TIME Picks the Most Surprising Photos of 2012

每日一看---TIME Picks the Most Surprising Photos of 2012


今天，我從TIME的2012年照片回顧中選了一些特別的相片，這幾天陸續介紹給大家看喔！

Ruhollah Yazdani—Mehr News Agency/Reuters

Feb. 1, 2012. Members of the Iranian army's air force re-enact the scene of founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's arrival in Iran in 1979 at Merhrabad airport, in Tehran.

2012年2月1日，伊朗空軍重演伊斯蘭共和國的開國元勳兼宗教領袖---霍爾尼於1979年底達伊朗的情形，降落在Merhrabad機場。

Alejandro Acosta—Reuters

Feb. 7, 2012. Maria Jose Cristerna, 36, a mother of four, tattoo artist and former lawyer, applies make-up to her face at her home in Guadalajara, Mexico.

2012年2月7日，瑪麗亞‧喬斯‧克莉絲汀那36歲，有四個小孩。她以前當過律師，現在是刺青師傅，正在墨西哥瓜達拉哈拉城的家中上妝。

Prakash Mathema—AFP/Getty Images
Feb. 9, 2012. Chandra Bahadur Dangi, a 72-year-old Nepali who claims to be the world's shortest man at 22 inches in height, stands near his home in Reemkholi village, Dang district, some 540 kilometres southwest of Kathmandu.
2012年2月9日，距尼泊爾首都加德滿都(Kathmandu)約540公里的丹區(Dang)，一位住在當地村莊的72歲老人-- Chandra Bahadur Dangi—稱自己是世界上最矮的人，身高只有22英吋(約55.88公分)。

 David Ramos—Getty Images

Feb. 29, 2012. A hotel receptionist tries to put out a fire during a demonstration on Barcelona, Spain. Student associations have called upon 120,000 students to strike in protest against education cuts recently announced by the Catalan government.
2012年2月29日在西班牙巴塞隆納，學生組織號召十萬兩千名學生罷課，抗議加泰羅尼政府最近宣佈的教育縮減。而一家飯店接待員，正試著滅掉遊行中點燃的火。

HO/AFP/Getty Images
March 28, 2012. Pope Benedict XVI with Cuban leader Fidel Castro during a meeting in Havana.
2012年3月28日在古巴首都哈瓦那的一場會議中，教皇本篤十六世和古巴領導人菲德爾‧卡斯特羅有個會晤。

Mian Kursheed—Reuters
April 13, 2012. Men use ropes to try and right a supply truck overloaded with wheat straw, used as animal feed, along a road in Dargai, Pakistan.
2012年4月13日，在巴基斯坦的達蓋(Dargai)一群男人用繩子試圖把翻覆的卡車拉正。那輛卡車滿載麥稈，是用來當動物飼料的。

cozy

每日一詞---cozy

今天來看一個簡單的形容詞，cozy. 它有兩種用法：第一種是形容房間等(溫暖而)舒適的，小而整齊舒服的：There was a little cozy restaurant, and my mother used to take me there. 那裡曾經有家舒適雅緻的小餐廳，我媽常常帶我去。The room had a cozy, homelike atmosphere. 那個房間有種賓至如歸的舒適氣氛。

第二種可以用在房間(或建築)以外的東西，當然也可以包括人、談話等：Let's go there and have a cozy chat after class! 讓我們下課去那裡輕鬆聊聊吧！I was kind of getting cozy at the Shubert, though. 然而，聽舒伯特的曲子讓我感到舒服。

Confessions of A Sniper (7)

每日一看---Confessions of A Sniper (7)

今天終於進入最後一部份了，一起來看一下這位狙擊手在拿槍之前的夢想是什麼吧！隨著採訪進入尾聲，TIME這位記者也問了最關鍵的問題---狙擊手對死在自己槍下的人到底有什麼感覺？我們來慢慢發掘吧！

Rebel fighters belonging to the Javata Harria Sham Qatebee watch over the enemy position during skirmishes at the first line of fire in Karmal Jabl neighborhood, district of Arkup, at the northeast of Aleppo CIty, Oct. 21, 2012.
2012/10/21阿勒波市東北方的奧克阿區， Javata Harria Sham Qatebee 叛軍與敵人在該區的卡爾瑪加柏打前哨戰。

He was not always like this. An avid boxer before he was the Sniper, the young man lived in Hamburg for five years, returning to his homeland in 2010. He attended the Goethe-Institut in Damascus and says his Arabic was so poor, he could barely read. It has since improved to the degree that he now reads the Koran aloud to his fellow rebels. He has long since shelved his dream of returning to Germany and training as a boxer. In fact, he doesn’t want to survive the Syrian uprising and is seeking “martyrdom.” “I’m only comfortable on the front line,” he says. “My rifle has become not just like a part of my body, it is my life, my destiny.” He remembers his religious awakening, in the first assault he participated in. It was a hit on a checkpoint on the road to the town of al-Bab on Aleppo’s outskirts. “We ambushed them. There was an Islamist with me. My heart was filled with faith. He told me the only thing between me and paradise was this road, was dying on this road. I was sorry that I lived.”
他可不是一直都這樣。在成為狙擊手前，他是一位年少又勁頭十足的拳擊手，在德國漢堡待了五年，直到2010年才返回家鄉。返鄉後，他加入大馬士革的歌德學院(註：歌德學院是德國設在其他國家、推動德文學習及文化培養的非營利組織)，並說他那時的阿拉伯文糟透了，幾乎不識字。但現在，他可以大聲朗誦可蘭經給叛軍的伙伴聽。同時，他早已把回德國繼續受拳擊訓練的夢想擱下了。他不期望在敘利亞內戰中活下來，反而在尋找「殉教」的機會。「只有站在前線我才覺得自在」他說，「我的步槍已經不是身體的一部分了。它是我的生命，我的宿命。」他記得第一次參與的攻擊行動中，自己有了宗教上的頓悟。歐貝位於阿勒波邊境，那次襲擊就是在通往歐貝一座小城的哨站。「我們埋伏攻擊。當時有個伊斯蘭同伴，讓我內心充滿信念。他說橫在我和天堂間的就是這條路，就是要死在這條路上。我很遺憾自己活了下來。」

A few days later, we returned to the issue of victims, of whether or not they are all shabiha, and his friend Mohammad. At the end of the day, I told him, he was a Syrian killing other Syrians. “I used to think about the people I’d killed, I’d think about their parents,” he says. “Yes, we are all Syrian, but we didn’t create these differences, they did. It is because I am Syrian, because these people, these civilians who are dying are Syrian, that I am doing this, that I am standing with and for my people. Those who are not standing with their people are not Syrian, they are traitors, and traitors must die.”

