104-2 WEEK 5 Leonardo DiCaprio finally wins best actor Oscar for Iñárritu’s The Revenant

Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of a betrayed 19th-century frontiersman seeking revenge in The Revenant has won him his first Academy Award, having missed out on four previous occasions.

The 41-year-old actor was the favourite to win after picking up both a Golden Globe and a Bafta for his performance. The film, which has won a number of awards at this year’s ceremony, tells the true story of Hugh Glass, who battled his way through the wilderness after being left for dead.

DiCaprio beat out competition from last year’s winner Eddie Redmayne and Michael Fassbender. He had previously been nominated for his work in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, The Aviator, Blood Diamond and The Wolf of Wall Street.

He used his speech to warn about the effects of global warming. “Climate change is real and it’s happening right now,” he said. “It’s the most urgent threat affecting our species.” He added: “Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take this night for granted.”

The actor’s commitment to the role had received a lot of attention. DiCaprio was said to have eaten raw bison liver and slept in animal carcasses. The film also picked up Oscars for best cinematography and best director for Alejandro González Iñárritu.

He has a number of projects in the offing but is yet to confirm what next role will be. He is loosely attached to work again with Martin Scorsese on the true story of serial killer HH Holmes, and is also set to produce a film about the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

WHO- Leonardo DiCaprio
WHEN-not given
WHAT- Leonardo DiCaprio finally wins best actor Oscar 

WHY-not given 

WHERE-not given 
HOW- beat out competition from last year’s winner Eddie Redmayne and Michael Fassbender

KEYWORD

1. favourite 喜愛
2. urgent 緊急
3. specie 硬幣
4. commitment 承諾
5.  raw bison 原始野牛
6. cinematography 攝影

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/feb/29/leonardo-dicaprio-wins-best-actor-oscar-for-the-revenant

104-2 WEEK 4  Lee Bo back in Hong Kong, according to Hong Kong police

One of the five missing booksellers associated with Mighty Current publishing house, Lee Bo, has returned to Hong Kong, according to the police. He reportedly entered Hong Kong via the Lok Ma Chau border using his HKID sometime in the afternoon.

Like the other two booksellers who returned before him, Lee confirmed his arrival in Hong Kong with immigration and police officers before asking them to cancel his missing persons report, RTHK reports.

Cheung Chi-ping and Lui Bo both returned to Hong Kong within days of each other, before reportedly going back to mainland China just hours after cancelling their missing persons reports.

Lee went missing in late December. He was believed to have been abducted by mainland Chinese agents, and as the fifth person associated with Mighty Current to go missing, his disappearance sparked an international furore over China's crackdown on press freedom.

Mighty Current specialised in gossipy books about the personal lives of China's past and present leaders, which were banned in mainland China. Last month, three of the other missing booksellers appeared on state television and "confessed" to helping Gui Minhai, Mighty Current's owner, operate an illegal circulation office on the mainland.

http://hongkong.coconuts.co/2016/03/24/lee-bo-back-hong-kong-according-hong-kong-police
WHO- Lee Bo
WHEN-not given
WHAT- Lee Bo, has returned to Hong Kong

WHY-not given

WHERE-Hong Kong

HOW- via the Lok Ma Chau border using his HKID sometime in the afternoon.

KEYWORD

1. abduct 拐
2. confirm 確認
3. immigration 移民
4. agent 代理人
5.  furor 轟動
6. crackdown 打假
7. confess 承認

104-2 WEEK 3 Documentary gives viewers wrong impression, animal shelter staff say

By Chen Wei-tsung, Chou Nien-chu and Jason Pan  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

Although Twelve Nights (十 二夜), a recently released documentary on the plight of stray dogs, scored well in the nation’s box office, it also generated dismay among some animal shelter workers, who said the film misleads the public about their work.

The documentary was produced by writer Giddens Ko (柯景騰), also known as Jiu Ba-dao (九把刀), and most of the filming took place at an animal shelter in Changhua County’s Yuanlin Township (員林).

It purported to reveal the shelter’s rundown, poor conditions, as a result of its limited resources. The title of the film refers to the practice of putting stray animals to death if they have not been adopted within 12 days.

The New Taipei City (新北市) Government’s Agriculture Department earlier this week booked a theater for three consecutive evenings and invited animal control staff under its jurisdiction to watch the documentary.

