台中洋碩美語 makes our lives valuable

本次的諮詢師QA專欄跟大家說明的是文法唷。文法一直是同學們頭痛的項目，認真練習口說之餘也要適時的加強文法，才能讓自己的口說更準確，語意更清晰喔。我有一支筆、那間房子有一隻狗這些"有"該怎麼表達比較好，讓我們繼續看下去。
我覺得我不太分辨得出there is/ there are和have/ has的差別?也不了解It’s about time/ it’s high time後面的子句為何要用過去式？

 
本週的諮詢師QA專欄由Jasmine帶來這句英文怎麼說
最近毒澱粉及義美使用過期原料事件再度掀起食品安全風波。像一些不肖商人擅自在食品中添加如工業澱粉(industrial starch)等會危害人體健康的原料都可稱為黑心食品。在英文中可用”tainted food/contaminated food”來表示。Tainted和contaminated都有”受污染”的意思。

另外像黑心商人，可稱為”black-hearted” businessman或dishonest businessman。

e.g. The dishonest businessmen made a fortune by selling tainted food. (黑心商人透過販售黑心食品賺了一大筆錢)

像黑心食品這種偷工減料的商品，美國人常稱之為”lemon”，意指劣質品。
最常用的說法是lemon car，指出廠後才發現有瑕疵的車子。

e.g. This new car turned out to be a lemon. (這台新車根本就是台爛車)

小資也能立大功，一切歸功於盜版！
同學們知道什麼是indie(s)嗎？它看起來跟India很像，但是卻跟印度一點關係也沒有。其實indie(s)是independent films的簡稱，也就是獨立製片；與commercial films(商業影片)也就是類似好萊塢的賣座電影blockbuster(s)大不相同。Indie(s)通常沒有財團支持，沒有錢做阿凡達的特效，也沒有鐵達尼號的場景。但是，有些indie(s)拍的比blockbuster(s)還有趣，而且更吸引人。而Indie(s)跟網路社群的關係，也是共生互利的；這點就跟片商老闆很討厭盜版，大相逕庭了。接下來，我們來看看「來自地球的人」這部膾炙人口的indie。
 
A Man from Earth (2007)
來自地球的人
An impromptu (即席的) goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation (詢問) after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he never ages and has walked the earth for 14,000 years.
面對突如其來的告別派對，約翰奧德曼教授揭露了他神祕的一生，變成眾人質問的焦點。奧德曼在即將退休之餘說出了他是個永生不老的人，而且在地球上遊蕩了一萬四千年。

How Piracy Helped 'The Man From Earth' Become A Viral Sensation and Inspired A Sequel
盜版如何幫助「來自地球的人」一夜成名，並且以病毒行銷的方式散布全球，導演於是決定開拍續集
一般來說，盜版是公認的電影殺手，但是「來自地球的人」卻是個異數；因為盜版不但幫該片宣傳，而且還造就了忠實粉絲。雖然該片沒有賺到很多錢，因此片商不打算拍續集，但是營收方面還是勉強打平，而粉絲團也將支持Kickstarter的拍片計畫(kickstarter是一個資助藝文創作的網站，有許多的創作計畫和拍片想法都可以上傳網站上，由網友自由捐獻，幫助創作者實現夢想)，用群眾的力量籌錢拍「來自地球的人」第二集。如果你想知道該片的訪問細節可以參考下列網站:http://www.indiewire.com/article/how-piracy-helped-the-man-from-earth-become-a-viral-sensation-and-inspired-a-sequel
Man from Earth的預告片:

前陣子日本東京取得了2020奧運的舉辦權!!
 

東京日前拿下2020年奧運主辦權，消息傳回國內，也讓日本舉國歡騰。日本媒體創了一個新名詞「安倍奧運經濟學」，稱舉辦奧運是安倍振興國家經濟的「第四枝箭」! 究竟奧運能替日本帶來多大的經濟效應呢? Let's wait and see!
 

