為了那個金髮男人,美國擬推「蓮蓬頭法案」
US proposes change to shower rules after Trump's hair-washing moan
The US president’s hair-washing complaints on Wednesday prompted the government to propose an easing of shower pressure standards.
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The Trump administration proposed rule changes that would allow shower heads to boost water pressure, after Donald Trump repeatedly complained that bathroom fixtures do not work to his liking.
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The Department of Energy plan followed comments from Trump last month at a White House event on rolling back regulations. He said he believed water does not come out fast enough from fixtures.
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“So what do you do? You just stand there longer or you take a shower longer? Because my hair – I don’t know about you, but it has to be perfect,” he said. Last December, Trump said environmental regulators were looking at sinks, faucets and toilets to revise rules meant to conserve water and fuel that heats it.
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“People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once,” Trump told a meeting of small business leaders at the White House.Consumer groups decried the plan, saying current rules saved consumers money by conserving water and fuel.
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The proposal would effectively allow shower fixtures to include multiple shower heads that would get around the 2.5 gallon per minute standard Congress set in 1992, when Trump’s fellow Republican George HW Bush was president.
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The energy department also proposed easier standards on washing machines. The Trump administration says its regulatory rollbacks save average American households $3,100 a year. But conservationists say easing bathroom fixture standards could boost energy and water costs.
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It was uncertain whether the plan would be finalized. Trump is campaigning for reelection and trails in opinion polls ahead of the vote on 3 November. If he wins and the proposal advances it could also face court battles.
Vocabulary
1. Prompted -Given a ‘prompt’ means to have something stimulate a subject to take action. If something is prompt it means it is quick or sudden. In the context of this article, the use of prompted is similar to ‘compelled’.
2. Easing - If something is eased, it is lessened or reduced. So the easing of something in this case means the loosening, lessening or downregulating - in this case, of regulations!
3. Fixtures - A fixture is something that is fixed. In this case it is describing taps, shower heads and can also be applied to things such as lights - something attached to a wall. A fixture can also refer to something fixed in schedule, although usually referring to larger public events than individual meetings or appointments.
4. Conservationists - Conservation is the protecting or reduction of the use of something. Conservationism is a school of thought which applies this approach specifically to nature and ecology, so a conservationist is what some may call an ‘eco warrior’ (ecological warrior) - someone who fights against destruction of the environment.
5. Trails - If something is trailing behind, it means it is on the same path but behind something in front. So if two teams are playing a sport, the team with less points at a given time can be said to be ‘trailing’ by x points. When enough people walk over the same territory, they leave a trail of footprints which eventually develops into a trail which may be used for hiking.
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Oliver老師認為英文是種工具,更是表達文化的媒介。擅於透過情境模擬,引導學生建立自信,並加速中英文轉換的反應力。
本文收錄於英語島English Island 2020年9月號
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