The wrong kind of fireworks
North Korea
The test of a long-range missile is ringing alarm bells in Washington
WHEN North Korea claimed it was in the final stages of developing an intercontinental ballistic missle (ICBM)at the beginning of the year,Donald Trump scoffed:“It won’t happen.”So it was perhaps not a coincidence that North KoreachoseAmerica’sindependence day totest a device that it claimed was indeed an ICBM. Although the claim istechnically correct, the country’sleader,Kim Jong Un, will probablyhaveto wait afewmore yearsbeforehecanbrandisha missile capable of delivering anuclear warhead to Los Angeles or NewYork.
ICBM：An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)is a guidedballistic missile with a minimum range of 5,500 kilometers primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (deliveringone or more thermonuclear warheads).
scoff /skɔf; US skɔːf; skɔf/vI,Ipr]~ (at sb/sth)speak contemptuously (about or to sb/sth); jeer or mock嘲弄;嘲笑:scoff at other people's beliefs嘲笑别人的信仰.
brandish/ˈbrndɪʃ; ˋbrændɪʃ/v[Tn]wave (sth) in a triumphant or threatening way; display得意地或威胁地挥动（某物）;显示:brandish a gun, a knife, an axe, etc挥舞枪﹑刀子﹑斧头等
The missile appears to have flown for 37 minutes before splashing down some 930km from its launch. According to David Wright of the Union of Concerned Scientists, it had a lofted(heightened)trajectory,reaching an altitude of 2,800 km. On amore conventionaltrajectory,thesame missile wouldhavearangeof about 6,700km. That would be enough to reach Alaska, but not HawaiiorCalifornia.
Union of Concerned
Scientists：TheUnion of Concerned
Scientists (UCS)is a nonprofit science advocacy organization based in theUnited States.
splash down(esp of a spacecraft) land in water with a splash（尤指宇宙飞船）溅落:The spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific.那艘宇宙飞船溅落在太平洋中.
trajectory/trəˈdʒektərɪ; trəˋdʒɛktərɪ/ncurvedpath of sth that has been fired, hit or thrown into the air, eg a missile（抛射体,如导弹的）弹道,轨迹,轨道:a bullet's trajectory子弹的弹道.
Thistest comes after a similar one on May 14th; the missile used then, also on aloftedtrajectory,was thought tohave a potential range of 4,500km. John Schilling of the website “38 North”believes that missile tohavebeen ascaled-down, two-stage version of thethree-stageKN-08prototype ICBM. Thesmaller missile, which the North Koreans called the Hwasong-12 and whichWesternintelligence analystshavetentatively designated as the KN-17,was displayed during a military parade onApril15th.
KN-08：TheKN-08, also known under the names Rodong-C(Hancha:勞動-C) and Hwasong-13 (hancha:火星-13), is a road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile believed to be under development by North Korea.
Scaled-down:Size reduced according to the scale.
After the launch on May14th, Mr Schilling speculated that the Hwasong-12 was being used to develop thetechnologies andsystemsneeded forfuture ICBMs. This would be cheaper and lessprovocative than testing theKN-08.
TheNorthKoreans,inanannouncementseveralhoursaftertheJuly4thlaunch,dubbedthelatest missile the Hwa-song-14, which indicates that it may be a more powerfulversion of the Hwasong-12. The test, as well as demonstrating greater range,could have been designed to gain additional knowledge of the engineeringrequirements for a warhead-carryingreentryvehicle by flying for longer and at higher altitude. Making a warhead smallenough to fit on a missile and protecting it as itplummetsthrough the earth’s atmosphere are two of the technologies needed tobuild a working ICBM that North Korea may not yet have mastered.
dub[Cn.n] give (sb) a nickname给（某人）起绰号;起外号:The papers dubbed them `The Fab Four'.报刊给他们起了个绰号叫‘四绝’.
reentrythemoment when a SPACECRAFT reenters the Earth's atmosphere
plummet v[I, Ipr, Ip] fall steeply or rapidly大坡度或快速落下:Pieces of rock plummeted down the mountain side to the ground below.岩石一块块顺着山的陡坡滚落到地面.
