分類: 新聞英語

This woman’s record is a bit of a mouthful — she’s got the longest tongue in the world.

Chanel Tapper, 21, — who has a whopping 9.7cm tongue — has been officially certified by Guinness as having the world’s longest licker.

Chanel, from Houston, US, shot to fame aged 13 when she was spotted sticking out her monster tongue in a YouTube video.

In September Guinness invited Chanel to Los Angeles where they measured her tongue and she narrowly beat two other female contenders to the record.

Student Chanel said she loves her record-breaking tongue.

She said: "I have always been silly and goofy. I love sticking my tongue out at people.

"I started doing that back in school. I’ve never had a problem with having a long tongue, it’s just fun."

Chanel now has had her sights set on Hollywood after finishing her studies.

She said: "I’d love to be in a movie. I’m certainly pretty dramatic, so I think I could have the acting gift.

"Really, I’d love to meet Adam Sandler, he’s my favourite." (The Sun)

《字詞解析》

mouthful － (n.) (食物或飲料的) 一口；(單字或片語) 很長的，拗口的。

whopping － (adj.) 巨大的；超大的。

certify － (v.) 認證；證明…合格。

licker － (n.) 舌頭。Licker 為 tongue 的俚語。

shoot to fame － (v.) 一舉成名 (= become famous quickly)。亦可寫成 to rise to fame。

stick out － (phr. v.) 伸出。這個及物片語動詞可以分開，亦即受詞可放在 stick 或 out 的後面，如 stick my tongue out 或 stick out my tongue。

monster － (adj.) 巨大的；超大的。與 whopping 同義。

narrowly beat － (v.) 險勝。

silly and goofy － (adj.) 非常愚蠢的。Silly 和 goofy 這兩個形容詞皆意為「愚蠢的」。

have one's sights set on － (v.) 把目標放在。

I’d love to － (v.) 我想要 (= I’d like to)。

(be) in a movie － (v.) 參與電影演出。

dramatic － (adj.) 戲劇的；有戲劇細胞的。

acting gift － (n.) 表演天賦。

延伸閱讀：新聞英語的語法結構

Teetering along a crumbling walkway over 100 metres high, a group of intrepid climbers carefully inch their way across what has been dubbed the most dangerous path in the world.

And they're not alone. Adrenaline-junkies have been flocking to southern Spain to experience the 110-year-old El Caminito Del Rey before work begins to refurbish it next year.

Companies have now begun offering unofficial tours after a video of a walker tackling the hair-raising trail went viral on YouTube.

And you don't need to be an experienced climber either, the only requirements are that walkers should be at least twelve years old and have a good head for heights.

The trail, also known as the King's Pathway, was originally built in 1905 for workers to travel between two hydroelectric power plants but was closed-off in 2000 after two walkers fell to their deaths.

It snakes its way along cliff edges high up in El Chorro Gorge, thirty miles from Malaga.

Much of the one-metre-wide walkway is crumbing away with rusting supports, gaping holes, no handrails and sections that have completely fallen down.

A makeshift wire has now been attached to the rock face which walkers and climbers can clip themselves on to in order to have some degree of security - but many still prefer not to use any safety equipment at all.

Work is now due to start on an 8.3 million project to make the pathway safe again and attract more tourists to the area.

It will take three years to re-construct and will see the pathway completely rebuilt with handrails, protective barriers, lighting and a visitor’s centre.

One climber on the route last week said: 'It's a shame they're going to fix the path.

'It will sanitise it too much and take the thrill out of it.

