feed on

"Swifts feed on so-called aerial plankton, bugs and spiders that are swept into the sky by high winds."

"feed on" 以xxxx為食.
例如雅虎字裡:"Sheep feed on grass . "  "羊以草為食"


所以這句話中文英文應該為"褐雨燕以被風捲入空中被稱為空中浮游生物的的的小蟲或蜘蛛為食"

一堆雲

我對這幾句話大致的理解如下:
"最嚴重的一次是1992年當我是個15人座螺旋槳飛機機長時. 那是一趟25分鐘從Boston到Maine的飛行. 天氣炎熱的黃昏. 我看到了一堆塔狀的雲在NewEngland上方. 如同我看過最美麗的skyscape. 這些是因為不可見的火山噴發上升氣流所產生的"


"One of those severes took place in July 1992, when I was captain on a fifteen-passenger turboprop. It was, of all flights, a twenty-five-minute run from Boston to Portland, Maine. It had been a hot day, and by early evening, a forest of tightly packed cumulus towers stretched across eastern New England. The formations were short—about 8,000 feet at the tops, and deceptively pretty to look at. As the sun fell, it became one of the most picturesque skyscapes I’ve ever seen, with buildups in every direction forming a horizon-wide garden of pink coral columns. They were beautiful and, it turned out, quite violent—little volcanoes spewing out invisible updrafts. "


紅字是我一直沒辦法確定意思的地方
 of all flights:?

 It had been a hot day, and by early evening: 為什麼要用"had been"而不是用"was"?

 The formations were short—about 8,000 feet at the tops, and deceptively pretty to look at: 大致的理解是, "頂端大約都在8000尺,而且非常的吸引人" ,但前面的 "The formations were short"一直看不懂是什麼意思,硬翻就是"隊形是短的"....

 buildups in every direction forming a horizon-wide garden of pink coral columns: 這段先跳過去@@...

They were beautiful and, it turned out, quite violent—little volcanoes spewing out invisible updrafts:
感覺每個字都看得懂,但就不知道他怎麼組合的,看不出這句子的結構
They were beautiful: 那是漂亮的(指那堆雲)
 it turned out :險露出 
quite violent :很強,很嚴重
little volcanoes spewing out invisible updrafts :一座小火山噴發出不可見上升氣球.

主動被動

我做了一張維修表,列出印表機正在列印中,如果墨水用光所會發生的一些情況,
其中有一條是"如果xxx印表機正在列印,那列印工作將會被暫停",我的困難是那個暫停我到底要用主動會被動??

"Printing task pauses if xxxPrinter is printing."

"Printing task will be paused if xxxPrinter is printing."

條件句及未來式

今天看到這句話
"If we exercise too long in the heat, our bodies can  overheat."

這句話語意上沒什麼問題,只是仔細想想後,我發現如果是我自己寫,我的習慣都會寫成未來式

"If we exercise too long in the heat, our bodies will  overheat."


這兩種寫法都可以嗎?是否有什麼差異?
如果不需要用未來式,那可以寫成這樣嗎?
"If we exercise too long in the heat, our bodies overheat."





studio class room  AUG 2015

The technology boom of the 1990s

"The technology boom of the 1990s ended in a spectacular wave of failure, as huge swaths of the sector proved to be based on fundamentally unsound business models."


這句話我的認知是
主詞:"The technology boom of the 1990s ended in a spectacular wave of failure"

動詞:proved
'

1.在這邊, Technology是指科技公司嗎?

2.不知道"as huge swaths of the sector" 要怎麼解釋?




原文:
http://www.vox.com/2015/7/31/9078717/startup-boom-end

underdevelopment V.S. "under development"

專案正在開發,用"under development"
"Is this project still under development?"


發展不充分,發育不良 用 "underdevelopment"
"underdevelopment right arm" 發育不全的右手

遇到

本來想講

"上次來時,剛好遇到獨立紀念日"

我很直覺得用中文式思考,講出了

"Last time we were here, we meet the independence day"

雖然對方聽得懂我在講什麼,但總覺得怪怪的

1.用"were"能否表現出"一段時間"的涵意?因為上次來也不是只來一下,而是可能1星期或一個月

2."meet"我上網查了,很像沒人把他拿來遇到xxx節日