字神帝國英語天地

 “工作狂”還有自願的？

✑ Despite being around for well over a decade, there are few set rules of 'digital etiquette' that everyone can agree on when it comes to using social media, emails and text messages. 

➢ 電影裡老說“沒有永遠的敵人，只有永遠的利益”，還說“敵人的敵人就是朋友”。看來，在巨大的利益或者危機面前，對抗雙方聯手也不少見。這種情況在英語裡叫strange bedfellows，這個說法是偉大的莎士比亞創造的。
The phrase "strange bedfellows" means two people (or groups) of totally different qualities and principles working closely together, which is odd (strange) to see. 
　　

2016年3月，美國大學理事會正式啟動新的SAT考試，這意味著全球的考生將要面臨著一個新的挑戰。
SAT全稱Scholastic Assessment Test，意為學術能力評估測試，由美國大學理事會（College Board）主辦，其成績是世界各國高中生申請美國大學入學資格及獎學金的重要參考，它與ACT（American College Test，美國高等院校考試）都被稱為美國高考。
SAT主要考察學生們在大學階段所必須的閱讀和寫作能力。考試科目分別為閱讀（Critical Reading）、數學（Mathematics）和寫作（Writing）。寫作由作文（Essay）和語法選擇題（multiple choice）組成。
自引入SAT考試以來，已經進行過多次改革。新的SAT考試改革將於3月份啟動，被稱為有史以來最大的一次改革（one of the greatest overhauls of the exam in its history）。那麼，新舊SAT到底有什麼不同？
　　
✤ 1. 計分改變（Different scoring）
The new SAT is going back to the old 1600 scale (400-1600) and doing away with the 2400 scale (600-2400). 
新SAT考試將重回之前的1600分制（400-1600），取消2400分制（600-2400）。
✤ 2. 答錯不倒扣分（No more penalty for wrong answers）
Students will earn points for the questions they answer correctly but will not lose points for incorrect answers, as they did on the old test.
新的SAT考試中，學生們答對得分，答錯也不倒扣分。舊的SAT考試中，答錯要倒扣分。
✤ 3. 考試時長變短（Shorter test）
Not only will there be fewer questions, but students can spend less time taking the SAT. The old test took 225 minutes, but the new one takes 180 minutes, if you skip the essay.
新的SAT考試不僅題數變少了，學生們的考試時間也變短了。舊的SAT考試時長為3小時45分鐘，如果考生不考作文的話，新的SAT考試時長為3小時。
✤ 4. 作文變選考（Essay now optional）
The College Board has made several changes to the SAT essay, the biggest of which is that it's now optional. Students are no longer required to write an essay, but some colleges and still require it.
美國大學理事會對SAT作文考試做了很多變革，其中最大的變化就是作文變成選考。學生們不再被強制要求要寫作文，不過一些大學仍要求考生寫作。
✤ 5. 晦澀用詞變少（No more obscure vocabulary）
Instead of quizzing students on words they’ll never use again like “abrogate” or “plaudit”.
新的SAT考試不再使用學生不常用到的詞，例如“abrogate”、“plaudit”。
✤ 6. 計算機只在某些數學部分被允許使用（No-calculator math section）
The new SAT has two math sections, one where you can use a calculator and one where you can't. The no-calculator section is new and was designed to make it easier for colleges to assess students' understanding of math concepts, according to The College Board.
新的SAT考試有兩個數學部分，其中一部分可以使用計算機，另一部分不可以。不可以使用計算機的部分是新設的，美國大學理事會表示，設立該部分是為了讓大學更簡單地考察考生對數學概念的理解能力。
✤ 7. 圖形圖表變多（More graphs and charts）
The new test will have an increased emphasis on questions that make students infer information from graphs and charts, especially in the reading section.
新SAT考試的題目將注重讓考生從圖形和圖表中推斷出資訊，尤其是在閱讀部分。

