How The Danish Girl captured the zeitgeist

  第3週  丹麥女孩

Who:Tom Hooper
When:Not given
Where:Not given
Why:Not given
How:It tells the story of the 1930s Danish artist Einar Wegener, played by Eddie Redmayne, who became one of the first people to undergo sex reassignment surgery, having decided to live life as a woman called Lili Elbe. 

Few movies capture the popular zeitgeist quite like King's Speech director Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl. It tells the story of the 1930s Danish artist Einar Wegener, played by Eddie Redmayne, who became one of the first people to undergo sex reassignment surgery, having decided to live life as a woman called Lili Elbe. The film also features Wegener's wife Gerda, played by Alicia Vikander.

The Danish Girl comes in a year that has put transgender issues firmly into the spotlight. From the transition of Bruce to Caitlyn Jenner, to the Emmy-winning success of Amazon's series Transparent, even the White House chose to screen The Danish Girl as part of a celebration of LGBT artists.

Ironic, then, that Hooper has said the script was passed around for about 12 years struggling to secure backing because of what was seen as the story's limited appeal.

"I hope it provides a message of hope," says the Oscar-winning Hooper, who has 

previously worked with Redmayne on Elizabeth I and Les Miserables.

"It's a message that transgender history matters. These were two extraordinary pioneers of the transgender movement who I think history had marginalised."

Location:http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-35075110

Keywords:

popular zeitgeist:流行的時代精神
sex reassignment surgery:變性手術
transgender:跨性別
LGBT:同志文化
pioneers:先鋒
marginalised:邊緣化

Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej dies

                            泰王蒲美蓬駕崩 第2週

Who: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej

When: Thursday (Oct 13) 

Where: In Thailand

Why: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej died on Thursday (Oct 13) at the age of 88, after 70 years on the throne.

How: Not given

The world's longest-reigning monarch, Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej died on Thursday (Oct 13) at the age of 88, after 70 years on the throne.
  

"His Majesty passed away peacefully at Siriraj Hospital," the palace said in a statement in Thai, adding that the king died at 3.52pm local time.


King Bhumibol had spent much of the past year at Siriraj Hospital, where he was treated for various ailments. The last palace statement issued prior to his death said that the king's blood pressure had dropped, his pulse had quickened, his liver was not functioning normally, and a blood test showed signs of infection.


"Even though the doctors tried their best to save His Majesty, his condition deteriorated," Thursday's statement said, in announcing his death. 


The king's body will leave Siriraj Hospital at 1pm Bangkok time on Friday. It will be taken to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, next to the Grand Palace, in a   procession. 


Starting on Friday, flags will be flown at half mast at all government buildings and schools for 30 days, and Thai government officials will mourn the king for a year.


Thais have also been urged to refrain from festivities for the next 30 days and to wear black for a year.


Location:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/thailand-s-king-bhumibol-adulyadej-dies/3203010.html


Key words:

longest-reigning monarch: 在位時間最長的君主
Majesty: 最高權威
ailments: 疾病
pulse: 脈動
deteriorated: 惡化
half mast: 降半旗

France burkini: Highest court suspends ban     第1週    布基尼

Who: France's highest administrative court.

When: Not given.

Where:In a town on the Mediterranean coast.

Why:Not given.

How:France's highest administrative court has suspended a ban on full-body "burkini" swimsuits that was imposed.

France's highest administrative court has suspended a ban on full-body "burkini" swimsuits that was imposed in a town on the Mediterranean coast.

The ban in Villeneuve-Loubet "seriously and clearly illegally breached fundamental freedoms", it found.

The ruling could set a precedent for up to 30 other towns that imposed bans on their beaches, chiefly on the Riviera.

At least three mayors have already said they will keep the bans in their towns.

The court will make a final decision later on the bans' legality.

