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what's the background information on this

  • 1 background

    noun
    1) (lit. or fig.) Hintergrund, der; (social status) Herkunft, die

    be in the background — im Hintergrund stehen

    background music — Hintergrundmusik, die

    background noise — (in a room etc.) Geräuschkulisse, die; (on a recording) Grundrauschen, das

    2)

    background [information] — Hintergrundinformation, die

    * * *
    1) (the space behind the principal or most important figures or objects of a picture etc: He always paints ships against a background of stormy skies; trees in the background of the picture.) der Hintergrund
    2) (happenings that go before, and help to explain, an event etc: the background to a situation.) der Hintergrund
    3) (a person's origins, education etc: She was ashamed of her humble background.) die Herkunft
    * * *
    back·ground
    [ˈbækgraʊnd]
    I. n
    1. (rear view) also PHOT, FILM Hintergrund m; THEAT Kulisse f
    white lettering on a blue \background weiße Schrift auf blauem Grund
    2. (inconspicuous position)
    to fade into the \background in den Hintergrund treten
    to stay in the \background im Hintergrund bleiben
    3. SOCIOL Herkunft f, Verhältnisse pl, Background m
    to be [or come] from a poor \background aus armen Verhältnissen stammen
    4.
    to have a \background in sth (experience) Erfahrung in etw dat haben; (training) eine Ausbildung in etw dat haben
    with a \background in... mit Erfahrung in...
    5. (explanatory circumstances) Umstände pl, Hintergründe pl
    against a \background of high unemployment vor dem Hintergrund [o angesichts] einer hohen Arbeitslosenquote
    II. n modifier
    1. (from surroundings) (music) Hintergrund-
    \background lighting indirekte Beleuchtung
    \background noise Geräuschkulisse f
    2. (concerning origins) (information, knowledge) Hintergrund-
    to do a \background check on sb jdn polizeilich überprüfen
    \background processing (low priority job) nachrangige Verarbeitung; (process) Hintergrundverarbeitung f
    * * *
    ['bkgraʊnd]
    1. n
    1) (of painting etc fig) Hintergrund m

    to stay in the background — im Hintergrund bleiben, sich im Hintergrund halten

    to keep sb in the background —

    against a background of poverty and disease — vor dem Hintergrund von Armut und Krankheit

    2) (of person) (educational etc) Werdegang m; (social) Verhältnisse pl; (= family background) Herkunft f no pl; (SOCIOL) Background m

    he comes from a background of poverty — er kommt aus ärmlichen Verhältnissen

    3) (of case, problem etc) Zusammenhänge pl, Hintergründe pl, Hintergrund m
    2. adj
    reading vertiefend

    background music — Hintergrundmusik f, Musikuntermalung f

    background noises pl — Geräuschkulisse f, Geräusche pl im Hintergrund

    * * *
    1. Hintergrund m (auch fig):
    against a background of vor dem Hintergrund (gen);
    form the background to sth den Hintergrund für etwas bilden;
    keep ( oder remain, stay) in the background im Hintergrund bleiben;
    background projection FILM Hintergrundprojektion f
    2. MAL Untergrund m
    3. fig
    a) Hintergründe pl, Umstände pl:
    background information Hintergrundinformationen pl
    b) Umwelt f, Milieu n
    c) Werdegang m, Vorgeschichte f:
    have a musical background musikalisch vorbelastet sein
    d) Erfahrung f, Wissen n:
    educational background Vorbildung f, Bildungsgang m
    e) Anhaltspunkte pl, Grundlage f
    4. Musik-, Geräuschkulisse f:
    background music musikalischer Hintergrund, musikalische Untermalung, Hintergrundmusik f
    5. auch background noise RADIO etc Hintergrund-, Störgeräusch n
    6. auch background brightness TV Grundhelligkeit f:
    background control Steuerung f der mittleren Helligkeit
    * * *
    noun
    1) (lit. or fig.) Hintergrund, der; (social status) Herkunft, die

    background music — Hintergrundmusik, die

    background noise — (in a room etc.) Geräuschkulisse, die; (on a recording) Grundrauschen, das

    2)

    background [information] — Hintergrundinformation, die

    * * *
    n.
    Hintergrund m.

    English-german dictionary > background

  • 2 background

    background [ˈbækgraʊnd]
    1. noun
       a. [of picture, photo] fond m
       b. (social) milieu m socioculturel ; (political) climat m politique ; ( = basic knowledge) éléments mpl de base ; ( = job experience) expérience f professionnelle ; ( = education) formation f
       c. ( = circumstances) what is the background to these events? quel est le contexte de ces événements ?
    * * *
    ['bækgraʊnd] 1.
    1) ( of person) ( social) milieu m; (personal, family) origines fpl; ( professional) formation f

    a background in law/linguistics — une formation juridique/en linguistique

    2) ( context) contexte m
    3) (of painting, photo, scene) arrière-plan m

    against a background of — sur un fond or un arrière-plan de

    5) (of sound, music)

    voices/music in the background — des voix/de la musique en bruit de fond

    2.
    noun modifier
    1) [ information, knowledge] concernant les origines de la situation
    2) [ music, lighting] d'ambiance

