Independent 0711

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

It is not often a good thing for people to move to a new town or a country because they will lose their old friend.

The topic of people worry about moving to new environment because they will lose their old friends can be approached to different angle due to it’s complexity. I state that people won’t lose the connection with their friends just because they emigrate

to other city. The reason is that the invention of internet makes the communication between people easier, and the progress of transportation makes the migration between cities faster.

First of all, internet promotes the speed of communication rapidly and change the way of connection. For one thing, people using e-mail to send message beyond time and space, which means that people can talk with the friend who lives in the other side of earth immediately. For another, social network change the way of communication. Because social network function as communicative tool, people connect with their friends and family in comprehensive way including photo, message, not to mention video telephone. For example, Facebook is the most popular platform which allows people keep in touch with each other even though they live in different city.

Second, transportation is faster and cheaper than before, which have already change the idea of airplane as a common transportation in our life. The progress of airplane also enhance the safety of airplane. More and more people who live in the foreign city use airbus when they get back to their hometown. There is not doubt that airplane has ready makes the world smaller and we can get reunion with our friends easier than before.

To sum up, I believe people still can communicate with their friends even thought they move to other city. The fact is that the invention of internet and the progress of transportation makechange the way people to communicate, in a better way.  

  

Integrated 0709

The reading passage and the professor are both discuss about the topic of Communal online encyclopedias. However, the speaker discord with the reading passage. He states the three reasons about online encyclopedia is less valuable than traditional encyclopedia in the article are questionable, offering several reasons to oppose the article.

The first reason is that encyclopedias can’t be perfect no matter in online or offline. Although in the article it claim that most of the contributor in online encyclopedias are lack of academic credentials, the professor says the traditional encyclopedias still has error even though the content is written by trained expert. Thus, the lecture believes the online encyclopedia is faster and easier to correct than traditional encyclopedias, which is the significant difference between the two databases.

Second, the speaker refutes the reading by mentioning online encyclopedias prevent hacker by some useful strategies. Though the article states online encyclopedia give the opportunity to eliminate or change the data, he argue that some curtail information will be lock to prevent the damage from hacker. Online encyclopedia also hire special editor to correct the mistake in the database.

The third reason is online encyclopedia create diversity of article in the online environment. While the article says the same reputation, by focus on the encyclopedias too frequently on traditional encyclopedias, will happen in online encyclopedia, the speaker points out online provide infinite space for diversity of article and those article can meet the user’s interest.

Finally, the professor in the lecture disagrees with the points in the reading. He believes the three reasons in the article are not convincing.

Independent 0707

Life today is easier and more comfortable than it was when your grandparents were children.

The topic of the convenience of life can be approached to different angles due to it’s complexity. Some people prefer life today is more comfortable than it was when our grandparents were children while other disagree with it. I have also develop my own point of view. I favor the first position, stating that people’s life is easier than the day when our grandparents were young.

Thanks to internet, people nowadays can stay at home and solve any kinds of question in life because all the answer we want had already on the internet. The way of searching information is never happened before the invention of internet. The tool make world today smaller than our grandparents’ age. By surfing the internet, we can read the daily news on CNN, making reservation for hotel, watching movie to youtube, not to mention talking to our family can friends by facebook. There is no doubt that this way of searching in formation are more difficult when our grandparents were children.

Public transportation is also the factor makes life today easier than before. Most government today provides subway or bus for citizen to move in the city, and it is a efficient way to solve the traffic problem in high density city. It means that more people can use the tool, comfortable and fast, to school and office. We all know that New York provide a convenient subway system for the public and it can prevent people waste too much time if they drive their car to office in the rush hour.

With the reason above, I think life today is easier and more comfortable than it was when our grandparents were children. That is not to say, other point of view are completely without merit. However, I think the reason I have developed in favor of my own point of view are stronger.

Integrated 0706

The reading passage and the professor are both discuss the topic of biofuels, the replacement of fossil fuels. However, the speaker discords with the idea in the reading passage, offering several reasons to oppose article.

The first reason is that biofuels won’t cause food shortage. Although in the article it claim processing and decomposing biofuels affect the number of regular food, the professor says the food, which be taken for producing biofuels, is for rising animals. Thus, the lecture believe the food for processing biofuels won’t affect the demand of human for food, not to mention starvation.

Second, the speaker refutes the reading by mentioning the use of biofuels lower price. Though the article states manufacturing biofuels will drive up food price, he argues that the price of fossil fuels, which was used by people, are more expensive than the price of biofuels. Therefore, the lecturer concludes that the overall cost will decline by using biofuels instead of fossil fuels.

The third reason is that using biofuels won’t casuse health problem. While the article indicates the lack of crops and grains, the resource for manufacturing biofeuls, will cause people converting to less healthy food, the speaker points out the decline of crops and grains can reduce the number of meat, which is the less healthy foods. Hence, the professor holds that using biofuels won’t cause health problem because the decline of crops and grains also decline the number of less healthy food.

