Chiang Mai- A breath of fresh air
（本專欄每次介紹一個有趣的城市，讓你以英文暢遊全世界）
文/Wendy周
「任時光匆匆流去，我只在乎你…」鄧麗君柔亮的歌聲，即便在她過世多年後的今天，依然扣人心弦。足跡幾乎踏過世界五大洲的鄧麗君生前最後的居留處不是台灣，而是在有「泰國北方玫瑰」之稱，同時也是泰國第二大城的「清邁」。什麼樣的魅力，讓鄧麗君晚年愛上「清邁」這個異鄉城市？Surrounded by mountains, I stepped into the city and instantly felt the breeze. That’s Chiang Lai, a city that calms you down and eases all your stress. I found my peace and inner soul there. 歷史遺留下七百多年的寺廟，金碧輝煌但沒有俗氣之意，反而靜坐在其中我找到心靈的寧靜。翻山越嶺，親眼目睹世界稀少的長頸族，我心震了一下，驚覺他們的世界如此小，族裡大部分的人拒絕世界組織團體介入幫助他們安頓在已開發國家，寧願一生戴著那沉重的頸圈，一輩子沉重的負擔，隨時提醒著他們必須一直延續下去這個傳統，只因為它是傳統。Chiang Mai is a place that offers something for everyone from nature lovers, culture vultures, adrenalin junkies to those who just wish to lie back in a luxurious spa and be pampered. It is home to over 300 temples dating as far back as the 13th century. Within half an hour's drive in every direction there are museums, ancient ruins, national parks, waterfalls, mountain trails, and other unique beautiful attractions. I enjoyed my Thai afternoon walking in Phu Phing Palace. The Palace is famous for its splendid garden that Her Majesty the Queen takes particular pride in it. And I walked to one of the temples, sat on the floor, closed my eyes and felt at peace. Finally, I found my sanity. 四面環山造就出它宜人的氣候，這塊充滿文化氣息的淨土，是那樣一個出淤泥而不染的世界角落，原來，上天冥冥中讓那樣乾淨的歌聲找到最終休憩之地。1. A breath of fresh air的意思是形容新奇的意思，讓人感覺耳目一新。 2.Culture vultures形容一個人對於文化有高度興趣，非常渴望追求任何關於文化的訊息。3.Adrenalin junkies在形容一個人喜愛追求刺激的活動，熱愛腎上腺素狂飆的快感。Fun Fact 長頸族Kayan
A special tribe called Kayan is known for wearing rings around their neck. Kayan women often say that their purpose for wearing the rings is cultural identity. The rings are rarely removed since they started wearing them around the age of five. The coiling and uncoiling is a long procedure. They are usually only removed to be replaced by a new or longer set of coils. To set the record straight, women do not suffocate if the rings are removed, though the muscles covered by them are weakened. Many women have removed the rings for medical examinations. Contrary to popular belief, the neck is not actually lengthened. Each coil is replaced with longer coils as the weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage.
在清邁有一個少數民族稱做Kayan族，當時為了逃難而來到泰國西北邊界的媚洪順，後來不知為何這支民族的婦女認為長頸才能顯示出女人的美麗，因此她們從五歲起就在母親的協助下在頸子上架起了銅圈，到了〸歲開始每年再多加一圈直到二〸五歲為止，到了二〸五歲這些銅圈更可高達二〸五圈重達5至10公斤；銅容易生綠锈，要時常擦拭，而且銅很沈，會將肩膀壓塌，所謂的長頸並不是因為頸子變長，而是因為鋼圈的重量長期壓住鎖骨和肋骨，使得脖子看起來變長了。Many reasons regarding why the coils are worn have been suggested. One of the reasons is that they think the rings can protect the women from becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other tribes. Another reason might be that the coils give the women resemblance to a dragon. And the coils might be meant to protect from tiger bites, perhaps literally, but probably symbolically.