    English-French dictionary > background

  • 3 near cash

    !
    гос. фин. The resource budget contains a separate control total for “near cash” expenditure, that is expenditure such as pay and current grants which impacts directly on the measure of the golden rule.
    This paper provides background information on the framework for the planning and control of public expenditure in the UK which has been operated since the 1998 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). It sets out the different classifications of spending for budgeting purposes and why these distinctions have been adopted. It discusses how the public expenditure framework is designed to ensure both sound public finances and an outcome-focused approach to public expenditure.
    The UK's public spending framework is based on several key principles:
    "
    consistency with a long-term, prudent and transparent regime for managing the public finances as a whole;
    " "
    the judgement of success by policy outcomes rather than resource inputs;
    " "
    strong incentives for departments and their partners in service delivery to plan over several years and plan together where appropriate so as to deliver better public services with greater cost effectiveness; and
    "
    the proper costing and management of capital assets to provide the right incentives for public investment.
    The Government sets policy to meet two firm fiscal rules:
    "
    the Golden Rule states that over the economic cycle, the Government will borrow only to invest and not to fund current spending; and
    "
    the Sustainable Investment Rule states that net public debt as a proportion of GDP will be held over the economic cycle at a stable and prudent level. Other things being equal, net debt will be maintained below 40 per cent of GDP over the economic cycle.
    Achievement of the fiscal rules is assessed by reference to the national accounts, which are produced by the Office for National Statistics, acting as an independent agency. The Government sets its spending envelope to comply with these fiscal rules.
    Departmental Expenditure Limits ( DEL) and Annually Managed Expenditure (AME)
    "
    Departmental Expenditure Limit ( DEL) spending, which is planned and controlled on a three year basis in Spending Reviews; and
    "
    Annually Managed Expenditure ( AME), which is expenditure which cannot reasonably be subject to firm, multi-year limits in the same way as DEL. AME includes social security benefits, local authority self-financed expenditure, debt interest, and payments to EU institutions.
    More information about DEL and AME is set out below.
    In Spending Reviews, firm DEL plans are set for departments for three years. To ensure consistency with the Government's fiscal rules departments are set separate resource (current) and capital budgets. The resource budget contains a separate control total for “near cash” expenditure, that is expenditure such as pay and current grants which impacts directly on the measure of the golden rule.
    To encourage departments to plan over the medium term departments may carry forward unspent DEL provision from one year into the next and, subject to the normal tests for tautness and realism of plans, may be drawn down in future years. This end-year flexibility also removes any incentive for departments to use up their provision as the year end approaches with less regard to value for money. For the full benefits of this flexibility and of three year plans to feed through into improved public service delivery, end-year flexibility and three year budgets should be cascaded from departments to executive agencies and other budget holders.
    Three year budgets and end-year flexibility give those managing public services the stability to plan their operations on a sensible time scale. Further, the system means that departments cannot seek to bid up funds each year (before 1997, three year plans were set and reviewed in annual Public Expenditure Surveys). So the credibility of medium-term plans has been enhanced at both central and departmental level.
    Departments have certainty over the budgetary allocation over the medium term and these multi-year DEL plans are strictly enforced. Departments are expected to prioritise competing pressures and fund these within their overall annual limits, as set in Spending Reviews. So the DEL system provides a strong incentive to control costs and maximise value for money.
    There is a small centrally held DEL Reserve. Support from the Reserve is available only for genuinely unforeseeable contingencies which departments cannot be expected to manage within their DEL.
    AME typically consists of programmes which are large, volatile and demand-led, and which therefore cannot reasonably be subject to firm multi-year limits. The biggest single element is social security spending. Other items include tax credits, Local Authority Self Financed Expenditure, Scottish Executive spending financed by non-domestic rates, and spending financed from the proceeds of the National Lottery.
    AME is reviewed twice a year as part of the Budget and Pre-Budget Report process reflecting the close integration of the tax and benefit system, which was enhanced by the introduction of tax credits.
    AME is not subject to the same three year expenditure limits as DEL, but is still part of the overall envelope for public expenditure. Affordability is taken into account when policy decisions affecting AME are made. The Government has committed itself not to take policy measures which are likely to have the effect of increasing social security or other elements of AME without taking steps to ensure that the effects of those decisions can be accommodated prudently within the Government's fiscal rules.
    Given an overall envelope for public spending, forecasts of AME affect the level of resources available for DEL spending. Cautious estimates and the AME margin are built in to these AME forecasts and reduce the risk of overspending on AME.
    Together, DEL plus AME sum to Total Managed Expenditure (TME). TME is a measure drawn from national accounts. It represents the current and capital spending of the public sector. The public sector is made up of central government, local government and public corporations.
    Resource and Capital Budgets are set in terms of accruals information. Accruals information measures resources as they are consumed rather than when the cash is paid. So for example the Resource Budget includes a charge for depreciation, a measure of the consumption or wearing out of capital assets.
    "
    Non cash charges in budgets do not impact directly on the fiscal framework. That may be because the national accounts use a different way of measuring the same thing, for example in the case of the depreciation of departmental assets. Or it may be that the national accounts measure something different: for example, resource budgets include a cost of capital charge reflecting the opportunity cost of holding capital; the national accounts include debt interest.
    "
    Within the Resource Budget DEL, departments have separate controls on:
    "
    Near cash spending, the sub set of Resource Budgets which impacts directly on the Golden Rule; and
    "
    The amount of their Resource Budget DEL that departments may spend on running themselves (e.g. paying most civil servants’ salaries) is limited by Administration Budgets, which are set in Spending Reviews. Administration Budgets are used to ensure that as much money as practicable is available for front line services and programmes. These budgets also help to drive efficiency improvements in departments’ own activities. Administration Budgets exclude the costs of frontline services delivered directly by departments.
    The Budget preceding a Spending Review sets an overall envelope for public spending that is consistent with the fiscal rules for the period covered by the Spending Review. In the Spending Review, the Budget AME forecast for year one of the Spending Review period is updated, and AME forecasts are made for the later years of the Spending Review period.
    The 1998 Comprehensive Spending Review ( CSR), which was published in July 1998, was a comprehensive review of departmental aims and objectives alongside a zero-based analysis of each spending programme to determine the best way of delivering the Government's objectives. The 1998 CSR allocated substantial additional resources to the Government's key priorities, particularly education and health, for the three year period from 1999-2000 to 2001-02.
    Delivering better public services does not just depend on how much money the Government spends, but also on how well it spends it. Therefore the 1998 CSR introduced Public Service Agreements (PSAs). Each major government department was given its own PSA setting out clear targets for achievements in terms of public service improvements.
    The 1998 CSR also introduced the DEL/ AME framework for the control of public spending, and made other framework changes. Building on the investment and reforms delivered by the 1998 CSR, successive spending reviews in 2000, 2002 and 2004 have:
    "
    provided significant increase in resources for the Government’s priorities, in particular health and education, and cross-cutting themes such as raising productivity; extending opportunity; and building strong and secure communities;
    " "
    enabled the Government significantly to increase investment in public assets and address the legacy of under investment from past decades. Departmental Investment Strategies were introduced in SR2000. As a result there has been a steady increase in public sector net investment from less than ¾ of a per cent of GDP in 1997-98 to 2¼ per cent of GDP in 2005-06, providing better infrastructure across public services;
    " "
    introduced further refinements to the performance management framework. PSA targets have been reduced in number over successive spending reviews from around 300 to 110 to give greater focus to the Government’s highest priorities. The targets have become increasingly outcome-focused to deliver further improvements in key areas of public service delivery across Government. They have also been refined in line with the conclusions of the Devolving Decision Making Review to provide a framework which encourages greater devolution and local flexibility. Technical Notes were introduced in SR2000 explaining how performance against each PSA target will be measured; and
    "
    not only allocated near cash spending to departments, but also – since SR2002 - set Resource DEL plans for non cash spending.
    To identify what further investments and reforms are needed to equip the UK for the global challenges of the decade ahead, on 19 July 2005 the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced that the Government intends to launch a second Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) reporting in 2007.
    A decade on from the first CSR, the 2007 CSR will represent a long-term and fundamental review of government expenditure. It will cover departmental allocations for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010 11. Allocations for 2007-08 will be held to the agreed figures already announced by the 2004 Spending Review. To provide a rigorous analytical framework for these departmental allocations, the Government will be taking forward a programme of preparatory work over 2006 involving:
    "
    an assessment of what the sustained increases in spending and reforms to public service delivery have achieved since the first CSR. The assessment will inform the setting of new objectives for the decade ahead;
    " "
    an examination of the key long-term trends and challenges that will shape the next decade – including demographic and socio-economic change, globalisation, climate and environmental change, global insecurity and technological change – together with an assessment of how public services will need to respond;
    " "
    to release the resources needed to address these challenges, and to continue to secure maximum value for money from public spending over the CSR period, a set of zero-based reviews of departments’ baseline expenditure to assess its effectiveness in delivering the Government’s long-term objectives; together with