Finally, the professor in the lecture disagrees with the points in the reading. He believes the three reasons in the article are not convincing.       

華爾街日報02

The leveraged life style of rich
It isn't just the 'Real Housewives' who are over-leveraged and living large. Even after the economic crisis mowed down many of the indebted rich, the wealthy continue to borrow to support their lifestyles.

In a column in the Washington Post, market strategist Barry Ritholtz said many of today's bankers, lawyers and doctors have become so dependent on their ever-increasing salaries that they become slaves to their jobs.

'The big banks, investment shops, law firms and accountants have learned how profitable it is to have 'golden handcuffs' on their best employees. These highly-leveraged, debt-laden wage slaves will work harder, put in longer hours and stay with the firm longer than those debt-free workers.'

He added that 'over-leveraged employees do not leave to work at a new start-up or a smaller, more family friendly competitor.'

This is true to an extent. But the wealthy don't need their companies to encourage spending-the larger culture of wealth and spending does it for them. According to data from Moody's Analytics, the top earning 5% of Americans now account for 36% of consumer outlays. More incredible, this group (with an average income of $342,000 in 2008) have the lowest savings rate in the country: 1.4% compared with more than 8% for the rest of the population.

That means that people earning more than $300,000 a year save less than one fifth as much as the bottom 40% of earners.

Yes, there are plenty of thrifty 'Millionaires Next Door' among the wealthy and high-earners. But the statistics suggest that the financial crisis and recession has barely affected the highly leveraged lifestyles of the wealthy.

Do you think today's high-earners use leverage to support their lifestyle?

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美國有錢人仍在借錢享受生活

並非只有在美國系列電視節目《貴婦的真實生活》(Real Housewives)中，人們才過著大肆借貸、揮霍無邊的生活。雖然經濟危機撂倒了很多債台高築的有錢人，但仍有很多富豪為維持自己的生活方式而繼續舉債。

市場策略師裡薩茲(Barry Ritholtz)在《華盛頓郵報》(Washington Post)的專欄文章中說，如今很多銀行家、律師和醫生都嚴重依賴其不斷增加的薪資，以至於變成了工作的奴隸。

文章說：大型銀行、投資公司、律師事務所和會計師事務所都知道，給最好的員工戴上“金手銬”對公司來說是有利可圖的事。較之無債一身輕的員工，這些借貸過度、負債累累的“工資奴隸”工作起來會更拼命，加班時間更長，受雇於一家公司的時間也更長。

裡薩茲還說，借貸過度的員工一般不會輕易辭職，去剛剛起步的新公司或規模較小、但能讓自己有更多時間照顧家庭的競爭對手那裡去工作。

從某種程度上來說，的確是這樣。但有錢人並不需要雇主來鼓勵自己增加開支，因為有關財富和消費的大文化環境就在鼓勵他們這樣做。據穆迪分析(Moody's Analytics)的統計，佔美國總人口5%的最高收入人群消費支出佔全國消費支出的比例是36%。更讓人難以置信的是，這一群體(2008年平均收入34.2萬美元)的儲蓄率全國最低，只有1.4%，而其他95%的美國人儲蓄率在8%以上。

這意味著年收入超過30萬美元的人所攢的錢還不及佔總人口40%的最低收入群體積蓄的五分之一。

沒錯，富豪和高收入者當中，也有很多勤儉節約、舉止平民化的百萬富翁。但數據顯示，金融危機和經濟衰退幾乎沒有影響富豪高負債的生活方式。

你覺得高收入人群是通過舉債來維持自己的生活方式嗎？

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living large--揮霍無邊的生活

mowed down---撂倒

He added that---他還說

to an extent---從某種程度上來說

Independent 0704

It is better to finish one project and then go on to another than to work on two or more projects at the same time.

The topic of the way on working can be approached from different point of view due to it’s complexity. Some people prefer finishing one project and then go to another, while other state working in two or more projects at the same time. I have also developed my own point of view. I favor the second position, stating that it is better to work many projects at the same time.

On the one hand, the ability of dealing with many projects at the same time is an important skill for benefit peoples’ career. Once people getting familiar with handing many works at the same time, they can become adept at organize different things and find the efficient way to finish those works. The more works people can finish, the bigger chance they can be promoted. For example, the skill of organization is necessary for management echelon in a company – it means that a manager need to acquire the ability to face his customer, underline, not mention to his own work. To sum up, working on many projects at the same time is good for our management experience.     

With the reason above, I think people should work on many projects at the same time. That is not to say, other point of view are completely without merit. However, I think the reason I have developed in favor my own point of view are stronger. 

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華爾街日報01

How To Keep The 'Good' In Goodbye

I recently moved to another city. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I don't mean the decision to move, or the packing (although they both were tough). What nearly did me in were the goodbyes.

