2011/4/1 You and Yours Listening Notes

C1: VAT loophole 海峽群島的增值稅漏洞

The Chancellor has signalled a crackdown on (取締) the sale of cheap CDs and DVDs from the Channel Islands.
(1) LVCR
(2) The loopholes are exploited.
(3) political gesture
http://www.vatloophole.co.uk/lvcr-covered-bbc-channel-islands-tv/569/


C2: The South Downs南唐斯丘陵從4月開始正式成為英格蘭國家公園

Having taken sixty years to become a National Park, we hear from the woman who has campaigned for the South Downs to receive National Park status for the last decade.
(1) iconic landscape
(2) serial compainer or one-issue

C3: High Speed Rail 新的聲音科技使預定高鐵沿線的居民能聽到一小時內28台火車經過的聲音

New sound technology enables people living near the proposed route of the high speed rail line will be able to hear what the twenty eight trains an hour would sound like.
(1) collect signatures on the petition 收集請願書簽名
(2) industrial, commercial and residential properties 工業區商業區及住宅區的建物

C4: Valuable Consumer Data 信用卡公司如何利用消費者購物的歷史來清楚知道消費者需求

How card companies use customer purchase histories to build up a picture of consumer needs and wants.
(1) aggregate and anomalize
(2) Is a service or invasion?


C5: Misleading Websites: OFT 取締不實特價的網站Webuyanycar.com
The Office of Fair Trading has clamped down on misleading web offers from the website Webuyanycar.com
(1) enforcement action 執法
(2) instant hit
(3) reappraisal 重新評價

C6: DAB follow-up 數位廣播DAB 後續報導 (Digital Audio Broadcasting)

David Blunkett MP speaks up for listeners frustrated by the limitations of DAB radio.
(1) 90 percent of coverage 百分之九十覆蓋率
(2) The burble, the breakaway and the lack of good sound
(3) a big overclaim of DAB

C7: Beach Cash:

Headlines about a poor seaside council spending money on trips to the beach for local children are not what they seem.
(1) splash out on sth 花大錢...
(2) economically disadvantaged 經濟弱勢者
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zt4h1

2011/3/31 You and Yours Listening Notes

C1: High Street Shopping: 英國銷售現況
As four out of ten items in supermarket trolleys are discounts or special offers, we find out how the downturn is affecting the high street.
(1) On the plus side
(2) turn the corner 好轉
(3) Sales figures are grim.令人擔憂的銷售數據
(4) CBI 英國產業聯合會
(5) High street sales are subdued at the moment.
(6) feel the pinch at this moment 經濟困難
(7) Price comparison promise
(8) Hard pressed consumers are much more conscious of values, bargains and quality.
(9) The shift has gone away from cheap throwaway/disposable fashion towards to fewer better quality purchases.
(10) It is the middle products being squeeze.
(11) blood bath 大屠殺
(12) phony war 戰爭狀態

 C2: Speed Cameras Switched Back on 測速照相機恢復運作 但費用從何而來
Oxfordshire speed cameras were switched off last year after a 40% cut in their Road Safety Grant provided by central government. But now they're being switched back on - so who's paying for them?
(1) penalty tickets  罰單
(2) reduce casualties on the road 減低道路傷亡人數


C3: Mobile Phones in Classrooms 學校是否該允許學生攜帶手機到校 以減低IT設備費用

With substantial cuts to their budgets, schools are considering using pupils’ mobile phones in the classroom rather than spending money on expensive IT equipment. But is it a good idea?
(1) obsolete (a.) 淘汰的
(2) loads of technology 許多的
(3) clear protocol in the classroom 教室清楚的協議
(4) hand-held device 手提的裝置
(5) Mobile phones have a disruptive influence on the class. 擾亂的


C4: Online Shopping: 線上購物

Morrisons confirms it won’t launch its service until 2013. But will that be too late?
(1) multi-channel 多元管道
(2) Consumers are much more empowered and knowledgeable.
(3) hassle (n.) 麻煩

C5: Prescription Charges 蘇格蘭4/1起廢除處方籤收費

Prescription charges will be abolished in Scotland tomorrow leaving England as the only UK country which continues charging patients. The BMA calls this a 'tax on the poor' and want it scrapped.
(1) bureaucratic (a.) 官僚作風的

C6: Gambling Laws: 博奕法規鬆綁是否能挽救酒吧?

Proposals have been made for a relaxation of gambling laws in order to boost the economy. But is gambling in pubs a good idea?
(1) deregulation 解除管制
(2) margin of error 誤差幅度
(3) liberalization 自由主義
(4) Gambling keeps you mentally alert.