    "
    further development of the efficiency programme, building on the cross cutting areas identified in the Gershon Review, to embed and extend ongoing efficiency savings into departmental expenditure planning.
    The 2007 CSR also offers the opportunity to continue to refine the PSA framework so that it drives effective delivery and the attainment of ambitious national standards.
    Public Service Agreements (PSAs) were introduced in the 1998 CSR. They set out agreed targets detailing the outputs and outcomes departments are expected to deliver with the resources allocated to them. The new spending regime places a strong emphasis on outcome targets, for example in providing for better health and higher educational standards or service standards. The introduction in SR2004 of PSA ‘standards’ will ensure that high standards in priority areas are maintained.
    The Government monitors progress against PSA targets, and departments report in detail twice a year in their annual Departmental Reports (published in spring) and in their autumn performance reports. These reports provide Parliament and the public with regular updates on departments’ performance against their targets.
    Technical Notes explain how performance against each PSA target will be measured.
    To make the most of both new investment and existing assets, there needs to be a coherent long term strategy against which investment decisions are taken. Departmental Investment Strategies (DIS) set out each department's plans to deliver the scale and quality of capital stock needed to underpin its objectives. The DIS includes information about the department's existing capital stock and future plans for that stock, as well as plans for new investment. It also sets out the systems that the department has in place to ensure that it delivers its capital programmes effectively.
    This document was updated on 19 December 2005.
    Near-cash resource expenditure that has a related cash implication, even though the timing of the cash payment may be slightly different. For example, expenditure on gas or electricity supply is incurred as the fuel is used, though the cash payment might be made in arrears on aquarterly basis. Other examples of near-cash expenditure are: pay, rental.Net cash requirement the upper limit agreed by Parliament on the cash which a department may draw from theConsolidated Fund to finance the expenditure within the ambit of its Request forResources. It is equal to the agreed amount of net resources and net capital less non-cashitems and working capital.Non-cash cost costs where there is no cash transaction but which are included in a body’s accounts (or taken into account in charging for a service) to establish the true cost of all the resourcesused.Non-departmental a body which has a role in the processes of government, but is not a government public body, NDPBdepartment or part of one. NDPBs accordingly operate at arm’s length from governmentMinisters.Notional cost of a cost which is taken into account in setting fees and charges to improve comparability with insuranceprivate sector service providers.The charge takes account of the fact that public bodies donot generally pay an insurance premium to a commercial insurer.the independent body responsible for collecting and publishing official statistics about theUK’s society and economy. (At the time of going to print legislation was progressing tochange this body to the Statistics Board).Office of Government an office of the Treasury, with a status similar to that of an agency, which aims to maximise Commerce, OGCthe government’s purchasing power for routine items and combine professional expertiseto bear on capital projects.Office of the the government department responsible for discharging the Paymaster General’s statutoryPaymaster General,responsibilities to hold accounts and make payments for government departments and OPGother public bodies.Orange bookthe informal title for Management of Risks: Principles and Concepts, which is published by theTreasury for the guidance of public sector bodies.Office for NationalStatistics, ONS60Managing Public Money
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    "
    GLOSSARYOverdraftan account with a negative balance.Parliament’s formal agreement to authorise an activity or expenditure.Prerogative powerspowers exercisable under the Royal Prerogative, ie powers which are unique to the Crown,as contrasted with common-law powers which may be available to the Crown on the samebasis as to natural persons.Primary legislationActs which have been passed by the Westminster Parliament and, where they haveappropriate powers, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. Begin asBills until they have received Royal Assent.arrangements under which a public sector organisation contracts with a private sectorentity to construct a facility and provide associated services of a specified quality over asustained period. See annex 7.5.Proprietythe principle that patterns of resource consumption should respect Parliament’s intentions,conventions and control procedures, including any laid down by the PAC. See box 2.4.Public Accountssee Committee of Public Accounts.CommitteePublic corporationa trading body controlled by central government, local authority or other publiccorporation that has substantial day to day operating independence. See section 7.8.Public Dividend finance provided by government to public sector bodies as an equity stake; an alternative to Capital, PDCloan finance.Public Service sets out what the public can expect the government to deliver with its resources. EveryAgreement, PSAlarge government department has PSA(s) which specify deliverables as targets or aimsrelated to objectives.a structured arrangement between a public sector and a private sector organisation tosecure an outcome delivering good value for money for the public sector. It is classified tothe public or private sector according to which has more control.Rate of returnthe financial remuneration delivered by a particular project or enterprise, expressed as apercentage of the net assets employed.Regularitythe principle that resource consumption should accord with the relevant legislation, therelevant delegated authority and this document. See box 2.4.Request for the functional level into which departmental Estimates may be split. RfRs contain a number Resources, RfRof functions being carried out by the department in pursuit of one or more of thatdepartment’s objectives.Resource accountan accruals account produced in line with the Financial Reporting Manual (FReM).Resource accountingthe system under which budgets, Estimates and accounts are constructed in a similar wayto commercial audited accounts, so that both plans and records of expenditure allow in fullfor the goods and services which are to be, or have been, consumed – ie not just the cashexpended.Resource budgetthe means by which the government plans and controls the expenditure of resources tomeet its objectives.Restitutiona legal concept which allows money and property to be returned to its rightful owner. Ittypically operates where another person can be said to have been unjustly enriched byreceiving such monies.Return on capital the ratio of profit to capital employed of an accounting entity during an identified period.employed, ROCEVarious measures of profit and of capital employed may be used in calculating the ratio.Public Privatepartnership, PPPPrivate Finance Initiative, PFIParliamentaryauthority61Managing Public Money
    "
    ————————————————————————————————————————
    GLOSSARYRoyal charterthe document setting out the powers and constitution of a corporation established underprerogative power of the monarch acting on Privy Council advice.Second readingthe second formal time that a House of Parliament may debate a bill, although in practicethe first substantive debate on its content. If successful, it is deemed to denoteParliamentary approval of the principle of the proposed legislation.Secondary legislationlaws, including orders and regulations, which are made using powers in primary legislation.Normally used to set out technical and administrative provision in greater detail thanprimary legislation, they are subject to a less intense level of scrutiny in Parliament.European legislation is,however,often implemented in secondary legislation using powers inthe European Communities Act 1972.Service-level agreement between parties, setting out in detail the level of service to be performed.agreementWhere agreements are between central government bodies, they are not legally a contractbut have a similar function.Shareholder Executive a body created to improve the government’s performance as a shareholder in businesses.Spending reviewsets out the key improvements in public services that the public can expect over a givenperiod. It includes a thorough review of departmental aims and objectives to find the bestway of delivering the government’s objectives, and sets out the spending plans for the givenperiod.State aidstate support for a domestic body or company which could distort EU competition and sois not usually allowed. See annex 4.9.Statement of Excessa formal statement detailing departments’ overspends prepared by the Comptroller andAuditor General as a result of undertaking annual audits.Statement on Internal an annual statement that Accounting Officers are required to make as part of the accounts Control, SICon a range of risk and control issues.Subheadindividual elements of departmental expenditure identifiable in Estimates as single cells, forexample cell A1 being administration costs within a particular line of departmental spending.Supplyresources voted by Parliament in response to Estimates, for expenditure by governmentdepartments.Supply Estimatesa statement of the resources the government needs in the coming financial year, and forwhat purpose(s), by which Parliamentary authority is sought for the planned level ofexpenditure and income.Target rate of returnthe rate of return required of a project or enterprise over a given period, usually at least a year.Third sectorprivate sector bodies which do not act commercially,including charities,social and voluntaryorganisations and other not-for-profit collectives. See annex 7.7.Total Managed a Treasury budgeting term which covers all current and capital spending carried out by the Expenditure,TMEpublic sector (ie not just by central departments).Trading fundan organisation (either within a government department or forming one) which is largely orwholly financed from commercial revenue generated by its activities. Its Estimate shows itsnet impact, allowing its income from receipts to be devoted entirely to its business.Treasury Minutea formal administrative document drawn up by the Treasury, which may serve a wide varietyof purposes including seeking Parliamentary approval for the use of receipts asappropriations in aid, a remission of some or all of the principal of voted loans, andresponding on behalf of the government to reports by the Public Accounts Committee(PAC).62Managing Public Money
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    GLOSSARY63Managing Public MoneyValue for moneythe process under which organisation’s procurement, projects and processes aresystematically evaluated and assessed to provide confidence about suitability, effectiveness,prudence,quality,value and avoidance of error and other waste,judged for the public sectoras a whole.Virementthe process through which funds are moved between subheads such that additionalexpenditure on one is met by savings on one or more others.Votethe process by which Parliament approves funds in response to supply Estimates.Voted expenditureprovision for expenditure that has been authorised by Parliament. Parliament ‘votes’authority for public expenditure through the Supply Estimates process. Most expenditureby central government departments is authorised in this way.Wider market activity activities undertaken by central government organisations outside their statutory duties,using spare capacity and aimed at generating a commercial profit. See annex 7.6.Windfallmonies received by a department which were not anticipated in the spending review.
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    Англо-русский экономический словарь > near cash

