Weather 天氣
Due to the continuous drought, the water source of England’s River Thames becomes so dry that people can even stand in it. To save water, the hosepipe ban was announced to be started from next week. Although heavy rainfall causes dangerous flash floods in parts of England, which results in evacuation warnings, the use of water in south England has no choice but to be limited. The announcement of the hosepipe ban means people may not use hosepipes to fill pools, clean the outside of a domestic property, patios, any artificial outdoor surfaces or a private leisure boat, or maintain a water fountain. In short, activities that would use a lot of water with a hosepipe, especially for cleaning and leisure, are not allowed. Instead, you may use a watering can or a bucket to water your plants outside.
由於英國持續乾旱，泰晤士河的水源乾涸得人們可以站在其中。為了節約用水，軟水管禁令將從下周開始實施。雖然暴雨在英格蘭部分地區造成危險的山洪暴發，並引致疏散警告，但英格蘭南部卻不得不開始限制用水。軟水管禁令的宣布意味著人們不得使用軟水管填滿泳池、清潔住宅、庭院、任何人造室外物的表面或私人休閒船的外部，或維護噴泉。簡單來說，不允許使用軟水管進行需要大量用水的活動，尤其是清潔和及休閒活動。相反，你仍可使用噴壺或水桶在室外澆灌植物。
英語詞彙
- Drought （Noun）乾旱
- Hosepipe ban（Noun）軟水管禁令
- Flash floods（Noun）山洪暴發
- Evacuation warnings（Noun）疏散警告
- Patios（Noun）庭園
資料來源
Hosepipe bans: What are the rules, what are the exemptions and what do they mean? (https://news.sky.com/story/hosepipe-bans-what-are-the-rules-what-are-the-exemptions-and-what-do-they-mean-12669752)
Thames Water announces hosepipe ban across south of England (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/17/thames-water-announces-hosepipe-ban-south-england-london)
UK weather – live: New hosepipe ban to start in days as storm warning upgraded to amber (https://ca.news.yahoo.com/uk-weather-live-britons-warned-041728442.html)
The source of England’s River Thames is so dry you can stand in it (https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2022/08/16/river-thames-uk-england-heat-drought-climate-pkg-vpx.cnn)
Inflation 通脹
When the inflation rate hits a double-digit, how to survive from the soaring energy bills and food prices become an important question in daily life. The cost of food and drink has pushed the inflation to 10.1% which outpaces the forecasts but the peak seems not yet to be reached. UK workers are now suffering from a big hit to their wages as the recession looms. In London, the mayor warned that the worse the living crisis becomes, the more violence and crime there would be. Sky News lists four food that will see the biggest rises this month – bread, milk, cheese and eggs. Getting some stocks of these food by this week may save some money in the long term.
當通貨膨脹率達到兩位數，如何從飛漲的能源賬單和食品價格中生存下來，成為日常生活中的一個重要議題。食品和飲料的成本將通脹推高至超出預期的 10.1%，但卻似乎尚未達到峰值。隨著經濟衰退的臨近，英國工人的工資現在正遭受巨大打擊。在倫敦，市長甚至發出警告，生活危機越嚴重，暴力和犯罪就會越多。天空新聞列出了本月漲幅最大的四種食品——麵包、牛奶、奶酪和雞蛋。可能的話，趁這星期買一些這些食物的存貨，從長遠來看可能會節省一些錢。
英語詞彙
- Soaring (Adj) 上升的
- Outpace (Verb) （速度上）超過
- Recession (Noun) （經濟）衰退期
- Loom (Verb) 陰森地逼近
- Stock (Noun) 存貨
資料來源
After UK inflation again outpaces forecasts, a 13% peak looks optimistic (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/17/after-inflation-again-outpaces-forecasts-13-per-cent-peak-looks-optimistic-bank-of-england)
Sadiq Khan warns of potential rise in violence over cost of living crisis (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/sadiq-khan-violence-cost-of-living-b2146665.html)
Cost of living latest: Bread, milk, cheese and eggs see biggest rises this month – and ‘it is going to get worse’ (https://news.sky.com/story/cost-of-living-latest-bread-milk-cheese-and-eggs-among-biggest-drivers-of-record-inflation-and-why-it-is-going-to-get-worse-12615118)
Road safety 道路安全
For the safety of the pedestrians, cyclists could face speed limits and may need both insurance and registration plates in the future. Once breaking the speed limit, cyclists could face penalty points and fines . Further details of the new rules will be discussed and announced when they are confirmed.
