Scottish Independence Referendum

圖片來源：BBC中文網

John： Hey Bobo, what are you reading?

約翰：波波,你在看什麼啊？

Bobo： Oh, it’s a story about the results of the referendum in Scotland.

波波：我在看有關蘇格蘭公民投票結果的報導。

John： Scotland had a referendum? What were they casting ballots for?

約翰：蘇格蘭之前有公民投票嗎？他們投票決定什麼？

Bobo： You don’t know? Independence. A lot of Scots feel they’d be better off without the UK.

波波：你不知道嗎？是有關蘇格蘭是否應該成為一個獨立的國家。有很多蘇格蘭人認為蘇格蘭獨立了會比較好。

John： How did I not know that? Well, how’d it turn out? Did they elect to stay together or split up?

約翰：我竟然會不知道！那最後怎麼樣？他們最後選擇留在英國還是選擇獨立？

Bobo： The pro-independence side lost by quite a bit. It wasn’t very close in the end. 55% for stay, 45% 

for go.

波波：支持獨立的不只輸了一點點。其實最後兩方的支持度也沒有很接近。百分之五十五的選民支持留在英國，百分之四十五的選民支持獨立。

John： Huh.Well, I’m off to get some lunch. Fancy a bite?

約翰：喔，我去吃午餐了，要一起吃嗎？

Bobo： Yeah. Let’s go.

波波：好，出發。

Vocabulary:

referendum (n)   公民投票

-an election on an issue rather than to elect leadership 

Taiwan held its first nationwide referendum on March 2004.

對事案進行的投票， 而不是對國家領導人進行的投票

台灣在2004年三月舉行了首次的全國性公民投票 

cast ballots (v)  投票

- vote

I cast a ballot for him.

我投票給他了  

better off (adj) 處境更佳/比較好 

  - in a better situation

We were better off as friends!
我們做朋友比較好

split up (v) 分開

- separate       

The couple decided to split up after the meeting.
那對情侶見面後決定分開

in the end (exp) 最後

 - the final result of a situation

They finally succeeded in the end.
他們最後成功了 

動人的英文小情詩

小心！壓力大時狂吃小確幸美食的後遺症。

Stressed Women burn few comfort food calories

Sometimes, after a long, hard day, all you want is a bacon cheeseburger, a pile of fries and maybe a desert doughnut. After all, the stress that seems to be eating you up can be eased by what you eat up, right? Sadly, it’s time to burst the bubble in your comfort food milkshake.

有時，在結束漫長辛苦的一天後，你想要的只是培根起司堡、一堆薯條或甜甜圈。畢竟吃下這些東西就好像把壓力一同吞下，對嗎 ？悲慘的是，該是戳破你奶昔上漂亮泡泡的時候了！

Researchers asked women about things that had recently stressed them out. The women were then given a fat-and calorie-packed meal of eggs, turkey sausage and biscuits and gravy. The researchers then measured the womens’ metabolism, blood sugar, cholesterol, insulin and stress hormones.

研究人員要求受測女性把最近所受的壓力釋放出來，之後研究人員給了這些女性高脂肪熱量的蛋、火雞香腸、餅乾、肉醬。並測量了，這些女性的新陳代謝、血糖、膽固醇、胰島素和壓力賀爾蒙。

Turns out that the most stressed women had higher levels of insulin. Which slows down metabolism and causes the body to store fat. And that fat, if not burned off, accumulates in the body. 

結果，壓力大女性的胰島素數值較高，造成新陳代謝變慢使得身體開始堆積起脂肪。脂肪若不燃燒，便會悲劇性的一直累積在體內。

The women who had reported feeling stressed or depressed in the day before eating the meal burned 104 fewer calories during the seven hours following the meal than women who felt more mellow. The study is in the journal Biological Psychiatry. 

相較於受測前一天輕鬆愉悅的女性，憂鬱且壓力較大的女性，在進食後七小時燃燒的熱量會少於前者104大卡。這項研究報告被刊登在生物精神醫學(Biological Psychiatry)期刊中。

If eating high-calorie comfort food to alleviate stress becomes habitual, the result could be an average weight gain of 11 pounds per year. Which brings its own stress—like spending money on new clothes.

如果習慣吃大量高熱量的食物去紓解壓力的話，結果將會使你平均每年增加11磅(約5公斤)，而這樣的結果也會帶來壓力---像是花錢買新衣服!

原文出處http://www.scientificamerican.com

行動裝置就在你的指尖！

圖片來源：NBC新聞

行動裝置就在你的指尖！

John: Hey,um… I don’t think I can go to Jimmy’s after work. I just found out that Apple is announcing thelong-awaited iPhone 6 tonight live on the Internet.

嘿，呃，我今天下班可能沒辦法跟你去吉米的店了。我剛剛才知道蘋果今天晚上要網路直播令人引頸期待的唉鳳六的發表會。

Tom: Oh, that’s too bad. I was hoping you could join me for a round of beer. I guess I’ll have to take a rain checkon that one.

喔，真不巧。我原本以為你可以來跟我喝兩杯的。我想我們得改約了。

John: Yeah, I’m sorry.

So you’re not really into the digital gadgetry, are you?

是啊，真不好意思。

你好像不是對這些數位玩意兒很有興趣？

Tom: I guess I’m not. Don’t get me wrong; I think it’s great that all these smart devices are changing people’s lives for the better but I just don’t get why some people are willing to pay a king’s ransom for something that will eventually force them to work anytime, anywhere.

大概吧。別誤會我的意思，我覺得這些智慧裝置改善人們的生活，但是我不懂為什麼有些人可以花大把鈔票買這些東西，最後讓自己工作更忙碌。

John: I see where you’re coming from, and I suppose you’re right. From my perspective though, I just think it’s a great way to connect to people and the world. The Internet is literally at your fingertips. Furthermore, anyone and everyone can gain and share knowledge at the speed of light. That is why handheld devices are so fascinating and are all the rage nowadays.

我了解你的意思，我也認為你是對的。但從我的角度，我只是覺得這些裝置是聯繫人與這個世界的一切的絕佳方式；網際網路真的就在你的指尖。還有，任何人都可以以光速學習、分享知識；這是我覺得手持裝置如此迷人，並且風靡世界的原因。

Expressions

1. long-awaited adj. 令人期盼的 

something that people have been waiting for

The long-awaited sequel to the block buster has finally been announced.

2. take a rain check idiom 改約 

to reschedule or do something at another time

Do you mind taking a rain check for the dinner? I don’t think I’m going to make it.

3. be into something idiom 喜歡某事物 

to like something

My wife is not really into baseball, but she always goes to the game with me.

4. gadgetry n. 裝置的集合/總稱 

a collection of gadgets

His entire office is rigged with mechanical gadgetry.

5. for the better adj. 往好的方向... 

Resulting in or aiming at an improvement

Nobody believes the politicians can change the country for the better.

6. to get v. 了解 

to understand

I don’t get what he says sometime.

7. a king’s ransom n. / idiom 一大筆金額（國王的贖金） 

a large amount of money

The shop is charging a king’s ransom for their mediocre service.

8. see where sb is coming from idiom 了解某人的立場 

to understand someone’s position on an issue

After a long discussion, I started to see where my dad is coming from.

名言佳句

絕對不要劃地自限！
想要當站在群眾中停滯不前的鴨，還是那隻跳向自由的鴨？

Quiz Time

你是天才嗎?答案是有邏輯可循的喔!! 

實用英文

想換新髮型嗎？不同的髮型英文怎麼說 ？