：沙特缝纫机抢购热

　　Saudi Sewing Machine Frenzy

　　Saudis have been racing to buy Singer sewing machines for up to fifty-thousand dollarsbecause they believe they contain traces of red mercury. This is a substance which may ormay not actually exist.

　　Some sources say it can be used to make a devastating, pure nuclear fusion bomb. Otherssay its an urban myth.

　　In 2006, it featured in the British trial of three men accused of trying to make a dirty bomb.They went looking for red mercury, but during the course of the trial it became clear that no-one - not even the defendants themselves - knew what it was. But that hasnt stopped internetsites suggesting that one kilogram of the substance can fetch hundreds of thousands ofdollars on the black market.

　　However the rumours in Saudi Arabia started, its the hope of such huge profits thats causedthe sewing machine buying frenzy. Saudi papers have pictures of old men with pick-up vans,stacked with piles of sewing machines.

　　People believe they can use their mobile phones to test if the machines contain red mercury.The Saudi authorities say its all a hoax and theyve launched a police investigation.

　　【口语突破】

　　racing to buy 争先购买

　　traces 少量的

　　substance 材料

　　devastating 毁灭性的

　　fusion bomb 热核弹

　　urban myth 都市传奇

　　dirty bomb 脏弹

　　defendants 被告

　　black market 黑市

　　buying frenzy 抢购热

　　pick-up vans 皮卡(货车)

　　hoax 恶作剧

　　：苏格兰的酗酒问题

　　【文本】

　　Scotlands had a close relationship with alcohol for hundreds of years.

　　Scotch whisky generates vast export revenues and drink has long been a part of socialoccasions: dances, weddings and even funerals.

　　Offering a drink is a gesture of hospitality.

　　Gaelic speakers have a phrase for it: a wee deoch an dorus or one for the road. But otherNorthern European nations have also had a tradition of heavy drinking.

　　The trouble for Scotland is that our consumption now outstrips that of Norway, Finland andeven Russia.

　　The Scottish government says one of the reasons is that drink has become 70% moreaffordable here over the last 30 years but shop-keepers who sell alcohol say theyre not toblame.

　　If people drink too much it is not up to shopkeepers to decide that. It needs to be tackled froman educational and a social point of view rather than merely legislation. It is not theshopkeepers duty to police what people drink.

　　The evidence of Scotlands steadily worsening booze habit is clear.

　　It plays a big part in all crime and especially violent crime, and drink places a huge strain on thehealth service.

　　40,000 people are taken to hospital every year with alcohol-related illness.

　　Scottish pubs can be lively, friendly places, but alcohol has come to play a central role in thelives of too many Scots.

　　【口语突破】

　　alcohol 酒/酒精

　　whisky 威士忌

　　vast export revenues 巨大的出口收入

　　funerals 葬礼

　　gesture of hospitality 热情好客的一种表示

　　Gaelic 盖尔语

　　consumption 消费

　　outstrips 超过了

　　affordable 有能力支付的

　　tackled 对付，解决

　　legislation立法

　　booze 酗酒

　　huge strain 沉重的负担

　　alcohol-related illness 和酗酒有关的疾病

　　：办公室着装问题

　　【文本】

　　If youre a T-shirts and jeans kind of a person, then heres some statistics worth knowing.

　　According to the Reuters poll, you should head to Hungary for a job, given that a mere twelvepercent of people there dress smartly for work.

　　India on the other hand might be a trickier proposition, with nearly six in ten Indians wearingformal clothes in the office.

　　As a rule it seems Europeans are scruffier, whilst workers in South Korea, China, Turkey andSaudi Arabia all tend to make more effort.

　　If you want to don a pair of shorts in the office, then nearly half of all Australians asked thinkthats fine.

　　However a mere tenth of Brazilians would agree.

　　Russians too would disapprove, although with the heatwave Moscow is experiencing, thetemptation must be great.

　　And what happens if you want climb the corporate ladder

　　Around two thirds of people believe senior managers should be smarter than their minions.

　　In Sweden youre less likely to be judged on what you wear on your way to the top.

　　But in France you might find the corridors of power closed to you if you intend to slouch downthem wearing whatever you could find that morning.

　　【口语突破】

　　kind of a person

　　的一种人

　　head to

　　去

　　a mere

　　仅仅

　　dress smartly

　　穿着讲究

　　trickier proposition

　　更为棘手的情况

　　formal

　　正式

　　scruffier

　　(和其他国家相比)衣着不整齐

　　make more effort

　　更加注意

　　to don

　　穿上

　　heatwave

　　热浪

　　temptation

　　诱惑

　　corporate ladder

　　公司晋升制度

　　minions

　　下属

　　on your way to the top

　　晋升之路

　　the corridors of power

　　权利走廊(暗中左右和制定重大政策的政府或管理机构的上层权力中心)

　　slouch down

　　懒散

　　

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