英語(yǔ)時(shí)事短文篇一：有關(guān)新聞話(huà)題英文作文

How the News Got Less Mean

新聞何以不再那么負(fù)面

The most read article of all time on BuzzFeed contains no photographs of celebrity nip slips and no inflammatory ranting. It’s a series of photos called “21 pictures that will restore your faith in humanity,” which has pulled in nearly 14 million visits so far. At Upworthy too, hope is the major draw. “This kid just died. What he left behind is wondtacular,” an Upworthy post about a terminally ill teen singer, earned 15 million views this summer and has raised more than $300,000 for cancer research.

新聞聚合網(wǎng)站BuzzFeed上有史以來(lái)閱讀次數(shù)最多的一篇文章既沒(méi)有女明星的露點(diǎn)照，也沒(méi)有煽動(dòng)性的呼號(hào)，而是一組照片，名為“21張照片讓你重拾對(duì)人性的信念”。迄今為止，這組照片已經(jīng)吸引了將近1400萬(wàn)次訪問(wèn)。Upworthy網(wǎng)站主打的也是希望牌。網(wǎng)站上一篇題為“那名孩子剛走了，留給我們一個(gè)了不起的奇跡”的帖文，講述了一個(gè)病重少年歌手的事跡，在這個(gè)夏季被閱讀了1500萬(wàn)次，募集了30多萬(wàn)美元的癌癥研究基金。

The recipe for attracting visitors to stories online is changing. Bloggers have traditionally turned to sarcasm and snark to draw attention. But the success of sites like BuzzFeed and Upworthy, whose philosophies embrace the viral nature of upbeat stories, hints that the Web craves positivity.

吸引讀者在線(xiàn)閱讀的策略組合正在變化。博客作者慣于使用冷嘲熱諷搏人眼球，但是BuzzFeed和Upworthy等網(wǎng)站倚托正能量故事的傳播力取得成功的事實(shí)表明，網(wǎng)絡(luò)亟需正能量。

The reason: social media. Researchers are discovering that people want to create positive images of themselves online by sharing upbeat stories. And with more people turning to Facebook and Twitter to find out what’s happening in the world, news stories may need to cheer up in order to court an audience. If social is the future of media, then optimistic stories might be media’s future.

原因就是媒體的社會(huì)性。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，人們希望通過(guò)在線(xiàn)分享積極樂(lè)觀的故事為自己塑造積極的形象。隨著越來(lái)越多的人轉(zhuǎn)投臉書(shū)和推特等社交網(wǎng)站了解時(shí)事，新聞報(bào)道要想贏得觀眾，或許需要采用更為積極樂(lè)觀的基調(diào)。如果說(shuō)社會(huì)性是媒體的未來(lái)，樂(lè)觀的故事或許就是傳媒企業(yè)的未來(lái)。

“When we started, the prevailing wisdom was that snark ruled the Internet,” says Eli Pariser, a co-founder of Upworthy. “And we just had a really different sense of what works.”

“剛上線(xiàn)那會(huì)兒，盛行的理論認(rèn)為互聯(lián)網(wǎng)是諷刺挖苦的天下，” Upworthy的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人以利·帕里澤說(shuō)，“可是，什么管用、什么不管用，我們的看法卻完全不一樣�！�

“You don’t want to be that guy at the party who’s crazy and angry and ranting in the corner — it’s the same for Twitter or Facebook,” he says. “Part of what we’re trying to do with Upworthy is give people the tools to express a conscientious, thoughtful and positive identity in social media.”、

“誰(shuí)也不想成為派對(duì)上瘋瘋癲癲怒氣沖沖躲在角落里大叫大嚷的那個(gè)人——推特和臉書(shū)也不想，”他說(shuō)，“Upworthy所要做的一件事情，就是給人們提供各種工具，讓他們?cè)谏鐣?huì)媒體上表達(dá)一個(gè)真實(shí)的、經(jīng)過(guò)思考的、積極的身份�！� And the science appears to support Pariser’s philosophy. In a recent study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers found that “up votes,” showing that a visitor liked a comment or story, begat more up votes on comments on the site, but “down votes” did not do the same. In fact, a single up vote increased the

likelihood that someone else would like a comment by 32%, whereas a down vote had no effect. People don’t want to support the cranky commenter, the critic or the troll. Nor do they want to be that negative personality online.

