Obama: Same-sex marriage decision will strengthen our communities

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Friday that same-sex couples have the right to marry.

"This ruling will strengthen all of our communities," President Barack Obama said in a speech after the ruling. "I know change for our LGBT brothers must have seemed so slow for so long."

"Today, we have made our union a little more perfect," Obama added. "Progress on this journey often times comes in small increments. Sometimes two steps forward and one step backwards."

Calling the ruling "a victory for America," Obama also said it "affirms what millions of Americans already believe in their hearts. When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free."

The Court ruled 5-to-4, with Justices John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissenting. All four justices wrote their own separate dissents.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, thought to be the swing vote on the ruling, authored the majority's opinion.

Following an administration that delivered on marriage equality and other inclusive strides, the LGBTQ community will face an uncertain future Friday when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office.

Speaking at his final press conference at the White House on Wednesday, however, President Barack Obama appeared optimistic about the future of LGBTQ rights moving forward, noting that he didn’t think milestones like same-sex marriage would be “reversible” during Trump’s presidency, or beyond.

“American society has changed ― the attitudes of young people in particular have changed,” he said. Pointing to the ongoing struggle for transgender rights in particular, he added, “There’s still going to be some battles that need to take place [but] if you talk to young people ― even if they’re Republicans, even if they’re conservative ― many of them would tell you, ‘I don’t understand how you would discriminate against somebody because of sexual orientation.’ That’s just sort of burned into them in pretty powerful ways.”


While Obama said he “couldn’t be prouder” of the work he’s done on the LGBTQ community’s behalf, he wouldn’t accept full responsibility for it. “The primary heroes in this stage of our growth as a democracy and as a society are all the individual activists and sons and daughters and couples who courageously said, ‘This is who I am, and I’m proud of it,” he said.


It was a final, profound moment from Obama, who leaves behind a monumental legacy as far as LGBTQ rights is concerned, and could very well be the last time a sitting U.S. president speaks so directly to the queer community for a while.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/26/supreme-court-says-constitution-gives-gay-people-right-to-marry.html

increments(n.)增加
affirms(vt)斷言
administration(n.)實施 行政 管理
courageously(adv.)勇敢地
profound(adj.)淵博的 深刻的

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer and activist. He is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century. From early in his career, Ali was known as an inspiring, controversial, and polarizing figure both inside and outside the ring.

Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1984 at the age of 42, three years after he retired with 61 professional bouts under his belt.

At the time, experts spoke of "dementia pugilistica" or "punch-drunk syndrome" to describe brain damage seen in sportspeople who sustain multiple concussions over the course of their careers.
"We cannot say anything decisively but there are strong suspicions," Andre Monroche, head of the medical commission of the French contact sports federation, told AFP.
"We know now that repeated blows alter the nerve cells, especially in a brain that has not been rested," he said.
Jean-Frangois Chermann, a neurologist at Leopold Bellan Hospital in Paris, is categorical.
In a 2010 book on the impact of knockouts, Chermann wrote that Ali "at the end of his training sessions let down his guard and asked his sparring partner to give him blows to the head to show he was the strongest."
"There is a link between his current illness and that kind of practice," Chermann wrote.
Medical studies have long warned about the consequences from boxing and other sports where the head receives frequent impacts.
A 2008 study by the University of Heidelberg in Germany scanned the brains of 42 boxers and 37 non-boxers. In three of the boxers, they found "micro hemorrhages" in the brain — the likely result of the sharp impact of blows in the ring that damage soft, swirling cerebral tissue.
"These changes are most likely precursors for later severe brain damage such as Parkinson's disease or dementia," the authors said.
In 2013, a probe published in the journal Scientific Reports found "profound abnormalities" in the brain activity of retired American football players.
Unusual activity in the frontal lobe, observed in former National Football League (NFL) players as they carried out a cognitive test, matched records for heavy blows they had received to the head while on the field.
Around 30 percent of boxers develop neurological difficulties after their career, according to Chermann. "The more knockouts you suffer, the greater the risks."
Amateur boxers are even more at threat, he said. "They have more fights, are monitored less and spend less time working on their defense compared to the pros," Chermann said.
Second Impact Syndrome
Knockouts are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to head injuries sustained in a range of sports, from rugby and ice hockey, to skiing, judo and horse-riding, to name but a few.
While in boxing, you see the blows being landed, in other sports the injury may go unnoticed, Monroche said.
"It could also be a footballer who heads the ball a lot. In boxing there's a referee. In other sports, no-one intervenes."
Since Ali hung up his gloves, research has shown the importance of at least five days' rest for athletes who suffer a concussion, to avoid "second impact syndrome" — a condition blamed for dozens of fatalities among sportsmen and women every year.
French rugby has taken the matter in hand, introducing neurological monitoring for professional players in 2013. In the U.S., American football and ice hockey players are also closely watched for head injuries.