本週的商務英文由Amanda老師帶來眾所期待的Iphone發表會評論唷~
iPhone 5C: Is Apple's cheaper model too expensive?
iPhone 5C：蘋果的低價策略產品，價格是否依然太高？
 

Apple has grown too big for just one iPhone.That is why Apple is releasing two new iPhones this month instead of just one, including a cheaper model aimed at less wealthy countries where new Apple phones have been desired but are out of reach because of their price.
蘋果能夠勢力如此龐大，主要是由於推出iPhone系列產品，也因此現在蘋果在這個月一次推出兩款iPhone。其中一款為低價策略的產品，將市場定在較不富裕的國家。在這些國家裡，雖然出現產品需求，但卻因為蘋果的高價位，大部分的人無法負擔。

The lower-cost model, the iPhone 5C (the C for color), comes in a plastic case and has the same features as the now-outdated iPhone 5.　The fancier model, the iPhone 5S, comes in aluminum and includes a faster processor and a fingerprint sensor for security, among other features.
蘋果此次推出的低價策略產品即為iPhone 5C (C代表顏色)，其外殼為塑膠製，手機功能和特點都和iPhone 5一樣。相較之下，另一款較為高級的產品是iPhone 5S，具有鋁製外殼，配備更快速的處理器，甚至還有指紋辨識的安全系統。

The iPhone 5S costs $200 with a contract, and the iPhone 5C costs $100 with a contract.　But at full price without a contract, which is how many overseas carriers allow people to pay for phones, the iPhone 5C costs $550 - only $100 less than the iPhone 5S. That is far higher than the range of $300 to $400 that many analysts believed could help Apple against lower-cost competition.
　iPhone 5S 連同合約一共200元美金，而iPhone 5C 則要價100元美金。但是，蘋果的國外市場當中，消費者可以全價購買產品，而不簽合約，如此一來iPhone 5C 就要價550元美金，只比iPhone 5S便宜100元美金而已。許多分析師都認為，蘋果要能與低價策略的公司競爭，產品價格訂在300 至400元美金左右，但是 550元美金已經遠超過這個範圍。

前言：對於有在發囉(follow)3C產品資訊的人來說，這陣子除了IPHONE 5s最大的新聞莫過於：Microsoft要買走Nokia啦!!!!((⊙◞౪◟⊙))快來看看BBC是怎麼報導這則新聞的。
 
Microsoft to buy Nokia's mobile phone unit
微軟將買下諾基亞的手機部門
Microsoft has agreed a deal to buy Nokia‘s mobile phone business for 5.4bn euros ($7.2bn; £4.6bn).　Nokia will also license its patents and mapping services to Microsoft. Nokia shares jumped 35% on the news, whereas Microsoft's fell more than 5%.
微軟已經同意以54億歐元(相當於72億美元及46億英鎊)買下諾基亞手機，而諾基亞也將其專利和測繪服務授權給微軟。消息一出，諾基亞的股價及上漲35%，微軟則下跌5%以上。
The transaction is still subject to approval by Nokia shareholders and regulators.　Nokia says that once the sale is completed, it will concentrate on three key businesses - network equipment manufacturing, mapping and location services, and the development and licensing of technology.
這項交易是否達成作後協定，取決於諾基亞的股東和高層。諾基亞也表示，一旦合併完成後，該公司會將重心放在三項主要發展：網路設備製造、測繪及定點服務，以及技術授權及發展。
Earlier this year, it agreed to buy Siemens' 50% stake in their joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), which makes telecoms network equipment, for 1.7bn euros.
在今年稍早，諾基亞同意以17億歐元購買西門子50%的股份，與西門子公司成為合資企業－諾基亞西門子通信（NSN）；該公司主要製造通訊設備。

你是不是常常有這樣的困擾:面對外國人講總是鴨子聽雷，有聽沒有懂；別人的英文講得好快，我的耳朵都跟不上..
你的問題，老師們聽到了，今天的諮詢師QA專欄由Amanda帶來聽力不好的解藥!!
聽力不好的原因有三：

1.單字量不夠，在單字不夠的情況下，很多字沒看過或讀過，那就不可能聽得懂，所以還是要多閱讀來補足。閱讀的時候要朗誦，確知每個字的發音。
2. 不懂外國人講話的模式和邏輯，因此在聽的時候會出現混亂的情形。
3. 口音太濃厚，導致無法辨識講者所講的字和句子。