科學(xué)研究似乎印證了帕里澤的理念。麻省理工學(xué)院最近的一項(xiàng)研究顯示，Upworthy網(wǎng)站上被“頂”——亦即表明網(wǎng)友喜歡某個(gè)評(píng)論或故事的方式——的評(píng)論或故事能夠?yàn)檎军c(diǎn)帶來(lái)更多的贊成人數(shù)，但是被“踩”的評(píng)論或故事卻沒(méi)有這種作用。實(shí)際上，每次“頂”都可以把他人參與評(píng)論的可能性提高32%，而“踩”就沒(méi)有效果。人們不想去支持脾氣暴躁的評(píng)論者、吹毛求疵的人或惡搞的人。也沒(méi)有人愿意在網(wǎng)上留下?lián)碛邢麡O人格的形象。

In another study published in 2012, Jonah Berger, author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On and professor of marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, monitored the most e-mailed stories produced by the New York Times for six months and found that positive stories were more likely to make the list than negative ones.

在2012年發(fā)布的另一項(xiàng)研究中，《傳染力：流行密碼》一書(shū)的作者、賓州大學(xué)沃頓商學(xué)院營(yíng)銷(xiāo)學(xué)教授喬納·伯杰監(jiān)控了紐約時(shí)報(bào)六個(gè)月內(nèi)被網(wǎng)民郵件轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)推薦次數(shù)最多的新聞報(bào)道排行榜，發(fā)現(xiàn)積極的報(bào)道比消極的報(bào)道上榜幾率更大。 “What we share [or like] is almost like the car we drive or the clothes we wear,” he says. “It says something about us to other people. So people would much rather be seen as a Positive Polly than a Debbie Downer.”

“我們分享（或喜歡）的東西，就想我們開(kāi)的車(chē)和穿的衣服一樣，”他說(shuō)，“會(huì)向他人傳達(dá)一些關(guān)于我們個(gè)人的信息。因此，人們寧愿被看作波利那樣樂(lè)呵呵的傻大姐，而不愿被看作黛比唐納式的喪氣話(huà)大王�！�

It’s not always that simple: Berger says that though positive pieces drew more

traffic than negative ones, within the categories of positive and negative stories, those articles that elicited more emotion always led to more shares.

事情并不總是如此簡(jiǎn)單。伯杰說(shuō)，積極的報(bào)道雖然比消極的報(bào)道能夠吸引更多的閱讀量，但是單就這兩類(lèi)報(bào)道而言，能打動(dòng)人的文章總能被更多分享。

“Take two negative emotions, for example: anger and sadness,” Berger says. “Both of those emotions would make the reader feel bad. But anger, a high arousal emotion, leads to more sharing, whereas sadness, a low arousal emotion, doesn’t. The same is true of the positive side: excitement and humor increase sharing, whereas contentment decreases sharing.”

“舉個(gè)例子，憤怒和悲傷是兩種消極的情感，”伯杰說(shuō)，“都會(huì)讓讀者感覺(jué)不快。但是憤怒更能激起人的情感，因而涉及憤怒情感的文章，更容易被分享，而悲傷則不然。積極情感也是如此，激動(dòng)和幽默會(huì)促進(jìn)分享，而滿(mǎn)足會(huì)減少分享�！� And while some popular BuzzFeed posts — like the recent “Is this the most embarrassing interview Fox News has ever done?” — might do their best to elicit shares through anger, both BuzzFeed and Upworthy recognize that their main success lies in creating positive viral material.

BuzzFeed上有些流行的帖文——像最近的“這是�？怂剐侣�?lì)l道史上最囧的采訪嗎？”——廣為分享或許是因?yàn)樽吡思て鹱x者憤怒的路數(shù)。然而，BuzzFeed和Upworthy都認(rèn)為，積極而富有傳播力的內(nèi)容才是此類(lèi)帖文獲得成功的主要原因。

“It’s not that people don’t share negative stories,” says Jack Shepherd, editorial director at BuzzFeed. “It just means that there’s a higher potential for positive stories to do well.”

BuzzFeed社論主管杰克·謝潑德說(shuō)，“不是說(shuō)人們不分享消極的故事，而是積極的故事被分享的可能性更大�！�

Upworthy’s mission is to highlight serious issues but in a hopeful way, encouraging readers to donate money, join organizations and take action. The strategy seems to be working: barely two years after its launch date (in March 2012), the site now boasts 30 million unique visitors per month, according to Upworthy. The site’s average monthly unique visitors grew to 14 million people over its first six quarters — to put that in perspective, the Huffington Post had only about 2 million visitors in its first six quarters online.

