Will的美语课

著名演员罗宾.威廉姆斯去世，怀疑系自杀

August 25, 2014August 13, 2014 by Will

著名演员罗宾.威廉姆斯去世，怀疑系自杀

奥斯卡奖得主、喜剧巨星罗宾.威廉姆斯于周一去世，疑死于自杀，享年63岁。多年来，凭借其大量关于流行文化的即兴桥段及搞笑模仿，罗宾.威廉姆斯迷倒了大批观众。同时，他也成为信息时代一位独具魅力的喜剧王者。

Actor Robin Williams found dead in apparent suicide

Robin Williams, the Academy Award winner and comic supernova whose explosions of pop culture riffs and impressions dazzled audiences for decades and made him a gleamy-eyed laureate for the Information Age, died Monday in an apparent suicide. He was 63.

Source: MSN news

乔布斯关于兴趣与事业的英文名言: the only way to do great work is …

January 19, 2020August 10, 2014 by Will

“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do… Don’t settle.”

—Steve Jobs

“你必须找到你所喜欢的。爱情如此，工作亦如此。工作将占据你生命中的一大块，若要从中获得真正的满足，唯一途径就是去从事你认为是不凡的事业。而成就伟大事业的唯一途径是要热爱你的事业… 不要将就。”

–史蒂夫.乔布斯

奥巴马授权对伊拉克空袭以停止种族屠杀

August 28, 2014August 8, 2014 by Will

奥巴马授权对伊拉克进行空袭以停止种族屠杀

华盛顿消息-美国总统奥巴马周四表示其已授权可在需要的情况下进行“定点空袭”，以保护在伊拉克的美国人员，同时授权向伊拉克境内的少数派宗教人士空投食物及水，这些人员正遭受伊斯兰武装分子围攻，被困一座山顶。

“今天，美国将要伸出援手，”奥巴马说。

奥巴马总统周四的声明意味着美国进一步介入伊拉克不断扩大的危机，但奥巴马试图使美国公众确信，该举措不会导致美国卷入伊拉克地面战争。

来源：usatoday

Obama authorizes airstrikes in Iraq to stop genocide

WASHINGTON — President Obama said Thursday that he authorized “targeted airstrikes” if needed to protect U.S. personnel in Iraq, as well as airdrops of food and water to religious minorities in Iraq who are under siege from Islamic militants and trapped on a mountaintop.

“Today, America is coming to help,” Obama said.

The president’s announcement Thursday amounts to a significant escalation of involvement in the growing Iraqi crisis, but Obama attempted to assure the American public that it would not lead to U.S. involvement in a ground war there.

Source: usatoday

关键词汇小贴士：

genocide: 种族屠杀。（systematic massive killing/destruction of a racial group）

amounts to: 等于。（add up to）

特斯拉公布其2015年量产10万辆电动车计划

August 28, 2014August 5, 2014 by Will

特斯拉公布其2015年量产10万辆电动车计划

上周，特斯拉CEO埃隆.马斯克宣布，该公司将于2015年交付10万辆电动汽车。在马斯克发布该声明后的次日上午，这一消息导致特斯拉股价上涨5个百分点。考虑到特斯拉2013年的22000辆及今年的预计35000辆产能，10万辆的产量预估无疑是一个大幅提升，投资者对此消息表示欢迎。

来源：inhabitat.com

Tesla Announces Plans to Deliver 100,000 Electric Cars in 2015

Last week Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the automaker will deliver 100,000 electric vehicles in 2015. The news sent Tesla’s stock up five percent the morning after Musk released the statement. Investors were happy about the news, since the 100,000 vehicle production estimate is a big jump up from the 22,000 vehicles Tesla produced in 2013 and the 35,000 that is projected for this year.

Source: inhabitat.com

Dean’s List是什么意思？

June 1, 2019August 4, 2014 by Will

Dean’s List的字面意思一目了然：院长名单。可是，这院长名单具体又指的是什么呢？

其实，Dean’s List的真正意思是：（大学里的）“优等生名录”。维基百科对此的解释是：“A dean’s list is a category of students in a college or university who achieve high grades during their stay in an academic term or academic year. ”（优等生名录是指那些在大学的一个学期或学年中获得高分的学生名录）。

荣列Dean’s List的条件为：按0-4的GPA打分标准（4为最优），优等生的起点通常是3.5分。

要注意，Dean’s List仅限用于大学中，对高中（high school）而言，类似的说法是”consistent honor list”（一贯优秀生名单）或“honor roll”（荣誉榜）。另外，Dean在这里指的是美国大学管理着多个系的学院院长，而非指某个系的负责人哦，后者的常见说法是department head。

我们通常说someone made Dean’s List, 或者someone gets put on the Dean’s List。

来看几个例句：

I’m thrilled to know that I made Dean’s List.

得知我被列为“优等生名录”时，我激动坏了。

A place on the Dean’s List is a high honor for every college student, and it may help them get a better job after graduation.

对每个大学生而言，位列大学里的“优等生名录”绝对是一项很高的荣誉，并很有可能在毕业后帮他们获得一份很棒的工作。

A Dean’s List is a way of honoring students who achieved excellence in their study. It’s kinda like being on the honor roll in high school.

“优等生名录”是用来表彰那些成绩优异生的一种形式。类似于在高中被列入荣誉榜。