On hearing the news, DonaldTrumptook toTwittertoharrumph: “NorthKorea has just launched another missile. Does this guyhaveanything better to do with his life? Hard to believe thatSouth Korea and Japan will put up with this muchlonger.Perhaps China will put a heavy move on NorthKoreaand end this nonsenseonce andforall!”
harrumph /həˈrʊmpf/verb[I]INFORMAL MAINLY HUMOROUS to express annoyance and disapproval, often not by speaking but making a noise
That is unlikely.MrTrumphas been forced to admit that his earlier hopes ofgettingChina to rein in NorthKorea havegone unfulfilled. MrTrumpseems also to be moreawarethan before that military options,while still“onthetable”according toMikePence, the vice-president,arevery much a lastresort. His defensesecretary,James Mattis, recently said that outright warwith NorthKoreawould be“catastrophic”and “probably theworstkind of fighting inmostpeople’slifetimes”.
on the tableadj.able to be negotiated or arranged by compromise;negotiable
a/one's last resort =>last
In ameeting inWashingtonlast week withSouthKorea’snew president,Moon Jae-in, MrTrumpemphasized that he was open to dialogue with North Korea“under the rightcircumstances”.Butthere seemsscantprospect of that, given thezeal with which Mr Kim is pursuinghismissileprogram.Evenanewraftof“secondary”sanctionsaimedatChinesefirms and banks that do business with North Korea would be unlikely toexert sufficient pressure on Mr Kimtobringhimtothenegotiatingtable,whileantagonizingChina.
scant/skænt; skænt/adj[attrib作定语] (fml文) hardly enough; not very much (used esp withthensshown)不足的,缺少的（尤与下列示例中的名词连用）:pay scant attention to sb's advice不甚重视某人的劝告
raftn(ususing通常作单数)~ (of sth)(US infml口) large number or amount大量;许多:She got a raft of presents.她收到了许多礼物.
antagonize, antagonize/ænˈtægənaɪz; ænˋtæɡəˏnaɪz/v[Tn]arouse hostility in (sb); annoy引起（某人）的对抗;骚扰:It would be dangerous to antagonize him.招惹他可危险.
Fighting ballistics with ballistics
One remaining possibility,albeit a risky one, is that America might threaten to shoot down North Korean missiles in their boost or ascent phase. If North Koreacannot test, it cannot build a reliable ICBM.Todo this,saysMichael Ellemanof the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a think-tank, America andJapan wouldhaveto deploy a newgeneration ofinterceptors, which are 50%fasterthan the current ones, on theirAegis-classdestroyers.But following the failure of a test firing in June,they arestill somewayfromentering service. Given the speed at which NorthKorea’smissile program is advancing, itsICBMsmaybe readybefore America’snew interceptorsare.
albeit/ˏɔːlˈbiːɪt; ɔlˋbiɪt/conj(dated or fml旧或文) although虽然;尽管:I tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to contact him.尽管并未与他联系上,可是我已经尽力而为了.
interceptor[ɪntəˈseptə(r)]n.拦截者；截击机
Aegis-class destroyers (Destroyers with Aegis Combat System):The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin. It uses powerful computer and radar technologyto track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets.
Initially used by the United States Navy, Aegis is now used also by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Spanish Navy, Royal Norwegian Navy, and Republic of Korea Navy. Over 100 Aegis-equipped ships have been deployed in five navies worldwide. The Royal Australian Navy selected the Aegis system for placement on its new Air Warfare Destroyers, and it is part of NATO's European missile defense system.
3D printing and brands
The spread of 3D printing createsintellectual-property headaches
GROOT,a character from Disney’s film “Guardians of theGalaxy”,is usually mass-produced by theentertainment company as a small, collectablefigurineandsold by retailers such asToys“R”Us. But just before the release of the secondfilm in thefranchiseearlier thisyear,Byambasuren Erdenejargal, aMongolian enthusiast, noticed that people in a 3D-printing group on Facebookwere searching for a computer model of Groot. So Mr Erdenejargal decided tocreateone. He spent fourdaysperfecting the design and itsprintabilitybefore uploading his creation toThingiverse, an online 3D-printing community based in NewYork.His digital model ofthearborealcreaturehas since been downloaded (and probably printed in physical form) over 75,000times.
Groot(/ɡruːt/) is a fictional superhero appearing inAmerican comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Toys "R" Us, Inc.isan American toy and juvenile-products retailer founded in 1948 andheadquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, in the New York City metropolitan area.
figurine/ˈfɪgəriːn/nsmall ornamental statue, esp of aperson小塑像;（尤指）人的雕像.
franchise[C] formal permission to sell a company's goods or services in a particular area（正式授予在某地区销售某某公司的货物或经营某业务的）特权,特许:buy a fast-food, printing, etc franchise购买经营快餐﹑印刷等的特权
arboreal/ɑːˈbɔːrɪəl/adj(fml文) of or living in trees树木的;栖於树木的:Squirrels are arboreal creatures.松鼠是栖於树上的动物.
Fansof popular TV programmes and filmshavelongused arts and crafts to express their attachment to fictional characters.Etsy,an online marketplace forartisanalproducts, is full of HarryPotter-inspiredgolden-snitchcharms.But a combination of 3D modelling, scanning and cheap 3D printers allowsfansto reproduce itemslikeneverbefore.
