A: Instead of calling pest control, I’m going to search online and see if there are any DIY solutions for dealing with cockroaches. B: Well, you can give it a try, but... A: Bingo! This Web site suggests dissolving soap flakes into hot water, and then spraying the soapy solution onto the cockroach’s body. B: Hmm, I’m not convinced. A: 與其打電話請除蟲專家，我要上網搜尋看看有沒有什麼自己解決蟑螂的方法。 B: 好哦，你可以試試看，但是‧‧‧‧‧‧。 A: 賓果！這個網站建議把肥皂屑放進熱水中溶解，然後把這個肥皂溶液噴灑在蟑螂身體上。 B: 嗯，我不相信這會有效。 English 英文: Chinese 中文:
In 1790, following the American war of independence, Alexander Hamilton proposed that federal government should take on the huge debts incurred during the struggle by individual states. It had long been Hamilton’s view that this move would be a key moment in the forging of a true United States of America. “A national debt,” he had written, “if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing. It will be a powerful cement of our union.” Until now, this kind of thinking has never gained a foothold in the European Union. Despite periodic calls for deeper fiscal union, richer EU states have balked at the notion of pooling debt with weaker neighbors. After the crash of 2008, when Greece hovered on the edge of bankruptcy and a sovereign debt crisis threatened to engulf Italy, the EU went no further than the provision of emergency loans and cheap credit. The bailout money came with painful strings attached, as countries were obliged to launch deeply resented austerity programs in order to manage their growing debt mountain. The alternative — writing off debts in Hamiltonian fashion — was dismissed out of hand by Germany’s finance minister at the time, Wolfgang Schauble. That was then. On May 18, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron presented plans for a 500 billion-euro (approximately US$556 billion) EU recovery fund, which would distribute non-refundable grants (rather than loans) to the countries that have suffered most during the coronavirus pandemic. Crucially, the money would be borrowed by the European Commission (EC) on behalf of all member states, and sit within the EU budget to be agreed for 2021-27. This paved the way for EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who on May 27 unveiled a 750 billion-euro fund, dubbed Next Generation EU, which will be
A : That’s the fifth cockroach in two days. B : I don’t mind small ones, but the big ones are really scary. A : Yep. The way they scuttle across the floor so fast really unnerves me, and their long feelers are so creepy. B : Maybe we should call a pest control expert to deal with them? A : 那是這兩天來的第五隻蟑螂了。 B : 我不是很在意小隻的，但是大蟑螂真的很可怕。 A : 對啊。它們快速衝過地板的樣子真的很讓我不安，它們長長的觸鬚也讓人心裡發毛。 B : 也許我們應該打電話給除蟲專家，請他們來解決？ English 英文: Chinese 中文:
With the recent heavy rainfall and humidity, wild mushrooms have been shooting up in mountain forests and grasslands. In Nantou County’s Puli Township a man picked some unfamiliar fungi growing in the National Chung Hsing University experimental forest area along Nanan Road and took them home to cook. The result was that the whole family of five had to rush to hospital. For the sake of filling their bellies they almost lost their lives. It was truly a case of biting off more than they could chew. You hear many stories of people eating unfamiliar mushrooms and giving themselves food poisoning, and yet people still do it, especially when the plum rains season arrives and the weather gets hot and humid, providing the perfect conditions for fungi growth. This is when the Puli Christian Hospital received a case of a family of five mistakenly eating poisonous mushrooms and rushing to seek emergency treatment. According to the hospital, a 47-year-old man was walking around the National Chung Hsing University experimental forest area along Nanan Road on the evening of May 21 and discovered a cluster of white mushrooms on slender stalks sprouting among the grass. He picked some of them and took them home, where he cooked up a pot of wild mushroom soup, which he shared with his wife, mother and two children. That night, one after the other, the five of them developed a stomachache, nausea, vomiting and numbness, and wondered whether it was the mushrooms. They quickly packed up the leftover mushrooms and rushed off to the emergency room. After the five of them were treated with anti-toxins the symptoms gradually abated, and they were then admitted to the hospital and kept in for observation and treatment. As to the identification of the wild mushrooms that caused the food