'It's free for us to go on right now but I'm sure they'll make us pay to use it in the future.' (Daily Mail)

《字詞解析》

本文中出現的 path, pathway, trail 和 walkway，指的都是「步道，小徑」。這是英文寫作慣用的技巧，亦即儘可能使用同義詞，以增加文章的深度和力道，同時避免同一字詞出現多次、讓讀者心生厭煩的情況發生。

teeter － (v.) 蹣跚而行，搖搖晃晃。Teetering along a crumbling walkway over 100 metres high (沿著一條逐漸脫落、離地面 100 公尺高的步道蹣跚而行) 為分詞構句，修飾主詞 a group of intrepid climbers。

crumbling － (adj.) 逐漸碎裂、脫落的。

intrepid － (adj.) 勇敢的；大膽的。

inch － (v.) 使緩慢地移動。

dub － (v.) 把...叫做；號稱。

Adrenaline junkie － (n.) 喜歡冒險的人；喜歡從事危險活動和運動 (如極限運動) 的人。

flock － (v.) 蜂擁。

El Caminito Del Rey － (n.) 國王 (登山) 步道。這是西班牙文，意思就是第 5 段的 King's Pathway (國王步道)，或更精確地說是 King's Little Pathway (國王的小步道)。

refurbish － (v.) 翻新；翻修。

tackle － (v.) 征服。

hair-raising － (adj.) 令人毛骨悚然的；驚險的。

go viral － (v.) 在網路上爆紅。

hydroelectric power plant － (n.) 水力發電廠。

snake － (v.) 蜿蜒。

rusting － (adj.) 鏽蝕的。

support － (n.) 支撐物，支柱。

gaping － (adj.) (孔或空間) 很大的。

handrail － (n.) (樓梯等的) 扶手，欄杆。

section － (n.) 地板。

makeshift － (adj.) 臨時代用的；權宜的。

clip － (v.) 扣住。

shame － (n.) 可惜；遺憾。

sanitise － (v.) 消毒；淨化。

thrill － (n.) 刺激。

延伸閱讀：新聞英語的語法結構

The world's oldest living conjoined twins have defied doctors' predictions and reached their 50th birthday.

George and Lori Schappell, who are joined at the head, celebrate their special day on Sept. 11.

And the pair are marking the landmark birthday with a trip to London.

Remarkably, the Siamese twins are able to live very different and separate lives, with Lori having had relationships and George — who was originally named Dori — deciding to live life as a man.

Lori is also a ten-pin bowling champion and George performs as a country and western singer.

Lori says: "When we were born, the doctors didn't think we'd make 30, but we proved them wrong.

"We have learned so much in the last 50 years and will continue living life to the full."

While Lori, who is 5ft 1in, was born able-bodied, 4ft 4in George suffers from spina bifida, which has caused severe mobility problems.

As George cannot walk, he sits in a wheelchair-type stool which Lori pushes so the two can move together.

George says: "Most people don't believe us but we do have very normal lives.

"We travel, tidy our flat and Lori has even had a boyfriend. Nothing stops us doing what we want."

The twins, from Pennsylvania in America, were born sharing 30 per cent of their frontal lobe brain tissue and critical blood vessels, meaning they cannot be separated.

The twins not only had to deal with their birth defect but George was hiding a secret torment from his sister.

He says: "I have known from a very young age that I should have been a boy.

"I loved playing with trains and hated girly outfits. I kept my desire to change sex hidden — even from Lori — for many years."

George came clean about his desire four years ago. He changed his name from Dori and began living as a man.

He says: "It was so tough, but I was getting older and I simply didn't want to live a lie. I knew I had to live my life the way I wanted."

George has not had a sex change, but dresses and introduces himself as a man.

Lori says: "Obviously it was a shock when Dori changed to George, but I am so proud of him.

"It was a huge decision but we have overcome so much in our lives and together we are such a strong team. Nothing can break that."

Lori considers herself a girly girl and does all the cooking for herself and George while he will do all the DIY around their flat.

Although the pair are both single, Lori has dated men. She says: "I lost my virginity at the age of 23 to my second boyfriend.

"When I went on dates, George would bring along books to read and, as we don't face each other, he could ignore any kissing. I don't see why being a conjoined twin should stop me having a love life and feeling like a woman."

Five years ago Lori was engaged, but four months before the couple were due to marry, her fiancé was killed by a drunk driver.

