每日口說挑戰【CNN10】新冠變種Omicron來襲 / 美國通膨經濟影響 / 2021 CNN英雄票選揭曉

[Transcript]

Omicron: The New Covid-19 Variant

Our first story begins in the United Kingdom, where health officials say Omicron, a newly-discovered variant or version of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly throughout the country. The British government estimates that Omicron accounts for 20% of all coronavirus cases in the UK, which amounted to just over 4,700 Omicron cases on Monday (Dec 13, 2021). 10 people had been hospitalized with the new variant, despite most of them being fully vaccinated; and unfortunately, one person with it has died.

Across the Atlantic, New York State is increasing COVID-related restrictions. For people to enter businesses there, they now have to be wearing masks unless the businesses themselves require vaccinations. A mask mandate remains in effect in Illinois for people who go inside public buildings, and that's regardless of whether they've been vaccinated. Protesters have been speaking out against various mandates nationwide, and dozens of court cases related to them have been filed. What do you think? Is it a violation of human rights when the government requests people to wear masks in the midst of the pandemic?

Inflation in the U.S.

President Gerald Ford once called inflation a public enemy back in 1974. And at the moment, there are a lot of mixed signals concerning the US economy. In its most recent employment report, the Labor Department said 210,000 jobs were created in November, that's far short of the 573,000 economists had expected⏤a real bad sign there. On the other hand, the unemployment rate dropped from 4.6% in October to 4.2% in November, which is rather a good sign.

Wages have increased; the government says this November, the average amount of money Americans made per hour was 4.8% higher than it was a year ago, but prices have increased, too. The government says inflation is 6.8% higher than it was a year ago, its biggest increase in almost four decades. And while some are optimistic that inflation could calm down in the year ahead, banking officials, however, have indicated that it may stick around for some more time.

CNN Hero 2021 Announced

Folks, back in November, we introduced the 2021 Top 10 CNN Heroes. It was viewers’ decision to vote for their best hero among the ten, so ladies and gents, meet Shirely Raines, the 2021 CNN Hero of the Year. Shirely Raines is the founder of a non-profit organization called "Beauty 2 the Streetz". For the past six years, the NPO has provided food, clothing, hair, and makeup services on Skid Row, an area of Los Angeles, California that has one of America's highest concentrations of homeless people.

Raines had experienced financial insecurity, grief, and loss herself in previous years after her two-year-old son died. She first started working in this area in 2017 when she joined a church group that went there to feed people, and she felt a connection to the homeless community. 30 years afterward, she and her six children began the work that became Beauty 2 the Streetz.

Upon receiving a $100,000 reward from CNN in support of her good work, Raines stated in gratitude that it’s important we know that broken people are still very useful.

And that wraps up our news today, let’s move on to our sentence of the day.

[Sentence of the day]


Protesters have been speaking out against various mandates nationwide, and dozens of court cases related to them have been filed.

[Vocabulary words]

1. protester
someone who shows that they disagree with something in the public

E.g. A group of protesters was arrested by the police.
一群抗議者被警方逮捕。

2. mandate
a type of order and request

E.g. Restaurants and shops are compelled to carry out the indoor mask mandate.
餐館和商店被迫必須執行室內戴口罩的命令。

3. file
to officially record something, especially in a law court

E.g. The police filed charges against the two suspects.
警方對兩名嫌疑犯提出了訴訟。


Alright, folks, that’s all we have time for today
Christmas is just around the corner
So make a wish and let it come true
Happy holidays and a rosy 2022 to all of you
This is Ken Miao, singing Happy New Year and we’ll meet again next year. Bye!

♫ Happy New Year - ABBA ♫

No more champagne
And the fireworks are through
Here we are, me and you
Feeling lost and feeling blue
It's the end of the party
And the morning seems so grey
So unlike yesterday
Now's the time for us to say...

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I

●the vocabulary from the video and the script●

1. variant (n) 變體；變種；變形
>There are four variants of malaria, all transmitted to humans by a particular family of mosquitoes.
瘧疾有四個變種，都是透過一種特殊的蚊子傳播給人。

2. mutation (n) （基因的）突變，變異
>It is well known that radiation can cause mutation.
眾所周知，輻射可以造成基因突變。

3. reinstate (v) 使重返崗位，使恢復原職；把…放回原處；使恢復原狀
>A month after being unfairly dismissed, he was reinstated in his job.
在被不公正解職一個月後，他又重新返回工作崗位。

4. twister (n) 【氣象】【美】【口】旋風；龍捲風
>The twister turned this city into a shambles.
龍捲風將這個城市變成了一片廢墟。

5. stick around 逗留，停留
>You go - I'll stick around here a bit longer.
你走吧——我在這裡再留一會兒。

