英語學習筆記

本 blog 中相關的資料或文章, 源自於

1.BBC LEARNING ENGLISH
2.工商時報 The Wall Street Journal
3.商業週刋－英文無所不談
4.捷運報 "Upaper"，"Trusty Translation" . “英國人教英文”

Serving Up Good Table Manners

In a fine-dining restaurant, then forks and knives line up on the table
like an army waiting for orders. There’s no need to break out in a
nervous sweat, though. By following a few tips, you can be confident
in a formal Western restaurant.

Suu Kyi hails ‘victory of people’

Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi hailed a “victory of the people” following a declaration by her party that she has won a seat in parliament.

Official results for the by-election on Sunday that saw 45 seats contested are expected later this week.

But Ms Suu Kyi’s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) said she had easily won in her Kawhmu constituency.

In a statement, she urged supporters to show restraint in their celebrations.

by Yukari Iwatani Kane/Ian Sherr

　Steve Jobs unveiled a new iPhone Monday in a presentation that was long on new features but short on surprise, as the Apple Inc. chief faces increasing competition in smartphones, particularly from devices based on Google Inc.'s Android software.
　While Mr. Jobs described the iPhone 4 as "then biggest leap since the original iPhone," he offered few bombshells after Gawker Media LLC's technology blog Gizmodo shared details about the device in April after getting hold of a prototype.
　Mr. Jobs made a reference to the episode, telling the audience at Apple's annual conference for software developers, "Stop me if you have already seen this" when he first showed the device.
　Among other thins, Mr. Jobs lauded the iPhone 4's new display technology and a new stainless steel frame that doubles as an antenna. The phone has two cameras, including a front-facing one that allows video chats.

infringement　n.違反; 侵犯, 傷害

filed　n.(file的變化形)　v.提起(訴訟)

patent　n.專利證書　adj.有專利的

assault　n.侵犯他人(罪); 攻擊, 突擊

fervor　n.熱情

by
Roger Cheng/Miraj Sheth
　A
legal assault by Apple Inc. hasn't cooled any of the fervor among
makers of mobile phones for Google Inc.'s Android operating

from: LiveABC No.105

--Brian Foden
　Poetry has the power both to entertain and do inform us. With its imagery, a poem can also make us feel deeply. In my opinion, one of the greatest poets is William Butler Yeats, and my favorite poem of his is "The Lake Isle of Innisfree."
　I enjoy this poem so much because of the peaceful feelings that it evokes. Yeats writes about wishing to go to a small island and build a cabin and garden. He uses images of honeybee hives, crickets, and birds to create a clear picture of the natural world.
　In each stanza, every other line rhymes. This contrast of sound in each quatrain reflects the contrast between the natural world and city life. Near the end of the poem, Yeats mentions the pavements gray" of the road he is standing on. The lifeless color of the city is very different from the "glimmer" and "purple glow" of Innisfree in the second stanza.

from : 亞洲華爾街日報(工商時報2010-01-18)

By Jessica E. Vascellaro
　Google Inc.'s startling threat to withdraw from China was an intensely personal decision, drawing its celebrated founders and other top executives into a debate over the right way to confront the issues of censorship and cyber security.
　Google's very public response to what it called a "highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China" was crafted over a period of weeks, with heavy involvement from Google's co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
　For the two man, the China has always been a sensitive topic. Mr. Brin has long confided in friends and Google colleagues of his ambivalence in doing business in China, nothing that his early childhood in Russia exacerbated the moral dilemma of cooperating with government censorship, people who have spoken to him said. Over the years, Mr. Brin has served as Google's unofficial corporate conscience, the protector of its motto "Don't be Evil."

from : ALL+ 雜誌

　A major city in the Evergreen State Seattle is situated between three national
parks. The city rests along Puget Sound, and its sprawl marks a gray line between
lush forest and deep blue ocean. From early on, the local economy was based
on logging and commercial trade done through the harbor. Now after almost

from : Landmark English Dec. 12, 2009
Avatar
  On December 18, one of the most
anticipated movies of the year will finally
hit theaters. Packed with aliens, action, and 

資料來源：BBC