Reading

12-1 passage I :cork

buoyant 浮的

insulate 使絕緣

flourish 繁榮

They flourish in warm, sunny climate where is a minimum of 400 millimeters of rain per year.

sapling 樹苗、年輕人

From the planting of a cork sapling to the first harvest takes 25 years, and a gap of approximately a decade must separate harvests from an individual tree.

thermal 上升的/熱氣

granule 細粒

Cork board and cork tails are ideal for thermal and acoustic insulation, while granule of cork are used in the manufacture of concrete.

husk 外殼

The most skillful cork-strippers prize away a semi-circular husk that runs the length of the trunk from just above ground level to the first branches.

damp 潮濕

vine 藤條

12-1 passage II: Collecting as a hobby

amass 積聚

Amassing hundreds or even thousands of postcards, chocolate wrappers or whatever, takes time, energy and money that could surely be put to much more productive use.

inferior 次級的/差的

Without those collections, our understanding would be greatly inferior to what it is.

engross 使全神貫注

More than other hobbies, collecting can be totally engrossing, and can give a strong sense of personal fulfillment.

locomotive 運動的

tick 滴答聲

This might involve trying to see every locomotive of particular type, using published data that identifies each one, and ticking off each engine as it is seen.

12-1 passage III: What’s the purpose of gaining knowledge?

motto 座右銘

prospective 預期的

deliberately 故意地

prosecution 起訴

The course is intended for perspective arson investigators, who can learn all the tricks of the trade for detecting whether the fire was deliberately set, discovering who did it, and establishing a chain of evidence for effective prosecution in a court of law.

scrutiny 細看

A field of knowledge or professional endeavor is defined by both the means and the end; hence both deserves scrutiny.

articulate 發音清晰的/明確表達

When I ask fire science students to articulate the end, or purpose, of their field, they eventually generalize to something like, ‘The safety and welfare of society,’ which seems right.

fraud 騙子

If you employed  the ‘principle of marketing’ in an unprincipled way, you would not be doing marketing. We have another word for it: fraud.

perspective 觀點

The regular instructor is a colleague who appreciates the kind of ethical perspective I can bring as a philosopher.

arson 縱火罪

arson for profit

apt 恰當的

It seems an apt characterization of the different university, also in the USA, where I currently teach philosophy.

creep 潛行

This example suggests how dishonest and illegal behavior, with the help of higher education, can creep into every aspect of public and business life.

12-2 passage I : The risk agriculture faces in developing countries

synthesis 合成

Synthesis of an online debate

prevalent 流行的

Counter-intuitively, hunger is prevalent among many smallholder farmers in the developing countries.

magnitude 重要的

Fan explained that ‘in addition to reducing crop yields, climate change increase the magnitude and the frequency of extreme weather events, which increase smallholder vulnerability.’

synchronize=simultaneous 同時發生的

Such groups enhance market opportunities for small-scale producers, reduce marketing costs and synchronize buying and selling with seasonal price conditions.

intermediary 中介商

dictate 支配

Some participants explained that market price volatility is often worsened by the presence of intermediary purchase who, taking advantage of farmers’ vulnerability, dictate prices.

peasant 小農

Accordingly, Pat suggested that ‘if we are to survive climate change, we must adopt policies that let peasants diversity the plant and animal species and varieties/breeds that make up our menus.

resilient 回復彈性

According to this author, one solution would be to develop varieties that are more resilient to new climate trends and extreme weather patterns.

mitigating緩和

procurement 採購

Sophia suggested that the procurement and holding of stocks by governments can also help mitigate wild swings in foos prices by alleviating uncertainty about market supply. 

autonomous 自動化的

Some participating authors and commentators argued in favor of community-based and autonomous risk management strategies through collective action groups, co-operatives or producers’ groups.

stranglehold 束縛

Rokeya commented in her essay that these ‘have not compensated for the stranglehold exercised by private traders. In fact, studies show that sixty per cent of beneficiaries of subsidies are not poor, but rich landowners and non-farmer traders.’

contend 爭辯

Others contended that agribusiness companies should be held responsible for paying for negative side effect.

adverse 不利的

Smallholder farmers in developing countries must in addition deal with adverse environments, both natural, in terms of soil quality, rainfall, etc.

price volatility 價格浮動

Farmers everywhere face major risks, including extreme weather, long-term climate change, and price volatility in input and product markets.

entrenched 根深蒂固的

At same time, cultural values are highly entrenched in food and agriculture system worldwide.

12-2 passage II : The lost city

hinterland 內陸

The exploration of the remote hinterland to the west of Cusco.

plateau 高原

descend 下降

Cusco lies on a high plateau at an elevation of more than 3000 meters, and Bingham’s plan was to descend from this plateau along the valley of the Urubamba river, which takes a circuitous route down to the Amazon and passes through an area of dramatic canyons and mountain ranges.

blast 爆炸

rubber 橡膠

A track had recently been blasted down the valley canyon to enable rubber to be brought up by mules from the jungle.

descent 下降

They were a few days into their descent of the valley.

trek 長途跋涉

The day began slowly, with Bingham trying to arrange sufficient mules for the next stage of the trek.

dull 陰暗

damp 潮濕

The morning was dull and damp.

prospect 前景

Binghem seems to have been less than keen on the prospect of climbing the hill.

ascent=ascend 上登

In his book, he relates that he made the ascent without having the least expectation that he would find anything at the top.

mausoleum 陵墓

staircases樓梯間

There’s a sense of mounting discovery as he comes across great sweeps of terraces, then a mausoleum followed by monumental staircases and, finally, the grand ceremonial buildings of Machu Picchu.

spellbound 看得入迷

'It seemed like an unbelievable dream…the sight held me spellbound…’he wrote.

hindsight 事後諸葛

We should remember, however, that Lost City of the Incas is a work of hindsight, not written until 1948, many years after his journey.

gradual  逐步的

His journal entries of time reveal a much more gradual appreciation of his achievement.

chronicler 編年(史)(人)

He wondered whether it could have been the birthplace of the very first Inca, Manco the Great, and whether it could also have been what chroniclers described as ‘the last city of the Incas’.

flee/ fled 逃走

This term refers to Vilcabamba, the settlement where the Incas had fled from Spanish invaders in the 1530s.

perplex 使困惑

One question perplexed visitors, historians and archaeologists alike ever since Bingham, is why the site seems to have been to abandoned before the Spanish Conquest.

descendents 後裔

By custom, Pachacuti’s descendants built other similar estates for their own use, and so Machu Picchu would have been abandoned after his death.

12-2 passage III : The benefits of being bilingual

juggle 玩戲法

The constant juggling of two languages creates a need to control how much a person access a language at any given time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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