新聞英文(16) 105-02-Week 3：Muhammad Ali

'He will never die': World mourns Muhammad Ali — 'The Greatest'

By Jim Slater, AFP  Sunday, June 5, 2016, 12:22 am TWN

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tributes to Muhammad Ali poured in from across the sporting, cultural and political world after his death at age 74 with many saying there would never be another one like "The Greatest."

Ali was fondly remembered not just as a heavyweight boxing icon but also for his fight for social justice, while others recalled his warmth and generosity, how he was equally at home with presidents and people on the streets.

George Foreman, Ali's most famous knockout victim from the Rumble in the Jungle, noted Ali's other main rival, Joe Frazier, in tweeting: "Ali, Frazier and Foreman ... we were one guy. A part of me slipped away, the greatest piece."


The front page headline on Ali's hometown newspaper, the Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky, simply said, "The Greatest," with a legendary 1965 photo of Ali standing over a flattened Sonny Liston.

"We lost a legend, a hero and a great man," said Floyd Mayweather, who retired last year as an unbeaten welterweight champion. "He's one of the guys who paved the way for me to be where I'm at. Words can't explain what Muhammad Ali did for the sport."

Another former world heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson, tweeted: "God came for his champion. So long great one. The Greatest. RIP."

Don King, who promoted the Rumble in the Jungle, said Ali will live on forever alongside other U.S. civil rights heroes.

"He was tremendous, not just a boxer, a great human being, an icon," King said. "Muhammad Ali's spirit, like Martin Luther King Jr., will live on. That's why Muhammad Ali will never die."

Ali spoke out for African-American civil rights in the 1960s, carrying on his fight against injustice and sacrificing the prime years of his own career in the process.

"When people saw what he had done for what he believed in, threw away three-and-a-half years of his career and he remained steadfast, he came through all of that bigger and more important than ever before," boxing promoter Bob Arum said.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/sports/boxing/2016/06/05/468367/He-will.htm

Structure of the Lead：
WHO- Muhammad Ali
WHEN- not given
WHAT- tributes to Muhammad Ali
WHY- carrying on his fight against injustice and sacrificing the prime years of his own career
WHERE- not given
HOW- not given
Keywords：
1. tribute：稱頌
2. icon：偶像
3. generosity：慷慨
4. pave：鋪設
5. injustice：不公平
6. sacrifice：犧牲
7. steadfast：毫不動搖的

新聞英文(16) 105-02-Week 2：same sex marriage

US Supreme Court rules gay marriage is legal nationwide

27 June 2015

 

The US Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is a legal right across the United States.

 

It means the 14 states with bans on same-sex marriage will no longer be able to enforce them.

 

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the plaintiffs asked "for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."

 

The ruling brings to an end more than a decade of bitter legal battles.

 

Same-sex couples in several affected states including Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Texas rushed to wed on Friday.

 

However officials in other states, including Mississippi and Louisiana, said marriages had to wait until procedural issues were addressed.

 

President Barack Obama said the ruling was a "victory for America".

 

"When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free " he said.

 

However, Christian conservatives condemned the decision.

 

Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee called it "an out-of-control act of unconstitutional, judicial tyranny".

 

And Kellie Fiedorek, a lawyer for an anti-gay marriage advocacy group, said the decision "ignored the voices of thousands of Americans".

Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, a state where marriages licences will now be issued to same-sex couples, said the justices "have imposed on the entire country their personal views on an issue that the Constitution and the Court's previous decisions reserve to the people of the states".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33290341

Structure of the Lead：
WHO- people in the United States
WHEN- not given
WHAT- ruled that same-sex marriage is a legal right
WHY- not given
WHERE- the United States
HOW- not given

Keywords：
1. plaintiff：起訴人
2. dignity：尊嚴
3. grant：給予
4. procedural：程序上的
5. conservative：保守者
6. condemn：譴責
7. unconstitutional：違反憲法的
8. advocacy：提倡

新聞英文(16) 105-02-Week 1：Alpha Go

Machine beats man, wins go series

‘POWERLESS DISPLAY’:South Korea’s Lee Sedol said that he felt extreme pressure heading into the third match, but remained optimistic for the final matches

AP, SEOUL

Google’s go-playing software yesterday defeated a human champion for the third straight time to clinch the best-of-five series and establish its superiority in an ancient Chinese chess-like game long thought to be the realm of humans.

