英國地震了！

詳情參閱：http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3442675.ece

英國人好好笑喔!!!

節錄一切經典片段！

It’s an extremely large earthquake in UK terms but not large in world terms; we’d classify it only as a light earthquake.

--可是英國整個大驚小怪起來了

My whole house shook like it was going to fall over and it felt as if the whole roof was coming off. I thought a tree had been thrown into the roof by a tornado or something. Everyone in Scunthorpe is out on the streets now talking about it.

--沒看過台灣921地震嗎?李前總統視察現場才會造成大樹倒塌壓死人啦!免驚!

Joanna O’Donoghue, 21, a student living in Leicester, said she was “absolutely petrified” when her block of flats began shaking around her.“The front of my chest of drawers fell out and my candles fell on the floor and broke. I thought it was a ghost."

--最經典，原來是鬧鬼了！

Earthquake facts

— British earthquakes have killed 11 people since 1580. Six were killed by falling stones, two fell from upper floors, two died of shock and one committed suicide.

媽呀！原來真的是被嚇死的！

— The last big British earthquake was in 1990, when a 5.1 tremor hit Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire.

好吧！上次在1990年，原諒英國人吧！

— The most damaging quake to date was the magnitude 4.6 Colchester earthquake of 1884. It shattered walls and brought down a church spire.

注意：THE MOST DAMAGING!

— A magnitude 5 earthquake occurs on average every ten years. A magnitude 4 earthquake occurs on average every two to three years

原來地震是很珍貴低！

不知不覺中，受到英國的影響！

寫報告寫到一半，忽然想起自己已經在不知不覺中，受到英國許多的影響！

1. 喜歡黑膠唱片，一直很想買一台Technics的Vinyl Player
2. 喜歡Victoria時代的建築，不喜歡新穎的房子
3. 寫字喜歡用s，不喜歡用z，例如globalisation，喜歡叫捷運underground，不是吃的subway
4. 喜歡Ted Baker, Ben Sherman, Fred Perry
5. 喜歡玩sudoku, pub quiz，更愛看the weakest link
6. 喜歡看到Ronnie O'Sullivan用左手打snooker，更愛他快速的拿下147 or another century.
7. 喜歡短促的講英文，雖然還是不時跑出花俏的美國腔or台灣腔


還好，到目前為止，沒有愛上
1. 英國食物
2. 英國女人

Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

" 很可惜只有看到最後一集！（全系列共五集）





本集內容重點：
(Reuter's reviewer)
As this superlative series comes to a close, Andrew Marr shows no sign of taking his foot off the accelerator. Flapping his hands expressively, he roars through the John Major years and takes off into the bright new dawn that was Tony Blair's New Labour, relishing every news report and every salacious anecdote equally. He's an irresistible storyteller, with an ability to make even something as potentially dull as the Exchange Rate Mechanism seem sexy. Which is no mean feat. There are plenty of deliciously naughty stories, such as the alleged conversation between Major and the editor of The Sun (too rude to repeat here), as well as many serious moments, including the London bombings of 2005. And, inevitably, there's footage of what is arguably the most star-studded event a prime minister has ever hosted at Number Ten: the champagne reception in 1997 where the likes of Noel Gallagher from Oasis, comedian Eddie Izzard and designer Vivienne Westwood raised a glass to Cool Britannia. Despite cataloguing some 50 years of turbulent British history, Marr ends the series on a reassuringly upbeat note. "To be born British," he smiles, "remains a fantastic stroke of luck." RT reviewer - Jane Rackham


筆記：

1. First Gulf War gave John Major a early taste of victory.

2. World Wide Web invention by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

3. Tready establishing the European Union, aka Maastricht Treaty, negotiated and signed by John Major with two major victory for the Britons: (1) an opt-out from the single currency 'euro' and 'keep the British Sterling', (2) an opt-out of the 'Social Chapter' (but later the Labour government cancelled the opt-out and agreed to sign the Social Chapter, enforced in Amsterdam Treaty).

4. Black Wednesday (16/09/92) : John Major's government insisted to raise the interest rate and to stay in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), eventually lost the battle to international speculators and withdrew from the ERM.

5. Emerging Crime, Poverty and Violence: and John proposed a failed campaign 'Back to Basic' with many scandals of his cabinet.

6. Growth of Labour Party: John Miller, with a sudden and unexpected death from a heart attack, was succeeded by Tony Blair, who pledged to have the 'New Labour, New Britain'. The show also depicted the negotiation and settlement between Tony and Gordon Brown about who will be the leader of the Labour Party. (搭配這段敘述的背景音樂選了當時最紅的Bittersweet Symphony以及Common People!!讚！)

7. Princess Diana died and Blair won an astonishing 90% popularity.

8. F1 got exemption from Labour government's policy to ban tobacco advertisement in sports related industry. And Tony got away from the accusation of the alleged F1 donation to Labour Party.

9. UK Devolution, with the establishment of Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, and a proposed Northern Ireland Assembly (according to 1998 Belfast Agreement).

10. The disastrous Millenium Dome: what for?

11. The September 11: Britain's solidarity with the Americans that allowed Tony to pledge a 'War on Terrorism' followed by 0.3m anti-war protest in London, biggest ever in 60 years, and the suicide of Dr. David Kelly.

12. 7/7/05 London Explosion: all terrorists are british.

13. Economic Stronger ever with low inflation, solid purchasing power, the last national identity.

14. Step down of Tony Blair