C7: Scotch whiskey 蘇格蘭威士忌

Scotch whiskey producers are celebrating another year of record exports, but how is their whisky enjoyed in other countries?
(1) international reputation for its quality.
(2) impressive rival
(3) outsell by a long way


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zt3pm

過勞死 英文怎麼說

過勞死: Karoshi = death from overwork

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2011/03/15/294686/Overwork-confirmed.htm

The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) has ruled that an engineer who died last year was the victim of overwork and the deceased man's family is entitled to labor insurance compensations. In a report released at an investigative hearing on March 14, Fu Huan-jan, director of CLA's Department of Labor Safety and Health, announced an engineer with computer memory chipmaker Nanya Technology Corporation, surnamed Hsu, died from Karoshi, a Japanese term meaning death from overwork.
According to Fu, occupation factors triggered cerebral-vascular symptoms in the man.
After Hsu died in January of 2010, his family suspected he died from overwork and duly requested that CLA initiate investigative procedures to look into his workload before his death. The CLA complied by forming a panel of 17 experts, who have found that Hsu died from “occupational diseases.”
According to Fu, Hsu's family is entitled to Labor Insurance compensation equivalent to Hsu's salary for 45 months.
Members of Hsu's family and representatives from Nanya were invited to the hearing.
Karoshi as a cause of death was first recognized in Japan.

護身符 英文怎麼說

護身符: an amulet (通常是珠寶首飾)
(a piece of jewellery that some people wear because they think it protects them from
bad luck, illness,etc)

護身符:talisman ( an object that is thought to have magic powers and to bring good luck)
護身符:lucky charms: (符咒等) 像是日本御守(omamori)

2011/3/25 You and Yours Listening Notes

C1: IPad-2 and 3Ds Launches: 蘋果Ipad 2及任天堂3Ds 上市
New product launches - especially in new technology - are glitzy affairs designed to capture media attention. How important are they to the success of a new product?
(1) game console 遊樂器
(2) flagship store 旗艦店
(3) the sucessful launch day 首次上市
(4) springboard 出發點
(5) What if the hype backfires?

C2: Rail Complaints: 火車客訴

Edward Walsh of the Association of Train Operating Companies answers complaints about the rail network - including a change allowing "regulated" fares to rise 3 per cent above inflation
(1) hold back venting his frustration
(2) to give their side of story
(3) price hike 價格上漲 oscillation 浮動
(4) This is part of government's policy to switch the burdern from taxpayers to passengers.
(5) franchise : 國家給予的特別經營權

C3: Lego builds its Business 樂高如何建立其積木王國

From the humble plastic brick, Lego's profits are now towering. We find out how Star Wars and Indiana Jones have helped inspire a new generation of builders and boosted sales by 50%.

(1)on the crest of ... 在..的頂端
(2)stick to the ethos of good quality
(3) they’ve turned things around


C4: Budge Travel: 低價旅遊
We analyse the effect of the Budget on the travel industry with air transport consultant John Strickland
(1) The shine has come off that good news 使..相形失色
(2) taxation  稅制
(3) per-plane tax instead of per-passenger tax

C5: Open Water Swimming 在開放水域游泳
Peter takes a cold water dip in Hampstead Ponds in London to find out first hand why there's a surge of interest in this pastime.
(1) sterilized pool 消毒的泳池

C6: Customer email adresses lost: Play.com及Trip Advisor 遺失大批顧客電郵地址

Music and film retailer Play.com and travel website Trip Advisor face investigations by the Information Commission after admitting that some of their customer e-mail addresses have been stolen.

C7: Tesco Pricecheck:  特易購更改退費規定
Tesco have changed the rules covering its price pledge refund scheme to limit refunds to £20.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zm3j1#p00fxfm5

隔代教養 英文怎麼說

隔代教養: grandparenting

Grandparents raising grandchildren

Skipping a generation

Millions of grandparents are filling in for missing or misguided parents

Jun 14th 2007 | chicago | from the print edition

http://www.economist.com/node/9340256

  SOME kinds of non-traditional family get more attention than others. In the 1990s welfare reform flashed a spotlight on America's poor single mothers. More recently, ballot initiatives on gay marriage and unions have put more children with two mothers or a pair of fathers in the public eye. By contrast, children being brought up by their grandparents rarely attract public interest. Yet over the past few years federal and state governments have quietly been fiddling with their policies in order to help these families more effectively.

   Grandparents are now raising an awful lot of America's poorest and most troubled children. In 2000, the first time that the Census Bureau took a proper count, 2.4m grandparents were bringing up their children's kids. To put that in perspective, fewer than 2m poor American families now receive formal welfare payments under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the programme that sparked a fierce national debate when welfare was reformed a decade ago.
  Many of those grandchildren are in poor shape. For starters, the events that have left them parentless usually mean that their lives have been hard. In most cases, the parents are missing because of drugs, prison, mental illness, or a history of neglecting or abusing their child.

