ELISA ENGLISH's Blog 英語園地

探討兩性的旅館住客對客房的需求差異:

以台北縣市國際觀光旅館客房設備為切入角度

文法解析:

若非當時台灣銀行界為了競爭消費金融的誘人利潤,幾乎沒有限制的擴張授信額度, 現在也不會有一個月收入不過兩萬六千元的上班族竟然會負債一兩百萬.

過去事實的敘述 => 台灣銀行界沒有限制的擴張授信額度

My neighbor who moved in roughly two years ago always strikes me as someone rather peculiar.  I can never figure him out.  My husband thought that he is an architect who also teaches at University of Minnesota.  However, he looks more like a British secret agent to me.  But I would not say that he shares the resemblance of Sir Sean Connery, someone whom I believe to be the most handsome person in the world along with Tom Cruise, Mickey Rourke and Val Kilmer.  Okay, there you go.  The cat is out of the bag.  These are the actors I secretly admire.

Anyway, all the clues seem to point him to a secret agent.  He spends half of his time at an island near England and the other half in Minnesota.  He owns a residence in that island.  He spent, without a wink, half a million on a house, which I believe should be appraised at roughly $350k in such a down housing market.  You might think that half a million is not a big deal.  But remember we are talking about houses in Minnesota.  Home prices in Minnesota are a lot cheaper than those in California.  Similar type of houses will sell close to $900k in a down market in San Francisco.    

I have attempted to translate chapter 48 of Laozi's Daoism.  My translation is based on the article provided by 王繼如 - 蘇州大學文學院博士生導師.

His article has explicit interpretation on Chapter 48 of Daoism from several writers.

You are probably suffocated by the serious topics with which I have inundated you lately.  So, I decided to write something light.    

I don’t know how I came across this news.  Anyway, it is a really funny story.  I can only say that I am speechless.  If you are a female, PLEASE STAY AWAY from the swimming pool because you might be impregnated by a stray sperm.    There is not a safe place in this world.  However, if you have been trying to conceive but in vain, this is an innovative way to get pregnant.   Just sneak into a hotel pool with your hubby.  Remember to bring a magnifying glass with you and check for any stray sperm first.  This is to ensure that you don’t get the wrong father for your baby.    

Oh my god!  What a joke!  Obama awarded 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.  Am I in the wrong planet?  What concrete accomplishments have Obama yielded in peacemaking in the 12 days from the time he was sworn into Presidency to the time before the February 1st, 2009 nomination deadline for Nobel Peace Prize?   NOTHING!  What peace agreement has he negotiated?  What missile program has he abolished?  What terrorist country has he converted?  Has Obama made such a great accomplishment as ending human rights violation in China, uplifting China into a democratic country, ending China’s massacres in Tibet, ending China’s aggravation against Taiwan, ending wars in Middle East, or even promoting the cause of peace around the world to warrant a Nobel Peace Prize?  NO, NO, NO, NO, NO and NO.  As stated by Polish labor leader Lech Walesa, a 1983 Nobel Peace laureate, "Who, Obama? So fast? Too fast. He hasn't had the time to do anything yet”.   

Has the Nobel Committee gone insane?  Is this just another political endorsement? 

Present Perfect (現在完成式) 

1.  Actions began in the past, time unspecified, still happening in the present and may continue into the future, indicating changes that have happened over a period of time (specifying duration from the past until now).  Actions may have been repeated numerous times and are likely to be repeated in the future. 

Present Continuous / Present Progressive ( 現在進行式)

1.  Temporary actions happening right now and have not ended at the time of speaking, at this very moment, as we speak.  – Whilst, simple present is used to describe a permanent situation.

If you are looking for a review of the movie “Eyes Wide Shut”, you will be disappointed.  This is a question to me and to the rest of you.  Can we keep our eyes wide shut, allowing economic growth at the expense of human life and human rights?  Can we keep our eyes wide shut, with silent approval to the destruction of earth to boost economic development?  Can we keep our eyes wide shut or even worse become an accomplice, caving in to the demand and indirectly promoting terrorism, just for the sake of economic interest?    

Often, we try to take the easy way out, adopting the attitude of “out of sight, out of mind”.  It is so easy to deceive ourselves into believing that we live in Utopia.  As in the United States, we seem to be shielded against most violence and threats.  Is it truly so?   Globalization has brought us closer to all other nations and the devastating effects from other countries upon us.

Absence of proof is not proof of absence.

無法證明並不證明沒有

無法證明並不意味不存在