“Never Again” in America—March for Our Lives

by Theodore Pigott, special correspondent

Since the terrible massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, there have been more than 200 school shootings across the United States.

On February 14 of this year, another school shooting occurred in America. This shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, left 14 students and 3 teachers dead, with many others injured.

In the wake of this tragedy, some of the students who had survived the shooting decided to take action. A group called Never Again MSD was formed then. They use the hashtags #NeverAgain and #EnoughIsEnough on social media to encourage others to get involved in their efforts to end gun violence in America, especially in schools.

Working with a nonprofit organization called Everytown for Gun Safety, the students from Parkland decided to set up a national demonstration in Washington, D.C. The protest quickly gained support from people all across America, with students and even celebrities voicing their encouragement.

On March 24, an estimated hundreds of thousands of people turned out in Washington for the March for Our Lives protest, with people in more than 800 cities around the world participating. The protestors have called for the US government to take several steps to prevent school shootings from happening again in the future. These steps include establishing background checks for those who want to buy guns, raising the age of gun ownership to 21, and banning assault weapons like the one used in the Parkland shooting.

Although the National Rifle Association (NRA) has opposed these efforts, many in America feel that the time for stricter gun control measures may have finally come.


Reading Comprehension

( ) 1.What is the main idea of this passage?

(A)Protests are being held by adults to improve the quality of education in schools in America.

(B)The National Rifle Association has begun a movement to reduce gun regulations in America.

(C)The anti-gun movement in America has very little support in its own country.

(D)Students who survived a school shooting lead a protest to end gun violence across America.

( ) 2.Who took part in the March for Our Lives demonstration on March 24?

(A)Celebrities in more than 800 cities across America.

(B)Students and adults in Washington, D.C. only.

(C)Survivors of school shootings only in Parkland, Florida.

(D)Students and adults in Washington, D.C., and 800 cities across the world.

( ) 3.According to the passage, which of the following steps is NOT mentioned by the protestors to end gun violence?

(A)Establish background checks for gun buyers.

(B)Raise the age of gun ownership to 21.

(C)Collect and destroy all guns in America.

(D)Ban assault weapons like the one used in the Parkland shooting.

Vocabulary and Phrases

1. massacre  n. [C][U] 大屠殺
2. in the wake of phr. 緊接著…之後
3. take action phr. 採取行動
4. involved  adj. 參與的
5. nonprofit  adj. 非營利(性)的
6. demonstration  n. [C] 示威 / 7. celebrity  n. [C] 名人
8. voice  vt. 表達，說出(意見)
9. estimated  adj. 估計的，估算的
10. turn out phr. 出席，到場
11. call for phr. 公開要求
12. assault  adj. 攻擊性的

Words for Recognition

1. shooting  n. [C] 槍擊
2. Everytown for Gun Safety n.(美國的)城鎮槍械安全(組織) / 3. National Rifle Association (NRA) n. 美國全國步槍協會


Is It Time to Delete Facebook?

by Theodore Pigott, special correspondent

Estimates say that Facebook has more than 2.2 billion users around the world. This number may soon decrease, however, as a movement to delete the popular social media __1__ has appeared following a recent data scandal.

On March 17, it was reported that a data __2__ in the United Kingdom named Cambridge Analytica had been able to acquire the personal information of up to 50 million Facebook users. The company had then allegedly used this information to create software that could influence voters in elections. It was later revealed that Cambridge Analytica had worked with the campaign for Donald Trump’s bid for the US presidency in 2016.

For its part, Cambridge Analytica blamed another company called Global Science Research (GSR) for violating Facebook’s policy in __3__ data from users. It also stated: “No data from GSR was used by Cambridge Analytica as part of the services it provided to the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign.”

Following these reports, the value of Facebook’s stock fell sharply. Many began to blame the company for failing to protect users’ privacy, and on Twitter and other social media outlets, the hashtag #DeleteFacebook gained popularity.

Eventually, the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, spoke to the media and apologized for the __4__. Facebook also placed full-page ads in major US and UK newspapers __5__ that the company should have done more to protect its users. The company also promised to overhaul its policies and immediately ban any apps that did not follow the platform’s rules.

Realistically, it is doubtful that Facebook will lose millions of users because of this scandal. However, it does show that many people do highly value their private information and believe it should be protected.

