📘【Ken的高頻單字筆記 I】
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📰 今天我們來讀讀【華爾街日報】
🖐🏽 五分鐘來關心國際時事 — 墨西哥治安 🇲🇽

📰 Mexico Reports Slight Decline in 2019 Homicides
Nation’s murder rate remained at highest level in decades despite fall in number of killings

MEXICO CITY—Mexico registered 209 fewer homicides in 2019 than a year earlier, the first decline in five years, though the murder rate remained at its highest level in decades, the National Statistics Institute said Wednesday.

📌 這篇文章討論墨西哥 (Mexico) 的殺人罪 (homicide) 數字的微小下降(slight decline)。nation是國家的意思，在這裡是指墨西哥，這是常用修辭方法之一。作者也用同義詞提高文章的可讀性： homicide vs murder vs killing。

The country registered 36,476 homicides last year, down from 36,685 in 2018, according to preliminary data based on death certificates. The homicide rate was unchanged from 2018 at 29 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest level on records stretching back 30 years.

📌 這段交代有關數據，register (登記)、down from (從...下降)、according to preliminary data (根據初步資料) 和 unchanged (不變的)是常見用語。

“The important thing is that the government doesn’t rest on its laurels by saying we’ve slowed the rise in homicides,” said Cassius Wilkinson, a security analyst at political-risk consultancy Empra. “A plateau at historic highs still isn’t good for Mexico’s public security.”

📌 這段引述一位保安分析員 (security analyst) 的意見。rest on one’s laurels (不求進步) 是道地用語。plateau的原意是高原，在這裡引申指有關數字維持於高位不降。

Monthly police reports for 2020 show that homicides were up 1.5% in the first eight months of this year from a year earlier, although the numbers have been overshadowed by more than 74,000 deaths of people infected with the coronavirus.

The drop in the preliminary number of homicides for 2019 will likely become a small increase when final data are released at the end of October, said security analyst Alejandro Hope. “The good news is that it’s not growing, the bad news is that it’s not falling,” he added.

📌 這兩段繼續分析有關數字的走勢。overshadowed by (因為...失色的) 是生動的用語。preliminary 跟 final 是異義詞，the good news is that…the bad news is that… 是平行結構，也是很好的修辭方式。

Lowering the level of violence, much of it by organized-crime groups, is among the main concerns of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador whose strategy has been to reduce direct confrontation between security forces and heavily armed criminal gangs.

Since taking office at the end of 2018, Mr. López Obrador has disbanded the Federal Police and replaced it with a National Guard drawn mostly from the ranks of army and naval police. The National Guard has close to 100,000 members, and is expected to increase to 140,000.

📌 這兩段介紹墨西哥總統其中一項主要關注 (main concern) 就是降低暴力的水平 (lower the level of violence)。他的策略 (strategy) 是減少保安部隊 (security forces) 和犯罪集團 (criminal gang) 之間的直接對抗 (direct confrontation)。

Homicide rates last year fell in 15 of the country’s 32 states, including Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo—home to tourism hubs Los Cabos and Cancún—and Mexico City.

Among the most violent states was Guanajuato in central Mexico, which has been the site of fighting between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and a gang of fuel thieves called the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. Authorities arrested José Antonio Yépez, the alleged head of the fuel theft gang, in early August.

While violence increased in Guanajuato, the homicide rate fell last year in neighboring Jalisco state. The number of murders could be masked by an increase in forced disappearances in the state as the Jalisco cartel consolidates its control of the area, said Mr. Wilkinson.

“A lot of the states that lead the rankings are leading for different reasons,” he added, noting increased killings in northern states such as Sonora and Chihuahua. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the 2020 numbers are much higher.”

📌 這四段詳細分析墨西哥不同州的殺人罪率 (homicide rate)去年的情況。the rankings的意思就是排名。在旅游樞紐 (tourism hub)的州殺人罪率下降，個別州份因爲幫派的打鬥變得最暴力的。

未完待續...
📰 全文請至
https://reurl.cc/Md4Ra3
📰 作者
Anthony Harrup
📰 訂閱請至
https://bit.ly/3j82Q3W

#死因與fixation
明報英文 | 毛孟靜
//一些新聞，看了後會永誌不忘，在腦海中深深烙印： lodged in one's mind 、 burned into one's memory。

像最近就一名15歲少女裸屍在海中被發現的死因研訊 death inquest，結論既非自殺 suicide，也非被殺 homicide，那是不是意外呢？不知道，因為沒有證據，裁決死因存疑。問題是，這宗案件本來就疑點重重。

· The case has been ingrained in the psyche of this city. 案件已根深蒂固栽進這個城市的精神中。

西報有如此的一條有關標題：
· Why Hong Kong is fixated on the death of a teenage girl whose body was found at sea.