幾天後，我們的話題又回到被他殺害的人---不管他們全部是不是沙必哈---還有他的朋友，默罕莫德。那天結束時，我跟他說，他是一個敘利亞人殺其他敘利亞人。「我以前會想那些被我殺掉的人。我會想到他們的父母」狙擊手說，「對，我們都是敘利亞人。但我們(叛軍)沒有製造差異，他們才是。正因為我是敘利亞人，因為這些人們、這些市民是敘利亞人，所以我才這麼做，才和我的人民站在一起、保護他們。那些沒和大家在同一線上的不是敘利亞人，他們是叛徒；是叛徒就該死。」

And Mohammad? Was he a traitor? No, he said, he wasn’t, but “I’ve accepted it now, and nothing matters to me any more.”

那默罕莫德呢？他是叛徒嗎？不，狙擊手說，他不是。但「我已經接受事實，現在沒有事可以影響我了。」

“Whoever is going to be in my sights will die. That’s it,” the Sniper says. “My heart has hardened. I returned to religion, but after I killed, my heart hardened. A sniper sees who he kills,” he says, pausing. “It’s hard. A sniper sees his victim.”

「不管是誰出現在我的視線範圍內都得死，就這樣。」狙擊手說，「我的心已經麻木了。我曾轉向宗教，但殺了人後，我的心就麻木了。狙擊手看著他所殺的人，」他說，停頓了一下。「這很難。狙擊手看著他的受害者。」

A Syrian boy waits to be treated for injuries at a hospital in Syria's northern city of Aleppo after a shell, allegedly released by regime forces, hit his house, Aug. 24, 2012.
2012/8/24敘利亞政府軍砲擊擊中這名男孩的家。他在阿勒波北方的城市醫院等待治療。

A Syrian girl, whose family fled their home in Idlib, looks out of a tent tent, at a camp for displaced Syrians, in the village of Atmeh, Syria, Dec. 10, 2012.
2012/12/10一位敘利亞女孩從帳篷中往外頭看。他們一家逃離在Idlib的住所，來到位於Atmeh小村的難民營。

An elderly Syrian woman walks past graffiti reading "God is great" in the northern city of Aleppo, Sept. 14, 2012.2012/9/14位於阿勒波市北方，一位敘利亞老婦人走過寫著「偉大上帝」的噴漆鐵捲門。

Confessions of A Sniper (6)

每日一看---Confessions of A Sniper (6)

進入第六部份了，還剩一點點就結束囉。今天看的是這位狙擊手和他的好友默罕莫德之間的故事；兩人情同手足，卻因站在不同陣線，逼著其中一人對另外一人開槍。在戰場上這種內心煎熬的挑戰時時發生，而這位狙擊手是藉由什麼來說服自己的良心呢？讓我們來看看吧！

Smoke billows from burning tires as a Syrian rebel of the Halab al-Shabah battalion under Al-Tawhid brigade fires towards regime forces during clashes in Al-Amariya district of Aleppo, Nov. 13, 2012.
2012/11/13在阿勒波的歐阿瑪利亞區，政府軍與叛軍 Halab al-Shabah 發生衝突。燃燒的輪胎冒出陣陣濃煙

“We were in school together. We grew up together. His mother was like my mother, that’s how close we were,” he says. The Sniper is pensive, takes several deep breaths and fidgets with his 10-mm handgun as he speaks of his friend, repeatedly flicking off the gun’s safety. The young men joined the army together and stayed in contact even after the Sniper defected. He was the only person outside of the Sniper’s immediate family who knew that he was still alive. “I would tell him to defect, he’d say, ‘Not yet, it’s still early.’ I’d say defect. I told him I’d come and get him, that I would go anywhere to see him, to help him defect, even to the gates of his brigade. Whatever he wanted, wherever he was, I would get him. He kept saying, ‘It’s still early, it’s early.’ He was scared that his family would go through the same thing my family went through.” The Sniper says his family members were interrogated, harassed, ostracized in their community. The only thing that saved them from greater harm, he suspects, was the clout of the loyalist military men in his family and the fact that they thought he was dead, not a defector.

「我們一起上同一個學校，我們一起長大。他媽媽就像我媽媽。我和他就是這麼親。」狙擊手說。他看來哀愁，提及這位朋友時深呼吸好幾次，不斷把玩手中的10釐米手槍，來回撥動保險桿。以前他與默罕莫德一起加入政府軍，雖然後來自己變節了，彼此卻仍保持聯絡。除了狙擊手最親的家人，默罕莫德是唯一知道他還活著的人。「我告訴他，叫他變節。但他說『還不是時候，太早了』。我還是會叫他叛變。我說我會去找他，不論在哪我都會去，就算是到政府軍營的大門，我也願意。但他還是說『太早了，太早了』，他害怕他的家人會和我的一樣。」狙擊手說，他的家族成員曾被審訊、騷擾，也被社區民眾排擠。但他猜測，唯一一個沒讓他們遭受更大危害的因素就是有親戚在政府軍中擔任要職，還有就是大家以為他已經死了，所以不會叛逃。

Mohammad was eventually sent to Azaz, stationed at what was called the Shatt Checkpoint. Both the Sniper and his commander repeatedly urged Mohammad to defect, warning him that they planned to attack the checkpoint. He didn’t listen. “We were three snipers. We killed a colonel, a soldier and my friend. I don’t know which one I killed, I didn’t see their faces. They were soldiers in front of us, and we were ordered to kill them.” That was three months ago.

默罕莫德最後被分派到阿薩茲，駐紮在沙特哨站。狙擊手和他的長官都曾不斷勸他變節，警告他叛軍計畫要攻擊沙特。但默罕莫德不聽。「我們有三個狙擊手，殺了一個上校、一個士兵，還有我朋友。我不曉得我殺了哪一個，我也看不清楚他們的臉。那些人就在我們面前，而我們奉命把他們殺了。」這是三個月前的事了。

“He’s gone anyway, what good is thinking about it? I did — for a long time afterward. I thought, ‘Why? He was my friend. Why did I shoot at him? I shouldn’t have.’ But I have left those thoughts behind me. I have to move forward.”

