Week Five - 無人機

Military extends UAV deployment area

US WORRY?A military official said that the US was concerned over the development of the drone program and asked that the defense ministry brief it on the project

By Lo Tien-pin  /  Staff reporter

An unmanned aerial vehicle built by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is displayed at last year’s Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition at the Taipei World Trade Center.

The military said it is able to effectively detect military deployments in China through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), after it expanded detection zones from airspace over eastern and southern Taiwan to airspace over the Taiwan Strait.

According to a military official, who wished to remain anonymous, the US has expressed concern over how the UAV project has developed and military missions the drones are commissioned to perform.

The US has demanded that the Ministry of National Defense send specialists to brief the US Department of Defense on the project before a delegation was to head to the US for a meeting about bilateral cooperation on military issues involving high-level officials from both countries, the military official said.

A UAV launched from a base in western Taiwan would be able to detect military movement in China’s southeast coastal area, he said.

Given Taiwan’s proximity to China, the capability of the UAVs to detect military deployments on the other side of the Taiwan Strait is highly valued by the US, he said.

Despite the US having sophisticated UAVs that can fly long distances to access the area, there are concerns within the US military that such missions would be costly, as well as there being political and military issues preventing its use of UAVs in the area, he added.

The UAV development program was undertaken by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology. It has delivered 32 UAVs to the army.
In addition to Taimali (太麻里) in Taitung County, where the UAVs are based and training exercises are carried out, the ministry has been in talks with the Civil Aeronautics Administration over the possibility that part of the Hengchun airport in Pingtung could be used as another training base for the drones.

According to sources from the military, the air force’s airspace training area is within the range of missiles deployed in southeast China, making it impossible for the air force to carry out missions in the areas that the UAVs can access.

The military said it was still deliberating whether it would deploy the UAVs in western Taiwan.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/07/13/2003594974

When: last year(2013)
Where: Taipei
What: an unmanned aerial vehicle built by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology

Key Words:
1.deployments 部署
2.anonymous 匿名
3.commissioned 委託
4.delegation 代表團
5.bilateral cooperation 雙方合作
6.proximity 接近
7.sophisticated 複雜
8.missiles 導彈
9.deliberating 審議

Week Four - 巴黎氣候高峰會

China ratifies Paris climate deal

China yesterday announced that it has ratified the emissions-cutting agreement reached in Paris last year.

The US was also expected to announce that it was formally joining the Paris Agreement in advance of the G20 summit that starts today in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

US President Barack Obama landed in Hangzhou yesterday and the US also ratified the deal shortly afterward.

While tensions have risen between Beijing and Washington during Obama’s term over issues including cyberhacking, the South China Sea and the planned deployment of a US anti-missile system in South Korea, combating climate change is one area where both countries have said they can work together.

China is the top emitter of carbon dioxide and the US is second. Together, they produce 38 percent of the world’s human-caused carbon dioxide emissions.

Both were key to getting an agreement in Paris last year. To build momentum for a deal, they set a 2030 deadline for emissions to stop rising and announced their “shared conviction that climate change is one of the greatest threats facing humanity.”

China in April said that it would ratify the Paris Agreement, negotiated by representatives of 195 nations in Paris last year, before its hosting of the G20 summit. The agreement goes into force when joined by at least 55 nations that produce a total of 55 percent of global emissions.

Before China’s announcement, 23 countries had ratified or otherwise joined the agreement, representing just 1 percent of global emissions, according to the World Resources Institute.

The proposal adopted by the Chinese National People’s Congress Standing Committee says the agreement will help China “play a bigger role in global climate governance,” the Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.

Li Shuo (李碩), senior climate policy adviser for the environmental group Greenpeace, said that the two countries acting on the agreement was “a very important next step.”

If the agreement is eventually adopted, “we’ll have a truly global climate agreement that will bind the two biggest emitters in the world,” Li said.

The agreement’s long-term goal is to keep warming below 2°C compared with pre-industrial times. It has an aspirational goal of limiting the temperature rise to 1.5°C. Temperatures are said to have already risen by almost 1°C since the industrial revolution.

According to the Paris Agreement, countries are required to set national targets for reducing or reining in their greenhouse gas emissions. Those targets are not legally binding, but countries must report on their progress and update their targets every five years. The first cycle begins in 2020. Only developed countries are expected to slash their emissions in absolute terms. Developing nations are “encouraged” to do so as their capabilities evolve over time.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2016/09/04/2003654485

When: yesterday(2016.9.3)
Where: China
What: tatified last year's emissions-cutting agreement reached in Paris

Key Words:
1.announced 宣布
2.ratified 批准
3.combating 打擊
4.aspirational 期望
5.revolution 革命
6.emissions 排放
7.targets 目標
8.slash 消減

Paris terror attacks

France remembers Paris terror attacks one year on

Less insouciant, more policed — France is a changed place since Islamic State militants killed 130 people in the country’s deadliest attacks a year ago. Fearing it is becoming more divided, survivors and victims’ families marked Sunday’s anniversary of the violence by pleading for national unity instead.