Fill in the Blanks

(A) saying / (B) collecting / (C) firm / (D) platform / (E) controversy
(1)______/ (2)______/ (3)______/ (4)______/ (5)______

Vocabulary and Phrases

1. delete  vt. 刪除
2. decrease  vi. 減少
3. acquire  vt. 獲得，取得
4. software  n. [U] 電腦軟體
5. bid  n. [C] 企圖得到，努力爭取
6. violate  vt. 違反（規定等） / 7. presidential  adj. 總統的
8. popularity  n. [U] 流行；人氣
9. eventually  adv. 最後，終究
10. founder  n. [C] 創立者，創辦人
11. apologize  vi. 道歉
12. realistically  adv. 實際上

Words for Recognition

1. allegedly  adv. 據說
2. Twitter  n. 推特 / 3. full-page  adj. (廣告等)全版的
4. overhaul  vt. 徹底改革

Did You Know?

In 1968, under the rule of President Charles de Gaulle, there were some social problems such as a high unemployment rate and an economic downturn（衰退）. Besides, universities in France faced population explosion, and the education system couldn’t satisfy the students. On May 2, 1968, Paris Nanterre University was shut down. More than 20,000 students and supporters protested against the closure of the university and had a conflict with the police. Few days later, a massive wave of strikes swept the country. Although the movement, called “May 68,” came to an end after Charles de Gaulle won the French legislative election held on June 23, 1968, it had a great impact on France.

閱讀測驗解答：1. D 2. D 3. C

文意選填解答：1. D 2. C 3. B 4. E 5. A

Translation

美國「不再重演」──為我們的生命遊行

自從2012年桑迪•胡克小學發生屠殺慘案以來，全美各地的校園槍擊事件已超過200起。

今年的2月14日，美國又發生了一起校園槍擊案，地點在佛羅里達州帕克蘭市的瑪喬麗•斯通曼•道格拉斯中學。這次槍擊造成14名學生和3名老師死亡以及多人受傷。

在這場悲劇之後，一些倖存的學生決定採取行動。一個名為「不再重演」的組織於是成立。他們在社群媒體上使用「#不再重演」和「#夠了就是夠了」的主題標籤，鼓勵其他人參與他們的行動，共同終結美國——尤其是校園——的槍枝暴力。

這些帕克蘭的學生和一個名為「城鎮槍械安全」的非營利組織合作，決定在華盛頓特區舉辦一場全國性的示威活動。這場示威活動迅速得到全美各地民眾的支持，眾多學生甚至名人都發聲鼓勵。

3月24日時，估計逾數十萬人到場參與於華盛頓「為我們的生命遊行」的示威活動，全球有超過800個城市都有民眾響應。抗議民眾呼籲美國政府採取措施，以防範未來再次發生校園槍擊案。這些措施包括對那些想買槍的人進行背景調查、將擁槍年齡提高到21歲，以及禁止類似帕克蘭校園槍擊案中所使用的攻擊性武器。

雖然美國全國步槍協會反對這些作法，但許多美國人認為，實施更嚴格槍支管制措施的時機可能終於到來了。

是時候該刪掉臉書了嗎？

根據估計，全球各地有超過22億的臉書用戶，不過這個數字可能很快就會減少，因為在最近爆出資料外洩醜聞之後，已經出現了呼籲刪除這個高人氣社群媒體平臺的運動。

3月17日有報導指出，一家名為「劍橋分析」的英國數據公司取得多達5,000萬筆的臉書用戶個人資料。據說這家公司利用這些資料，開發出能在選舉中影響選民的軟體。劍橋分析後來被揭露曾在2016年和川普的競選陣營合作，協助他爭取美國總統大位。

劍橋分析指責另一家叫做「全球科學研究（GSR）」的公司違反臉書搜集用戶資料的政策，並表示：「劍橋分析沒有使用任何出自GSR的資料來為川普2016年的總統競選活動提供服務。」

在這些報導之後，臉書股價大跌。許多人開始責怪該公司未能保護用戶隱私，在推特和其他社群媒體上，「#刪掉臉書」的主題標籤越來越受歡迎。

最終，臉書創辦人祖克柏在媒體上發言為此爭議道歉。臉書也在美國和英國各大報刊登全版廣告說該公司應該要在保護用戶這方面做得更完善。臉書同時承諾徹底改革其政策，立即取締任何不遵守該平臺規定的應用程式。

就現實面來說，臉書不太可能因為這項醜聞就丟失數百萬用戶，然而，此事確實顯示出許多人的確相當重視他們的隱私資訊，且認為這些資訊應受保護。

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