「不管怎樣他已經走了，一直想這件事有什麼好處？但後來有很長一段時間---我確實這麼做。我那時想，『為什麼？他是我朋友。為什麼我要射他？我不該這麼做的』。但現在我已經把這些想法拋到腦後，我必須往前走。」

Like many men on the front line, the Sniper has found solace in religion, but his is a politicized form of Islam. He speaks admirably of the extremist Jabhat al-Nusra group that has been responsible for some of the most spectacular suicide bombings against regime targets. “They are clean and doing good work,” he says. He wants to join them, if he can “cleanse” his body and mind, he says pointing to a red pack of Gauloises cigarettes. A day later, he quit smoking.

與其他站在前線的人一樣，這位狙擊手在宗教中找到慰藉。不過，他信仰的伊斯蘭教派政治味較濃。提到激進組織加柏罕‧歐努斯拉，狙擊手話中帶敬仰。該組織針對政府，已經發動了多起駭人的自殺式攻擊。「他們心靈純淨，也在做對的事。」狙擊手如此表示。他指著一包紅色的高盧易斯香菸，說如果能「淨化」自己的身心，他想加入那個組織。一天後，他戒菸了。

Syrians carry their rubbish to a mountain of garbage in a roundabout in Aleppo, Nov. 10, 2012. Due the heavy fighting and shelling, the garbage collection system collapsed weeks ago.
2012/11/10敘利亞人民把不要的東西丟到阿勒波市附近的垃圾山。由於激烈的戰爭和空襲，圾垃處理單位幾週前早已解散。

Confessions of A Sniper (5)

每日一看---Confessions of A Sniper (5)


今天終於來到第五部份了，也是比較精彩的地方(誤)，其實應該說，是最寫實的部份。TIME這位記者和狙擊手終於進入了他們的藏身處，文章裡描寫了居住環境的惡劣和噁心的屍臭，這是遠在好幾個海洋邊的我們經歷不到的。請珍惜身邊的一切吧！

A Free Syrian Army fighter fires his sniper rifle from a house in Aleppo, Aug. 14, 2012.
2012/8/14於阿勒波市，一名敘利亞自由軍從屋內向外射擊。

Instead, he has found a home with Liwa Suqoor al-Sha‘ba, an Islamist unit of the Free Syrian Army headquartered in Azaz, a town north of Aleppo in the vast band of countryside in rebel hands around the city. For the past few months he has been stationed in the northeastern neighborhood of Bustan al-Basha, a devastated wasteland emptied of all but three of its thousands of residents. “We cannot charge on [government] positions — if we do, they will eliminate us — nor can they advance on us,” he says. “It’s not that I’m tired, but I want something new. New territory. I’m sick of it here, I’m disgusted by it.” But he respects his adversaries, who he says have pinned the rebels down now for months.

於是，他以敘利亞自由軍的分支、同時也是伊斯蘭教派的利瓦肅奎‧歐沙巴為棲身之處。該分支把總部設在阿薩茲城，位於阿勒波北方；而阿勒波外圍廣闊的鄉野，則由叛軍控制。過去幾個月，這位狙擊手駐紮在巴斯坦‧歐巴沙東北部的鄰區；那是個經戰火蹂躪的荒地，原本數以千計的居民如今只剩三個。「我們無法取代政府的地位---要是我們這麼做，他們就會消除我們---相反地，他們也無法代替我們的存在。」狙擊手繼續說，「我不是累了，只是想試試新東西，新的領域。我討厭這裡，很讓人反感。」但他對這邊的對手仍有幾分敬意。他表示，這些人幾個月來制伏了許多叛軍。

He is always on the lookout for new sniper positions. “Are you ready?” he asks before running alongside me as we dash past regime snipers to minimize my chances of being hit. We walked through the deserted neighborhood, up darkened stairwells and through a maze of holes punched through apartment walls to avoid exposure on the streets. The Sniper kicked in locked apartment doors, moving through family rooms and kitchens with rotting vegetables as he searched for higher, better ground. He paused in one living room to feed fish in a tank. A few days later, he replaced the damaged locks on the apartments he had entered. In one flat, on the fifth floor, a blackened male corpse lay in what was a bedroom. The rubble strewn around the room from the gaping hole in the ceiling made it clear what killed the man. The stench was tear-inducing. Fat maggots crawled on the bloated corpse. Several rebels removed the body, wrapping it in a blue blanket. The next day the small group, along with the Sniper, returned, methodically removing the china from a dining-room cabinet and placing it in a dusty lounge room, before punching a small hole through the dining-room wall. The room looked out onto a government position in the shrubbery below and would serve as a new rebel outpost.

他一直在尋找新的狙擊點。「準備好了嗎？」語畢，我們並肩奔跑，快速衝過敵方狙擊手的射程範圍，以減少我被攻擊的機會。我們穿過廢棄的街區，來到一棟公寓，爬上一層層黑暗的樓梯，又穿過一個個穿牆的通道，有如迷宮。這些打出來的通道，是防衛用的。狙擊手踢了踢鎖住的房門，經過幾個客廳和擺著爛蔬菜的廚房，尋找更高、視野更好的射擊點。途中，他在一個有水族箱的客廳停下餵魚。幾天後，他把先前踢壞的門鎖換了。五樓的一間套房，有個發黑的男屍躺在算是臥室的地方。天花板鑿出的射擊孔與散落一地的礫石，清楚地說明了這名男性的死因。那股惡臭十分催淚，肥滋滋的蛆在膨脹的屍體上爬來爬去。幾個叛軍同夥移走了那個屍體，用藍色毛毯把它包了起來。用餐室的櫥櫃擺了個瓷器，隔天那一小群人回來，包括狙擊手在內，靈巧地把它移到佈滿灰塵的起居廳，好讓他們在用餐室的牆上鑿個小孔。這個房間看出去是政府機關的所在地，下方有個灌木叢，所以算是狙擊的最佳地點。

Still, on some days, the Sniper says, he doesn’t even fire a shot. He just watches and waits in nearly dark apartments with no power, alone with his thoughts. His victims, when he speaks of them, were all shabiha, progovernment paramilitary thugs — an easy term to dehumanize his enemies. But he knows that’s not quite true. He knows his childhood friend Mohammad was not a shabiha. He says he doesn’t know if it was his bullet — or one of his colleagues’ — killed him.