Fixated ？這個字泛指「沉迷於一套想法而不能自拔」，含意頗為負面。一翻手頭的牛津字典， 解說為 having an abnormal emotional attachment to someone or something ；中文是「迷戀某人某事，異常依戀」。

Fixated ，也就是附帶一點病態。不用這字，改用 keen 着緊、focused 聚焦，也許會比較好。

那篇報道的副題形容學生陳彥霖的死亡個案，是 the subject of wild conspiracies and unsubstantiated rumours ，游談無根的陰謀論和謠言皆從中取材。雖然報道內容也不過是把事件始末敘述一遍。

· The report didn't actually reject the conspiracies nor dispel the rumours. 報道並未駁回有關的陰謀論，也沒有闢謠。

案件的重重疑點，已有眾多的報道及評論，在此不贅。回說 fixated 一字，視乎上文下理，當然也可以有正面肯定的意思。譬如說，會用來形容激情、矢志要達到目標：passionately motivated to achieve one's goal。
· They are fixated to win the championship.他們一心一意要贏得冠軍。這句的 fixated ，就等同 unwavering 堅定不移、 dedicated 專心一意。

但仍要小心，fixated 改用名詞 fixation，就幾乎等同負面及批評的話。看以下新聞標題：
· Airport Authority's fixation with third runway is blinding it to other options. 機管局對第三跑道的盲戀，令其看不見其他選項。

· Singapore is right to question university rankings fixation. 新加坡對沉迷大學排名的質疑，是對的。

較貼近生活的例子是：
· I fail to understand your fixation with donuts. They are so grossly sweet. 我不明白你對「冬甩」的迷戀，它們甜得怕人。//

<酒駕致死，等同謀殺>

就在立法院因酒駕事故不斷發生而正要修法提高酒駕刑罰之際，從事救人救命志業的台大創傷醫學部主治醫師曾御慈，竟硬生生遭酒駕且逃逸的行為撞成腦死。老天無眼，筆者無語問天。但職司人間律法的台灣司法界跟立法者們，您們可以開開眼，看看其他國家在類似案例是如何竭其所能以重罰酒駕的嗎？

2010年8月11日，美國內布拉斯加州一間大學醫院住院醫師史密斯，載著兩子歡喜赴往開學第一天。沒想到，高速公路上迎面撞來喝到血液酒精濃度達0.3的酒駕之徒拉瓦。兩子受到輕傷，但33歲正值青壯的史密斯卻當場斷魂。當年即將完成多年影像科住院醫師訓練的史密斯，正錄取到世界聞名的德州安德森治癌中心深造的機會。一場酒駕就粉碎了一切可能。

美國司法對拉瓦的判刑，相信會跌破大部分台灣法律人的眼鏡。拉瓦被該州法官判以兩項罪名，酒醉駕車罪判五年，「開車殺人罪」（Motor Vehicle Homicide）判二十年，合計二十五年刑期。該案法官說：拉瓦的犯行，就好比某人「一醒來就持槍出門，往他見到的第一個人開槍」。意思就是：「開車殺人罪」是不法內涵很高的謀殺，不是輕罪。雖然依法拉瓦服刑八年即可假釋，但能重判二十五年向社會宣告酒駕之惡，可以期待刑罰對防治酒駕致死仍有嚇阻作用。這一點，台灣法界何以無法達成？

根據筆者統計近五年來台灣典型酒駕致死又逃逸的案件，其事實所犯法條多會被起訴台灣刑法「不能安全駕駛動力交通工具罪（185-3）」、「過失致死罪(276)」、「肇事逃逸罪(185-4)」等三罪名。看似洋洋灑灑，但用上「一行為從一重罪處斷」之「想像競合犯」後，其結果是只能處以最重之刑：「不能安全駕駛動力交通工具罪」，法定刑是一年以上七年以下。法院雖然最高可以判七年，但是實務上從來沒有判到七年的例子。即便是日前引起重怒廣受報導的林克穎案，也只被判以四年。其他未受關注但一樣害人家破人亡的酒駕，司法上至多就是只判兩年到兩年半，很多還可以緩刑，就這樣輕輕放過。

兩相對照，筆者不免要問：我們的社會究竟如何看待酒醉駕車？這是無可避免的社會文化所以全民就要繼續活在不安中？還是風險極高而不可容忍的特殊公共危險而應特別立法？美國各州除了阿拉斯加、蒙大拿、亞利桑納州之外，各州都有州法特別規範「開車謀殺罪」，對於因開車時有諸如酒駕或打簡訊等不法行為而過失致死者，雖未能以典型謀殺罪論，但此類嚴重輕率的過失行為，因為已經使車輛成為一種「致命的武器」（deadly weapon），所以應以「開車謀殺罪」論以重刑。

酒駕致死，等同謀殺。這不只是人民的呼喊，而且是有法理依據與外國法例可資參酌的經驗，至盼法界集思廣益。台灣社會承擔不起每個月因酒駕平均要損失20多條寶貴的生命。

香港10大無人能及的優點
Here are 10 things this great city does better than anywhere else.