  • 4 Artificial Intelligence

       In my opinion, none of [these programs] does even remote justice to the complexity of human mental processes. Unlike men, "artificially intelligent" programs tend to be single minded, undistractable, and unemotional. (Neisser, 1967, p. 9)
       Future progress in [artificial intelligence] will depend on the development of both practical and theoretical knowledge.... As regards theoretical knowledge, some have sought a unified theory of artificial intelligence. My view is that artificial intelligence is (or soon will be) an engineering discipline since its primary goal is to build things. (Nilsson, 1971, pp. vii-viii)
       Most workers in AI [artificial intelligence] research and in related fields confess to a pronounced feeling of disappointment in what has been achieved in the last 25 years. Workers entered the field around 1950, and even around 1960, with high hopes that are very far from being realized in 1972. In no part of the field have the discoveries made so far produced the major impact that was then promised.... In the meantime, claims and predictions regarding the potential results of AI research had been publicized which went even farther than the expectations of the majority of workers in the field, whose embarrassments have been added to by the lamentable failure of such inflated predictions....
       When able and respected scientists write in letters to the present author that AI, the major goal of computing science, represents "another step in the general process of evolution"; that possibilities in the 1980s include an all-purpose intelligence on a human-scale knowledge base; that awe-inspiring possibilities suggest themselves based on machine intelligence exceeding human intelligence by the year 2000 [one has the right to be skeptical]. (Lighthill, 1972, p. 17)
       4) Just as Astronomy Succeeded Astrology, the Discovery of Intellectual Processes in Machines Should Lead to a Science, Eventually
       Just as astronomy succeeded astrology, following Kepler's discovery of planetary regularities, the discoveries of these many principles in empirical explorations on intellectual processes in machines should lead to a science, eventually. (Minsky & Papert, 1973, p. 11)
       Many problems arise in experiments on machine intelligence because things obvious to any person are not represented in any program. One can pull with a string, but one cannot push with one.... Simple facts like these caused serious problems when Charniak attempted to extend Bobrow's "Student" program to more realistic applications, and they have not been faced up to until now. (Minsky & Papert, 1973, p. 77)
       What do we mean by [a symbolic] "description"? We do not mean to suggest that our descriptions must be made of strings of ordinary language words (although they might be). The simplest kind of description is a structure in which some features of a situation are represented by single ("primitive") symbols, and relations between those features are represented by other symbols-or by other features of the way the description is put together. (Minsky & Papert, 1973, p. 11)
       [AI is] the use of computer programs and programming techniques to cast light on the principles of intelligence in general and human thought in particular. (Boden, 1977, p. 5)
       The word you look for and hardly ever see in the early AI literature is the word knowledge. They didn't believe you have to know anything, you could always rework it all.... In fact 1967 is the turning point in my mind when there was enough feeling that the old ideas of general principles had to go.... I came up with an argument for what I called the primacy of expertise, and at the time I called the other guys the generalists. (Moses, quoted in McCorduck, 1979, pp. 228-229)
       9) Artificial Intelligence Is Psychology in a Particularly Pure and Abstract Form
       The basic idea of cognitive science is that intelligent beings are semantic engines-in other words, automatic formal systems with interpretations under which they consistently make sense. We can now see why this includes psychology and artificial intelligence on a more or less equal footing: people and intelligent computers (if and when there are any) turn out to be merely different manifestations of the same underlying phenomenon. Moreover, with universal hardware, any semantic engine can in principle be formally imitated by a computer if only the right program can be found. And that will guarantee semantic imitation as well, since (given the appropriate formal behavior) the semantics is "taking care of itself" anyway. Thus we also see why, from this perspective, artificial intelligence can be regarded as psychology in a particularly pure and abstract form. The same fundamental structures are under investigation, but in AI, all the relevant parameters are under direct experimental control (in the programming), without any messy physiology or ethics to get in the way. (Haugeland, 1981b, p. 31)
       There are many different kinds of reasoning one might imagine:
        Formal reasoning involves the syntactic manipulation of data structures to deduce new ones following prespecified rules of inference. Mathematical logic is the archetypical formal representation. Procedural reasoning uses simulation to answer questions and solve problems. When we use a program to answer What is the sum of 3 and 4? it uses, or "runs," a procedural model of arithmetic. Reasoning by analogy seems to be a very natural mode of thought for humans but, so far, difficult to accomplish in AI programs. The idea is that when you ask the question Can robins fly? the system might reason that "robins are like sparrows, and I know that sparrows can fly, so robins probably can fly."
        Generalization and abstraction are also natural reasoning process for humans that are difficult to pin down well enough to implement in a program. If one knows that Robins have wings, that Sparrows have wings, and that Blue jays have wings, eventually one will believe that All birds have wings. This capability may be at the core of most human learning, but it has not yet become a useful technique in AI.... Meta- level reasoning is demonstrated by the way one answers the question What is Paul Newman's telephone number? You might reason that "if I knew Paul Newman's number, I would know that I knew it, because it is a notable fact." This involves using "knowledge about what you know," in particular, about the extent of your knowledge and about the importance of certain facts. Recent research in psychology and AI indicates that meta-level reasoning may play a central role in human cognitive processing. (Barr & Feigenbaum, 1981, pp. 146-147)
       Suffice it to say that programs already exist that can do things-or, at the very least, appear to be beginning to do things-which ill-informed critics have asserted a priori to be impossible. Examples include: perceiving in a holistic as opposed to an atomistic way; using language creatively; translating sensibly from one language to another by way of a language-neutral semantic representation; planning acts in a broad and sketchy fashion, the details being decided only in execution; distinguishing between different species of emotional reaction according to the psychological context of the subject. (Boden, 1981, p. 33)
       Can the synthesis of Man and Machine ever be stable, or will the purely organic component become such a hindrance that it has to be discarded? If this eventually happens-and I have... good reasons for thinking that it must-we have nothing to regret and certainly nothing to fear. (Clarke, 1984, p. 243)
       The thesis of GOFAI... is not that the processes underlying intelligence can be described symbolically... but that they are symbolic. (Haugeland, 1985, p. 113)
        14) Artificial Intelligence Provides a Useful Approach to Psychological and Psychiatric Theory Formation
       It is all very well formulating psychological and psychiatric theories verbally but, when using natural language (even technical jargon), it is difficult to recognise when a theory is complete; oversights are all too easily made, gaps too readily left. This is a point which is generally recognised to be true and it is for precisely this reason that the behavioural sciences attempt to follow the natural sciences in using "classical" mathematics as a more rigorous descriptive language. However, it is an unfortunate fact that, with a few notable exceptions, there has been a marked lack of success in this application. It is my belief that a different approach-a different mathematics-is needed, and that AI provides just this approach. (Hand, quoted in Hand, 1985, pp. 6-7)
       We might distinguish among four kinds of AI.
       Research of this kind involves building and programming computers to perform tasks which, to paraphrase Marvin Minsky, would require intelligence if they were done by us. Researchers in nonpsychological AI make no claims whatsoever about the psychological realism of their programs or the devices they build, that is, about whether or not computers perform tasks as humans do.
       Research here is guided by the view that the computer is a useful tool in the study of mind. In particular, we can write computer programs or build devices that simulate alleged psychological processes in humans and then test our predictions about how the alleged processes work. We can weave these programs and devices together with other programs and devices that simulate different alleged mental processes and thereby test the degree to which the AI system as a whole simulates human mentality. According to weak psychological AI, working with computer models is a way of refining and testing hypotheses about processes that are allegedly realized in human minds.
    ... According to this view, our minds are computers and therefore can be duplicated by other computers. Sherry Turkle writes that the "real ambition is of mythic proportions, making a general purpose intelligence, a mind." (Turkle, 1984, p. 240) The authors of a major text announce that "the ultimate goal of AI research is to build a person or, more humbly, an animal." (Charniak & McDermott, 1985, p. 7)
       Research in this field, like strong psychological AI, takes seriously the functionalist view that mentality can be realized in many different types of physical devices. Suprapsychological AI, however, accuses strong psychological AI of being chauvinisticof being only interested in human intelligence! Suprapsychological AI claims to be interested in all the conceivable ways intelligence can be realized. (Flanagan, 1991, pp. 241-242)
        16) Determination of Relevance of Rules in Particular Contexts
       Even if the [rules] were stored in a context-free form the computer still couldn't use them. To do that the computer requires rules enabling it to draw on just those [ rules] which are relevant in each particular context. Determination of relevance will have to be based on further facts and rules, but the question will again arise as to which facts and rules are relevant for making each particular determination. One could always invoke further facts and rules to answer this question, but of course these must be only the relevant ones. And so it goes. It seems that AI workers will never be able to get started here unless they can settle the problem of relevance beforehand by cataloguing types of context and listing just those facts which are relevant in each. (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1986, p. 80)
       Perhaps the single most important idea to artificial intelligence is that there is no fundamental difference between form and content, that meaning can be captured in a set of symbols such as a semantic net. (G. Johnson, 1986, p. 250)
        18) The Assumption That the Mind Is a Formal System
       Artificial intelligence is based on the assumption that the mind can be described as some kind of formal system manipulating symbols that stand for things in the world. Thus it doesn't matter what the brain is made of, or what it uses for tokens in the great game of thinking. Using an equivalent set of tokens and rules, we can do thinking with a digital computer, just as we can play chess using cups, salt and pepper shakers, knives, forks, and spoons. Using the right software, one system (the mind) can be mapped into the other (the computer). (G. Johnson, 1986, p. 250)
        19) A Statement of the Primary and Secondary Purposes of Artificial Intelligence
       The primary goal of Artificial Intelligence is to make machines smarter.
       The secondary goals of Artificial Intelligence are to understand what intelligence is (the Nobel laureate purpose) and to make machines more useful (the entrepreneurial purpose). (Winston, 1987, p. 1)
       The theoretical ideas of older branches of engineering are captured in the language of mathematics. We contend that mathematical logic provides the basis for theory in AI. Although many computer scientists already count logic as fundamental to computer science in general, we put forward an even stronger form of the logic-is-important argument....
       AI deals mainly with the problem of representing and using declarative (as opposed to procedural) knowledge. Declarative knowledge is the kind that is expressed as sentences, and AI needs a language in which to state these sentences. Because the languages in which this knowledge usually is originally captured (natural languages such as English) are not suitable for computer representations, some other language with the appropriate properties must be used. It turns out, we think, that the appropriate properties include at least those that have been uppermost in the minds of logicians in their development of logical languages such as the predicate calculus. Thus, we think that any language for expressing knowledge in AI systems must be at least as expressive as the first-order predicate calculus. (Genesereth & Nilsson, 1987, p. viii)
        21) Perceptual Structures Can Be Represented as Lists of Elementary Propositions
       In artificial intelligence studies, perceptual structures are represented as assemblages of description lists, the elementary components of which are propositions asserting that certain relations hold among elements. (Chase & Simon, 1988, p. 490)
       Artificial intelligence (AI) is sometimes defined as the study of how to build and/or program computers to enable them to do the sorts of things that minds can do. Some of these things are commonly regarded as requiring intelligence: offering a medical diagnosis and/or prescription, giving legal or scientific advice, proving theorems in logic or mathematics. Others are not, because they can be done by all normal adults irrespective of educational background (and sometimes by non-human animals too), and typically involve no conscious control: seeing things in sunlight and shadows, finding a path through cluttered terrain, fitting pegs into holes, speaking one's own native tongue, and using one's common sense. Because it covers AI research dealing with both these classes of mental capacity, this definition is preferable to one describing AI as making computers do "things that would require intelligence if done by people." However, it presupposes that computers could do what minds can do, that they might really diagnose, advise, infer, and understand. One could avoid this problematic assumption (and also side-step questions about whether computers do things in the same way as we do) by defining AI instead as "the development of computers whose observable performance has features which in humans we would attribute to mental processes." This bland characterization would be acceptable to some AI workers, especially amongst those focusing on the production of technological tools for commercial purposes. But many others would favour a more controversial definition, seeing AI as the science of intelligence in general-or, more accurately, as the intellectual core of cognitive science. As such, its goal is to provide a systematic theory that can explain (and perhaps enable us to replicate) both the general categories of intentionality and the diverse psychological capacities grounded in them. (Boden, 1990b, pp. 1-2)
       Because the ability to store data somewhat corresponds to what we call memory in human beings, and because the ability to follow logical procedures somewhat corresponds to what we call reasoning in human beings, many members of the cult have concluded that what computers do somewhat corresponds to what we call thinking. It is no great difficulty to persuade the general public of that conclusion since computers process data very fast in small spaces well below the level of visibility; they do not look like other machines when they are at work. They seem to be running along as smoothly and silently as the brain does when it remembers and reasons and thinks. On the other hand, those who design and build computers know exactly how the machines are working down in the hidden depths of their semiconductors. Computers can be taken apart, scrutinized, and put back together. Their activities can be tracked, analyzed, measured, and thus clearly understood-which is far from possible with the brain. This gives rise to the tempting assumption on the part of the builders and designers that computers can tell us something about brains, indeed, that the computer can serve as a model of the mind, which then comes to be seen as some manner of information processing machine, and possibly not as good at the job as the machine. (Roszak, 1994, pp. xiv-xv)
       The inner workings of the human mind are far more intricate than the most complicated systems of modern technology. Researchers in the field of artificial intelligence have been attempting to develop programs that will enable computers to display intelligent behavior. Although this field has been an active one for more than thirty-five years and has had many notable successes, AI researchers still do not know how to create a program that matches human intelligence. No existing program can recall facts, solve problems, reason, learn, and process language with human facility. This lack of success has occurred not because computers are inferior to human brains but rather because we do not yet know in sufficient detail how intelligence is organized in the brain. (Anderson, 1995, p. 2)