concussions(n.)腦震盪
commission(vt.)授命 委託
categorical(adj.)絕對的
precursor(n.)前兆
cognitive(adj.)認識的 認知的

The life of a boxer who once convinced Muhammad Ali to open his fish and chip shop is to be celebrated at an exhibition in his hometown.

Jack Bodell, from Swadlincote, who died in November aged 76, famously beat Joe Bugner against the odds to be crowned British champion in 1971.

Mr Bodell invited his former sparring partner Ali, who died in June, to open his shop in Coventry in 1983.

South Derbyshire District Council said Mr Bodell was a "national hero".

The boxer, known as "Mr Swadlincote", won his first British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship in 1969 before losing it to Henry Cooper in his first defence of the title.

However, despite everyone writing him off, he won it back a few years later after defeating Joe Bugner.

Mr McArdle, the chief executive of the local authority, said: "Fighting people like Henry Cooper for Commonwealth and British titles is something we take for granted now.

"In those days it was quite special and there's an amazing amount of information we've assembled to celebrate his life."

Graham Nutt, from The Magic Attic, a local history archive, said: "[After] he sorted Bugner out... he arrived home the next day in an open top car and thousands of people lined the High Street."

Ken Land, a friend of Mr Bodell's, said it was his "down to earth" nature that persuaded Muhammad Ali to visit Knockout fish and chips, in 1983.

About 1,500 people visited the takeaway in Jardine Crescent on the day.

The exhibition is at Sharpe's Pottery Museum, in Swadlincote, until 4 February.

Keyword

Commonwealth

全體國民，全體公民[G]

sparring

vi.不及物動詞

拳鬥；輕拳出擊[（+with）]

persuaded

vt.及物動詞

說服，勸服[（+into/out of）

Introduction:

The news tells you about an another boxer's story and what he did after his boxer career.

CUBA (week 2)

Cuba's Communist government has survived more than 50 years of US sanctions intended to topple veteran leader Fidel Castro.

It also defied predictions that it would not survive the collapse of its one-time supporter, the Soviet Union.

Since the fall of the US-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959, Cuba has been a one-party state led by Mr Castro and - since February 2008 - by his chosen successor and younger brother, Raul.

Fidel Castro exercised control over virtually all aspects of Cuban life through the Communist Party and its affiliated mass organisations, the government bureaucracy and the state security apparatus.

Exploiting the Cold War, Fidel Castro was for decades able to rely on strong Soviet backing, including annual subsidies worth $4-5 billion, and succeed in building reputable health and education systems. But, at least partly because of the US trade sanctions, he failed to diversify the economy.

The US and Cuba agreed in 2014 to normalise relations.

Raul Castro, the world's longest-serving defence minister, took over as president in February 2008, succeeding his ailing brother Fidel, who had been in power for five decades.

After being re-elected by the single-party National Assembly in February 2013, Raul announced his intention to stand down at the end of his second term in 2018.

Fidel Castro brought revolution to Cuba in the 1950s and created the western hemisphere's first Communist state. His beard, long speeches, cigar, army fatigues and defiance of the United States earned him iconic status across the globe.

Raul, 76 at the time of this appointment, has been his brother's trusted right-hand man and was once known as an iron-fisted ideologue who executed Fidel Castro's orders - and enemies - ruthlessly.

Under his leadership, Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces became one of the most formidable fighting forces in the Third World with combat experience in Africa, where they defeated South Africa's army in Angola in 1987.

1898 - Cuba is ceded to the US which defeated Spain in war.

1902 - Cuba becomes independent under the protection of the US.

1933 - Sergeant Fulgencio Batista seizes power in a coup.

1959 - Fidel Castro leads a guerrilla army into Havana, forcing Batista to flee.

1961 - US breaks off diplomatic relations in response to the nationalization of US-owned properties, and later imposes a complete commercial embargo.