1. 摩天大樓全球最多 Building into the sky

香港現時有1,251幢摩天大廈，數量全球最多，比新加坡要多一倍，形成叫世界讚嘆的維港景觀。除了高聳在城中，中銀大廈及香港國際金融中心等亦很具設計特色。
When you've got a heck of a lot of people and very little land, what do you do? Hong Kong's solution is to stack them up on top of each other, inside tall buildings.

2. 敢死的建築技巧 Daredevil construction

其他地方都是用鋼和鋁築棚，香港的竹棚技術讓各國驚訝。CNN甚至用「敢死(Daredevil)」去形容現時超過1,700位註冊竹棚工人呢。
Daredevil scaffolders dangling precariously on bits of bamboo suspended in midair are a common and heart-stopping sight in Hong Kong's streets.

3. 說廣東話的都是語言人才 Tonal talents

內地媒體日前傳言「說廣東話會生癌」，論點極具創意，而 CNN 卻從欣賞角度去看我們的語言 - 廣東話多達 9 個音，比普通話(4音)、泰文(5音)、越南文(6音)要多，每個音都有不同意思，足以讓外國人驚嘆其精細。而在香港，每日更有創新潮語豐富我們的日常對話。所以，識講嘅，一定係講廣東話。
Check out Carlos Douh's YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/carlosdouh), the Internet's most entertaining Cantonese language teacher, for quick and easy Cantonese lessons.

2. 極低罪案率 Staying alive

這裡不單只是全球罪案率最低的城市之一，還是全球最少兇殺案的地方之一，絕對是全球最安全地方。
Hong Kong - with an intentional homicide rate of 0.2 per 100,000 people in the last 16 years - only lost out to Monaco and Palau, where there have been zero recorded murders.

3. 交通發達 Getting you there

香港公共交通系統之方便享譽全球，相對歐美國家，香港對私家車的依賴低得多。CNN 亦讚港鐵的運作表現優良。
Hong Kong is really good at getting you where you need to go.

6. 低稅制 Letting you keep your money

薪俸稅只在15%-17%之間，而香港亦沒有消費稅(GST)，是工作生活的好地方。
As a financial center that's historically been seen as the gateway to the Chinese market, Hong Kong is a great place to make money.

7. 武打電影 Kung fu movies

香港出產了李小龍、成龍、周潤發、張曼玉等國際巨星，而武打電影更能打入荷里活市場。外國人都能數得出多部知名武打電影如「臥虎藏龍」、「精武門」、「黃飛鴻」等作品。香港電影業的輝煌，有賴邵氏的貢獻。
Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, Maggie Cheung, John Woo, Wong Kar-wai ... the list of Hong Kong's cinematic heavy hitters goes on.

8. 優秀的國際機場 Soft landings

香港國際機場由1998年運作至今已取得逾 40 項國際大獎，更一直屹立於Skytrax的全球國際機場排名之中。縱使近年受到新加坡樟宜機場的挑戰，香港國際機場的載客量依然大幅拋離對手。
One of the most impressive sites for Hong Kong visitors is the airport. Sure, it's recently been toppled from the throne by Singapore's Changi Airport.But Hong Kong handles more passenger traffic, 53 million passengers in 2011.
Take that, Singapore.

9. 美食天堂 Foodie-ism

七百萬人，萬五家食府 (實際數字應該更多)，其多樣性和創意亦叫人目不暇給。雖然只是彈丸之地，香港有多家米芝蓮星級食府，這裡絕對是覓食的好地方。
Ever tried a syrup-slathered French toast filled with satay beef slices? Or instant noodles dressed in a cheese sauce?
No? You haven't lived.
Take it from this city of people who are very good at eating.

10. 喜愛夜蒲 Partying so hard the neighbors want in on it

中環蘭桂坊有超過 100 家酒吧蒲場，本地及外國人都集中在這裡狂歡。蘭桂坊的成功更被中國其他城市借鏡。
First time visitors to Hong Kong's party area, Lan Kwai Fong, might think they've entered a time warp, suddenly appearing in Ibiza or Cancun at 9 p.m. on a Friday night.

What other things do you think Hong Kong does best? Tell us in the comment section.

CNN 激讚 香港 10 大無人能及的優點
http://www.utravel.com.hk/DetailNews.php?id=ADIRYxEtA3E

你怎能不愛香港？ How can you not love Hong Kong?
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/20/travel/10-things-hk-does-best/

Help us caption & translate this video!

http://amara.org/v/W8of/