Good Luck Chuck : 潔西卡艾芭要解放了嗎?

Topless Girls! (And Other Things Far Too Wildly Hilarious to Mention)(原文連結)

台灣片商根據劇情把這部片命名為"倒數第二個男朋友".,這部片是以限制級在台灣上映,看NYT這篇影評的標題,會讓人覺得這個很值得一看,為什麼?大家都知道,當然是為了Jessica Alba ,衝著標題上的"Topless Girls!",女神艾芭也,讓人充滿了憧憬不是嗎?

不過相信以前混過光華商場,曾經為了不輕易破壞與女性同胞純真情誼,將體力與金錢花在日本妹動作片的宅男們都了解,光碟封面與內容常常是有出入的.你問我說難道這部片裡面會沒有艾芭女神的鏡頭嗎?當然不可能這樣騙錢,不過Topless Girls!可不是Topless Jassica!如果只是打算去看潔西卡艾芭裸露鏡頭的話,可能會大失所望,至於Topless Girls(複數也),看過婚禮終結者 Wedding Crashers的可以回想一下,那個大概不到5分鐘的胸部花絮,基本上應該是差不多的手法,藉由前段的養眼畫面,來鋪陳對比這個喜劇後續的追求真愛,強調其實性不是所有,大部分的美式性喜劇不管前面多麼酒池肉林多麼沉溺於感官的享樂,都還是會導向一個道德上的正途而不至於離經叛道.畢竟,商業片還是要賺錢,引來輿論的撻伐或是衛道人士的抗議對票房並沒有好處.

從這個標題Topless Girls! (And Other Things Far Too Wildly Hilarious to Mention)看來,似乎這位影評覺得這片真是太好笑了,這個在形容喜劇片常用的字一定要介紹一下.

Hilarious:
If something is hilarious, it is extremely funny and makes you laugh a lot.
例句:We thought it was hilarious when we first heard about it...
不過,讓我們回想一下too...to的用法,其實跟前後文是有關的,我從國中參考書借了兩個例句讓大家對照
The weather is too hot to work. (天氣太熱了，所以無法工作。)
It's too dangerous to drive fast on the busy roads. （在交通忙碌的街道上開快車，實在是太危險了。）
所以這個標題很耐人尋味,是其他部分太好笑無法形容,或是其他部分不值一提呢?以內文看來似乎是不太好笑,影評大大的取笑了裡面的演員.

I’ve occasionally heard Dane Cook, one of the stars of “Good Luck Chuck,” described as a comedian. I find this confusing, since my understanding is that comedians are people who say and do things that are funny. Perhaps Mr. Cook is some new kind of conceptual satirist whose shtick is to behave in the manner of a person attempting to be funny without actually being, you know, funny. Or maybe he answered an ad in the back of a magazine and sent away for a mail-order license to practice comedy.

"我無意間聽說Dane Cook是個喜劇演員,我對此感到困惑,從我的認知喜劇演員是說話或是行為好笑的人."可真嚴厲,雖然後面有說也許他屬於那類試圖搞笑但是並不真正搞笑的,不過最後的比喻超級狠.回答了雜誌封底的問題並回函申請一張表演喜劇的執照.

Whether Jessica Alba, his co-star, acquired her acting credentials by similar means is an issue that will be addressed if she ever tries to act. To be fair (but why?) she does expend a little effort in “Good Luck Chuck,” pretending to be goofy and clumsy, doing stuff like running into a metal pole, catching her skirt in a car door and upending a tray of dentist’s instruments.

很顯然的,艾芭女神的美色沒有讓影評對他好點,他質疑Jassica是否有試著去用演技詮釋(if she ever tries to act.),
"acquired her acting credentials"意指爭取對他演技的認同,by similar means is an issue同樣(跟男主角類似的情況)令人爭議
我只能說作者真是壞,The author is really good at mocking.他對取笑人很有一套.他說好吧公平點(為什麼要?),Jassica有那麼一點點努力在片中表現 goofy和clumsy(這兩個字用來形容喜劇角色算是種稱讚),做些撞柱子,裙子被車門夾住,打翻東西的表演.所以女主角也被說的一文不值.

goofy:If you describe someone or something as goofy, you think they are rather silly or ridiculous. (INFORMAL)
clumsy:A clumsy person moves or handles things in a careless, awkward way, often so that things are knocked over or broken.

接下來這段是全文的重點
But the main audience for this dim little sex comedy has no particular interest in seeing Ms. Alba act. They want to see her in her underwear and also to confront one of the central cultural questions of our time: will she take her top off?
說出了大家的心聲,也許是宅男們的心聲,大家都不是對艾芭女神的演技特別有興趣.大家只想看她穿內衣的畫面,還有:她會把胸罩脫掉嗎?
作者非常有道德,他並沒告訴我們有沒有脫掉.(不然會被片商告嗎?)

然後作者大大的嘲諷了這部片,片中有很多沒有名氣的女星露胸部,讓這部片成為有訂閱Maxim卻沒有網路的年輕人必看的片(這傢伙嘴真是毒).觀眾中相當大部分應該都是幻想能跟艾芭女神上床的傢伙.不過這些付了費的消費者會像之前某部紀錄片"The Game"(抱歉這個我常識不夠請去原文連結看)的觀眾一樣 -- 以為也許有機會看到(who think they might really have a shot).

依這位影評的看法這部片顯示了即使是低俗搞笑劇(lowbrow comedy)也需要技巧與智慧.這部片卻只提供了乳房笑話,陽具笑話並充斥了無新意的點子.

Chuck (that would be Mr. Cook) suffers under a curse that causes every woman he goes to bed with to fall in love with the next guy who asks her out.
全片的劇情圍繞在這點,跟他上床的女人都會愛上下一個約她的傢伙.

最後一句,影評毒舌的傑作.But if the logic of “Good Luck Chuck” holds, the next movie I see should be a masterpiece.
看到這句我真的笑了,如果片中的邏輯成立(下一個男人是真命天子),那我看的下部片一定是經典傑作.

我想我會等DVD出來再去租吧!
抱歉了!艾芭女神!!!

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英文學習網站分享及使用心得(NYT篇)

3:10 To Yuma:決戰3:10 羅素克洛 經典西部電影重現

Russell Crowe Revitalizes Remake of Cowboy Classic '3:10 To Yuma'(原文連結)

看電影跟看報紙都是許多老師推薦的學英文管道之一,不過最近學業跟工作占了生活很大部分的時間,不知道10月5號上映的這部9月11日美國週末票房冠軍片我有沒有辦法去戲院看,在這裡把他的影評節錄介紹一下.

在這裡先介紹美國之音VOA的Hollywood報導,VOA主要報導電影的影劇報導記者Alan Silverman,如果要找他的文章,可以在VOA網頁右上角搜尋打silverman或是打片名,不過根據我的經驗,用片名找有時候那個搜尋會不準確,好像全文檢索寫得不是很好,不妨用silverman 進去搜尋再配合上映日期去搜尋,反而效果比較好.

Silverman的報導不屬於special English,也就是說他是以正常的速度的英語來播報,不過依我個人的經驗,不看原稿先聽個兩到三遍應該可以抓到6-7成的意思,因為已經先知道主題也會對聽的理解力有幫助,這裡會建議可以先花個約20分鐘.然後再看網頁上的原文,某些直接聽無法確定的字,聽了幾次後會有"謎底揭開,原來是你這傢伙的感覺",除了加深對這個字或片語的印象外,有時候我們聽不懂的情況是這個字或片語跟前後相鄰字的連讀,形成我們不熟悉的連續音節,先聽再看也幫助我們去感受將對這種音節組合的反應內化.對以後再次聽見或是類似音節組合的反應都有幫助.

我們中文作文有各種破題的起頭方式,英文也有,Mr. Silverman再這裡用了一個他蠻愛用的手法,用主角的對比性突顯出劇情的衝突性,也吸引我們向下看他的簡介.

