Dandelion tires? It's not a Beatles lyric, it's biotech

每日速覽---Dandelion tires? It's not a Beatles lyric, it's biotech

因為睡意突然來襲，翻譯就明天補上吧...這則新聞主要是講如何利用蒲公英的根汁代替橡膠，由荷蘭一家生技公司主導研究。先看一部份吧！

Dandelion tires? It's not a Beatles lyric, it's biotech

By Nick Glass and Tim Hume, CNN

February 15, 2013 -- Updated 1617 GMT

Wageningen, The Netherlands (CNN) -- The dandelion's bright yellow bloom and fuzzy, parachute-like seeds are a familiar sight across the continents.

But scientists at Dutch biotech firm KeyGene believe the flower's true beauty could lie beneath the soil.

The dandelion's roots contain latex, the milky liquid that is a source for natural rubber and the origin for the plant's name in a number of languages (the Danish for "dandelion" translates as "milk pot").

Global demand for natural rubber is expected to outstrip supply by 20% by 2020. But KeyGene believes that the dandelion can be developed into an important natural source of the commodity, worth more than $100 billion a year.

The dandelion's roots are smaller than ideal for commercial rubber production. So KeyGene is putting the plant through a process of plant phenotyping in order to develop a variety of dandelion with a fatter root and higher yield, that would be better suited for industrial processing.

all wet

每日一詞---all wet

又好久沒更新了(汗)...好吧，今天要看的是all wet。那它的意思底什麼呢？當然從字面上可以知道，這個詞有「濕透了」的意思；但我今天要講的是另外一種，也就是「全錯」、「大錯特錯」或「胡說」，有時也可以當「誤會」講。那，讓我們直接來看例句吧！

That's not the correct answer, Henry. You're all wet. Henry，那不是正確答案，你搞錯了。

I'm afraid your idea is all wet. 我想你的想法不是對的。

When the Wright brothers said they could build a flying machine, people thought they were all wet. 以前萊特兄弟說他們能夠做出飛行機時，人們都覺得他們太異想天開了。

The Game of Love

每日一看---The Game of Love

好吧，今天來看點輕鬆的哈哈...這是TIME剪接編輯的影片，也就是關於情人節男朋友(或先生)送搞怪的東西嚇另一伴的趣事。廢話不多說，讓我們直接來看吧！

The Game of Love

Jimmy Kimmel asked his viewers to prank their loved ones on Valentine’s Day and send him the videos — and on Monday, he shared them with the world. Watching people open chocolate boxes containing rodents and insects is something that both lovers and V-Day haters will adore.

Jimmy Kimmel (節目主持人) 要他的觀眾在情人節惡作劇嚇另一伴，然後錄下來傳給他。於是呢在星期一，這些影片就隨之廣佈了。看著女生打開巧克力盒、數著有幾隻老鼠或蟲子是男生的樂趣，也是光棍或剩女喜歡看的景象。

個人感想：如果我有男朋友又做這種蠢事，我一定會把他踢出門，讓他喝西北風xD

bounce back

每日一詞---bounce back

好，今天要看的就是bounce back。bounce本身有彈跳、反彈的意思，通常指球；所以囉，bounce back就是彈回，恢復、振作之意。以下文章擷選自English baby，附上我拙拙的翻譯，有任何不妥請指教啊！


How can you tell the difference between a ball that’s full of air and one that isn’t? Well, one might look flat and one might look round. But sometimes, a ball looks as if it has plenty of air in it, but when you bounce it against the ground, it just stays there. A ball that was fully inflated would return to you. It would bounce back.
要怎樣才能分辨一顆球有沒有氣呢？嗯，沒氣當然就是平平的，有氣就是鼓鼓的。有些時候一顆球雖然看起來圓滾滾的，但往地上一扔卻彈不起來。如果是顆充氣飽滿的球，一定會彈回手中；也就是會「反彈」。

People have an amazing capacity to bounce back, too. Let’s say that something really terrible happens to you, and you’re depressed for a few days. If you just stayed in bed forever, you’d be like that sad, deflated ball on the ground. But hopefully you can find enough motivation to bounce back and get on with your life.
人也有驚人的恢復力。假設你不幸遭遇了一件慘事，接著的幾天都鬱鬱寡歡；如果你選擇成天窩在床上，就會像軟弱無氣的球一樣，癱在地上。但幸好人能夠找到恢復正常的動力，步入常軌。