Upworthy的使命是突出重大事件，但是要以一種讓人充滿(mǎn)希望的方式實(shí)現(xiàn)，以此鼓勵(lì)讀者捐贈(zèng)、加入某些組織或行動(dòng)起來(lái)。這一策略似乎起了作用，據(jù)Upworthy稱(chēng)，上線(xiàn)還不到兩年（指截止原文創(chuàng)作時(shí)期，Upworthy是2012年3

月上線(xiàn)的），網(wǎng)站每月的獨(dú)立訪客已經(jīng)達(dá)到3000萬(wàn)。站點(diǎn)上線(xiàn)后的前六個(gè)季度，月均獨(dú)立訪客已經(jīng)達(dá)到1400萬(wàn)。要知道，哈芬頓郵報(bào)上線(xiàn)前六個(gè)季度，獨(dú)立訪客才200萬(wàn)。

But Upworthy measures the success of a story not just by hits. The creators of the site only consider a post a success if it’s also shared frequently on social media. “We are interested in content that people want to share partly for pragmatic reasons,” Pariser says. “If you don’t have a good theory about how to appear in Facebook and Twitter, then you may disappear.”

但是，點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)并不是Upworthy衡量一個(gè)故事成功與否的唯一標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。網(wǎng)站創(chuàng)始人認(rèn)為，成功的帖子還需要頻頻在社交媒體上被分享。帕雷澤說(shuō)“對(duì)于那些出于實(shí)用原因被人分享的內(nèi)容，我們很感興趣。在臉書(shū)或推特上所造自己的形象沒(méi)有一套，你就會(huì)消失�！�

Nobody has mastered the ability to make a story go viral like BuzzFeed. The site, which began in 2006 as a lab to figure out what people share online, has used what it’s learned to draw 60 million monthly unique visitors, according to BuzzFeed. (Most of that traffic comes from social-networking sites, driving readers toward BuzzFeed’s mix of cute animal photos and hard news.) By comparison the New York Times website, one of the most popular newspaper sites on the Web, courts only 29 million unique visitors each month, according to the Times.

BuzzFeed已經(jīng)掌握了讓故事瘋狂傳播的技能。BuzzFeed源自2006年發(fā)起的一個(gè)研究人們?cè)诰�(xiàn)分享習(xí)慣的實(shí)驗(yàn)室，并以此發(fā)跡，現(xiàn)在每月獨(dú)立訪客超過(guò)6000萬(wàn)。（大多數(shù)訪問(wèn)流量來(lái)自社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)，讀者更喜歡BuzzFeed網(wǎng)站上因可愛(ài)動(dòng)物照片點(diǎn)綴而不再干巴巴的新聞）。相比之下，根據(jù)《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》的數(shù)據(jù)，紐約時(shí)報(bào)網(wǎng)站這個(gè)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上最受歡迎的新聞?wù)军c(diǎn)，每月吸引的獨(dú)立訪客也就2900萬(wàn)人。 BuzzFeed editors have found that people do still read negative or critical stories, they just aren’t the posts they share with their friends. And those shareable posts are the ones that newsrooms increasingly prize.

BuzzFeed的編輯發(fā)現(xiàn)，人們?nèi)匀粫?huì)閱讀消極的或批判性的故事，只是不會(huì)與朋友分分享而已。而且，被人分享的帖文也越來(lái)越受到傳統(tǒng)新聞媒體的重視。 “Anecdotally, I can tell you people are just as likely to click on negative stories as they are to click on positive ones,” says Shepherd. “But they’re more likely to share positive stories. What you’re interested in is different from what you want your friends to see what you’re interested in.”

“順便說(shuō)一句，雖說(shuō)人們點(diǎn)擊消極故事和積極故事的可能性一樣大，”謝潑德說(shuō)，“但是積極的故事更有可能被分享。你感興趣的東西和你想讓朋友認(rèn)為你感興趣的東西，是不一樣的�！�

So as newsrooms re-evaluate how they can draw readers and elicit more shares on Twitter and Facebook, they may look to BuzzFeed’s and Upworthy’s happiness model for direction.