Lee Sedol of South Korea, who is one of the world’s best go players, remained winless against AlphaGo, Google DeepMind’s artificial intelligence machine, after another close match in Seoul. Despite losing the series, Lee is scheduled to play twice more against AlphaGo, today and on Tuesday.

The showdown between human and machine has crushed the pride of go fans, many of them in Asia, who believed go would be too complex for machines to master. Some thought it would take at least another decade for computers to beat human go champions.

Many top go professionals commented that AlphaGo displayed unorthodox, questionable moves that initially befuddled humans, but made sense in hindsight.

Lee looked shaken in the post-match news conference, apologizing to his fans for what he said was a “powerless display” against the game-playing machine.

He said he felt extreme pressure heading into the third match, but that with the series now decided, he might have a better chance in the final two matches, because “the psychological part matters to humans.”

Google cofounder Sergey Brin, who was in Seoul to watch the third match, described go as a “beautiful game” and said he was excited that the company has been able to “instill that kind of beauty in our computers.”

In go, which is considered to be far more complex than chess, two players take turns putting black or white stones on a 19-by-19 square grid. The goal is to put more territory under one’s control by surrounding vacant areas with the stones.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2016/03/13/2003641450

Structure of the Lead：
WHO- Lee Sedol and Google’s go-playing software
WHEN- yesterday
WHAT- software defeated a human champion for the third straight time to clinch the best-of-five series and establish its superiority in an ancient Chinese chess-like game long thought to be the realm of humans
WHY- not given
WHERE- not given
HOW- not given

Keywords：
1. realm：王國
2. winless：未獲勝的
3. showdown：最後的決戰
4. unorthodox：非正統的
5. befuddle：使迷惑
6. vacant：空白的

新聞英文(16)- Week Eight：Brexit

Brexit: Tragedy or comedy of errors?

By Andrew SHENG,AFP
July 5, 2016, 12:24 am TWN

Last week, the world woke up to find that the British actually voted 51.9 percent in favor of an exit from the European Union (EU).

World stock markets lost over US$3 trillion in market value, with the credit rating agencies downgrading the UK from AAA to AA, making it more costly for British companies and government to raise funds. The pound sterling depreciated sharply to its lowest level in years.

What Will Happen Next?

Brexit was technically a referendum on whether the United Kingdom (UK) wanted to remain or leave the EU. The referendum was not a legal necessity, but arose from an election promise by Prime Minister David Cameron because his party was split on this issue. But once the UK voted to leave, Cameron had to resign, creating a leadership crisis in the Conservative Party. Two contenders are emerging after Boris Johnson, the former Mayor of London, who successfully led the Leave movement, opted out. Simultaneously, the opposition Labour Party is also in disarray because its Parliamentary members successfully passed a no-confidence vote against leader Jeremy Corbyn for weak leadership.

Brexit was such a shock that everyone has an opinion, often very funny. Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission lamented, "The British vote has cut off one of our wings, as it were, but we're still flying." One wit from Scotland commented that instead of Britannia rules the waves, "Britannia waives the rules."

Confusion rules, because Brexit is a divorce. Brexit was only a declaration of intention to divorce, but divorce papers have yet to be filed — technically a formal notice to leave under Article 50 of the EU Treaty. Only the new Prime Minister, to be elected by September, can file the divorce papers and start negotiating how to split the family jewels, if any.

Can the Divorcee Survive on Her Own?


Brexit was not a rational economic decision. Britain pays roughly 0.5 percent of her annual GDP into EU coffers, but gets benefits back to the tune of roughly 1 percent of the GDP. London would be a huge loser. If Britain is out, then Paris and Frankfurt would happily take over the Euro business. London jobs and property prices will be at stake.

So far European reactions reflect those of different family members in the divorce. German Chancellor Merkel was more cautious, preferring to wait for the next British move. French President Hollande called for an early exit. And Italian Prime Minister called for more EU aid for ailing Italian banks.

