2015年12月24日 星期四

Week Six - 歐洲難民潮

My life is ruined’: Refugee-tripping Hungarian camerawoman to sue Facebook, may move to Russia     -Published time: 21 Oct, 2015 21:49



     A Hungarian camerawoman fired for kicking refugees is going to sue Facebook for bias and helping to fuel hatred against her, a Moscow-based daily reported. She is also considering moving to Russia.
     In September, reporters covering the EU refugee and migrant crisis on the Hungarian-Serbian border caught Petra Laszlo tripping a refugee with a child in his hands on camera. The incident blew up into a major international scandal in the days following.
     The accused camerawoman, Petra Laszlo, who worked for Hungary’s N1TV at the time, has apologized, saying it was a mistake. She explained in earlier statements that she had panicked and wanted to protect herself when hundreds of asylum seekers broke through a police cordon in a field and ran in her direction.
     In an interview with Russia’s Izvestia newspaper published on Tuesday, Laszlo clarified that she was only “trying to help police,” as the refugee had not obeyed orders.“I pushed him only because I was afraid. I did not see that there was a child. I’m sorry that it turned out this way,” she told the paper.
     Laszlo says her life has never been the same since the incident. She has been dubbed a “heartless, racist, children-kicking camerawoman,” fired from her job, and threated by haters following the scandal.“I can definitely say that my life is ruined. It’s unlikely that I will be able to find a job and do what I like the most,” she said.
     The camerawoman said that at least 10 fake ‘Petra Laszlo’ accounts containing improper contents have appeared on Facebook and some people have offered some $20,000 for her murder via these groups.One such group still exists under the name “Petra Laszlo,” which boasts more than 10,000 likes on Facebook.
     Laszlo told Izvestia that she asked Facebook’s management to delete these groups, but claims her letters and complaints to Facebook have been left unattended and that, instead, the social network has intentionally deleted groups supporting her.
She told the paper she plans to sue Facebook for its prejudice. According to the paper, she also wants to prove that the asylum seeker she tripped had been untruthful, because the man has changed his testimony in court. She said that he had initially blamed a police officer for the incident, but later began accusing her.
“Once the court is over, we’re going to move to another country,” said Petra Laszlo, mentioning Russia as a likely destination for immigration. “We consider starting to learn Russian. It is important for us to leave Hungary. We’ll make the decision once the trial is over,” she said.

https://www.rt.com/news/319316-reporter-hungary-refugees-facebook/
Structure of the Lead: 
Who: Refugee-tripping Hungarian camerawoman
When: 21, Oct, 2015
What: The following status about the women.  
Why: For tripping the refugee and being condemned by public.
Where: In Roszke village, Hungary.
How: Not given.


Keywords
1. bias n. 偏見
2. asylum seeker  尋求庇護者
3. cordon n. 警戒線
4. dub v. 給 ... 取綽號

Week Five - Liquid Water on Mars

Liquid Water on Mars is Big News


     Water on Mars?  It’s an old story from the Red Planet, and the facts are that landers have frequently found water in the form of ice just below the surface.
But NASA has just announced new results based on high-resolution imagery from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite showing that liquid water also occasionally flows on the surface.  

     This conclusion is based on spectroscopic analysis of dark, seasonal streaks on the sides of craters and other features known as “recurrent slope lineae,” which look like long fingers that appear and lengthen during the martian summers.  For years, there’s been argument about what is causing the lineae: Is it really water, or could it be something else – even dry material slowly tumbling down the slopes?The argument is apparently over.  The new results come down heavily in favor of water – highly salty, yes, but liquid water.

     These dark, narrow, 100-meter-long streaks called recurring slope lineae flowing downhill on Mars are inferred to have been formed by contemporary flowing water. Recently, planetary scientists detected hydrated salts on these slopes at Horowitz crater, corroborating their original hypothesis that the streaks are indeed formed by liquid water. The source of the water is still unclear, but a favored explanation is that it’s seeping out of underground aquifers – reservoirs of water hulking in the crust of Mars.

