SpaceX's Elon Musk lays out the plan to put humans on Mars

CNNMoney (New York)First published September 27, 2016: 5:34 PM ET

The SpaceX CEO laid out his plan to colonize the Red Planet at the International Astronautical Congress, a meeting of multiple international space exploration associations in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Musk has long said he wants to make humans an "interplanetary species," and on Tuesday he addressed many of the technical, safety and cost challenges he'll face.

His goal is to bring the price of a ticket to Mars down to around $200,000 per person -- aboutthe median price of a house in the U.S. Compare that to $10 billion, which is what Musk said it would cost to go to Mars using current technology.

He explained that a few crucial technical advancements must be made to make that price point possible, including making rockets that are reliably reusable.

The small white figure on the lower right side of the spacecraft represents the size of a human compared to Musk's Mars-bound spacecraft.

SpaceX has already been heavily focused on that. The company has successfully landed six rockets that completed missions to orbit, and it intends to send one of those "used" rockets back into orbit later this year.

Related: SpaceX plans return to space by November, 3 months after blast

On the technical front, Musk has already introduced the world to the Raptor rocket engine he plans to use to take people to Mars, which is different that the engines used for the Falcon rockets that SpaceX has already sent on missions. The Raptor uses a different fuel and is far more powerful. The company completed a successful test fire of a Raptor rocket on Monday.

Musk said a spacecraft headed to Mars would need to use 42 Raptor engines at once

"You could lose multiple engines," he said Tuesday, "and continue the mission safely."

The initial goal is to pair the enormous rocket with a spaceship capable of carrying about 100 people (plus their luggage.)

http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/27/technology/spacex-elon-musk-mars-colonization/

 Structure of the Lead：

     WHO- Elon Musk

     WHEN-Tuesday

     WHAT- put humans on Mars

     WHY-. wants to make humans an interplanetary species

     WHERE-Mars, Mexico

     HOW-not given

Keywords:

Orbit (n.): 軌道

Enormous (adj.): 巨大的

U.N. Climate Change Conference Turns to Implementing Paris Agreement

U.N. Climate Change Conference Turns to Implementing Paris Agreement

By 

BILL SPINDLE and AMY HARDER

Nov. 7, 2016 5:30 a.m. ET

A year after nearly 200 nations agreed to a global pact in Paris to combat climate change, a United Nations conference this week ushers in the hard work of turning the plan into action.

The conference, known as COP22, which kicks off Monday in Marrakesh, Morocco, benefits from the unexpectedly quick adoption of the Paris agreement. It entered into force Friday after at least 55 signatories representing more than 55% of global emissions previously ratified it, including the U.S., China, the European Union and India.

“The politically difficult step was Paris,” said Robert Stavins, an environmental economist at Harvard University. “The technically difficult steps now remain.”

The agreement is a collection of self-imposed national plans for holding emissions to a level scientists believe will prevent global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). But the past year contained many reminders of how difficult implementing the agreement will be compared with the feel-good exercise of approving and ratifying it.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-n-climate-change-conference-turns-to-implementing-paris-agreement-1478514604

 Structure of the Lead：

     WHO- U.N.

     WHEN- Nov. 7, 2016

     WHAT- Implementing Paris Agreement

     WHY- U.N. Climate Change Conference

     WHERE- Marrakesh, Morocco

     HOW-not given

Keywords:

Usher in (phr.): 開始

Emission (n.): 發行

Ratify (v.): 批准

Taiwan embraces Matt Damon

By Yu Sen-lun  /  STAFF REPORTER

With his "American boy-next-door" persona, always in T-shirts and jeans, Matt Damon has easily captivated the hearts of Taiwanese movie fans in just a four-day visit of Taiwan. Thousands joined the Taiwan premiere of his latest film, The Bourne Identity, on Thursday night, and hundreds of them have followed Damon for the past four days -- from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to the National Palace Museum -- and then waited for him at the Far Eastern Plaza Hotel.

Taiwanese media hasn't missed the chance to embrace this Hollywood golden boy and make him feel at home. The first step was to teach him to say a few Mandarin phrases to greet his fans. Then TV reporters presented him with a cup of pearl milk tea, asking him to drink it right in the middle of the interview. There were also female reporters asking Damon to give them a hug on behalf of their audience.

This kind of media zeal is no less than what it was when Tom Cruise came to visit Taipei. No wonder Damon teasingly told his audience "Da jia hao, I'm Tom Cruise!" on the night of the Taiwan premiere.