因此，傳統(tǒng)媒體在重新評(píng)估如何吸引讀者并讓他們?cè)谕铺睾湍槙?shū)上分享自己的故事時(shí)，或許可以向BuzzFeed和Upworthy的幸福模式看齊，以找準(zhǔn)方向。 “I think that the Web is only becoming more social,” Shepherd says. “We’re at a point where readers are your publishers. If news sites aren’t thinking about what it would mean for someone to share a story on social media, that could be detrimental.” “ 我認(rèn)為，網(wǎng)絡(luò)的社會(huì)性只會(huì)加強(qiáng)，”謝潑德說(shuō)，“我們現(xiàn)在處于讀者即出版商的時(shí)代。新聞?wù)军c(diǎn)再不想想在社會(huì)媒體上分享故事意味著什么，后果也許是災(zāi)難性的。

英語(yǔ)時(shí)事短文篇二：英語(yǔ)新聞閱讀

英語(yǔ)新聞閱讀

時(shí)間：2014/1/6，來(lái)源：bbc/asia/china

China destroys tonnes of ivory in landmark move China has for the first time destroyed a large quantity of confiscated ivory, in a public event described by conservation groups as a landmark move.

Just over six tonnes of carvings, ornaments and tusks amassed over the years were fed into crushing machines.

State media say the move aims "to discourage illegal ivory trade, protect wildlife and raise public awareness".

Conservationists say demand for ivory, where China is seen as the biggest market, is fuelling poaching in Africa.

The Chinese use ivory in traditional crafts and carvings are prized as status symbols, correspondents say.

John Scanlon, secretary-general of the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species (Cites), said this was the first time China has chosen to crush ivory it had previously seized.

"It's an occasion when China can send and is sending a very powerful message both domestically to the Chinese people and internationally, that it is not prepared to tolerate the illegal trade in elephant ivory," he told Reuters news agency.

The event in Dongguan city, Guangdong province, which had media, diplomats and conservationists in attendance, was broadcast on state television.

Some of the powder from the crushed ivory is to be disposed, with others sent to a museum and preserved, state media said.

Cites banned the trade in ivory in 1989. But poaching has increased across

sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, with criminal gangs slaughtering elephants for ivory markets in Asia.

時(shí)間：2014/1/12，來(lái)源：bbc/asia/china

US: China new sea rules 'provocative' The US has described new Chinese rules on fishing access to disputed areas of the South China Sea as "provocative and potentially dangerous".

Regulations approved by Hainan province requiring foreign fishing

vessels to ask for permission to enter its waters took effect on 1 January. China claims a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea, which it puts under the authority of Hainan province.

This swathe overlaps areas also claimed by several South East Asian nations.

The move comes with tensions already high over China's recent

establishment of an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) that covers East China Sea islands claimed and controlled by Japan, and a rock claimed by South Korea.

It also comes as China takes an increasingly assertive stance on its territorial claims across Asia.

"The passing of these restrictions on other countries' fishing activities in disputed portions of the South China Sea is a provocative and potentially dangerous act," state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a regular briefing.

"These regulations appear to apply to the maritime space within China's so-called nine-dash line. China has not offered any explanation or basis under international law for these extensive maritime claims."

The US believed all parties "should avoid any unilateral action that

raises tensions and undermines the prospects for a diplomatic or other peaceful resolution of differences", she said.

'Groundless'

The rules - which require foreign vessels to obtain permission to fish or survey fisheries resources in waters administered by Hainan from the "relevant" department of China's State Council - were passed by the provincial government in November, China Daily said.

Under existing national law, unauthorised boats that enter Chinese waters can be fined and have their equipment seized.

Hainan province says on its website that its area covers the Paracel and Spratly Islands, which are claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, and covers about 2m sq/km of the 3.5m sq/km South China Sea.

The Philippines said it was "gravely concerned" by the new rules, which it said threatened regional stability and raised tensions.

"We have requested China to immediately clarify the new fisheries law issued by the Hainan Provincial People's Congress," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Taiwan says it does not recognise the rules. Vietnam, in a written

statement to Reuters news agency, said: "All foreign activities at these areas without Vietnam's acceptance are illegal and groundless."

A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, meanwhile, said the rules were "to strengthen the security of fisheries resources", and were "absolutely a normal routine practice".

They come a year after Hainan announced rules that gave police the right to board and seize foreign ships involved in unauthorised entry,

damage to coastal defence facilities "and engaging in publicity that threatens national security", according to state-run China Daily.

It is not clear to what extent the new rules would be enforced, given the size of the area involved.

The announcement of China's ADIZ last year sparked concern across the region. It said that aircraft flying through the zone must follow its rules, including filing flight plans.