Golden-snitch(In Harry Potter
Series):In the world ofthe Harry Potter novels and movies, Quidditch /ˈkwɪdɪtʃ/ is a magicalcompetitive sport involving flying contestants. Matches are played between twoteams of seven players riding flying broomsticks, using four balls: a Quaffle,two Bludgers, and aGolden Snitch, a small golden ball the approximatesize of a walnut. The winged Snitch is enchanted to hover, dart, and fly aroundthe pitch, avoiding capture while remaining within the boundaries of theplaying area. Catching the Snitch ends the game and scores the successfulSeeker's team 150 points.
Artisanal: Handmade art works or beers.
At Thingiverse, one of many such sites, people downloaded 6.6m ready-to-3D-print designs in the 30 days to July 11th.Globally,over 424,000desktop 3D printers costing under $5,000 were purchased in 2016, according toWohlers,an Americanconsultancy.As the 3D-printing communitygrows, companies that own well-known brands, such as media firms, are having topaycloserattention.
Some firms are taking a hard line against people copying their products. One option is to sendintellectual-property “takedown” noticesrequiring people to remove their digital models from the internet.HBO, a subscription-TV firm owned by Time Warner,recently sent such a notice to a Thingiverse user who had 3D-printed an Iron Throne iPhone holder,in homage to its series “Game of Thrones”.
Hard line:Very tough and uncompromising stance.
Takedown:To impose brutal sanctionupon sth.
Homage:Something you do to showrespect for someone or something you think is important.
Disney thinks it has away to foil computers canners, which can generate a digital model of an item,by adding reflective material to its plastic products.But like some other firms,it is also experimenting with the technology itself. In 2016 it started selling its own 3D-printed versions of its Star Warscharacters through Shapeways, an American online 3D-printing service, which allowsgoods to be printed on demand when ordered by people without their own 3Dprinters.
Foil:To prevent something badthat someone is planning to do
reflective(of a surface, etc) reflecting (esp light)（指物体表面等）反射的,反映的;（尤指）反光的:reflective number plates, eg on cars反光的号码牌（如汽车上的）.
Other companies are using 3D-printing providers tocreatemerchandisefor them, too. UniversalStudios, owned by Comcast, a mediaconglomerate,is working with Sculpteo, a French 3D-printing service. Clément Moreau,Sculpteo’schief executive,workedwith the studio to createacustomizable3D-printedversionoftheDeLoreantime-travelcarforthe30thanniversary of its 1985 film “Back to theFuture”.Although Sculpteo is responsible forprinting the cars, being abletocustomizeitsdesigngivesfansgreatercontrol.
merchandise/ˈmɜːtʃəndaɪz; ˋmətʃənˏdaɪz/n[U]goods bought and sold; goods for sale商品;货品:the merchandise on display in the shop window店舖橱窗中陈列的商品.
conglomerate/kənˈglɔmərət; kənˋɡlɑmərɪt/n(commerce商) large corporation
formed by merging several different firms（通过合并若干企业而组建的）大公司,企业集团:a mining, chemical, etc conglomerate矿业﹑化工等企业集团.
Skoda, a Czech carmaker owned byVolkswagen,is also working with Sculpteoto offer its customers small, personalized models of their own vehicles.Indeed, although only a fifth ofSculpteo’stotal orders come from individuals wanting 3D-printing services, abouthalf of the items itmakesend up inthe hands of consumers. That shows companies are using 3D printing as amanufacturing process and not just as awaytomakeprototypes.
Škoda Auto(斯柯达)more commonly known as Škoda,is a Czech automobile manufacturer founded in 1895 as Laurin & Klement. Itis headquartered in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. In 2000 Škoda became awholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.
Some brands are interacting moredirectly with modelers. A firm calledMyMiniFactory,which is based in London, works on behalf of brands tosourcehigh-quality 3D digital models from individualsforcorporatewebsites. This avoidsvaluable IP being displayed next tocrummymodelsthatmaywell fall apart whenprinted. Agustin Flowalistik, a Spanish 3Dmodeler,has collaborated withCapcom, aJapanese video-game firm, throughMyMiniFactory.One of his most notable fan creations,however,is a series of ninegeometricmodels ofPokémoncreated for lastyear’s 20th anniversary of the franchise, which is co-owned byNintendo, another Japanese firm. Uploaded toThingiverse, his modelshavenowbeen downloaded hundreds of thousands of times intotal.
sourceIn business, if a person or firm sources a product or a raw material, they findsomeone who will supply it.
Crummy:Of bad quality or unpleasant
Together they travel the world, sourcing clothes for the small, privately owned company.
Capcom Co., Ltd. (Japanese:株式会社カプコン, or Capcom, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Mega Man, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Ace Attorney, and Monster Hunter, as well as games based on the Disney animated properties. Originally established in 1979, it hassince become an international enterprise with subsidiaries in North America,Europe, and East Asia.
Nintendo Co., Ltd.is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics and video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. Nintendo is one of the world's largest video game companies by market capitalization.