We can use bounce back for other objects, too. Jessica Simpson has had a baby, and her body doesn’t look as perfect as it did before. Her body hasn’t bounced back, or returned to its original state.
bounce back也能用來形容其他事情。比如Jessica Simpson剛生完小孩，所以身材比例不可能像之前一樣完美。這時就能說她的身體復原力不強，沒辦法回到先前的樣子。

Can you remember a situation when you had to bounce back from a difficulty or challenge? How long did it take, and what did you do to help yourself bounce back?
你還記得自己怎麼在各種難關或挑戰後振作起來的嗎？還記得自己花了多少時間，又是做什麼來幫助自己恢復正常的呢？

thoughtful

每日一詞---thoughtful

這幾天真的是越來越晚睡了啊啊啊好糟糕(不要理我)。好，我們來看一下這個字吧！thoughtful 可以當作「沉思的」或「體貼的」來講；也就是形容某人在思索某件事，或是某人很關心別人等等。廢話不多說，趕快來看例句吧！

He remained thoughtful for a while. 他沉思了一會兒。

Some of my remarks may not be thoughtful enough. 我講話有時不夠深思熟慮。

It's thoughtful of you to wake me up. 妳真貼心，都來叫醒我。

He becomes more mannerly, more thoughtful, and eager to please. 他變得更有理，更體貼，也樂於討人歡心。

Yuri Kozyrev: From the Battlefield to the Ballet

每日一看---

今天來看幾張和芭蕾相關的照片吧！這些相片是由攝影大師Yuri Kozyrev所拍，他擅長的題材廣泛，從世界戰爭到舞伶表演都拿捏得宜。本文擷選自TIME，一起來欣賞吧！

Photo Essay

Thursday, February 14, 2013 | By Nate Rawlings | @naterawlings | 

Yuri Kozyrev: From the Battlefield to the Ballet

俄國攝影記者Yuri Kozyrev：從戰場到芭蕾舞台

Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME

The following photographs were taken between Feb. 3, 2013 and Feb. 6, 2013 in Moscow, Russia. 
以下照片的拍攝時間為2013/2/3-2/6，地點在俄羅斯莫斯科。
Svetlana Zakharova, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet, during a curtain call with principal dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze after a performance of Swan Lake in the Bolshoi Theatre.

Svetlana Zakharova是俄國莫斯科知名的芭蕾伶娜。本照片為Svetlana Zakharova與男主要舞者Nikolai Tsiskaridze於演出天鵝湖後謝幕的情景，地點為莫斯科大劇院。

Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME

Alexander Volchkov (right), playing the role of Prince Zigried, and Svetlana Zakharova (center), playing the role of Odetta, the Swan Princess, during a performance of Swan Lake.

在一場天鵝湖的演出中，Alexander Volchkov(右)飾演Zigried王子，而Svetlana Zakharova(中)則飾演天鵝公主Odetta。

Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME

Ballerinas dressed as black swans rest backstage during a performance of Swan Lake. 同樣在天鵝湖演出時，幾位芭蕾伶娜穿著黑天鵝舞衣，在後台休息。

Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME

Ballet dancers of the Bolshoi Theatre prepare backstage for a performance of Swan Lake.

莫斯科大劇院的舞者正在為天鵝湖的演出做準備。

                                                                            Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME

Ballet dancers of the Bolshoi Theatre prepare backstage for a performance of Swan Lake.

一樣是在莫斯科大劇院，芭蕾舞者們正在為天鵝湖舞碼的演出練習。

接下來要介紹一個有點跳tone的東西.....哈，這是好幾年前的搞笑日劇，叫做 My Boss, My Hero；我的老大，我的英雄。故事講述27歲的黑道老大繼承人－榊真喜男（長瀬智也 飾）因處理與香港黑道高達27億的交易任務失敗後，被父親強迫送到St.Agnes（聖阿葛諾斯）高中就讀。本已離開學校十多年的真喜男遇上一堆不懂的漢字和繁雜的數學算式，令他煩惱不已。加上以往過著小開生活的他，今次重返校園卻要面對年紀相差近十年的同學，不論在學業和人際關係上，也遇上極大的困難。(以上介紹摘自維基百科)

雖然如此，這部電視劇還是有啟發性的；伴隨大大的歡笑和一點點的悲傷。

neat freak

每日一詞---neat freak

好，今天要看的是neat freak。neat這個字呢，本身有「整潔的」、「乾淨的」的意思；而freak則是指有某種怪癖、或是對某些事物有非比尋常愛好的人。所以囉，這個詞就是指有潔癖或非常愛乾淨的人。來看一下例句吧！

