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臺大外語教學暨資源中心英語學習報第 434 期 (月中更新最新消息)  發行日期 2022-12-15
臺大外語教學暨資源中心

 

  臺大外語教學暨資源中心英語學習報自 111 年 1 月起,改採月刊發行方式。將於每月 1 日出刊,並於每月 15 日更新本中心最新活動消息與活動花絮集錦。每期除介紹本中心最新活動訊息、E-freeway 軟體與館藏資訊外,亦提供英語學習資源與新聞時事練習,內容十分豐富多元,歡迎免費線上訂閱

 

◎ 中心活動集錦

【短期課程:英語演說輕鬆達標】
本短期課程開設日期為:111 年 11 月 10 日至 12 月 15 日,共計六堂課,由外文系莊世全老師授課!在這門短期課程中,莊老師帶領修課同學了解要如何很有自信的進行英語演說,一步一步從發音、口說技巧、簡報設計、演講觀摩循序漸進地學習,並在課程中提供同學實際演練的機會,讓同學自行設計簡報並上台發表。
本中心每學期都會開設多元的短期課程,有興趣的讀者請特別留意本電子報的最新消息!

 

【英語口語訓練工作坊】
12 月 8 號舉辦本學期最後一場英語口語訓練工作坊,活動主題為「Binge-watching(追劇)」,近幾年各大串流平台的崛起,一次發布所有集數的策略,加上疫情的推波助瀾,幾乎所有人都在不知不覺中養成了追劇的習慣。活動中,藉由日常對話,讓各位學員彼此瞭解平常看影劇的習慣,並從而延伸探討當代全世界沉迷於追劇的現象,以及追劇行為的緣由和利弊;主題貼近日常,並富含趣味,在輕鬆談天之餘也能練習討論時事的思考及表達能力。

【線上英語學習資源工作坊:托福大補帖】
本學期最後一場的線上英語學習資源工作坊是針對托福 iBT 測驗,本場工作坊中,本中心英語專員帶領同學針對托福測驗進行討論並針對測驗的題型、評分標準、所需技能、線上資源一一剖析。本次活動中還特別加入評分練習,讓同學以評分人員的角度了解寫作與口說測驗所具備的能力。

◎ 悅讀角:Recommendations for the Month

 

 

相關資料可於本中心 e 自學空間閱讀
更多詳情:請點擊

 

   

 

 
E-freeway Software                       

GEPT

線上英語自學認證:Presentation ABC 認證

您是否有以下的經驗:上台用英文報告時不知道怎麼開頭?報告中主題轉換時感覺卡卡的、生硬到有點尷尬?做結尾時感覺像是虎頭蛇尾?講簡報時感覺就像念大字報,無法擷取重點表達?別擔心!趕快前來報名 Presentation ABC 認證,讓您有個清楚的簡報架構,與簡報各階段的萬用語料庫,從此跟 NG 簡報說 bye-bye!

Feature of the Week

Word Hippo

 

Oxford Collocation Dictionary

write homework 還是 do homework? red tea 還是 black tea? big rain 還是 heavy rain?小心別用中式英文 (Chinglish) 喔! 這時候就要用上「搭配詞」(collocation)!對於正在學習英文的你來說,也許陌生,但其實是很重要的觀念。 搭配詞,就是母語人士慣用的特定詞組搭配。如果你也能夠掌握各種搭配詞,就能讓自己的英文聽起來更加自然! 如果不確定某些字的用法怎麼辦呢?跟大家分享 Online Oxford Collocation Dictionary of English,讓你快速查詢各種搭配詞!

Apps for Learning English

 

Flipboard

會不會擔心你的新聞來源過度單一化?又是不是覺得特別造訪不同新聞網站太麻煩? Flipboard 幫你彙整各大新聞媒體管道的最新消息,方便又迅速! 你可以選擇自己感興趣的主題來特別追蹤,也可以嘗試綜合接收多種不同領域的資訊,建立多元的閱讀視野。 看到喜歡的文章,可以分享到個人頁面,彙整編輯專屬於你的「個人雜誌」,也可以追蹤其他人的雜誌,讓訊息交流更加豐富喔。

English Learning Video
English Learning Video 

Say this instead of 'I'm sorry !'

想表達歉意只能說 I'm sorry 嗎?
怎樣表達才能不讓對方更惱怒?怎樣才能讓聽者感受到真誠的道歉呢?
快來聽美女講師 Spencer 講解道歉的藝術及不同表達間微細的差異吧!

 
周樹華老師英語學習 Q&A

英語增能最好的學習資源就是 BBC Learning English: 6 minute English

我們都想知道如何可以開口說英語,道理很簡單,就是要多聽。聽別人怎麼說,自己才能開口。6 minute English 內容就六分鐘長,但英語層次及傳達知識非常豐富。

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 常用英語新聞單字

CNN 主播教你:看國際焦點新聞,學必備英語單字

關心全球大事,學老外天天都在看的英文
學英語要養成習慣!
看 CNN 新聞學英語讓你一步一步成長
.CNN 新聞影片互動學習
.看新聞學會英語關鍵字
.實用例句加強口語實力

 
 

 

FBI Says It has ‘National Security Concerns’ About TikTok
VOA News|Masood Farivar
November 15, 2022 9:57 PM (source)

