week4 - The imitation game, Alan Turing

Imitation Game wins Toronto top prize

By Genevieve HassanEntertainment reporter, BBC News

14 September 2014

Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game has won the People's Choice award at the Toronto Film Festival.

Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch stars in the drama about the British code breaker who helped decrypt the Enigma machine during World War Two.

In a message, director Morten Tyldum said it was "an amazing honor" to win the prize.

"For film fans to support the Imitation Game means so much to me, the entire cast and film-making team," he said.

Turing was credited with bringing about the end of the war and saving hundreds of thousands of lives after decoding German Naval messages.

He is also considered to be the founding father of the modern-day computer.

However his later life was overshadowed after a conviction in 1952 for gross indecency when homosexuality was illegal in Britain.

He was chemically castrated and committed suicide in 1954.

Earlier this week Tyldum described the film as "a tribute to being different".

Winners of the People's Choice award - voted for by the public - have previously gone on to win the Oscar for best picture, including The King's Speech, Slumdog Millionaire and last year's 12 Years a Slave.

The Imitation Game's victory suggests it may feature prominently in this coming awards' season.

                               http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29200886

Structure of the Lead：

         

  WHO-Alan Turing

          WHEN-14 September 2014

  WHAT-The Imitation Game has won award at the Toronto Film Festival. 

  WHY-because it was "an amazing honor"

          WHERE-Toronto

  HOW-not given

Keywords：

  

  1. biopic 傳記片

  2. decrypt 解碼

  3. honor 榮譽

  4. was credited with 被相信

  5.  Naval 海

  6.  overshadowed 黯然失色

  7.  castrated 閹割

  8.  prominently 顯著

 

week3 - Taoyuan fire/six firefighters.blaze

Six firefighters perish in Taoyuan blaze

By Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Jan 21, 2015 

Six firefighters, all in their 20s, were killed in Greater Taoyuan yesterday morning after the bowling alley in which they were battling a blaze collapsed. All six were found dead when rescuers managed to reach them.

Officials from the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office announced that an inquiry would be conducted into the deaths to investigate the cause and circumstances of the fire, and to determine if there had been any negligence or dereliction of duty.

The fire broke out early yesterday morning at about 2am at a three-story building in Sinwu District (新屋). The proprietor operated a bowling alley on the second floor and a swimming pool on the ground level, with the third floor used as a dormitory for employees.

The six firemen were on the second floor, near the bowling alley’s counter area, when a burst of flames erupted at shortly before 3am and the burning structure collapsed, trapping the firefighters.

“Suddenly, we heard a loud explosion, then the burning metal-sheet roofing caved in. It was terrible, because we knew some firefighters had gone inside to battle the fire,” an eyewitness was quoted as saying.

The bodies of the six firefighters were transported to the Sinwu Branch of Taoyuan General Hospital for identification by DNA testing and post-mortem examinations.

Two civilians, including the proprietor of the building, surnamed Liu (劉), were pulled from the fire and sustained minor injuries.

A total of 104 firefighters employing 36 fire engines and other vehicles were dispatched to the blaze.

Officials including Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) and Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) sent condolences and paid tribute to the firefighters for their sacrifice in the line of duty.

Cheng said his government would seek the maximum compensation payment possible for their dependents according to official regulations, which would be about NT$19 million (US$600,000) per family.

Taoyuan Fire Department Chief Hu Ying-ta (胡英達) said the building’s operating permit, received in 1994, approved the facility’s swimming pool business and the second floor for residential use.

“The bowling alley did not have a permit, so it was operating illegally. The third floor is also an illegal add-on structure,” Hu said, adding that the building passed a fire safety inspection last year.

After finding out the bowling alley had been operating illegally for 20 years, Cheng was incensed, mandating government officials to make inspections to identify all illegal buildings in Taoyuan within 10 days.

Meanwhile, a number of questions were asked following the incident, including whether the firefighters were equipped with inadequate protective and communication equipment; why there was a lack of accountability among government officials regarding the existence of illegal structures; and why no action had been taken against many known illegal businesses.

Commenting on the incident, the National Association for Firefighters’ Rights (NAFR) said it highlighted a widespread lack of personnel and adequate equipment among firefighting squads across the nation.