The remaining Europeans have two main choices — one is to remain cautious and muddle through. The other is to treat Brexit as a wake-up call and complete all the reforms that would bind Europe more firmly together. Muddling through is not an option, because there are urgent problems of Ukraine, immigration, imbalanced and anaemic growth, plus fragile banks. Small wonder that fund manager George Soros simultaneously placed a short-sell bet against Deutschebank shares, and going public on his worry whether after Brexit, Europe is on a path to disintegration.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/commentary/china-post/special-/2016/07/05/471227/Brexit-Tragedy.htm

Structure of the Lead：
WHO- British
WHEN- last week
WHAT- exit from the European Union (EU)
WHY- not given
WHERE- not given
HOW- not given

Keywords：
1. downgrading：降級
2. depreciate：貶值
3. referendum：公民投票權
4. split：分裂
5. contender：競爭者，爭奪者
6. opt out：退出，辭職
7. disintegration：瓦解
8. disarray：混亂
9. intention：意圖
10. cautious：謹慎的

新聞英文(16)-Week Seven：White Helmets

Syria's White Helmets nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

A group of volunteers who carry out search and rescue operations inside rebel-held bombarded territories in Syria have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Syrian Civil Defence units, also known as the White Helmets, have been recognised for saving around 60,000 people facing bombardments by the Syrian regime and Russian war planes since 2013.

The White Helmets have received backing from more than 130 international organisations to win the prestigious global peace prize.

The Syria Campaign, a global advocacy group calling for the protection of civilians in Syria, has launched an online initiative backing the White Helmets for the prize.

The campaign helped bring to the world's attention to the work of the volunteers from the White Helmets, who could not sit and watch people die under the rubble. Instead they chose to work endlessly to save lives on all sides of the conflict.

The volunteers, compromising of former bakers, tailors, engineers, pharmacists, painters, carpenters, students and many more, have pledged their commitment to the principles of "humanity, solidarity, impartiality" as outlined by the International Civil Defence Organisation.

"In a place where public services no longer function, these unarmed volunteers risk their lives to help anyone in need – regardless of their religion or politics," the White Helmets say.

They have grown from 20 to around 2,900 members but have lost dozens of their volunteers during rescues missions, including most recently, Khaled Omar Harrah.

Harrah, best known as the rescuer in the "Miracle Baby" video who spent 14 hours digging through cement to rescue baby Mahmoud, was killed earlier this week during a rescue mission in Aleppo.

The White Helmets' nomination comes after a difficult week that saw rescue missions intensified as air raids continued to fall over besieged and desperate parts of Syria.

The Nobel Prize winner will be announced on October 7.

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/society/2016/8/18/Syrias-White-Helmets-nominated-for-Nobel-Peace-Prize

Structure of the Lead：
WHO- a group of volunteers who carry out search and rescue operations inside rebel-held bombarded territories in Syria
WHEN- after a difficult week that saw rescue missions intensified as air raids continued to fall over besieged and desperate parts of Syria
WHAT- nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
WHY- not given
WHERE- not given
HOW- not given

Keywords：
1. territory：地區
2. regime：政權
3. backing：支持
4. prestigious：有名望的
5. rubble：瓦礫
6. endlessly：無窮盡地
7. solidarity：無私
8. impartiality：無私
9. unarmed：無武器的
10. cement：水泥

新聞英文(16)-Week Six：Elon Musk

SpaceX lands rocket upright on ocean platform

By Kerry Sheridan, AFP
April 10, 2016, 12:04 am TWN

MIAMI -- After four failed bids SpaceX finally stuck the landing Friday, powering the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket onto an ocean platform where it touched down upright after launching cargo to space.

Images of the tall, narrow rocket gliding down serenely onto a platform that SpaceX calls a droneship sparked applause and screams of joy at SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California.

"The first stage of the Falcon 9 just landed on our Of Course I Still Love You droneship," SpaceX wrote on Twitter, after launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 4:43 pm (2043 GMT).

NASA spokesman George Diller confirmed that the rocket had successfully landed, just minutes after the Falcon 9 propelled the unmanned Dragon cargo craft to orbit, carrying supplies for astronauts at the International Space Station.

SpaceX has once before managed to set the rocket down on land, but ocean attempts had failed, with the rocket coming close each time but either crashing or tipping over.

