友達英語》雙語新聞閱讀》美國投資兩億 縮短器官移植等候時間

美國政府說，將投資2億美元，用于縮短人體器官移植的等候時間，其中包括一個提高人體組織修復技術的項目。

這項計劃由國防部牽頭實施，集中利用政府、大學、企業(yè)和非營利組織的資金和技術。

該計劃包括投資1.6億多美元的政府和民間資金，創(chuàng)建先進組織生物制造創(chuàng)新研究所，研制開發(fā)人體組織的制造技術。

此外，該計劃還將為一些小型企業(yè)提供資金，研究如何改善保存人體器官和組織的方法，為器官移植提供更長的時間。

白宮官員說，目前美國有超過12萬人在等候器官捐獻，其中大部分人需要腎*臟。

US Invests $200 Million to Reduce Organ Transplant Wait Time

The U.S. government says it is investing $200 million to help reduce the wait time for organ transplants, including a program to advance the science of tissue repair.

The investment, led by the Defense Department, brings together funds and expertise from the government, universities, companies and non-profits.

The plan includes more than $160 million in public and private funding to create the Advanced Tissue Biofabrication Manufacturing Innovation Institute, which will help develop ways of fabricating tissue.

Grants will also be given to small businesses that are trying to improve organ and tissue preservation to allow more time for transplantation.

White House officials say more than 120,000 people in the United States are on a donor waiting list, with the vast majority of those needing a kidney.

友達英語》禮節(jié)美語》losing a job can be positive

Mickey剛失業(yè)，跟朋友Suzanne 一起吃飯，Suzanne 勸他說，這未必不是件好事。她說，

S: Back at my old job there were some days where I barely used my brain at all! I just did the same thing over and over again.

M: So what happened after you got fired? Did a new opportunity come your way?

S: Not exactly. It took me about a year to figure out that opportunities weren't going to come my way.... I learnt that you have to create your own opportunities.

M: So that's when you started your company.

S: Yeah! I always had an interest in gardening, so I thought to myself: There must be a lot of people who also have this interest and would like to have a garden but don't have the time to set one up.

Suzanne說，原來工作的時候，總是同樣的工作來回做，did the same thing over and over again. 完全不用動大腦，失業(yè)后，她用一年的時間才發(fā)現(xiàn)，機會不會自己找上門來，opportunities weren't going to come my way, 還不如自己去創(chuàng)造機會。于是她決定自己開公司，幫助那些喜歡園藝但是沒有時間整理花園的人整理花園。

M: So now you go around making custom-designed gardens for homes and offices, right?

S: Yes! I never would've thought in a million years that my interest in gardening would turn into a career! If I hadn't gotten fired, I would've never found my calling!

M: That's cool....and it does offer me some hope. I guess I need to do some thinking about what I really want to do.

S: I'm not saying it's going to be easy.... I spent almost one year doing odd jobs and trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Not having a stable income can be difficult.

因此，Suzanne 開了一家公司，專門為公司和家庭 custom-design 量身定做花園。她說，要不是被解雇，她死也不會想到自己的愛好竟然會成為職業(yè)，in a million years 是一種夸張的說法，就是無論如何也不會的意思。正是被解雇，才讓她最終找到了自己的 calling, calling is spelled c-a-l-l-i-n-g, calling, 一個人最適合的職業(yè)。Suzanne 說，不過，這個過程也很艱難，她足足打了一年零工才走出低谷，odd jobs 是零工的意思。Mickey 聽后深受啟發(fā)。

M: Yeah....right now I have some savings so I'll be good for about six months...but if I can't find something after that it's going to start getting tough.

S: Do you have a 'dream' or something you've always wanted to do?

M: Well, I have always had the idea of opening a bicycle store. I'm talking about selling rare, vintage or special custom-made bicycles.

Mickey說，自己存款有限，撐半年還行，再久就扛不住了。Suzanne 問他有沒有什么夢想。Mickey 說，他一直想開一家自行車店，專賣那些不多見，古香古色，或是訂做的自行車。他在這里用的 vintage is spelled v-i-n t-a-g-e, vintage 意思是老式的，古典的。

S: Interesting! Cycling is quite a trend these days and if you can find bicycles that no one else has....it just might work!

M