Lori says: "It was devastating and my heart is broken. (The Sun)

《字詞解析》

oldest living － (adj.) 目前還活著年紀最大的。在此，oldest living 與標題的 longest surviving 同義。

conjoined twins － (n.) 連體嬰；連體雙胞胎。亦叫做 Siamese twins。這對連體雙胞胎原本叫做 Dori 和 Lori，是對姊妹花，但 Dori 於 4 年前改名為 George，雖然沒有變性，但從此以男性自居，作男性打扮，過著男人生活。

defy － (v.) 藐視；違抗。

live life － (v.) 過生活。

to the full － (adv.) 完全地；徹底的；充分地。

able-bodied － (adj.) 健壯的。

spina bifida － (n.) 脊柱裂。

wheelchair-type stool － (n.) 輪椅式的凳子。

flat － (n.) (英) 公寓。美國的公寓叫做 apartment。至於公寓大樓，英國叫做 "block of flats"，美國叫做 "apartment block", "apartment building" 或 "apartment house"。在此，block 意為「棟，座，幢」；所以，a block of flats 或 an apartment block 包含許多 flat 或 apartment。而只有一房、一衛、一廚的所謂「套房」，英國叫做 "studio flat"，美國叫做 "studio apartment"。

birth defect － (n.) 天生缺陷；天生畸形。

torment － (n.) 痛苦；苦惱。

girly － (adj.) 女性化的。這是 girlie 的另一種拼法。

come clean － (v.) 全盤招供；和盤托出。這片語相當常用，宜熟記。

live a lie － (v.) 過著騙人的生活。

sex change － (n.) 變性。(動詞) to change sex。

virginity － (n.) 處女；童貞。

love life － (n.) 愛情生活；性生活。

fiancé － (n.) 未婚夫。Fiancée：未婚妻。這兩字拼字不同，但發音完全一樣。

devastating － (adj.) 令人十分難過的；使人非常心痛的。

延伸閱讀：新聞英語的語法結構

Mittu the parrot deserves congratulations – or as the African grey might say, ‘shabaash’.

The bilingual bird has developed an impressive vocabulary in both English and Urdu after being raised in a home where both are spoken.

As well as the likes of 'who's a pretty boy then', the two-year-old has mastered the traditional Muslim greeting 'asalaam alaykum' and 'bismillah', the Urdu for 'in the name of Allah'.

Owner Ghaffar Ahmed, 36, said: 'He speaks Urdu and English. But he also barks like a dog and makes the noise of the refrigerator alarm, so he likes making all sorts of noises really.'

Mittu lives with Mr Ahmed's family in Stourbridge, West Midlands. This year a study found that African greys are capable of the same level of intelligent reasoning as a four-year-old child.

Mr Ahmed said: 'I don't know how many bilingual birds there are in the UK but there can't be many.'

Mr Ahmed, who runs a car firm and accident management company, says he is refusing to take him out to the local mosque - after the parrot escaped recently from his workplace.

Mr Ahmed, his wife, Shabana, 31, and their three young daughters were 'devastated' when he disappeared.

But tears turned to joy when the bird turned up four days later having flown four miles away.

Susan Lane, from Halesowen, West Midlands, found the Mittu in her holly tree and found Mr Ahmed online.

'As soon as we were reunited he came and kissed my face,' Mr Ahmed added.

'We were delighted to have him back, it was like losing one of the family when he flew off.

'So I’m not letting him go out any more, I’m keeping a close eye on him from now on.' (Daily Mail)

《字詞解析》

bilingual － (adj.) (能說) 兩種語言的；雙語的。這個字亦可當名詞用，意為「能說兩種語言的人」。

Urdu － (n.) 烏爾都語 (印度和巴基斯坦通用語)。

African grey － (n.) 非洲灰鸚。African grey 指的就是這隻名叫 Mittu 的鸚鵡。Grey 是英式英語的拼法，美式英語拼成 gray。

shabaash － (n.) 烏爾都語的「恭喜」(congratulations)。

master － (v.) 精通。

in the name of Allah － (phr.) 以真主阿拉之名。

bark － (v.) (狗、狐等) 吠叫。

Intelligent reasoning － (n.) 智慧推理 (能力)。簡言之，就是模擬人類的知識及決策能力。

run － (v.) 經營。

mosque － (n.) (回教) 清真寺。

devastate － (v.) 使十分震驚；使非常難過。在此，devastated 為過去分詞形容詞，意為「十分震驚的；非常難過的」。

tears turned to joy － (idiom) 轉悲為喜。

holly tree － (n.) 冬青樹。

Keep a close eye on － (phr. v.) 密切注意。

from now on － (phr.) 從現在起。

延伸閱讀：新聞英語的語法結構

The bizarre internet craze of 'planking' is set to lose its cult online status to the increasingly popular trend of 'owling'.

