking the long-established ‘stand on the right, walk on the left’ protocol, in the hope it would increase the number of people ascending.
連續三週，車站工作人員都積極地鼓勵乘客們在自動扶梯上站兩邊，打破了以往“右立，左行”的模式。他們希望通過此種方式能夠增加搭乘的人數。

✪ I'm good ✪
I'm good除了可以用來回答How are you?，表示“我很好”之外，還常用於：
- Do you want some chips with your sandwich?
你的三明治要帶薯條嗎？
- No, I'm good. Thanks.
不用了，謝謝。
- Do you have any questions?
你還有什麼問題嗎？
- No, I'm good.
沒有了。
也可用作委婉拒絕。
- Do you wanna go to a strip club?
要不要去看脫衣舞？
- I'm good.
不去啦。