1961 - Cuban exiles backed by the US try to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, but are defeated.

1962 - The US and the Soviet Union have a showdown that almost touches off war after the US discovers Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba. The confrontation ends with the Soviets removing the missiles and the US agreeing never to invade Cuba.

1975 - Castro sends troops to Angola to help fight rebels backed by South Africa. It is the start of 15 years of war in which 300,000 Cubans will fight.

1991 - The Soviet Union, Cuba's biggest benefactor, collapses, touching off an economic crisis.

2006 - Fidel Castro provisionally turns over power to brother Raul Castro, who becomes president in 2008.

2014 - US President Barack Obama and President Castro announce moves to normalise diplomatic relations, severed for more than 50 years.

2016 - Fidel Castro dies, aged 90.

keyword:

apparatus(N.)裝置,器具,器官

bureaucracy(N.)官僚,官吏

normalise(vt.)使常態化；使合標準；使正常化

organisationsn.名詞

組織，機構，團體[C]

re-elected

• 再度當選

Introduction:

This new can let you know about some important things happened recently and before.

It can also tell you something about Cuba's leader.

The thing about Alpha go (week 1)

Google's artificial intelligence (AI) software will go head-to-head with the world's highest ranked Go player Lee Sedol, the firm has said.

It comes a week after the search giant announced that AlphaGo had beaten French Go champion Fan Hui.

That was seen as a pivotal moment for AI, similar to IBM's Deep Blue beating Garry Kasparov at chess.

The match will take place in Seoul, South Korea, and will be live-streamed via YouTube.

Demis Hassabis, head of Google's DeepMind lab, announced the news in a tweet.

Mr Sedol said in a statement that although AlphaGo appeared to be a strong player, he was "confident" that he could win the match.

Go is widely regarded as a more complicated game than chess, because of the larger choice of moves, making it a good measure of how AI technology is developing.

Computers have played Go and beaten amateurs but, before Google's victory against the French champion, experts had predicted that it would take another 10 years until a computer could beat the world's best Go professionals.

There has been a long tradition of AI software going head-to-head with human players.

In 1996, IBM's Deep Blue took on chess world champion Garry Kasparov and won, although Mr Kasparov went on to win three and draw two of the following five games.

Then in 2011, IBM's cognitive platform Watson took on the world's best Jeopardy players, a popular American quiz show and scooped the $1m prize.

Watson had access to 200 million pages of structured and unstructured content but was not connected to the internet during the game.

---

What is Go?

Go is thought to date back several thousand years to ancient China.

Using black and white stones on a grid, players gain the upper hand by surrounding their opponent's pieces with their own.

The rules are simpler than those of chess, but a player typically has a choice of 200 moves compared with about 20 in chess.

There are more possible positions in Go than atoms in the universe, according to DeepMind's team.

Go is played by more than 40 million people worldwide.

It can be very difficult to determine who is winning, and many of the top human players rely on instinct.

source:http://www.bbc.com/news/35501537

Keywords:

unstructured(a.)無社會組織的,未組織的

announced(v‧) 聲明

appeared(v)出現,發表,出席

measure(vt.)量,測量;打量,估量,衡量

determine(vt.)決定,決心;確定

introduction：

It tells us about an AI called Alpha Go. What it recently done and how many things it can do?

Tory donor threatens to stop funding over Brexit plans-Week 08

A major Tory donor has warned that he will stop funding the party if Theresa May's Brexit plans involve the UK coming out of the single market.

Sir Andrew Cook, who has donated more than £1.2m to the party, told The Timesthe country could "sleepwalk to disaster" if it made such a move.

The engineering firm chairman said at least one of his factories was almost "entirely dependent" on access to it.

Sir Andrew backed the Remain campaign in the EU referendum.

He told the newspaper that the "economic arguments of staying in the single market are overwhelming" and it would be a "catastrophe" if the country left.

"It is very difficult to make a political donation to a party when, although I support it ideologically, I do not believe that my interests and my ideology are ad idem with the principal Brexiteers," he said.

Theresa May has insisted that she wants firms to have the "maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the single market".

But the prime minister is due to confirm in a speech later this month that the UK will have two fundamental red lines in its Brexit negotiations - control of its borders and freedom from the European Court of Justice.

She has pledged to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - so getting leaving talks with the EU under way - by the end of March. These can take up to two years, unless an agreement is reached to prolong the process.

