News feed：No more 'beef jerky'

[2020.04.01] 發表

【明報專訊】THE Hong Kong police force is going smart in issuing traffic penalty tickets in place of the ''beef jerky'' (「牛肉乾」), a moniker of the old, handwritten ticket. Under a three-month trial run, more than 300 officers will be given smartphones with an app that can scan the QR code on the newly issued or renewed vehicle license. A portable printer will then print out the ticket. The new measure is to avoid unreadable handwriting or wrong information.

Almighty Putin

RUSSIAN president Putin's current term was supposed to end in 2024. By having the Russian constitution amended by the legislature in early last month, his term limit was nullified, which means that he can run for president again. He will have been in power for 36 years by 2036, when he will be 83 years of age. Under the constitution, one can only serve for two terms in a row. Putin's old way of evading the limitation was to switch roles with Medvedev, his political ally.

What is a ''circuit breaker''?

STOCK markets worldwide have been severely battered by COVID-19. Stock trading in America stopped many times last month after its stock market indexes fell over 7%. That triggered the ''circuit breaker'' (熔斷機制), which stopped people from trading stocks, thus preventing prices from going into free fall (急劇貶值). Just imagine an automatic door that closes when it senses that too many people have entered the store to buy a large number of masks. The breaker is just like a door that closes for a while when many people try to sell a lot of stocks. The last time trading was stopped this way was in 1997. (photo.3)

■Gear up

According to the passages on this page, answer the following questions.

(1) The old, handwritten ticket can be eaten. ( True / False )

(2) Putin has declared himself a dictator. ( True / False )

(3) A circuit breaker stops a stock market from trading so as to prevent prices from going down too much. ( True / False )

(Answers on next text)

■Glossary

moniker (n) 綽號

portable (adj) 便攜的

nullify (v) 使無效

batter (v) 重擊

[Smarties' Power English 第275期]