The zone covers East China Sea islands called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China that both sides claim. Japan controls the islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan.

The US, Japan and South Korea have rejected China's zone, and flown undeclared military aircraft through it. The US has called the move a unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the region.

時(shí)間：2014/1/13，來(lái)源：bbc/asia/china

Fire ravages ancient Tibetan town Fire has severely damaged an ancient Tibetan to

wn in

south-western China. Nearly 300 mostly wooden houses were destroyed in the

blaze in Dukezong in Shangri-La county, in Yunnan province.

Officials say more than 2,600 people have lost their homes in the town, which dates back 1,300 years and is popular with tourists.

The blaze, which raged for nearly 10 hours, was put out by 2,000 firefighters, police and volunteers. No fatalities have been reported. The fire, which broke out at about 01:30 local time on Saturday, destroyed about 242 houses and shops in Dukezong, Xinhua news agency reported.

The damage was estimated to be worth 100m yuan ($16m, ￡10m), state TV reports.

The 10-hour inferno razed the ancient Tibetan town

英語(yǔ)時(shí)事短文篇三：中英雙語(yǔ)雙語(yǔ)文章

研究：狗也有嫉妒心

Dogs can be jealous, say scientists——

Dogs are prone to complex emotions such as jealousy and pride, according to scientific research that sheds new light on their relationship with humans.

Canines do not like seeing their owners offering affection to other creatures, especially other dogs, and react negatively when their owners bring home new partners, the research found.

Psychologists previously believed most animals lack the "sense of self" needed to experience so-called

secondary emotions such as jealousy, embarrassment, empathy or guilt. These emotions are more complex than feelings associated with instant reaction – such as anger, lust or joy.

Dr Friederike Range, of the University of Vienna's neurobiology department, has shown that dogs feel intense jealously when they spot that they are unfairly treated compared with other dogs. "Dogs show a strong aversion to inequity," she said.

The dog study is the latest into several species, including cows, horses, cats and sheep, which have shown that animals are far more self-aware than was thought.

Dr Paul Morris, a psychologist at the University of Portsmouth who studies animal emotions, told The Sunday Times: "We are learning that dogs, horses, and perhaps many other species are far more emotionally complex than we ever realised. They can suffer simple forms of many emotions we once thought only primates could experience."

In research among dog owners, Dr Morris found almost all of them reported jealous behaviour by their pets. The dog often tried to prise their owner away from a new lover in the early days of a relationship.

Behavioural experts recommend owners keeping their dog's routine as much as possible when a new partner or child comes along in order to prevent jealous activity from the dog such as interruptions with barking or whining.

一項(xiàng)科學(xué)研究表明，狗也會(huì)產(chǎn)生嫉妒和驕傲等復(fù)雜的情感。該研究進(jìn)一步揭示了狗與人之間的關(guān)系。 研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，狗不愿意看到自己的主人對(duì)其它動(dòng)物，尤其是其它的狗表現(xiàn)出關(guān)注。當(dāng)主人把新男友或女友帶回家時(shí)，它們也會(huì)表現(xiàn)出抵觸情緒。

此前，心理學(xué)家認(rèn)為大多數(shù)動(dòng)物缺乏體會(huì)嫉妒、困窘、移情和內(nèi)疚等高級(jí)情感的―自我意識(shí)‖。這些情感遠(yuǎn)比憤怒、欲望或高興等與即時(shí)反應(yīng)相關(guān)的情感復(fù)雜。

奧地利維也納大學(xué)的神經(jīng)生物學(xué)博士弗里德里克?朗格稱(chēng)，當(dāng)狗意識(shí)到自己得到的關(guān)注不如其它狗，即受到了不公正待遇時(shí)，就會(huì)表現(xiàn)出強(qiáng)烈的嫉妒情緒。她說(shuō)：―狗對(duì)不公正十分抵觸�！�

此前研究人員已對(duì)牛、馬、貓、羊等動(dòng)物進(jìn)行了類(lèi)似研究，結(jié)果表明，動(dòng)物的自我意識(shí)遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超出人的意料。

樸茨茅斯大學(xué)從事動(dòng)物情感研究的心理學(xué)家保羅?莫里斯在接受《星期日泰晤士報(bào)》采訪時(shí)說(shuō)：―我們發(fā)現(xiàn)狗、馬，可能還有其他很多動(dòng)物的情感比我們預(yù)想的豐富得多，它們同樣會(huì)表現(xiàn)出多種簡(jiǎn)單的感情形式，而之前我們以為只有靈長(zhǎng)類(lèi)動(dòng)物才具有這樣的高級(jí)情感。‖