    Historical dictionary of quotations in cognitive science > Artificial Intelligence

  • 5 on

    on [ɒn]
    sur ⇒ 1A (a)-(d), 1A (f), 1B (a), 1C (a), 1C (d), 1D (a)-(c), 1D (j) à ⇒ 1A (c), 1D (f), 1D (h), 1D (i), 1D (j), 1F (c), 1F (f) en ⇒ 1A (c), 1F (g) par rapport à ⇒ 1C (e) selon ⇒ 1D (d) de ⇒ 1F (d) allumé ⇒ 3 (a) ouvert ⇒ 3 (a) en marche ⇒ 3 (a) de garde ⇒ 3 (c) de service ⇒ 3 (c)
    A.
    ∎ the vase is on the shelf le vase est sur l'étagère;
    ∎ put it on the shelf mets-le sur l'étagère;
    ∎ on the floor par terre;
    ∎ on the ceiling au plafond;
    ∎ there are posters on the walls il y a des affiches aux ou sur les murs;
    ∎ there was blood on the walls il y avait du sang sur les murs;
    ∎ a coat was hanging on the hook un manteau était accroché à la patère;
    ∎ the post with the seagull on it le poteau sur lequel il y a la mouette;
    ∎ he has a ring on his finger il a une bague au doigt;
    ∎ to lie on one's back/side être allongé sur le dos/côté;
    ∎ on this side de ce côté;
    ∎ on the other side of the page de l'autre côté de la page;
    ∎ on page four à la quatrième page, à la page quatre;
    ∎ on the left/right à gauche/droite
    ∎ I had nothing to write on je n'avais rien sur quoi écrire;
    ∎ red on a green background rouge sur un fond vert
    (c) (indicating general location, area)
    ∎ he works on a building site il travaille sur un chantier;
    ∎ they live on a farm ils habitent une ferme;
    ∎ there's been an accident on the M1 il y a eu un accident sur la M1;
    ∎ room on the second floor chambre au second (étage);
    ∎ on Arran/the Isle of Wight sur Arran/l'île de Wight;
    ∎ on Corsica/Crete en Corse/Crète;
    ∎ on Majorca/Minorca à Majorque/Minorque
    ∎ I kissed him on the cheek je l'ai embrassé sur la joue;
    ∎ someone tapped me on the shoulder quelqu'un m'a tapé sur l'épaule
    ∎ the village is right on the lake/sea le village est juste au bord du lac/de la mer
    (f) (indicating movement, direction)
    ∎ the mirror fell on the floor la glace est tombée par terre;
    ∎ to climb on(to) a wall grimper sur un mur;
    ∎ they marched on the capital ils marchèrent sur la capitale;
    ∎ don't tread on it ne marchez pas dessus
    B.
    ∎ I only had £10 on me je n'avais que 10 livres sur moi;
    ∎ she's got a gun on her elle est armée
    ∎ he had a scornful smile on his face il affichait un sourire plein de mépris
    C.
    (a) (indicating purpose of money, time, effort spent) sur;
    ∎ I spent hours on that essay j'ai passé des heures sur cette dissertation;
    ∎ she spent £1,000 on her new stereo elle a dépensé 1000 livres pour acheter sa nouvelle chaîne hi-fi;
    ∎ to put money on a horse parier ou miser sur un cheval;
    ∎ what are you working on at the moment? sur quoi travaillez-vous en ce moment?
    ∎ I am here on business je suis ici pour affaires;
    ∎ to be on strike être en grève;
    ∎ he's off on a trip to Brazil il part pour un voyage au Brésil;
    ∎ to go on safari faire un safari;
    ∎ she was sent on a course on l'a envoyée suivre des cours;
    ∎ I'm on nights next week je suis de nuit la semaine prochaine;
    ∎ he's on lunch/a break il est en train de déjeuner/faire la pause;
    ∎ she's been on the committee for years ça fait des années qu'elle siège au comité
    (c) (indicating special interest, pursuit)
    ∎ she's keen on music elle a la passion de la musique;
    ∎ he's good on modern history il excelle en histoire moderne;
    ∎ she's very big on equal opportunities l'égalité des chances, c'est son cheval de bataille
    ∎ on a large/small scale sur une grande/petite échelle
    (e) (compared with) par rapport à;
    ∎ imports are up/down on last year les importations sont en hausse/en baisse par rapport à l'année dernière;
    ∎ it's an improvement on the old system c'est une amélioration par rapport à l'ancien système
    D.
    (a) (about, on the subject of) sur;
    ∎ a book/film on the French Revolution un livre/film sur la Révolution française;
    ∎ we all agree on that point nous sommes tous d'accord sur ce point;
    ∎ I need some advice on a legal matter j'ai besoin de conseils sur un point légal;
    ∎ could I speak to you on a matter of some delicacy? pourrais-je vous parler d'une affaire assez délicate?;
    ∎ the police have nothing on him la police n'a rien sur lui
    (b) (indicating person, thing affected) sur;
    ∎ it has no effect on them cela n'a aucun effet sur eux;
    ∎ a tax on alcohol une taxe sur les boissons alcoolisées;
    ∎ try it on your parents essaie-le sur tes parents;
    ∎ the government must act on inflation le gouvernement doit prendre des mesures contre l'inflation;
    ∎ he has survived two attempts on his life il a échappé à deux tentatives d'assassinat;
    ∎ it's unfair on women c'est injuste envers les femmes;
    ∎ the joke's on you! c'est toi qui as l'air ridicule!
    ∎ I cut my finger on a piece of glass je me suis coupé le doigt sur un morceau de verre
    ∎ everyone will be judged on their merits chacun sera jugé selon ses mérites;
    ∎ candidates are selected on their examination results les candidats sont choisis en fonction des résultats qu'ils ont obtenus à l'examen
    (e) (indicating reason, motive for action)
    ∎ on impulse sur un coup de tête;
    ∎ the police acted on information from abroad la police est intervenue après avoir reçu des renseignements de l'étranger;
    ∎ I shall refuse on principle je refuserai par principe
    (f) (included in, forming part of)
    ∎ your name isn't on the list votre nom n'est pas sur la liste;
    ∎ the books on the syllabus les livres au programme;
    ∎ on the agenda à l'ordre du jour
    (g) (indicating method, system)
    ∎ they work on a rota system ils travaillent par roulement;
    ∎ reorganized on a more rational basis réorganisé sur une base plus rationnelle
    ∎ on foot/horseback à pied/cheval;
    ∎ on the bus/train dans le bus/train;
    ∎ she arrived on the midday bus/train elle est arrivée par le bus/train de midi;
    ∎ on a bicycle à bicyclette
    ∎ to play a tune on the flute jouer un air à la flûte;
    ∎ who's on guitar/on drums? qui est à la guitare/à la batterie?
    ∎ , Television & Theatre I heard it on the radio/on television je l'ai entendu à la radio/à la télévision;
    ∎ it's the first time she's been on television c'est la première fois qu'elle passe à la télévision;
    ∎ what's on the other channel or side? qu'est-ce qu'il y a sur l'autre chaîne?;
    ∎ on stage sur scène
    ∎ it's all on computer tout est sur ordinateur;
    ∎ on file sur fichier
    E.
    INDICATING DATE, TIME ETC
    ∎ on the 6th of July le 6 juillet;
    ∎ on or about the 12th vers le 12;
    ∎ on Christmas Day le jour de Noël;
    ∎ I'll see her on Monday je la vois lundi;
    ∎ on Monday morning lundi matin;
    ∎ I don't work on Mondays je ne travaille pas le lundi;
    ∎ on a Monday morning in February un lundi matin (du mois) de février;
    ∎ on a fine day in June par une belle journée de juin;
    ∎ on time à l'heure;
    ∎ every hour on the hour à chaque heure;
    ∎ it's just on five o'clock il est cinq heures pile;
    ∎ just on a year ago (approximately) il y a près d'un an
    F.
    ∎ have a drink on me prenez un verre, c'est moi qui offre;
    ∎ the drinks are on me/the house! c'est ma tournée/la tournée du patron!;
    ∎ you can get it on the National Health ≃ c'est remboursé par la Sécurité sociale
    ∎ to live on one's private income/a student grant vivre de ses rentes/d'une bourse d'études;
    ∎ you can't live on such a low wage on ne peut pas vivre avec des revenus aussi modestes;
    ∎ familiar they're on the dole or on unemployment benefit ils vivent du chômage ou des allocations de chômage□ ;
    ∎ to retire on a pension of £5,000 a year prendre sa retraite avec une pension de 5000 livres par an
    ∎ it works on electricity ça marche à l'électricité
    ∎ they live on cereals ils se nourrissent de céréales;
    ∎ we dined on oysters and champagne nous avons dîné d'huîtres et de champagne
    (e) (indicating drugs, medicine prescribed)
    ∎ is she on the pill? est-ce qu'elle prend la pilule?;
    ∎ I'm still on antibiotics je suis toujours sous antibiotiques;
    ∎ the doctor put her on tranquillizers le médecin lui a prescrit des tranquillisants;
    ∎ he's on insulin/heroin il prend de l'insuline/de l'héroïne;
    ∎ he's on drugs il se drogue;
    ∎ familiar figurative what's he on? il se sent bien?
    ∎ he'll deal with it on his return il s'en occupera à son retour;
    ∎ looters will be shot on sight les pillards seront abattus sans sommation;
    ∎ on the death of his mother à la mort de sa mère;
    ∎ on my first/last visit lors de ma première/dernière visite;
    ∎ on the count of three à trois
    ∎ on hearing the news en apprenant la nouvelle;
    ∎ on completing the test candidates should… quand ils auront fini l'examen les candidats devront…
    ∎ the lid wasn't on le couvercle n'était pas mis;
    ∎ put the top back on afterwards remets le capuchon ensuite
    ∎ why have you got your gloves on? pourquoi as-tu mis tes gants?;
    ∎ the woman with the blue dress on la femme en robe bleue;
    ∎ what had she got on? qu'est-ce qu'elle portait?, comment était-elle habillée?;
    ∎ he's got nothing on il est nu
    ∎ to read on continuer à lire;
    ∎ the car drove on la voiture ne s'est pas arrêtée;
    ∎ they walked on ils poursuivirent leur chemin;
    ∎ from now or this moment or this time on désormais;
    ∎ from that day on à partir ou dater de ce jour;
    ∎ well on in years d'un âge avancé;
    ∎ earlier/later/further on plus tôt/tard/loin;
    ∎ on with the show! que le spectacle continue!
    ∎ I've got a lot on this week je suis très occupé cette semaine;
    ∎ have you got anything on tonight? tu fais quelque chose ce soir?
    (e) (functioning, running)
    ∎ put or turn or switch the television on allume la télévision;
    ∎ turn the tap on ouvre le robinet;
    ∎ the lights had been left on les lumières étaient restées allumées;
    ∎ the tap had been left on le robinet était resté ouvert;
    ∎ the car had its headlights on les phares de la voiture étaient allumés
    ∎ I have a bet on j'ai fait un pari
    ∎ to be or go on about sth parler de qch sans arrêt□ ;
    ∎ he's on about his new car again le voilà reparti sur sa nouvelle voiture;
    ∎ what's she on about? qu'est-ce qu'elle raconte?;
    ∎ he's always on about the war/teenagers il n'arrête pas de déblatérer sur la guerre/les adolescents;
    ∎ my parents are always on at me about my hair mes parents n'arrêtent pas de m'embêter avec mes cheveux;
    ∎ I've been on at them for months to get it fixed cela fait des mois que je suis sur leur dos pour qu'ils le fassent réparer
    (a) (working → electricity, light, radio, TV) allumé; (→ gas, tap) ouvert; (→ engine, machine) en marche; (→ handbrake) serré; (→ alarm) enclenché;
    ∎ the radio was on very loud la radio hurlait;
    ∎ make sure the switches are in the "on" position vérifiez que les interrupteurs sont sur (la position) "marche";
    ∎ the "on" button le bouton de mise en marche
    (b) (happening, under way)
    ∎ to be on (actor) être en scène;
    ∎ we're on in ten minutes c'est à nous dans dix minutes;
    ∎ there's a conference on next week il y a une conférence la semaine prochaine;
    ∎ the meeting is on right now la réunion est en train de se dérouler;
    ∎ the match is still on (on TV) le match n'est pas terminé; (going ahead) le match n'a pas été annulé;
    ∎ it's on at the local cinema ça passe au cinéma du quartier;
    ∎ the play was on for weeks la pièce a tenu l'affiche pendant des semaines;
    ∎ your favourite TV programme is on tonight il y a ton émission préférée à la télé ce soir;
    ∎ there's nothing good on (on TV, radio) il n'y a rien de bien;
    ∎ is the party still on? est-ce que la soirée se fait toujours?;
    ∎ is our deal still on? est-ce que notre affaire tient toujours?;
    ∎ the kettle's on for tea j'ai mis de l'eau à chauffer pour le thé;
    ∎ hurry up, your dinner's on dépêche-toi, ton dîner va être prêt
    (c) (on duty → in hospital, surgery) de garde; (→ in shop, administration) de service;
    ∎ I'm on at three o'clock, then off at nine o'clock je commence à trois heures et je finis à neuf heures
    ∎ the odds are twenty to one on la cote est de vingt contre un
    ∎ such behaviour just isn't on! une telle conduite est tout à fait inadmissible!□ ;
    ∎ British it's not on! ça va pas du tout!
    (f) familiar (feasible, possible)
    ∎ we'll never be ready by tomorrow, it just isn't on nous ne serons jamais prêts pour demain, c'est tout bonnement impossible
    ∎ are you still on for dinner tonight? ça marche toujours pour le dîner de ce soir?;
    ∎ shall we say £10? - you're on! disons 10 livres? - d'accord ou tope là!;
    ∎ if you wash the dishes, I'll dry them - you're on! si tu fais la vaisselle, je l'essuie - ça marche!
    ∎ to be on (menstruating) avoir ses ragnagnas
    ∎ we went out together on and off for a year on a eu une relation irrégulière pendant un an
    sans arrêt;
    ∎ he goes on and on about his minor ailments il nous rebat les oreilles avec ses petits problèmes de santé;
    ∎ the play dragged on and on la pièce n'en finissait plus

