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Newsworthy Clips: More families move in together 愈来愈多家庭同住在一起

 

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More families move in together  愈来愈多家庭同住在一起

 

The weak economy – which has brought surging foreclosures, sinking property values, vanishing home equity and mounting job losses – is playing a major role in family dynamics, pulling relatives under the same roof to pool their resources and aid relatives who’ve lost their homes.

疲弱的经济使房屋赎回权遭取消、房屋被查封的案例遽增，不动产价值下跌，住家房屋净值消失，失业潮一波接一波──都对家庭动态产生莫大的影响，迫使亲戚不得不住在同一个屋檐下共享资源，对那些失去栖身之处的亲戚伸出援手。

 

Siblings are moving in with one another to help pay the mortgage. Adult children who’ve lost homes to foreclosure are moving back home with mom and dad. Even spouses in the throes of divorce are putting off separating, living together in awkward cold wars because they can’t sell their homes.

兄弟姐妹纷纷搬去同住，好帮忙分摊房贷的压力。因房屋遭查封而无家可归的成年子女，则搬回家和老爸老妈同住。就连面临离婚的配偶也暂缓分居，相敬如「冰」尴尬地住在一起，因为房子卖不掉。

 

That’s in large part because those losing homes often have nowhere else to go. Many live paycheck to paycheck: Nearly 61 percent of local and state homeless coalitions are seeing an increase in homelessness since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007, according to a 2008 study by the National Coalition for the Homeless. Only 5 percent said they hadn’t seen an increase. The survey found that more than 76 percent of homeowners and renters who must move because of foreclosures are staying with family and friends.

这种情形的主要原因是，失去住屋的人往往无处可去，许多人是薪水花光光、没有存款的「月光族」：根据「全美游民联盟」一份二００八年研究显示，从房屋查封危机自二００七年爆发以来，将近六成一的地方及州游民联盟组织，发现无家可归的案例不断增加，只有百分之五表示他们并未见到增加的情形。调查还发现，因房屋遭查封、必须搬家的屋主与房客，超过七成六是去和亲朋好友同住。

 

Many are affected. Foreclosure filings surpassed 3 million in 2008, according to a recent report by RealtyTrac. The report also shows that one in 54 homes received at least one foreclosure filing during the year.

有很多人都蒙受冲击。根据房地产资料机构RealtyTrac最近发布的报告指出，美国二００八年的查封案件超过三百万件，报告中同时也显示，该年度每五十四户人家中就有一家收到至少一份查封通知。

 

“If you have someone you love, and they’re in need, and they come to you and say, ‘Can I stay with you awhile?’ – of course, you’ll say, ‘Yes.’ But there are risks,” says Debra Yergen, author of the Creating Job Security Resource Guide. “Maybe they have pets, maybe they go out to eat, and that causes friction. There are all kinds of family dynamics. That’s not to say it’s not worth it, but you have to think it through so that no one feels taken advantage of.”

《建立工作保障对策指南》一书作者德博拉．叶珍表示，「如果你挚爱的人有困难来找你，对你说，『我可以和你们住一阵子吗？』－当然你会说好，但这有风险，也许他们有宠物，也许他们外食，而那会产生摩擦。家庭动态百百种，并不是说这么做不值得，但你必须想清楚，不要让任何人觉得自己被占了便宜。」

 

－by Stephanie

 

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foreclosure [forˋkloʒɚ] n. 丧失抵押品赎回权

equity [ˋɛkwətɪ] n. 抵押资产的净值

mounting [ˋmaʊntɪŋ] adj. 增长的; 加剧的

family dynamics 家庭动态 the ways in which members of a family interact with each other and in relation to the group as a whole

pool [pul] v.（为共同目的）合出（资金，物资，想法等）；合办，联营to put together for general use

mortgage [ˋmɔrgɪdʒ] n. 抵押借款

throes [θroz] n. 阵痛；痛苦的挣扎

to live paycheck to paycheck 靠薪水度日 to spend all that one earns without saving anything

file [faɪl] v. 提出申请；提起诉讼

awhile [əˋhwaɪl] adv. 片刻；少顷

dynamics [daɪˋnæmɪks] n. 动态; 动力

think through 彻底地想清楚

 

 

 

 

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Brain scans reveal possible source of woman’s super memory  女性超级记忆力来自何处，脑部扫描告诉你

 

MRI scans on Jill Price, the 43-year-old Los Angeles religious school administrator who was the first confirmed to have a “super-memory” in 2006, reveal two abnormally large areas in her brain. That discovery could lead to breakthrough clues on how memories are formed and kept, says Larry Cahill, a neuroscientist at the University of California-Irvine.

