come face-to-face with ...

「〜ときちんと向き合う、顔を突き合わせる、面と向かう」。

映画『ソーシャルネットワーク』主演のJesse EisenbergとFace BookのMark Zuckerbergが、初の顔合わせという設定で、テレビ番組Saturday Night Liveが放送されました。

The Ageの記事、'Facebook founder meets The Social Network actor who portrayed him'からface bookとface-to-faceをかけてるわけね。

'Zuckerberg, 26, came face-to-face during a guest appearance on the popular NBC comedy show Saturday Night Live with Jesse Eisenberg, who received a "Best Actor" nomination for his portrayal of the Facebook creator.

Eisenberg was delivering the opening monologue for Saturday Night Live when he was joined on stage by a member of the cast, Andy Samberg, who also portrays Zuckerberg in skits on the show.

As the two exchanged tips on their acting techniques, the real Zuckerberg was seen offstage with the show's producer begging to be allowed to go on.

"Why can't I go in there?" he said. "I'm the real Mark Zuckerberg."

"That guy's like my evil twin," he said. "Those guys are such nerds."

When Zuckerberg finally made it on stage, Samberg beat a hasty retreat declaring the encounter "awkberg".

Eisenberg asked Zuckerberg what he thought of the movie.

"It was interesting," Zuckerberg said.'

Saturday night liveの一部は、siteのビデオクリップから見られます。

What clues do/es something offer about ...?

「（ある出来事など）から...についてどのようなことが推測できるか、考えられるか？」

CNNの記事、'Egypt's protests: What's next?' By Richard Allen Greeneから。

'With unprecedented numbers of protesters on the streets of Egypt calling for President Hosni Mubarak to resign, what clues do earlier demonstrations in the region offer about what will happen in Cairo?

Results have been mixed.

Tunisia, a relatively small and apparently stable country on the Mediterranean, triggered the current wave of anti-government protests across the Middle East.

It had been ruled by President Zine El Abedine Ben Ali for 23 years and was seen as a well-established police state.

But in December 2010, a fruit seller named Mohamed Bouazizi, 26, set himself on fire in protest after police took away his fruit cart. The profoundly symbolic act of protest awakened a suppressed fury in the population.'

in extra time

「延長時間で」。

スポーツの試合で使われるときは、「延長戦で」という意味になります。

The Australianの記事、'Socceroos suffer extra-time loss in Asian Cup final'から。

'SOCCEROOS skipper Lucas Neill said he felt proud but disappointed after Australia's heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Japan in extra time in the final of the Asian Cup.

Substitute Tadanari Lee struck in the 109th minute to shatter Australia's hopes of a first Asian Cup and give Japan a record fourth title, their third in the past four tournaments.

The Socceroos were gallant in an enthralling contest played in front of 37,174 fans at Khalifa Stadium in Doha and enjoyed the majority of the chances.

But it was a single defensive lapse that cost them.'

be right to do ...

「〜するというのは正しい」。

CNNの記事、'Obama has long way to go on education reform' By Pedro Nogueraから。

'President Obama should be applauded for keeping education at the top of the nation's policy agenda at a time when so many other important issues -- the ongoing recession, two wars, health care, etc. -- demand his attention.

He was right to urge parents to do their part to reinforce the importance of education with their children, and he is to be commended for recognizing the important role of teachers who so often are blamed for the failings of our nation's schools.

But Obama should be less boastful and more circumspect in describing what his administration has accomplished in education. When he declared that Race to the Top was "the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation," he clearly went a bit too far.'

be set on fire

「〜が放火される」。

BBCの記事、'Egypt protests: Anti-Mubarak demonstrators arrested'から。

'About 700 people have been arrested throughout Egypt in a crackdown against anti-government protests, security officials say.

The arrests came as police clashed with protesters in two cities following Tuesday's unprecedented protests.

One protester and one policeman were killed as police broke up rallies in Cairo, and in Suez a government building was reportedly set on fire.

Public gatherings would no longer be tolerated, the interior ministry said.

Anyone taking to the streets against the government would be prosecuted, it added.'

stoke fears

「（世間などを）騒がせる」。

The Australianの記事、'Australian floods stoke cotton-supply fears'から。

'COTTON prices skyrocketed to a 140-year high overnight as investors bet supplies would tighten further before the next harvest.

Prices for cotton powered to a new post-Reconstruction Era high for the second consecutive day.

Deadly floods in major grower Australia have stoked fears that the country's growers will be unable to meet their contract obligations, pushing prices even higher.

Benchmark cotton futures touched $US1.6789 a pound during intraday trading overnight. This is the highest level for the fibre in more than 140 years. Records from the Mississippi Historical Society show cotton fetched $US1.89lb during the peak of the US Civil War.'

in the wake of

「～を受けて、～の影響が残る中で」。

CNNの記事、'Will Moscow airport blast force global security rethink?'By Bryony Jonesから。

'London -- Airports around the world are likely to boost security checks in the wake of Monday's deadly bombing in Moscow, experts say.

The blast, at the city's Domodedovo Airport, killed at least 35 people and left more than 100 wounded, several critically.

Experts say it is significant that those who masterminded the attack chose to bomb the arrivals hall of the airport -- Moscow's busiest -- because it was an easier target than the heavily-policed departures area.'

ruffle

「〜を波立たせる、逆立てる」。

The Guardianの記事、'Mothers - review'から。

'A steel beam sweeps the gallery, just above our heads. Standing under it, the air ruffles your hair as it turns. Its hard not to duck and cringe. If you are over 6ft 8in, Martin Creed's Mothers could kill you. Big hair? It'll scalp you.