A decent but down-on-his-luck cowboy faces off against a charismatic and deadly outlaw in a new take on a classic Hollywood western co-starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Alan Silverman has a look at 3:10 to Yuma.

A decent but down-on-his-luck cowboy,我們的課本中對等連接詞and的例子不少,but的卻不多,我自己在這幾年看了老外用這種寫法覺得很簡潔,不過自己寫作文倒是常會寫成 He was a decent cowboy, but lately he was down on his luck.大家不妨試試看遇到要用but去連結兩個子句時,是不是其實有贅字的嫌疑,有時候可以這樣寫.

"face off"大家一定想到變臉,其實變臉的片名是個雙關語,一方面"to take one's face off"點出了那個換臉皮的情節,另一方面我們來看看他的英文解釋:start a game by a face-off.而face-off這個複合名詞的解釋是"A face-to-face, usually hostile meeting: confrontation, encounter." "A method of starting play in ice hockey, lacrosse, and other games in which an official drops the puck or ball between two opposing players who contend for its control."面對面的衝突,像冰上曲棍球之類的運動開球的正面衝搶.

這個破題我個人覺得很精采,因為他用了四個形容詞還有這樣的動詞去鋪陳整個戲劇衝突,正直運氣不好的牛仔跟充滿魅力的亡命之徒正面衝突.我們在很多賣座片如變臉,無間道都看見了這種張力的運用.再加上Russell Crowe 和 Christian Bale兩大性格男星的名字.看來應該會讓電影迷心甘情願的掏出口袋裡的錢.

根據我聽Mr.Silverman的電影報導的經驗,有些心得提供給大家參考,因為他會把片中的對白跟報導訪問剪輯在一起,所以有時候比較天外飛來或是聽不清楚的其實是電影裡的片段,不用被這幾段挫折了信心,因為有時候沒有前後文,就算是老美自己有時候也會丈二金剛摸不著腦袋;次外就是一般來說除了他自己對劇情跟人物的簡介外,還會訪問幾個劇中的要角,這篇裡面他就訪問了Russell Crowe,Christian Bale還有導演James Mangold.通常導演講的比較複雜.聽這些明星說話去辨識他們的口音跟聲音我覺得也是聽這個系列的一種趣味.

"a new take on a classic Hollywood western",其實這部片是重拍50年前的經典西部片.Christian Bale說他會去看原著短篇故事也會去看其他版本的電影,有些人怕看了之前別人的表現會被限制影響,不過他不怕.導演James Mangold拍過Walk The Line (爲你鍾情)還有 Girl, Interrupted(女生向前走),這次嘗試西部片也是相當神奇的,接受訪問時他表示,雖然故事背景設定在1883,西部仍然充滿了許多今日世界的關聯映射.他提到了關於美國的焦慮,政治迫害,宗教迫害,人性的殘酷面,大企業對小個體的欺壓,藉由這樣的一種表現方式來突顯很多美國現今的一些政治議題,但是,他補充,這部片永遠不會被視為是部具爭議性的影片,因為它不存在現代的政治板塊且用一種象徵抽象的方式表現.

坦白說我看導演的這段整個傻眼了,我整個帶著要去電影院看落日沙漠男人硬派對決,因為環境正邪發現其實對方某些特質是與自己相同的心理掙扎,現在要當作我的文學導讀課進去找simile跟metaphor嗎?

不,我不會的,記得小學時候看布袋戲我最愛的角色是"刀鎖金太極",長大後發現原來是因為那首出場音樂,那首來自克林伊斯威特主演荒野三鏢客中大師Ennio Morricone的無敵配樂,我會帶著我一貫的熱血硬派態度期待一場男人的西部龍爭虎鬥.

呼,記得把槍放回腰上的槍套時,要先把槍口的硝煙吹散.

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英文學習網站分享及使用心得(NYT篇)

洋基連勝,直追紅襪,Mussina再現巨投風範

Yankees 12, Orioles 0
Boston Series Behind Them, Yankees Have Sox in Sight (原文連結)

Mike Mussina after striking out Aubrey Huff to end the seventh. from NYT	Doug Mientkiewicz in the eighth inning.  He hit a three-run homer in the fourth. from NYT

Mike Mussina has always believed that a good pitcher wins about half of his starts. Last night was the 500th start of Mussina’s career, and he won for the 249th time. Not quite half, but Mussina, clearly, is a good pitcher again.

穆西納一直相信一個好投手會贏得約一半得先發場次.昨晚是他生涯第500次先發,他也贏得生涯第249勝.還不到一半,不過很明顯的老穆又是從前的那個好投手了.


The resurgent Mussina twirled seven shutout innings against the free-falling Baltimore Orioles, leading the Yankees to a 12-0 romp that pulled them two and a half games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East.

這場球捲土重來的老穆投出了無失分的7局將金鶯玩弄於股掌之間,帶領洋基12-0大勝並在美聯東區追趕紅襪到只有1場半的勝差.金鶯最近戰績有多差?被用free-falling自由落體來形容.近20幾場似乎一勝難求.

對於老穆最近的狀況resurgent這個字很貼切.寫作文時要寫東山再起或捲土重來時可以偷學一下.
"1.Experiencing or tending to bring about renewal or revival.2.Sweeping or surging back again."
"You use resurgent to say that something is becoming stronger and more popular after a period when it has been weak and unimportant. (FORMAL)"

另外對於12-0這種大勝,讓我們來看看romp這個字
"To win a race or game easily."
"Journalists use romp in expressions like romp home, romp in, or romp to victory, to say that a person or horse has won a race or competition very easily."
        eg,  Mr. Foster romped home with 141 votes.  Foster先生以141票大勝.

"We still have work," Manager Joe Torre said. "We won’t allow ourselves to get caught up in what people will assume is a foregone conclusion."

Joe Torre當然說他們要繼續努力,不讓一般人認為結果已定的假設侷限住他們.

foregone conclusion
n.

1. An end or a result regarded as inevitable: The victory was a foregone conclusion. See Usage Note at foregone.
2. A conclusion formed in advance of argument or consideration.

If you say that a particular result is a foregone conclusion, you mean you are certain that it will happen.
              eg, Most voters believe the result is a foregone conclusion...
                   大部分的選民相信結果早已經註定.
(這讓我想起幾年前,有個很胖的籃球主播信心滿滿的預測活塞一定不敵湖人,活塞奪冠時我真是開心到不行)

開學了,好多東西要跟上,學校的閱讀進度要跟上,每天看NYT不能荒廢,還有上來寫些東西也想持續.基本上我本來就不打算當自己是寫體育的BLOG,不過有些文章確實寫的精采,當天看完對作者的用字跟結構叫好,但是等我能夠上來分享,總是已經次日甚至更久了,跟一些專門的體育BLOG當然是無法相提並論(我自己就屬於外行看熱鬧),不過還是希望藉由一些精采的句子,跟有緣來我這走走的朋友分享學習的心得.

我是目前正同時看英國文學導讀跟NYT的棒球報導的Scott.

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穆西納重返先發,助洋基7連勝
Mussina : 38歲 生涯247勝 英雄遲暮
英文學習網站分享及使用心得(NYT篇)

穆西納重返先發,助洋基7連勝

Back as a Starter, Mussina Helps Yanks Win Seventh Straight
(原文連結)Mike Mussina allowed no runs
in five and two-thirds innings.
"Standing comfortably before his locker, smiling and joking after winning the 248th game of his career, Mike Mussina savored the smaller victory he had achieved. Simply put, he said, it felt good to contribute again."

這位248勝的老將歷經了之前難堪的表現,ERA到破表的17.69,這場球對他生涯來說只能說是個小勝,對他的意義卻不太一樣.