Hundreds of young people in America, Australia and now, Britain, have taken up the new 'owling' craze.

It consists of crouching on one's haunches and staring into the middle distance, like an owl.

Participants then take photos of themselves and post them on Facebook or on other social networking sites.

Extra kudos is earned for those who do it in unusual situations.

The trend is a development of the popular craze of 'planking' in which people would take pictures of themselves lying face down in strange locations.

However, in recent months ‘planking’ has become increasingly mainstream – and thus less popular on the trend-conscious internet.

Last month the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay posted pictures of himself planking – a development that prompted trend-watchers to declare the craze ‘officially dead’.

'Owling' is believed to have started in Australia within the last few weeks.

Indeed, it is so new that the Wikipedia entry for 'owling' describes the practice as being a term used in the Middle Ages to describe the ‘the smuggling of sheep or wool from England to another country.

Despite its relative youth, the owling craze already has two popular Facebook groups dedicated to it, onto which more than 1,000 people are listed as members.

Other social websites including Reddit also feature pictures of young people taking part in the craze.

The trendspotting site Buzzfeed has described 'owling' as a 'worthy successor' to planking. (Daily Mail)

《字詞解析》

spring up － (phr. v.) (如雨後春筍般) 湧現；突然而迅速地出現。

craze － (n.) 風靡一時的事物；狂熱。

planking － (n.) 仆街。

cult － (adj.) 受崇拜的 (僅用在名詞前)。Cult 當名詞用時是個很常見的新聞用語，意為「邪教」。

owling － (n.)「棲街」(暫譯)。根據這篇報導，這是網路，或更精確地說，臉書及其他社群網站，繼仆街之後興起的新流行狂熱。「棲街者」像貓頭鷹 (owl) 棲於樹上一樣蹲坐在一些不尋常的地點，雙眼凝視前方，然後拍照並將照片上傳到網路與粉絲分享。

take up － (phr. v.) 開始從事；開始對…產生興趣。

crouch － (v.) 蹲坐；彎腰。Crouch on one's haunches 一定是「蹲坐」。

haunch － (n.) (人的) 臀部。

kudos － (n.) 榮耀；聲望；讚揚。這個字本身就有個 s，並非複數，而是個不可數名詞，所以接單數動詞。

mainstream － (n.) 主流。

trend-conscious － (adj.) 講究時尚的；重視時尚的。

trend-watcher － (n.) 時尚觀察家；趨勢觀察家。

relative youth － (n.) 相對的年輕。這是說「棲街」與仆街相比還是個很新的網路流行時尚。

trendspotting － (adj.) 時尚追蹤的；流行追蹤的。

延伸閱讀：新聞英語的語法結構

A receptionist at a bank has lost more than eight stone after conquering a bizarre phobia – of sweat.

Tracey Stone, 35, walked less than three miles per year and 'freaked out' at the mere thought of exercise because of the irrational fear.

The phobia, which she developed in childhood, meant she piled on the pounds and it left her with 'zero' self-esteem.

At her heaviest, she tipped the scales at 19 stone and consumed 5,000 calories per day – more than double the recommended daily amount.

But in early 2010 Tracey overcame her 'nemesis' thanks to a course of hypnotherapy. She has now dropped from a size 18 to a size 12.

Tracey, who lives in Bristol, now weighs in at just 11 stone and controls her weight through gentle exercise and slimming aids.

She said: 'I’ve had a fear of excessive sweating since I was at school. It got to the point where I was literally not walking anyway through fear of breaking sweat. I freaked out at the thought of going to the gym.