FBI Says It has 'National Security Concerns' About TikTok

FBI:抖音在美營運存國安隱憂

November 15, 2022 9:57 PM

USA

 

  VOA News 搶先看 

美國聯邦調查局 (FBI) 局長克里斯多福·瑞伊 (Christopher Wray) 週二(編按:2022 年 11 月 15 日)在一場國土安全聽證會中指出,來自中國的短影音應用程式「抖音」具有潛在的國家安全疑慮,其中包括中國政府可能透過此程式監控自數百萬用戶取得的數據資料,或控制其演算法的推薦機制等,進而對國家的思想、創新和經濟安全層面上帶來長期威脅。而「抖音」官方則是予以否認,強調自己與中國政府並無任何關聯。

FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday that the bureau has "national security concerns" about popular short-form video hosting app TikTok as the Chinese-owned company seeks U.S. government approval to continue operating in the country.

Speaking during a U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee hearing on "worldwide threats to the homeland," Wray said the FBI's concerns about TikTok include "the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users."

There is also concern, Wray said in response to a question, that the Chinese government could "control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations ... or to control software on millions of devices, which gives the opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices."

In written testimony, Wray called the foreign intelligence and economic threat from China "the greatest long-term threat to our nation's ideas, innovation, and economic security.”

But he declined to answer in an open session a lawmaker's question about whether the Chinese government has been leveraging TikTok to collect data about U.S. citizens.

Concerns about ties to Chinese government

TikTok's ties to the Chinese government have been a flashpoint among U.S. lawmakers and officials for years. The app grew in popularity in recent years after its parent company, ByteDance, a China-based company with suspected ties to the Chinese government, bought and later absorbed Musical.ly, which allowed users to create and share lip-sync videos.

Citing national security concerns, then-President Donald Trump issued an executive order in 2020 that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States. But the social platform sued to block Trump's executive order.

Last year President Joe Biden revoked the Trump directive, asking the Treasury Department to examine security concerns associated with the app.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency body headed by the Treasury Department that reviews the national security implications of foreign investments in U.S. companies, has been examining TikTok's proposal to continue to remain active in the U.S. market and the risks associated with it.

Noting that the FBI's foreign investment unit is part of the CFIUS review process, Wray said that "our input would be taken into account in any agreements that might be made to address the issue."

U.S. lawmakers question how data used

Although TikTok has denied having ties to China's ruling Communist Party, U.S. lawmakers have long expressed concern about the Chinese government's ability to access U.S. user data collected by the app.

Questioning Wray during Tuesday's hearing, Republican Representative Diana Harshbarger cited a recent Forbes article that reported ByteDance "planned to use the TikTok app to track the physical location of specific American citizens."

TikTok later dismissed the allegation raised in the article, saying in a statement it "does not collect precise GPS location information from U.S. users."

In a June letter, TikTok sought to reassure U.S. lawmakers about its data security, writing that it now stores "100% of US user data, by default, in the Oracle cloud environment."

'Spinach' vs. 'opium' versions

Last week, the U.S. TV news magazine "60 Minutes" reported that TikTok has two versions — a limited, educational "spinach version" for Chinese consumers, and an addictive "opium version" for the rest of the world.

While the version used in the West "has kids hooked for hours at a time," in China, children under 14 years can use TikTok for only 40 minutes per day and view only videos about science experiments, museum exhibits, patriotic videos and educational videos, according to "60 Minutes."

Wray said the online "threat to our youth is something we're always concerned about. "The FBI is just as concerned about the way the Chinese government uses its laws as "an aggressive weapon against companies, both U.S. companies and Chinese companies," he said.

"Under Chinese law, Chinese companies are required to essentially — and I'm going to shorthand here — basically do what the Chinese government wants them to do, in terms of sharing information or serving as a tool of the Chinese government," Wray said. "And so, that's plenty of reason by itself to be concerned."

Beijing has denied similar allegations in the past.
 

Language Notes

註 1:algorithm (n.):演算法

註 2:leverage (v.):運用已有的…(資源、影響力等 )來獲取新(或更好)的目標

註 3:flashpoint (n.):即將爆發的地點或階段

註 4:directive (n.):行政命令

註 5:allegation (n.):指控
 

BACK TO CONTENT

Check your comprehension!

Choose the BEST answer to each of the questions below. After you finish, highlight the parentheses to reveal the hidden answers.

1. ( B )  Why does the FBI think TikTok is a potential threat to national security?
            (A) The content on TikTok is not very informative.
            (B) The Chinese government might use TikTok to control its users.
            (C) TikTok might steal algorithms from the U.S.
            (D) Teenagers spend too much time on TikTok.                   
2. ( D ) Why does TikTok say "100% of US user data, by default, [is stored] in the Oracle cloud environment."?
            (A) to show that the app can connect to the server rapidly                                                                                         
            (B) to demonstrate that they give user data back to U.S. society
            (C) to explain that they use the most advanced technology
            (D) to clear doubts about sharing data with the Chinese government
3. ( B ) How does Tiktok's Chinese version differ from its global one?
            (A)  Its user interface is designed better.
            (B)  Only educational videos can be viewed.
            (C)  Users do not need to give personal details when creating a new account.
            (D)  The content should be censored by the government before being made available.

編譯:外語教學暨資源中心 編輯小組

 

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