     That has obvious, and encouraging implications for any future efforts to send humans to the Red Planet.  A simple drilling rig might be all that’s necessary to get to supplies of precious water, not just for drinking but also for rocket fuel.
But another important consequence of this discovery is its effect on how we search for evidence of martian life.  

    Rather than continuing to methodically learn more about the history of the planet in the hope of knowing where to look for remnants of ancient life, this suggests that simply getting a probe to the site of the lineae might offer the chance of finding biology, not from 3 or 4 billion years ago, but still extant microbes in the hidden underground reservoirs of the Red Planet.

http://www.seti.org/seti-institute/liquid-water-mars-big-news
Structure of the Lead: 
Who: NASA, Mars
When: September 28th, 2015
What: NASA comfirmed there is liquid water on Mars.
Why: By analyzing the data send back from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite.
Where: on Mars.
How: Not given.


Keywords
1. resolution (n.) 解析度
2. spectroscopic analysis 光譜分析 
3. crater (n.) (星球上的) 環形山
4. lineae (n.) 橫溝
5. martian (adj.) 火星的 
6. corroborating (v.) 證實;確定
7. hypothesis (n.) 假設;猜想
8. aquifer 蓄水層
9. reservoir (n.) 儲藏
10. hulk (v.) 緩慢地移動
11. crust (n.) 地殼;堅硬外殼 
12. remnant (n.) 殘餘;遺跡
13. microbe (n.) 微生物;細菌

*hydrated (adj.) 含水的
*Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
火星偵查軌道器


2015年12月7日 星期一

Week Four - Dengue Fever

Dengue Fever: Tainan Faces Worst Outbreak, Over 10,000 Infected, 36 Dead    - Sep 18, 2015

       Since this summer, a total of 11,006 dengue cases in Tainan have been recorded and it is increasing every day. An average of 510 cases across China were daily reported last week. Within this week, 3,550 new cases of the fever were reported, multiplying 1.6 times more than the previous week, according to the China Post.
What is dengue fever?
       Dengue fever is an acute viral disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses. The incubation period is 3-8 days (range, 3-14 days). Symptoms include high fever, headache, eye pain (behind the eyes), muscle and/or joint pain and rash. Generally, younger children have a milder illness than older children and adults.
How do people get dengue fever?
      Dengue fever is spread through the bite of the Aedes mosquito and feels like a flu. The fever occurs in many tropical countries and has symptoms such as exhaustion, headache, fever, muscle pain, and swollen lymph nodes.
      In September of 2014, 21,000 people were infected by dengue fever in China, making it the country's worst outbreak in two decades. The outbreak attributed to the exceptionally hot weather.
       Although this year's dengue fever cases were lower than last year's - which were at 15,732 in Tainan and Kaohsiung - the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) still tracks the cases with their National Infectious Disease Statistics System to formulate dengue control and prevention strategies for the citizens of China. "The cumulative total of 18 deaths were found to be linked with dengue infection. Thirty-six deaths, including 33 from Tainan City, 2 from Kaohsiung City, and 1 from Pingtung County, are still waiting to be reviewed."
      Up to this day, there is no specific treatment for dengue infection. For those who think that they have dengue fever, they will be advised to rest, to take analgesics with acetaminophen, to drink plenty of fluids and to consult a doctor.

http://www.hngn.com/articles/131063/20150918/dengue-fever-tainan-faces-worst-outbreak-over-10-000-infected.htm
Structure of the Lead: 
Who: Dengue Fever
When: September, 2015
What: How people affect Dengue Fever and the situation in Tainan. 
Why: The biggest Dengue Fever outbreaks in Tainan and the situation is increasingly serious. 
Where: Tainan, Taiwan.
How: Not given.


Keywords
1. multiply (v.) 乘以 ... 倍
2. acute (adj.) 劇烈的
3. joint (n.) 關節處
4. lymph nodes (n.) 淋巴結
5. formulate (v.) 統籌;規劃
6. cumulative (adj.) 漸增的;累加的
7. analgesics (n.) 止痛藥
8. acetaminophen 對乙酰氨基酚 (止痛劑藥物成分)