宜誠鼎峰社區

When gunmen burst into Gaza’s Palestine Bank on Monday and demanded a quarter of a million dollars the branch manager had to give in - he couldn’t say no to the police.

當持槍者週一衝進加薩的巴勒斯坦銀行並要求25萬美元時，分行經理必須屈服—因為他無法對警察說不。

Captain James Cook was an English explorer for the British Royal Navy. He sailed to many places that people from Europe had not yet discovered. He also made maps of the places he visited. One of the new areas he traveled around was the Pacific Ocean. On this date in 1770, Captain Cook caught sight of a new land. What he saw then is now known as Australia. Cook was also the first person on record to sail around New Zealand.

Former NY governor’s call girl strips down for Playboy

On this date in 1906, the people of San Francisco, California were woken up at 5:12 AM. Homes and buildings were shaken like toys as a massive earthquake hit the city. The earthquake was so big, in fact, that it could be felt from the state of Oregon in the north all the way to the city of Los Angeles in the south. Because of the destruction and fires that broke out afterwards, nearly 3,000 people were killed. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake is still considered one of the worst natural disasters ever to hit the US.

From flags to candles and tulips to tacky badges, business is brisk for those looking to make a fast buck in the wake of the air-crash death in Russia of Polish president Lech Kaczynski.

從國旗到蠟燭、鬱金香和俗氣的徽章，對那些想趁波蘭總統卡辛斯基在俄羅斯空難中喪生而大發橫財的人來說，生意可是興隆得很。

Baby boys who are looked after by nannies are more likely to womanise, a psychiatrist has claimed.

有保母照料的男嬰未來較可能沉迷於女色，一位精神病學家宣稱。

Our cheesy photo with president... er, who?

咱們跟總統的刻意合照……呃，誰啊？

Children whose mothers work are less likely to lead healthy lives than those with "stay at home" mums, a study says. The Institute of Child Health study of more than 12,500 five-year-olds found those with working mothers less active and more likely to eat unhealthy food.

研究顯示，媽媽有工作的孩子，可能不比媽媽「待在家」的小孩健康。孩童健康研究所觀察1萬2500名5歲孩童發現，媽媽上班的小孩比較不活潑，也比較會吃不健康的食物。

A man who claimed to have been sent by Jesus to punish sinners rammed his car into a parked plane at an airport in southeastern Nigeria, an aviation spokesman said Thursday.

一名宣稱奉耶穌差派來懲罰罪人的男子，駕車衝撞停在奈及利亞東南部一座機場的飛機，一名航空發言人說。

A burglar in New Jersey whipped up a chicken and rice dish after breaking into a restaurant in the town of Hillsdale.

新澤西州一名竊賊闖入希爾斯達鎮的一間餐廳後，迅速做出一盤雞肉飯。

It may sound far-fetched, but federal regulators are studying whether sudden acceleration in Toyotas is linked to cosmic rays.

You’re full of yourself！（你少臭美了！）

身邊有自大、自滿、自以為是的朋友該怎麼辦呢？身為這些人的朋友真是痛苦，必須天天聽他們吹噓自己，可是又不能當場點破他們，不然多年的友誼可能就此告吹。不過，所謂「友直、友諒、友多聞」，最好還是老實告訴這些人：You’re full of yourself！或者你也可以說：Don’t be smug！（別沾沾自喜了！）至於形容人「自以為是」還可以用self-righteous（自以為是的）、opinionated（頑固、堅持己見）、或者dogmatic（固執己見的）。

Labour’s recent attempt to ridicule David Cameron as an Eighties TV detective backfired spectacularly, after the Tories turned it into a vote-winner for their leader.

英國工黨最近把保守黨黨魁卡麥隆嘲諷為八○年代電視影集偵探的企圖產生了嚴重反效果，因為保守黨反過來把海報轉為替卡麥隆吸票的工具。

中國不但是製造業的世界工廠，現在連英文也Made in China，只是所生產的英文夾雜中文的洋涇濱英文（Chinglish），堪稱中國文化的另類輸出。例如，以China+consumers 的合體字Chinsumers，稱呼出國旅遊時揮金如土的中國購物狂。

前陣子環保署發布沙塵暴（Sandstorms或Duststorms）警告。吹到台灣的沙塵暴，來自中國大陸西北、華北和蒙古沙漠地區，這些沙原本距離台灣數千公里，到底是什麼原因使它們飄洋過海？沙塵暴可以說是沙漠化的副產品，一般發生在春夏之交，形成原因與大氣環流、地貌形態和氣候等因素息息相關，更與人為的生態環境破壞密不可分。 

In a judgment condemned as ’the summit of perversity’ and ’an open door for paedophiles’, a Belgian man was acquitted of charges he raped his four-year-old daughter because he did it in his sleep, Belgian media reported on Tuesday.

一名比利時男子被控強暴4歲女兒的罪名不成立，因為他是在睡夢中做了這件事，這項判決被譴責是「性變態的極致」、「為戀童狂大開方便之門」，比利時媒體週二報導。

People terrified of visiting the dentist can overcome their fear with acupuncture, researchers have claimed. The findings, in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine, may offer some comfort to the one in five people thought to have dental phobia.

研究人員宣稱，害怕看牙醫的人可以藉著針灸克服恐懼。1/5的人有看牙恐懼，這項刊登在針灸醫學期刊的研究或許能為他們帶來一些安慰。

More than half a century after Edmund Hillary first stood on the top of Mount Everest, the ashes of the world-famous mountaineer are to be carried to the summit by a Nepalese Sherpa.

在艾德蒙．希拉瑞首度登上聖母峰頂逾半世紀後，這位全球知名的登山家的骨灰，可望由一名尼泊爾雪巴帶上峰頂。

If you guessed that this festival was a strange way to celebrate the changing of the seasons, you would be greatly mistaken. Held in Kenting, Spring Scream is an outdoor festival that focuses on music. The festival was the idea of two Americans, Jimi Moe and Wade Davis, and has been held annually since it started in 1995. The festival lasts from two to 11 days but averages four days most years. Spring Scream started off with only a handful of bands but now has around 200 acts1 each year.