 《殺死一隻知更鳥》名句摘錄

Oscar statuettes: 10 facts you may not know
　　
The Oscar statuette is the symbol of the Academy Awards. Here are some facts about the trophy itself.
奧斯卡小金人是奧斯卡金像獎的象徵。這裡有一些關於獎盃本身的事實。
　
❶ The original design of “Oscar” was by MGM art director Cedric Gibbons. He came up with a statuette of a knight standing on a reel of film gripping a crusader’s sword. The Academy commissioned the Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley to create the design in three dimensions.
“奧斯卡”的原始設計師是米高梅公司藝術總監塞德里克·吉奔斯。他構想出了一個騎士站在一個電影膠片卷軸上，手裡緊握十字軍之劍的雕像。學院委託洛杉磯雕塑家喬治·斯坦利來做三維設計。
❷ It was presented for the first time at the initial awards banquet on May 16, 1929 to Emil Jannings, named Best Actor for his performances in “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh”.
小金人在1929年5月16日的頒獎晚會上首次亮相，第一座小金人授予艾米爾·傑寧斯，他憑藉在《最後的命令》和《眾生之路》中的表演獲選奧斯卡最佳男演員。
❸ Since then, 2,701 statuettes have been presented.
自那時起，已經有2701座小金人被頒發出去。
❹ The new golden statuettes are cast, moulded, polished and buffed each January by RS Owens & Company, the Chicago-based awards manufacturer retained by the Academy since 1982.
每年一月新的黃金雕像將由RS歐文公司進行澆鑄和拋光，自1982年以來美國電影藝術與科學院就一直授權這家芝加哥獎盃製造商製造獎盃。
❺ Oscar stands 13½ inches tall and weighs 8½ lbs.
奧斯卡小金人身高13½英寸，重8½磅。
❻ The film reel features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy: actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers. Although the statuette remains true to its original design, the size of the base varied until 1945, when the current standard was adopted.
這個電影膠片卷軸上有五個輻條，標誌著學院的五個原始分支：演員、導演、製片人、技術人員和作家。在1945年前，雖然雕像一直忠於原始設計，但底座大小不一。直到1945年，目前的標準才被採納。
❼ Officially named the Academy Award of Merit, the statuette is better known by its nickname, Oscar. While the origins of the moniker are not clear, a popular story has it that upon seeing the trophy for the first time, Academy librarian (and eventual executive director) Margaret Herrick remarked that it resembled her Uncle Oscar. The Academy didn’t adopt the nickname officially until 1939.
奧斯卡的官方名稱是學院成就獎，但是小金人的昵稱“奧斯卡”更廣為人知。雖然該昵稱的起源不明，但是有個廣為流傳的故事提到，當學院圖書館員（後成為執行董事）瑪格麗特·赫裡克第一次看到小金人時，她評論說小金人長得就像她的叔叔奧斯卡。學院一直到1939年才正式起用這一綽號。
❽ The statuettes presented at the initial ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze. Within a few years the bronze was abandoned in favour of Britannia metal, a pewter-like alloy which is then plated in copper, nickel silver, and finally, 24-carat gold.
最初在奧斯卡頒獎禮上頒發的小金人都是鍍金實心銅像。幾年後小金人的原料被換成不列顛合金，這是一種類錫合金，然後鍍上銅、鎳銀，最後再鍍上一層24K黃金。
❾ Due to a metal shortage during the Second World War, Oscars were made of painted plaster for three years. Following the war, the Academy invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for gold-plated metal ones.
由於在第二次世界大戰期間金屬資源短缺，有三年的奧斯卡小金人是用石膏製成的。戰爭結束後，學院請這些獲獎者拿石膏雕像來換鍍金金屬雕像。
❿ The Academy is not certain know how many statuettes it will hand out until the envelopes are opened on the night of the ceremony. Although the number of categories are known in advance, the possibility of ties and of multiple recipients sharing the prize in some categories makes it impossible to predict the exact number of statuettes to be awarded. Any surplus awards are housed in the Academy’s vault until the following year's event.
直到奧斯卡頒獎禮當晚信封被打開，學院並不清楚將頒發多少個小金人獎盃。儘管各獎項類別的數目已經提前知曉，但仍有可能在某些獎項產生多人獲得同一個獎的情況，因此無法預知要頒發出去的小金人的準確數量。多出的小金人將放在學院的地窖裡，等待來年奧斯卡再頒發出去。