My mom is a bit of a neat freak. 我媽有點潔癖。

I have total neat freak friends, whose houses look like magazine photos. 我有些朋友是潔癖狂，家裡乾淨得跟雜誌上的照片一樣。

ditsy

每日一詞---ditsy

好的，今天要看的字是 ditsy，也就是迷迷糊糊、傻乎乎或心不在焉的意思；不過比較常用來形容女生就是了。但每個人或多或少都會發生這種狀況，所以，來看一下例句吧！

I'm sorry that I was a little bit ditsy today. 很抱歉我今天有點心不在焉/糊塗/恍神。

My gosh! Could you stop being so ditsy? 我的天！你可以清醒一點嗎？

Don't tell me my ditsy secretary didn't send you an invitation! 別說我那傻乎乎的秘書沒送你邀請函！

double life

每日一詞---double life

好，今天我們來看的是double life. 這個片語的意思就是指某人「過著兩種截然不同的生活」，比如我白天是個學生、晚上變成地下樂團的鋼琴手(哈，請容忍我不實的幻想)；而且在這兩方面所接觸的人，都不曉得我的另一個身份，這時就可以說 I lead a double life. 本文節選自English baby, 來讀一下簡單的介紹吧！

Everyone has a secret or two. These secrets may be small, like the fact that you’ve never told anyone that you were the one who accidentally left the door open, letting your pet dog run into the yard that one time. Or you may have a bigger secret, like the fact that you cheated on your girlfriend or boyfriend. The biggest kind of secret, though, is one that grows so big that it’s as if you have two separate realities. In one of the realities the secret is known, and in the other, it isn’t. It’s as if you’re living a double life.
每個人或多或少都會有秘密。有些可能沒什麼，比如你從沒說過自己某天忘了關門、結果讓家裡的狗跑到庭院去；或者你也有比較重要的秘密，比如自己曾對男女朋友不忠等。然而，最最最大的秘密就是過著兩種完全不同的生活；但在某個層面有些人知道這件事，可另一方的人卻渾然不知。所以，我們可以說「某人過著兩種截然不同的生活」。

Sometimes a double life isn’t so much about a secret as it is about having two parts of your life that just don’t really go together. Maybe you’re a doctor during the day, and at night you are a singer in a nightclub. Those two activities are so different that friends who only know you from one context might not really understand the other. 
有時double life並不全指不可告人的秘密，比如過著兩種不相干的生活。也許某人白天是個醫生，晚上卻是夜店的主唱；但因為這兩種生活有所差異，所以了解其中一面的人可能不曉得某人另一個身份，僅此而已。

get lost

每日一詞---get lost

(好吧這張圖是我私心想放的，哈哈)
get lost通常是叫某人「閃開」、「滾開」或「走開」的意思，有時也可以說「別鬧了」；但它不是指迷路喔！迷路大多是用"got lost"。那，讓我們來看一下例子吧~

Stop bothering me! Get lost! Get lost! I don't need your help. 別再煩我了！滾開滾開，我不需要你的幫忙！

Those kids told the new girl to get lost. 那些小鬼叫新來的女孩走開。

Get lost, Mary. We don't want you coming with us. 走開啦//別鬧了，瑪莉；我們不想你跟來。

conk out

每日一詞---conk out

真是十分愧疚啊啊啊，好久沒更新了(心也涼了一半)。不行，我要好好振作才行！咱們來看看今天要介紹的片語吧！conk out有兩個意思，第一是指某個東西突然故障了、壞掉了；第二個意思是指很快就睡著、或是睡得不醒人事(=睡死了)。那，我們來看一下例句吧！

1. My radio conked out again, so I couldn't hear the weather reports. 我的收音機又壞了，所以沒辦法聽氣象報告。

2. I was so tired that I conked out on the sofa. 因為實在太累了，我就直接倒在沙發上睡了。

This is the Day: The 1963 March on Washington

每日一看---1963華盛頓示威

是說好久沒換介紹了，今天就來看看美國歷史難得的時刻吧！一樣是從TIME摘錄的。p.s.最近不曉得為什麼莫名疲累，常呈現精神耗弱狀態...過幾天應該就會好了。

Tuesday, January 29, 2013 | By Julian Bond |

This is the Day: The 1963 March on Washington

正是這一天：1963華盛頓示威

Leonard Freed—Magnum

The following pictures were taken by Leonard Freed on Aug. 28, 1963 during the March on Washington for Jobs and Equality in D.C.

下面幾張照片是由李歐納‧弗萊德拍攝，背景為1963年8月28日在美國華盛頓特區舉行的工作與平等權示威活動；該相片收錄於《正是這一天：1963華盛頓示威》。