婦女戴銅圈的說法眾說紛紜，有一說是因為女人留在村內照顧家庭，但又是住在山上，難免會遭受到野獸的攻擊，所以小女孩五歲開始就須在脖子、手臂、小腿上套銅圈，以防止野獸攻擊。另一個說法是為防止其他族的男人對Kayan族的女人有非分之想，但這些都只是人們的揣測罷了，真正的原因已經隨著時間流逝了。1.Coiling的意思為盤繞，Kayan族裡的銅圈是用盤繞的方式放上脖子，所以每一次的過程都是需要很長的時間。2.To set the record straight字面上是把記錄變直，實際上是所謂破除迷思的意思。小編悄悄話：
三、四年了。每個周末固定閱讀「世界公民Weekly」的，有上市科技公司的總經理，掌握幾〸億資金的VC董事長，網路社群startup的CEO，大學教授，海外歸國MBA，每天兢兢業業，英文能再好一點、工作就更順一點的上班族。現在，只要NT$1,500，就能下載一年份在工商時報刊載的世界公民Weekly喔! 登記請按這裡 世界公民文中心 發表在 痞客邦 留言(0) 人氣(321)
Harvard Business Review Club
讀一流的管理雜誌，遇見最頂尖的管理顧問，結交最top的managers，棋逢敵手！
世界公民文化中心Harvard Business Review Club的導讀老師是Greg G，
豐富的商業與人生閱歷，能帶領有管理實務經驗的學員，
透過真實案例的debate/ SWOT analysis/ group discussion/ feasibility study/ presentation...
經過一年100小時全英文的訓練，讓你用英文展現第一流的行銷、管理風采。
領導企業，就能領導世界！
哈佛商業評論CLUB招生中！現在就報名甄選→請點此
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英文裡有很多字，既是名詞又是動詞，像value, account, verge......一旦我們熟悉這些字的名詞形式，就會依賴它們的名詞形式，一用再用，動詞形式自然就鈍化了。學會用「名詞的動詞形式」，英文會好到你自己也意想不到的境界。不信你看看，上方是你的慣用句，文法看來沒錯，但就是千篇一律，沒有動作！這類我們稱之靜態英文，靜態英文最大的敗筆就是過度使用be動詞。
靜態英文
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動感英文
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MediaTek is number one in worldwide market share for various high-end digital consumer products.
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MediaTek ranks first in worldwide market share for various high-end digital consumer products.
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The total of your bill is NT$ 500
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Your bill totals to NT$ 500.
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Her TOEIC scores are good.
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She scores well on the TOEIC test.
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His weight is 75kgs.
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He weighs 75Kgs.
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We form a team for this new project.
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We team up for this new project.
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The bank gave us a credit of 50,000 dollars.
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The bank credited 50,000 dollars to us.
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這類字還有很多，像schedule, measure, progress, access, fold, sort, spin, average.....我概稱之為2nd tier verbs，現在讓你的名詞動態出現，你講的是動感英文：有節奏和速度感！ *給自己一個英文非好不可的理由，我們就讓它好到你希望它有多好的程度！現在就報名甄選量身訂做的一對一program! 世界公民文中心 發表在 痞客邦 留言(0) 人氣(856)
明天7/17(六)工商時報”世界公民weekly”內容搶先看：●史帝芬霍金：凡事皆有可能
宇宙有開端嗎？如果有的話，在那之前發生過什麼？本週來看繼愛因斯坦後最傑出的物理學家：史蒂芬霍金的研究及克服「漸凍人」疾病的故事。●世界上的富豪越來越富有●英語新鮮名詞Chat gravity
聊天重力，它是指你跟另一個人的熟悉程度決定了你們在街頭偶遇的時候，是只打個招呼就過去，還是停下來聊一會兒。●美國生意人每天講的話●Debug
這幾句每一句都很彆扭，因為都是直接中翻英講出來的英文，你會不會也講出類似的英文呢？先不要看答案，看看能不能把它講對！世界公民文中心 發表在 痞客邦 留言(0) 人氣(73)
只知道「一般用語」不夠，還要延伸出意思的層次感才道地。接續這三天的話題，今天來看「殺」這個字有哪些不同層次： 世界公民文中心 發表在 痞客邦 留言(0) 人氣(1,036)