大表姐勞倫斯成最吸金奧斯卡候選人

慵懶的時候，讀讀這些勵志的英語句子吧！

"Fangirling" is a term used to describe extreme excitement over a certain fandom. For example, if you were a Hunger Games fan, and a new trailer came out, you might start fangirling, or freaking out from extreme excitement. 
“犯花癡”用來形容對自己鍾愛的“迷文化”的極度興奮狀態。比如，你是《饑餓遊戲》的死忠粉，最新預告片出來後，你就要開始“犯花癡”了，或者會“亢奮到崩潰”。
　　
Fangirling是動詞，來源於fangirl。fangirl指的是a rabid breed of human female who is obesessed with either a fictional character or an actor.（對某個虛幻角色或演員明星無限癡迷的女生），相對應的男生就是fanboy。
下面來看看“犯花癡”的14種境界，你修煉到哪級了？
The 14 Levels of Fangirling
　　
❤ 1. Casual Fangirl 偶爾花癡一把
This show is pretty good. You're definitely going to see the sequel to that movie. The actors and actresses are talented, attractive individuals. 
這部劇不錯，你當然會關注續集。男女主角都很有才，也很有個人魅力。
❤ 2. Fangirl Lite 不那麼花癡
Actually, this show is excellent. Is there fanfiction? You won't leave the cast photo as your screensaver for that long ... you needed a new one anyway. 
講真的，這部劇很精彩。有同人小說嗎？但你也不會把演員照片當屏保太久，也會換張新的。
❤ 3. Self-Aware Fangirl 有自知之明的花癡
Yes, you've watched the trailer ten times just to make sure you caught all the subtext. And maybe occasionally paused on close-ups of the leads' faces -- just to see what their facial expressions said about the plot. But you're not going to tell anyone about it. 
是的， 這部預告片你已經看了不下十遍，以便搞清楚所有的弦外之音。或許你偶爾還會特別留意下主演面容的特寫，就為了看看他們的表情能透露啥劇情。但你不會跟別人講。
❤ 4. Collector Fangirl 花癡“收藏家”
You just need a T-shirt with that one quote on it. And maybe a sticker of your favorite character. And an exact replica of that ring they found in that one episode. 
你想要一件寫著某句臺詞的T恤衫。或者你鍾愛人物的貼紙。或者某個情節中發現的戒指的模擬品。
❤ 5. Fangirl Denial 克制型花癡
The next movie in the series came out, and you read that the actors are trying not to laugh at an inside joke in the last scene. And when the lead actress pointed in the first scene what did she really mean? Maybe you should talk about something else. 
電影續集要播出了，你發現在最後一幕中，男演員似乎難掩對一個圈內笑話的笑容。第一幕中女主角到底想說啥？也許你該談點兒別的了。
❤ 6. Fangirl Submission 花癡“投降派”
You know your friends are sick of hearing about your fandom. You know you should talk about something else, but the feels are too overwhelming. You have to share them with someone. Anyone. 
你的朋友已經厭倦了聽你“犯花癡”，你知道的。你知道你應該談點兒別的，但想談花癡物件的感覺太強烈了，你必須和別人分享這種情緒，不管是誰。
❤ 7. Overtaken Fangirl 徹底的花癡
The story is just so perfect: the lines, and the way the characters say the lines with their mouths and their voices. How is anyone talking about anything else?! 
故事非常完美：臺詞，劇中角色念臺詞的語調和樣子，怎麼還有心思談其他的呢？！
❤ 8. Apologetic Fangirl 要認錯的花癡
You realize you've been a bit obsessive and you feel it's time to apologize to your non-fandom friends for trying to drag them into it. 
你意識到自己過於著迷了，感到要向非花癡朋友們道歉，因為你總是試著把他們“拉下水”。
❤ 9. Fangirl Community 一起來花癡
You discover message boards and fanblogs. There is a whole slew of people just like you. 
你發現了留言板和花癡部落格，這裡的花癡們都和你差不多。
❤ 10. Analytic Fangirl 分析型花癡
After watching that one scene for the hundredth time, the line repeated two seasons later totally makes sense! Did anyone else catch how the lead said "hey" to his lady friend? They are so in love. Everything makes sense. 
在觀看了同一場景100遍之後，你發現兩季之後重複出現的一句臺詞很有意義！還有人關注到主角對他的女性朋友說哈囉的方式了嗎？他們肯定深愛著。一切事物都有其含義。
❤ 11. Judgmental Fangirl 判斷型花癡
This is a level many will skip, as fandoms are supposed to support the community. But if someone doesn't know the name of the restaurant in episode 203? Judging you. 
這是很多人會跳過的等級，因為花癡們總要擁護自己的花癡群體。但如果有人不知道第203集裡面飯館的名字？抗議！
❤ 12. Raging Fangirl 憤怒的花癡
EVERYTHING IS FANDOM AND EVERYTHING HURTS AND CAPLOCKS ARE THE ONLY WAY TO PROPERLY EXPRESS ALL YOUR EMOTIONS.
一切都與花癡有關。為了準確表達你全部的花癡心情，一切都要讓路。
❤ 13. Unapologetic Fangirl 不願認錯的花癡
Your fandom is the best fandom. Your characters are the best characters. You are not interested in hearing from anyone who disagrees. 
你的花癡對象是最好的，你所鍾愛的角色是最棒的。誰說個“不”你都不愛聽。
❤ 14. Fangirl Exhaustion 極品花癡
Completely obsessing over a piece of pop culture can be tiresome, and sometimes you just need a break. Unfortunately that's not going to happen, because there are GIFs to be made and fan art to be drawn. 
徹頭徹尾地癡迷於某種流行文化也會很煩，有時你需要休息一下。不幸的是這從未發生過，因為總有GIF要做，總有偶像的畫要去畫。
　
Whatever you're level may be, it's OK. 
不管你到了哪個花癡級別，都OK. 
People offline might not understand your devotion. 
線下的朋友們也許不理解你的花癡精神。
But the internet understands 
但網路能懂。
文章來源：http://goo.gl/M7Qt05

