Aug 16, 2007

Introspect (Word of the day, 2007/8/15)

BY Rebecca Chou

Introspect
Verb
v.i. / v.t.
look into one's own thoughts and feelings to find out their real meaning, the reasons for them, etc.
ex)We are different from animals because we can introspect our own thoughts and behaviors.

introspection
Noun:
ex) Through introspection, we may find out our values of living.

introspectiv
Adjective:
ex) Don't be too introspective about yourself or you will think it's all your fault.

Other familiar words
aspect = appearance (n.)
inspect= examine (v.)
inspection (n.)
respect (v. / n.)
respectively= individually (adv.)
respectable income (adj.)
respecting to= regarding

Aug 12, 2007

Water Conflict

C7 spech by Kevin Chuu
When I say water is essential and don't take it for granted, you may think I am a Green-Peace, and is going to make a fuss over a trifle again. If I say water can cause conflicts and wars, you might believe I am a scaremonger. Someone will even react like "Come on, man! We are living on a water planet, and 70percent of earth's surface is water." That is correct. But the fact is only 3 percent of it is drinkable, while only 1 percent is easily accessible surface fresh water. So the truth is water has become a scarce and precious resource on this water planet. People are fighting for it, and even go to war. Really?

Let me pick up a horrible example. Darfur, a parched land in the central Sudan, an appalling war is going on there now. Over the past four years, 200,000 people have been killed, and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced from their home. This is the so called the first genocide in the 21st century. The real cause of the civil war in Darfur is water. According to the United Nations Environment Report, the rainfall in Darfur has decreased a third over the past 80 years because of global warming. Lots of lands have become deserts, but the population keeps growing. Different tribes fight for the water and land in order to survive.

The water conflict is a real thing proceeding in Darfur now, and it is not a local event. In the whole world, about one-sixth of the 6.1 billion people lack access to improved source of water, while 40 percent are without access to improved sanitation service. Each year, 3.4 million people, mostly children, die from water-related diseases. Do not think it will not happen in Taiwan. About the water issue in Taiwan, people got a very serious myth:

We got a lot of typhoons, so we have inexhaustible water.

The truth is thank to typhoons, the precipitation we got each year, I mean the rainfall, is 2.6 times the world average, however the fresh water each one can access is much lesser than the world average. We are a country lacking of water, and the situation is being exacerbated by the global warming. Here are the causes of our water problem:

1. Uneven rainfall
We have quite enough rainfall each year, but it does not distribute uniformly. The precipitation ratio of rainy season to dry season is 9 to 1, and most of the rain concentrates in the northern Taiwan. This situation is getting worse year by year because of global warming.

2. Too much population
23 million people crowd on this small island. Every one needs to consume water. Therefore, the fresh water each one can share is only about one-seventh the word average.

3. Too much pollution
It is not hard to understand. Too many people make too much pollution. 39% of our rivers are polluted, and the trend is not likely to slow down.

4. Too many cities, town, roads and other infrastructure
Those man-made buildings and structures, most of which are made of concrete and tar, cover large part of our ground surface. Therefore only very little rainwater can filtrate into our aquifer. Most of the rain water just cause flood, rushing into the ocean within a short time.

5. Too many high-water-consumption industries
For quite a long time, our country has developed too many high-water-consumption industries like steelmaking, papermaking, aqua-farming, petroleum-chemistry, and even high tech factories of TFT-LCD. Those industries consume too much fresh water and even underground water. In Tauyuan, the water level of aquifer has dropped to 46 meters.

Ladies and gentlemen, water resource is not a issue of tomorrow which only environment activist concern. It is a real issue now. Million of people are dying for it out there. It is not a problem we can just leave behind and let our children worry about. It is a reality we, including you and me, are going to face within a decade. We only need the determination and stop ignoring it. Otherwise, in Taiwan, a water conflict, I don't want to say another Darfur, is definitely going to happen in the recent future.

Aug 3, 2007

Tolerate (Word of the day, 2007/8/1)

By Ivan Chiang

Tolerate
verb

=put up with
If you tolerate a situation, you accept them although you do not particularly like them.
–She can no longer tolerate the position that she's in…
–The cousins tolerate each other, but did not really get on well together.

=bear
If you can tolerate something unpleasant or painful, you are able to bear it.
-The ability to tolerate pain varies from person to person.

Tolerance
noun

It is the quality of allowing other people to say and do as they like, even if you do not agree or approve of it.
–…his tolerance and understanding of diverse human nature.

It is the ability to bear something painful or unpleasant.
-There is lowered pain tolerance, lowered resistance to infection.

If someone or something has a tolerance to a substance, they are exposed to it so often that it does not have much effect on them.
–As with any drug taken in excess, your body can build up a tolerance to it.

Tolerant
adj.

If you describe someone as tolerant, you approve of the fact that they allow other people to say and do as they like, even if they do not agree with or like it.
–They need to be tolerant of different points of view…
–which include more tolerant attitudes to unmarried couples having children.

If a plant, animal, or machine is tolerant of particular conditions or types of treatment, it is able to endure them without being damaged or hurt.
-…plants which are more tolerant of dry conditions…
-Today's floppy disc drives are tolerant of poor quality discs.

Tolerable
adj.

=bearable
If you describe something is tolerable, you mean that it is bearable, even though it is unpleasant or painful.
–He described their living conditions as tolerable.
–The levels of tolerable pain vary greatly from individual to individual…

=reasonable
If you describe something as tolerable, you mean that it is fairly good and reasonably satisfactory, but not of the highest quality or standard; a formal use.
–Is there anywhere tolerable to eat in town?

Please join in the related discussions at:

http://groups.google.com/group/tsoyingtc/browse_thread/thread/2b0958f396202c93