Standing on the beam, and almost grazing the ceiling as it passes, is a large white neon sign saying MOTHERS. Originally one of a pair, (the other saying FATHERS), the sculpture was initially planned for a public site in Germany. It's a behemoth. What does it mean?

Perhaps the answer is found in Creed's new, self-released single, which the artist performed live with his band at a party following the opening of the show.'

lasting

「心に残る、消えない」という意味の形容詞。

CNNの記事、'14-year-old creates 'Bubble Ball,' iTunes' most popular free app' By John D. Sutterから。


'His name is Robert Nay, and he's an 8th grader in Spanish Fork, Utah.

But the media is fascinated by this story. In part because Nay is so young. Partly because he used a public library to do some of the work (hello, quaint factor). And, here's perhaps the most lasting piece of this, because he used a program that's designed to make app-building easy for anyone -- even non-programmers.

Then there's the fact that his app, Bubble Ball, is so freakishly popular. According to the All Things Digital blog, Nay's app -- a series of puzzles where players have to guide a ball through courses that they manipulate -- was downloaded a million times in its first two weeks.

The app debuted on December 29, the blog says, and hit the top of the iTunes chart late last week, beating out a holiday-themed version of "Angry Birds," which is the king of all the time-waster games. (The paid version of "Angry Birds", which is the one most people will know, is still on top of the paid app chart at the Apple App Store, which serves iOS devices like the iPod).'

under the control of ...

「〜の支配のもとで」。

BBCの記事、'Alien Hand Syndrome sees woman attacked by her own hand'
By Dr Michael Mosleyから。

Imagine being attacked by one of your own hands, which repeatedly tries to slap and punch you. Or you go into a shop and when you try to turn right, one of your legs decides it wants to go left, leaving you walking round in circles.

Last summer I met 55-year-old Karen Byrne in New Jersey, who suffers from Alien Hand Syndrome.

Her left hand, and occasionally her left leg, behaves as if it were under the control of an alien intelligence.

Karen's condition is fascinating, not just because it is so strange but because it tells us something surprising about how our own brains work.

It started after Karen had surgery at 27 to control her epilepsy, which had dominated her life since she was 10.

続きはBBCのサイトで。

retain about 〜 percent more of the information than...

「...よりも、〜パーセント多くの情報を覚えている」。

The New York Timesの記事、'To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test' By PAM BELLUCKから。

'Taking a test is not just a passive mechanism for assessing how much people know, according to new research. It actually helps people learn, and it works better than a number of other studying techniques.

The research, published online Thursday in the journal Science, found that students who read a passage, then took a test asking them to recall what they had read, retained about 50 percent more of the information a week later than students who used two other methods.'

swamp

名詞では「沼地」。動詞では「～を浸す、水浸しにする」。

The Ageの記事、'Local 'legend' inspires the great wall of Warracknabeal'by Paul Millarから。

'A LOCAL entrepreneur was being hailed a hero after he rallied Warracknabeal residents into building an earth-wall levee that saved homes from being swamped as floodwaters rushed into the town yesterday.

Richard Wilken was well enough known around town to gather willing volunteers with local knowledge to rally together and contain rising waters that spilled over the banks of Yarriambiack Creek.

By early yesterday the creek was more like a fast-flowing river that turned some low-lying areas into swamp.

But the levee, which stretched for five kilometres on either side of the creek, held firm in areas close to houses.'

The tectonic plates of power are moving.

「世界のパワー構造を覆う巨大な岩板であるプレートが動きつつある」。

tectonic platesは、「地球の表面を覆っているプレートと呼ばれる何枚かの巨大な岩板」のことですが、ここでは比喩的に「ある構造を構成している要素」という意味で使われています。The tectonic plates of 〜として、〜に別の名詞を入れて応用してもいいですね。

例文は、BBCの記事、'US and China: Powerplays and mistrust' By Damian Grammaticasからです。

'The United States and China, West and East, the superpower and its rising rival.

There are countless ways of characterising the relationship between these two nations, but almost every one is animated by the idea that we are witnessing an historic shift. The tectonic plates of power are moving, and the results are unpredictable.

So the eve of Hu Jintao's state visit to America seems a pretty fortuitous place to begin what aims to be an occasional column from China.

How the future balance between Washington and Beijing plays out will go far in shaping the world in the coming decades. Will these two be friends or enemies? Will they be rivals or partners?

Will they co-operate or find themselves in conflict? The answer could have far-reaching effects on all our lives.'

ちなみに、fortuitousは、「偶然の、思いがけない」という意味の形容詞です。

続きはBBCのサイトで。

whistle-blower

「内部告発者、密告者」

CNNの記事、'WikiLeaks promises to reveal Swiss banking secrets'から。

'London (CNN) -- A Swiss whistle-blower Monday handed over what he said were secret Swiss banking records to WikiLeaks, the website dedicated to revealing secrets.

Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer handed two discs to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at a news conference in London.

WikiLeaks could release the secret Swiss banking records in "a matter of weeks" if it can process them quickly enough, Assange said.

Elmer said he would not reveal the names in the records and said he was unable to say how many people were involved.'

ill-prepared

「準備不足で」。

'The Australian'のクイーンズランド州で起きた大洪水に関する記事、"Covering the cost of natural devastation" から。

'SINCE December, Australia has been facing historic flooding that surprised the entire country.

Although the risk was known, many were ill-prepared because these floods are not just another average flood, they are of very large-scale magnitude. Three-quarters of Queensland has been declared a disaster zone.

In the immediate aftermath, most of the efforts need to be focused on rescuing and helping the victims of this disaster. But what happens after that?'

続きはこちら。