   Moreover, the grandparents in these families tend to have their own limitations. A 2003 study by the Urban Institute, a centre-left think-tank, found that among grandparents responsible for raising children, 37% had incomes below the federal poverty threshold, and 66% were low-income (less than twice the poverty level). One-third of the grandparents raising children had not finished high school, and 62% had no college education. There is also an obvious generational gap in energy levels: whereas 70% of the grandparents were over 50 years old, the study found, 70% of the children were 11 or younger. Statistics apart, it is also clear that many of these grandparents did not do a good job of bringing up their own children.

   One way federal and state governments have tried to help is by tweaking elderly-assistance programmes to account explicitly for grandparents' needs. In 2000, when Congress renewed the Older Americans Act (a collection of goodies for retired folk) it added a new programme offering the states grants to help grandparents.

  Some states now offer better information and counselling: on what kind of health care is available, how to help with homework and so forth. Bruce Carver, who co-ordinates many services for old people in western Kentucky's Pennyrile region, says that one popular part of the new programme has been respite care. This pays for the grandparents to have someone else mind the kids for a few weeks when school is out, since the teachers can no longer give them a breather everyday.
  Two problems still stand out, however. One is mental health. A study last year by the Chapin Hall Centre for Children, at the University of Chicago, focused on child-rearing grandmothers in a couple of Chicago suburbs. It pointed to a link between the grandmothers' symptoms of depression and the grandchildren's emotional and behavioural troubles, but found that many of these families were not getting the help they needed.
   The other problem involves custody. For various reasons, such as a private agreement with the parents or some sort of dispute, grandparents often do not have formal custody. Yet without it, many find it extremely difficult to obtain the health care to which their grandchildren are entitled, or to get them into a convenient public school. Some grandparents also face a deeply painful choice: whether to fight for custody when the parents want their children back but still seem unfit. A legal battle generally means the grandparents attacking their own children in court.

from the print edition | United States

雙薪家庭 英文怎麼說

雙薪家庭: dual-earner household
賺錢養家的人: breadwinner
頂客族: DINK= Dual Income, No Kids

參考:

The Spousal Safety Net

By NANCY FOLBRE

 Nancy Folbre is an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
In today’s economy, men are lucky if they have a wife in their portfolio. Traditional women’s jobs have been hit less hard by recession than men’s jobs. Many married women have softened the financial impact of their husbands’ unemployment by finding jobs or increasing their hours of paid work.
As a result, dual-earner households are becoming more dual. A recent briefing paper by Kristin Smith of the Carsey Institute of the University of New Hampshire documents a sharp uptick in historical trends. Wives now contribute 47 percent of family income in married-couple households where the wives are employed.

Kristin Smith, Carsey Institute,
University of New Hampshire

Professor Smith explains that increased reliance on wives’ earnings largely reflects a recession-related decline in men’s employment and earnings.
Past estimates have suggested that the effect of a husband’s unemployment on his wife’s participation in paid employment — termed the added-worker effect — is small.
But in the past, unemployment was often temporary. Today, the average duration of unemployment has reached a record high.
Not surprisingly, we now see evidence of a significant added-worker effect – more specifically a husband-without-a-job effect.

In a just-published article in the journal Family Relations, Professor Smith and her colleague and co-author Marybeth J. Mattingly offer a fascinating comparison of how wives responded when husbands moved out of paid employment between May of 2004 and May 2005 (a period of economic expansion) and between May 2008 and May 2009 (a period of recession).
Wives increased their hours of paid employment significantly more in the second period, helping explain why their relative contribution to family income increased. Declines in family wealth (such as the value of a home) probably intensified the effect of persistently high unemployment rates among men, pushing married women to accept jobs they might have refused in the earlier period.
The spousal safety net didn’t help all couples, because not all wives were able to find employment. Also, it’s unlikely that the increase in wives’ earnings fully compensated for the decline in husbands’ earnings, because, as Professor Smith points out, women employed full-time year-round earn, on average, about 83 percent of what their male counterparts earn.
One wonders if men who stopped working for pay began doing more work around the house. Research on the time use of men without jobs in the United States finds that they don’t devote much more time to housework and child care than other men. However, husbands who become more dependent on a wife’s earnings over time are likely to be more responsive.
Pooling income and housework doesn’t magically guarantee economic security. As the sociologist Jacob Hacker points out in The Great Risk Shift, unemployment of either spouse can jolt family income. Some married couples have fallen into what Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi call the two-income trap, borrowing more than they afford.
But married men – who tend to be better educated and more affluent than single men both before and after marriage — clearly benefit from their wives’ earning potential.
Perhaps the traditional marriage vow needs an update: For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in expansion or recession, in short-term or especially long-term unemployment.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/the-spousal-safety-net/#more-84613