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Running Legend 超马英雄

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Running Legend  超马英雄

Kevin Lin, Taiwan’s ultra-endurance marathon runner, finished his grueling 7,300 km trek across the Sahara Desert on February 20th, 2007. Joined by two other athletes, Lin traversed through six countries from Senegal to Egypt and through the world’s largest desert. The trip took them 111 days to complete! The trio faced many challenges, such as minefields, war-torn regions, extreme temperatures, risk of disease, and bureaucratic issues. Though he had to change shoes because of severe foot swelling, Lin never rested for a single day. He returns to Taiwan a national hero, showered with admiration for his resilience and courage.

台湾超级马拉松选手林义杰于2007年2月20日完成横越7,300公里撒哈拉沙漠的艰苦长征。林义杰与另两名选手，自塞内加尔出发到埃及，途中经过六个国家，穿越世界最大的沙漠，全程耗时111天！这三人面临不少挑战，包括地雷、战区、高温、疾病威胁与官方作业的刁难。途中林义杰虽因双脚严重肿胀必须换鞋，却从未休息一天。林义杰返回台湾，成为国人心目中的英雄。他的勇气与坚毅不拔的精神赢得各界赞赏。

Waging War  伊拉克安全局势未见好转

The Iraq War wages relentlessly even though Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki recently launched a new security plan. Days after the new plan was announced, a truck blew up next to a Sunni mosque, killing 42 worshippers in Habbanuyah, west of Baghdad. Endless violence of this kind has contributed to U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision to withdraw British troops from Iraq. This will no doubt put pressure on American President George Bush to do the same. Since 9/11 and America’s occupation of Iraq, anti-American sentiment has increased in most Muslim countries. In Saudi Arabia, 79% have an unfavorable view of the U.S. while in Jordan it stands at 65%.

即使伊拉克总理努里马利基近期发布了一项新安全计划，伊拉克境内战火仍未平息。就在计划宣布几天后，巴格达西方哈巴尼亚城中的逊尼派清真寺旁便发生一起卡车爆炸案，导致42名教徒死亡。类似暴力事件频传，迫使英国首相布莱尔决定自伊拉克撤军。此举无疑将迫使美国总统布什采取同样行动。自911事件及美国占领伊拉克以来，多数回教国家的反美情绪不断上涨。在沙特阿拉伯，79%的人民对美国有负面观感，在约旦则是65%。

Spicing Up The Past  辣椒＝古早味？

In most modern kitchens, chili peppers are used to give any dish’s flavor a little kick. But did you know that adding spice is a practice almost 6,000 years old? A recent discovery by Archeologist Linda Perry of the Smithsonian Institution has discovered that chilies were used by ancient people in Ecuador, predating even the invention of pottery! Remains of chili grains found in ancient grinding bowls have shown that chili peppers are among the oldest domesticated foods. It seems that chili has been spicing things up for a long time.

辣椒在现代厨房里常用增添菜肴风味。但你可知道，大约六千年前，人类就已有使用香料的习惯了？史密森尼研究中心的考古学家琳达．派瑞最近发现，古厄瓜多尔人已有使用辣椒的习惯，时间甚至比陶器的发明更早！在古代研磨钵中发现的辣椒残渣显示辣椒是最古老的家常食物之一。看来辣椒为事物增添风味已有好长一段时间了。

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Vocabulary

单词发音

traverse [trəˋvɝs] v. 横渡，横越

bureaucratic [͵bjʊrəˋkrætɪk] adj. 官僚政治的

resilience [rɪˋzɪlɪəns] n. 弹性; 恢复力

relentlessly [rɪˋlɛntlɪslɪ] adv. 无情地；残酷地

launch [lɔntʃ] v. 发起；使开始从事

withdraw [wɪðˋdrɔ] v. 撤退，撤离

put pressure on 对…施加压力

occupation [͵ɑkjəˋpeʃən] n. 占领，占据

sentiment [ˋsɛntəmənt] n. 情绪

spice something up  增添..趣味  to make something more interesting

More Information

单词发音

ultra-endurance 超耐力

grueling [ˋgruəlɪŋ] adj. 累垮人的；令人受不了的

Senegal [͵sɛnɪˋgɔl] n. 塞内加尔（非洲一国名）

minefield [ˋmaɪn͵fild] n. 雷区

war-torn  受战争蹂躏的〔国家﹑城市等﹐尤指内战〕laid waste by war

shower [ˋʃaʊɚ] v. 大量地给予；倾注

admiration [͵ædməˋreʃən] n. 敬佩; 钦佩; 羡慕

wage [wedʒ] v. 进行，从事

Sunni [ˋsʌnɪ] n. & adj.（伊斯兰教正统）逊尼派（的）

contribute [kənˋtrɪbjut] to  促成

Muslim [ˋmʌzləm] adj. 回教的；伊斯兰教的

unfavorable [ʌnˋfevrəb!] adj. 令人不快的

Jordan [ˋdʒɔrdn] n. 约旦（阿拉伯北部的王国）

stand [stænd] v. 处于(某一水平)

chili pepper 红辣椒

kick [kɪk] n.（酒等的）劲

archeologist [͵ɑrkɪˋɑlədʒɪst] n. 考古学家

Ecuador [ˋɛkwə͵dɔr] n. 厄瓜多尔

predate [priˋdet] v. 在历史上早于

grain [gren] n.（砂，盐等的）粒，细

domesticated [dəˋmɛstə͵ketɪd] adj. 家庭生活的