此外，莫里斯對(duì)養(yǎng)狗人開(kāi)展的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，幾乎所有人都稱(chēng)他們的寵物狗有過(guò)嫉妒行為。比如，在他們把新男友或女友帶回家的最初幾天，他們的狗總是想方設(shè)法讓他們遠(yuǎn)離對(duì)方。

行為學(xué)家建議，當(dāng)家里出現(xiàn)新成員時(shí)，盡量不要打亂寵物狗的生活規(guī)律，以避免它們因?yàn)榧刀识�狂吠或哀嚎�?/p>

Dogs are prone to complex emotions such as jealousy and pride, according to scientific research that sheds new light on their relationship with humans.

Vocabulary:

aversion:A fixed, intense dislike; repugnance（反感；厭惡） 總統(tǒng)模擬游戲即將出爐 玩家試當(dāng)奧巴馬

Gamers can pretend to be President Obama

A computer game set to hit US stores the day Barack Obama is sworn in as president challenges players to see whether they can do a better job running the country than he can.

Interactive Gaming Software (IGS) said on Monday it would make Commander in Chief available on January 20, the day of Obama's inauguration.

'Player presidents' will make budget, health, education, military, diplomatic and other decisions in simulated environments and have to virtually live with the ramifications of their choices.

Commander in Chief will give players information from 50 international organizations including the UN, NATO and OPEC.

"You can put your own political theories into action and see the domestic and international domino effect," lead designer Louis-Marie Rocques had said in April.

"Anyone will now be able to develop their own exit strategy for Iraq, reverse the course of the economic recession and attempt to prevent terrorist attacks from Al-Qaeda." Throughout the game there is a threat of terrorist strikes or invasion by foreign troops.

Players will start by selecting cabinet members and then go on to tackle the same social, environmental, economic, energy, cultural and military issues facing Obama's administration.

美國(guó)一家游戲公司將于明年奧巴馬就職日當(dāng)天推出一款模擬總統(tǒng)的電腦游戲，在這款游戲中，玩家可以一嘗當(dāng)總統(tǒng)的滋味，與奧巴馬一比高下。

美國(guó)IGS游戲公司于本周一宣布，他們將于明年1月20日奧巴馬就任總統(tǒng)當(dāng)天推出這款名為―總司令（Command in Chief）‖的游戲。

―模擬總統(tǒng)‖將在游戲模擬的環(huán)境中制定預(yù)算以及醫(yī)療、教育、軍事和外交各個(gè)方面的政策，并且他們所做的任何決定都會(huì)有后續(xù)影響。

游戲?qū)⑾蛲婕姨峁┌�括�?lián)合國(guó)、北約和歐佩克在內(nèi)的50個(gè)國(guó)際組織的信息。

游戲主設(shè)計(jì)師路易斯-瑪麗?若克斯于今年四月稱(chēng)：―玩家可以將自己的政治理念付諸實(shí)施，看看會(huì)在國(guó)內(nèi)外引起什么樣的連鎖反應(yīng)。‖

他說(shuō)：―每位玩家都可以設(shè)計(jì)從伊拉克撤軍、振興經(jīng)濟(jì)以及?反恐‘等有關(guān)各個(gè)問(wèn)題的方針。‖玩家在游戲中還會(huì)面臨恐怖襲擊以及外國(guó)軍隊(duì)入侵的威脅。

游戲開(kāi)始時(shí)玩家首先要選擇內(nèi)閣成員，接下來(lái)要處理與奧巴馬政府所面臨的一系列同樣的問(wèn)題，包括社會(huì)、環(huán)境、經(jīng)濟(jì)、能源、文化和軍事等各個(gè)方面。

Vocabulary:

swear in:宣誓就職

live with:忍受

ramification: A development or consequence growing out of and sometimes complicating a problem, plan, or 男女快樂(lè)感有別 男愛(ài)錢(qián)女重情

Women find happiness is not about the economy, stupid

Men are happier with money, while women find greater joy in friendships and relationships with their children, co-workers and bosses, a new global survey reveals.

The online survey of 28,153 people in more than 51 countries by global marketing and information firm

Nielsen found that as the world grapples with a recession and financial markets remain volatile, many people are reminding themselves that money can't buy happiness.

