大約在一年前，在一個學英文的網，來自智利的網友說她的國家少有地震，但在智利北方很久之前有發生"sunami"。我查不到sunami這個字，便問她sunami是什麼意思。另一位來自阿根廷的人，回答了我的問題，以下是他所提供的解釋:
Tsunami is a Japanese word with the English translation, "harbor wave." Represented by two characters, the top character, "tsu," means harbor, while the bottom character, "nami," means "wave." In the past, tsunamis were sometimes referred to as "tidal waves" by the general public, and as "seismic sea waves" by the scientific community. The term "tidal wave" is a misnomer; although a tsunami's impact upon a coastline is dependent upon the tidal level at the time a tsunami strikes, tsunamis are unrelated to the tides. Tides result from the imbalanced, extraterrestrial, gravitational influences of the moon, sun, and planets. The term "seismic sea wave" is also misleading. "Seismic" implies an earthquake-related generation mechanism, but a tsunami can also be caused by a nonseismic event, such as a landslide or meteorite impact.
接下來這則新聞，轉貼自美國之音。
Listen to the report from VOA NEWS
Experts Say Tsunami Warning System Would Have Saved Lives
A tsunami is a series of huge ocean waves that can travel at high speed, making survival for people near its origin less likely than those farther away. Yet Sunday's Indian Ocean tsunami killed people many thousands of kilometers from the source, deaths that experts say could have been avoided if the region had an early warning system like the one in the Pacific.
Tsunamis are commonly called tidal waves, but tides have nothing to do with them. They are underwater waves most often generated by the sudden displacement of the sea floor caused by an earthquake.
Tsunamis move at the speed of a jet, 600 to 1000 kilometers per hour. Even at that speed, however, Sunday's tsunami is estimated to have taken two hours to reach Sri Lanka from its epicenter off the northwestern Sumatra coast, another hour to arrive at India, and three more hours to get to the east African coast.
Yet the giant waves surprised and killed people at all these distant locations. U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Waverly Person told NBC television's "Today" show interviewers that is because the region lacks a system of water sensors that can warn of an impending tsunami.
"Had they had tide gauges installed, many of these people that were farther away from the epicenter could have been saved because they would have been able to track the waves and tell the people along the coast area to move off the beach and give them an approximate time the waves were going to hit. They couldn't tell them how high they were going to be, but at least they could say, 'This is the approximate time they will hit your area, so move away from the coasts,'" Mr. Person says.
Such an early warning system has been in place for the Pacific Ocean since shortly after a tsunami washed over Hawaii in 1946. Its Hawaiian headquarters is now supplemented by warning centers in Russia and Japan, and a regional network focusing on Alaska and the U.S. west coast. The system monitors hundreds of sea bottom sensors that detect earthquakes and swelling water and many more coastline gauges that measure the height and speed of a tsunami.
At the Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska, Paul Whitmore says the coastal gauges provide vital information.
"It gives us an idea of the severity of a tsunami," Mr. Whitmore says. "What we see on those gauges isn't necessarily the highest wave, but we can take the results of what we see on those gauges and put it into tsunami models to determine maybe how big the wave will be or if there are other places it will be more severe."
Mr. Whitmore says the network can issue tsunami warnings within 10 minutes of an earthquake, much faster than the hour or more it took a decade ago.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, which oversees the Pacific tsunami warning system, says its International Tsunami Information Center has been involved in activities outside the Pacific in recent years because South Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean countries have been asking for help developing warning programs for their areas.
But Waverly Person of the U.S. Geological Survey says the rarity of such events in the Indian Ocean is probably the reason a system was not in place before Sunday's tragedy.
"They probably have experience some of what you call local tsunamis, but not anything of this magnitude. It may have been that they thought, 'Since we haven't had a history of many big tsunamis, we don't need this warning system,'" Mr. Person says.
Experts note that the Pacific tsunami warning system is not foolproof, especially for coastal dwellers near the epicenter. Paul Whitmore says they must learn to be alert.
"The existing warning system can help those that are, say, 30, 40 minutes, an hour away from the tsunami. We can get messages to those people," Mr. Whitmore says. "But the majority of people who get killed in tsunamis are right near the coast, and our warnings may not reach those people quickly enough. So the best thing to do as far as saving lives is education of those near the coast to know that if they feel a strong earthquake, they need to get inland or to high ground and not wait for a warning."
