Continued from yesterday (延續自昨日)
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang
When water molecules stick together, this also creates surface tension. This surface tension acts like a stretchy skin that resists outside forces. Meanwhile, the air molecules inside the bubble are pushing outwards trying to escape, but the surface tension pushes back with an equal and opposite force. It’s like a tug-of-war, but perfectly balanced, and this balance of forces is what keeps the bubble together.
Photos: AdobeStock I 照片：AdobeStock
Bubbles are also easy to burst because their existence all hinges on the thin film. A collision with the ground or a wall can rupture this delicate membrane. Likewise, too much air pushed inside or excessive stretching of liquid surfaces can spell doom for bubbles. And then, with a soft pop, the bubble disappears, leaving behind a fleeting memory. This is a reminder that even the simplest joys are governed by intricate forces.
當水分子聚集在一起時，也會產生表面張力。這種表面張力的作用就像很有彈性的皮膚，抵抗著外部力量。與此同時，泡泡內部的空氣分子會向外推，試圖逃逸，但表面張力以相等且反向的力量反推。這就像一場拔河比賽，但完美地平衡著，而這種力量的平衡就是使泡泡保持完整的原因。
泡泡也很容易破裂，因為它們的存在完全取決於那層薄薄的膜。與地面或牆壁的碰撞可能會破壞這層脆弱的薄膜。同樣地，過多的空氣推入或液體表面的過度拉伸也可能會毀滅泡泡。然後，隨著輕輕砰的一聲，泡泡消失了，留下了稍縱即逝的回憶。這提醒著我們，即使是最單純的喜悅也受到複雜的力量所控制。
Photos: AdobeStock I 照片：AdobeStock
What Did You Learn?
1. Why do soap bubbles form spherical shapes?
2. How does surface tension help maintain the shape of soap bubbles?
Photos: AdobeStock I 照片：AdobeStock
參考答案
1. Because a sphere uses the least surface area to hold a given amount of air.
2. By acting like a stretchy skin that resists outside forces (and balances the force of air molecules inside bubbles).
Words in use
4. shimmering a. 閃閃發光的
The city skyline at night was a sight to behold, with shimmering skyscrapers illuminated against the dark sky.
夜晚的城市天際線是個值得觀賞的景象 ── 閃閃發光的高樓大廈點亮了黑暗的天空。
5. minimize vt. 使降到最低
The medicine the doctor gave you should minimize your pain.
醫生給你的藥應該可以將你的疼痛降至最低。
Practical Phrases
4. spell doom 帶來毀滅
doom n. 毀滅；死亡
Spending without a budget could spell doom for our financial stability.
花費無預算上限可能會毀掉我們的財務穩定。
5. leave behind... / leave... behind 留下……
My friend’s kind words left behind a warm feeling in my heart.
我朋友善意的話語在我心裡留下了溫暖的感覺。
聽文章朗讀及講解: https://ivy.pse.is/455bfu
本文出自常春藤解析英語雜誌: www.ivy.com.tw
Street lights are often taken for granted until a power outage plunges the world into darkness. When that happens, the value of these lighting installations becomes evident as the world turns into a more dangerous place for pedestrians and motorists alike. The Chinese could claim to be the first to have constructed a crude type of street light. Around 500 BC, residents of Beijing employed a type of street lamp that used hollow bamboo pipes and natural gas vents to create burning torches. Later, ancient Romans adopted lamps fueled by vegetable oil, which relied on slaves to light and
A: Who else is on Billboard’s list: “The 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st Century?” B: No. 15 to 6 are: Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Usher, Adele, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Britney Spears. A: I can’t believe that Adele’s only at No. 10. B: No. 5 to 1 are: Lady Gaga, Drake, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Beyonce. A: Well, they surely deserve the honor. A: 《告示牌》雜誌的「21世紀最偉大的25位流行歌手」，還有誰上榜啊？ B: 第15至6名是：麥莉希拉、大賈斯汀、妮姬米娜、阿姆、亞瑟小子、愛黛兒、亞莉安娜、小賈斯汀、肯伊威斯特、小甜甜布蘭妮。 A: 真不敢相信愛黛兒只排第10名。 B: 第5至1名是：女神卡卡、德瑞克、蕾哈娜、泰勒絲、碧昂絲。 A: 這幾位真是實至名歸！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
Undersea cables are conductors wrapped in insulating materials and laid on the seabed. Their main functions are telecommunications or power transmission. The core of the undersea cables used for Internet signals is optical fiber, using light to transmit Internet signals. Taiwan’s communications are currently handled by 10 domestic undersea cables and 14 international undersea cables. About 99 percent of Taiwan’s Internet bandwidth relies on undersea cables, making them Taiwan’s “digital lifeline.” The demands on the cables’ bandwidth are only set to increase with the development of artificial intelligence (AI), which relies on the data fed into it. Today, data is
Spoiler alert and shift blame 破梗&甩鍋 在新冠疫情期間，無論是因為封城 (lockdown) 還是居家隔離 (self-isolation at home)，人們關在家中使用網路的時間大增。這也讓一些原本只存在於網路論壇的用語廣為普及。我們來談一下破梗 (spoiler alert) 與甩鍋 (shift blame) 這兩個用語。 有位古典文學教授 Joel Christensen 針對領導統御與疫情控制寫了一篇以古喻今、相當深入的文章：“Plagues follow bad leadership in ancient Greek tales”，文中出現一些講法，可用來翻譯上述的流行語： In the 5th century B.C., the playwright Sophocles begins Oedipus Tyrannos with the title character struggling to identify the cause of a plague striking his city, Thebes. (Spoiler alert: It’s his own bad leadership.) (Joel Christensen, “Plagues follow bad leadership in ancient Greek tales,” The Conversation, March 12, 2020) 作者提到 Oedipus（伊底帕斯）想找出瘟疫何以降臨他的城邦的緣由，加了一句：Spoiler alert: It’s his own bad leadership.（破梗：領導無方）。Spoiler alert 就是「破梗」，如果用在有人洩漏電影劇情的情境中，也可以翻作「小心爆雷」或「劇透警告」。疫情之下，在家看影集、電影成了很多人的娛樂，但要小心劇透 (spoilers)，很多 YouTube 上的影評在開頭也都會說 Spoiler alert!，警告還沒看過電影的觀眾小心爆雷、劇透。 至於「甩鍋」，源自大陸網民用語，通常意指某人犯了錯之後想推卸責任、轉移焦點、甚至讓別人背黑鍋的做法。疫情爆發後，相關網路資訊量爆增，許多中國網民也想找人為這場疫情負責，紛紛呼籲地方政府首長、地方黨書記不要「甩鍋」。 其實，在古代文學《奧德賽》中，就有「將自己的責任怪罪眾神」的說法，試用時下流行的「甩鍋」來重新翻譯： Humans are always blaming the gods for their suffering, but they experience
RSS