In November last year, the Conservatives reported more than £2.8m in donationsin the three months after the EU referendum - the highest amount of the major parties.

.美同性婚姻合法：same sex marriage, legal, the U.S.

.美同性婚姻合法：same sex marriage, legal, the U.S.

On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 decision held Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to be unconstitutional. Same-sex couples are now entitled to the same marital federal benefits as opposite-sex couples. Thereafter, President Obama and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, both welcomed the decision of the Court and promised that federal benefits for same-sex, legally married couples will be implemented swiftly, smoothly, and equally as opposite-sex spouses. On January 10, 2014, Attorney General Eric Holder stated with regard to Utah’s same-sex marriage ban: “Last June, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in United States v. Windsor, holding Americans in same-sex marriages are entitled to equal protection and equal treatment under the law. This ruling marked a historic step towards equality for all American families.”
Currently, same-sex marriage is legal in 16 states and the District of Columbia. For those who have endured prevalent discriminatory laws in the LBGT community, this decision is not merely a progressive symbol of equality for gay rights, but it has for the first time, enabled same-sex couples to apply for immigration benefits.
Until recently, obtaining immigration benefits, such as visas and green cards through same-sex marriage, was highly unlikely. Most same-sex marriage immigration benefit applications were rejected. The effect of the Windsor decision, however, was definitive. Four days after the Supreme Court’s decision, gay couple Julian Marsh and Traian Povov received their notice for green card approval. In another case, an American citizen applied for immediate family immigration for his spouse who was illegally present in the United States. The immigration court initially began deportation proceedings against the foreign spouse, but the removal proceedings were terminated after the repeal of DOMA.
Attorney Julie Oliver-Zhang explains that gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender same-sex couples are eligible for immigration benefits even if they reside in a state that has not yet legalized same-sex marriage. If one spouse is a green card holder or a U.S. citizen, then marriage in one of the 16 states or D.C. that has legalized gay marriage will meet the requirements for the application of immigration benefits. Same-sex couples do not need to establish state residency, but merely get married in a legal gay marriage jurisdiction to be immediately eligible for green card or visa benefits for foreign spouses and their children. Depending on the circumstances, even if the foreign same-sex partner has illegally entered or resided without documentation in America for a number of years, they may still qualify for a green card.
Same-sex partners of U.S. citizens who are living abroad are eligible for fiancé or fiancée visas that will allow them to quickly travel to the United States and get married. Once the foreign spouse obtains permanent residency and become American citizens, they can apply for immigration benefits for their immediate relatives, such as parents and siblings. With the change in the new immigration laws, foreign LGBT partners can finally be reunited with their families.
The new immigration rights are a positive step towards remedying a history of discrimination against same-sex couples, allowing those in the LGBT community to achieve the American dream through swift and effective immigration processing.” 


http://oliverzhanglaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Chinese-World-Journal-Op-Ed-Julie-2014.01.29.pdf

Joseph Schooling is Singapore's first Olympic champion
13 Aug 2016 

RIO DE JANEIRO: Joseph Schooling on Saturday (Aug 13) won Singapore's first-ever Olympic gold medal after winning the 100m butterfly event at Rio 2016.

The 21-year-old Singaporean touched the wall in 50.39s, nearly one second ahead of an extraordinary joint-silver finish of 51.14s shared by American great Michael Phelps, South Africa's Chad le Clos and Hungarian Laszlo Cseh.
Schooling's time smashed the Olympic Games record of 50.58s, clocked by Phelps at Beijing 2008. This is the first time at Rio 2016 that Phelps, who won the 100m butterfly at the past three Olympics, has been beaten.
This is also the first ever gold medal by a Southeast Asian male swimmer.

"It feels great, it kinds of feels surreal right now, it's crazy," said Schooling after the race. "I really can't describe how this moment feels. All the adrenaline is running through my veins right now. It's a dream come true."
"I'm really honoured and privileged to swim alongside some of these great names, people who changed the face of our sport," he added.
"I can't really tell you how grateful I am to have this chance to swim in an Olympic final and to represent our country."
"I'm just ecstatic. I need it to sink in."

"I WENT FOR IT"

Singapore's chef de mission Low Teo Ping told Channel NewsAsia: "When Joseph's lane showed 'No.1', that was it. One can't describe the ecstasy. It's all for Singapore."