Mr. Whitmore also advises never go to the beach to watch a tsunami, for no one can outrun one.
12/16/2004
Tough Cookie
1 Pink slip.
在電腦發明之前，重要或官方文件，通常以複式三聯單繕寫記錄，顧名思義 Pink slip是三聯單中的粉紅聯， 通常給所有人收執，美國現在車子的所有權證，仍稱為Pink slip。I got my pink slip lately.『我才收到我的汽車所有權登記證』。
不過在失業節節升高的今天，Pink slip還有一個另外說法，也就是『開除員工』的意思，因為以前公司開除員工時，會給一份裁員通知複本，亦稱做Pink slip。The company gave out many pink slips.『這家公司最近開除很多員工』，They organized a pink slip club in Silicon Valley.『矽谷的失業員工組成了失業聯盟』。
2 Tough cookie.
Tough cookie是對人的形容，有正反兩面的意義，正面意味著不斷嘗試而不放棄失望的人：Everybody makes fun of her, but she is a tough cookie.『每個人都嘲笑她，不過她還是堅強以對，不退縮』；反面則意指某人很難相處：He is the tough cookie in our office.『在我們辦公室裡，他是很難相處的人』。
Gook luck! She is a tough cookie
在電腦發明之前，重要或官方文件，通常以複式三聯單繕寫記錄，顧名思義 Pink slip是三聯單中的粉紅聯， 通常給所有人收執，美國現在車子的所有權證，仍稱為Pink slip。I got my pink slip lately.『我才收到我的汽車所有權登記證』。
不過在失業節節升高的今天，Pink slip還有一個另外說法，也就是『開除員工』的意思，因為以前公司開除員工時，會給一份裁員通知複本，亦稱做Pink slip。The company gave out many pink slips.『這家公司最近開除很多員工』，They organized a pink slip club in Silicon Valley.『矽谷的失業員工組成了失業聯盟』。
2 Tough cookie.
Tough cookie是對人的形容，有正反兩面的意義，正面意味著不斷嘗試而不放棄失望的人：Everybody makes fun of her, but she is a tough cookie.『每個人都嘲笑她，不過她還是堅強以對，不退縮』；反面則意指某人很難相處：He is the tough cookie in our office.『在我們辦公室裡，他是很難相處的人』。
Gook luck! She is a tough cookie
11/24/2004
11/14/2004
[破報Pots]台灣政府錯用自己名稱的幾個原因
這篇文章主要在說台灣政府在求快和廉價的情況下，使得台灣對外的英文正式文件品質差，如錯字和拼字錯誤。作者並寫到，如果他向見過的有英美大學研究生文憑，卻無法將兩個連貫性英文句子放在一起的人索取一元的話，他將會是百萬富翁。
Fast and cheap
A couple of reasons the government can't get its own name right
Brian L. Kennedy
HAVING DONE the English editing for a fair number of government documents over the years, a news item recently caught my attention. The Ministry of Education prepared an international educational accord to be signed by Taiwan and the nation of Palau that was full of typos, misspellings, and grammar fouls-ups. The document also made inconsistent reference to the name of this country, calling it "Republic of China, Taiwan", "Republic of China", and also just "Taiwan." As an expert in international law, I can say that it is better to refer to your country the same way throughout a treaty.
Now it was kind of a shock to realize that the Ministry of Education does not know the formal name of this country. But then I should not mock them. I don't know what the "flavor of the month" is either.
But laying aside the alphabet soup which is the Taiwan's-formal-name fiasco and turning to the problem of English language editing, there are several reasons for the screwed-up English in government documents. Number one is the mistaken belief on the part of the government agency that its own bureaucrats can do it themselves. This shows up in a number of ways, such as:
* "We can do it ourselves and save budget" (and along with that tell the world, "Heh, we are backwater hicks who can't function in English").
* "Mr./Ms. X has a masters degree from an American/British university so they can do it" (If I had a dollar for every Taiwanese I have met with a graduate degree from an American or British university who could not put two coherent English sentences together I would be a millionaire. Well, almost).