The Nielsen Happiness Study found that globally, women are happier than men in 48 of the 51 countries surveyed in April 2008, and only in Brazil, South Africa and Vietnam were men found to be happier than women.

"Because they are happier with non-economic factors, women's happiness is more recession-proof which might explain why women around the world are happier in general than men are," Nielsen Vice President of Consumer Research Bruce Paul said in a statement.

Japanese women reported the greatest difference and are 15 percent happier than Japanese men. Women are also more optimistic about the future, scoring higher than men on predictions of their happiness in the next six months.

Women were also more content with their sex lives, the study found. Japanese and New Zealand women reported the greatest difference in satisfaction with their sex lives.

Men are generally happier with their physical health than women, and this is especially pronounced in South Africa. Egypt bucks the trend, with women rating their happiness with their health considerably higher than men.

Globally, men rated their happiness with their mental health higher than women. This was echoed in Belgium, South Korea, Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Egypt, and Israel.

There are three main drivers of happiness globally, according to the study: personal financial situation, mental health and job/career. Being satisfied with your partner is also important for happiness.

Vocabulary:

grapple with:抓�。慌ご颍ɡ�句：He has been grappling with the problem for a long time. 長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)他一直努力解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題.）

volatile: Tending to vary often or widely, as in price（易波動(dòng)的，不穩(wěn)定的：易于經(jīng)�；虼蠓�度變化的，如價(jià)格）

一項(xiàng)最新的全球調(diào)查顯示，男人因金錢(qián)而快樂(lè)，而女人的快樂(lè)感更多地源于友情以及與孩子、同事和老板的關(guān)系。

這項(xiàng)由尼爾森全球營(yíng)銷(xiāo)信息公司開(kāi)展的在線(xiàn)調(diào)查共有來(lái)自超過(guò)51個(gè)國(guó)家的28153人參加。調(diào)查結(jié)果顯示，面臨目前的全球經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退和金融市場(chǎng)的動(dòng)蕩，很多人開(kāi)始提醒自己金錢(qián)并不能買(mǎi)到快樂(lè)。

這項(xiàng)于今年四月開(kāi)展的―尼爾森快樂(lè)感大調(diào)查‖表明，在參與調(diào)查的51個(gè)國(guó)家中，有48個(gè)國(guó)家的女性比該國(guó)的男性快樂(lè)，只有巴西、南非和越南例外。

尼爾森公司消費(fèi)者調(diào)查部副經(jīng)理布魯斯?保羅在聲明中稱(chēng)：―由于女性的快樂(lè)感更多地取決于非經(jīng)濟(jì)因素，所以她們的快樂(lè)感不易受到經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)的影響。這或許可以解釋為什么從全球范圍來(lái)看女性的快樂(lè)感總體高于男性。‖

日本女性的快樂(lè)感比男性高15%，在被調(diào)查國(guó)家中差距最大。同時(shí)女性對(duì)未來(lái)更加樂(lè)觀，對(duì)未來(lái)六個(gè)月快樂(lè)感的預(yù)期也超過(guò)男性。

此外，調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，女性對(duì)性生活的滿(mǎn)意度更高。日本和新西蘭的男性和女性對(duì)性生活的滿(mǎn)意度差距最大。

健康給男性帶來(lái)的快樂(lè)感總體高于女性，這在南非尤其突出。而在埃及正好相反，女性從健康中獲得的快樂(lè)感大大高于男性。

從全球范圍來(lái)看，男性從心理健康中獲得的快樂(lè)更多。比利時(shí)、韓國(guó)、墨西哥、挪威、西班牙、埃及和以色列的調(diào)查結(jié)果都反映了這一趨勢(shì)。

調(diào)查表明，從全球范圍來(lái)看，個(gè)人經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況、心理健康和工作/事業(yè)是三大主要的快樂(lè)之源。而與伴侶的關(guān)系是否和睦對(duì)于快樂(lè)感也至關(guān)重要。

威尼斯發(fā)大水 酒店打雨靴促銷(xiāo)牌

Venice hotel owners offer free boots for floods

Venice hoteliers are urging tourists to enjoy the tourist mecca despite chronic flooding, offering free rubber boots for guests to slosh around the Renaissance city.

"Venetian hoteliers and Mayor Massimo Cacciari reassure tourists who want to come in Venice: Don't worry, there is no danger: high water is a phenomenon that quickly disappears," says an industry website,

www.veneziasi.it.