ూ 打哈欠會傳染 女性間尤如此 ూ
Yawning is MORE contagious among women due to their higher levels of empathy
　　
It's a well-known fact that yawning is contagious and can spread around a room in a matter of seconds, but it turns out the phenomenon is more common among women.
➻ 眾所周知，打哈欠是會傳染的，一個房間裡的人陸續打哈欠，也就是幾秒的事兒。更有結果證明，這種傳染在女性之間更為普遍。
During tests, researchers found that while men and women yawn spontaneously at equal rates, women are more likely to yawn in 'reply' to another person's yawn.
➻ 在測試過程中，研究人員發現，相同頻率下，男人和女人自發地打哈欠時，女性更可能會受他人影響打哈欠。
　
Yawning in response to someone else is a recognized sign of empathy, which suggests that women are more empathetic and attuned to others than men.
➻ 回應別人的哈欠是個公認的移情標誌。因此上面的結果表明，與男人相比，女性更加善解人意。
The research was carried out at Pisa University in Italy.
➻ 這項研究是在義大利的比薩大學進行的。
　
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the internal emotional states of others, and previous research has already shown that women are better at it than men.
➻ 移情是理解和分享他人內心情緒狀態的能力，以前的研究已經表明，女性的移情能力要比男性更強。
For example, research has revealed women more often mimic the facial expressions of others, showing they are picking up on the other person's state of mind.
➻ 例如研究發現，女性更經常模仿別人的面部表情，這表明她們正在揣摩別人的心理狀態。
　
A team led by Elisabetta Palagi, set out to examine whether women are more likely to unconsciously mimic another person's yawning.
➻ 伊莉莎白·帕拉吉帶領的團隊，對女性是否“更可能無意識地模仿另一個人打哈欠”進行了研究。
To test their theory, the experts secretly observed people in hundreds of work and social situations over a period of five years.
➻ 為了檢驗他們的理論，專家們在五年時間裡，秘密觀察了數百名不同工作背景和社會環境的人。
　
They particularly noted if subjects 'returned' another person's yawn within three minutes.
➻ 他們特別注意受試者是否會在三分鐘內對他人的哈欠做出回應，
The authors, writing in the journal Royal Society Open Science, defined yawning scientifically as 'an involuntary sequence of mouth opening, deep inspiration, brief apnoea [stopping breathing] and slow expiration'.
➻ 研究結果發佈在《皇家社會開放科學》雜誌上。作者把哈欠科學地定義為“先張口，深吸氣，簡短的無呼吸狀態[呼吸暫停]，然後慢慢的呼氣”這樣一個不由自主的過程。
　
While they said men and women yawned spontaneously at equal rates, they discovered that once someone had yawned, female participants were more likely to yawn as well.
➻ 雖然研究人員稱男人和女人打哈欠的自發率相同，但他們也發現，一旦有人打了個哈欠，女性更容易跟著打哈欠。
Explaining why they think women are more likely to unconsciously mimic somebody else's sleepiness, the researchers said that having a close emotional bond with the 'trigger' yawner – if they are friends or relations - makes a person more likely to pick up on their mood than that of a stranger.
➻ 在解釋為什麼認為女性更可能會無意識地模仿別人的哈欠時，研究人員表示，如果你與最先打哈欠的人有親密的情感關係——比如打哈欠的人是你的朋友或親戚，你就會比一個陌生人更容易理解他們的心情。
　
The rates of contagion were significantly lower between acquaintances than between friends and family members, and significantly higher in women than in men.
➻ 熟人之間的接觸傳染率明顯低於朋友與家庭成員之間的接觸傳染率，而女性之間的接觸傳染率又明顯高於男性。
The phenomenon has been seen in other social animals, such as chimps, dogs and wolves.
➻ 在其他群居動物（如黑猩猩、狗和狼）身上，研究人員也看到了這種現象。