然而有幾天，狙擊手說，他連一槍都沒開。他只在斷電、幾乎黑暗的公寓裡監視、等待，獨自想些事情。當他提到那些被他殺死的人，都說他們是沙必哈(shabiha)，也就是親政府、願意替政府動武的無賴---這個詞輕易地貶低了這些人的身分，但他知道有時候並非如此。他曉得童年好友默罕莫德並不是沙必哈，可他不確定是自己的子彈---還是同伴的子彈---殺了默罕莫德。

Syrian men carry away a corpse at the site of twin blasts in Damascus, May 10, 2012. Two powerful blasts in quick succession rocked the Syrian capital during the morning rush hour, killing or wounding dozens. State television blamed the attacks on extremist terrorists.
2012/5/10在大馬士革，三位敘利亞男人把屍體抬離連發兩起爆炸的地點。這兩起爆炸發生於早晨尖峰時刻，撼動敘利亞首都，傷亡人數超過24人。敘國官方媒體歸咎這起爆炸為激進份子所為。

Confessions of A Sniper (4)

每日一看---Confessions of A Sniper (4)

今天繼續來看看這篇文章吧！

A Syrian woman sits with her grandson outside a damaged building on the main street of the Syrian village of Treimsa where more than 150 people were killed in a week, July 13, 2012. A variety of weapons were used in the attack on the Hama village of Treimsa, with the homes of rebels and activists bearing the brunt, UN observers said.
2012/7/13當週，敘利亞特瑞恩莎村有150多人受難身亡。在該村的主要街道上，一位婦女抱著孫子坐在殘破的房屋前。聯合國觀察員說，特瑞恩莎的哈瑪小村遭各式各樣的武器攻擊，而住在該區的叛軍份子則首當其衝。

Over the past few weeks, the rebels have made sizable inroads in many parts of the country, but in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and its once pulsating commercial hub, the intense firefights and dramatic capture of neighborhoods that marked the initial frenetic rebel push into the city have largely stalled. Although the government’s warplanes and heavy weapons continue to pummel various neighborhoods in the city and the rebels continue to try to pound their way forward, in many areas that fell out of government control early on, the fight has ground to a stalemate. In these districts, territory gained is measured in street corners and meters rather than neighborhoods. And the snipers reign. A few good sharpshooters can effectively freeze a front line by ensuring that any movement by their rivals will be costly.

過去幾週，叛軍大舉侵襲敘國多數城市。但他們初期瘋狂發動的猛烈戰火和鄰區的大力圍剿，在這個敘利亞最大、曾是商業命脈的城市阿波勒，業已緩和。雖然政府持續以戰機和大型武器大範圍轟炸，叛軍也繼續向前殺出自己的路；但在政府先前失去控制的地方，都已停止激烈的衝突。而在這些區域，叛軍或政府的領域增減是以街角和公尺來計算，而非以區為單位。因此，狙擊手就顯得格外重要。少數精準的槍手，只要確保他們的射擊步驟無誤，就能快速地擊垮敵方前線。

And so rebel snipers, especially professionally trained ones, are in great demand. The Sniper says he has “been offered so much money, it is as if I am working for the mafia.”

所以叛軍狙擊手，特別是經過專業訓練的，非常熱門。這位狙擊手說，曾有人「提出高額酬庸，好像在替黑手黨做事一樣」。

“Some [rebel commanders] offered me money. Others would say, ‘Just tell me what you want.’ One told me, ‘I’ll bring your parents, take them to safety. Just come and work with me,’” he says. “It does not honor me to work with people like this who think they can buy and sell me.”

「有些(叛軍將領)會給我錢，有些就說『直接告訴我你要什麼』。曾有人告訴我，『來和我共事吧，我會帶你父母安全離開』。」這位狙擊手繼續說，「和這些自認可以用錢買賣我的人共事，一點都不光采。」

小解說：inroad(n) 侵襲，襲擊；蠶食，侵蝕；hub(n) 中心，中樞，輪軸；stalemate(n) 僵局，和棋，停頓 ；front line(n) 前線，最前頭；mafia (n) 秘密政黨，黑手黨(有時特指義大利的)

Confessions of A Sniper (3)

每日一看---Confessions of A Sniper(3)

Night falls on a Syrian rebel-controlled area including the destroyed Dar Al-Shifa hospital in Aleppo, Nov. 29, 2012.
攝於2012/11/29，夜晚降臨在敘利亞叛軍控制的區域，包括阿勒波市遭摧毀的達阿西法醫院

It didn't start this way--neither for this young rebel nor the revolution. "I think I'm unrecognizable now," the Sniper says. "I never really thought I'd kill someone." But he has killed--34 people who did not see his bullet coming, including, he suspects but cannot quite admit, his childhood friend Mohammad, a man who was "dearer to me than a brother."

不管是對這位年輕的叛軍，還是整個革命，事情都不是這樣開始的。「我覺得自己已經悖離初衷了，」這位狙擊手說，「我從沒想過自己真的殺了人。」但他確實殺了人---共有34位來不及看見他子彈飛來的人，包括一位可能被自己射殺的童年好友，默罕莫德。對這位狙擊手來說，默罕莫德「比兄弟還親」。

The Syrian revolution is also unrecognizable from 20 months ago, when Syrians first took to the streets in peaceful protests demanding freedom and dignity from a totalitarian leader who allowed little of either. The uprising soon morphed into an armed revolt as soldiers defected and men took up arms against the loyalist troops shooting into the crowds and going house-to-house looking for dissenters. As the conflict became deeper and bloodier, and the international community looked on impotently, armed rebels scrounging for help were increasingly compelled to compete for resources. Various backers — both Syrian and foreign, private and state-sponsored — entered the fray, picking their men on the ground and funneling weapons and money to them. The help wasn’t always free: it often required pledges of allegiance, which many rebels have said they made with little intention of keeping. The money and weapons haven’t really bought the rebels’ love or obedience, just their temporary gratitude.

而敘利亞革命也已悖離初衷。20個月前，敘利亞人民首次踏上街頭，和平抗議、要求專制獨裁的領導人給予自由與尊嚴。但這場起義馬上變為武裝暴動，士兵變節、人民拿起武器，攻擊掃射人群、家戶搜索異議份子的政府軍。隨著這場衝突加劇、濺起更多鮮血，以及世界各國只能無能為力旁觀，四處尋求資助的武裝叛軍只能不斷競爭，搶取資源。不論來自敘利亞國內還是國外，私人贊助還是官方支持，四面八方的金主進入戰區、吸收新手下，運送武器和金錢給叛軍。不過，這些幫忙可不是免費的。金主通常會要求締結盟約，但想維持盟約關係的叛軍其實少之又少。這些武器和金錢買到的不是叛軍的愛或服從，而是暫時的感激。

小解說：unrecognizable(a)未被承認的，無法辨識的，無法認出的；totalitarian(a) 極權主義的，一黨專制的 (n)極權主義者；impotently(adv) 無能為力地；funnel(n)漏斗，煙囪 (v) 匯集，送入、注入

Free Syrian Army fighters sit in a house on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, June 12, 2012.
幾位敘利亞自由軍坐在一間屋內，位於阿勒波市邊境。攝於2012/6/12

Regime soldiers overtake a building at the end of street 15 in Salah Aldeen, Aleppo, Aug. 4, 2012. Three snipers targeted the group Nour el Deen Zenki and their headquarters while tanks support with rockets from the side. By the end of the day, snipers were taken out and the street was reclaimed.