I never thought it would be easy leaving good friends and colleagues. Still, I was unprepared for the many lunches and dinners where my friends and I cried -- and for the look on my best friend's face at my going-away party.
I didn't make the process easy. I dreaded leaving so much that I avoided telling people the actual date of my move. I became adept at diverting conversations to other topics. I picked a fight with a friend over, well, nothing at all, simply because it was easier to be mad than sad.

My friends, for their part, offered up reason after reason why moving would harm my career and love life. I still get at least one email a day asking when I plan to 'come home.'

People often underestimate how hard it is to adjust when an in-person relationship suddenly becomes long-distance. 'It leaves a big hole your life,' says Jill Kristal, a clinical psychologist in Larchmont, N.Y., whose business, Transitional Learning Curves, helps guide people through the emotional process of moving.

We may think Facebook and other social-networking sites, not to mention texting and Skype, will keep us close. But can a few sentences, or a photo or two, really take the place of seeing a friend in person?

Dr. Kristal remembers preparing to leave Boston years ago and how she picked a fight with her roommates -- over a carrot peeler. This type of arguing is a natural way to mask the pain of separation, she says. Anger, which is directed outward, can be empowering; sadness is internal. 'If you stay with anger, you don't have to deal with the sense of loss,' she says.

For 26 years, David Eddy, a 63-year-old software salesman in Boston, has regretted how he said goodbye -- or, rather, failed to say goodbye -- to a roommate. As he was leaving, Mr. Eddy shut his bedroom door and watched out the window as the taxi drove away. 'I never said goodbye to him since I didn't want to lose him,' says Mr. Eddy. 'I still kick myself for being such a dork.'


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好好說再見

不久前我搬到另一個城市。那是我經歷過的最艱難的事情之一。我說的艱難並不是決定搬家或是打包的過程（雖然這兩者確實也充滿艱辛），真正讓我難過的是一次次的告別。

我從未覺得離開好朋友、好同事會是輕而易舉的事情。不過我還是沒有料到會有這麼多的午餐和晚餐聚會，朋友們和我在其間都忍不住流淚了，而對於最好的朋友在我的告別派對上的神情，我也毫無準備。

我沒能讓整個過程輕鬆度過。我極其害怕離開，以至於不肯告訴別人具體的搬家日期。我開始老練地轉移話題。我甚至還跟一個朋友吵了一架，原因是，嗯，沒有任何原因，只是因為表現憤怒比展示悲傷要來得容易。

另一方面，我的朋友們不厭其煩地羅列搬家會有損我的事業和愛情生活的一條條理由。到如今我仍然會每天收到一封電子郵件，問我打算什麼時候'回家'。

當面對面接觸的關系突然拉開很長距離，很多人都低估了其中的艱辛。紐約拉奇蒙特的臨床心理學家吉爾﹒克裡斯托(Jill Kristal)說，這樣會在你的生活中留下一個大洞。克裡斯托開設了一家名為'過渡學習曲線'(Transitional Learning Curves)的公司，幫助引導人們度過離鄉背井的情感波動過程。

我們或許會覺得，Facebook和其他社交網站能讓我們和朋友保持親密，更不用說還能發短信和在Skype上聊天。但幾句話、一兩張照片真能取代親自跟朋友見面的作用嗎？

克裡斯托回想起她多年前準備離開波士頓的情形，以及她如何為了一個胡蘿卜削皮器而跟室友吵了一架。她說，這種爭吵是掩蓋分離痛苦的自然方式。憤怒情緒是外在的，可能會佔據人的情緒；而傷感則是在內心深處。她說，如果你保持憤怒，就不必為失落感費神了。

63歲的大衛﹒埃迪(David Eddy)是波士頓的一名軟體銷售員，他26年來一直後悔自己向室友告別的方式，或者說是後悔未能向室友告別。室友離開時，埃迪關上了自己的房門，從窗邊看著計程車絕塵而去。埃迪說，我從未向他說過再見，因為我不想失去他。到如今一想到當時的蠢行，我都想踢自己一腳。

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*nearly did me in--讓我難過
*became adept at--開始老練地
*nothing at all--沒有任何原因
*offered up reason after reason--羅列一條條理由
*not to mention+ving--更不用說
*picked a fight--吵了一架


*it was easier to be (NA) than (NB)--是因為表現(NA)比展示(NB)要來得容易
*'It leaves a big hole your life,' says Jill Kristal, a clinical psychologist in Larchmont, N.Y., whose business, Transitional Learning Curves, helps guide people through the emotional process of moving.
克裡斯托(Jill Kristal)說，這樣會在你的生活中留下一個大洞。克裡斯托開設了一家名為'過渡學習曲線'(Transitional Learning Curves)的公司，幫助引導人們度過離鄉背井的情感波動過程。
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