為保障行人安全，騎自行車人士可能會面臨限速，甚至將來需要購買保險和自行車車牌。一旦超過速度限制，騎自行車人士可能會被扣分及罰款。新規則的進一步細節將會繼續討論並在確定後公佈。
英語詞彙
- Cyclists (Noun) 騎自行車人士
- Registration plates / Number plates / Registration numbers (Noun) 車牌
- Penalty points (Noun) 罰分
資料來源
Cyclists could be fined for breaking speed limits as minister demands road law review (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cycling-speed-limit-fines-review-b2146489.html)
Crime 罪案
An elderly man who was riding a mobility scooter has been stabbed to death in west London. Police were called at 4pm yesterday to reports of an elderly man with stab injuries. Despite the efforts of paramedics, the injured man was pronounced dead at the scene. The killer fled and there have been no arrests in the capital’s sixth homicide in just four days. Detectives have recently released pictures of a men armed with a knife fleeing the scene of the attack. Call the police immediately on 999 or alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously if anything regarding the dangerous individual is known.
一名騎著代步車的老人在倫敦西部被刺死。昨天下午 4 點，警方接到一名老人被刺傷的報案。儘管醫護人員做出了努力，但受傷男子在現場被宣布死亡。兇手逃離了現場，目前首都在短短四天內發生了六起兇殺案，但還沒有人被捕。探員最近公佈了一名持刀男子逃離襲擊現場的照片。如果知道有關危險個人的任何信息，請立即撥打 999 報警，或者匿名聯繫滅罪熱線。
英語詞彙
- mobility scooter (Noun) 代步車
- stab (Verb) 刺傷
- paramedics (Noun) 醫護人員
- flee (Verb) 逃走
- homicide (Noun) 殺人
- anonymously (Adverb) 匿名地
資料來源
Greenford: Elderly man stabbed to death while riding mobility scooter in west London(https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/greenford-elderly-man-stabbed-death-mobility-scooter-b1019010.html)
Thomas O’Halloran: Elderly man stabbed to death on mobility scooter was popular local busker (https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/greenford-murder-mobility-scooter-stabbed-london-thomas-ohalloran-b1019113.html)
政治小知識
Tory 保守黨
A Tory means “a member of the British Conservative party”. Literally, “conservative” means “averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values”. Tories is the other name of the Conservative party (They are translated to the same term in Chinese).
Tory的意思是「英國保守黨的成員」。從字面上看，「保守」的意思是「厭惡變革或創新，持有傳統價值觀」。Tory的另一個名字就是Conservative Party（中文翻譯都是「保守黨」的意思）。
According to “The Conservative Foundation”, the party aims to guarantee that the later generations can live in Britain where:
Individual freedoms and right to social justice are respected and upheld
Right to free enterprise and industry is protected and encouraged
Dignified institutions and traditions are safeguarded and carefully maintained
據“保守黨基金會”稱，該黨旨在保證後代能夠在英國生活：
尊重和維護個人自由和社會正義權
保護和鼓勵自由企業和工業的權利
有尊嚴的製度和傳統得到保護和精心維護
The principal opponent of the Conservative party is the Labour Party.
保守黨的主要對手是工黨。
資料來源
Definition and Example of “Tory”(https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-chinese-traditional/tory?q=Tory)
The Conservative Foundation – What we value (https://www.theconservativefoundation.co.uk/what-we-value)
今日小知識
England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom are different
「England」、「Great Britain」和「United Kingdom」不一樣
Although the translation in Chinese of ‘England’, ‘Great Britain’ and ‘United Kingdom’ are sometimes the same, they actually have different meanings.
雖然「England」（英格蘭）、「Great Britain」（大不列顛）和「United Kingdom」（大英聯合國）的中文翻譯有時同樣譯成「英國」，但實際上，它們含義並不一樣。
Geographically, England is the smallest part in these three terms. England covers five-eights of the island of Great Britain and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
地理上來說，英格蘭是這三個詞中最小的一個。英格蘭覆蓋了大不列顛島的五分之八，其中包括100多個較小的島嶼，例如錫利島和懷特島。
On the other hand, Great Britain incorporates the island of England, Scotland and Wales while the United Kingdom refers to the incorporation of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That is why the full name of the country in English is “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.
另一方面，大不列顛由英格蘭、蘇格蘭和威爾士島組成，而大英聯合國是指大不列顛的土地加上北愛爾蘭。這就是為什麼這個國家的英文全稱是「大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯合國」。
To give you more information, there is also a term ‘British Isles’. ‘British Isles’ means the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, which includes the Republic of Ireland and the 5000 small islands scattered around the coasts geographically.
此外，還有一個詞為「不列顛群島」。 不列顛群島指的是大不列顛和愛爾蘭的島嶼，其中包括愛爾蘭共和國和地理上散佈在海岸周圍的 5000 個小島嶼。