“賣鞋的亞馬遜”近來美國書店排行榜商業書籍top 1是一本叫做Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose--《奉上幸福》。這本書作者是36歲的華裔青年創業家謝家華（Tony Hsieh），書中闡釋他為企業創造熱情和利潤的要訣。謝家華，這個名字對於大多數華人還很陌生，在美國卻已是家喻戶曉。這位36歲的美籍華人一手創辦的網路鞋店Zappos.com，已成了很多美國人日常生活中必不可少的網站之一。去年10月，謝家華以10億美元的資產登上《財富》雜誌“40歲以下億萬富豪榜”，排名第27位。從哈佛的“天才少年”到如今的網路售鞋大亨，謝家華憑藉自己的天資與獨到的判斷力，創造了一個網路傳奇。謝家華出生於伊利諾州，父母早年從台灣移民美國。他在舊金山長大，就讀哈佛大學主修電腦，19歲就拿到了學位。21歲他以2萬美元作為資本，在小公寓裡創業。他的公司Link Exchange主要是“為沈默者發聲”，這是當年一度流行的廣告交換。這家公司後來以2.65億美元賣給微軟，謝家華挖到了第一桶金。有了錢，謝家華投資了比自己更年輕的創業者尼克•斯威姆的網路鞋店Shoe Site，覺得“Shoe Site”這個名字太白，更名為Zappos。在謝家華的帶領下，“Zappos”開始“家喻戶曉”。每38個美國人當中，就有一個人買過Zappos的鞋或相關商品，Zappos的目標是滲透到10%。獨特用人理念：“鼓勵”辭職Zappos的成功，也歸功於謝家華尋找合適員工上採用的一套獨特做法。Zappos的核心能力是電話客服。Zappos的call center招入新員工後，會提供4個星期培訓。培訓的第一個星期，Zappos稱其為“出價”時間，這一周的最後一天，公司會告知新員工：“如果你今天辭職，我們會按你的工作時間付你薪水，另外還提供1000美元獎金。”這一看似瘋狂的舉動，卻能真正吸引認同公司價值、熱愛客服工作的員工投入。謝家華說，熱情和奉獻才是Zappos賴以留住顧客的核心價值，因此，“更看重態度而不是經驗”是Zappos選人的基本原則。 Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose：l Pay new employees $2000 to quit. l Make customer service the responsibility of the entire company, not just a department. l Focus on company culture as the #1 priority. l Apply research from the science of happiness to running a business. l Help employees grow both personally and professionally. l Seek to change the world. l Oh, and make money too. Sound crazy? It’s all standard operating procedure at Zappos, the online retailer that’s doing over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales annually. After debuting as the highest-ranking newcomer in Fortune magazine’s annual “Best Companies to Work For” list in 2009, Zappos was acquired by Amazon in a deal valued at over $1.2 billion on the day of closing.In his first book, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shares the different lessons he has learned in business and life, from starting a worm farm to running a pizza business; through LinkExchange (acquired by Microsoft for $265 million), Zappos, and more.Tony shows how a very different kind of corporate culture is a powerful model for achieving success — and how by concentrating on the happiness of those around you, you can dramatically increase your own.亞馬遜書店採訪Delivering Happiness 作者謝家華節選：1. In the book you say, "I've been an entrepreneur for most of my life." Do you think people are born entrepreneurs or do they become them? I think usually by the time you're 12 years old, you either have the entrepreneurial spirit or you don't. I would describe the entrepreneurial spirit as a combination of creativity and optimism.2. Was the worm farm really the invaluable catalyst for forming your business and life philosophy? My parents tell me that as a kid I was always trying to come up with different business ideas. The idea of starting a worm farm is my earliest memory of a business idea.3. What is the ratio between rebelling against conventional wisdom and sticking to the good old truths in building a successful business? 