    Un panorama unique de l'anglais et du français > on

  • 6 stand

    stand [stænd]
    stand ⇒ 1 (a) étal ⇒ 1 (a) support ⇒ 1 (b) plate-forme ⇒ 1 (c) tribune ⇒ 1 (c), 1 (d) barre ⇒ 1 (f) position ⇒ 1 (g) mettre ⇒ 2 (a) poser ⇒ 2 (a) supporter ⇒ 2 (b)-(d) se lever ⇒ 3 (a) être debout ⇒ 3 (b), 3 (c) être ⇒ 3 (b), 3 (e), 3 (f) se tenir ⇒ 3 (b) reposer ⇒ 3 (d), 3 (g) se trouver ⇒ 3 (e) rester ⇒ 3 (g) rester valable ⇒ 3 (h) se classer ⇒ 3 (j)
    (pt & pp stood [stʊd])
    1 noun
    (a) (stall, booth → at exhibition, trade fair) stand m; (→ in market) étal m, éventaire m; (kiosk) kiosque m;
    ∎ a shooting stand un stand de tir;
    ∎ newspaper stand kiosque m (à journaux)
    (b) (frame, support → gen) support m; (→ for lamp, sink) pied m; (→ on bicycle, motorbike) béquille f; (→ for pipes, guns) râtelier m; Commerce (→ for magazines, sunglasses) présentoir m; (lectern) lutrin m;
    ∎ bicycle stand (in street) râtelier m à bicyclettes;
    ∎ plant stand sellette f;
    ∎ plate stand support m à assiette, présentoir m;
    ∎ Commerce revolving stand tourniquet m, présentoir m rotatif
    (c) (platform → gen) plate-forme f; (→ for speaker) tribune f; (pulpit) chaire f
    (d) (in sports ground) tribune f;
    ∎ the stands roared un rugissement s'éleva des tribunes ou des gradins
    ∎ (taxi) stand station f de taxis
    (f) (in courtroom) barre f;
    ∎ the first witness took the stand le premier témoin est venu à la barre
    (g) (position, stance) position f;
    ∎ to take a stand on sth prendre position sur qch;
    ∎ what's your stand on the issue? quelle est votre position sur la question?;
    ∎ he refuses to take a stand il refuse de prendre position
    (h) Military & figurative (defensive effort) résistance f, opposition f;
    ∎ to make a stand résister;
    ∎ they made a stand at the foot of the hill ils ont résisté au pied de la colline;
    ∎ to make a stand against an abuse s'opposer résolument à un abus;
    ∎ History Custer's last stand la dernière bataille de Custer
    (i) (of trees) bosquet m, futaie f; (of crop) récolte f sur pied;
    ∎ a fine stand of corn un beau champ de blé;
    ∎ a stand of bamboo un massif de bambous
    (a) (set, place) mettre, poser;
    ∎ he stood the boy on a chair il a mis le garçon debout sur une chaise;
    ∎ she stood her umbrella in the corner elle a mis son parapluie dans le coin;
    ∎ to stand sth on (its) end mettre qch debout;
    ∎ help me stand the bedstead against the wall aide-moi à dresser le sommier ou mettre le sommier debout contre le mur
    (b) (endure, withstand) supporter;
    ∎ his heart couldn't stand the shock son cœur n'a pas résisté au ou n'a pas supporté le choc;
    ∎ it will stand high temperatures without cracking cela peut résister à ou supporter des températures élevées sans se fissurer;
    ∎ how much weight can the bridge stand? quel poids le pont peut-il supporter?;
    ∎ the motor wasn't built to stand intensive use le moteur n'a pas été conçu pour supporter un usage intensif;
    ∎ wool carpeting can stand a lot of hard wear les moquettes en laine sont très résistantes;
    ∎ she's not strong enough to stand another operation elle n'est pas assez forte pour supporter une nouvelle opération;
    ∎ he certainly doesn't stand comparison with Bogart il n'est absolument pas possible de le comparer avec Bogart;
    ∎ their figures don't stand close inspection leurs chiffres ne résistent pas à un examen sérieux
    (c) (put up with, bear → toothache, cold) supporter; (→ behaviour) supporter, tolérer;
    ∎ I can't stand it any longer! je n'en peux plus!;
    ∎ how can you stand working with him? comment est-ce que vous faites pour ou comment arrivez-vous à travailler avec lui?;
    ∎ I've had as much as I can stand of your griping! j'en ai assez de tes jérémiades!;
    ∎ if there's one thing I can't stand, it's hypocrisy s'il y a quelque chose que je ne supporte pas, c'est bien l'hypocrisie;
    ∎ I can't stand (the sight of) him! je ne peux pas le supporter!, je ne peux pas le voir en peinture!;
    ∎ she can't stand Wagner/smokers elle ne peut pas supporter Wagner/les fumeurs;
    ∎ he can't stand flying il déteste prendre l'avion
    (d) familiar (do with, need) supporter□, avoir besoin de□ ;
    ∎ oil company profits could certainly stand a cut une diminution de leurs bénéfices ne ferait aucun mal aux compagnies pétrolières;
    ∎ he could stand a bath! un bain ne lui ferait pas de mal!;
    ∎ American could I stand a drink! je prendrais bien un petit verre!
    (e) (perform duty of) remplir la fonction de;
    ∎ to stand witness for sb (at marriage) être le témoin de qn
    ∎ to stand sb a meal payer un repas à qn;
    ∎ British I'll stand you a drink, American I'll stand you to a drink je t'offre un verre
    ∎ to stand a chance (of doing sth) avoir de bonnes chances (de faire qch);
    ∎ you don't stand a chance! vous n'avez pas la moindre chance!;
    ∎ the plans stand little chance of being approved les projets ont peu de chances d'être approuvés
    (a) (rise to one's feet) se lever, se mettre debout;
    ∎ he refused to stand for the national anthem il a refusé de se lever pendant l'hymne national
    (b) (be on one's feet) être debout, se tenir debout; (in a specified location, posture) être, se tenir;
    ∎ I've been standing all day je suis resté debout toute la journée;
    ∎ I had to stand all the way j'ai dû voyager debout pendant tout le trajet;
    ∎ she was so tired she could hardly stand elle était si fatiguée qu'elle avait du mal à tenir debout ou sur ses jambes;
    ∎ wear flat shoes if you have to stand a lot portez des chaussures à talons plats si vous devez rester debout pendant des heures;
    ∎ I don't mind standing ça ne me gêne pas de rester debout;
    ∎ don't stand near the edge ne restez pas près du bord;
    ∎ don't just stand there, do something! ne restez pas là à ne rien faire!;
    ∎ stand clear! écartez-vous!;
    ∎ I saw her standing at the window je l'ai vue (debout) à la fenêtre;
    ∎ a man stood in the doorway un homme se tenait à la porte;
    ∎ do you see that man standing over there? vous voyez cet homme là-bas?;
    ∎ where should I stand? - beside Yvonne où dois-je me mettre? - à côté d'Yvonne;
    ∎ I'll be standing outside the theatre j'attendrai devant le théâtre;
    ∎ small groups of men stood talking at street corners des hommes discutaient par petits groupes au coin des rues;
    ∎ he was standing at the bar il était debout au comptoir;
    ∎ is there a chair I can stand on? y a-t-il une chaise sur laquelle je puisse monter?;
    ∎ they were standing a little way off ils se tenaient un peu à l'écart;
    ∎ excuse me, you're standing on my foot excusez-moi, vous me marchez sur le pied;
    ∎ American to stand in line faire la queue;
    ∎ School stand in the corner! au coin!;
    ∎ to stand upright or erect se tenir droit;
    ∎ he was so nervous he couldn't stand still il était si nerveux qu'il ne tenait pas en place;
    ∎ I stood perfectly still, hoping they wouldn't see me je me suis figé sur place en espérant qu'ils ne me verraient pas;
    ∎ stand still! ne bougez pas!, ne bougez plus!;
    ∎ stand with your feet apart écartez les pieds;
    ∎ the heron was standing on one leg le héron se tenait debout sur une patte;
    ∎ to stand on tiptoe se tenir sur la pointe des pieds;
    ∎ stand and deliver! la bourse ou la vie!;
    ∎ figurative to stand on one's own two feet se débrouiller tout seul;
    ∎ figurative he left the others standing (gen) il était de loin le meilleur; (in race) il a laissé les autres sur place
    (c) (be upright → post, target etc) être debout;
    ∎ not a stone (of the building) was left standing le bâtiment était complètement détruit;
    ∎ the house is still standing la maison tient toujours debout;
    ∎ the aqueduct has stood for centuries l'aqueduc est là depuis des siècles;
    ∎ the wheat stood high les blés étaient hauts
    (d) (be supported, be mounted) reposer;
    ∎ the coffin stood on trestles le cercueil reposait sur des tréteaux;
    ∎ the house stands on solid foundations la maison repose ou est bâtie sur des fondations solides;
    ∎ figurative this argument stands on three simple facts ce raisonnement repose sur trois simples faits
    (e) (be located → building, tree, statue) se trouver; (→ clock, vase, lamp) être, être posé;
    ∎ the fort stands on a hill la forteresse se trouve en haut d'une colline;
    ∎ this is where the city gates once stood c'est ici qu'autrefois se dressaient les portes de la ville;
    ∎ the piano stood in the centre of the room le piano était au centre ou occupait le centre de la pièce;
    ∎ the bottles stood in rows of five les bouteilles étaient disposées en rangées de cinq;
    ∎ do you see the lorry standing next to my car? vous voyez le camion qui est à côté de ma voiture?;
    ∎ a wardrobe stood against one wall il y avait une armoire contre un mur
    (f) (indicating current state of affairs, situation) être;
    ∎ how do things stand? où en est la situation?;
    ∎ how do we stand? (in work etc) où en sommes-nous?; (financially) où en sont nos comptes?;
    ∎ I'd like to know where I stand with you j'aimerais savoir où en sont les choses entre nous;
    ∎ I don't know where I stand j'ignore quelle est ma situation ou ma position;
    ∎ you never know how or where you stand with her on ne sait jamais sur quel pied danser avec elle;
    ∎ as things stand, as matters stand telles que les choses se présentent;
    ∎ he's dissatisfied with the contract as it stands il n'est pas satisfait du contrat tel qu'il a été rédigé;
    ∎ just print the text as it stands imprimez le texte tel quel;
    ∎ he stands accused of rape il est accusé de viol;
    ∎ she stands alone in advocating this approach elle est la seule à préconiser cette approche;
    ∎ I stand corrected je reconnais m'être trompé ou mon erreur;
    ∎ the doors stood wide open les portes étaient grandes ouvertes;
    ∎ I've got a taxi standing ready j'ai un taxi qui attend;
    ∎ the police are standing ready to intervene la police se tient prête à intervenir;
    ∎ the party stands united behind him le parti est uni derrière lui;
    ∎ no-one stands above the law personne n'est au-dessus des lois;
    ∎ to stand at (gauge, barometer) indiquer; (score) être de; (unemployment) avoir atteint;
    ∎ their turnover now stands at three million pounds leur chiffre d'affaires atteint désormais les trois millions de livres;
    ∎ the exchange rate stands at 5 francs to the dollar le taux de change est de 5 francs pour un dollar;
    ∎ we're standing right behind you nous sommes avec vous;
    ∎ with the union standing behind him avec le soutien du syndicat;
    ∎ nothing stood between her and victory rien ne pouvait désormais l'empêcher de gagner;
    ∎ it's the only thing standing between us and financial disaster c'est la seule chose qui nous empêche de sombrer dans un désastre financier;
    ∎ to stand in need of… avoir besoin de…;
    ∎ he stands in danger of losing his job il risque de perdre son emploi;
    ∎ I stood lost in admiration j'en suis resté béat d'admiration;
    ∎ to stand in sb's way bloquer le passage à qn;
    ∎ figurative don't stand in my way! n'essaie pas de m'en empêcher!;
    ∎ nothing stands in our way now maintenant, la voie est libre;
    ∎ if you want to leave school I'm not going to stand in your way si tu veux quitter l'école, je ne m'y opposerai pas;
    ∎ it's his lack of experience that stands in his way c'est son manque d'expérience qui le handicape;
    ∎ their foreign debt stands in the way of economic recovery leur dette extérieure constitue un obstacle à la reprise économique;
    ∎ her pride is the only thing standing in the way of their reconciliation son orgueil est le seul obstacle à leur réconciliation