6. feel the pinch（由於收入減少而）手頭拮据
>When my father lost his job and we had to live on my mother's earnings, we really started to feel the pinch.
父親失業後，我們不得不依靠母親的工資度日，真的開始感到手頭拮据。

7. offset (v) 補償；抵消；彌補
>He keeps his petrol receipts because petrol is one of the expenses that he can offset against tax.
他保留著他的汽油費收據，因為汽油費是可以抵扣稅款的一項開支。

8. every cent counts 每一分錢都得斤斤計較
>When you're trying to save money, every cent counts.
當你想省錢時，每一分錢都很重要。

9. decor [deˋkɔr] (n) 裝飾，室內裝潢；舞臺裝置
>elegant decor 雅致的裝飾

10. scarce ★ [skɛrs]★ (a) 缺乏的；不足的
>Food and fuel were scarce in this region.
這地區食物和燃料都很缺乏。

11. keep one's head above water 勉強度日,過生活
>I'm managing to keep my head above water, though I'm not earning much.
我儘管收入不多, 卻能設法不欠債。

12. hang back 畏縮不前
>They all hung back in fear.
他們都嚇得退縮了。

13. whip out 迅速拿出
>The man whipped out a knife
那個男子迅速地掏出一把刀。

14. cub （熊，獅，虎，狼等的）幼獸；幼鯨；幼鯊
>a two-month-old leopard cub 一隻年僅兩個月的幼豹

15. barren (a)（土地等）貧瘠的，荒蕪的，不毛的
>The land remains barren.
這片土地依然荒蕪。

16. file (v) 提出申請；提起訴訟[（+for）]
>She decided to file for divorce.
她決意起訴要求離婚。

#D520. 前陣子有些忙，再次回歸。
Protesters(/prəˈtes.tɚ/抗議者) have been speaking out against various(/ˈver.i.əs/各種不同的) mandates(/ˈmæn.deɪt/命令n.) nationwide(/ˌneɪ.ʃənˈwaɪd/在全國adv.), and *dozens(/ˈdʌz.ən/) of(許多) court(/kɔːrt/法庭) cases related to them have been filed(/faɪl/提出訴訟v.).

◆ speak out/up :（尤指對有強烈共鳴的話題）公開發表意見，坦率說出
If no one has the courage to speak out against the system, things will never improve. 如果沒有人敢挺身而出反對現行體制，情況永遠也不會改善。

◆ file (vt.) 提出（申請等）；提起（訴訟等）
She has filed a suit against the college for sex discrimination. 她對那所大學提出性別歧視的訴訟。

把……歸檔[（+away）]
She filed all her letters carefully. 她把她所有的信件仔細歸檔。

（記者）用電話，電報發送（稿子）

(vi.) 排成縱隊行進
They filed past the grave of the national hero. 他們排成縱隊走過那位民族英雄的墳墓。

提出申請；提起訴訟[（+for）]
She decided to file for divorce. 她決意起訴要求離婚。

☺Protesters have been speaking out against various mandates nationwide, and dozens of court cases related to them have been filed.
抗議者一直不斷在全國各地公開表示反對相關的各種命令，同時也提起了與之相關的數十個訴訟案。
【心得】我覺得強制打疫苗會比較有爭議，畢竟有些人的身體狀況，可能不太適合打疫苗，搞不好反而打了還出事。
■protester [ˋprotɛstɚ] or[proˋtɛstɚ] =protestor 抗議者；反對者；拒絕者；斷言者
■mandate [ˈmænˌdet] (n.C)命令、指令；(國際聯盟的)委託管理、託管地；(選民對選出的代表、議會等的)授權、委任[+to-v]；受命進行的工作
(vt.)把(領土)委託別國管轄；正式批准、授權進行；命令；要求
■file [faɪl] (vt.) 把…歸檔[(+away)]；提出(申請等)；提起(訴訟等)；(記者)用電話、電報發送(稿子)；銼
(vi.) 排成一列行進；銼平、銼光滑、銼去；提出申請、提起訴訟[(+for)]
(n.C)訂存的文件(或卡片等)；(電腦的)檔案、文檔；四眼活頁夾；文件盤；(尤指辦公室的)文件箱、文件夾、卷宗、文件盒、文件櫃；縱列；銼(刀)
(n.C or U)；排成一行的人(或動物)
■speak out against (ph. v.)公開反對、大聲疾呼地反對
■speak out (ph. v.)(尤指對有強烈共鳴的話題)公開發表意見、公開宣布、大膽地說、毫無保留地說、直言不諱

Protesters have been speaking out against various mandates nationwide, and dozens of court cases related to them have been filed.

1093
謝謝Ken 帶來歡樂的歌聲～聽了心情好起來❤️

Protesters have been speaking out against various mandates nationwide, and dozens of court cases related to them have been filed.