Benjamin Mee finds himself trying to turn a struggling zoo around as well as give his family a fresh starts

　　What do you do when your wife dies, which leaves you to bring up two children by yourself? Here's an idea—you can quit your job, relocate1 your family, and buy a zoo. Sound impractical and even a little ridiculous? Not for Benjamin Mee, who does just that in the movie, "We Bought a Zoo". Based on the memoirs2 of real-life Benjamin Mee, the movie is directed by Cameron Crowe, who brought the world "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous".

　　Matt Damon of the popular "Bourne" series stars as Benjamin Mee in "We Bought a Zoo". Tragedy strikes Mee and his family when his wife dies, which causes him to question his purpose in life. With his two kids beside him, Mee quits his job and tries to start over by buying a house that needs a little remodeling3. However, what Mee doesn't realize is that he is literally buying a zoo with 47 different animal species. Mee is faced with trying to turn the struggling zooaround, along with giving his family a fresh start. Get your ticket to We Bought a Zoo to see if Mee succeeds.
 
 

　　如果您的太太不幸過世，留您獨自一人撫養兩個小孩，您會怎麼做？提供您一個好點子——您可以辭掉工作、舉家搬遷，並且買下一座動物園。聽起來是不是很不切實際，甚至有點可笑呢？但對電影《我們買了動物園》中做了上述這些事的班傑明‧密來說可不是這樣。這部電影是根據班傑明‧密真實人生的回憶錄改編而成的，並且由《征服情海》與《成名在望》的導演卡麥隆‧克洛所執導。

　　《我們買了動物園》的主角班傑明‧密是由著名的《神鬼認證》系列中的麥特‧戴蒙擔綱演出。密的太太過世，使得他與他的家人承受極大悲傷，同時也令密開始質疑自己人生的目的。帶著兩個小孩，密辭去了工作，並且買下了一棟需要稍作整修的房子，試圖重新開始他的生活。然而，密所不知道的是，他買下的其實是一座擁有四十七種不同種類動物的動物園。密所面臨到的難題，就是要試圖改善這座經營不善的動物園，並且讓他的家庭獲得全新的開始。各位不妨買票進入《我們買了動物園》，看看密究竟會不會成功。
 
  1. impractical　a. 不切實際的；無用的
    Jerry's marketing strategy is impressive but totally impractical.
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The Tournament of Roses is a great way to start the New Year.
當太陽下山後，獵食者準備出擊。
 

　　There is no better way to celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another than with a parade. The Rose Parade, which is part of the Tournament of Roses, is held on New Year's Day in Pasadena, California. The _(1)_ date back to 1890, when settlers from the East and Midwest decided to celebrate the beautiful weather they were experiencing in their new home. The celebration was _(2)_ by the Valley Hunt Club and included a parade, footraces, and tug-of-warcontests. The parade was made up of carriages _(3)_ fresh flowers and was theinspiration for the Tournament's name. This first event _(4)_ 2,000 people. More than a century later, the Tournament of Roses attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors, and those are just the ones that are there in person.
　　The Rose Parade is _(5)_ of dozens of floats, marching bands, equestrianunits, and more. The floats are still decorated with flowers, but the designs have become extremely _(6)_. Everyone from fast food chains to pet food companies to the Boy Scouts of America has had a Rose Parade float. Inspiration comes from the event's yearly theme, with "Just Imagine..." being this year's theme. The best marching bands in the world _(7)_ the parade, providing an exciting show. The equestrian units _(8)_ their skills as well, with riders of all ages. Additionally, the Rose Queen and her Royal Court ride in the parade and promote tournament activities. Competitions for the title are held annually, and winners receive special _(9)_.
　　Besides the Rose Parade, the Tournament also _(10)_ the Rose Bowl Game, the oldest college football competition held at the Rose Bowl Stadium, and other activities. With so much to experience, it's no wonder that the Tournament of Roses keeps the season of celebration going strong.

(A) scholarships　(B) show off　(C) drew in　(D) features　(E) staged　(F) elaborate　(G) festivities　(H) take part in　(I) covered in　(J) composed
 

1. The festivities date back to 1890, when settlers...the beautiful weather they were experiencing in their new home.理由:
a. 空格前有定冠詞 The，空格後有片語及物動詞 date back to（追溯到……），可知空格內應置入名詞。
b. 符合上述的選項有 (A) scholarships（獎學金）、(D) features（特色）以及 (G) festivities（慶祝活動），然僅 festivities 置入後符合語意，故選 (G)。
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一般而言，名詞1 + of + 名詞2 是表示一種所有格關係，如 One of the legs of the table is broken. (這張桌子的一隻腳斷了)，句中one of the legs 和 the legs of the table 都是所有格關係，即名詞1 屬於名詞2。此外，名詞1 + of + 名詞2 亦可表示受格和主格關係。例如：

He gave a lecture on the use of solar energy. (他就太陽能的利用作了一場講演)
– solar energy (名詞2) 當 use (名詞1) 的受詞
We waited for the arrival of the next bus. (我們等待下一班公車的到來)
– next bus (名詞2) 當 arrival (名詞1) 的主詞

然而，名詞1 + of + 名詞2 還可表示同位格關係，此時 of 意為「就是；等於」(that is; being)；以 the City of New York (紐約市) 為例，New York 就是 city，而這個 city 就是 New York。其他例子還有 at the age of ten (10 歲時)，the art of painting (繪畫藝術)，the problem of unemployment (失業問題)，a price increase of 20 percent (百分之二十的價格上漲)，some fool of a boy (= some foolish boy，某位蠢男孩) 等等。在這種名詞1 + of + 名詞2的同位格關係中，名詞1 和 名詞2 之間相當於劃上了等號。


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每次打開電子信箱，準備寫英文e-mail時，腦袋會不會一片空白？

英文溝通已經成為全球化社會的必備工具，英文書信往來即是很重要的一環。但是，常常有人覺得自己的英文信，不是辭不達意，就是又臭又長。

其實，只要善用一些訣竅，就會讓一切不一樣。學會以下五種小技巧，讓你的英文信件看起來專業又漂亮！

1、簡潔文字

商業信件首重清楚明瞭，文字簡潔不拖泥帶水，許多介系詞就有這種功用。

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每個行業都有自己的行話，行話一說出口，就能物以類聚，引來「嘿！我們是同一類人。」的夥伴。外商企業有幾個字人人愛用，為什麼？你看了就知道。

1、Challenge (v.) 
在外商的英文中它不當「挑戰」，而是「困難、批評、指責」。
His poor performance gave rise to a challenge from his boss. （他差勁的表現遭到了老闆的批評。）

2、Hands-off 不干預的
想像一下，這是一個具像的動作。把手拿開，讓小孩自己學走路，hands-off就有那麼點味道。
He adopted a hands-off style of management, allowing the department heads to do as they saw fit. （他採取不干預的管理方式，容許各部門主管做他們認為恰當的事。）

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