You’ve probably heard of TED talks, but you probably don’t know much about the organizationand its history. First of all, TED isn’t a person; it’s an acronym : Technology, Entertainment, and Design. In the 1980s, Richard Saul Wurman noticed these fields were mixing together. With Harry Marks, he set up the first TED conferencein 1984 in Monterey, California. That event included one of the first introductions of the earliest Apple computer. The TED conference turned out to be a total failure. It was so bad that the next TED conference didn’t happen again until 1990.
Since then, the organization has grown steadily. The conference went beyond its original focus, and today, there are TED talks on almost any subject. The TED organization says that they want to “spread ideas” in 18 minutes or less.
The conference’s locations have moved several times—first to Long Beach, California, then to Vancouver, Canada. There are also smaller, local conferences, which are known as TEDx conferences. Speeches from the main TED conference are available online at ted. com. Also, while most talks are in English, translationshave been made available in more than 30 languages.
單字片語整理
Words in Use
●
spread
[sprɛd]
vt. & vi. 伸展
vt. 攤開；塗抹
vi. & n. 蔓延，散播
三態
spread / spread [sprɛd] / spread [sprɛd]
The rumor spread like wildfire.
謠言很快就蔓延開來。
Roger spread the map out on the table and pointed out where we were.
羅傑將地圖攤在桌上，指出我們的所在地。
Kelly spread peanut butter on the toast.
凱莉把花生醬塗在烤麵包片上。
Kelly spread the toast with peanut butter.
凱莉把花生醬塗在烤麵包片上。
After playing with his cellphone for a while, Victor spread his arms out.
玩了一會兒手機後，維克多張開伸展他的雙臂。
The spread of the disease left the whole city in a state of panic.
此疾病蔓延使整座城市陷入一片恐慌。
多益藍色
英檢初級
高中 Level 2
●
organization
[͵ɔrgənəˋzeʃən]
n. 組織（可數）；籌辦（不可數）
Greenpeace is a famous non-profit organization.
綠色和平組織是一個有名的非營利組織。
We need volunteers to help with the organization of the event.
我們需要志工幫忙籌辦此次活動。
多益綠色
英檢初級
高中 Level 2
●
introduction
[͵ɪntrəˋdʌkʃən]
n. 介紹；引進，推出（產品等）；（書）序， 引言
After introductions were through, we started the meeting. 介紹完畢後，我們便開會了。
I’d like to ask Mr. Smith to write me a letter of
introduction.
我想請史密斯先生幫我寫一封介紹信。
Doctor Beck encouraged the introductionof new
medical treatments.
貝克醫生鼓勵引進新的醫療方法。
Before reading a book, you can usually get its main idea in the introduction.
在你讀一本書之前，通常可以在引言中了解到這本書的主旨。
高中 Level 2
●
failure
[ˋfeljɚ]
n. 失敗（不可數）；失敗的人 / 事（可數）
=
fail
Failure is the mother of success. 失敗為成功之母。— 諺語
The party turned out to be a complete failure.
這次派對辦得完全失敗。
There was a power failure throughout the whole city.
整個城市都停電了。
高中 Level 2
●
steadily
[ˋstɛdəlɪ]
adv. 不斷地，漸漸地
=
gradually
=
progressively
With the breeze blowing steadily from the window, I couldn’t help but fall asleep.
微風從窗口徐徐吹來，我忍不住睡著了。
多益藍色
英檢中級
高中 Level 3
●
location
[loˋkeʃən]
n. 地點；（找到）位置
Please come visit our store at its new location.
請到我們店的新址參觀。
Finding the location of the escaped prisoner was difficult.
要找到這名逃犯的藏身處還真不容易。
多益綠色
英檢中級
高中 Level 3
●
available
[əˋveləb!]
adj. 可用的，可得到的；（人）有空的
=
free
The church is available for weddings Monday through Saturday.
那間教堂星期一到星期六可用來舉行婚禮。
Tickets are still available at the entrance.
入口處仍有售票。
Are you available now?
你現在有空嗎？
Are you free now?
你現在有空嗎？
Do you have time now?
你現在有空嗎？
多益棕色
英檢初級
高中 Level 2
●
acronym
[ˋækrənɪm]
n. 首字母縮略詞
●
entertainment
[͵ɛntɚˋtenmənt]
n. 娛樂，樂趣（不可數）；娛樂節目（可數）
The old man found entertainmentin reading.
這位老先生從閱讀中找到樂趣。
The food was great, but the entertainment
was lousy.
食物很棒，但娛樂節目很糟。
高中 Level 4
●
conference
[ˋkɑnfərəns]
n. 會議
The press conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. today.
記者會預定在今天下午 2 點召開。
多益綠色
英檢中級
高中 Level 4
●
translation
[trænsˋleʃən]
n. 翻譯本（可數）；翻譯（不可數）
Shelly has read many of the author’s books intranslation.
雪莉看過許多這位作者著作的翻譯本。
The translation of this book took Ron about a year.
這本書的翻譯花了朗恩將近一年的時間。