2012/8/4政府軍拿下此棟建築，位於阿勒波市薩拉阿登的15街尾。3位狙擊手攻擊努爾丁札克組織及其總部，但敵方配有火箭的坦克正從另一邊夾擊。當天結束時，叛軍狙擊手被驅逐出去，該街重獲政府控制。

Confessions of A Sniper(2)

每日一看---Confessions of A Sniper(2)

好，今天來看看這位狙擊手對於戰爭的看法，以及內心小小的掙扎吧！

He may look calm, but he's deeply troubled. After some nine months of fighting with several Free Syrian Army units, first on the outskirts of Aleppo and then in the city itself after the rebel push into it in late July, he has grown disillusioned with the fight and angry with its conduct. "I did this when it was clean," he says. "Now it's dirty. Many aren't fighting just to get rid of Bashar, they're fighting to gain a reputation, to build up their name. I want it to go back to the way it was, when we were fighting for God and the people, not for some commander's reputation."

他也許看來冷靜，內心卻飽受煎熬。還未加入自由軍前，他有九個多月都在和他們打仗。起初是在阿勒波邊境交鋒，但隨著七月底叛軍(自由軍)攻進城後，他寄於政府軍的崇高理想開始瓦解，且為如此的戰爭感到惱怒。「我是為純潔的理念而戰。」他說，「但現在已經髒掉了，許多人不是為推翻巴薩爾而戰，而是為增添個人聲譽、鞏固名望而戰。我想讓一切回到原本的樣子，那時我們為上帝、為人民而戰，而不是為某些將領的名聲。」

He refused an order in November to fight a proregime, ethnic Kurdish militia in a Kurdish neighborhood of Aleppo that the rebels had entered. "Why should I fight the Kurds?" he says. "It's a distraction. This isn't our fight."

十一月時他拒絕了一項命令，也就是拒絕攻擊親政府的庫爾德族民兵。庫爾德族位於阿勒波的庫爾德族區，是早先叛軍進入的區域。「我為什麼要打庫爾德族？」狙擊手說。「上位者想轉移焦點，這不是我們的戰爭。」

Syrians in the opposition, whether armed or not, have often said there may be a revolution after the revolution to unseat Assad. The fault lines differ depending on whom you talk to. Some envision a fight between Islamist and secular rebels; others between defectors and armed civilians; some say it will be ethnic, between Kurds and Arabs; others simply territorial, between rebel commanders in a particular area, irrespective of ideology. Others say it won't happen at all. But the Sniper, like many fighting men, thinks that it will and that it will be ugly: "We will not become Somalia after Bashar falls," he says. "We will have many Somalias in every province."

反對派的敘利亞人民不論武裝與否，皆認為總統阿薩德被轟下台後，會有一波又一波的革命。這些觀點因人而異：有的人覺得伊斯蘭教派會和世俗派打起來；也有人認為衝突會發生於政府軍與武裝平民；有些人則單純認為，這會是叛軍將領們拋棄理念、互爭疆界的衝突。但也有些人覺得，根本不會有事發生。但一如其他正在作戰的人們，這位狙擊手認為衝突一定會發生，而且相當醜惡，「巴薩爾垮台後我們不會成為一個索馬利亞，而是好多個索馬利亞分布於各個省。」

小解說：outskirt (n)郊區，邊境 (v)沿...邊走；  get rid of 擺脫，除掉；build up 建立，增強，集結；pro-regime (a) pro是贊成的意思，而regime則是指政權，所以兩個合起來就是指親政府的； unseat (v)退位，從...上摔下來；  irrespective of 不顧及

小百科：索馬利亞位於非洲東部，目前處於內戰狀態。索馬利亞位於地中海與印度洋的亞丁灣之南，是各國貨輪出入蘇伊士運河的必經海路。由於內戰連連，教育、社會體系已崩潰多年，當地人民自20世紀以來即以海盜為業。

Confessions of A Sniper (1)

每日一看(1)---Confessions of A Sniper


好，這幾天就決定來看一則寫實的戰地故事吧！由TIME編輯，採訪一位無名、21歲的敘利亞狙擊手，與他同住在殘破不堪的廢墟公寓數天，貼身描寫。今天來看第一部份，也就是從他的背景開始看起吧！

Confessions Of A Sniper

一位狙擊手的自白

By Rania Abouzeid / Aleppo 

Monday, Dec. 17, 2012

Free Syrian Army's sniper position, in Al Qsair, on February 9, 2012.敘利亞自由軍一名狙擊手的射擊點，位於阿爾卡薩。攝於2012/2/9

To the other men in his Free Syrian Army unit, he's simply known as the Sniper, a 21-year-old army-trained sharpshooter who defected on Feb. 21 and joined their ranks. Few of his colleagues know his first name, let alone his surname--and that's the way he wants to keep it.

其他同在敘利亞自由軍的同袍，只知道他叫「狙擊手」，是一位21歲受過軍事訓練的槍手，今年2月21日脫離政府、加入自由軍。隊裡很少人知道他的名，只曉得他的姓---而這正是他所希望的。

He hails from a Sunni military family in a town on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus. His uncle is a general in President Bashar Assad's army. Several of his other relatives are also high-ranking military officers. Apart from his parents and siblings, however, his kinfolk all think he's dead--and that's the way he wants to keep it.

他誕生在一個遜尼派家族，位於首都大馬士革外圍的城鎮。他叔叔是總統巴薩爾‧阿薩德軍隊裡的將軍，其他幾位親戚也都是高階將領。不過，除了雙親和兄弟姐妹，其餘的親人都認為他已經死了---而這也是他所求的。

A trim young man with closely cropped black hair and beard, he looks intense but calm as he sits in complete silence for hours, finger on the trigger, peering through the telescopic sight of his Dragunov sniper rifle. He's careful not to let its barrel protrude through the double-fist-size peephole he has punched through an apartment wall, lest it give away his location to the regime's sharpshooters, some of whom are only about 165 ft (50 m) away.