這裡的participial phrase部分,"Standing comfortably before his locker, smiling and joking after winning the 248th game of his career,",似乎在我們的眼前描繪出畫面,讓我們想像穆西納站在他的衣櫃前輕描淡寫對我們說他這得來不易的第248勝.對248勝的老穆來說這場5又2/3局不失分,被打5支安打,送出一K及3次保送的勝投.對照過往的輝煌紀錄中當然是微不足道.這裡用了savor(英式savour),"If you savour an experience, you enjoy it as much as you can.","If you savour food or drink, you eat or drink it slowly in order to taste its full flavour and to enjoy it properly."來描述他對這場勝投的感覺.不只是回味還細細品嚐,真的有寒日飲冰水,點滴在心頭那種味道,"Simply put",老將還是保持他王牌的冷靜姿態,說很高興能對球隊有貢獻.

"We’ve got to keep winning ballgames," Mussina said. "We can’t afford to send somebody out there who’s going to give up six or seven runs in the first three innings."
"球隊必須要繼續贏球,"穆西納說."我們負擔不起一個3局丟6-7分的投手."

"I think I just reminded them that I’m still here and I think I can still pitch,” Mussina said. “Hopefully, the guys making those decisions will give me a chance to get back out there a couple more times."提醒教練團他還在而且他覺得自己還能投.希望那些做決定的給他個機會讓他還能再上場個幾次,聽老穆這樣說還真是有點淒涼.

"Reliever Joba Chamberlain threw 35 pitches, his high for the Yankees, and after a 1-2-3 seventh, he gave up the first run of his career after 16 scoreless innings. It came on a two-out error by third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who threw away a ground ball."Chamberlain中繼投出35球,在洋基出賽最多的一次,完成三上三下的第七局後,他16局無失分的紀錄中止了,雖然不是自責分.由A Rod 在兩人出局後發生的失誤造成.不過無失分的紀錄還是中斷了.

"Ninety-nine times out of 100, Al makes that play," Chamberlain said. "We won the game, and that’s all that matters."
小火箭人覺得人有失手馬有亂蹄,贏得比賽最重要.

閱讀小補充
這裡給大家介紹一下連勝的說法.在這篇文章裡出現了兩種.首先是標題

Back as a Starter, Mussina Helps Yanks Win Seventh Straight.
straight:Uninterrupted; consecutive
   sick for five straight days; their fourth straight victory.
straight不中斷連續的這個用法,可以試著用用看

另外是streak這個字,背生字的用多看文章絕對是效果最好的,看個幾天棒球新聞這個字應該都不會忘了.

This time was different. Starting on Wednesday because of the elbow injury to Roger Clemens, Mussina shut out the Toronto Blue Jays over five and two-thirds innings, lifting the Yankees to a 4-1 victory that ran their winning streak to seven.

這次不同.星期三因為火箭人的肘傷,穆西納代班先發封鎖了藍鳥5又2/3局,幫助洋基4比1獲勝讓連勝數字增加到7.
不斷重複出現的這個片語,大家就笑納進自己的腦中吧
winning streak
A series of consecutive successes, a run of good luck, as in Our son-in-law has been on a winning streak with his investments. This expression comes from gambling. [Mid-1900s]

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Mussina : 38歲 生涯247勝 英雄遲暮
英文學習網站分享及使用心得(NYT篇)

鳥中之Alex,最聰明的鸚鵡辭世

Alex, a Parrot Who Had a Way With Words, Dies

Alex, a 31-year-old African gray parrot, knew more than 100 words and could count and
recognize colors and shapes.


"He knew his colors and shapes, he learned more than 100 English words, and with his own brand of one-liners he established himself in TV shows, scientific reports, and news articles as perhaps the world’s most famous talking bird."

能分辨顏色跟形狀,會超過100個英文字,媒體上的一線巨星,世界最有名會說話的鳥.Alex享年31歲.

"Scientists have long debated whether any other species can develop the ability to learn human language. Alex’s language facility was, in some ways, more surprising than the feats of primates that have been taught American Sign Language, like ....."

科學家一直以來對於其他物種是否有學習人類語文的能力爭辯不休.Alex突出的表現比那些靈長類的實驗對象要更令人吃驚.我忽略了原文中提到的金剛跟黑猩猩.facility這裡的用法讓我們看看英英字典的解釋,"The ability to perform without apparent effort: ease, easiness, effortlessness, facileness, readiness." 強調它的語言學習能力是多麼突出.比原先大家覺得跟人類更近的靈長類遠親更好.

But by using novel methods of teaching, Dr. Pepperberg prompted Alex to learn about 150 words, which he could put into categories, and to count small numbers, as well as colors and shapes. “The work revolutionized the way we think of bird brains,” said Diana Reiss, a psychologist at Hunter College who works with dolphins and elephants. “That used to be a pejorative, but now we look at those brains — at least Alex’s — with some awe.”

這是很有趣的一段,Dr.Pepperberg用創新的教導方式,讓Alex學會了150個單字,讓他可以分類,可以數數,可以分辨顏色與形狀.這裡的novel當形容詞用,"Strikingly new, unusual, or different. See synonyms at new."

另一位實驗動物是海豚跟大象的心理學家打趣的說的話很有趣,“The work revolutionized the way we think of bird brains,” said Diana Reiss, a psychologist at Hunter College who works with dolphins and elephants. “That used to be a pejorative, but now we look at those brains — at least Alex’s — with some awe.”  這改變了我們對鳥類大腦的想法,pejorative的意思是"A pejorative word or expression is one that expresses criticism of someone or something."原本在英文裡面鳥的腦是用來形容人笨的,腦小的跟鳥的腦一樣是用來虧人的.下面有兩個有趣的記載.

birdbrain n. Slang
A person regarded as silly or stupid.

You Bird Brain!
( . . . well?)

If someone calls you a bird brain, they're trying to say you ain't too smart. Real bird brains are not very big. The brain of a songbird, for example, weighs just about 1 gram. A human brain weighs 1300 grams (about 3 pounds). Proportionate to the size of it's body, however, a bird's brain is just about the right size.

所以國語我們罵人豬頭,英文罵人鳥腦,不過介紹罵人英文不是我的出發點,請大家斟酌使用.


對於Alex有多厲害請大家用原文連結去看看,在這裡把Alex在這世上最後的一句話跟大家分享
“You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you.”

千辛萬苦的俄羅斯第一家星巴克

After Long Dispute, a Russian Starbucks

The first Starbucks in Russia opened Thursday in a mall near Moscow. The company was slow
to enter this market, initially because of the economy and later because of a trademark squatter.

這篇文章是2007年9月7日NYT的world business版的新聞,俄羅斯的第一家星巴克直到2007年9月6日才開幕說真的還蠻讓我意外,首先我印象最深刻的是照片裡那個俄文的Starbucks Coffee,這很有趣,台灣並沒有出現綠色的"星巴克咖啡"招牌,不知道有沒有熟日本的朋友可以告訴我們,日本有依外來語慣例用片假名寫在招牌上嗎?還是俄羅斯大鬍子仍然有些冷戰時對美國的心結不喜歡斗大的英文字招搖.


感謝朋友提供的韓文星巴克,不過據說只有這家是因為位於推行古文化的街,所以全韓國就這家
PS.感謝網友提供對岸的中文星巴克咖啡

第一段整個是一句,說實在有時候看到一些Native Speaker寫的句子會讚嘆說人家就寫得出這種句子,不是說很複雜或是很多難字就漂亮,像這個句子,
"With the hiss of an espresso machine and a note in Russian explaining the meanings of “tall,” “grande” and “venti,” Starbucks opened its first coffee shop in Russia on Thursday in a mall in this city near Moscow."

除了結構很緊密沒有贅字,意思很完整外,還給我們一個畫面的意境,好像聽見咖啡機的嘶嘶聲看見關於中杯大杯特大杯的俄文說明,俄羅斯的第一家星巴克開幕的第一天.除了說明開幕的事實外還讓我們在腦中幻想出一個鮮明的意象.我個人很喜歡他用了hiss這個字.好像真的能聽見能看見一樣.