    (g) (remain) rester; (be left undisturbed → marinade, dough) reposer; (→ tea) infuser;
    ∎ the machines stood idle les machines étaient arrêtées;
    ∎ the houses stood empty awaiting demolition les maisons, vidées de leurs occupants, attendaient d'être démolies;
    ∎ time stood still le temps semblait s'être arrêté;
    ∎ the car has been standing in the garage for a year ça fait un an que la voiture n'a pas bougé du garage;
    ∎ I've decided to let my flight reservation stand j'ai décidé de ne pas changer ma réservation d'avion;
    ∎ let the mixture stand until the liquid is clear laissez reposer le mélange jusqu'à ce que le liquide se clarifie;
    ∎ the champion stands unbeaten le champion reste invaincu;
    ∎ his theory stood unchallenged for a decade pendant dix ans, personne n'a remis en cause sa théorie;
    ∎ the government will stand or fall on the outcome of this vote le maintien ou la chute du gouvernement dépend du résultat de ce vote;
    ∎ united we stand, divided we fall l'union fait la force
    (h) (be valid, effective → offer, law) rester valable; (→ decision) rester inchangé;
    ∎ my invitation still stands vous êtes toujours invité;
    ∎ the verdict stands unless there's an appeal le jugement reste valable à moins que l'on ne fasse appel;
    ∎ even with this new plan, our objection still stands ce nouveau projet ne remet pas en cause notre objection première;
    ∎ the bet stands le pari tient;
    ∎ what you said last week, does that still stand? et ce que tu as dit la semaine dernière, ça tient toujours?
    (i) (measure → person, tree) mesurer;
    ∎ she stands 5 feet in her stocking feet elle mesure moins de 1,50 m pieds nus;
    ∎ the building stands ten storeys high l'immeuble compte dix étages
    (j) (rank) se classer, compter;
    ∎ this hotel stands among the best in the world cet hôtel figure parmi les meilleurs du monde;
    ∎ American she stands first/last in her class elle est la première/la dernière de sa classe;
    ∎ I know she stands high in your opinion je sais que tu as une très bonne opinion d'elle;
    ∎ for price and quality, it stands high on my list en ce qui concerne le prix et la qualité, je le range ou le compte parmi les meilleurs
    ∎ how or where does he stand on the nuclear issue? quelle est sa position ou son point de vue sur la question du nucléaire?;
    ∎ you ought to tell them where you stand vous devriez leur faire part de votre position
    ∎ to stand to lose risquer de perdre;
    ∎ to stand to win avoir des chances de gagner;
    ∎ they stand to make a huge profit on the deal ils ont des chances de faire un bénéfice énorme dans cette affaire;
    ∎ no one stands to gain from a quarrel like this personne n'a rien à gagner d'une telle querelle
    (m) British (run in election) se présenter, être candidat;
    ∎ she stood for Waltham elle a été candidate à la circonscription de Waltham;
    ∎ will he stand for re-election? va-t-il se représenter aux élections?;
    ∎ she's standing as an independent elle se présente en tant que candidate indépendante
    (n) American (stop) s'arrêter (pour un court instant);
    ∎ no standing (sign) arrêt interdit
    (o) American (pay) payer la tournée;
    ∎ you're standing c'est ta tournée
    rester là;
    ∎ we stood about or around waiting for the flight announcement nous restions là à attendre que le vol soit annoncé;
    ∎ the prisoners stood about or around in small groups les prisonniers se tenaient par petits groupes;
    ∎ after Mass, the men stand about or around in the square après la messe, les hommes s'attardent sur la place;
    ∎ I can't afford to pay people to stand around all day doing nothing je n'ai pas les moyens de payer les gens à ne rien faire;
    ∎ I'm not just going to stand about waiting for you to make up your mind! je n'ai pas l'intention de rester là à attendre que tu te décides!
    (move aside) s'écarter;
    ∎ stand aside, someone's fainted! écartez-vous, quelqu'un s'est évanoui!;
    ∎ he politely stood aside to let us pass il s'écarta ou s'effaça poliment pour nous laisser passer;
    ∎ figurative to stand aside in favour of sb (gen) laisser la voie libre à qn; Politics se désister en faveur de qn
    (a) (move back) reculer, s'écarter;
    ∎ stand back from the doors! écartez-vous des portes!;
    ∎ she stood back to look at herself in the mirror elle recula pour se regarder dans la glace;
    ∎ the painting is better if you stand back from it le tableau est mieux si vous prenez du recul
    (b) (be set back) être en retrait ou à l'écart;
    ∎ the house stands back from the road la maison est en retrait (de la route)
    (c) (take mental distance) prendre du recul;
    ∎ I need to stand back and take stock j'ai besoin de prendre du recul et de faire le point
    (a) (support → person) soutenir;
    ∎ I'll stand by you through thick and thin je te soutiendrai ou je resterai à tes côtés quoi qu'il arrive
    (b) (adhere to → promise, word) tenir; (→ decision, offer) s'en tenir à;
    ∎ to stand by an agreement respecter un accord;
    ∎ I stand by what I said/my original analysis of the situation je m'en tiens à ce que j'ai dit/ma première analyse de la situation
    (a) (not intervene) rester là (sans rien faire ou sans intervenir);
    ∎ how could you just stand by and watch them mistreat that poor dog? comment as-tu pu rester là à les regarder maltraiter ce pauvre chien (sans intervenir)?;
    ∎ I stood by helplessly while they searched the room je restais là, impuissant, pendant qu'ils fouillaient la pièce
    (b) (be ready → person) être ou se tenir prêt; (→ vehicle) être prêt; (→ army, embassy) être en état d'alerte;
    ∎ the police were standing by to disperse the crowd la police se tenait prête à disperser la foule;
    ∎ we have an oxygen machine standing by nous avons une machine à oxygène prête en cas d'urgence;
    ∎ stand by! attention!; Nautical paré!, attention!;
    ∎ Aviation stand by for takeoff préparez-vous pour le décollage;
    ∎ Radio stand by to receive prenez l'écoute;
    ∎ Military standing by for orders! à vos ordres!
    (a) British Politics (withdraw) se désister; (resign) démissionner;
    ∎ will he stand down in favour of a younger candidate? va-t-il se désister en faveur d'un candidat plus jeune?
    (b) (leave witness box) quitter la barre;
    ∎ you may stand down, Mr Simms vous pouvez quitter la barre, M. Simms
    (c) Military (troops) être déconsigné (en fin d'alerte);
    ∎ stand down! (after drill) rompez (les rangs)!
    (workers) licencier
    (a) (represent) représenter;
    ∎ what does DNA stand for? que veut dire l'abréviation ADN?;
    ∎ the R stands for Ryan le R signifie Ryan;
    ∎ the dove stands for peace la colombe symbolise la paix;
    ∎ we want our name to stand for quality and efficiency nous voulons que notre nom soit synonyme de qualité et d'efficacité;
    ∎ she supports the values and ideas the party once stood for elle soutient les valeurs et les idées qui furent autrefois celles du parti;
    ∎ I detest everything that they stand for! je déteste tout ce qu'ils représentent!
    (b) (tolerate) tolérer, supporter; (allow) permettre;
    ∎ I'm not going to stand for it! je ne le tolérerai ou permettrai pas!
    assurer le remplacement;
    ∎ to stand in for sb remplacer qn; Cinema doubler qn
    British (workers) mettre en chômage technique
    Nautical (coast, island) croiser au large de;
    ∎ they have an aircraft carrier standing off Aden ils ont un porte-avions qui croise au large d'Aden
    (a) (move away) s'écarter
    (b) Nautical (take up position) croiser; (sail away) mettre le cap au large
    (a) (protrude → vein) saillir; (→ ledge) faire saillie, avancer;
    ∎ the veins in his neck stood out les veines de son cou saillaient ou étaient gonflées
    (b) (be clearly visible → colour, typeface) ressortir, se détacher; (→ in silhouette) se découper;
    ∎ the pink stands out against the green background le rose ressort ou se détache sur le fond vert;
    ∎ the masts stood out against the sky les mâts se découpaient ou se dessinaient contre le ciel;
    ∎ the name on the truck stood out clearly le nom sur le camion était bien visible;
    ∎ she stands out in a crowd on la remarque dans la foule;
    ∎ figurative I don't like to stand out in a crowd je n'aime pas me singulariser;
    ∎ this one book stands out from all his others ce livre-ci surclasse tous ses autres livres;
    ∎ there is no one issue which stands out as being more important than the others il n'y a pas une question qui soit plus importante que les autres;
    ∎ the qualities that stand out in his work les qualités marquantes de son œuvre;
    ∎ she stands out above all the rest elle surpasse ou surclasse tous les autres;
    ∎ the day stands out in my memory cette journée est marquée d'une pierre blanche dans ma mémoire;
    ∎ familiar that stands out a mile! (is very obvious) ça se voit comme le nez au milieu de la figure!;
    ∎ it really stands out that he's not a local ça se voit ou se remarque vraiment qu'il n'est pas d'ici
    (c) (resist, hold out) tenir bon, tenir, résister;
    ∎ they won't be able to stand out for long ils ne pourront pas tenir ou résister longtemps;
    ∎ to stand out against (attack, enemy) résister à; (change, tax increase) s'opposer avec détermination à;
    ∎ to stand out for sth revendiquer qch;
    ∎ they are standing out for a pay increase ils revendiquent ou réclament une augmentation de salaire
    (watch over) surveiller;
    ∎ I can't work with someone standing over me je ne peux pas travailler quand quelqu'un regarde par-dessus mon épaule;
    ∎ she stood over him until he'd eaten every last bit elle ne l'a pas lâché avant qu'il ait mangé la dernière miette
    British (postpone) remettre (à plus tard);
    ∎ I'd prefer to stand this discussion over until we have more information je préférerais remettre cette discussion jusqu'à ce que nous disposions de plus amples renseignements
    British être remis (à plus tard);
    ∎ we have two items standing over from the last meeting il nous reste deux points à régler depuis la dernière réunion
    Military mettre en état d'alerte
    Military se mettre en état d'alerte;
    ∎ stand to! à vos postes!
    être ou rester solidaire
    (a) (set upright → chair, bottle) mettre debout;
    ∎ they stood the prisoner up against a tree ils ont adossé le prisonnier à un arbre;
    ∎ stand the ladder up against the wall mettez ou appuyez l'échelle contre le mur;
    ∎ to stand a child up (again) (re)mettre un enfant sur ses pieds
    (b) familiar (fail to meet) poser un lapin à;
    ∎ I was stood up twice in a row on m'a posé un lapin deux fois de suite
    (a) (rise to one's feet) se lever, se mettre debout;
    ∎ she stood up to offer me her seat elle se leva pour m'offrir sa place;
    ∎ stand up! levez-vous!, debout!;
    ∎ figurative to stand up and be counted avoir le courage de ses opinions
    (b) (be upright) être debout;
    ∎ I can't get the candle to stand up straight je n'arrive pas à faire tenir la bougie droite
    (c) (last) tenir, résister;
    ∎ how is that repair job standing up? est-ce que cette réparation tient toujours?
    (d) (be valid → argument, claim) être valable, tenir debout;
    ∎ his evidence won't stand up in court son témoignage ne sera pas valable en justice
    défendre;
    ∎ to stand up for oneself se défendre
    ∎ to stand up to sth résister à qch;
    ∎ to stand up to sb tenir tête à ou faire face à qn;
    ∎ he's too weak to stand up to her il est trop faible pour lui tenir tête;
    ∎ she had a hard time standing up to their criticism ça ne lui a pas été facile de faire face à leurs critiques;
    ∎ it won't stand up to that sort of treatment ça ne résistera pas à ce genre de traitement;
    ∎ her hypothesis doesn't stand up to empirical testing son hypothèse ne résiste pas à la vérification expérimentale