A: Argh! B: What is it? A: Cockroach! Over there by the bookshelf. It’s huge! B: Oh no, not another one. I’m beginning to think there’s a cockroach nest inside our apartment. Don’t worry, I’ll deal with it. A: 啊！ B: 怎麼了？ A: 有蟑螂！在書櫃那邊。超大隻！ B: 哦不，不要再來了。我開始覺得我們公寓裡有蟑螂窩了。別擔心，我會處理的。 English 英文: Chinese 中文:
The sudden sharp fall in greenhouse gas emissions recorded in the early part of this year may seem like an environmental blessing, a breathing space as the world fights climate breakdown. Skies clear of aircrafts and streets free of cars have encouraged the return of nature and brought visions of a cleaner world. Carbon dioxide emissions had fallen by 17 percent on average by early April, according to a definitive study published in Nature Climate Change on May 19, as a result of the lockdown measures put in place around the world to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, the unprecedented decline is “nothing to celebrate,” according to leading experts. It will be temporary and will make little difference to the world’s ability to meet the goals of the Paris agreement and stave off catastrophic levels of global heating. The causes of the steep fall, the economic convulsions and the possibility of lasting economic damage also mean urgent work must be done to repair the economy. “This decline in emissions, the biggest in history, is the result of economic trauma,” said Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, whose own analysis backs up the Nature paper in showing that this is the biggest drop in carbon in history. “It is nothing to celebrate. It is not the result of policy. This decline will be easily erased if the right policy measures are not put in place.” Dave Reay, a professor of carbon management at Edinburgh University, called the paper “sobering stuff” as it revealed that the massive changes made to cope with the pandemic would have only a minor effect on emissions, and the climate. “All those billions of lockdown sacrifices and privations have made just a small and likely transient dent in global greenhouse gas emissions. COVID-19 is no help
A: That’s true! For the livestreams by the bands I like, the picture and sound quality was rubbish. B: Also, while livestreaming a gig or concert will create some buzz, I doubt they’ll attract new fans this way. A: Exactly. It seems the pandemic will be a turning point for the performing arts industry. Gigs and concerts will probably never be the same again. A: 是啊！畢竟，我的愛團舉辦的那場串流演唱會，網路直播的畫質跟音質其實沒那麼好。 B : 而且，我覺得舉辦線上直播演唱會或演奏會，固然可以製造話題，但是能不能吸收新的樂迷又是另一回事。 A : 確實如此。看起來，這場疫情會是表演藝術領域的一個轉捩點。演奏會或演唱會可能不會再跟以前一樣了。 English 英文: Chinese 中文:
A : However, for someone like me who rarely listens to classical music, it’s difficult to imagine a classical musician livestreaming a recital. B : So you don’t think a livestream creates an enchanting, intimate feeling? A : I’m sure it does, but at the same time, won’t much of the subtlety of the performance be lost? B : I think rock groups actually suffer from the same problem. A : 不過，對於我這種很少聽古典音樂的人，很難想像音樂家自己辦線上獨奏會會是什麼樣子。 B : 你不覺得這樣很迷人嗎？會有一種更親密的感覺。 A : 話是沒錯。可是在此同時，許多音樂上的細節卻被犧牲掉了。 B : 我想搖滾樂團應該也有類似的顧慮吧。 English 英文: Chinese 中文:
Fans around the world are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Madonna’s megahit Vogue, which became her eighth Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 on May 19, 1990, topping the chart for three weeks. With some influences of disco music, the upbeat house song set trends in dance music, and was seen as a career-defining smash that transformed her into the Queen of Pop. Vogue is from Madonna’s 1990 soundtrack for the film Dick Tracy. Inspired by the dramatic dance style of “voguing” in Harlem as a way of self-expression, she performed with voguing choreographers in her classic black-and-white MV directed by David Fincher. As Billboard commented, “While Madonna hardly invented the iconic moves, her global reach propelled ‘voguing’ into the mainstream.” Madonna also saluted 16 golden-era Hollywood superstars in a rap section, such as James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. With the passing of actress Lauren Bacall in 2014, all the Vogue icons in the song have died, but their legacies will live on through the music. (Eddy Chang, Taipei Times) 全球樂迷近日歡慶瑪丹娜金曲《風尚》三十週年。該曲在一九九○年五月十九日，成為她的第八首告示牌百大熱門單曲榜冠軍。受到迪斯可曲風影響，這首輕快的浩室舞曲開創舞曲新風潮，被視為將瑪丹娜推上事業高峰、奠定其流行樂女王地位的神曲！ 《風尚》出自於瑪丹娜一九九○年的《迪克崔西》電影原聲帶，她受到源自於哈林區一種叫「voguing」的舞蹈所啟發，也就是用誇張的舞蹈風格來表達自我，並邀請「voguing」編舞家們和她拍攝由大衛芬奇執導、以黑白呈現的經典音樂錄影帶。告示牌則評論︰「瑪丹娜雖未發明這種招牌舞步，她的全球觸及率卻將『voguing』推向主流市場。」 在一段饒舌中，娜姐還特別向好萊塢黃金年代的十六位巨星致敬，其中包括詹姆士狄恩、瑪麗蓮夢露……等。女星洛琳白考兒於二○一四年過世後，雖然這些《風尚》人物全都不在了，他們遺留的傳奇將隨著音樂流傳下去。 (台北時報張聖恩)