他是一位削瘦的年輕人，有一頭理平的黑髮和鬍鬚，看似神情緊繃，實際上卻很冷靜，一如他默不作聲坐地數小時，手扣板機，透過德拉葛諾夫狙擊步槍的狙擊鏡檢視一切。他在一座公寓的牆上鑿了個孔，小心謹慎地不讓整把槍從兩個全頭大的孔中露出，以防鄰近區域的狙擊手發現他。而有些敵人，只離他165呎(50公尺)遠。

小解說：sniper (n) 狙擊手或放冷箭的人；defect (v) 叛變，投敵，脫離 (n)缺點，過失；sibling (n) 兄弟姐妹，手足； trim (a)整齊的，削瘦的 (v) 修剪(樹木等)，削減  (n) 修剪，整齊

感冒用詞

每日一看---

最近氣溫變化十分大，希望大家別生病了。今天來看一些和感冒相關的用語吧！

常見症狀：
1. cough 咳嗽
    This medicine may loosen your cough. 這個藥會緩解你的咳嗽。
2. sneeze 打噴嚏
    She led out a loud sneeze. 她打了個大噴嚏。
3. fever 發燒
    The little boy flushed from fever. 那個小男孩因為發燒，臉脹得通紅。
4. stuffy/running nose 鼻塞；流鼻涕
    My brother has a stuffy/running nose; he probably has a cold.
    我弟弟有鼻塞/流鼻水；他大概感冒了。
5. sore throat 喉嚨痛
    I'm troubled with a sore throat. 我喉嚨痛(嗓子疼)。
6. nauseated 噁心；想吐
    The next moment he was awake, trembling and nauseated.
    下一刻他醒了，顫抖著和感到噁心。
7. diarrhea 腹瀉
    Diarrhea also leads to dehydration. 腹瀉也會造成脫水。

The Nanjing Massacre: Scenes from a Hideous Slaughter 75 Years Ago

每日一看---

不是要引起對立，只是有些事不能忽視。

The Nanjing Massacre: Scenes from a Hideous Slaughter 75 Years Ago

南京大屠殺：75年前慘不忍睹的影像

Dec. 13, 2012

1937年12月，日本佔領南京市

75 years ago, on Dec. 13, 1937, Japanese troops captured the city of Nanjing, then the capital of the Chinese republic led by Chiang Kai-shek and went on a six-week campaign of carnage and slaughter that would be forever remembered as the “Rape of Nanjing.” Reports document widespread rape and the indiscriminate killing of civilians; some death tolls estimate over a quarter of a million people were killed. The incident, though, still rankles Sino-Japanese relations. Japanese nationalists contend that the death tolls are inflated and the majority killed were resisting Japanese occupation. To this day, pages in Japanese school history textbooks can incite heated protests on the streets in China. Then and now, the Nanjing massacre remains one of the darkest events of the last century.—Ishaan Tharoor

75年前，也就是1937年的12月3日，日本軍隊進攻南京市。南京市原為蔣介石領導的中華民國首都，但日本佔領後的六週，屠殺與濫殺不斷上演，最後演變為無法忘懷的「南京大屠殺」。資料記載顯示，當時隨處都有強暴與不分男女老幼的濫殺事件；死亡人數據估超過25萬人。然而這起事件產生的悲憤，仍讓中日關係緊繃。日本愛國份子辯稱，南京事件的死亡人數遭到誇大，而且被殺害的民眾多為抵抗軍隊在先。但直到今日，日本學校的歷史課本依舊引起中國人民的憤慨抗議。不論是過去還是現在，南京大屠殺仍是上個世紀最黑暗的悲劇之一。

作者為TIME雜誌的專欄作家，伊山‧塔羅

1937年，日本軍隊趾高氣昂舉起來福槍，即將攻進南京市

1938年1月，日本軍隊進入南京市，行經中山門

日軍強行進入南京時，發現此處已成廢墟。後面煙霧為中國人放火所產生的


way too

每日一詞---way too

好的，今天來看的是way too，也就是「太過...」的意思。這邊的way當程度副詞，表「太...」。假如某個女生老愛花錢買衣服，就可以說：She spends way too much money on clothes.

如果要說我太忙了，就是：I'm always way too busy with work. 那會議開太久，也可以說：The meeting was lasting way too long.

最後，我想說，為美麗付出的代價其實很大：I have to say, the cost of beauty is way too high.

get wind of

每日一詞---get wind of

根據網路英英字典權威「The Free Dictionary」的解釋，get wind of的意思是：to hear a piece of information that someone else was trying to keep secret. 也就是聽到或得知別人想保密的消息；有時也指本來不該知道的事。比如我不想讓老闆知道我要離職，就可以說：I don't want my boss to get wind of the fact that I'm leaving.

再來一句是說，藥品違法交易的風聲已經走漏，被警察給知道了：The police got wind of the illegal drug deal. 或者呢也可以用來說，大家都聽聞某人的醜事了：His scandal got wind.

President or Pharaoh?

每日一看(下)---President or Pharaoh?


今天來把昨天剩下的看完吧！

                                                                                                                解放廣場                               

Before the interview, the President reminisced about his time in the U.S. He has a graduate degree in engineering from USC and says he is still a Trojans fan. He described the ending of Planet of the Apes. We joked with him that while he cannot be President of the United States (he was born in Egypt), his two children can, both having been born in California.

訪談前，摩西總統聊起過去在美國的日子。他曾在美國南加州大學(USC)念工程碩士，到現在仍是該校特洛伊美式足球隊的球迷。後來他談到電影「決戰猩球」的結局，我們便開他玩笑：「雖然你沒辦法當美國總統(因為摩西出生於埃及)，但你生在加州的兩個小孩可以喔。」

His recent emergency decree, which gave him sweeping new powers, had some calling him the new Pharaoh. "Can I be?" he asked with a hearty laugh. Turning serious, he said the protesters in Tahrir Square crying out against his new powers are in fact a sign not of autocracy but of democracy.

因為埃及近日發布的緊急命令，讓摩西大權在握。也因此，有人稱他為新法老。「我能嗎？」摩西開懷大笑地問。話鋒一轉，他嚴肅地說，解放廣場上高分貝反對他的抗議份子，正是種民主的象徵，而非獨裁。

"Morsi is like no other Islamist leader I know," says editor-at-large Bobby Ghosh, who has covered the Middle East for more than a decade. "He can find a parable in Planet of the Apes just as easily as in the Koran."

「摩西和其他我所識的伊斯蘭領袖不同。」鮑比‧戈什說。戈什是資深自由撰稿人，從事中東方面的報導已有十幾年。「他能輕易在『決戰猩球』中找出寓言，可蘭經亦能。」

President or Pharaoh?

