is too often treated with contempt

"When people are asked where they get their best idea, they answer, "In the shower." "On vocation" "Doing nothing." This despite the fact that such dreamy purposelessness is too often treated with contempt ."

後半部的"that"是做什麼的?
另外"This"放在這邊我覺得很怪.....

簡單的說,這句話如果是我寫,我會寫成
"Despite the such dreamy purposelessness is too often treaded with contempt"

chump

"The cost is tiny. A typical label can read anywhere from $6 for 32-inch LEDs to $38 for 65-inch plasmas (PDF). Per year. That's from 50 cents to $3.18 per month. If that's the definition of chump change to you, you're probably not alone."

看不懂"chump"在這邊是什麼意思?

原文:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57579932-221/what-you-need-to-know-about-tv-power-consumption/

"Once hunted to near-extinction,the northern elephant seals have rebounded

"Once hunted to near-extinction,the northern elephant seals have rebounded."
"曾經瀕臨絕種的海象,數量已經回升了"

我的疑問是:"once hunted to near-extinction",為什麼不是用被動式?
雖然我覺得
"once be hunted"和"once was hunted"放在這邊怎麼唸都很怪....

to some extent

我在某練習題和奇摩字典看到兩個"to some extent"的使用

"What about exam stress? It affect nearly everyone to some extent, but especially overseas students."

"To a certain extent, I am responsible for delay."

我原先在想是否可以把"to"改成"in"?
例如:"In a certain extent,I am responsible for delay."

但我上網查了一下,很像不能這樣用
http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/283044293.html

這兩句話我會有點困惑主要在於在這兩句話放"to"的地方,平常我怎麼也不會放"to"...
雖然我還是先把他背起來,但我還是在想說是不是我有遺漏什麼文法上有解釋到的觀念?

Robot warriors: Lethal machines coming of age

"And from here it is not such a jump to a fully-fledged armed robot warrior, a development with huge implications for the way we conduct and even conceive of war-fighting."

這段話前半段比較容易瞭解
"戰爭並非一日就演化成武裝機器人進型式的戰爭"

但後半段就看不太懂了

1.從前文的意思和幾個零碎的單字,我會猜後半段的意思是
"經過長時間的醞釀"

2.後半段的主詞和動詞是什麼?

3.會不小心看到這篇文章是因為我正在找" conceive of "的用法


原文: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21576376