In response to the warm welcome, Damon expressed his appreciation several times at the premiere and press conference. "I will definitely come back," he said, adding that he'd tell his buddy Ben Affleck that he's "got to come to Taiwan!" Indeed, in his short visit, the 32 year-old actor and screenwriter has shown a kind of natural stardom with his constant smile, openness and cordiality under the unblinking gaze of the media.

Talking about his first action film, The Bourne Identity, Damon said the script was the main aspect that drew him to the role of a CIA special agent. "The script is always important to me," he said. Damon said he's always been an action film fan and had felt that many action films look all too similar in style and plot.

"I love the stories of novelist Robert Ludlum and Doug Liman is an independent filmmaker that I like a lot. The combination of the two makes a very different action film."

In order to portray Jason Bourne, the CIA agent in this spy thriller, Damon said he took three months to train in martial arts, boxing and weapons use. As a agent who loses his memory, Bourne discovers he posses superior fighting skills, sharp and precise observation and a cold heart for killing, but somehow cannot remember his name or what he has done. While searching for his identity wandering around the European cities of Zurich and Paris, he finds that there are always people trying to kill him wherever he goes.

This cool and tightly-paced film also has the impressive acting of Franka Potente, who played the wild girl in the stylish German film Run Lola Run. Together with Damon, they begin a breathtaking flee from the police and the CIA, which includes a long, fascinating car-chase.

The Bourne Identity has so far grossed more the US$100 million. For his part, Damon has also lifted his salary up to the US$10 million mark.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Matt Damon

WHEN- not given

WHAT- introduction of Matt Damon

WHY- not given

WHERE- not given

HOW-not given

Keywords:

Premiere: 初次演出

The Revenant’ gets 12 Oscar nods

NY Times News Service, LOS ANGELES

The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road were showered with honors by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, picking up Oscar nominations for best picture and best director.

There are to be six best picture nominees to join them: Bridge of Spies, Spotlight, The Big Short, The Martian, Brooklyn and Room. Notably not among them: Straight Outta Compton and Carol both of which were pegged to make the cut by awards handicappers.

The Revenant, directed by Alejandro Inarritu, drew 12 nominations in total — the most of any film — with Leonardo DiCaprio honored for his wounded frontiersman and Tom Hardy for his villainous supporting role.

With 10 nominations, George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road was the second most-honored film, although most of its support came from technical areas, like film editing, costume design and makeup and hairstyling. Behind Fury Road came The Martian with seven nominations — although its director, Ridley Scott, was prominently snubbed — and Spotlight with six.

The acting fields were filled with familiar faces. As expected, Cate Blanchett came away with her sixth best actress nomination for Carol. Jennifer Lawrence, now a four-time nominee, this time for Joy, joined Blanchett in the category. Also selected were Brie Larson from Room, Charlotte Rampling from 45 Years and Saoirse Ronan from Brooklyn.

DiCaprio, picking up his fifth acting nomination, is competing against the reigning best actor winner, Eddie Redmayne, who picked up a nod for The Danish Girl. Voters also backed Matt Damon (The Martian), Bryan Cranston (Trumbo) and Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs).

Concussion, starring Will Smith, and Beasts of No Nation, featuring Idris Elba, received nothing.

The racially diverse Creed, directed by Ryan Coogler, was shut out, except for a nomination for its war-horse supporting actor, Sylvester Stallone.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Leonardo DiCaprio

WHEN- not given

WHAT- The Revenant’ gets 12 Oscar nods

WHY- not given

WHERE- not given

HOW- not given

Keywords:

Pegged: 固定

Frontiersman: 邊疆的居民

Snubbed: 厲聲制止

Britain to take 15,000 Syrian refugees: media report

AFP, LONDON

The British government is poised to accept 15,000 Syrian refugees and hopes next month to get backing for airstrikes against Islamic State jihadists, the Sunday Times reported.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has been under pressure internationally and domestically to address the refugee crisis.

On Thursday, he said he was “deeply moved” by images of three-year-old Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi, found dead on a Turkish beach.

Cameron now intends to expand Britain’s vulnerable persons relocation program, take in around 15,000 refugees and launch military action against people traffickers, the report said.

He also hopes to persuade MPs in the opposition Labour Party to back airstrikes in Syria in a vote early next month, it said.

The paper previously reported that there was an option to directly accept refugees from UN camps on the Syrian border.

Britain has accepted 216 Syrian refugees under a special government scheme over the past year and about 5,000 Syrians have been granted asylum since the conflict there broke out in 2011 — far fewer than countries like France, Germany and Sweden.

