§ Tainan Earthquake

At least 18 people were killed and more than 500 were injured Saturday morning when a magnitude-6.4 earthquake hit Taiwan, the official Central News Agency reported.

More than 350 people were rescued from damaged structures, many from a 16-story residential building that collapsed in Tainan, officials told CNN. At least 16 of the dead were from the Weiguan Jinlong building, CNA said.

As of Saturday night, dozens of children were among at least 153 people still unaccounted for in Tainan, CNA reported, citing the local fire department. A cold wave moving into the area added to their sense of urgency.

CNA reported earlier that a 10-day-old girl and a 40-year-old man had been killed in Tainan.

More than 60 people in the city remain hospitalized, disaster officials said.

Seven other buildings in Tainan were damaged.

"This was strong enough to not only be felt here in the [Taiwanese] capital city of Taipei but also in the southern provinces of China," Elise Hu, an NPR correspondent who was in Taipei when the quake hit, said in an interview with CNN. "Taiwan is very used to earthquakes and tremors, but this is far more significant than the island has seen in quite a while."

Pop star Madonna told concertgoers in Taipei that she felt the tremor in her 17th floor hotel room and it was scary, CNA reported. At the Saturday night show she offered her condolences and asked the audience to keep the victims in their thoughts.

More than 1,500 people are involved in rescue efforts, the disaster center said.

A man who was staying in a three-story apartment building in Tainan told Chinese state media CCTV the building was shaking violently when the quake hit before sunrise. His room tilted 45 degrees, and items inside his room spilled all over the floor.

Unable to use the stairs, he managed to escape from the window of the second floor.

Keywords

unaccounted下落不明

urgency. 緊迫性。

hospitalized住院

provinces 省

correspondent通信者

concertgoers參加音樂會

spilled灑

thoughts思念

violently猛烈

condolences慰問

Who: people in Tainan

When: February

Where: Tainan

Why: A big earthquake

What: Many people were injured and died.

How: Rescue victims immediately

§WeekThree 北韓氫爆：North Korea, hydrogen bomb test

(CNN)The U.S. now believes North Korea might have attempted to test components of a hydrogen bomb on January 6, after further review and analysis of the latest intelligence information.

A U.S. official directly familiar with the latest U.S. assessment said there may have been a partial, failed test of some type of components associated with a hydrogen bomb.

The assessment comes after careful examination of the latest intelligence analysis of the test data. But the official emphasized there is no final conclusion.

Immediately following the test earlier this month, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the initial analysis that have been conducted was "not consistent" with a successful hydrogen bomb test.

The U.S. still does not accept North Korea's claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb, but air sampling conducted after the test has proved inconclusive, the official said. That prompted another look at the seismic data.

That analysis shows the test was conducted more than two times deeper underground than originally assessed -- at a depth consistent with what might be needed for a hydrogen bomb.

However, the size of the seismic event and other intelligence indicates it was not likely a fully functioning device. The official said it's possible the North Koreans believe they conducted a full hydrogen bomb test, but the U.S. believes it was likely only some components, perhaps a detonator, that exploded.

Keyword:

hydrogen bomb氫彈

assessment評定

partial局部

components組件

initial初始

inconclusive尚無定論

sampling採樣

detonator雷管

fully functioning device全功能設備

seismic地震

Who North Korea Government

Where North Korea

Why: North Korea might have attempted to test components of a hydrogen bomb.

How: Not given

When: on January 6

What: hydrogen bomb

§ National Taichung Theater

National Taichung Theater is located in Xitun District, Taochung. It is a very characteristic performance area. The theater is designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito. Using the concept of the primitive caves and holes, Toyo Ito designed the world first and only Sound Cave Curved Wall for National Taichung Theater. There are no vertical and horizontal structures and it’s the world’s first curve surfaced hanging structure architect. Due to the complexity, it is known as the most difficult architect to complete. Five years and NT$ 4.36 billion, the theater finally open in November 23rd, 2014. The theater is organized into a large theater, medium theater and experimental stage, which hold up to more than 3000 guests.

During the urban renewal in Taichung, Taichung city government tried get the Guggenheim Museum to join the museum project in Taichung. Unfortunately due to the budget shortage, the project was canceled. After Architecture Design Competition for the later idea to build a national theater, Toyo Ito’s design was selected. But the difficulty of building this monster in reality caused investments backing out over and over. But after conquering the obstacles, they finally broke the ground in the end of 2009.

The acoustic engineering was carefully designed. In the large theater, guests will see the round curve on the ceiling; this will reflect the sounds perfectly in every angle to every seat. A cat walk is organized on the top for maintenance purposes. The view to the stage will not be blocked in anyway. Everything is designed to what a theater may need in the best way. The exterior shapes like a tea pot during the day with the extraordinary curves. When the night falls, lightings will put the theater under the spot light.

Keyword:

Characteristic特性

Primitive原始

Vertical垂直

Horizontal橫

Monster怪物

backing out 停止不幹

Conquering征服

Exterior外觀

Extraordinary非凡

Who: Taichung city government

When : Since 2008

Where: Taichung

Why: Finical problem

What: There was a finical problem about National Taichung Theater, so it took a lot of time. And in 2014, it finally started to work.  

How: Toyo Ito’s design decided to build this monster.

§week6 歐洲難民潮 :Shoot us or help us': stories from refugee crisis you need to read

Hundreds of migrants stuck in no man's land at the Greek-Macedonian border stand next to these heartbreaking words scrawled on a piece of cardboard.

On Turkey's border with Syria, a man fleeing unbearable violence in his homeland is allegedly beaten by a guard and forced back into a war zone.

In Sweden, the deputy prime minister struggles to contain her tears: Her country can no longer cope with the influx of people and is closing its doors to all but a few.

These are three snapshots of life for refugees and migrants trying to find a new home in a continent consumed by terror and overwhelmed by the human cost of Syria's war.

The attacks in Paris earlier this month may have overshadowed the so-called refugee crisis -- but the greatest migration of people on the European continent since World War II continues unabated.

Keywords:

Migrants 移民

heartbreaking 心碎

scrawled潦草

flee逃離

unbearable不堪忍受

allegedly據稱

deputy副

influx輻輳

overwhelmed不堪重負

homeland家園