A visit to see the president of the United States is probably the best excuse in the world to skip school, especially if he then personally writes your teacher a note.
President Barack Obama, who has two girls, swiftly sought to help a fellow dad out of a dilemma when he discovered John Corpus had brought his daughter to see him at a public meeting in Wisconsin, instead of taking her to school.
“I am fortunate enough to be here with my 10-year-old daughter, who is missing her last day of school for this. I hope she doesn’t get in trouble,” Corpus told the president.
“Oh, no,” replied Obama, all ears.
“Yes,” came the reply.
“Do you need me to write a note?” asked the president.
“I’ll take you up on that, actually, Mr. President.”
“All right. Go ahead. I’ll start writing it now,” replied Obama. “What’s her name?”
“John Corpus,” replied the startled father. “No, her,” Obama corrected him.
Corpus then tried to pose his question at the town hall meeting in Green Bay, when Obama interrupted him, saying “No, no, I’m serious. What’s your daughter’s name?”
“Her name is Kennedy,” the bemused Corpus said. “Kennedy. All right. That’s a cool name,” replied Obama.
A few minutes later Kennedy made her way through the crowd to receive her note from Obama written as the president was listening to her father’s question about healthcare reform.(AFP)
拜見美國總統可能是世上最好的蹺課藉口，尤其如果總統還親自幫你寫假條給老師。
自己有兩位千金的總統巴拉克•歐巴馬一知道約翰•柯普斯為了帶女兒到威斯康辛州的鎮民大會一睹其風采，竟選擇讓她蹺課後，當下決定幫助這位陷入兩難的父親。
柯普斯告訴歐巴馬：「能和十歲的女兒來這裡，我感到很幸運。她為了來這裡，沒去上這學期最後一天課，我希望她不會因此惹上麻煩。」
凝神傾聽的歐巴馬說：「不會吧？」
柯普斯回答：「是真的。」
歐巴馬問：「你需要我幫你寫假條嗎？」
「總統先生，我想我會接受你的提議。」
歐巴馬說：「好，我現在就寫。她叫什麼名字？」
這位嚇了一跳的父親回答：「約翰•柯普斯。」歐巴馬糾正他說：「不是你的名字，是她的名字。」
柯普斯之後便試圖在綠灣舉行的這場鎮民大會上提問。歐巴馬打斷他說：「我是說真的。你女兒叫什麼名字？」
困惑的柯普斯說：「她叫甘迺迪。」歐巴馬回答：「甘迺迪。好。很好的名字。」
幾分鐘後，甘迺迪穿越人群去領取歐巴馬幫她寫的假條，而歐巴馬則正在傾聽她父親所提出的健保改革相關問題。
（法新社�翻譯：林倩如）
It’s likely that you may know someone who has had their appendix removed, or at least you’ve heard of the operation. An appendectomy is typically performed when the appendix, a small pouch next to the intestines, becomes inflamed or infected, leading to severe pain and potential complications if left untreated. Fortunately, the procedure is very safe today, and patients can go on to live normal lives without their appendix. Yet, it still begs the question of how humans can continue living without an organ. The human body is full of various parts that scientists still don’t completely understand, and
Wisdom teeth are another example of vestigial organs. Why do humans have wisdom teeth? One theory suggests that they were originally intended to help support muscles and tissues in the human face. Another theory indicates that they were initially meant to aid our ancestors in chewing certain tough foods that grew in the wild. As our diets have softened with processed foods, these teeth may become less necessary. Removing one’s wisdom teeth can feel like a rite of passage for many young adults. At some point in their late teens to early twenties, most people will have up to
A: And which films are nominated for the Golden Horse Awards’ Best Narrative Feature? B: The nominees are: “All Shall Be Well,” ”Stranger Eyes,” “Dead Talents Society,” “An Unfinished Film” and “Bel Ami.” A: I heard that “Bel Ami” is a great gay-themed comedy from China. B: Yeah, and as many as 276 Chinese movies registered for the competition this year. A: The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have finally resumed exchanges in cinematography. A: 本屆金馬獎入圍最佳劇情片的有哪些？ B: 入圍的有：《從今以後》、《默視錄》、《鬼才之道》、《一部未完成的電影》、《漂亮朋友》。 A: 聽說《漂亮朋友》是一部精彩的中國同志喜劇片。 B: 今年光是中國就有多達276部電影參賽。 A: 海峽兩岸終於恢復電影交流啦！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
Social Distancing 的“social” 是指什麼？ 各國政府為了控制疫情，都提出寬嚴不一的social distancing 措施，所謂 social distancing，就是透過非藥物的感染控制手段 (nonpharmaceutical interventions) 隔離人群，避免、減少人際接觸，以減少感染機會，讓死亡率降到最低 (minimize disease transmission and mortality)。 Social distancing 最適用於會透過飛沫傳染 (droplet contact)、直接／間接接觸傳染 (direct/indirect physical contact) 以及空氣傳染 (airborne transmission) 的傳染病，因為將人群隔離、減少接觸，可以有效阻絕病毒傳播。具體的措施有：鼓勵人待在家、限制外出、外出時保持人與人之間的距離等。 但是，社會心理學也有一個很接近的術語 Social Distance（社會距離），應注意兩者不要混淆。 「社會距離」係指人與人、群體與群體之間的等級或關係親疏的程度。譬如生活在大都會的民眾，要接觸很多人，為保持自己心理的平衡，都市人不過分熱情，個體與外界保持距離，甚至鄰居互不往來。 Social distancing 是為了防止疾病傳播，保持（人際／社交）安全距離，social distancing 的 social一詞，指的是「人際」、「社交」，不宜直譯為「社會」。 另有少部分華文報導譯為「社交隔離」： 社交隔離值不值？剖析經濟學 vs. 流行病學的量化權衡 （2020 年4 月27 日，《華爾街日報》） 但如此一來，又容易與另一個心理學名詞 social isolation（社交隔離／社交孤立）搞混，所以不宜如此翻譯。 防疫必備詞彙：社交距離 社交距離 social distancing 避免人潮 avoid crowds 集中檢疫 collective quarantine 接觸者追蹤 contact tracing 遏制疫情 contain the epidemic 防疫破口 infection control breach 文章由書林出版公司提供： www.bookman.com.tw 蘇正隆 — 台灣翻譯學學會前理事長、師大翻譯研究所兼任副教授; 編著《英語的對與錯》，《世紀病毒：必讀防疫英文知識與詞彙》...等
RSS