"We are a small and young nation and with three other guys chasing him down while clocking the same time, it speaks volumes of what Jo has done for Singapore," he added.

"I think the world was expecting some of the other swimmers to be there, for example for Phelps to win his 23rd gold. But here we have this boy from Singapore who really disappointed them, and we are all ecstatic." 

"We are all ecstatic," repeated Mr Low.

Reflecting on his race, Schooling said: "I went for it and I didn't look back. I had some doubts. Everyone has doubts. It's all about how you turn those doubts into positive moments. And I'm really glad that I could do that."
"I'm going to have to pinch myself to see that I'm alive," said Colin Schooling, who watched his son make history from a viewing party in Singapore.

"Singapore, he did what you all wanted and he did it in style," he added, visibly overwhelmed with pride.

He said a world record could be next. "The most important thing is to be an ambassador for all our children in Singapore that gives them hope that they also can do it. There's nothing special about him, just a boy who is interested in the sport." 

Also celebrating Schooling's success was his mother, May Schooling, who said she had "no doubt that this day would come".

Mrs Schooling thanked those who supported him - including the Singapore Swimming Association, family friends, the Singapore Sports Institute and the Defence Ministry for allowing him to defer his National Service, so he could continue training for the Games.

"We were screaming,” said Mrs Schooling. “But I think it also shows that if we give Singaporeans the chance to pursue (their goals) and train properly, we can reach the top of the world. He has proven it - you can do it."

Schooling was the fastest semi-finallist a day earlier and had also won his heat on Friday, pipping Phelps in the process.

The 100m freestyle and 200m butterfly were Schooling's other events but he withdrew from the latter and missed out on the finals for the former.

The Singaporean's groundbreaking Olympic feat follows his bronze at the 2015 World Championships, which was also a first-ever podium finish for his nation.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/joseph-schooling-is/3037512.html

Structure of the Lead:
WHO-Joseph Schooling
WHERE-Rio
WHEN-Saturday (Aug 13)
WHAT-won Singapore's first-ever Olympic gold medal
WHY-not given
HOW-not given

Topics for 105-02-Week 3

105-02-Week 3

1.阿里辭世：Muhammad Ali, die, boxing, racism, Atlanta, torch, Parkinson’s disease

2.里約奧運：2016 Rio Olympics,

Refugee Olympic Team,

Nikki Hamblin (NZ), Abbey D’Agostino (US),

Usain Bolt (Jamaica),

Michael Phelps (US),

Oksana Chusovitina (Uzbekistan),

Hammer throw, Anita Wlodarczyk (Poland),

400 meter, Shaunae Miller, dive for gold

Schooling (Singapore),

Robel Kiros Habte (Ethiopia),

Sun Yang (China), Horton (Australia), drug cheat,

Michael Phelps, cupping therapy,

Ryan Lochte (US), robbed,

Topics for 105-02-Week 2

105-02-Week 2

1.美古關係：US, Cuba, relation, Obama visit

2.美同性婚姻合法：same sex marriage, legal, the U.S.

Topics for 105-02-Week 1

105-02-Week 1

1.翁山蘇姬：Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar, Nobel Peace Prize, military government

2.Alpha Go勝棋王：Alpha Go, Lee Sedol

Week seven

Week seven

A prize of hope from the White Helmets

Nov 24, 2016

By Chris Bell, UGC and Social News team

Every day in Syria, volunteer rescue workers from the White Helmets rush to the scenes of bombings to pull people out from under the rubble and carry them to safety. Their courageous and selfless work has given hope to millions of civilians.The White Helmets are an unlikely group of heroes. These former tailors, bakers, teachers and other ordinary Syrians banded together in 2013 to save the lives others were working so hard to take. They have now saved more than 78,529 lives. But for the work they do, White Helmet volunteers and their civil defence centres are often targeted. Russian and Syrian regime planes bomb civilians, and then they circle back bomb the rescue workers and medical workers who come to help.Together let’s help replace the rescue equipment and ambulances that they’ve lost in the bombings. Let’s buy them diggers so they can pull heavy concrete slabs off of survivors buried in the rubble. Let’s provide medical care for wounded White Helmets and look after the families of the 154 volunteers killed in the line of duty.Please help us raise enough money from around the world so that every White Helmet knows their work is powered by great love and support from people around the world.