    Un panorama unique de l'anglais et du français > stand

  • 7 World War II

    (1939-1945)
       In the European phase of the war, neutral Portugal contributed more to the Allied victory than historians have acknowledged. Portugal experienced severe pressures to compromise her neutrality from both the Axis and Allied powers and, on several occasions, there were efforts to force Portugal to enter the war as a belligerent. Several factors lent Portugal importance as a neutral. This was especially the case during the period from the fall of France in June 1940 to the Allied invasion and reconquest of France from June to August 1944.
       In four respects, Portugal became briefly a modest strategic asset for the Allies and a war materiel supplier for both sides: the country's location in the southwesternmost corner of the largely German-occupied European continent; being a transport and communication terminus, observation post for spies, and crossroads between Europe, the Atlantic, the Americas, and Africa; Portugal's strategically located Atlantic islands, the Azores, Madeira, and Cape Verde archipelagos; and having important mines of wolfram or tungsten ore, crucial for the war industry for hardening steel.
       To maintain strict neutrality, the Estado Novo regime dominated by Antônio de Oliveira Salazar performed a delicate balancing act. Lisbon attempted to please and cater to the interests of both sets of belligerents, but only to the extent that the concessions granted would not threaten Portugal's security or its status as a neutral. On at least two occasions, Portugal's neutrality status was threatened. First, Germany briefly considered invading Portugal and Spain during 1940-41. A second occasion came in 1943 and 1944 as Great Britain, backed by the United States, pressured Portugal to grant war-related concessions that threatened Portugal's status of strict neutrality and would possibly bring Portugal into the war on the Allied side. Nazi Germany's plan ("Operation Felix") to invade the Iberian Peninsula from late 1940 into 1941 was never executed, but the Allies occupied and used several air and naval bases in Portugal's Azores Islands.
       The second major crisis for Portugal's neutrality came with increasing Allied pressures for concessions from the summer of 1943 to the summer of 1944. Led by Britain, Portugal's oldest ally, Portugal was pressured to grant access to air and naval bases in the Azores Islands. Such bases were necessary to assist the Allies in winning the Battle of the Atlantic, the naval war in which German U-boats continued to destroy Allied shipping. In October 1943, following tedious negotiations, British forces began to operate such bases and, in November 1944, American forces were allowed to enter the islands. Germany protested and made threats, but there was no German attack.
       Tensions rose again in the spring of 1944, when the Allies demanded that Lisbon cease exporting wolfram to Germany. Salazar grew agitated, considered resigning, and argued that Portugal had made a solemn promise to Germany that wolfram exports would be continued and that Portugal could not break its pledge. The Portuguese ambassador in London concluded that the shipping of wolfram to Germany was "the price of neutrality." Fearing that a still-dangerous Germany could still attack Portugal, Salazar ordered the banning of the mining, sale, and exports of wolfram not only to Germany but to the Allies as of 6 June 1944.
       Portugal did not enter the war as a belligerent, and its forces did not engage in combat, but some Portuguese experienced directly or indirectly the impact of fighting. Off Portugal or near her Atlantic islands, Portuguese naval personnel or commercial fishermen rescued at sea hundreds of victims of U-boat sinkings of Allied shipping in the Atlantic. German U-boats sank four or five Portuguese merchant vessels as well and, in 1944, a U-boat stopped, boarded, searched, and forced the evacuation of a Portuguese ocean liner, the Serpa Pinto, in mid-Atlantic. Filled with refugees, the liner was not sunk but several passengers lost their lives and the U-boat kidnapped two of the ship's passengers, Portuguese Americans of military age, and interned them in a prison camp. As for involvement in a theater of war, hundreds of inhabitants were killed and wounded in remote East Timor, a Portuguese colony near Indonesia, which was invaded, annexed, and ruled by Japanese forces between February 1942 and August 1945. In other incidents, scores of Allied military planes, out of fuel or damaged in air combat, crashed or were forced to land in neutral Portugal. Air personnel who did not survive such crashes were buried in Portuguese cemeteries or in the English Cemetery, Lisbon.
       Portugal's peripheral involvement in largely nonbelligerent aspects of the war accelerated social, economic, and political change in Portugal's urban society. It strengthened political opposition to the dictatorship among intellectual and working classes, and it obliged the regime to bolster political repression. The general economic and financial status of Portugal, too, underwent improvements since creditor Britain, in order to purchase wolfram, foods, and other materials needed during the war, became indebted to Portugal. When Britain repaid this debt after the war, Portugal was able to restore and expand its merchant fleet. Unlike most of Europe, ravaged by the worst war in human history, Portugal did not suffer heavy losses of human life, infrastructure, and property. Unlike even her neighbor Spain, badly shaken by its terrible Civil War (1936-39), Portugal's immediate postwar condition was more favorable, especially in urban areas, although deep-seated poverty remained.
       Portugal experienced other effects, especially during 1939-42, as there was an influx of about a million war refugees, an infestation of foreign spies and other secret agents from 60 secret intelligence services, and the residence of scores of international journalists who came to report the war from Lisbon. There was also the growth of war-related mining (especially wolfram and tin). Portugal's media eagerly reported the war and, by and large, despite government censorship, the Portuguese print media favored the Allied cause. Portugal's standard of living underwent some improvement, although price increases were unpopular.
       The silent invasion of several thousand foreign spies, in addition to the hiring of many Portuguese as informants and spies, had fascinating outcomes. "Spyland" Portugal, especially when Portugal was a key point for communicating with occupied Europe (1940-44), witnessed some unusual events, and spying for foreigners at least briefly became a national industry. Until mid-1944, when Allied forces invaded France, Portugal was the only secure entry point from across the Atlantic to Europe or to the British Isles, as well as the escape hatch for refugees, spies, defectors, and others fleeing occupied Europe or Vichy-controlled Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. Through Portugal by car, ship, train, or scheduled civil airliner one could travel to and from Spain or to Britain, or one could leave through Portugal, the westernmost continental country of Europe, to seek refuge across the Atlantic in the Americas.
       The wartime Portuguese scene was a colorful melange of illegal activities, including espionage, the black market, war propaganda, gambling, speculation, currency counterfeiting, diamond and wolfram smuggling, prostitution, and the drug and arms trade, and they were conducted by an unusual cast of characters. These included refugees, some of whom were spies, smugglers, diplomats, and business people, many from foreign countries seeking things they could find only in Portugal: information, affordable food, shelter, and security. German agents who contacted Allied sailors in the port of Lisbon sought to corrupt and neutralize these men and, if possible, recruit them as spies, and British intelligence countered this effort. Britain's MI-6 established a new kind of "safe house" to protect such Allied crews from German espionage and venereal disease infection, an approved and controlled house of prostitution in Lisbon's bairro alto district.
       Foreign observers and writers were impressed with the exotic, spy-ridden scene in Lisbon, as well as in Estoril on the Sun Coast (Costa do Sol), west of Lisbon harbor. What they observed appeared in noted autobiographical works and novels, some written during and some after the war. Among notable writers and journalists who visited or resided in wartime Portugal were Hungarian writer and former communist Arthur Koestler, on the run from the Nazi's Gestapo; American radio broadcaster-journalist Eric Sevareid; novelist and Hollywood script-writer Frederick Prokosch; American diplomat George Kennan; Rumanian cultural attache and later scholar of mythology Mircea Eliade; and British naval intelligence officer and novelist-to-be Ian Fleming. Other notable visiting British intelligence officers included novelist Graham Greene; secret Soviet agent in MI-6 and future defector to the Soviet Union Harold "Kim" Philby; and writer Malcolm Muggeridge. French letters were represented by French writer and airman, Antoine Saint-Exupery and French playwright, Jean Giroudoux. Finally, Aquilino Ribeiro, one of Portugal's premier contemporary novelists, wrote about wartime Portugal, including one sensational novel, Volframio, which portrayed the profound impact of the exploitation of the mineral wolfram on Portugal's poor, still backward society.
       In Estoril, Portugal, the idea for the world's most celebrated fictitious spy, James Bond, was probably first conceived by Ian Fleming. Fleming visited Portugal several times after 1939 on Naval Intelligence missions, and later he dreamed up the James Bond character and stories. Background for the early novels in the James Bond series was based in part on people and places Fleming observed in Portugal. A key location in Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale (1953) is the gambling Casino of Estoril. In addition, one aspect of the main plot, the notion that a spy could invent "secret" intelligence for personal profit, was observed as well by the British novelist and former MI-6 officer, while engaged in operations in wartime Portugal. Greene later used this information in his 1958 spy novel, Our Man in Havana, as he observed enemy agents who fabricated "secrets" for money.
       Thus, Portugal's World War II experiences introduced the country and her people to a host of new peoples, ideas, products, and influences that altered attitudes and quickened the pace of change in this quiet, largely tradition-bound, isolated country. The 1943-45 connections established during the Allied use of air and naval bases in Portugal's Azores Islands were a prelude to Portugal's postwar membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

    Historical dictionary of Portugal > World War II

  • 8 material

    mə'tiəriəl
    1. noun
    1) (anything out of which something is, or may be, made: Tables are usually made from solid material such as wood.) material
    2) (cloth: I'd like three metres of blue woollen material.) tela, tejido

    2. adjective
    1) (consisting of solid(s), liquid(s), gas(es) or any combination of these: the material world.) material
    2) (belonging to the world; not spiritual: He wanted material things like money, possessions and power.) material
    3) (essential or important: evidence that is material to his defence.) importante, esencial, fundamental
    •
    - materialize
    - materialise
    - materialization
    - materialisation
    1. tela / tejido
    what material is this dress made of? ¿de qué tejido está hecho este vestido?
    2. material / materia


    material adjetivo
    a) ‹necesidades/ayuda/valor› material;
    ◊ daños materiales damage to property, material damage
    b) ‹autor/causante› actual
    ■ sustantivo masculino 1 ( en general) material; 2 ( útiles) materials (pl); material didáctico/escolar teaching/school materials (pl)
    material
    I adj (no espiritual) material, physical
    bienes materiales, material goods
    II sustantivo masculino material
    material informático, computer materials pl ' material' also found in these entries: Spanish: absorbente - bélica - bélico - concha - corcho - de - empeñar - ser - flexible - heredar - hule - laminar - legar - legado - materia - ofimática - ordinaria - ordinario - oscurecer - oscurecerse - paño - penetrar - pintura - rígida - rigidez - rígido - ruda - rudo - sintética - sintético - sólida - solidez - sólido - tartán - tela - térmica - térmico - tolerancia - tratamiento - alambrada - algodón - apego - caída - carey - cartón - contraer - corte - cuadro - elasticidad - elástico English: ancillary - artwork - bronze - creature - effluent - equipment - flammable - flint - furnish - material - matter - perish - physical - raw material - resilience - resilient - rolling stock - stuff - supply - teaching materials - unrefined - comfort - deteriorate - earthenware - fencing - flaw - flimsy - glass - heavy - hokum - hole - impervious - inflexible - itchy - ivory - literature - making - man - oddment - of - over - padding - paper - plaid - pliable - pulp - raw - robust - rubbery - shape
    tr[mə'tɪərɪəl]
    2 (cloth) tela, tejido
    ■ how much material do you need? ¿cuánta tela necesitas?
    3 (information, ideas, etc) material nombre masculino, datos nombre masculino plural, documentación nombre femenino
    1 (physical) material
    2 (important) importante, substancial; (relevant) pertinente
    \
    SMALLIDIOMATIC EXPRESSION/SMALL
    material [mə'tɪriəl] adj
    1) physical: material, físico
    the material world: el mundo material
    material needs: necesidades materiales
    2) important: importante, esencial
    3)
    material evidence : prueba f sustancial
    1) : material m
    2) cloth: tejido m, tela f
    adj.
    • esencial adj.
    • importante adj.
    • material adj.
    n.
    • datos s.m.pl.
    • efectos s.m.pl.
    • materia s.f.
    • material s.m.
    • tejido s.m.
    • tela s.f.

    I mə'tɪriəl, mə'tɪəriəl
    1)
    a) c u ( used in manufacturing etc) material m
    b) materials pl ( equipment) material m

    teaching materials — material m didáctico

    writing materials — artículos mpl de escritorio

    2) u c ( cloth) tela f, género m, tejido m
    3) u
    a) (for book, show etc) material m
    b) (potential, quality)

    II
    1) (worldly, physical) <gain/needs> material
    2) ( Law) < evidence> sustancial
    [mǝ'tɪǝrɪǝl]
    1. ADJ
    1) (=physical) [goods, needs, comforts, benefits, damage] material
    2) (=important) [reason] importante, de peso, fundamental
    3) (Jur) (=relevant) [fact] pertinente; [witness] primordial, principal

    material evidence — pruebas fpl sustanciales

    2. N
    1) (=cloth) tela f, tejido m
    2) (=substance) materia f, material m

    natural materials — materias fpl naturales, materiales mpl naturales

    3) materials (=equipment, components) material(es) m(pl)

    building materials — material(es) m(pl) de construcción

    writing materials — artículos mpl de escritorio

    4) (=information) datos mpl, información f

    they researched a lot of background material for the book — recogieron muchos datos or mucha información antes de escribir el libro

    5) (=potential)
    * * *

    I [mə'tɪriəl, mə'tɪəriəl]
    1)
    a) c u ( used in manufacturing etc) material m
    b) materials pl ( equipment) material m

    teaching materials — material m didáctico

    writing materials — artículos mpl de escritorio

    2) u c ( cloth) tela f, género m, tejido m
    3) u
    a) (for book, show etc) material m
    b) (potential, quality)

    II
    1) (worldly, physical) <gain/needs> material
    2) ( Law) < evidence> sustancial

    English-spanish dictionary > material

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