四十三岁的吉尔．普莱丝是洛杉矶一所宗教学校的行政主管，也是在二００六年首位被确认拥有超级记忆力的人，普莱丝的核磁共振影像显示，她脑部有两处异常大的区域。「加州大学尔湾分校」的神经科学家赖利．卡希尔表示，该发现可能会在记忆的形成与保存方面，带来突破性的线索。

 

The two magnified areas in Price’s brain are the caudate nuclei – typically used for memory when forming automatic habits – and a part of the temporal lobe that stories facts, dates and events, Cahill said.

卡希尔指出，普莱丝脑部的两处扩大的区域是：形成自发习惯时一般用来记忆的尾核（译注：或译尾状核），以及颞叶中用来储存事实、日期和事件的部份。

 

These two areas of the brain may be working together, in a way unknown before, to make detailed recall of every day as automatic as remembering to brush your teeth in the morning or put on a seat belt, the research team speculates.

研究团队推测，脑部这两处区域可能以前所未知的方式合作，好让人能清楚记起日常生活细节，自发程度就像早上记得刷牙或是系上安全带一样地牢记不忘。

 

In addition to Price, the team also has verified the super-memory gift in three men. Unlike Price, the men are left-handed, and they’re not troubled by their rare ability, Cahill says. Price feels tormented by her onslaught of memories. She sees daily life in a kind of “split-screen,” with present-day events, songs, smells, even TV programs cuing her back to detailed memories that she can’t squelch. Gender differences in the brain could account for the differences, Cahill believes.

除了普莱丝以外，研究团队也证实了三位男士的超级记忆天赋。卡希尔指出，和普莱丝不一样的是，他们都是左撇子，而且不会受到这种罕见能力的困扰。相反地，普莱丝却对于记忆强迫性地如突袭般涌现脑海，感到痛苦万分，日常生活在她眼中看来就像是「分割画面」，现今发生的事件、歌曲、味道、甚至电视节目，都会把她拉回难以抑止的清晰回忆。卡希尔相信，脑部存有的性别差异，可能是造成男女超级记忆者对记忆的反应差别如此大的原因。

 

The larger areas in Price’s brain almost certainly explain her rare gift, which was probably present at birth, says Brian Levine, a memory expert at the University of Toronto.

「多伦多大学」记忆专家布莱恩．李凡指出，普莱丝脑部的较大区域几乎确定是有罕见天赋的主因，而这种天赋可能在出生时就存在了。

 

Scientists now need to find out how the two large brain areas are connected so they can work together. “This may be a key piece of the puzzle as to how memory works,” says Levine, “and that can be used in future research to help people with memory disorders.”

科学家现在必须找出这两个脑部大区域是如何产生链接、并相互合作的方式。李凡表示，「对了解记忆运作方式而言，这可能是拼图中极重要的一块，还可以运用在未来的研究中，以嘉惠有记忆障碍的人。」

 

－by Marilyn Elias

 

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caudate nucleus 尾状核

caudate [ˋkɔdet] adj. 有尾的

temporal lobe 颞叶

temporal [ˋtɛmpərəl] adj. 太阳穴的

verify [ˋvɛrə͵faɪ] v. 证明，证实

cue [kju] v. 向…发出指示信号

 

 

 

 

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The Obama fashion stimulus plan  欧巴马的时尚振兴方案？

 

Jason Wu and Isabel Toledo’s clothes might not be hanging in many households yet, but, thanks to their contributions to inaugural fashion, their labels are becoming household names and a target for look-alikes.

许多家庭的衣柜中可能还没挂着吴季刚和伊莎贝尔．托雷多品牌的服饰，不过，由于他们对就职典礼时尚的贡献，两人的品牌如今不但家喻户晓，也成为其他人争相模仿的目标。

 

Web queries for “Jason Wu” and “Isabel Toledo” shot up as soon as Michelle Obama modeled Wu’s asymmetrical white gown at the official Inaugural Balls and Toledo’s chartreuse coat and sheath at the swearing-in ceremony. On January 20, Wu landed at No. 11 on Google Hot Trends’ list of the 100 fastest-rising searches, while Toledo snagged the 70th spot. The next day, Wu spiked to No. 4.

当米歇尔．欧巴马身着吴季刚设计的不对称白色礼服参加美国总统就职舞会，以及穿着托雷多设计的淡黄绿色外套和合身洋装出席宣誓典礼时，网络上「吴季刚」和「伊莎贝尔．托雷多」的询问度立刻飙升。一月二十日，吴季刚在「谷歌」热门趋势的百大快速上升关键词搜寻榜中排名第十一，而托雷多则是第七十名；次日，吴季刚更冲上了第四名。

 

EDressMe began offering a version of Wu’s white ballgown (it costs $320). The e-tailer has seen a spike in sales of one-shoulder and strapless red dresses, which CEO Joanne Stoner attributes to Obama and Jill Biden, who wore a strapless, red Reem Acra gown.

eDressMe礼服网站开始推出吴季刚白色舞会礼服版本（要价三百二十美元）。该网络服饰零售商已见到单肩及无肩带红礼服的销售激增，而eDressMe执行总裁乔安妮．史东纳将之归功于欧巴马夫人和吉尔．拜登夫人，拜登夫人穿的是一件雷姆．艾克拉设计的无肩带红色礼服。

 

New York’s Bergdorf Goodman has “definitely” seen an increased interest in Wu and his collection, both from customers in store and those inquiring by phone, says company spokeswoman Teril Turner. “There’s just so much more awareness now.”