In a statement to the BBC, the White Helmets acknowledged the involvement of two of their volunteers but said the video had not been sanctioned by the group's leadership team."The video and the related posts were recorded by RFS media with Syria Civil Defence (White Helmets) volunteers, who hoped to create a connection between the horror of Syria and the outside world, using the viral Mannequin Challenge," the statement read."This was an error of judgement, and we apologise on behalf of the volunteers involved."The video was not shared on our official channels, and we took immediate action to discipline those involved and prevent incidents such as this from happening again."Our volunteers are committed to saving lives by responding to, and reporting, war crimes in Syria."This leaves us open to attacks, not just from the bombs but from those who seek to silence us for telling the truth."A spokesman for the RFS told the BBC that the activist group occasionally used this kind of campaign to help shine a spotlight on the suffering of millions of ordinary Syrians.He pointed out that in the past it had attempted to raise awareness of the conflict by leveraging the popularity of computer game Pokemon Go and comic-book heroes The Avengers.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38066791
https://peoplesmillion.whitehelmets.org/donate/peoples-million

Structure of the Lead：

     WHO-White Helmets

     WHEN-Nov 24, 2016

     WHAT-critics had long claimed that the organisation fabricates reports and rescues

     WHY-White Helmets wanted to raise awareness of the suffering of the Syrian people, while people thought that it was not appropriate for them to do so.

     WHERE-Syria

     HOW-a video about they are performing their version of the Mannequin Challenge

Keywords：

   1.regime:(n.)政體、政權

   2. slab:(v.)切成厚板、以平板蓋上

   3. sanction:(v.)支持、鼓勵

   4. campaign:(n.)活動、戰役

   5.leverage:(n.)影響力

Week eight

Brexit’: Explaining Britain’s Vote on European Union Membership

Update: Britain has voted to exit the European Union. It is a historic decision sure to reshape the nation’s place in the world. For more about the fallout, The Times prepared an updated explainer of the basics. 

Britain held a referendum on Thursday on whether to leave the European Union, a process often referred to as “Brexit.”

The reasons for and against

Those who favor leaving argue that the European Union has changed enormously over the last four decades with regard to the size and the reach of its bureaucracy, diminishing British influence and sovereignty.

Those who want to stay say that a medium-size island needs to be part of a larger bloc of like-minded countries to have real influence and security in the world, and that leaving would be economically costly.

Who is arguing to stay, and who to go?

REMAIN Prime Minister David Cameron leads the “Remain” camp, and he could lose his job if his effort fails. Behind him are most of the Conservative government he leads, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party, which is strongly pro-Europe.

Most independent economists and large businesses favor staying in, as do the most recent heads of Britain’s intelligence services. President Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Xi Jinping of China also want Britain to stay in.

LEAVE The “Leave” camp is led by Michael Gove, the justice minister, and Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London. Nearly half the Conservative members of Parliament favor leaving, as do the members of the U.K. Independence Party, or UKIP, and its leader, Nigel Farage. Their main issues are sovereignty and immigration.

Abroad, the French National Front leader, Marine Le Pen, favors Brexit, as do other anti-Europe parties in Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere.

What impact would an exit have on Britain’s economy?

This is an essential and divisive question. The economic effect of an exitwould depend on what settlement was negotiated, especially on whether Britain would retain access to the single market for duty-free trade and financial services. But that would probably require accepting freedom of movement and labor for European Union citizens, which is one of the main complaints the “Leave” camp has about bloc membership.

Most economists favor remaining in the bloc and say an exit would cut growth, weaken the pound and hurt the City of London, Britain’s financial center. Even economists who favor an exit say growth would be affected in the short and medium terms, though they also say Britain would be better off by 2030.

In late October, the chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said that the better-than-expected 0.5 percent growth in gross domestic product in the third quarter was evidence that the British economy was able to cope with Brexit. 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/world/europe/britain-european-union-brexit.html

KEYWORD

1. reshape-再成形；重新塑造；改造
2. fallout-輻射性落塵，原子塵
3. referendum-公民投票
4. bureaucracy-官僚政治
5. diminishing-減少，減小，縮減
6. sovereignty-君權，統治權
7. justice-正義；公平；正當的理由；合法
8. negotiated-談判，協商，洽談
9. bloc-(為共同目的而組成的）團體；聯盟；集團
10. gross-顯著的，十足的；嚴重的；惡劣的