問題２和３需要靠長時間經驗累積，無法在短期內達到，但是若能夠增加閱讀量，短期內聽力可以稍有起色。

你喜歡疆屍嗎？不管是風流倜儻的吸血鬼、疆屍哪有那麼帥、腐敗的美女屍身、到噁心到吐血的畸形怪物，我們不得不承認西洋的疆屍片正夯！但是你有想過我們也可以從以上的非人類身上學到很多東西？或者是說，從它們的故事中得到對於人類生存的啟發？如果你想在娛樂的同時也學點東西，那麼以下這則報導就非你莫屬啦！

 
“The Walking Dead” Course on Hypothetical
Zombie Apocalypse Offered by AMC & UC Irvine
美國AMC電視將與加州大學歐文分校一起開設《陰屍路》課程，探討假設性的殭屍末日
The free, eight-week online course
will be taught from the concentrations of public health, social sciences,
physics and mathematics.
該課程為其8周，學費全免，課程內容將涵蓋一連串的學門，如公共健康、社會科學、物理學、數學。
AMC Network (American Movie Classics) and the University of California,
Irvine (加州大學歐文分校) are teaming up to offer a course
on a hypothetical zombie apocalypse as seen through the lens of “The Walking
Dead.”
美國AMC電視和加州大學歐文分校將合作開設一門課，討論假設性的殭屍末日，所使用的文本就是膾炙人口的《陰屍路》影集。
The free, eight-week online course
is titled “Society, Science, Survival: Lessons from AMC’s ‘The Walking
Dead.’” It will be hosted on Instructure’s MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)
platform, Canvas Network, and taught by a multidisciplinary team of UC Irvine
faculty.
8周課程的全名為”社會、科學、生存：AMC《陰屍路》的啟發”。此課程將會由鹽城湖的教育機構Instructure負責，開設於該公司的免費線上課程平台Canvas Network，師資則是加州分校負責，由跨學科團隊的老師執教。
“The Walking Dead” provides many
poignant case studies related to the scholarly areas covered in the course, and
it helps that it’s one of TV’s most popular shows, Bic
said in a statement. “There will be something for everyone in this course,
which will explore concepts as varied as post-disaster nutrition, the
foundations of human survival and stereotypes in a Darwinian environment.”
《陰屍路》提供很多很深刻的案例研究，跟課程中諸多的學科都有關係，而且該影集也非常受大眾喜愛，會幫助修課者對於知識上的理解。每個人都能在課程中有所獲益，因為課程會探討很多的議題，例如災後的營養學、人類生存基礎、達爾文主義的刻板印象等。
    “The Walking Dead” is the most-watched TV series in basic cable history
and was the No. 1 show last season among adults 18 to 49, across all broadcast
and cable networks.
《陰屍路》是目前美國有線電視網收視率最高的影集，上一季收視排名第一，觀眾的年齡從18歲到49歲，在所有有線電視頻道中表現最為亮眼。
 The first class is scheduled
for Monday, Oct. 14, the day after the show’s Season 4 premiere. The
course will run for eight consecutive Mondays through Dec. 2.
第一堂課預計10月14日星期一上線，也就是第四季首映的隔天上課。課程將在之後每週一繼續，連續8周，12月2日課程結束。

在臉書上按讚看似一件輕而易舉的事，不過如果把按讚變成一種工作，恐怕不是件有趣的事了!


How low-paid workers at 'click farms' create appearance of online popularity (血汗工廠專門在臉書上按讚衝人氣)

How much do you like courgettes? According to one Facebook page devoted to them, hundreds of people find them delightful enough to click the "like" button.

你有多喜歡南瓜呢? 根據一個南瓜產品的臉書專頁，有數百人在此按讚。

There's just one problem: the liking was fake, done by a team of low-paid workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, whose boss demanded just $15 per thousand "likes" at his "click farm". Workers punching the keys might be on a three-shift system, and be paid as little as $120 a year.
不過這當中有個問題: 這些按讚的帳號都是假的，全是出自孟加拉一群廉價勞工之手。他們的老闆要求他們在臉書上按1千個讚才能賺取15美金。這些員工的工作可能採三班制，一年年薪只有120美金(約台幣$3600)

Click farms have become a growing challenge for companies which rely on social media measurements – meant to indicate approval by real users – to estimate the popularity of their products.

現在有越來越多公司倚賴社群網站來增加曝光率，許多公司會透過其臉書上的讚來評估自家產品的受歡迎程度。

For the workers, though, it is miserable work, sitting at screens in dingy rooms facing a blank wall, and sometimes working through the night. For that, they could have to generate 1,000 likes or follow 1,000 people on Twitter to earn a single US dollar.