Britain has also opted out of a quota system for relocating asylum seekers within the EU despite growing calls in the EU for fairer distribution.

Cameron gained support for military action against Syria from an unusual source on Sunday — former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey.

Britain should help “crush” the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, and “airstrikes” might be needed, Carey said.

“I do not consider it enough to send aid to refugee camps in the Middle East. Rather, there must be renewed military and diplomatic efforts to crush the twin menaces of Islamic State and al-Qaeda once and for all,” he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- The British government, Syrian refugees, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Aylan Kurdi

WHEN- next month

WHAT- accept 15,000 Syrian refugees

WHY- Islamic State occupy Syria

WHERE- Syria

HOW-not given

Keywords:

Poised:做好準備的

Address:處理

Quota:定額

Distribution:分配

Menace:威脅

PARIS ATTACKS: Government condemns terrorism

By Alison Hsiao and Loa Iok-sin  /  Staff reporters, with CNA

The government yesterday condemned the series of attacks in Paris on Friday and expressed condolences, with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) saying that Taiwan stands side-by-side with the people of France.

Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) has instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to locate Taiwanese living, studying or traveling in France, as well as to provide assistance to Taiwanese tour groups if needed.

According to the Tourism Bureau, 145 tourists from five Taiwanese tour groups in France were all safe, adding that no Taiwanese travel agencies had reported being affected by the attacks.

The foreign ministry said it would not raise the travel alert level for France, but called for people to be alert to security problems and refrain from unnecessary travel to Paris.

The foreign ministry and its representative office in France are to continue observing developments after the attacks, which have claimed at least 128 lives.

Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also expressed her sympathy for the French.

“The terrorist attacks in Paris are not only attacks on France, but also on the values of freedom and democracy shared by the international community,” Tsai said in a press release. “At a troubling time like this, we would like to extend our support to France and the French people to overcome the difficulties.”

She condemned the attacks, while extending sympathy to the people affected, adding that she gives her best wishes to the people of France that they might return to a normal, peaceful life as soon as possible.

“Acts of terror and violence that destroy people’s lives and threatens freedom are to be condemned by all,” Tsai said. “It’s something intolerable in a civilized society.”

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), who is in the US, expressed his “gravest protest” against the attacks.

The whole world is now on high alert over national security and public safety, which are every nation’s greatest concern, Chu said.

Chu said he hopes policies drawn up would aim for “better harmony” and “not allow terror attacks to happen in Taiwan.”

Security is the most vital aspect of a nation, he said, adding that every crisis would be costly for society.

The Taipei 101 skyscraper joined New York in putting on red, white and blue lighting displays to show solidarity with people affected by the attacks.

The lighting — turned on at 5:30pm — symbolized the French national flag, while elsewhere six games of baseball’s Premier 12 competition across the nation observed minutes of silence to honor those who lost their lives.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群), Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫)

WHEN- yesterday 

WHAT- condemns ‘terrorism

WHY- the series of attacks occurred in Paris

WHERE- Paris

HOW-not given

Keywords:

Condemns:譴責

Extend:給予

Solidarity:團結

I want to become Prime Minister of Pakistan: Malala Yousafzai

I want to become Prime Minister of Pakistan: Malala Yousafzai

Wed, Jan 08, 2014

法新社／翻譯：陳?軒

Teenage rights activist Malala Yousafzai told an audience in New York on Oct. 10 last year that she would like to become prime minister of Pakistan to “save” the country.

In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour at a sold-out public event, she also said on Oct. 11 last year that winning the Nobel Peace Prize would be a “great honor.”

Asked about her conflicting dreams of becoming a doctor or a politician, and whether she would like to become premier, Malala said she wanted to help her homeland.

“I want to become a prime minister of Pakistan,” she told Amanpour to cheers from the audience.

“I think it’s really good because through politics I can save my whole country,” she added.

“I can spend much of the budget on education and I can also concentrate on foreign affairs.”

Malala was shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban on Oct. 9, 2012, for speaking out against them, demanding that girls have the right to go to school.

She was flown to Britain for specialist care and made a remarkable recovery, going on to become a global ambassador for children’s rights.

The 16-year-old has written an autobiography, addressed the UN and set up the Malala Fund.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2014/01/08/2003580763

Structure of the Lead：

 WHO- Malala Yousafzai

 WHEN- Wed, Jan 08, 2014

 WHAT- Malala’s coming plan

 WHY- To save the country.

 WHERE- Pakistan

 HOW-not given

Keywords:

Concentrate:專注、集中

Remarkable:卓越的

Autobiography:自傳