星巴克會這麼晚才進入近幾年經濟蓬勃發展的俄羅斯(多蓬勃,從我有多後悔沒買霸菱東歐基金可以看出來),作者把這來龍去脈做了一個交代,原來1997年星巴克就已經去註冊商標,但是沒想到1998年俄羅斯發生金融危機,盧布重貶.所以星巴克都沒去展店,直到2002年俄羅斯經濟再次翻身,這時候本文中的一個重要角色Sergei A. Zuykov就出現了,他向俄羅斯當局申請撤銷星巴克連鎖的註冊,因為該商標在俄羅斯未做商業應用,然後他把Starbucks註冊在他莫斯科的公司名下,直到2005年俄羅斯加入WTO爲了與國際智財權標準接軌,他才輸掉官司.

這劇情大家並不陌生,數年前也有人故意先去註冊一些大公司的URL試圖從中獲利,這到底算不算是一種綁票見仁見智,不過我很確定這種行為跟之前國內的卡神行為都不是我推崇的,一個大家都想取巧得利的社會不是好事.跟發現別人的疏忽去佔他的便宜相比,以前民風純樸老闆不小心多給商品還會主動歸還的純樸行為,正展現了即使是小地方也可以看出風骨.

"The opening sealed a victory for the company in a fight with a trademark squatter who had kept Starbucks from coming to Russia for more than three years, just as a coffeehouse culture was emerging here. Starbucks refused to pay the squatter to yield the Starbucks name in Russia and eventually prevailed in court."

這裡也很佩服星巴克不願意向不合理屈服的精神(雖然它是全球化被詬病的大商家之一),他爲了這個商標訴訟進入俄羅斯市場晚了超過三年,600,000美金對星巴克其實不算什麼,如果和解它三年應該賺回不知幾倍吧.這裡作者用 trademark squatter 來稱呼這種去侵占註冊商標權的人,字典上的解釋"A squatter is someone who lives in an unused building without having a legal right to do so and without paying any rent or any property tax." 星巴克不願付錢而且最終討回公道.字典對prevail的解釋"If one side in a battle, contest, or dispute prevails, it wins." 雖然贏了官司,不過三年無法進入這個市場,星巴克的經營者應該心裡在淌血吧.

星巴克提供的咖啡全世界都相同,不過三明治與烘培食物會隨著當地口味入境隨俗,俄羅斯提供磨菇與起士口味三明治.我對俄羅斯料理完全沒有概念,不過台灣的我就沒看出本土口味.倒是我們的月餅掀起過咖啡口味的流行.

價錢方面這篇報導帶給我們相當驚人的資訊,"In Russia, the prices are a reflection of the oil-driven economic boom here. A tall filter coffee costs 75 rubles, or about $2.92. The most expensive item on the menu was a venti mocha, for 230 rubles, or about $8.96. A venti mocha at Starbucks in New York costs $4.71."

反應出俄羅斯受到油價帶動的經濟景氣大好,俄羅斯的星巴克售價幾乎是紐約的快要兩倍.

"Despite this setback, which allowed competitors a head start, Starbucks said it saw plenty of room for more coffee shops in Russia. Ms. Pucik, the Starbucks spokeswoman, cited data from Euromonitor International, a market research company, showing that Moscow has one coffeehouse for every 3,187 people. New York has one for every 365 people, and Paris one for every 126."

當然三年才去開第一家,競爭者都趕在前頭了,不過星巴克說俄羅斯市場還有很大的空間.發言人引用Euromonitor International這個市場研究公司的資料,紐約每365人一家咖啡店,巴黎每126人一家,莫斯科目前每3,187人才一家.這麼說來台北的星巴克還不算太稠密呢.

英文學習網站分享及使用心得(VOA Special English篇)

最近廣為網路上及對岸學英文同好討論的所謂慢速英語,其實是VOA(Voice of America)美國之音裡面的一部分,Special English,在這裡簡單引用一下Wikipedia的敘述介紹美國之音如下

美國之音（Voice of America，VOA）成立於1942年，是美國政府的對外廣播電臺與電視台。每天以44種語言，每星期超過1,300小時向世界各地廣播。內容包括新聞時事、專題節目、英語教學節目、美國流行音樂，與反映美國政府立場的社論。它是最為大眾所熟知的國際廣播。美國之音強調自己的新聞報導力求準確、客觀、全面。


Special English根據網站上的記載,於西元1959年10月19日首播,目的是用清楚且簡單的英文對英語非母語的聽眾廣播,而這些節目很快的成為VOA最受歡迎的一些節目,幫助英文不流利的人們學習美式英文,了解美國生活並提供世界新聞及發展的資訊.

Special English有三大特點:
1.用核心單字約1500字,我個人認為這很適合當國中高年級或高中的讀物.
2.用短而簡單明確陳述一個觀念的句子,主動語氣,不使用片語.
3.廣播人用一個比較慢的速度來念,約是標準速度的2/3,這幫助大家聽清楚每個英文字,也幫助已經英文流利的人了解複雜的主題.
它的播放時間及內容簡介



現在可以下載mp3,所以可以說是你可以隨時去聽,再這裡推薦一個用VOA Special English來讓功力大增的方式,因為速度比較慢且閱讀者將每個字都咬得很清楚,很適合聽寫法或是對岸說的逆向學習法.這個也許很花時間但是成效是很大的.節錄對岸的逆向學習的作法在最後讓大家參考一下(不過那真的太操了,我個人沒做到那麼徹底).我個人簡化及修改的流程供大家參考:

1.先不管有沒有生字聽不懂的,專心聽三遍,把聽出來的大意寫下來,還有把猜測的單字也寫下來.就算像塗鴉也好,多留些空白.
2.再聽一次,假設自己是會議紀錄一樣,試著盡量不要遺漏.
3.根據VOA提供的Script修正剛剛自己寫的.然後跟著念個幾遍(幾遍,看你的時間,我個人覺得不用背誦,念熟也很夠了,背熟的時間不如再多聽   寫一篇),查文章中的生字及文法句型,跟自己以前所學對照.
4.沒事的時候就聽一聽,方便的話跟著念一念.
   PS.有一點我個人覺得要折衷的是,與其在同一篇花很多時間去背淂滾瓜爛熟,不如多念幾篇,怎麼取捨就要看自己的感覺跟調適.而我個人覺得語言與其說是一種拿來分析的學問不如說是一種習慣的養成.

以下節錄自"英語學習逆向法"
經過"聽、寫、說、背、想"五個步驟

1."聽"與"寫"

　　先把某一條錄音內容從頭到尾聽幾遍，聽不懂也要硬著頭皮聽。先聽懂其大意，分出段落和句子，然後再以一句話為單位反復地聽。搞清楚一個句子由幾個詞組成，每個詞在句子中起什麼作用，主、謂、賓語都是哪些詞等。每聽一遍就把聽懂的詞一個一個按照順序寫在紙上，排列成句子，聽不懂的詞就先空著。對于英語聽力比較低的人來說，剛起步時聽不懂的地方實在大多了，有時恐怕連自己也說不清到底有多少處聽不懂。在這種情形下，只有把聽懂了的詞寫出來，才能搞清楚到底有多少處聽不懂。

　　對于碰到的生詞，一定要聽到能模仿錄音正確地念出來，準確地抓住各個音節的發音為止。因為只有準確地把各個音節的發音抓住了，讀出來了，才有可能根據語法和語音知識試拼出一些詞，到詞典裏查找。由于正確答案往往需要反復多次才能找到，所以聽寫時要"寫一行，空兩行"，留下充分的反復修改的餘地。為了糾正不正確的拼寫，"寫"的時候稍有疑問就要查詞典，用色筆標出生詞和錯誤的拼寫。

　　對於聽寫不出來的詞，不要就"詞"論"詞"，一聽寫不出就立即把錄音機停下來，不再往下聽寫。應該繼續聽寫下去，把聽寫不出的詞放到文章的整體內容上去理解。常常有這樣的情形，孤立地去摳一個詞，百思不得其解，但若與整句話，整條消息聯繫起來去理解，思路就寬了，往往也就知道是什麼詞類和怎麼拼寫了。