'But now I feel happier and healthier after finally overcoming the nemesis that had haunted me for so long.'

The phobia of excessive sweating, hypothermosis, affects up to 1-in-200,000 people across the UK. (Daily Mail)

《字詞解析》

receptionist -- (n.) 接待員。

stone -- (n.) 英石。1 英石 = 6.35 公斤。

conquer -- (v.) 克服 (= overcome)。

bizarre -- (adj.) 古怪的，怪異的。請注意 bizarre 和 bazaar (市場；市集) 拼字的差異。

phobia -- (n.) 恐懼症；懼怕。與 fear 同義。

sweat -- (n.) 汗。

freak out -- (v.) 極為恐懼。

at the mere thought of -- (phr.) 光是想到。

irrational -- (adj.) 不理性的；荒謬的；無稽的。

pile on something -- (v.) 突然猛增。To pile on the pounds：體重猛增。

self-esteem -- (n.) 自尊。

tip the scales at… -- (v.) 重達…；(稱) 體重為…。文中提到現年 35 歲的史東小姐 (Tracy Stone) 最重時重達 19 英石 (120.7 公斤)。Tip the scales at = weigh in at。

nemesis -- (n.) (新聞用語) 死對頭，宿敵，剋星。

hypnotherapy -- (n.) 催眠療法。

slimming aids -- (n.) 減肥或減重輔助物。

break sweat -- (v.) 耗費大量精力、體力。

haunt -- (v.) 纏住 (某人)。

延伸閱讀：新聞英語的語法結構

Forget tattoos, belly button piercings and Lady Gaga-style silicone implants - the latest craze in body modification is 'corset piercing' where metal rings are pierced into the skin and joined together with a ribbon to give a corset effect.

The 'decoration', which can cost up to £300, can be applied to any area of the body where the skin is loose enough to pinch in order to thread a needle through. Popular areas include the back, ribs and, in some cases, even the throat.

But a cosmetic surgeon has now warned of the dangers of the bizarre trend which is sweeping the UK, saying the scarring following the procedure can be 'absolutely horrendous'.

Some have endured an hour of pain to achieve the corset effect but it's only temporary - after a few weeks of wear they simply grow out, leaving scars in their place.

It appears to be the latest in the 'body modification' phenomenon, which has seen people going to extraordinary levels in a bid to stand out from the crowd.

Today it's possible to be branded, scarred and even have silicone implanted under the skin to create bumps and 'horns'.

Eccentric pop star Lady Gaga is just one celebrity who's jumped on the bandwagon. She sported bizarre flesh-coloured 'horns' on her face during a television interview in February this year.

According to piercing experts, the 'corset' modification is growing in popularity as more and more brave the pain.

'I can't believe that people are going out with these things on display - they're open to any sort of infection. It's verging on masochistic.

'It's just bizarre. I saw a picture of a girl who had the front of her chest done like this, that area is very prone to scarring. It's an awful thing to do.'

Laura Hunt offers corset piercing at her Tattoo and Piercing Studio, called Dragstrip, in Southampton, Hampshire, and charges £5 per hoop.

The 25-year-old, from Southampton, who has had the piercing herself, insisted it wasn't dangerous.

She explained: 'Corset piercing is becoming more popular. Body modifications have recently become really popular as everyone wants to be different.

'It can be quite painful. It involves pinching the skin and pushing the needle through by hand.

'It's not dangerous because it's a surface piercing and doesn't go deep enough.

'It's an open wound so it has to be cleaned to prevent infection - it's just like any other piercing.

