英語學習筆記

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 
romance, Avatar is sure to make waves
around the world. It will also mark the return of
one of Hollywood's most respected directors,
James Cameron.
  In Avatar, Sam Worthington stars as Jake 
Sully, a former marine who was paralyed
in battle. But as part of a new experiment,
the millitary is giving him a second chance at
having a fully functional body. He is flown to the
faraway planet of Pandora, where technology
allows him to control an alien body. However,
he soon discovers that the government wants
him to assist it in exploiting the planet's
resources. Sully must choose whether to help
the government or his new alien friends.
  But Avatar is not your ordinary sci-if
film. Its $200 million budget makes it one of
the most expensive films ever made. It will
also introduce a new 3-D technology that
may revolutionize filmmaking. This summer,
moviegoers were griven a brief
preview, and many walked 
away speechless. Others
reported the blue aliens were so real it seemed
like they were standing right in front of the
audience. Iron Man director John Favreau has
called the new 3-D effects "a game changer."
  Although Avatar director James Cameron is now
on stranger to blockbusters, his road to the top wasn't
easy. After dropping out of college, Cameron drove a
truck. In his spare time, he made films with friends
and taught himself the art of making movies. Over
the next seven years, he would work his way up to
become a Hollywood director.
  Cameron's first hit was the 1984 action film The
Terminator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. This began
a series of successful movies. In the following ten
years, Cameron would direct Aliens, The Abyss, and True
Lies. But in 1997 he had his biggest hit ever, Titanic. This
timeless love story, starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate
Winslet, become the highest-grossing film of all time.
  Perhaps the most amazing thing about Cameron
is his ability to change his style and still make
incredible films. In Avatar, Cameron is gambling on
the 3-D Fusion Camera system. He believes it is the
future and has promised to do all of his films in 3-D
from now on. Although the jury is still out on whether
or not Avatar will be a hit, it seems like nothing will sink
or terminate the career of this talented director anytime
soon.

資料來源：http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=173066

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資料來源：BBC

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The 12th Annual CEO Forum

3-4 December 2008

China World Hotel, Beijing

In my life, no success has come without a good fight, and this nomination wasn't any different.
我的一生中, 沒有勝利不經奮鬥而來, 這次提名也不例外

  National Geographic News -- People have been enjoying chocolate for more than 3,000 years -- about 500 years earlier than previously believed, according to a new study. Researchers also think that chocolate was discovered by accident -- when Central American Indians making beer from the pulp of cacao seedpods found a new use for a byproduct of that process.
  The new findings about chocolate's origins were gleaned from traces of cacao found on pottery fragments dating from about 1100 B.C. to 800 B.C. Then fragments were uncovered between 1995 and 2000 at archaeological excavations near Puerto Escondido in Honduras.
  Today's chocolate is made from the fermented seeds of the cacao tree, which only grows near the equator. Around 1100 B.C., ancient beer makers used the cacao's seedpods to make their drinks. The pods -- which were a little smaller than a modern American football -- were fermented, and then the pod pulp was used to make the beer. The seeds were discarded.

U.S. shoppers defy economic blues on 'Black Friday'
by Luis Torres De La Liosa
New York, AFP

以下內容來自一封網路 e-mail

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There was a one-hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

1. 1. He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he  started too late!
2. 2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering  newspapers.
3. 3. He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
4. 4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
5. 5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.
6. 6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given his CEO's only two rules.
   

    dpa -- It's every notebook computer user's worst nightmare. You go to retrieve your notebook from the last place you left it, only to discover that someone else -- a thief -- has retrieved it for you.
    Financial records, bank and credit card information, personal data, sensitive files, expensive software -- not to mention the notebook computer itself -- can be gone in an instant.
    That means that if you own a notebook computer, theft prevention is your best defense. But just because your notebook computer is personal doesn't mean it will stay that way. So your first step should be to take a hard look at just what information you have stored on your notebook computer and decide whether it belongs there, remembering that at any time it could be exposed to prying eyes.

Cartoon Characters Get Big Makeover for Overseas Fans
by Geoffery A. Fowler & Amy Chozick

France, Land of Cigarettes, May Banish Most Smokes
by Elaine Sciolieno

Never alone: Protecting kids on the Internet

    dpa--The Internet and the wealth of information and entertainment found on it aren't just a draw for adults. Even the smallest of children quickly feel the pull of the World Wide Web.

Tickets
  Ever since I was little, I've been afraid of Mother's Day. That's because shortly after I was born, I was abandoned by my mother.
  Just over a month after I was born, I was discovered at the Hsinchu train station..., The police "uncles" quietly took me to the Delan Center in Baoshan, Hsinchu County.