A special 190 euros (250 dollar) a night package includes "free use of rubber boots to walk during the high water," along with a map showing where special platforms are erected along the canal city's streets during the flooding.

Venice has been under water for nearly two weeks, reaching a 22-year high on December 1 at 1.56 meters (5 feet, 2 inches). Thursday and Friday are expected to see highs of up to 1.30 meters.

The lagoon city was flooded 50 times between 1993 and 2002, but by far the worst incident was on November 4, 1966, when it was submerged by 1.94 metres of water amid catastrophic flooding throughout Italy.

Every new flood revives debate over an elaborate project to place hinged panels at the inlets leading into the lagoon.

Cacciari is among critics of the so-called Moses Project, which was launched in 2003 and is not expected to reach completion until 2012.

Under the scheme, 78 steel panels will lie on the seabed until activated when high tide is more than 1.1 metres above normal.

Compressed air will then force the panels to rise up on their hinges, forming a slanting barrier to the incoming tide from the Adriatic Sea.

Another approach under consideration is to raise the city's buildings.

Under Operation "Rialto", piston-supported poles would be placed beneath each structure and gradually lift buildings by up to a metre.

Vocabulary:

hotelier:旅館經(jīng)營(yíng)者

slosh:在水[泥]中掙扎[亂走]

submerge:Growing or remaining under water（在水中；被淹沒(méi)）

（意大利）文藝復(fù)興之城、―水城‖威尼斯近日遭遇洪水侵襲，一些酒店利用水漲之機(jī)，打起了促銷(xiāo)牌，即住店游客可免費(fèi)使用酒店提供的雨靴，體驗(yàn)水中漫步威尼斯的樂(lè)趣。

據(jù)意大利酒店業(yè)協(xié)會(huì)網(wǎng)站（www.venezias.it）稱(chēng)：―威尼斯的酒店和市長(zhǎng)瑪西莫?卡西亞利給想來(lái)威尼斯旅游的游客們吃了顆定心丸：別擔(dān)心，不會(huì)有危險(xiǎn)：水很快就會(huì)退�！�

酒店打出的促銷(xiāo)廣告是：190歐元（250美元）住店一晚，即可―免費(fèi)使用酒店提供的雨靴‖和地圖，這張地圖可讓游客們知道沿街哪些地方有可供―上岸‖的平臺(tái)。

威尼斯的大水已經(jīng)持續(xù)近兩周，本月1日的水位達(dá)到22年來(lái)最高水平，為1.56米（5 英尺2 英寸），本周四和周五預(yù)計(jì)將達(dá)1.3米。

從1993年至2002年，―水城‖威尼斯共發(fā)過(guò)50次洪水。但是迄今為止最嚴(yán)重的一次洪水發(fā)生于1966年11月4日，當(dāng)時(shí)意大利全國(guó)遭遇特大洪水侵襲，威尼斯的水位則漲到了1.94米。

為了治理水患，威尼斯正在興建一個(gè)防洪工程，擬在威尼斯通往海洋的入海口處建多個(gè)活動(dòng)閘門(mén)，而每次發(fā)洪水都會(huì)引發(fā)有關(guān)該工程的爭(zhēng)議。

現(xiàn)任市長(zhǎng)卡西亞利就是這項(xiàng)工程的反對(duì)者之一。這項(xiàng)名為―摩西工程‖的防洪設(shè)施于2003年啟動(dòng)，預(yù)計(jì)將于2012年建成。

該工程計(jì)劃在海床上建78個(gè)鋼板，當(dāng)水位超出警戒線(xiàn)1.1米以上時(shí)，擋板就會(huì)被啟動(dòng)。

這些擋板在壓縮空氣力量的作用下會(huì)豎立起來(lái)，從而形成一個(gè)傾斜的屏障擋住來(lái)自亞得利亞海的洪水。 還有一個(gè)方案是加高威尼斯全城建筑的高度。

按照這項(xiàng)―Rialto‖（里亞托橋，威尼斯最著名的橋）計(jì)劃，將在建筑物底部置入活塞柱，使建筑物整體增高1米。

美商界女性職業(yè)前景看好

No advance for women in top U.S. jobs

Women in 2008 made no significant gains in winning more top US business jobs, according to a study

released on Wednesday, but the head of the study said women are poised to make strides in the year ahead. The number of women who were board directors, corporate officers or top earners at Fortune 500 companies remained essentially unchanged, said the study by Catalyst, a nonprofit group that promotes opportunities for women in business.

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