Is there some milk in the glass?; "Is there a ..." "No, there are ...."?

http://www.englishforums.com/English/ProblemArentAny/zqmnr/post.htm

-> CalifJim

Is there a coffee mug on the table? -> Yes (No?)
http://www.englishforums.com/English/IsThereAAny/zzhjb/post.htm
-> Grammar Geek

使用No的例子(Note: not a lot; almost rare)(context matters)
books.google.com : "Is there a * no, there are"
Why Humanae vitae was right: a reader - Page 401
   
Janet E. Smith - 1993 - 591 pages
Is there a population problem? No, there are population problems. In some areas of the world, the fertility rate is too high to be sustained without great misery; in China, the inhuman effort to animal-farm the population is inflicting ...
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Once upon a distant war
   
William W. Prochnau - 1995 - 546 pages
Roger Hilsman had looked at the overall plans at the beginning of 1963 and concluded in a memo for the White House: "Is there a plan? The answer is no. There are five or six plans, most of them competing. There is, consequently, great ...
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(Note: only a snippet view; can't see the whole context)
Playgoer monthly: Issues 479-499
   
1949
What else it does, apart from adding a charming and riotously amusing item to the repertoire, is hard IS there a playwright's problem ? No, there are several. Playwriting is sometimes a creative activity ; sometimes a business pursuit ...
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(close)
The Guide to English Language Teaching Yearbook 2005
   
Simon Collin - 2005 - 333 pages
Is there a standard TEFL qualification? No. There are many routes to qualification as a TEFL teacher ranging from intensive four-week Certificate courses to two-year Master's Degrees. In the USA and some of the Far East, ...
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AND 對照: http://dunchee.blogspot.com/2009/11/any-apple-hyphens.html

單身證明

剛剛無意間在美國在台協會(AIT)的網站上瞄到"單身證明":
www.ait.org.tw/zhtw/u-s-citizen-services-zh/notaries-public-zh/
最底下:
(以前的舊圖。現在的網站內容有變)
當年要是我哥知道有這東西就可以少很多麻煩(他碰到的: 插曲)。也因為他的這段經驗,當換到我去移民局時我預先準備一份單身證明。其實我的文件裡頭沒有提到需要這個文件,但是我仍是準備好以防萬一(我的綠卡面試)。我面試的時候我有特地提我準備好的單身證明文件,那位移民官也只是看了一眼就繼續處理接下來的步驟。



"Notary public / notary"(是指"人")和"notarize"(動詞) :
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/notary%20public
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/notarize

一般我們提到"公證",第一個想到的大概是要到法院去公證蓋章。當年我爸媽(人在美國)在辦綠卡的時候需要提供"結婚證明"(有先去找翻譯社翻成英文)第一個想到的也是到駐波士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處蓋章公證,結果被退件。後來他們的一位朋友說乾脆他自己來翻,然後找notary蓋個鋼印,過了(這理由說穿了也沒什麼,因為那是美國人熟知的"有公證力"的東西)。後來我自己的出生證明(台灣的戶籍謄本)和單身證明我都是自己翻譯,然後找notary公證。


DIY Book Scanner

I came across this website: http://www.diybookscanner.org/

I must say I had no idea books could be scanned this way. Yes, I used my digital camera to take a picture of a document or a page of a book before, but never could I imagine the whole set-up, let alone two cameras. (The funny thing was when I first saw the pictures on the web page, first question came to my mind was "Where did the flat-bed scanner fit in?")

I don't think I'll go this far, but who knows?