英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

反服貿學運僵局，一度因為總統府和學生雙方表示願意見面，出現和解曙光，但在昨晚的朝野協商服貿協議再度破局後，又出現變數。

學生團體認為身兼國民黨主席的總統馬英九，以黨紀操控黨內立委，沒有見面的誠意，要求馬英九承諾不用黨紀控制黨內立委，否則拒絕會面。不過總統府表示，總統尊重國會自主，用不用黨紀非他能干涉，用黨紀來當理由拒見，難免讓人覺得是”找路障”。

The glimmer of hope provided by a possible meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou and the students occupying the Legislature has been dashed. The two sides had voiced support for a meeting without any preconditions, but then the students began to put forward preconditions. 

The students believe Ma is using his status as KMT chairman to threaten disciplinary measures against lawmakers who don’t support the trade-in-services pact Taiwan signed with China. For this reason, they think Ma is insincere, and won’t meet him until he promises not to coerce KMT lawmakers. The Presidential Office feels that the students are simply finding an excuse to avoid a meeting. 

◎管淑平

What do you need to map a billion stars? A billion-pixel camera certainly helps.

你需要什麼來繪製一張10億顆恆星的星系圖？一台10億畫素的相機肯定幫得上忙。

Scientists hope to glean more clues about the origin and evolution of the universe, and in particular our own galaxy, after a camera of this incredible scale -- fitted to the Gaia space telescope -- was launched.

科學家希望，一台如此不可思議等級的相機裝設於蓋亞太空望遠鏡發射後，能蒐集更多有關宇宙、尤其是我們自己這個銀河系的起源和演進的線索。

Gaia, which lifted off from French Guiana, has been tasked with mapping the Milky Way in greater detail than ever before.

從法屬圭亞那升空的蓋亞望遠鏡，被賦予前所未有的更大精細度繪製銀河系星系圖的任務。

Designed and built by Astrium for the European Space Agency （ESA）, the makers say the telescope is so sensitive that it could measure a person’s thumbnail from the Moon, or to put it another way, detect the width of a human hair from 1,000km （620 miles） away.

由阿斯特里姆公司為歐洲太空總署設計、打造，製造者說，這具望遠鏡細膩度高到能夠從月球測量一個人的拇指指甲，或者換句話說，能從1000公里外偵測到一根人髮的寬度。

Gaia will study the position, distance, movement, chemical composition and brightness of a billion stars in the galaxy.

感嘆詞是英語的虛字，日常口語中表達情感、情緒很重要的成份，我們平常習慣了「實」的部份，感嘆詞很容易被忽略。以下這些字很簡單，你常常美劇或者電影中聽到見。你不必刻意去想的話也能通過上下文瞭解它們所要傳達的意思或語氣。但在平時的對話中，也許想不到用它?

1. Oops!
表示感嘆，意識到自己犯了錯的情況下，可以化解尷尬的氣氛。
Oops! I forgot to call you yesterday. 昨天忘了給你打電話了。 

2. Boo-hoo!
模仿哭聲的擬聲字，帶有諷刺的意味。
Boo-hoo! He'll be in the show. 他當然會參加表演啊。
以上這句話出自【歌舞青春２】，模仿哭泣的聲音。感在口語中說boo hoo一般帶有諷刺意味，有點像"哭吧，就知道哭！"這種意思，所以吵架的時候會常聽。 

3. Blah blah blah...

◎俞智敏

Cafes across Naples recently marked "Suspended Coffee Day", spotlighting a remarkable tradition of social solidarity in the crisis-hit Italian city that is now more needed than ever.

那不勒斯各地咖啡店最近紀念了「待用咖啡日」，凸顯出這個面臨經濟危機的義大利城市仍保留了一項傑出的社會團結傳統，而現在正是社會最需要團結的時刻。

Using chalk board signs in cafes and by word of mouth, dozens of cafes have let the city’s growing army of poor -- Neapolitans and immigrants alike -- know they can come for a free coffee with money left by better-off customers.

透過店外的黑板公告及口耳相傳，數十家咖啡店讓那不勒斯市人數愈來愈龐大的窮人，不分那不勒斯本地人和外來移民，都能夠知道他們可以進來喝一杯免費咖啡，這是由較有餘裕的其他顧客所預先支付的。

The practice of "caffe sospeso" is simple：leave money for a coffee when you are getting one yourself and someone who cannot afford one gets it for free.

「待用咖啡」的作法很簡單：喝咖啡的時候同時留下另一杯咖啡的錢，原本喝不起咖啡的人就可以免費喝到咖啡。

"It is something you used to do when you passed a university exam, or won the lotto or had your birthday. Pay for a coffee for someone you didn’t know," said Maurizio del Bufalo, a former UN aid worker and founder of the "Suspended Coffee Network" which now includes 200 cafes in Naples and around the world.

「這原本是當你通過大學考試、贏了樂透或過生日時都會做的事。替陌生人付一杯咖啡錢，」前聯合國救援工作者、「待用咖啡網路」創辦人戴布法羅說，那不勒斯及全球各地現在共有200家咖啡店加入了這個網路。

When it is compared to the Running of the Bulls in Spain, the Running of the Sheep at the Irish Woolfest in Boorowa, Australia is not so scary. It is actually fun and entertaining. Crowds gather to watch as four sheepdogs work together to herd a group of sheep down the main street. This is just the beginning of a fun-filled festival that includes everything from art shows to dog competitions.
Another event that celebrates the start of the Irish Woolfest is the Blessing of the Fleece. One sheep is shorn and its fleece is blessed by the three ministers who represent the major religions of the area. There is so much to see and do at the Irish Woolfest that it would be impossible to be bored.

（本文節錄自《常春藤生活英語》雜誌，請繼續鎖定明日《蘋果派生活美語》。
跟西班牙的奔牛節相比，澳洲布洛瓦 Irish Woolfest 這場慶典上的奔羊活動就沒有那麼嚇人了。事實上，它反倒是趣味十足。群眾會沿路聚集，觀賞四隻牧羊犬合力在鎮中的主要大街上趕羊。這只不過是一個充滿樂趣的節慶的開場活動，這項慶典還有各種包羅萬象的節目，從藝術表演到狗狗競賽都有。
另一項為歡慶 Irish Woolfest 而揭開序幕的活動則為 Blessing of the Fleece。主辦者會剪下一頭羊的羊毛，並由三位分別代表該地區各主要宗教的牧師來為羊毛進行祝禱。Irish Woolfest 上可供觀賞和從事的活動多不勝數，因此您絕對不會感到無聊。 

文章出處: http://www.appledaily.com.tw/