'It only lasts for three to four weeks and after that it will just grow out. It does leave a few red scars. (wrapup)

《字詞解析》

belly button -- (n.) 肚臍。

silicone implant -- (n.) 植入矽膠。如隆乳。

craze -- (n.) 時尚；風潮；潮流。與 trend, fad 同義。

body modification -- (n.) 身體改造。如刺青 (tattoos)、穿刺 (piercings) 等等。

corset piercing -- (n.) 馬甲穿刺 (即人肉馬甲)。

pierce – (v.) 穿刺。

pinch -- (v.) 捏；擰；夾。

thread a needle through -- (v.) 將針穿過 (皮肉)。To thread a needle：穿針 (將線穿過針)。

cosmetic surgeon – (n.) 整型醫師。

bizarre -- (adj.) 怪異的；異乎尋常的。

sweep -- (v.) 席捲。

scarring -- (gerund) 結疤；留下疤痕。

horrendous -- (adj.) 可怕的；駭人的。

grow out -- (phr. v.) (肉) 長出來。

stand out -- (phr. v.) 突出。To stand out from the crowd：鶴立雞群；與眾不同。

bump -- (n.) 凸塊。

eccentric -- (adj.) (人、行為等) 古怪的；怪異的。

jump on the bandwagon -- (phr.) 趕時髦；追求時尚；趕搭…順風車。這片語亦可寫成 climb on the bandwagon 或 join the bandwagon。

sport -- (v.) 炫耀。

growing in popularity -- (v.) 越來越流行。這片語亦可用 becoming more popular 來表示。

brave -- (v.) 勇敢地面對。如 to brave the pain：忍著疼痛；to brave the storm：冒著暴風雨。

verge on -- (phr. v.) 接近；近乎。

masochistic -- (adj.) 性受虐 (者) 的；受虐 (者) 的；自虐的。

延伸閱讀：新聞英語的語法結構

These riders have taken horse racing to new limits - by racing each other through the waves on surf boards attached to their horse saddles.

Just a short cord attaches the surfer to the horse and rider - who can travel at speeds of up to 35mph through the waves.

Daredevil surfers and riders have even taken to racing each other through the surf in beaches in Baule, on the west coast of France.

It comes just two weeks after the Metro revealed all on another new equine-related extreme sport: horse-boarding.

Horse-boarding involves being pulled on a skateboard at up to 56kph (35mph).

It has become so popular that a training centre has opened and Britain’s first championships are to be held this year.

The 2011 Grand National takes place this weekend at Aintree. It's Britain's biggest race of the year. (Metro)

《字詞解析》

rider -- (n.) 騎馬 (或騎腳踏車等的) 人；搭乘車輛的人。

horse racing -- (n.) 賽馬。

race -- (v.) 和…競賽、競速。

surf board -- (n.) 衝浪板。Surf board 通常寫成一個字 surfboard。

saddle -- (n.) 馬鞍。

cord -- (n.) 細繩，繩索。

surfer -- (n.) 衝浪者。

daredevil -- (adj.) 喜歡冒險的；不怕死的。這個字亦可當名詞用，意為「喜歡冒險的人；不怕死的人」。

equine -- (n.) 馬；馬科動物。這個字亦可當形容詞用，意為「馬的；馬科的」。

extreme sport -- (n.) 極限運動。

horse-boarding -- (n) 馬板 (騎馬溜滑板)。按此看 horse-boarding 的報導和圖片。

skateboard -- (n.) 滑板。

championship -- (n.) 錦標賽。

Grand National -- (n.) (英國一年一度的) 全國越野障礙賽馬。每年 4 月初的某個週六下午在利物浦 (Liverpool) 附近的 Aintree Racecourse 賽馬場舉行。

延伸閱讀：新聞英語的語法結構

Moses Lanham plans on stepping into the record books in a rather unusual fashion.

'Known as backward feet man’ and ‘Mr elastic’, the Michigan-based 49-year-old can rotate his feet 120 degrees behind him, a feat he hopes will earn him a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

As that’s not all; he also plans on setting a record for the fastest man to walk 20 metres with his feet turned backwards.

Despite the daunting task ahead, Mr Lanham can however remain quietly confident – both records have never been attempted before.

Speaking to AOL News, Mr Lanham said: ‘I know I can put my toes together in back, but for the record, I’ll do a full 120 degrees.’

Despite the visually excruciating appearance, Mr Lanham says his flexible feet cause him no pain, in fact he quite enjoys the back-to-front feeling.

'A lot of times when I’m sitting down I’ll put my feet in a twisted position because it’s more comfortable for me,’ he said.