　　有時同一個生詞在錄音中多處出現，一處聽不清或聽不懂，可以先放一放，看看能不能從別處得到啟發。因為可能別處的錄音很清楚，或者與別的詞搭配在一起被你聽懂了。聽寫過程中，對于沒有確切把握的詞，也要先"寫"出來，再在以後的不斷聽寫過程中去校驗和糾正。同一新聞在不同的時間由不同的播音員播出時，由于各人的語調有區別，有助于聽懂一些疑難詞的發音。

　　"聽"與"寫"兩個步驟不是截然分開的，對于英語水平不高的初學者來說，一段錄音的聽寫不是一次就能完成的，而是要經過多次的"聽"與"寫"互相促進，互相啟發，交替前進才能最後完成。

　　從學習英語的角度出發，初學者在起步階段必須一邊聽一邊寫。，如果光聽不寫，可能會有以下兩種情形。一是漏掉了一些聽不但的詞，失去了學習和提高的機會；二是有了聽不懂的詞時，如果只聽不寫，往往聽的遍數再多也可能還是聽不懂，但是如果把聽懂的部分寫在紙上，前後內容聯繫在一起，經過思考以後再去聽，可能又會聽懂一些別的內容，如此不斷反復，直到全部聽懂。

　　由于嚴重雜音干擾而無法從語音人手推斷的詞，可以根據語法進行補充，就假定自己是這條新聞的作者，在聽不清的地方應該用什麼詞。或許填上去的詞不正確，但總比空著好，而且隨著聽錄行時間的增長和英語水平的提高，自己也有可能發現並改正。


2."說"與"背"

　　整扁文章聽寫出來以後，就要學"說"。方法是：聽一句播講人的話，自己學說一句。學"說"時儘量使用能不斷重複一段錄音內容的電子錄音機，根據自己的水平確定學"說"的時間長度，儘量"說"完整的一句。

　　學"說"過程可以分兩步走：第一步是"比讀"，即把自己學"說"的語音錄下來，與錄音帶上標準的語音對比，看看什麼地方學得不像，如此不斷重複，直到能模仿說出大體上正確的語音為止；第二念與錄音帶上的聲音同步"說"。

　　學會"說"以後，就要"背"了。把一段錄音的聽寫記錄翻來覆去地高聲朗讀，達到基本會背誦的程度。"背"對于提高聽力有很大的作用：例如慢速英語新聞廣播有一定的格式和句型，：'背"上一段時間的消息以後，就會熟悉它的風格和常用的句型，就比較容易聽懂新的內容、有時甚至可以超過播講人的聲音，聽了一句話中前面的幾個詞後能提前說出後面的一些詞，或聽了上一句話後能提前說出下一句來。到了這個地步，聽寫時的緊張心情就減輕了，或者基本上消除了。心情一放鬆，水平就能發揮出來，應該聽懂的也就能聽懂了。

3."想"

　　如果前面"聽、寫、說、背"四個學習環節突出了"苦幹"精神的話，那麼"想"這個環節就主要是講怎樣在"苦幹"的基礎上"巧幹"了，就是要求在整個學習過程中做一個"有心人"，善于開動腦筋。"想"的內容有以下三個方面：

　　首先是想一想學習的進度是否合適，學到的知識是否扎實，本書提出的學習要求達到了沒有。前面已經提到，由于學習進度是自己掌握的，不知不黨的會加快學習進度。由于沒有客觀考核，即使學得不深不透也還自以為學得不錯。所以在整個學習過程中，尤其是在打基礎階段、要經常告誡自己"慢些，慢些，再懼些"，時時檢查學到的知識是否扎實。如果不扎實則堅持重新學。

　　其次是總結和歸納學習方法方面的經驗和教訓。和學任何別的知識一樣，只有經常總結和歸納的人才能學得快學得好。每個人所處的環境不同，學習過程中不同階段碰到的困難不同，因此取得的經驗和教訓也不同，應該及時地進行歸納和總結。自己總結和歸納出來的經驗和教訓，適合自己的情況，用來指導自己學習，效果特別好，可以收到事半功倍的效果。進一步說，自己總結和歸納出來的經驗和教訓可能對別的人也有參考價值。孤立地去看，每一個具體的經驗和教訓都是很小的，不系統的，沒有多大價值。但是積累多了，量變引起質變，可能會成為系統的、有價值的、有一定新意的一種方法。

　　最後是總結和歸納學到的英語知識，使之系統化，記憶深刻化。例如每學到一個單詞或一些文法知識，要好好地想一想，過上一段時間還要很好地歸納整理一下。歸納和總結的一項主要內容是分析自己在聽寫過程中所出現的各種各樣差錯。實踐證明，通過分析自己的差錯進行學習，效果特別好。例如有的內容聽寫不出來，有的聽寫錯了，有的聽懂了但寫得不對等，就要分析原因和找到避免的方法。就拿單詞來說吧，如果聽寫中自己不會的單詞，多次試拼出來的詞在詞典裏都沒有，或雖然詞典裏有，但不是所要的答案，最後通過別的途徑找到了真正的答案，就要很好地總結一下為什麼自己多次試拼出來的詞都不對，是不是沒有準確地抓住播講人的發音，還是自己的語音知識不高，或是碰到什麼特殊的發音。每學到一個新的單詞，都應該在拼寫、發音和釋義等三個方面與自己已經掌握的單詞進行對比，找出异同點，以形成"聯繫記憶。發音和拼寫上有特點的詞要倍加注意，看看能否找到記憶的竅門。對于語法也是一樣，如果理解不了或理解錯了，就要找語法書來看，搞清楚正確的理解應該是什麼，自己為什麼理解不了，或者自己的理解錯在哪里等等。


延伸閱讀
CNN Student News 使用心得
英文學習網站分享及使用心得(CNN Student News)

The New York Times 使用心得
英文學習網站分享及使用心得(NYT篇)

同事阿洛的
使用ipod來訂閱網路廣播(podcast)

英文學習網站分享及使用心得(NYT篇)

重回學校當英文系老學生已經一年了,雖然以某些角度來看比小朋友同學要用功,不過還是覺得有很多不足的地方.整理一下我最近常用的英文學習的網站.

首先要來介紹一下NYT,"The New York Times",這個歷史悠久的著名媒體已經有很多名家介紹過,什麼文辭優美言論精闢之類的,先借用博客來書店上賣紐約時報英文解析的介紹一下,《紐約時報》是全美、也是全球最具權威性的報紙。該報的特質是內容廣泛、立場超然，深具指標性與影響力。除此以外，《紐約時報》用字嚴謹、結構紮實有力、內容新穎實用，文章裡的新字新詞也跟現代生活環環相扣。


除了以上這些特點外,如果要培養閱讀能力我個人強力推薦大家上NYT網站.首先,成為會員是不用錢的,這個是電子出版物的一大創舉,依目前實體出版品尤其是報紙雜誌節節敗退的情勢, 轉型為電子媒體也許是不得不的趨勢,成為免費會員可以看除少數付費文章外幾乎全部的文章,將收入源由訂閱與實體廣告刊登大舉轉換到網路廣告,有看過一位很優秀的網友的文章提到,NYT要成為一個PORTAL先天上是很有優勢的,因為它本身就是一個很豐富的content provider.