纽约的「博德夫古德曼」公司发言人泰若．特纳表示，无论是亲自来店或是来电询问的顾客，该公司「确实」发现大家对吴季刚及其系列作品的兴趣暴增，「现在他的知名度暴涨了。」

 

Even for those Obama-chosen brands that were already well known, the inauguration has provided a boost. On the day following the inauguration, visitors to JCrew.com experienced “intermittent delays,” says creative director Jenna Lyons, thanks to a “very unusual amount of traffic.” Although Sasha and Malia Obama’s swearing-in ensembles weren’t available then, J.Crew will be carrying them come fall, in addition to the green leather gloves their mom wore during the daytime festivals.

就连对欧巴马选用的原本知名度就很高的品牌来说，就职典礼也有加分的效果。JCrew.com网站创意总监珍娜．里昂表示，就职典礼次日，该网站访客纷纷遭遇「间歇性地延迟」问题，这是因为「极度异常的网站流量」所致。虽然欧巴马的女儿莎夏和马丽雅在就职典礼上所穿的全套服装当时还未上市，不过，等到秋季时，连同她们的妈妈在白天庆祝活动时所戴的绿色皮手套，全都会在J.Crew销售。

 

“It’s exciting for us because we’re hoping people who maybe didn’t think of J. Crew before” – or who thought they’d outgrown it – “maybe this has changed people’s minds,” says Lyons.

里昂指出，「我们感到很兴奋，我们希望过去可能没考虑过J.Crew的人」──或是认为自己长大了，不再适合穿J.Crew的人──「也许这有助于改变人们过去的想法。」

 

－by Olivia Barker

 

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inaugural [ɪnˋɔgjərəl] adj. 就职的

look-alike [ˋlʊkə͵laɪk] n.【美】【口】外形酷似之人（或物）

query [ˋkwɪrɪ] n. 询问；请求

shoot up 迅速上升 to increase dramatically in amount

model [ˋmɑd!] v. 做模特儿展示（服装等）

asymmetrical [͵esɪˋmɛtrɪk!] adj.【数】非对称的

chartreuse [ʃɑrˋtruz] adj. & n. 淡黄绿色(的)

sheath [ʃiθ] n. 女子紧身服装

swearing-in 宣誓就职的 the act of making formal promises to fulfill the duties it involves

land [lænd] v.【口】弄到，捞到

snag [snæg] v. 抓住；抢先获得 Informal to catch unexpectedly and quickly

spike [spaɪk] v. 冲上 manifest a sharp increase n. (价格、数量的)突然上升，剧增

ballgown [ˋbɔlgaʊn] n. 长舞服，长舞裙

e-tailer 网络零售商 one that sells goods or commodities to consumers electronically, as over the Internet

one-shoulder 单肩型的; 单肩带的

strapless [ˋstræplɪs] adj. 无带的；无肩带的

inquiry [ɪnˋkwaɪrɪ] v. 询问，打听

inauguration [ɪn͵ɔgjəˋreʃən] n. 就职；就职典礼

ensemble [ɑnˋsɑmb!] n. 整套服装

outgrow [ˋaʊtˋgro] v. 长大了便不再适用

 

 

 

 

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sibling [ˋsɪblɪŋ] n. 兄弟姊妹 a brother or sister

coalition [͵koəˋlɪʃən] n.（政党、国家等）临时结成的联盟 the union of different political parties or groups for a particular purpose, usually for a limited time

friction [ˋfrɪkʃən] n. 摩擦；不和；冲突 disagreement caused by people having different opinions

take advantage of 利用; 占便宜 to treat someone badly in order to get something you desire from them

torment [tɔrˋmɛnt] v. 使痛苦，折磨；烦扰 to cause great mental suffering

onslaught [ˋɑn͵slɔt] n. 猛烈打击; 猛烈抨击 a very powerful attack

squelch [skwɛltʃ] v. 制止; 压制; 遏制; 限制 to quickly end something that is causing you problems

boost [bust] n. 提高；增加 an increase in something

intermittent [͵ɪntɚˋmɪtnt] adj. 间歇的；时断时续的 not happening regularly or continuously; stopping and starting repeatedly or with periods in between

 

 

 

Michelle Obama’s Jason Wu’s Dress

 

Michelle Obama’s Isabel Toledo Inauguration Dress

 

 

Jill Biden inauguration dress