Mr Lanham discovered his strange quirk at 14 after a high school gym class accident.

Climbing a rope, he lost his grip and fell nearly 18 feet before landing with his feet in an extremely awkward position.

'They thought something was dislocated,’ Mr Lanham said. ‘But I stood up and was fine.’

Mr Lanham has made the most of his talent ever since.

In high school he was prone to walking backwards and at college he would wear his clothes backwards to match the direction of his feet.

Sadly, Mr Lanham’s 17-year-old son Trey has only partially inherited his father’s funny feet.

Trey can not turn them the full way round like his father, and also feels pain after staying in the position for a short time. (Daily Mail)

《字詞解析》

plan on -- (v.) 打算，計畫。Plan on + V-ing = plan to + V = intend to + V。

elastic -- (n.) 橡皮圈。

feat -- (n.) 技藝。

daunting -- (adj.) 使人膽怯的，使人畏縮的。

AOL News -- (n.) 美國線上新聞。AOL 為 American Online 公司的縮寫。

excruciating -- (adj.) 極度痛苦的。Visually excruciating appearance：看起來十分痛苦的表情。

twisted -- (adj.) 扭曲的。

quirk -- (n.) 怪異的才能；奇事。

dislocate -- (v.) 使脫臼。

(be) prone to -- (adj.) 有...傾向的，易於...的。Be prone to = be liable to = be inclined to = be apt to，但前三者的 to 皆可當介系詞和不定詞用，而 be apt to 後面只能接原形動詞。

inherit -- (v.) 繼承；經遺傳而獲得 (性格，特徵等)。

延伸閱讀：新聞英語的語法結構

A blind pensioner who was told he would never see again has miraculously regained his sight - while kissing a photograph of his late wife as he prepared for bed.

George Hudspeth has been registered blind for 10-years after he was diagnosed with dry macular degeneration. He lost his sight completely one year ago and expected to live the rest of his life in darkness.

But last week his vision suddenly returned moments after he held a photograph of his late wife Sheila, who died in November 2009.

The former Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant was so ecstatic he stayed up all night until 5am watching television in case his sight went again.

It means the 76-year-old grandfather has seen his baby granddaughter for the first time following the incredible recovery, which has baffled eye specialists.

Mr Hudspeth, from Daventry, Northamptonshire, said: 'I want to tell the world because I am sitting on top of Mount Everest shouting "I can see."

'I can't explain it. I can't find the right words. I can see just as well as anybody else. It is truly incredible and I couldn't be happier.'

Doctors had previously told him that he would never be able to see again after the condition worsened last year. Both Mr Hudspeth's father and sister had gone blind through the condition.

But last Tuesday, the former serviceman's life changed when his sight miraculously returned. (Daily Mail)

《字詞解析》

pensioner – (n.) 領取養老金者。

miraculously – (adv.) 奇蹟地。miraculous (adj.)：奇蹟的，神奇的；miracle (n.)：奇蹟。

photograph of his late wife -- (phr.) 他亡妻的照片 (即照片中的人是他的亡妻)。如果這張照片是他亡妻所有 (但她不在照片中)，那就要寫成 a photograph of his late wife's。

(be) diagnosed with – (phr.) 被診斷患有。

dry macular degeneration – (n.) 非出血性黃斑退化症。

lose (one’s ) sight – (v.) 失明。

in darkness – (phr.) 一片黑暗。例如：The front rooms were all in darkness. (前面的房間陷入一片黑暗)。

ecstatic – (adj.) 狂喜的；欣喜若狂的。

stay up – (phr. v.) 熬夜。

baffle – (v.) 使困惑，難倒。

Mount Everest – (n.) 聖母峰，珠穆朗瑪峰 (珠峰)。

couldn't be happier – (phr.) 十分高興。「can’t/couldn’t + 比較級形容詞」意為「完全…；十分…」，如 I couldn’t agree more. (我完全同意)。所以，couldn't be happier 就是「十分高興」，意思就是說再也沒有什麼事比這更令人高興了。

延伸閱讀：新聞英語的語法結構