NAFR secretary-general Cheng Ya-ling (鄭雅菱) said firefighters could benefit from the use of infrared imaging equipment, such as thermographic cameras, which can be used to establish the topography and temperature of a fire prior to entry.

                       http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2015/01/21/2003609731

Structure of the Lead：

        WHO-six firefighters

          WHEN-Jan 21, 2015

  WHAT-Six firefighters were killed in blaze 

  WHY-the place in which they were battling a blaze collapsed

          WHERE-the bowling alley in Taoyuan

  HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1. bowling alley 保齡球館

   2. blaze 火焰

   3. inquiry 查詢

   4. circumstances 情況
           5. negligence 疏忽

   6. dormitory 宿舍

   7. collapsed 倒塌

   8. proprietor 老闆

   9. sacrifice 犧牲

 10. compensation 賠償金

 11. inspections 檢查

 12. accountability 問責

 13. thermographic 熱成像

 14. topography 地形

week2-National Taichung Theater. Toyo Ito

National Taichung Theater brings performance venue to central Taiwan

2014/11/23 21:00:17

Taipei, Nov. 23 (CNA) Central Taiwan's first opera house opened Sunday with a grand ceremony to inaugurate what Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai called "the pride of Taichung."

Designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning Japanese architect Toyo Ito, the eye-catchingly modern National Taichung Theater boasts a 2,014-seat grand theater, a 800-seat theater and a 200-seat black box.

The architecturally complex theater was an engineering challenge constructed entirely without beams or columns and relying instead on 58 curved wall units. It is believed to be the first theater in the world to employ such a construction technique.

While the outside walls appear to be smooth surfaces thanks to the installation of glass windows, the basic structure itself is a series of tubular voids connected together.

Called a "sound cave" by Ito, the state-of-the-art opera house took nearly 5 years to complete at a cost of NT$4.36 billion (US$141 million).

President Ma Ying-jeou, who attended the inauguration ceremony, expressed hope that the theater will help his administration reach its goal of "rejuvenating the country through culture."

He gave credit to Taichung Mayor Jason Hu, who is up for reelection next week, for turning the daunting architectural challenge into a reality.

Culture Minister Lung, meanwhile, thanked the workers who helped construct the building along with city government employees.

A series of performances by prominent local groups will take place at the opera house starting this month to celebrate its inauguration.

The series begins Sunday with a production of "Cat Man" by Taiwanese opera troupe Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group.

                                                  http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aedu/201411230024.aspx

Structure of the Lead：

        WHO-not given

           WHEN-2014/11/23 21:00:17

   WHAT- National Taichung Theater brings performance venue to central Taiwan 

   WHY- not given

   WHERE-Taichung

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1. inaugurate 開幕

   2. architect 建築師

   3. columns 列

   4. construction 施工
           5.  installation 安裝

   6. tubular 管狀的

   7. voids 空洞

   8. rejuvenating 興國

   9. daunting 令人生畏

week1-Ting Hsin. Wei Ying-Chung. cooking oil tainted oil scandal

Taiwanese Tycoon Faces Charges in Cooking Oil Scandal

By AUSTIN RAMZY

OCTOBER 30, 2014 7:54 AM

A Taiwanese food industry tycoon faces more than 130 charges carrying a possible sentence of up to 30 years in prison in connection with a scandal over the widespread sale of substandard cooking oil.

Wei Ying-chung, 57, is the highest-profile suspect to face prosecution over revelations that have raised widespread questions about the safety of food in Taiwan and the quality of its food exports. Mr. Wei’s family owns the Ting Hsin International Group, which has broad interests in the food industry, particularly in China, where its Kang Shi Fu instant noodles are ubiquitous.

Earlier this month, Mr. Wei stepped down as chairman of three Ting Hsin subsidiaries, and the company announced it was pulling out of the Taiwan market for cooking oil. Prosecutors ordered Mr. Wei be detained two weeks ago as the investigation into the companies expanded.

The food safety scandal has centered on substandard cooking oil, often called “gutter oil” or “rancid oil.” The latest problems emerged in September, when the police raided a factory in southern Taiwan that was processing oil using waste from restaurants and slaughterhouses.

That investigation implicated a company, Chang Guann, that had sold hundreds of tons of tainted oil across Taiwan and for export around the region to locations including Hong Kong and Macau. Its chairman, Yeh Wen-hsiang, faces 235 counts of fraud and other charges.

The investigation into Ting Hsin was announced a month later. But Wei Chuan Foods Corporation, one of Ting Hsin’s Taiwan subsidiaries, had been involved in a food safety scandal last year, when it was found to have sold cooking oil that was substandard and contained illegal additives.

