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#文末挑戰多益選擇題📝
貝魯特大爆炸
黎巴嫩現狀關鍵資訊彙整

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❓What happened in Beirut?
貝魯特發生了什麼事？

❗️A giant explosion at a warehouse in the port sent a shock wave through downtown Beirut at about 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The force of the blast did tremendous damage to the surrounding neighborhoods and nearby buildings, tearing off balconies and shattering windows. It blanketed the city in debris and ash for miles around.
黎巴嫩貝魯特當地時間週二（8/4）下午約六點，港口一間倉庫發生大爆炸，衝擊波穿透市中心，爆炸威力帶給周圍區域巨大的破壞，陽台斷裂、窗戶震碎，城市數英里內都籠罩在瓦礫和灰塵之中。

-tremendous: 巨大的；同義詞有enormous, immense, stupendous等
-blanket: 名詞是「毛毯」，動詞是「厚厚覆蓋、籠罩著」
-debris: 瓦礫；殘骸；廢墟


❓What caused the explosion in Beirut?
是什麼引發貝魯特大爆炸？

❗️Authorities say the blast occurred when a fire at a warehouse on the city’s waterfront ignited a cache of explosive ammonium nitrate that was being stored inside.
當局表示爆炸源自城市濱水區的一間倉庫起火，引燃倉內存放的一批易爆炸的硝酸銨。

-authority: 當局、官方、當權者
-occur: 發生；同義詞除了happen，也可用take place
-ammonium nitrate: 硝酸銨，是採礦和土木建築中用的爆炸混合物成分之一


❓What is the situation in Lebanon right now?
黎巴嫩現在的局勢如何？

❗️Lebanon’s already fragile economy has deteriorated rapidly amid lockdowns imposed to halt the spread of the coronavirus. The value of the country’s currency has plummeted in recent months, and its overtaxed power system has plunged the capital of Beirut into darkness for hours at a time.
為阻止新冠病毒蔓延而實行的封城，讓黎巴嫩本已脆弱的經濟迅速惡化，該國的貨幣價值在近幾個月暴跌，而負擔過重的電力系統曾讓首都貝魯特陷入數小時的黑暗之中。

-deteriorate: 惡化
-plummet: 暴跌、驟降；plunge也是同義詞
-overtaxed: 負擔過重的；課稅過多的


❗️The explosion comes at a time of escalating tension between Hezbollah and Israel. Israel’s military said last week that it exchanged gunfire with Hezbollah militants. On Monday, Israel said it thwarted an attack from an unidentified militant cell in Syria. Israel said it had no involvement in the explosion and has offered humanitarian assistance through diplomatic channels.
爆炸發生於真主黨和以色列的緊張局勢升高之際。以色列軍方上週表示與真主黨的激進分子交火，週一時挫敗了來自敘利亞境內不明武裝小組的攻擊，以色列表示沒有參與這場爆炸，並透過外交管道提供人道救援。

-escalate: （使）增強、加劇、擴大、惡化
-exchange: 交換；這段形容交戰、交火用exchange gunfire
-humanitarian assistance: 人道援助、人道救援


未完待續...
雪上加霜的黎巴嫩經濟如何受疫情影響？
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原文連結請看留言
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❓❓多益模擬題❓:
Israel had offered humanitarian ＿＿ to Lebanon, despite the ＿＿ of gunfire with Hezbollah militants last week.
🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️
A. aid / exchange
B. help / switch
C. assistance / change

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【每日國際選讀：六大災難專題報導】
No.3 #美國911事件
🚨911的啟示——美國的警鐘到全球的喪鐘？

開啟「接收通知」和「搶先看」每天吸收雙語時事新知
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🛩When al Qaeda terrorists flew jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, they delivered an unprecedented shock to the nation’s sense of security and its economy. Commercial aviation was grounded for three days. The destruction to lower Manhattan closed the stock markets. Heightened security slowed trade with Canada and Mexico to a crawl. Nervous shoppers stayed away from stores and malls.
當蓋達組織駕駛著噴射客機撞向紐約世貿中心及五角大廈時，他們給美國的安全感以及經濟帶來了前所未有的衝擊，航空業因此停業三天，曼哈頓下城區的毀壞導致股票休市，高強度的安檢使得跟加拿大及墨西哥間的貿易停滯不前，焦慮的民眾因此不敢到商店及購物中心消費。

-unprecedented: 前所未見的（最近很常出現的用字！）
-ground: 常見用法是名詞為地板，此做動詞是禁足、限制的意思
-crawl: 爬行，此作名詞使用

🛩Economists predicted the attacks would tip a slowing economy into recession. People would be more reluctant to fly, work in a tall building or base their office in New York City.
因民眾將愈發不願搭乘飛機、在高樓工作，或是將辦公室設於紐約，當時經濟學家預測這將使當時已放緩的美國經濟進入衰退。

