囧叔乔恩-斯图尔特回归

AS IT IS 2015-11-07 Star Trek¹, US Elections, Jon Stewart’s Comeback 囧叔乔恩-斯图尔特回归

If you are a science fiction movie fan, you probably saw the last two Star Trek films. But did you know the films are based on the characters introduced in a 1960s television show?

Fans of the series received good news on Monday when CBS announced it would launch a new series based on Star Trek.

The people who love Star Trek are called “Trekkies.” They are famous for attending conventions dressed as their favorite characters.

Of these characters, Spock was the most-searched Star Trek character on Google after the news came out.

There is a huge collection of scenes from the show Star Trek online. And Trekkies used these scenes to make GIFs, or short animated² images. They posted their GIFs on Twitter to show their approval of the news.

Jon Stewart comeback

One of America’s favorite political commentators⁴ is Jon Stewart. “The Daily Show” aired five nights a week on Comedy Central. The show was known for interviews that were very different from mainstream⁵ media.

The show aired on Comedy Central, so it was known for its humor. But Stewart also produced sharp political commentary as well. Stewart resigned his position in August at the height of his popularity. He was only 52.

But Stewart recently announced his new project: He will work with HBO, a cable television network, to produce online videos for their streaming service.

Stewart said in a news release, “I’m pretty sure I can produce a few minutes of content now and again.”

U.S. Elections

Most Americans are focused on the big presidential election in November 2016. But another election took place on Tuesday.

In the state of Washington, people voted to make buying or selling items made from threatened animals -- or the threatened animals themselves -- illegal.

For example, items made from elephant tusks⁶ – or ivory – are now illegal. Other examples include products made from tigers, sea turtles and sharks.

One of the most unique animals on the list is called a Pangolin. It is also called a “scaly anteater” because of the way it looks. This strange animal is from Asia and Africa. It is unfamiliar⁷ to most Americans.

As news spread about Washington’s vote, people started searching online for pangolin. It helped that commentator³ John Oliver also talked about pangolins on TV.

But the most-searched term in the U.S. on Election Day was the vote to legalize marijuana in Ohio.

A group of celebrities⁸ backed the proposal. It would have given the rights to grow marijuana plants in Ohio to very few people – like ten. One of them is former pop singer Nick Lachey who was married for a short time to singer Jessica Simpson.

Voters rejected the proposal but Google reported over 500,000 searches on the topic.

Robin⁹ Williams

Comedian¹⁰ and actor Robin Williams committed suicide in August 2014. Many assumed that Williams was depressed¹¹.

On Tuesday, his wife Susan Williams told the ABC television show “Good Morning America” that her husband suffered from early stages of Parkinson’s disease. He also had a disorder¹² called Lewy body dementia.

Most people had never heard of Lewy body dementia. The Mayo Clinic says the disorder causes a decline in mental abilities. It also affects muscle movement and alertness.

Russian Airliner¹³ Bomb Reaction

Last weekend, a Russian jet exploded over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. News of the tragedy spread on social media and remained in the news for the entire week.

The Russian news channel RT published one of the first videos from the scene of the crash. That video was viewed over one million times.

On Thursday night, President Obama said the U.S. is “taking very seriously” the possibility that a bomb was planted on board the plane.

Words in This Story

original – adj. happening or existing first or at the beginning

science fiction – adj. stories about how people and societies are affected¹⁴ by imaginary scientific developments in the future

phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence

dementia – n. a mental illness that causes someone to be unable to think clearly or to understand what is real and what is not real

unique – adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else

peak – v. to reach the highest level

1 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

2 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

3 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

4 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

6 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

7 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

8 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

9 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

10 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

11 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

12 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

13 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。