然而對這家公司的員工來說，這卻是項非常痛苦的工作。他們必須坐在昏暗的房間裡面對著螢幕不停按讚，有時還必須熬夜工作。而如果他們能在推特(twitter)上累積1千個讚或追蹤1千個人，才只能賺到1美金。

Dhaka-registered Shareyt.com, meanwhile, claims to act as a middleman to connect companies seeking to boost their profile on Facebook, Twitter, Google +1, LinkedIn and YouTube.

這間位於孟加拉的Shareyt.com公司的主要業務是幫各公司在其臉書、推特、Google+、LinkedIn 及Youtube專頁上衝人氣。
"We made it as simple as mouse-clicking," the front page of the site says, claiming that it is "a crowd-sourcing platform to help you improve social media presence and search engine ranking FREE".

該公司的首頁上寫著"提高您的產品知名度就像按滑鼠一樣輕鬆"，"這個群眾外包(crowd-sourcing)的平台能幫您提升在社群網站上的能見度及搜尋引擎的排名，且是免費的喔!"

 Shareyt.com has now seen Facebook and Twitter prevent links to the site being posted on their networks. Twitter bans "fake followers" or the buying of followers. 

不過目前臉書及推特已開始封鎖來自Shareyt.com的連結。推特也禁止"假粉絲"或購買粉絲帳號的行為。

新聞字彙:
•  punch 按(鍵)
•  crowd-sourcing 群眾外包
•  fake 假的
•   dingy 昏暗的

如果蓋好摩天大樓，才發現不能使用電梯，會不會是很瞎的事? 這事情真的在西班牙發生了!!
 
Benidorm's white elephant woe: Spanish skyscraper going up — but without an elevator?

If you are thinking of investing in an apartment at the Intempo skyscraper in Benidorm, Spain, be prepared to bring some good walking shoes: Its builders forgot a working elevator.
如果你想在西班牙的貝尼多爾姆市InTempo住宅大樓買房子，你最好準備幾雙耐用的鞋子。因為這棟大樓的建商忘了設計可用的電梯! 

According to a story surfaced on Gizmodo, the luxury high-rise tower, which started construction in 2007, was originally designed for 20 floors. But the the developers decided to push the design to include 47 floors with 269 homes. When completed, it will be Benidorm’s highest building at 650 feet.
根據美國科技媒體Gizmodo報導，這棟自2007年動工的的豪華大樓，原本只有設計蓋20層樓。但開發商卻更改設計圖，把建築物提高47層樓，可容納267個家庭。這棟大樓完工後，將會是當地最高的建築物，高達650英呎 (約200公尺)，不過現在卻成為一個笑柄。

There seemed to be just one important oversight: In going up to 47 floors, designers forgot to take into account room for an elevator shaft. El Pais reports that the architects on the project resigned in May 2012.
這一切就在於一個重大疏失: 設計師竟忘記幫加高的47樓層預留電梯空間。該項設計師也已在2012年五月辭職。

The building “represents a long story of incompetence,” according to El Pais. The coastal town had a building
boom that led to the nickname “Beniyork” for its skyline of high-rises.
根據西班牙"國家報"報導，這棟大樓有"多處不合格"。由於大樓激增，也讓這個小鎮標榜自己是"地中海的紐約"。

But then the recession hit. Intempo’s developer, which had once advertised the building as the “banner of the future,” and the bank that provided the loan for construction both went bankrupt in 2009. The building has cost €100 million so far.
不過隨之而來的經濟衰退延緩了進度項目。InTempo的建商原本想讓這棟大樓成為"引領未來的象徵"，不過當初提供借貸的銀行卻相繼在2009破產。到目前為止，這棟大樓目前約耗資1億歐元。

Already 35 percent of the apartments have been sold to international buyers. The building is 95 percent complete, and it is expected to be done by spring 2014.
大樓中35%已出售給國際買家。該樓近95%完工，預計在2014年春天落成。

•   新聞字彙  
white elephant  大而無用的東西  
high-rise 大廈  
take into account 把...列入考量
skyline (建築物在天空映襯下的)輪廓線
recession (經濟)衰退     
banner 標