[時事英文] Kabul’s Sudden Fall to Taliban Ends U.S. Era in Afghanistan 塔利班奪取喀布爾，美國在阿富汗20年猝然落幕 Taliban fighters poured into the Afghan capital on Sunday amid scenes of panic and chaos, bringing a swift and shocking close to the Afghan government and the 20-year American era in the country. • scenes of panic and chaos 恐慌和混亂的景象 • a swift and shocking close 迅速而令人震驚的方式結束 • an era 一個時代；年代 ★★★★★★★★★★★★ President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan fled the country, and a council of Afghan officials, including former President Hamid Karzai, said they would open negotiations with the Taliban over the shape of the insurgency’s takeover. By day’s end, the insurgents had all but officially sealed their control of the entire country. • flee （尤指因危險或恐懼而）逃跑 • open negotiations 展開談判 • insurgency 叛亂，造反，暴動 • insurgents [ C usually plural ] 叛亂者，造反者，暴動者 • takeover (n.) 接管，收購 • by day’s end 當天結束時 • seal (v.) 確認，正式批准（協定） ★★★★★★★★★★★★ Kabul’s streets were clogged to a standstill by cars and taxis loaded with luggage and personal items as thousands of Afghans raced to the airport. Some passengers abandoned their vehicles and trudged by foot, lugging their baggage through the rutted streets. • be clogged 被堵塞 • a standstill [ S ] 靜止；停頓；停滯 • race to the airport 爭先恐後趕往機場 • abandon 離棄；放棄；拋棄；遺棄 • trudge (v.) （尤指在崎嶇的路上或攜重物時）步履艱難地走，費力地走，跋涉 • rutted (adj.) 有車轍的 ; 車轍坑窪不平的 ★★★★★★★★★★★★ It was only eight days ago that a remote provincial capital, Zaranj, in the far west, became the first to fall to the Taliban. Since then, one provincial capital after another has collapsed as the American-trained Afghan security forces surrendered, deserted or simply stripped off their uniforms and fled. Taliban videos showed militants driving American Humvees and waving M-16 rifles in the conquered cities. • remote remote (adj.) 邊遠的；偏僻的；僻靜的 • provincial capital 省會城市 • one... after another 一個接一個，接連 • security forces 安全部隊 • desert (v.) /dɪˈzɝːt/ 當逃兵；擅離（部隊）；拋棄，丟棄 • strip (off) 脫衣服；脫光…的衣服 ★★★★★★★★★★★★ 完整英文報導: https://nyti.ms/3APbkFc #EEL時事英文 #政治時事英文

Most Forgiving, most Compassionate. May You ease everything Beloved. Help them. Protect them. Our prayers are with you Afghanistan 🖤❤️💚 Repost • @viceworldnews Footage shows crowds rushing to the tarmac of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport at the weekend, attempting to flee Afghanistan as the Taliban took control of the nation’s capital.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Scenes of chaos were reported at the airport on Sunday night as people tried to board international flights, prompting the US embassy in Kabul to advise citizens not to travel to the airport until notified as the security situation was “unsafe”.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ A spokesman for the Taliban told Al Jazeera on Monday that the war in Afghanistan was “over” after insurgents took control of the presidential palace in Kabul. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ According to reports, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled Kabul on Sunday.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Over the past weeks—as the U.S. finalised the withdrawal of their troops after 20 years of war—the Taliban gained territory and took control of key cities at an aggressive pace. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ In the days prior, anxious Afghans had started a hurried scramble to leave, fearing the loss of freedoms and a return to previous life under Taliban rule. Airlines reported full capacity in their flights for weeks.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ But for most Afghans, the majority of whom are without travel documents, let alone the means to travel, purchasing a flight ticket is a pipe dream.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Away from the airport, long queues of men, women, and children snaked the streets around the passport department on Sunday morning. Those in line didn’t know if their hours of waiting would lead to anything. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Afghanistan has the worst-ranked passport in the world, with most countries requiring a multitude of documents before granting visas to Afghan passport holders.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Footage by Jawad Sukhanyar and TOLO News via Storyful.⁣

[時事英文] The GameStop Saga 遊戲驛站的傳奇 Depending on whom you ask, the GameStop saga is either a cautionary story about a bunch of reckless nerds destabilizing the stock market for laughs in a way that is likely to backfire on them spectacularly, or a David-and-Goliath morality tale about a fearless band of retail investors cleverly putting one over on corrupt financial elites. The truth is somewhere in the middle. •depend on 取決於 •saga 傳奇 ; （通常指負面的）系列事件，一長串事件 •a cautionary story 發人警醒的故事 •destabilize the stock market 破壞股市的穩定 •for laughs 為了看笑話 •backfire （計劃）產生適得其反的結果，產生反效果 •retail investor 散戶投資者 •put one over on sb 欺騙（某人），哄騙（某人） •corrupt financial elites 腐敗的金融精英 遊戲驛站的傳奇可能是一個發人警醒的故事，一群不計後果的電腦迷為了看笑話而破壞穩定的股市，其方式很可能令他們自己極大地反受其害；它也可能是個大衛(David)與歌利亞(Goliath)式的道德故事，一群無所畏懼的散戶投資者巧妙地騙過了腐敗的金融精英——這要取決於你問的是誰。真相介於兩者之間。 ★★★★★★★★★★★★ In any reading, the most unusual thing about Wall Street’s being challenged by a rowdy band of Redditors is that it took so long to happen. This kind of populist revolt — internet-based insurgents gleefully pulling down the pants of the unsuspecting establishment — has been happening for years, to many powerful institutions. •reading 理解方法；解讀方法；解釋 •a rowdy band of… 一群喧鬧的… •populist revolt 民粹主義的反抗 •insurgent 叛亂分子 •gleefully 興高采烈地 •the unsuspecting establishment 毫無戒心的建制派 •powerful institutions 強大的體系 不管如何解讀，華爾街被一群喧鬧的Reddit用戶挑戰的最不尋常之處在於，居然花了這麼長時間才發生這樣的事情。這種民粹主義的反抗——以互聯網為根據地的叛亂分子興高采烈地拉下毫無戒心的建制派的褲子——在許多強大的體系當中已經發生多年了。 ★★★★★★★★★★★★ These online crusades can be waged in good faith or in bad faith, and some can become deeply destructive. But the best ones can jolt the status quo in useful ways: exposing injustice, challenging outdated norms or merely putting indolent gatekeepers on notice. •online crusades 網路聖戰 •wage (v.) 發動（戰爭）；組織，籌備（活動） •in good faith 真誠地，誠實地 ; 善意的 •deeply destructive 深具破壞力的 •the status quo 現狀 •expose injustice 揭露不公 •challenge outdated norms 挑戰過時的規範 •indolent 懶散的；懶惰的 •gatekeepers 看門人，管門人 ; （有權決定誰可以得到資源和機會的）看守者 這些網路聖戰可以是善意的，也可以是惡意的，有些甚至會變得極具破壞性。但最好的那些戰爭能通過有益的方式動搖現狀：揭露不公，挑戰過時的規範，或者僅僅是讓懶惰的看門人注意到。 文章來自《紐約時報》: http://nyti.ms/3ouxtSp #EEL時事英文 #財經時事英文