Tourism is hurting, armed forces roam streets and France is still under a state of emergency that rights groups call abusive and ineffective — and that the French prime minister now says might be extended yet again.

“We always have this fear that weighs heavily in our hearts. We always try to be careful. And every time we pass by here, we think of them,” said Sabrina Nedjadi, paying respects on Sunday at two cafes in her eastern Paris neighborhood targeted in the attacks.

At midday, hundreds of balloons were released to honor the memories of the victims; at dusk, paper lanterns were released into the Canal Saint-Martin, bearing red, white and blue lights representing the French tricolor. Onlookers lined the canal and surrounding bridges.

Some fear that France itself is adrift, its government unable to defeat the amorphous extremist enemy even as authorities encroach on liberties the French hold dear.

While French warplanes are targeting Islamic State strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the state of emergency in France allows broadened police powers to search homes and monitor communications.

However, it could not prevent further attacks in France over the past year, including a truck rampage in Nice by a man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group.

“Yes, terrorism will strike us again,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said over the weekend.

“France is now in a situation where an ‘exceptional’ regime is becoming permanent, in the name of combating terrorism, but there is little evidence that this approach is working and it comes at a cost to fundamental rights,” the International Federation for Human Rights said in a recent report.

As silence descended on Sunday in Paris for a series of commemorations, the son of the first victims of the attacks spoke out for tolerance in the face of hate.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2016/11/15/2003659325

Where:France

When:one year ago

What:attacks

1.insouciant無憂無慮

2.anniversary週年

3.ballons氣球

4.commemorations紀念活動

5.regime政權

6.allegiance忠誠

zika virus

Zika is a virus that is spread mostly by mosquitoes. A pregnant mother can pass it to her baby during pregnancy or around the time of birth. It can spread through sexual contact. There have also been reports that the virus has spread through blood transfusions. There have been outbreaks of Zika virus in the United States, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, parts of the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

Most people who get the virus do not get sick. One in five people do get symptoms, which can include a fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (pinkeye). Symptoms are usually mild, and start 2 to 7 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.

A blood test can tell whether you have the infection. There are no vaccines or medicines to treat it. Drinking lots of fluids, resting, and taking acetaminophen might help.

Zika can cause microcephaly (a serious birth defect of the brain) and other problems in babies whose mothers were infected while pregnant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that pregnant women do not travel to areas where there is a Zika virus outbreak. If you do decide to travel, first talk to your doctor. You should also be careful to prevent mosquito bites:

Use insect repellent
*Wear clothes that cover your arms, legs, and feet
*Stay in places that have air *conditioning or that use window and door screens

https://medlineplus.gov/zikavirus.html

Where:United States, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, parts of the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
Why:A pregnant mother can pass it to her baby during pregnancy or around the time of birth. It can spread through sexual contact.

What:Zika virus

1.mosquitoes蚊子

2.pregnant懷孕的

3.symptoms症狀

4.conjunctivitis結膜炎

5.acetaminophen對乙氨酰基酚(可解熱 鎮痛)

Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year is the tears of joy emoji

For the first time ever, Oxford Dictionaries have chosen a "pictograph" as its word of the year.They say the "face with tears of joy emoji" best represents "the ethos, mood, and preoccupations of 2015".

"Emoji culture has become so popular that individual characters have developed their own trends and stories," says Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Dictionaries.The image shows the "playfulness and intimacy" of emoji culture, he says.

Here are some of the other shortlisted words...

"Brexit", which refers to the possibility of the UK leaving the European Union.Another selection is the pronoun "they", but used singularly (in the manner of "she" or "he") to refer to a person of unspecified sex or gender."Lumbersexual" was also in contention. It means a "young urban man who cultivates an appearance and style of dress, typified by a beard and checked shirt," according to Oxford Dictionaries.

The organisation is currently asking website users to vote for which of the shortlisted words they would have chosen.As things stand, "they" currently has more than a quarter of votes.

In second place is "refugee", with one in five votes. The emoji is in third place."Ad blocker", "dark web", "on fleek" and "sharing economy" complete the 2015 shortlist.Last year "vape" was named the word of 2014, while other previous words of the year have included "selfie", "omnishambles" and "simples".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34840926/oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year-is-the-tears-of-joy-emoji

when:2015
what:chosen a pictograph as its word of the year

keywords:
1.Oxford Dictionaries牛津字典
2.emoji表情符號

3.pictograph形象圖

4.playfulness嬉鬧

5.intimacy親密關係

6.refugee難民