Speaking to reporters afterward, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that being able to return costly rocket parts for repeated use, instead of jettisoning them into the ocean after each launch, will make spaceflight less expensive and less harmful to the environment.

"It is just as fundamental in rocketry as it is in other forms of transport such as cars or planes or bicycles or anything," said Musk, who also runs Tesla Motors.

Musk said it costs around US$300,000 to fuel a rocket, but US$60 million to build one.

"If you have got a rocket that can be fully and rapidly reused, it is somewhere on the order of a 100-fold cost reduction, in marginal costs," he said, adding that he hoped his competitors would follow suit.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/life/science-and-technology/2016/04/10/463029/SpaceX-lands.htm

Structure of the Lead：
WHO- not given
WHEN- Friday
WHAT- lands rocket upright on ocean platform
WHY- not given
WHERE- not given
HOW- not given

Keywords：
1. bid：努力
2. serenely：平靜地
3. applause：喝采
4. unmanned：無人駕駛的
5. orbit：軌道
6. tip：傾斜
7. jettison：丟棄
8. fundamental：基礎的
9. marginal：微小的

新聞英文(16)-Week Five：Paris Climate Change Conference

Paris climate agreement becomes int'l law

By Michael Astor, AP
November 5, 2016, 12:29 am TWN

UNITED NATIONS--The Paris Agreement to combat climate change becomes international law on Friday — a landmark demonstrating that countries are serious about tackling global warming amid growing fears that the world is becoming hotter faster than scientists expected.

So far, 96 countries, accounting for just over two-thirds of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, have formally joined the accord, which seeks to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Many more countries are expected to come aboard in the coming weeks and months.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon plans to commemorate "this historic day for both the people and the planet" by holding a conversation with civil society organizations about how they can contribute to the objectives of the Paris agreement.

"For years, he warned that we are the first generation to really feel the effects of climate change — and the last that can meaningfully prevent its worst consequences," Dujarric said. "His push for action was backed by government officials, scientists, faith leaders, business executives and civil society activists around the world who understood that the future of our common home is at stake. They made today possible."

Scientists praised the speed at which the agreement, signed by 192 parties last December in Paris, has come into force, saying it underscores a new commitment by the international community to address the problem which is melting polar ice caps, sending sea levels rising and transforming vast swaths of arable land into desert.

"It took more than seven years for the Kyoto Protocol to go into effect while less than a year for the Paris climate agreement to achieve the same," said Dr. Feng Qi, executive director of the School of Environmental and Sustainability Sciences at Kean University in New Jersey. "While the real effect of the agreement after it goes into effect is still uncertain, it is a simple sign that the international society is much more open to alter economic and political behavior to control climate change, which is by all means positive."

Just the First Step


But scientists and policy makers say the agreement entering into force is just the first step of a much longer and complicated process of transitioning away from fossil fuels, which currently supply the bulk of the planet's energy needs and also are the primary drivers of global warming.

"Climate change is a marathon not a sprint and the agreement sets a course for the marathon in the years ahead," said David Sandalow, inaugural fellow at the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy and a former under-secretary of energy in the Obama administration.

While the Paris agreement is legally binding, the emissions reductions that each country has committed to are not. Instead, the agreement seeks to create a transparent system that will allow the public to monitor how well each country is doing at meeting its goals in hopes that this will motivate them to transition more quickly to clean, renewable energy like wind, solar and hydropower.

The agreement also requires governments to develop climate action plans that will be periodically revised and then replaced with new, even more ambitious, plans. Many of these details will begin to be addressed at the COP22 meeting next week in Marrakech, Morocco.

France's U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre said he remained optimistic that the agreement signed in his country's c

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/life/environment/2016/11/05/483083/Paris-climate.htm

Structure of the Lead：
WHO- many countries
WHEN- Friday
WHAT- signed the Paris agreement
WHY- tackling global warming
WHERE- not given
HOW- not given

Keywords：
1. demonstrate：證明
2. emission：排放
3. accord：協議
4. commemorate：紀念
5. objective：目的
6. push：衝勁
7. stake：危險
8. transition：過渡時期
9. transparent：清晰的
10. renewable：可再生的