-tip: 使傾倒，這邊是個很生動的用法，搭配介係詞into，表示將當時已經搖搖欲墜經濟給再推了下，推入衰退中，這也是近期在專欄中第二次出現的字了！
reluctant: 不情願的

📉But the U.S. bounced back remarkably quickly. It was later determined that a recession triggered by the technology bust had begun six months before the attacks and ended two months afterward.
但隨後美國經濟卻迅速反彈，事後發現當時經濟已經因為半年前的科技泡沫而開始衰退，隨後在911事件兩個月後，這波衰退就結束了。

-bounce back: 反彈
-determine: 確定、查明
-trigger: 作名詞是槍上的板機，動詞則引申為觸發之意
＊technology bust: 又名為Dot-com bubble，網路泡沫，從1995年開始至2000年三月到達高點，期間納斯達克指數大漲400%，2000年三月後開始回跌，到2002年十月時將泡沫期間的漲幅全數吐回。

🚀One reason was the aggressive policy response. The day the markets reopened, the Fed and its counterparts in the Eurozone, Canada and Sweden all slashed rates. Low rates inspired auto manufacturers to roll out zero percent financing, sending sales skyrocketing. Fears of terrorism faded when new attacks didn’t materialize.
經濟反彈的主因為積極的政策應對，在市場重啟的那天，聯準會以及歐元區、加拿大與瑞典的央行都紛紛降息，低利率促使汽車製造商推出零利率貸款，因此讓銷量飛昇，後續也沒有新的恐攻發生，民眾因此對恐怖主義的懼怕也逐漸消退。

-slash: 名詞就是斜槓，動詞可以想像就是畫一條斜線，有砍下去的意思，因此搭配rates(利率)就是降息的意思喔！
-roll out: 推出、實施（新的方案等）
skyrocket: 飛向天空的火箭，做動詞用就是有如火箭升空一般，表示迅速飆漲、飛昇

💵Within two weeks Congress approved $40 billion for emergency rebuilding and defense and $5 billion in cash assistance and up to $10 billion in loan guarantees to airlines. Both parties agreed more stimulus was needed but negotiations soon bogged down over its composition. When a package worth $51 billion over one year and $94 billion over five years finally passed in March, a recovery was already well under way.
在兩週內美國國會就通過了400億美元的緊急重建與國防資金、50億美元的現金援助，以及高達100億美元的航空業擔保貸款，當時民主與共和兩黨都同意需要更多的經濟刺激方案，但不久後方案協商即陷入僵局，到了三月才終於通過一年510億的預算以及五年內940億美元的預算，到了此時經濟已進入復甦階段。

-approve: 通過、核可
-bog down: 阻礙、攔阻
-composition: 本為作曲、作文之意，此處為方案的產出

To be continued…
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❓❓Quiz: The outbreak _____ the economy into ______.
🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️💁這場疫情使經濟陷入衰退。
A. tip, recession
B. tipped, recession
C. tripped, recess
D. Batman, Spartan
(第一版出題有誤，已修正）

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#本文不會消失ㄅ
我最愛的期刊型雜誌 Foreign Affairs 果然沒有讓我失望。新的一篇文章談到了中國如何利用新冠狀病毒疫情的全球擴散以去，如標題所述 "reshape global order."

文章副標用字用得極為漂亮，使用了動詞 maneuver 和 falter.

"China is maneuvering for international leadership as the United States falters."

✔︎ maneuver: use cleverly planned and often dishonest methods to get the result that you want (使用精心計劃或時常是不誠實的方式以達到你想要的目的)

✔︎ falter: become weaker

當然，也是因為西方列強（美國尤其）領導力出問題，讓人趁虛而入？！(如同下方第3句)

文章 highlights:

1️⃣
"With hundreds of millions of people now isolating themselves around the world, the novel coronavirus pandemic has become a truly global event. And while its geopolitical implications (在地緣政治上的影響) should be considered secondary (次要的) to matters of health and safety, those implications may, in the long term, prove just as consequential (重要的)—especially when it comes to the United States’ global position. Global orders have a tendency to change gradually at first and then all at once."

2️⃣
"As Washington falters, Beijing is moving quickly and adeptly (精巧地) to take advantage of the opening created by U.S. mistakes, filling the vacuum to position itself as the global leader in pandemic response. It is working to tout (吹捧、宣傳) its own system, provide material assistance to other countries, and even organize other governments."

3️⃣
"Public statements by President Donald Trump, whether Oval Office addresses or early-morning tweets, have largely served to sow confusion （造成困惑) and spread uncertainty. Both public and private sectors have proved ill-prepared to produce and distribute the tools necessary for testing and response. And internationally, the pandemic has amplified (強化) Trump’s instincts to go it alone and exposed just how unprepared Washington is to lead a global response."


原文: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2020-03-18/coronavirus-could-reshape-global-order