http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2010/new/mar/4/today-int7.htm

《中英對照讀新聞》

◎國際新聞中心

As anyone who has unwittingly drifted off at their desk will know-tiredness can really creep up on you when you least need it. But a new study is offering some good news： it claims to prove that we can bank sleep-and store it up in advance of a tiring event.

曾不知不覺在書桌旁打瞌睡的人都會知道，疲倦真的會在你最不需要它的時候悄悄地上身。但是一項新研究帶來些許好消息：它宣稱已證實我們可以儲存睡眠—在疲倦時刻來臨前先儲存睡眠。

Researchers in the US invited a group of volunteers to adjust their sleep patterns so the effect could be monitored.

美國的研究人員邀請一組志願者調整睡眠模式，好監控效果。

For a week, one half of the group were allowed extra sleep, while the others were told to keep their sleeping patterns the same. Then, the following week, they were all sleep-deprived.

一半的人在一周內可以多睡一點，另一半的人則維持原來的睡眠模式。隔週，全部的人都被剝奪睡眠。

"After this week of either extended or habitual sleep per night, all the volunteers came to the lab and they were given three hours of sleep, per night, for a week," explained Tracy Rupp from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

華特里德陸軍研究院的路普解釋：「經過這個不管是多睡或是延續睡眠習慣的一周，所有志願者來到實驗室，度過每晚睡三小時的一周。」

They were then given tasks of varying complication, and tests showed that those who had banked the sleep were "more resilient during the sleep restriction".

接著分派志願者來做不同複雜度的工作，測試顯示，儲存睡眠的人，「在睡眠限制時較能迅速恢復精力。」

"They showed less performance deterioration with regards to reaction time and alertness than the group that had been given the habitual prior sleep," said Ms Rupp.

路普說：「就反應時間與警覺性而言，和延續睡眠習慣組的人相比，他們的表現都比較未受影響。」

新聞辭典

bank：動詞，儲存。

drift off：片語，漸漸睡著。例句：I couldn’t help drifting off in the middle of that lecture-it was so boring!（那堂課實在太無聊，我忍不住就睡著了！）

creep：動詞，緩慢前進，匍匐前進。例句：Over the last year, the rate of inflation has crept up to almost 7%.（過去一年，通膨率緩緩上升到近7%。）

http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2010/new/jan/17/today-int2.htm

Richard Gere, the Hollywood actor who has spurned red meat for the past 30 years, has thrown his support behind a plan to transform the site of Buddha’s enlightenment into a vegetarian zone to spread the message of peace.

不吃紅肉長達30年的好萊塢明星李察吉爾最近表態支持一項計畫，打算把佛陀悟道之地變成素食區，以傳達和平的訊息。

The activist, who was taking part in a five-day training session with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist leader, in the Indian town of Bodhgaya, took part in a candlelit march highlighting the campaign.

這位運動人士最近在菩提迦耶參加由藏傳佛教領袖達賴喇嘛主持的5天法會，同時也參加了一場宣傳此項計畫的燭光遊行。

"Bodhgaya is a pious place and I want to come here again," he said, after joining around 500 monks and activists who took part in the march. "I am with the people who have launched this campaign."

「菩提迦耶是個虔誠的地方，我還想要再來，」他在與大約500位僧侶及運動人士一起參加這場遊行後表示。「我全力支持發起這項運動的人士。」

According to Buddhist tradition, Bodhgaya, in the state of Bihar, is where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment around 500BC. Starting in the 19th century, the area gradually become a site of pilgrimage and is now visited by Buddhists from all over the world.

根據佛教傳統，位於印度比哈邦的菩提迦耶城正是釋迦牟尼在公元前500年左右悟道之處。自19世紀起，當地逐漸成為佛教徒朝聖之地，目前來自全球各地的佛教徒都會造訪此處。

新聞辭典

serve （sth） up/out：動詞片語，端上食物或飲料等，上菜。如Come on everyone, I’m ready to serve up.（大家過來吧，我準備要上菜了。）

throw one’s weight/support behind sth/sb：運用某人的力量或影響力來支持某事或某人，如If we could persuade the chairman to throw his weight behind the plan, it would have a much better chance of success.（假如我們能說服董事長鼎力相助，這項計畫成功的機會會更大。）

attain：（正式用語）動詞，指達到、獲得，如India attained independence in 1947, after decades of struggle.（歷經數十年的努力，印度終於在1947年獲得獨立。）

http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2010/new/jan/9/today-int6.htm

◎陳成良

Watch out for the iPod zombies. Cyclists distracted by music blaring in their ears have become the latest menace on Britain’s roads.