每日一看(上)---President or Pharaoh? (part 1)

今天來看看TIME總編寫的專題吧，是關於埃及新總統的貼身描寫唷(請原諒我因太晚還沒睡而造成的枯竭文思)

President or Pharaoh?

是總統還是法老？

By Richard Stengel 

Monday, Dec. 10, 2012

Some things don't change. Cairo's Tahrir Square, the cradle of the Arab Spring, still mingles the smells of tear gas and roasting corn; it still feels both dangerous and festive. A year after I was here working on the 2011 Person of the Year, the Protester, there are still rival groups passionately chanting both for and against the regime. But this year the country is led by the first democratically elected leader in Egyptian history and the first elected Islamist leader in the Arab world, Mohamed Morsi.

有些事情並不改變。這裡是孕育阿拉伯之春的，開羅解放廣場(Tahrir Square)；催淚瓦斯的氣味仍與一旁的烤玉米香混在一起，讓人同時感到危險和歡樂。我曾在這裡執行「2011年度風雲人物：抗議者」的採訪計畫，一年後此地仍有反對團體，不斷激進地遊說新政權擁護者和慫恿反對者作亂。但今年，這個國家是由首位經民主方式選出的總統來領導，這可是埃及史上頭一遭；同時，他也是阿拉伯世界首位獲選的伊斯蘭領袖，默罕莫德‧摩爾西(Mohamed Morsi)。

Egypt is an ancient nation but a new democracy, and when TIME sat down with Morsi at the sumptuous presidential palace (an old hotel annexed by now imprisoned former President Hosni Mubarak), he was at pains to say, "We are still learning how to be free." Morsi, who in many ways is an accidental President, is walking a precarious line between the hardcore Islamists who reject the West entirely and the West-friendly secularists who know that Egypt is inextricably tied to the rest of the world.

埃及是個古老的國度，但也是新興的民主政體。當時代雜誌採訪人員與摩爾西並坐於富麗堂皇的總統官邸(在如今被監禁的前總統莫巴拉克(Hosni Mubarak)任內建成，合併一棟舊旅館)時，他憂愁地說：「我們仍在學習如何實現自由」。摩爾西，這位可以算是意外當選的總統，正遊走於埃及兩大勢力的邊緣，不敢向任一方靠攏：一是強硬的保守伊斯蘭教派，徹底抗拒西方文化；另一則是親西、強調宗教與政權分離的世俗主義派，深知埃及與世界脫不了軌、密不可分。

rob Peter to pay Paul

每日一詞---rob Peter to pay Paul

好的，今天來介紹一個很有趣的片語，那就是rob Peter to pay Paul。到底搶Peter的錢來付Paul是什麼意思呢？我想有些人應該已經知道了，那就是「挖東牆補西牆」。好，閒話不多說，馬上來看看例子吧！

Without a constant supply of quality nutrients, our body has to rob Peter to pay Paul. 如果沒有補充適當的營養，我們的身體就必須挖東牆補西牆(也就是從其他器官挪用能量)。

再來一句是說：They took out a second mortgage on their house so they could buy a condo in Florida--they're robbing Peter to pay Paul. 他們又抵押現住的房子籌貸款，好去買下佛羅里達的一間公寓---這樣根本是挖東牆補西牆。

當然，這個片語也可以用在政府上，所以最後一句是：The new funding scheme is apparently robbing Peter to pay Paul; it won't work. 新的籌資計畫根本是挖東牆補西牆，肯定沒有任何幫助。

Let's dance to the music

每日一句---Let's dance to the music

我想這句應該非常明顯---沒錯，就是跟著音樂起舞的意思。但如果我是問跟著音樂一起跳舞的英文怎麼說呢？應該有人會用dance with the music吧。所以，這就是今天要講的囉！

英語一般說 dance with sb.，也就是和誰跳舞。但音樂不是人啊，要怎麼跳呢？所以正確的用法是to喔。比如現在流行Gagnam Style(但個人對流行樂仍一貫冷感啊)，大家都跟著那首歌跳舞就可以說：It seems that suddenly many people are crazy about Psy and dance to Gangman Style everywhere.


最後，私心推薦一首偶然聽到的法國曲子，叫"Le papillon"，蝴蝶。

何不

每日一詞---何不

今天來看看哪些英文可以對應中文的"何不"。第一句看的是：既然她都答應要來了，何不把事提早做完呢？ Since she has promised to come, why not get things done in advance?  相信這邊大家一目了然，也都知道why not本身就是這個意思吧！

再來第二句是：看來我們的提案不會有什麼結果，何不直接放棄呢？ It seems that our proposal will not be accepted, so we had better let it go. 雖然後面翻成"我們還是放棄吧"也不算錯，但用問句來引出真意不也是個好方法嗎？誰說翻譯一定要字句不離原型呢？

好，接下來是最後一句：你何不(怎麼不)去一趟台北？I don't see there is any harm in going to Taipei. 這句話直說就是"我不覺得去台北對你有害"；當然，轉個彎就是"你怎麼不去一趟台北"了。另外，這裡還有另一個用法，也就是第一句提到的：Why not go to Taipei?

以內

每日一詞---以內

今天看的"以內"，主要是指在什麼樣的時間範圍內。比如，這本書必須在一週以內歸還，就可以說：The book must be returned in a week. 所以，'in+一段時間"就是指在一段時間內。

第二句是說，點燃的蠟燭要保持在視線範圍內，以免發生危險：The burning candle must be kept in sight,  lest it lead to some dangers. keep in sight就是在視線範圍內的意思喔。

再來最後一句是，我有把握能在一個小時內把報告弄好：I'm sure the report can be done in less than one hour. 這句同樣是 in+一段時間，不過多用了比較級less than來修飾。

It's a pleasure

每日一句---It's a pleasure. /I'm glad to be of help.

好的，如果要表示"不用謝，這是應該的"，英文要怎麼說呢？先來看一下場景吧！

A；謝謝你帶我們到辦公室。
B：不用謝，這是應該的。

→A：Thank you for guiding us to the office.
    B：Not at all, it's a pleasure./ I am glad to be of help.

記得喔，對外國人表示客氣(或表示這是應該的)千萬別說 It's my duty，不然他們會覺得你不是真心想幫忙，而是出於職責；而這就和中文意思有很大的出入了。所以，恰當的回答是 It's a pleasure或 I'm glad to be of help，也就是很樂意效勞的意思。


今天來聽聽不同版本的綠袖子吧，希望每個人有個好眠

一旦

每日一詞---一旦

說到一旦，大家想到的英文對應詞是什麼呢？應該都和once或as soon as脫離不了關係吧！沒錯，今天會用到上述兩個詞，外加in case of喔。那先來看第一個句子吧：一旦掌握基本技巧，就不會覺得素描很困難了 You won't find sketching difficult, once you have mastered the basic skills. 當然，在這邊"只要"也能用來解釋once.