接下來我個人的將小小的閱讀及使用心得野人獻曝一下,NYT網站有個讓目前在進修部拼老命跟小朋友K英文的我非常稱讚的功能.測試步驟非常簡單,首先進入NYT網站,根據分類或是直接看頭條都好,選出一篇你有興趣的文章,然後點進去欣賞一下高水準照片後,向下開始讀本文,如果你是看完一篇都沒有單字的高手,那....這功能你可能用不到.好,讓我們忘了那些雲端上的朋友,繼續我們的NYT之旅,當你看到一個難字(不舉實例,因為怕大家發現我的程度),在那個字上面Double Click(如果有出現阻擋彈出式視窗請先解開,NYT的廣告並不會是煩死人的炸彈不停彈出,而且總是會有可以Skip的按鍵).然後神奇的事情就會發生了,如下圖

在生字上Double Click就會出現英英字典解釋跟同義字

一般的字大多而言會出現Dictionary, Thesaurus, WordNet三個部份
我個人雖然在電腦上有裝了Collins跟Longman兩個版本的英英字典不過要停下來Ctrl+C ,Ctrl+V去看字典的定義例句還是在操作上跟閱讀上不順暢.這個功能對你的閱讀不會打斷太多,可以好好的讀完一個段落再切換視窗看剛剛查的字.平常會停下來翻字典會覺得整個念起來不痛快,現在可以好好的把文章順暢的念個幾遍,然後再慢條斯里的用瀏覽器回到上一頁跟下一頁來慢慢K剛剛不懂的單字,此外跟NYT合作的英英字典The American Heritage? Dictionary 也提供了線上發音.英英字典一開始用會有點痛苦,不過用習慣了會有很大幫助,不用太過擔心解釋中又有難字,基本上編字典的人的邏輯也不會用更難的字去解釋一個生字,字典的功能就是讓我們用另外較簡單較常見的字去做字的定義,不是嗎?

音標可以把這張圖印出來或是去原頁面參考,一開始可能很難習慣,因為台灣都用KK習慣了,不過對照個幾次後就會習慣了.


延伸閱讀
CNN Student News 使用心得
英文學習網站分享及使用心得(CNN Student News)

VOA Special English篇
英文學習網站分享及使用心得(VOA Special English篇)

阿嬤的話

阿嬤的話

在細漢的時陣阮阿嬤對我尚好
甲尚好的物伴攏會留乎我
伊嘛定定帶我去幼稚園看人在七桃　
看人在辦公伙兒　看人在覓相找

伊定定跟阮說　叫阮著要好好仔讀冊　
嘸通大漢像恁老爸仔彼呢啊狼狽ㄛ

在彼個時陣　阮攏聽攏嘸　阿嬤　妳到底是在講什麼
大漢了後　才知影阿嬤的話　我會甲永遠永遠放塊心肝底

想到一步一步的過去　定定攏會乎人真難忘
時間一分一秒塊過去　在阮的心內定定攏會想到伊

阿嬤妳今嘛在叨位　阮在叫妳妳甘有聽到
阮的認真甲阮的成功妳甘有看到　阮在叫妳妳知影沒

阿嬤妳今嘛過的好麼　甘有人塊甲妳照顧
希望後世人阮擱會凍來乎妳疼　作妳永遠的孫仔　
擱叫妳一聲「阿嬤」

星期天在家看朋友傳的YouTube上星光參賽者唱這首歌
然後他還給了我可以聽原唱的網頁
蕭煌奇真的有很多好聽的歌呢
這首歌詞的風格我也很喜歡,
讓我想到以前我剪報中吳念真寫的一篇散文
那種白描樸實中見真情的感覺

洋基的大局更是A Rod的大局

Yankees 10, Mariners 2
Big Inning for Yanks Is Bigger for Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez is going somewhere fast, and he has no time to admire the scenery. In a blistering seventh inning last night, Rodriguez matched and passed the Hall of Famer Mel Ott on the career home run list, tying Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews in the process.
A Rod快速的向更高的境界前進快到沒有時間停下來欣賞路邊的風景,這場比賽的第七局一眨眼他的生涯全壘打數超越了全壘打名人堂裡的Mel Ott,追平了Ernie Banks與Eddie Mathews.

這局的第一轟讓洋基跟水手2-2平手,第二轟帶領洋基以10-2獲勝,這也是Joba Chamberlain的生涯首勝.A Rod本季這場比賽為只敲了48轟,生涯512轟.當洋基拉大他們與水手在美聯外卡的勝場差時,A Rod爭奪MVP的希望也越來越濃厚.

The next Hall of Famers for Rodriguez to catch are Ted Williams and Willie McCovey, with 521 home runs. That would require Rodriguez to match his season high of 57, but almost nothing seems impossible for him this year.A Rod在生涯全壘打數的下個里程碑是512轟,不過這需要他這一季能追平他生涯最多的57轟,但是今年對ARod來說幾乎沒有什麼是不可能的.

Rodriguez’s two homers in the seventh made him the first Yankee to homer twice in an inning since Cliff Johnson did it on June 30, 1977. The others to do it are Joe DiMaggio in 1936 and Joe Pepitone in 1962.第七局的這兩轟使A Rod成為1977年以來第一位單局雙轟的洋基隊員,在這之前洋基隊也只有 Joe DiMaggio在1936跟 Joe Pepitone 在1962完成過這項創舉.

Hughes, who had struggled lately, allowed two runs and five hits over six innings, striking out six before Chamberlain’s scoreless seventh.
另外一件令洋基迷開心的應該是昨天Phil Hughes的表現,很明顯有符合之前大家對他的期許,雖然最後他沒取得勝投,不過失2分5安打6K的投球內容相當不錯了.

Manager Joe Torre and coaches reminded Hughes of that in recent days, encouraging him to be more aggressive and use all his pitches. Hughes did that effectively, showing an occasional slider and changeup to go with a lively fastball and a curve he threw at various speeds.

Torre跟投手教練最近指點Hughes鼓勵他更積極具侵略性用出他各種的投球,Hughes這場球的確有效的做到了,交替使用滑球跟變速球搭配他的快速球與不同速度的曲球.6次的三振都是揮棒落空K掉.“His fastball had more life because he threw it with more conviction,” Torre said. “He wasn’t trying to make the perfect pitch. He trusted it more tonight.” Torre的評論也許正說明了Hughes之前是因為太在意要投好才失常吧.

Still, with the former Angel Jarrod Washburn tormenting the Yankees as usual, Hughes left trailing, 2-1. Through six, Washburn had allowed hits to only one Yankee — catcher José Molina, his former teammate, who homered in the third and doubled in the sixth. The Yankees wasted that chance when Washburn struck out Melky Cabrera and got Jeter to ground out. But he could not sneak a 3-2 fastball past Rodriguez leading off the seventh. Rodriguez blasted it high over left-center field to tie the score, 2-2.

不過其實水手的先發投手前天使隊的Jarrod Washburn投的並不差應該說還投得很不錯,到第6局洋基從他手中打出的唯一安打是捕手Molina的陽春砲.不過第7局跟A Rod纏鬥到滿球數後被A Rod打出左外野偏中的的第一轟.基本上他前六局表現也是超優質先發,作者用了torment這個字依慣例來看看解釋,If something torments you, it causes you extreme mental suffering.另外還有If you torment a person or animal, you annoy them in a playful, rather cruel way for your own amusement. 所以昨天看比賽前六局都還很擔心洋基又要吞敗,畢竟大家都希望阿民挺進季後賽繼續發光發熱.

接下來連環火炮的描述我不多說,請大家看原文原汁原味的敘述,總之一堆安打,得分的敘述,這裡有個詞來分享一下Sean Green walked Jorge Posada to force in the go-ahead run.這位中繼投手保送了Posada擠回了超前分.超前分就是go-ahead run,嗯,怎麼覺得有點賴世雄老師附身.

With a hearty lead, Chamberlain took the rest of the game off. He has worked 12 1/3 scoreless innings to start his career, the most for a Yankee since Jim Bouton reeled off 15 in a row as a rookie in 1962.
喜歡Chamberlain的應該也相當滿意這場的結果,他已經連續12又1/3局無失分,1962年Jim Bouton新人15局無失分以來最長的紀錄.不過這次不同的是他還有個額外的獎勵就是賺到了場勝投.新人的第一次總是新鮮,他說當Rivera無失分投完第九局把比賽球拿給他時都還狀況外,壓根沒想到那是他大聯盟首勝的紀念球呢.

The difference this time was that Chamberlain was rewarded with a victory. But he said he did not realize it until Mariano Rivera gave him the game ball after Rivera pitched a scoreless ninth.

“I didn’t know what I was getting the ball for,” Chamberlain said. “The game was over and the ball was in my hand. That makes it a little extra special.”

