20100713 The Panama Canal Connecting Oceans (2)

The Panama Canal: Connecting Oceans

American President Theodore Roosevelt quickly took over where the French crew had left off. He bought the canal property and sent a team of workers to finish the project. Led by John Stevens, the American team got rid of the mosquitoes. This effort helped the team of nearly 40,000 workers to stay healthy and productive. The team used gigantic steam shovels to make a path for the canal. But even with the help of such lare equipment, the work progressed slowly.

Finally, after nearly 10 years of non-stop digging, the canal successfully opened in 1914. The story didn't make the headlines, though. The public was focused on World War I. Therefore the canal wasn't dedicated until July 12, 1920. Since the canal first opened, more than 960,000 ships have traveled through it. The Panama Canal has become an important link in global shipping. A journey that took weeks now takes hours.

crew n. 工作人員

eg: The camera crew already set up their equipment in the press conference room.

=> 攝影員已經在記者會的會場中設置好他們的裝備。

eg: The cabin crew started their service after the captain made the announcement.

=>機長廣播之後，機組人員就開始服務。

product n. 產品

productive adj. 產量高的

eg: a productive land 產量豐富的土地

productive adj. 效率高的/成效高的

eg: The meeting was very productive. A lot of important decisions were made.

=> 這個會議很有成效。很多重要決定都已經定案。

headline n. 頭條新聞/報紙的頭板

eg: The couple's wedding was in the headlines of the newspaper today.

=> 這對婚禮的新人是今天在報紙的頭條新聞。

make the headlines 成為頭條新聞

eg: The scandal surrounding the mayor made today's headlines.

=> 有關市長的醜聞今天成為頭條新聞。

gigantic adj. 巨大的, 龐大的

=> very large/huge, enormous

steam shovel 蒸汽挖土機

dedicate v. 以...奉獻/以...供奉

take over

= take charge of

//== Chat room ==//

英文有許多不可數名詞像

equipment 所有的裝備

luggage 行李

candy 糖果

如果要數的話，可以用piece

eg: a piece of candy 一顆糖果

eg: three pieces of luggage 三件行李

eg: five pieces of equipment 五個工具

work 是工作，也是不可數

可用jobs, tasks, projects, chores 來表示不同的工作項目

scenery U. 景色

views C. 視野

eg: I likes the views from Taipei 101.

eg: I like the scenery from Taipei 101.

//== Grammar on the Go ==//

The story didn't make the headlines.

=> The canal was finished. This event was treated as a news story.

make the headlines 成為頭條新聞

= make headlines

headlines

=> the title of a newspaper article

make

=> become or be treated as important news

eg: The young girl's darling attempt to rescue a horse in a burning barn made the headlines.

eg: The politician's son made the headlies when he was caught driving without a license.