In the latest scandal, Ting Hsin is accused of selling cooking oils tainted with substandard materials, including products meant for animal feed it imported from Hong Kong and Vietnam. While no cases of serious illness have been linked to the scandal, it has raised questions about long-term effects and why the problem continued for more than a year after the first warning signs emerged.

http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/30/taiwanese-tycoon-faces-charges-in-cooking-oil-scandal/?_r=0

Structure of the Lead：

       WHO-Wei Ying-Chung

             WHEN-OCTOBER 30, 2014 7:54 AM

   WHAT- cooking oil tainted oil scandal 

   WHY- Ting Hsin sold cooking oils tainted with substandard materials

   WHERE-not given

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1. tycoon 巨頭

   2. substandard 不合格的

   3. suspect 嫌疑人

   4. prosecution 檢察官
          5.  revelations 啟示

   6. investigation 調查

   7. gutter oil 地溝油

   8. slaughterhouses 屠宰場

week7-Himalaya. avalanche(blizzard). hiker(trekker)

Site of Deadly Himalayan Blizzard and Avalanches Is Popular With Hikers

Jane J. Lee

National Geographic

PUBLISHED OCTOBER 16, 2014

The Himalayan hiking circuit where at least 23 climbers were killed in a blizzard and avalanches this week is less than 200 miles from Mount Everest. But its trails appeal to a whole different type of adventurer.

Whereas Everest, the world's tallest mountain, attracts the world's most accomplished alpine climbers, Nepal's Annapurna circuit, the site of Tuesday's disaster, is among the Himalaya's most popular treks for casual hikers. It's been dubbed the "world's greatest trek."

But the 150-mile (241 kilometer) circuit turned deadly on Wednesday, and those who know the area say the inexperienced climbers who frequent the route were likely unprepared to contend with extreme weather conditions. Many people are still missing, with dozens feared dead, as helicopters rescued hikers from the area on Thursday.

Dosty Quarrier, a former therapist in Asheville, North Carolina, hiked the three-week-long circuit right out of college in the 1990s. "It really wasn't that hard," she said. That's partly because she and a friend hired a porter to carry supplies and partly because the trail "was a nice gradual elevation change."

Quarrier followed recommendations from locals and travel guides about acclimating to the altitude and had no problems going over Thorung Pass, the highest point on the circuit.

The pass, nearly 18,000 feet (5,486 meters) high—about the same elevation as Base Camp on Mount Everest—is near the site where the bodies of 12 hikers were discovered Wednesday. In the U.S., the only peaks as high as that are in Alaska, said Adrian Ballinger, owner and head guide for Alpenglow Expeditions.

"In normal conditions, you can go over that pass and not see any snow or bad weather," Ballinger said. Autumn weather conditions are generally stable, he continued, but "these are mountain conditions, and these storms are not unusual."

Inexperienced climbers would be challenged by the difficult conditions that developed during the heavy snowfall that struck the region earlier this week, he said.

An accomplished climber, Ballinger's first trip to Nepal, nearly 20 years ago, was to the Annapurna circuit.

Some climbers might include the Annapurna when training to attempt peaks like Mount Everest, said Conrad Anker, an accomplished climber and National Geographic Explorer. But for the most part, he said, the hiking community and the mountain climbing set are very different.

"Annapurna is manageable for trekkers with little experience," according to a BBC travel guide. "The circuit is more known for its varied terrain than its difficulty, and while some days can be a challenge, each day can be completed by midafternoon."

Jake Norton, a climber on Eddie Bauer's mountaineering team based in Evergreen, Colorado, said he was troubled by news reports that seemed to compare this week's tragedy with the avalanche that killed 16 expedition workers on Everest in April. (See "Sorrow on the Mountain: How April's Deadly Everest Avalanche Unfolded.")

"They're 100 percent different animals," he said. "The only similarities between the two are that they included snow and the Himalayas."

Still, Norton said, "there's this misperception that trekking is less risky [than climbing]."

       http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141016-annapurna-hiking-circuit-nepal-avalanche/

Structure of the Lead：

  WHO-not given

             WHEN-OCTOBER 16, 2014

   WHAT-people were killed in Mount. Himalaya

   WHY- because blizzard and avalanche

   WHERE-Nepal

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1. blizzard 暴風雪

   2. avalanches 雪崩

   3. alpine 高山

   4. to contend with 抗衡
          5. acclimating 馴化

   6. altitude 海拔

   7. expeditions 探險

   8. misperception 誤解