洋基20發砲擊水手,王建民17勝

Yankees 12, Mariners 3
Yanks Unleash 20-Hit Barrage on Mariners

Alex Rodriguez slid safely into third but winced in pain after Seattle’s Adrian Beltre fell on him.
阿民的第十七勝,不過因為友軍炮火太過猛烈,所以沒有那麼突顯他的優異.不過這段評論讓我們知道他目前的評價."Wang, who allowed five hits and a run in seven and a third innings, started the season on the disabled list and did not win until May 5. That is especially notable because his victory last night tied him with Boston’s Josh Beckett for the major league lead, with 17. " 主投7又1/3局,被打五隻安打失一分.季初被列在傷兵名單,在5/5前沒贏得任何一勝.更特別的是這場勝投讓他跟紅襪的Beckett以17勝並列大聯盟勝投王.

每次都用高潮迭起來形容大聯盟比賽似乎太刻板,不過今天洋基眾打者與阿民的強勢表現比較不適合用峰迴路轉,所以根據大家都罵的杜部長的意見,這裡我要給他支持一下,如果我整篇或是每篇都這兩個成語那可真的是種思想懶惰,不過成語的畫龍點睛之妙也不要偏廢,所以大家以平常心來看待成語吧.

"The most productive hitter in the majors was wincing in pain in the dirt near third base last night in the seventh inning, grabbing his right leg. If there was a way to bring tension to a blowout, an injury to Alex Rodriguez was it."

雖然這場洋基強力砲擊秀對洋基迷來說非常振奮人心,但是主砲A Rod在這場比賽中受傷的傷勢是大家注目的焦點,如果折損主砲那影響可不是開玩笑的,個人還很期待他本季的50轟畫面.希望他沒有大礙繼續把球擊出牆外.

Visited by Yankees Manager Joe Torre and a trainer, Rodriguez rose and stayed in, scoring the Yankees’ seventh run in a 12-3 rout of the Seattle Mariners. A crowd of 52,487 — plus another frisky squirrel perched atop the right-field foul pole — watched Bobby Abreu, Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada collect four hits apiece to lift Chien-Ming Wang to another victory.

Torre跟訓練員看過A Rod情況後,A Rod站起來繼續比賽,跑回本場第7分.52487個觀眾加上一隻過於活潑爬上右外野標竿的松鼠,見證了阿布(假裝跟Bobby Abreu很熟),Cano,Posada各自得分幫助阿民邁向另一場勝投.


"The left-handed Ramirez humbled the Yankees in May, allowing a run over six and a third innings, and the Yankees’ left-leaning lineup has struggled lately. The left-handed hitters Abreu, Cano, Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and Hideki Matsui had been 6 for 64 in the previous four games."

水手這場先發的左投Ramirez(這名字MLB實在超多的)上次五月與洋基的對戰讓洋基吃鱉,6又1/3局只失一分,最近洋基的左打部隊又打得不順手.Abreu, Cano, Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and Hideki Matsui 再這之前的四場居然是64支4.這裡作者用了humble這個字,我們常見它當形容詞用解釋為謙卑或卑微,讓我們看下Collins字典中對於humble當動詞用的闡述If you humble someone who is more important or powerful than you, you defeat them easily. 因為洋基是公認的強權所以作者用這個字非常微妙而恰到好處.有小蝦米吃大鯨魚的味道.貼個字典上的例句

Honda won fame in the 1980s as the little car company that humbled the industry giants...


不過昨天洋基的左打者甦醒了,加上主砲火力全開"But the Yankees chased Ramirez in the sixth, with Rodriguez launching a homer about 10 rows high in the third deck in left field. It was the 510th home run of Rodriguez’s career, and it gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead." A Rod生涯的第510轟打上了左外野看台上三樓的第10排.這給了洋基2-0領先,接下來Posada,松井,Cano,Betemit的安打讓分數來到4-0.

這對阿民來說已經太夠了,"That was enough of a cushion for Wang, who got grounders for his first six outs and induced double-play grounders to end the fifth, sixth and seventh innings."開賽的前六個出局數都是滾地球出局以及在5,6,7局都以雙殺來終結,整個宰制了比賽.


Johnny Damon made sure a
foul ball by Seattle’s Ben Broussard
 in the ninth inning landed in
his glove instead of in the stands.
Johnny Damon沒收界外球的美技

Ian Kennedy的大聯盟初登板

Yankees 9, Devil Rays 6
Kennedy’s Debut a Success for Yankees



寫這篇文其實隱含的投資報酬率是很高的,如果Ian Kennedy之後失敗了,那我記載了一個消逝的彗星;如果他成功了,那我目睹了巨星的誕生.


這篇的作者是Judy Battista, 是不知道是不是Tyler Kepner休假代班,我查了下Judy小姐的作品似乎以NFL居多,不同的作者也讓我們看看不同的風格.

Ian Kennedy, who made his first major league start yesterday, sat in the Yankees’ clubhouse a few hours before his first pitch at Yankee Stadium, focusing on one thing: Don’t be in awe. One by one, the players he had seen on television came by to shake his hand, and when Johnny Damon approached, Kennedy greeted him with wide-eyed wonder.

美夢成真的場景很多,不過上大聯盟當先發投手,無疑是超級稀有又珍貴的經驗.在Ian Kennedy登板前的幾個小時,想必他的心情一定非常複雜."Don’t be in awe."讓我們看看awe這個字的英文解釋"If you are awed by someone or something, they make you feel respectful and amazed, though often rather frightened." 讓你敬畏,這對Kennedy的心情真的是最佳寫照.

登板投球前另一個震撼教育來了.真可是令我羨慕到不行的震撼教育."One by one, the players he had seen on television came by to shake his hand, and when Johnny Damon approached, Kennedy greeted him with wide-eyed wonder." 一個接一個這些電視上看過的球員來和他握手,當他看見Johnny Damon走過來時訝異得張大了眼睛.這個不知道是因為他很喜歡Johnny Damon還是因為Johnny Damon打第一棒.要是我可以跟洋基第一棒到第九棒握手的話我應該會開心到睡不著吧.然後穿件白底色洋基條紋T-shirt讓他們全部幫我簽名.以上是我的白日夢,有夢最美,對吧.

22歲的Kennedy前面的路還很長,他目前適應的不錯,驚滔駭浪的初登場以洋基9比3打敗水手作收.這也保證他有第二次先發的機會."Working methodically, Kennedy held the Devil Rays to three runs, one earned, in seven innings." Kennedy的投球風格被用methodically 形容,非常有條不紊且穩定的投球內容,我想是他這場球受到大家欣賞的地方.

這裡插播一段文法提醒,這種前面放動名詞片語的句子,他的主詞必須要跟後面的主要子句相同,是誰Working methodically,是Kennedy所以這句是沒有問題的,這裡從書上抄個錯誤的例子給大家看.
Hearing a number of entertaining stories,our visit was thoroughly enjoyable.
這句話就有問題,是誰Hearing,以語意上來看是we而不是our visit.所以這個句子要正確可以改成
Hearing a number of entertaining stories, we had a thoroughly enjoyable visit.

He grew stronger and his control finer as the game and the Yankees’ lead lengthened, retiring the side in order in the seventh inning and striking out his final batter, Josh Paul, on three pitches. When Kennedy walked into the dugout after the seventhinning, his new teammates engulfed him in handshakes of congratulations. He said he got chills.

隨著比賽的進行還有洋基領先的擴大,Kennedy越投越進入狀況,當他第七局用三球K掉他面對的最後一個打者,回到休息區後,他的新隊友一湧而上跟他握手道賀,他說他有點受寵若驚.

Kennedy is not an overpowering pitcher like his fellow rookie Joba Chamberlain, although Kennedy’s first pitch was clocked at 96 miles an hour, a number he laughed at and attributed to adrenaline. “The first inning felt like an out-of-body experience,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy不是同梯新人Joba Chamberlain那種火球人,雖然測速槍測到他的第一球達到96 m.p.h.他自己笑稱那是腎上腺素的功勞,第一局整個像是靈魂出竅一樣.