Have YOU been using your chopsticks wrong?
　　
♆ An Australian woman has accidentally become a viral online sensation after sharing an image of a 'life hack' which has shown people worldwide they've been using chopsticks wrong all their lives.
一名澳大利亞女性意外成為了網路紅人，只因她在網上分享了一個生活小竅門的圖片，這個圖片告訴全世界：一直以來，人們使用一次性筷子的方法都是錯的。
　　
♆ The nifty trick is fairly simple: just snap the chunky wooden tab off the end of a pair of disposable chopsticks and use it as a stand to avoid putting utensils straight onto the table.
其實使用筷子的竅門特別簡單：只要把連接一次性筷子尾部的木塊掰斷，將木塊用作筷枕，這樣能避免餐具直接接觸桌子。
　　
♆ However, it seems the trick was enough to break the Internet when people reacted to the ground-breaking chopsticks news with absolute shock and amazement.
但就是這樣一個簡單的竅門也足以在網上掀起軒然大波，畢竟這種一次性筷子的用法聞所未聞，人們無不對此表示訝異。
　　
♆ An Australian woman saw the photo on Facebook and, deciding it was funny, thought she'd reshare it on Twitter. It has now been retweeted 3,200 times and favourited more than three thousand times.
一位澳大利亞女性在臉書（Facebook）上看到了這張圖片，覺得十分有趣，她決定把它分享到推特上，如今這張圖片被轉發了3200次，被點贊了三千多次。
　　
♆ Bort of Darkness' tweet went viral almost immediately and, two days later, she can still barely use her phone as she is bombarded with messages and retweets from amazed social media users.
她以“黑暗伯特”的帳號發出的這條推文在分秒之間進行了病毒式傳播，兩天之後，她幾乎沒法用手機了，因為她的手機已經被瘋狂的社交媒體使用者發來的各種訊息和銳推（轉推）擠爆。
　　
♆ The bemused young woman has also now been credited as the brainchild behind the life hack in news articles around the world, from Ireland to Germany.
從愛爾蘭到德國，在全世界的新聞中，這一新技能如今已被認證為這名年輕女性的頭腦產物，儘管她為此感到十分困惑。
　　
♆ People have responded to Bort's tweet with other fascinating, little known hacks.
人們紛紛對“伯特”的推文進行回應，上傳了其他很多有趣的獨門秘笈。
'This is the same feeling I got when I discovered the noodle boxes fold out into bowls,' one person tweeted.
有個人發推說：“曾經我有過同樣的感覺，那就是當我發現泡麵盒可以折成碗的時候。”
　　
♆ 'This is like learning about the string on bandaids,' another replied, explaining a string on the bandaid packaging can be used to cleanly unwrap a bandaid without ripping the packet.
“這就像是創可貼外包裝上的細繩，”另一個人回復說，這根細繩可以使得創可貼的外包裝整齊地打開，避免扯壞包裝。
She jokes the response has been so huge considering 'I tweeted a dumb picture, I didn't invent chopsticks.'　　
對於這些海量回復，該女性開玩笑道：“我只是發了一張愚蠢的照片，我可沒有發明筷子。”
　　
♆ Although she's found the staggering response quite absurd, Bort says it's given her an intriguing insight into how quickly online content can go viral.
儘管“伯特”認為這些驚人的回復量相當荒唐，但她也表示此次事件讓她意識到網路傳播有多神速。

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。

➤遇到特別重要的考試、面試，或者需要發言的場合，很多人都難免會緊張，而這種緊張最直接的體現就是肚子會輕微絞痛。這種反應自然不會是某個國家的人獨有的，所以，英文裡也有對應的說法。
　　
➤Typically a humorous word referring to 'stomach pain or queasiness', collywobbles also refers figuratively to 'intense anxiety or nervousness, especially with stomach queasiness'. The word comes from the fanciful formation of colic + wobble, and in its figurative usage can be equated to the more common butterflies in the stomach, belly. Referring to 'a fluttering and nauseated sensation felt in the stomach when one is nervous', the phrase is often clipped to just 'the butterflies'.

餡餅（pie）和蛋糕（cake）是老外愛吃的東西。因為與他們的日常生活密切相關，所以被用以喻人喻事也就不足為怪了。