After the viewing, some staff said that although they supported raising public awareness for stray animals’ plight, they felt a number of scenes were badly handled and filmed in a shoddy way.

They felt dismayed after watching the film, and felt they were maligned, and that the public would be misled about their working duties.

One animal control worker said the film depicted shelter employees treating the animals in a rough, and sometimes violent manner, leading the public to question their work.

“We were upset after watching it,” said Chen Mei-hsiu (陳美秀), an animal control worker at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋) animal shelter for more than five years. “Most shelter workers have kind hearts and take good care of the stray animals. We are being vilified in this film.”

“The film is made in a haphazard way. Much of it was not based on real situations. It has given the public the wrong impression about animal control workers,” said Huang Yu-hsiang (黃榆翔), a 20-year veteran worker at a shelter center in Zhonghe District (中和).

Chang Li-chen (張麗珍), deputy director of New Taipei City’s Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office, said that most animals under her department’s care remain at the shelter for more than 30 days, and public adoption is actively encouraged.

“One of our officers asked me if our office can make a documentary entitled, ‘30 Nights,’ to respond to this film,” she said.

“Films always try to have a visual impact to entice viewers. However, this one strays too far from reality. It is very unfair to the staff who take good care of the animals,” she said.

In response, Ko said the documentary’s director had applied to film at a number of animal shelters, but most of them refused or demanded the producer to sign an agreement to allow the shelters to check and review the film before release.

“We also applied to New Taipei City for permission to film, but we were refused,” Ko said. “I sincerely hope the conditions in New Taipei City’s shelters are much better than at the one shown in the film.”

He said the documentary is not meant as an attack on animal shelters, adding that “the supervisors and veterinarian Hung (洪) at the Yuanlin animal shelter also hope to improve the conditions, that’s why they agreed to allow us to film there.”

“Animal shelters are helping to solve a difficult problem that our society has long neglected. They are not the documentary’s target of criticism,” he said. “Our criticism is aimed at the people who have created this problem: The pet owners who abandoned these animals.
”

This story has been viewed 3588 times.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/12/22/2003579571

KEYWORD

1. documentary記錄
2. plight  困境

1. mislead  誤導
2. rundown  撞倒
3. consecutive  連續
4. jurisdiction  管轄權
5. depict  描繪
6. haphazard  偶然
7. neglect  忽略
8. abandon  放棄

104-2 Week 2  What will be the outcome of 

the conference?

In total, 45,000 participants are expected to participate at the COP at the Paris-Le Bourget site at some point during the Conference. This includes delegates representing countries, observers, civil society and journalists. 20,000 people will be officially accredited and will have access to the Conference itself, while people not accredited to the Conference itself will still be able to take part in debates, see exhibitions and attend talks or screenings in the civil society area which will be built very close to the conference centre.

Paris needs to result in a &ampampltspan style=”text-decoration: underline”&ampampgtnegotiated agreement&ampamplt/span&ampampgt that will provide a legal framework for moving forward. In addition, a Paris outcome will also include the &ampampltspan style=”text-decoration: underline”&ampampgtnational climate plans&ampamplt/span&ampampgt (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or INDCs) that countries have voluntarily put forward that will form the baseline for reducing emissions and strengthening resilience.

Paris will also need to include a credible &ampampltspan style=”text-decoration: underline”&ampampgtfinance package&ampamplt/span&ampampgt. Many developing countries will need international cooperation, including finance and technology, to help them move toward a low-carbon future. As part of this package, developed countries will need to detail how they will fulfill their previous pledge of mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 to support developing countries. And financing for the post 2020 period will also need to be addressed.

Paris will also showcase &ampampltspan style=”text-decoration: underline”&ampampgtclimate actions&ampamplt/span&ampampgt that are already underway. Under the “Lima to Paris Action Agenda”, many businesses, cities, states and regions, and civil society groups will be highlighting efforts they are taking to respond to climate change. Many new initiatives will also be announced in Paris that demonstrate a growing commitment to climate action.

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cop21/#8e74e7178ec1f94c8

WHO-45,000 participants
WHEN-2015
WHAT- Paris Climate Change Conference

WHY-not given

WHERE-Paris

HOW-not given

KEYWORD

1. baseline  底線
2. emissions  排放
3. resilience  彈性
4. showcase  櫥窗
5. climate  氣候
6. announce  宣布
7. commitment  承諾