1:104. You describe your way to happiness starting with profits, then going through passion and finally getting to purpose. Is that the only path to business happiness? No, that was just the path that I happened to take. Part of the purpose of the book is to help other entrepreneurs and business owners shortcut the process and encourage them to go straight to combining profits, passion, and purpose.5. You seem to have taken risks with business ideas a lot while growing up. How do you recognize a risk that you shouldn't take? I think it just comes down to really breaking down what the worst case scenario actually is. For most of us, we're lucky to live in a time and in a society where we aren't actually ever in danger of dying from starvation or lack of shelter. Most of us have friends whose couches we can crash on in the worst case scenario, so any "risk" we take in starting a company isn't actually that big a risk.本文同步刊於7/10工商時報"世界公民weekly"。想看更多~歡迎加入世界公民weekly俱樂部世界公民文中心 發表在 痞客邦 留言(0) 人氣(3,917)
知道「一般用語」不夠，還要延伸出意思的層次感。接續這兩天的話題，今天來看「種類」有哪些不同層次以及怎麼使用：
Kind (n.)---種類。指同種類的東西。
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接續昨天討論，今天來看「走」有哪些不同的層次：Walk(v.) 一般用語。是中性詞。指以正常速度走路。Stride(v.) 指大步行走，並且步伐均勻。Stroll (v.) 指為了消遣而慢慢地步行。Plod(v.) 指緩慢而吃力地走。l Let us walk in the park for a while.讓我們在公園裡散步一會兒。l We got off the bus and walked the last few blocks. 我們下了公共汽車，走過最後幾個街區。l She turned and strode off. 她轉身大步走開了。l The soldiers are striding with a dignified gait. 士兵們正昂然闊步而行。l They are strolling players. 他們是流浪藝人。l The poor old man plods along, hardly able to lift each food.
這可憐的老人吃力地走著，幾乎都抬不動腳了。l The old horse plodded up the road. 老馬在路上緩步而行。未完待續… 熟到老外都覺得你英文好，加入量身訂做的1on1 program
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這禮拜一工商時報"華爾街日報導讀"的主題真的很有趣:在瑞士，連魚都有律師!
In Zurich, even fish have a lawyer大家有記得去翻閱報紙嗎?
錯過報紙的朋友不用擔心，現在還可以訂閱我們的"華爾街日報導讀電子報"，
每週三將完整的內容寄給你，
包括導讀老師的中英文"導讀"、"字詞"說明、
還有檢視自己文章瞭解多少，也是由老師用心編寫的"測驗題"，
每週一次和世界議題接軌，是讓英文進步的好方式!
現在就點到"這裡"登記喔！
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我們今天來談：開發出英語字彙的「層次」感～
學英文從「OK」到「Good」的階段，一定會開始感覺到英文字的層次感不夠。因為光知道「一般用語」不夠，還要延伸出意思的層次感。我們來看看英文光是「笑」，就有：
1. crack a smile 展顏微笑，莞爾一笑
The king was willing to do anything to make the queen crack a smile. (國王為了讓他的王后展顏微笑，他願意做任何事情。)
2. laugh a hearty laugh/laugh heartily 放聲大笑，開懷大笑
Upon hearing that he had won the lottery, the man laughed heartily. (知道自己中獎了，這個男人開懷大笑。)
3. force a smile 強作歡顏
First, force yourself to smile. If you are alone, force yourself to whistle or hum a tune or sing. Act as if you were already happy, and that will tend to make you happy. (首先強迫你自己微笑，如果你單獨一人的時候，吹吹口哨，唱唱歌，儘量讓自己高興起來，就好像你真的很快樂一樣，那就能使你快樂。)
4. a saccharine smile 諂笑，諂媚的笑
When he talks to his boss, he puts on a saccharine smile. (他跟老闆說話的時候，滿臉都是諂媚的假笑。)
5. smile bitterly 苦笑
The student smiled bitterly when his teacher caught him copying his homework. (抄作業被老師抓到後，這個學生滿臉苦笑。)
明天起還會介紹幾組意思相近，但層次不同的詞。你平常用的可能都是一般用語，讓自己在一般用語之外，開發出語言的層次感吧！
熟到老外都覺得你英文好，加入量身訂做的1on1 program
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