球探報告裡強調Kennedy超乎常人的沉穩而他這場比賽也沒令人失望,大聯盟比賽瞬息萬變,A Rod幫他打了兩分領先,後來又失誤讓他遇到一陣亂流.不過失兩分後他仍能穩住陣腳.

這場比賽有個有趣的插曲,在Kennedy面對亂流的時候,Torre提出申請要檢查岩村明憲的棒子,在這個時候Kennedy回穩了,將岩村明憲K掉.

“It comes back to his poise,” Torre said of Kennedy. “He seemed very prepared to pitch this game. You had to be impressed.” "他回到他原有的沉穩," Torre 對Kennedy這樣評論. "他對投這場比賽看來胸有成竹,讓人印象深刻."

有趣的意氣之爭還沒結束,A Rod在第三局要上場打擊時,魔鬼魚的教練以牙還牙的要求檢查他的棒子,A Rod本身不置可否,不過接下來A Rod每次打擊都似乎在呼應說,"換了棒子結果呢?一樣每次打擊都打出去." A Rod這場比賽四支三有兩支是新棒子打的,其中包括一支2分打點的2壘安打.

阿民與CANO聯手幫助洋基橫掃紅襪

Yankees 5, Red Sox 0: Yankees Sweep Red Sox Behind Wang and Cano

比賽都已經過了三,四天,我還是難掩興奮,這場球賽真是不枉我熬夜看球的辛苦,整個比賽高潮迭起絕無冷場.快樂的旅行回來後,記掛的第一件事就是如果這篇還不放上去,阿民的下一場又來了.我這無酬的爬格子工作雖然是主要是為了自得其樂,但是進度還是要趕一下才好.

在這裡我把NYT的照片引用上來,再幫NYT打個廣告,除了文章好外,攝影記者的功力更是一流沒話說,球迷除了看球賽,看棒球新聞外,總會有些漂亮鏡頭想留下來.那就跟著NYT吧,不時都會有意外的驚喜.本次比賽觀賽三大重點各放了一張,只能說就是很豪華,就像火鍋料有松阪牛肉,龍蝦,鮑魚那麼豐盛.阿民前七局無安打的英姿是一定要的,Cano連續雙響炮出來接受觀眾歡呼,還有Youkilis試圖偷吃步繞開A Rod的雙殺.最後,Chamberlain 兩記98m.p.h對著頭部直飛的爆頭球給了這場比賽一個驚嘆號的句點.

試想NYT的專業記者的專業配備跟他的技術加上好的觀賽位置,高檔設備加上看球的專屬席位,不支薪應該也有人志願,這應該是球迷跟攝影迷最羨慕的工作之一吧.

The sweep was more emphatic last August, when the Yankees rampaged into Fenway Park and won five games to bury the Boston Red Sox. The best the Yankees could do this time was to win three at Yankee Stadium and chisel a chunk from Boston’s sizable lead in the American League East.

去年八月洋基亂入芬威球場把紅襪橫掃五場讓紅襪出局.而這次洋基最多所能做到的是在家裡三連勝去拉近跟紅襪在美聯東區的勝差落差拉近.

這裡來看看幾個用法的趣味,首先作者用了rampage這個字,看看字典的說法
When people or animals rampage through a place, they rush about there in a wild or violent way, causing damage or destruction. 我用了個不太道地的中文"亂入"試圖表達這個字的感覺,這個字出現的時候大部分時間都在強調狂野的感覺,上次我頻繁的看到這個字的時候是報導維吉尼亞理工槍擊案(33 killed in Virginia Tech shooting rampage).用在形容股市上漲的話,那表示漲勢真的強勢到幾乎無法控制的感覺.而這次面對紅襪的大幅勝差這次還並不是像去年一樣翻盤,所以用了個chisel a chunk 鑿下一大塊的勝場差.

接下來先欣賞一下NYT的精采照片

Robinson Canó hit two home runs as the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Red Sox with a 5-0 victory. The Yankees cut Boston’s division lead to five games.

連續兩個打席都轟出全壘打的Cano回應觀眾的Curtain Call

Kevin Youkilis, eluding Alex Rodriguez, was called out on appeal for stepping out of the baseline.

跑到內野草地上躲避A Rod 觸殺的Youkilis

這篇文章後面超過1/3的篇幅都是阿民的報導,由此可知阿民現在有多紅了.

Wang, who missed four starts in April with a hamstring strain and did not win until May 5, is tied for the major league lead in victories, with 16. He has 34 victories since May 7, 2006, the most in the majors in that stretch, and he has learned to tame a Red Sox team that used to hit him well.

四月大腿拉傷後直到5/5都沒勝投進帳的阿民,目前已經以16勝加入MLB的勝投領先群.從2006/5/7至今取得34勝是大聯盟這段期間勝投最多的,他也學會了馴服從前打他打的很好的紅襪.用"tame"這個字又跟打敗的語氣不太相同,美國人也是會咬文嚼字的喔.

“He was great today,” Torre said. “I told him at the end of the dugout, ‘Nice going.’ He said, ‘Too many walks.’ ”

Wang walked four, but his stuff was terrific. He has thrown harder since the pitching coach Ron Guidry urged him to speed up his delivery, and he complemented his trademark sinker with changeups and sliders.

He struck out David Ortiz twice, including a dazzling sequence in the sixth. Wang threw a changeup on the first pitch and mixed fastballs and sliders for the next six pitches, getting Ortiz to miss at a slider to end the inning. Ortiz had been 12 for 24 against Wang entering the game.

這幾段很有趣,讓我們去想像把阿民當愛將的Torre跟惜字如金的阿民講話的情景,Torre在休息區跟阿民說做的好,阿民說保送太多了.Torre那種長輩的態度跟阿民低調的態度給了我們很鮮明的畫面.

阿民這次保送了四次但是投球內容很棒,自從他的恩師Guidry叫他出手加快後投得更猛,而且他的武器除了招牌伸卡球還加上了變速球跟滑球的搭配.

這場老爹Ortiz被阿民三振兩次,包含第六局令人目眩神迷的一系列投球,第一球變速球後接下來的六球用快速球跟滑球的組合,讓老爹在一個滑球揮空結束了這個半局.在這之前老爹對阿民24個打數有12次安打.

Wang did not allow a hit until Mike Lowell rolled a single through the right side in the seventh. That was Wang’s 94th pitch, and he still had nine outs to go. Guidry sounded relieved, because a no-hit bid might have taxed Wang’s arm.

“You almost have to give him a shot,” Guidry said. “But you worry about him, and you worry about pitch count. He’s more important to this team than throwing a no-hitter. If he continues to pitch for another 10 years, he might get one later on.”

直到第七局阿民的第94球才被Mike Lowell打出第一隻安打,如果要完投他還需要9個出局數.他師父Guidry卻也鬆了一口氣,因為追求無安打比賽會加重阿民手臂的負擔.

"你會想讓他試看看,"Guidry 說"但是你擔心他,還有投球數,他對這球隊來說的重要性遠勝過一個無安打比賽.如果他再投十年,總是會有機會創紀錄的."

這場比賽直到最後一局都還不放過觀眾."Consider the ninth inning, when the Yankees’ rookie phenom Joba Chamberlain was ejected by the plate umpire, Ángel Hernández, for throwing two consecutive 98-mile-an-hour fastballs over the head of Boston’s Kevin Youkilis."
98m.p.h的球K到頭可不是開玩笑的.不過以我看實況轉播的想法,不太像Chamberlain故意投的,他應該是這個洋基紅襪世仇的受害者吧.這裡有個用法我第一次看到跟大家分享一下,rookie phenom 傑出新人,phenom:A phenomenon, especially a remarkable or outstanding person. 用這個字的感覺不只優秀而且還紅,phenom來自phenomenon這個字.也許他已經紅到可以用"Chamberlain 現象"來形容他了.

下集預告:Ian Kennedy的大聯盟初登板 "Kennedy's Debut a Success for Yankees "

See U next time.I'm Scott Hsiao.