Correspondents in France say the court's decision means that all the bans on burkinis are likely now to be overturned,But town hall authorities in Nice and Frejus, as well as in the Corsican village of Sisco, have vowed to keep the bans in place.

Nice saw a devastating attack by a follower of so-called Islamic State in July while Sisco witnessed clashes this month between villagers and Muslim bathers.


Location:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37198479


Keywords:

highest administrative:最高行政機關
Mediterranean:地中海
fundamental freedoms:基本自由
Correspondents:記者
overturned:推翻
devastating attack:致命攻擊
Muslim bathers:穆斯林籍浴者

Muhammad Ali, 'The Greatest of All Time,' Dead at 74                    第9週  拳王阿里

Who:Muhammad Ali

When:Not given

Where:In America

Why:Not given

How:Not given 

Muhammad Ali, the silver-tongued boxer and civil rights champion who famously proclaimed himself "The Greatest" and then spent a lifetime living up to the billing, is dead.

Ali died Friday at a Phoenix-area hospital, where he had spent the past few days being treated for respiratory complications, a family spokesman confirmed to NBC News. He was 74.

"After a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74. The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening," Bob Gunnell, a family spokesman, told NBC News.

Ali had suffered for three decades from Parkinson's, a progressive neurological condition that slowly robbed him of both his verbal grace and his physical dexterity. A funeral service is planned in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

His daughter Rasheda said early Saturday that the legend was "no longer suffering," describing him as "daddy, my best friend and hero" as well as "the greatest man that ever lived."

Even as his health declined, Ali did not shy from politics or controversy, releasing a statement in December criticizing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States. "We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda," he said.

The remark bookended the life of a man who burst into the national consciousness in the early 1960s, when as a young heavyweight champion he converted to Islam and refused to serve in the Vietnam War, and became an emblem of strength, eloquence, conscience and courage. Ali was an anti-establishment showman who transcended borders and barriers, race and religion. His fights against other men became spectacles, but he embodied much greater battles.

Location:http://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/muhammad-ali-greatest-all-time-dead-74-n584776

Keywords:

civil rights:民權

proclaimed:宣布

Living up to the billing:無愧於

respiratory complications:呼吸系統併發症

Parkinson's disease:帕金森氏症

progressive neurological:進行性神經疾病

politics:政治

controversy:爭議

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 explosions blamed on "aggressive" design           第8週      三星手機爆炸

Who: Samsung

When:  Earlier this year 

Where: Manufacturing engineering company
Why: Battery explosions
How: Performed a teardown of the device

Samsung is having some trouble identifying what went wrong with the Galaxy Note 7, which earlier this year was recalled due to a high number of battery explosions, but someone else believes they have the answer. Manufacturing engineering company Instrumental has performed a teardown of the device, and found that the battery simply did not have enough physical room for error.

The problem had more than one factor, the teardown found. A phone battery is made up of positive and negative layers, with separators to keep them from touching and sparking. In order to streamline the size of the battery and maximise space, these separators may have been too thin. Moreover, Samsung made the battery thinner, removing thickness margins.

When batteries are charged, they swell a little. Around 10 percent extra space is required, but the battery entirely filled its 5.2-millimetre-deep pocket, with very little space around the edges. Add the normal pressures of day-to-day handling, and the risk of explosion goes up.

“Looking at the design,Samsung engineers were clearly trying to balance the risk of a super-aggressive manufacturing process to maximize capacity, while attempting to protect it internally,” the teardown reads. “Samsung took a deliberate step toward danger, and their existing test infrastructure and design validation process failed them.”  When batteries are charged, they swell a little. Around 10 percent extra space is required, but the battery entirely filled its 5.2-millimetre-deep pocket, with very little space around the edges. Add the normal pressures of day-to-day handling, and the risk of explosion goes up.

“Looking at the design,Samsung engineers were clearly trying to balance the risk of a super-aggressive manufacturing process to maximize capacity, while attempting to protect it internally,” the teardown reads. “Samsung took a deliberate step toward danger, and their existing test infrastructure and design validation process failed them.”