第二句是說某人一旦得勢，就會翻臉不認人：He is the man who will desert his friends as soon as he gets the power. 如果覺得desert one's friends太拗口，也可以說dump one's friends，就是中文說的擺脫、甩掉(某人)。dump是倒的意思，就是倒垃圾的倒；所以外國人在說甩男女朋友時，通常會用dump囉。

第三句是說一旦有緊急狀況，請立刻報警：Call the police at once in case of emergency. 其實in case of 也能當"萬一"來講，比如The game will cancel in case of rain. 萬一下雨，比賽就會取消。


最後，來和大家分享一下手風琴版的《夏》。雖然這個季節已經遠去了，但它終究會再來。

何苦

每日一詞---何苦

今天來看個有點老氣的詞兒吧！那就是"何苦"。何苦雖然越來越少出現在日常生活的對話，但用在寫作上其實挺漂亮的。相對應的英文該如何表達呢？來看看第一個句子吧：Why (did you) trouble yourself with such trifle? 何苦為這個小事費神呢？

第二句是說一個女人為了個破了的花瓶大哭特哭，但何苦呢？She cried her heart out for the broken vase. It is really not worth it. 雖然這句也可以用"不值得"來解釋，但個人認為，何苦比較傳神。

再來，最後一句是我們常會聽到的：何苦(對某人)發這麼大的脾氣呢？Is it worth blowing him up?

翻譯有許多方法，但到不到味又是另一種學問呢。

不妨

每日一詞---不妨

今天一樣，來看看中文對應的英文表達方式吧！今天要講的是"不妨、何妨"；要說不妨試試看時，可以這樣講：I don't think there is any harm in trying. 當然，也可以說：Why not give it a try?

第二句是：不妨回家休個息吧！Why not go home and take a rest? 雖然這句也可以用問句的方式來解釋，但原意還是祁使的。

第三句：開會前不妨走一走吧！(有這樣對你比較好的成份)You may as well go for a walk before the meeting.

may as well do something雖然在這裡的是指不妨，但它通常帶有建議的意思。比如我不妨直接告訴你真相(我不必再等了的意思)，就可以說：I may as well tell you the truth now. (I needn't to wait any more.)

一般

每日一詞---一般

好的，今天從中文的角度來思考英文該怎麼說吧！今天要看的是"一般來說、平時習慣~(作什麼事等等)"的英文表達。

第一個是usually, 也就是平常習慣怎麼樣的意思。比如我平時都九點出門上學，就可以說：I usually leave for school at nine. 或是一家人習慣在吃完晚飯後散個步，也可以說：The family usually go for a walk after dinner.

第二個是generally speaking，同樣是指一般，不過這個詞比較偏向"廣義來說"的意思。比如某人的工作表現不錯，我們都很滿意，就可以說：Generally speaking, we are satisfied with her work. 又比如大部分的人都認為老人比較保守，這時就能說：Generally speaking, the young are less conservative than the old.

最後一個是more or less，雖然也是一般的意思，但比較偏向"大概、通常"。比如一趟旅程一般(通常)要花三，就可以說：It is a three-day trip, more or less.

bumble

每日一詞---bumble

好久沒更新了。上星期日和媽媽難得出了趟遠門，沿途坐火車去礁溪走走看看。鄕間的單純，讓我想起還沒讀書時常去的竹林；微微的風，則勾出了小時候一個人在操場跳格子的回憶。

今天來看bumble這個動詞吧！相信很多人都已經讀過相關的解釋，那我就按照The Free Dictionary的編排，一個個來翻譯好了：

bumble (1)

vi(不及物動詞)
1. To speak in a faltering manner. 說話支吾、結巴。
2. To move, act, or proceed clumsily. 走路、動作或行事笨拙，不靈光。

vt(及物動詞)
 To bungle; botch. 搞砸；因能力不足，笨手笨腳地把事情弄糟了。


來看個例子吧：
We struggle and bumble our way along, but somehow happiness continues to elude us.
即便不斷在人生中跌跌撞撞、掙扎摸索，幸福不知怎麼著，依然避著我們。



bumble (2)

vi

To make a humming or droning sound; buzz.發出嗡嗡聲或低沉的聲音；發出滋滋聲。

在這邊最常說得就是bumble bees，也就是常見的黑黃相間蜜蜂，喜歡成群結隊到處飛。

To Do Thursday: I Love a Parade

每日一看---

今天來看看美國感恩節的特別遊行吧！美國著名的梅西百貨公司，每年感恩節都會舉辦一場遊行，以大型的造型氣球為主。

To Do Thursday: I Love a Parade

By Daniel D'Addario 11/22 8:00am

The era of the department store may be nearing its end, thanks to the rise of online commerce, but let’s focus on what they can fly overhead one day a year, not their high overhead on the other 364. Macy’s, per Thanksgiving tradition, celebrates the holiday with balloons of Hello Kitty, SpongeBob SquarePants and Spider-Man, as well as parade floats that alternate between popular culture (the Smurfs at home in their mushroom) and patriotism (the Statue of Liberty). As ever, the parade ends with Santa Claus, heralding the beginning of the Christmas season. And here we haven’t even started thinking about what we want to receive—or, we suppose, give.

網路購物的興起，也許挫著了百貨公司的盛氣，但讓我們來看看365天中，他們唯一能在上頭飛的一天吧！這種情形可不是其他364天見得到的。梅西百貨公司(Macy’s，美國第一大連鎖百貨公司，旗艦店位於紐約海諾德廣場(Herald Square)，1924年開幕時被譽為”世界最大的商店”)每逢感恩節都會以大型的造型氣球遊行來慶祝，比如Hello Kitty、海綿寶寶和蜘蛛人等，以及囊括各個文化特色、樣式多變的彩車遊行(像是法國故事中，住在磨菇裡的小藍精靈；或是代表美國的自由女神像)。一如往常，這項遊行由聖誕老人壓軸，揭示聖誕節的到來。但我們還沒有點子想收到怎樣的禮物呢---或是，該送什麼樣的禮物。

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade kicks off at 77th Street and Central Park West at 9am and concludes in Herald Square.早上九點，梅西百貨公司的感恩節遊行在紐約77街和中央公園舉行，於海諾德廣場結束。