* And this very mistaken belief, sometimes held by very high level Taiwanese government officials, "My English is very outstanding. I got very high marks in my English classes in school. I will edit the paper myself." (Of course he was being graded by some other local who could not speak/write English either).
Now if the government agency does have the honesty to admit it cannot DIY their English documents, they are to be commended. But that brings us to the second major cause of fouled-up English, which is trying to do it on the cheap.
Most government agencies have a set rate for English editors. They say it is mandated by some "higher authority," which may or may not be true, since I have seen the "official rate" vary quite a bit both in terms of amount and how it's calculated (e.g. per word, per page, per document). Whether it is really set in stone or not, there is one thing that's always true - the pay is low.
Compounding the poor pay problem is what I call the "quickly, quickly problem." The English editor is the last step in what has usually been a foot-dragging process - the guy who wrote the original in Chinese dragged his feet doing it, the translator dragged his feet translating it, the snivel servant responsible for shuffling the draft around dragged his feet too. So by the time the project gets to the editor, the low-level government official responsible usually only has one thing to say: "It must be done today! This minute!" When I hear this, I usually laugh and ask, "Or else what? The world will stop spinning?" My little joke usually goes unappreciated by the government drone.
Now let me ask a business administration question. Does low pay + rush jobs = quality editing? Umm, the correct answer is "no." There is a lesson for the Ministry of Education. No charge, it's on the house.
__________________
Brian L. Kennedy is an attorney in Taiwan, where he writes and teaches on criminal law and human rights.
Fast and cheap
A couple of reasons the government can't get its own name right
Brian L. Kennedy
HAVING DONE the English editing for a fair number of government documents over the years, a news item recently caught my attention. The Ministry of Education prepared an international educational accord to be signed by Taiwan and the nation of Palau that was full of typos, misspellings, and grammar fouls-ups. The document also made inconsistent reference to the name of this country, calling it "Republic of China, Taiwan", "Republic of China", and also just "Taiwan." As an expert in international law, I can say that it is better to refer to your country the same way throughout a treaty.
Now it was kind of a shock to realize that the Ministry of Education does not know the formal name of this country. But then I should not mock them. I don't know what the "flavor of the month" is either.
But laying aside the alphabet soup which is the Taiwan's-formal-name fiasco and turning to the problem of English language editing, there are several reasons for the screwed-up English in government documents. Number one is the mistaken belief on the part of the government agency that its own bureaucrats can do it themselves. This shows up in a number of ways, such as:
* "We can do it ourselves and save budget" (and along with that tell the world, "Heh, we are backwater hicks who can't function in English").
* "Mr./Ms. X has a masters degree from an American/British university so they can do it" (If I had a dollar for every Taiwanese I have met with a graduate degree from an American or British university who could not put two coherent English sentences together I would be a millionaire. Well, almost).
* And this very mistaken belief, sometimes held by very high level Taiwanese government officials, "My English is very outstanding. I got very high marks in my English classes in school. I will edit the paper myself." (Of course he was being graded by some other local who could not speak/write English either).
Now if the government agency does have the honesty to admit it cannot DIY their English documents, they are to be commended. But that brings us to the second major cause of fouled-up English, which is trying to do it on the cheap.
Most government agencies have a set rate for English editors. They say it is mandated by some "higher authority," which may or may not be true, since I have seen the "official rate" vary quite a bit both in terms of amount and how it's calculated (e.g. per word, per page, per document). Whether it is really set in stone or not, there is one thing that's always true - the pay is low.
Compounding the poor pay problem is what I call the "quickly, quickly problem." The English editor is the last step in what has usually been a foot-dragging process - the guy who wrote the original in Chinese dragged his feet doing it, the translator dragged his feet translating it, the snivel servant responsible for shuffling the draft around dragged his feet too. So by the time the project gets to the editor, the low-level government official responsible usually only has one thing to say: "It must be done today! This minute!" When I hear this, I usually laugh and ask, "Or else what? The world will stop spinning?" My little joke usually goes unappreciated by the government drone.
Now let me ask a business administration question. Does low pay + rush jobs = quality editing? Umm, the correct answer is "no." There is a lesson for the Ministry of Education. No charge, it's on the house.
__________________
Brian L. Kennedy is an attorney in Taiwan, where he writes and teaches on criminal law and human rights.
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