Location:http://www.cbsnews.com/news/galaxy-note-7-explosions-caused-by-aggressive-design/

Keywords:
recalled:召回
battery explosions:電池爆炸
teardown:拆卸
device:設備
error:錯誤
layers:層
separators:分離器
streamline :流線型
maximise:最大值
infrastructure:基礎設施
validation process:證實過程
manufacturing:製造業

Nice truck attack: French police arrest eight more suspects                第7週  尼斯恐攻

Who: The French authorities
When: In Bastille Day

Where: At French

Why: Not given

How: Not given

French authorities have made eight new arrests in connection with the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice that left 86 people dead, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

The suspects detained on Monday were French and Tunisian, the office said, and had links to the attacker, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, who ploughed a 19-tonne truck down the Promenade des Anglais and into a crowd that had gathered for a 14 July firework display.

All eight men were arrested in the south-eastern Alpes-Maritimes region, which includes Nice.

At least five people already face preliminary terrorism charges in the attack, and are accused of helping Lahouaiej-Bouhlel obtain a pistol and providing other support. It was not immediately clear what the men arrested this week are suspected of.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack. French authorities say Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a Tunisian with French residency, was inspired by the extremist group’s propaganda, but they say no evidence has been found that Isis orchestrated the attack.

France remains under a state of emergency after the Nice killings and Isis attacks on Paris last year. The interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said on Tuesday that the threat to France was higher than ever. He said about 300 people had been arrested in investigations into extremist networks so far this year, according to his office.

Also on Tuesday, authorities detained two boys, 14 and 17, in an investigation into a hoax hostage alert at a Paris church, the prosecutor’s office said. The false alarm on Saturday prompted a big police deployment and activation of an app-based terrorism alert system. A 16-year-old detained on Monday remains in custody.

The government is seeking financial compensation from the perpetrators for wasting security services’ time and money, and scaring the public unnecessarily.

Location:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/20/nice-truck-attack-french-police-arrest-eight-new-suspects

Keywords:

authorities:當局

Bastille Day:法國國慶日

Tunisian:突尼西亞人

ploughed:著手進行

Alpes-Maritimes:阿爾卑斯濱海省

pistol:手槍

extremist group:極端組織

interior minister:內政部長

hostage:人質

custody:監禁

Japan earthquake: Powerful new tremor in Kumamoto   熊本地震 第6週

Who: Not given

When: In the middle of the night
Where: The southern Japanese city of Kumamoto

Why: Not given

How: A more powerful earthquake has rocked 

A more powerful earthquake has rocked the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto in the middle of the night, a day after an earlier tremor killed nine people.

The magnitude-7.3 quake hit at a depth of 10km (six miles) at 01:25 on Saturday (15:25 GMT on Friday) in Kyushu region. At least three people died and hundreds were injured.

In one town near the coast, the city hall has been so badly damaged there are fears it could collapse. A hospital has been evacuated because it is no longer safe.

Thousands of people have fled on to the streets and into parks - where they are huddled under blankets looking dazed and afraid, our correspondent says.

But there are numerous reports of people trapped inside buildings, including at least 60 inside an old people's home.

That quake sparked a huge tsunami and nuclear meltdown at a power plant in Fukushima.

Most of those who died in Thursday's quake were in the town of Mashiki where an apartment building collapsed and many houses were damaged.

More than 1,000 people were injured.


Some 40,000 people had initially fled their homes, with many of those closest to the epicentre spending the night outside, as more than 130 aftershocks had hit the area.


Location:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36059487

Key words:

magnitude-7.3 quake :震級7.3
Kyushu:九州
evacuated:疏散
huddled:擁擠
tsunami:海嘯
nuclear meltdown:核能外洩
power plant:發電廠
Fukushima:福島
Mashiki:益城町
epicentre:震央