要小心iPod殭屍。因耳中震耳欲聾音樂而分心的單車族，已成英國最新交通大患。

The fashion for cyclists to wear earphones on crowded city streets is being held partly responsible for the recent upsurge in cycling injuries and deaths, as well as collisions with pedestrians.

單車族在擁擠的城市街道中戴耳機的時尚，被認為要為近來騎單車受傷及致死，還有撞到行人的事件急劇上升，負起部份責任。

Road safety groups are alarmed at the practice and this weekend Edmund King, the president of the AA, called on the Department for Transport （DfT） to launch a campaign warning cyclists of the risk.

道路安全團體對這種行為感到擔憂，英國汽車協會主席埃德蒙．金恩本週末呼籲運輸部發起活動向單車族警告這種風險。

The latest DfT figures show that 820 cyclists were killed or seriously injured in the three months to June, a 19% rise on the same period in 2008. It is not known how many of these cases were caused by people listening to music because the DfT and the police do not record the information.

運輸部最新數據顯示，6月為止的3個月裡，英國有820名單車族喪生或重傷，比2008年同期增加19%，不清楚這其中多少是民眾聽音樂造成，因運輸部與警方沒有記錄相關資訊。

There is currently no legislation in place to govern either the use of music players or the wearing of helmets on the road, but cyclists can be prosecuted for dangerous riding — an offence that attracts a maximum penalty of £2,500.

騎車使用音樂播放器或戴耳罩，目前無法可管，但單車族可依危險駕駛罪名起訴，最高可罰2500英鎊。

新聞辭典 Dictionary

watch out for：片語，密切注意、留神。例句：Watch out for the dog! （小心那條狗！）

upsurge：名詞， 急劇上升；飆升；猛增。例句：The upsurge of the oil price is incredible. （油價的高漲讓人咋舌。）

pedestrian：名詞，指行人。pedestrian也可當形容詞用，指平淡無奇或乏味的。例句：Twice I took pedestrian jobs to keep us going.（我有兩次找了份乏味的差事來維持我們的生計。）

http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2009/new/nov/18/today-int6.htm

◎魏國金

The Dutch government said it wants to introduce a "green" road tax by the kilometer from 2012 aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent and halving congestion.

荷蘭政府指出，從2012年起，希望推行依行車公里計算的「綠色」道路稅，以期減少二氧化碳排放量10％，並使塞車情形減半。

The Cabinet approved a bill calling for drivers of an average passenger car to pay a base rate of 0.03 euro per kilometer, beginning in 2012. Drivers of heavier, more polluting vehicles will pay more, and the cost will go up for driving in peak hours.

荷蘭內閣通過一項議案，要求普通客車的駕駛人於2012年開始，支付每公里0.03歐元的基本稅率。車子較重、污染較大的駕駛人將付更多費用，在尖峰時段開車的成本將攀升。

GPS will track the time, hour and place each car moves and send the data to a billing agency.

衛星定位系統將追蹤每部車開動的時刻、時數與地方，並發送資料到一個計費單位。

But the annual road tax and purchase tax for new cars will be abolished, reducing the price of a new car 25 percent, the Transport Ministry said.

不過年度公路稅與新車購買稅將廢除，如此減少新車價格25％，運輸部指出。

Nearly 6 out of 10 drivers will benefit under the system, the ministry said, but government revenue would remain the same. Public transportation, including taxis, will be exempt.

10名駕駛人中近6人將受惠於此制度，運輸部說，然而政府稅收將維持一樣。公共運輸工具，包括計程車將免稅。

The ministry calculated that overall traffic will drop about 15 percent, peak-hour congestion will be halved, traffic deaths will fall 7 percent and carbon emissions from road travel will be cut by 10 percent.

運輸部估算整體交通量將下降15％，尖峰時刻的壅塞將減半，交通死亡案件將下降7％，並且交通產生的碳排放將減少達10％。

新聞辭典

levy︰動詞， 強索、徵收。例句︰The judge livied a $3 million fine against the factory for polluting the river.（法官因該工廠污染河流，處以300萬美元罰鍰。）

congestion︰名詞，壅塞、密集。例句︰I don’t like driving through Bangkok because there’s too much congestion.（我不喜歡在曼谷開車，因為交通太壅塞了。）

call for︰片語，要求、規定。例句︰The regulations call for working in three shifts.（章程規定按三班制工作。）