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英語新聞一點通：「維基解密」掀起外交風暴

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Wikileaks Causes Diplomatic Storm

No-one likes it when their dirty laundry is aired in public. When the laundry belongs to the most powerful government in the world, the story is explosive. This is what happened when the website Wikileaks published hundreds of thousands of secret US documents at the end of 2010.

In fact, many of the documents were low level diplomatic messages. They were little more than gossip. Even so, many of the messages were very embarrassing for the US government. Others involved the wrong-doing of the US’s allies.

The US reacted very angrily. It tried to force the Wikileaks website off the web. Nevertheless, information is still coming out. What the story shows most clearly, though, is that in today’s wired world, be careful what you write down. You never know where it might end up.

「維基解密」掀起外交風暴

當醜聞遭到踢爆，總是令當事人感到極度不悅，尤其是全球最強大的政府面臨挑戰時，爆炸性的新聞往往成為眾所矚目的焦點。「維基解密」網站在2010年底公佈了幾十萬份美國外交機密文件，無疑地在全球投下一顆震撼彈。

事實上，許多外洩的日常外交訊息，反而較像是未經證實的傳言。即便如此，這些傳言已足以讓美國政府感到非常難堪，部份訊息並連帶抖出美國盟友犯錯的證據。

美國對於此事表達強烈的不滿，並試圖要求「維基解密」關閉網站。然而，所謂的外交機密仍持續在網上流傳。這起事件提醒了大眾：在現今的網路世界裡，必須小心檢視你所撰寫的內容，因為你永遠不知道它可能流傳至何處。

字彙

  • website 網站
  • documents 文件
  • diplomatic 外交的
  • gossip 流言蜚語
  • allies 盟友
  • wired world 網路世界

解讀

You can guess at the meaning of some idioms, even if you have not seen them before. You would be embarrassed if people could see your dirty underwear. So you can guess that airing your dirty laundry in public means having embarrassing secrets brought into the open.

即使你未曾看過某些成語，依照句意聯想即可約略猜到其含義。例如：若他人窺見你的髒內衣，你會覺得難堪，可據以聯想「airing your dirty laundry in public」代表醜聞外揚。

文句練習

  1. After Amazon.com removed WikiLeaks, hackers attacked the popular book __________.
  2. Over the last few years, Taiwan’s __________ relationship with China have improved.
  3. Be careful with these __________ – you need them for your university application!
  4. Now that every phone can get on the internet, the ___________ is becoming a reality.
  5. I hate _________ – you never know what people are saying behind your back!
  6. The US and Taiwan have long been ______.

文句練習解答

  1. website
  2. diplomatic
  3. documents
  4. wired world
  5. gossip
  6. allies

(資料來源：British Council 英國文化協會)

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英語新聞一點通：無情洪災重創澳洲

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Down Under Under Water

Australia is usually in the news for its droughts, not its floods. This year is different, though, and heavy rains have caused biblical flooding. Thousands of people have lost their homes, and life across the country is in chaos.

The worst rains were in the northern state of Queensland. Flooded rivers burst their banks. In some areas, waters were nearly 10 metres over their normal levels. Many people had to evacuate, while in others, people worked to build defences to keep the water out. The damage will cost billions of dollars to repair.

Even worse, more rain is on the way. These heavy rains come from the La Niña weather system, which brings Australia unusually cold weather. Since La Niña could last up to 3 more months, Australians are facing a season of floods twice as long as Noah’s.

無情洪災重創澳洲

澳洲經常因為乾旱問題而成為新聞焦點，今年卻一反常態的出現洪災。連日的暴雨造成嚴重的水患，成千上萬的居民因此失去家園，全國民眾的生活陷入一片混亂。

澳洲北部的昆士蘭省受豪雨衝擊最為嚴重，河川潰堤造成部份災區的水位暴漲十公尺。許多人被迫撤離家園，其它民眾也紛紛建立臨時防禦措施，希望減少洪水所引發的災情。洪災所造成的損害預計將耗資數十億美元來修復。

更糟的是，據估計降雨量會持續增加。反聖嬰現象是造成豪雨的禍因，導致澳洲的天氣異常寒冷。由於反聖嬰現象可能持續長達 3個月，澳洲人將面臨比諾亞更為艱鉅的挑戰。

字彙

  • Down Under 澳洲
  • droughts 乾旱
  • floods 洪災
  • biblical flooding 非常嚴重的水患 (出自聖經故事)
  • in chaos 混亂
  • burst their/its banks 潰堤
  • evacuate 撤離
  • Noah 諾亞 (聖經故事人物)

解讀

In the West, writers often refer to the Christian bible. In one bible story, God floods the world for forty days, which is why ‘biblical flooding’ means very bad floods. Only Noah and his family survive. But Australia could still be getting floods for much longer than 40 days.

西方國家的作家經常引用聖經故事；其中一篇故事提及上帝因故製造的大洪災淹沒世界長達四十天，因此「biblical flooding」意指非常嚴重的水患。故事中只有諾亞和他的家人存活，而澳洲受到洪災的影響卻可能遠超過 40天。

文句練習

  1. Thanks to the heavy snows at Christmas, the UK’s transport system is ____________.
  2. The long periods of ________ in Africa are responsible for the continent’s food problems.
  3. After Typhoon Morakat, the Taiwanese government promised to ______ people more quickly if necessary.
  4. In countries where heavy rain is common, houses are often built on platforms to protect against _______.
  5. When the Tam Shui river _____________ last year, the whole riverside park was under water.
  6. We’re going on holiday ______________ next month, to see Ayer’s rock and the Sydney Opera House.

文句練習解答

  1. in chaos
  2. drought
  3. evacuate
  4. floods
  5. burst its banks
  6. Down Under

(資料來源：British Council 英國文化協會)