A: Perhaps due to difficulty re-creating the feeling of a live gig, bands aren’t putting on much during the pandemic. B: The classical musicians I follow are studying during isolation, to perform new works. A: Some rock bands I like are also using this time to write new material. B: Makes sense: with so many listening on streaming platforms, making full use of the Internet is a great idea. A: 或許是因為現場的感動無法取代，很多樂團在疫情期間幾乎沒有活動。 B : 我追蹤的古典音樂演奏家，好像都在閉關研究、準備新的演出曲目。 A : 我喜歡的幾個搖滾樂團，也都在這段期間趁機閉關寫新歌。 B : 我同意你之前說的︰那麼多人每天都在看串流平台上的影片，也許善用網路會是一個好方法。 English 英文: Chinese 中文:
The Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root meaning “man” is ner-. It survives in male names such as Andrew and Alexander, and is the root of the word that gives us “android,” first used in English in 1837 and meaning an automaton resembling a human being in form and movement. Android derives from the Greek andro- (man) and -eides (form, shape). The ancient PIE root ner- also gave us the Greek anthropos, meaning “man, human being” (including women) — as opposed to the gods — and the English prefix anthropo- (“pertaining to man or human beings”). From here we have anthropocentric (placing humanity at the center of things); anthropology (the study of humans and human culture); and philanthropy (literally, the “love of mankind,” and by extension the giving of money to benefit people, from the Greek philanthropia (“humanity, benevolence and love to mankind”). The opposite of philanthropia is the Greek misanthropos (using misein, “to hate”), which gives us the English “misanthropy” (the hate of mankind) and “misanthrope” (a person that dislikes mankind and avoids people). (Paul Cooper, Taipei Times) 原始印歐語字根「ner」，是「男人」的意思，在現今的男子名「Andrew」（安德魯）和「Alexander」（亞歷山大）中還可見到。這個字根也衍生出「android」（機器人；安卓）一詞，該詞最早使用在英文中是在一八三七年，意為形狀和動作都像人的自動機械裝置。「android」是由希臘文的字首「andro」（人），以及字尾「eides」（形式、形狀）所構成。 「ner」這古老的原始印歐語系字根，也衍生出希臘文「anthropos」，意為「男人、人類（包括女人）」──這是與眾神相對而言的，以及英文的前綴「anthropro」（「與男人或人類相關的」）。由此前綴，而有「anthropocentric」（以人類為宇宙中心的）、「anthropology」（人類學，即對人類與人類文化之研究），以及「philanthropy」（慈善事業，其字面意義為「對人類的愛」，並引伸為捐贈金錢以使人們受益。該字源於希臘文「philanthropia」（「對人類的人道、仁慈和愛」））等英文字。「philanthropia」的反義詞是「misanthropos」（該字中的「misein」，意為「恨」），由此衍生出英文的「misanthropy」（不願與人來往、憤世嫉俗），以及「misanthrope」（憤世者、不喜人類且不願與人來往的人）。 （台北時報林俐凱譯） Did you know? 你知道嗎? Indo-European languages constitute a large language family incorporating most European languages, the Germanic (including English), Romance and Balto-Slavic group languages among them, as well as languages in the northern Indian Subcontinent and the Iranian Plateau. All in all, 46 percent of the global population speaks an Indo-European language as a first language. Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the linguistic reconstruction of the Indo-European languages’ ancient common ancestor. There is no written record of PIE. 印歐語系是個龐大的語族，涵括了大多數歐洲語種──例如日耳曼語（包括英語）、羅曼語和波羅的-斯拉夫語族，也包括北印度次大陸及伊朗高原的語言。總體而言，全球人口有百分之四十六是以印歐語系之語言為母語。 原始印歐語系（PIE）是推理重建出來的印歐語系共同祖先。原始印歐語系並未有書寫下來之記錄。
A : Actually, bands can still earn from livestreaming performances. As I was watching, I could see people making donations the whole time, big and small. B : Cool, but this isn’t a sustainable funding model, for the band or its fans. A : True, but many musicians and performers have been left without gigs during the pandemic, and nothing has been done to help them. That’s too bad. A : 其實，線上演唱會還是有一些收入的，我看演出時就看到螢幕旁邊不斷跳出網友捐獻，大筆的或小筆的金額都有，而且從來沒有停過。 B : 聽起來好酷——不過，我想這對於樂團或觀眾而言，不一定是長久之計。 A : 沒錯，但是很多音樂家或演奏者因為疫情失去演出機會，卻沒有任何應對措施，我覺得很可惜。 English 英文: Chinese 中文:
Most people believe that paragliding is a sport for young people only. That’s as may be, but 106-year-old Yu Te-hsin from Taichung has always wanted to experience the feeling of soaring through the sky. On May 14, Yu’s family took him to Tiger Head Mountain in Nantou County’s Puli Township for the ride of his life. After receiving professional instruction, he completed a successful takeoff and landing and broke the record in Taiwan for the oldest person to attempt the feat. A retired teacher, Yu takes his health and fitness seriously and, despite his advancing years, remains in rude health. He still loves to try new things, and told his family he would like to have a go at paragliding. They were gobsmacked at the time, and tried to persuade him to drop the idea, but he had no intention of doing so. His granddaughters arranged everything and took him to a paragliding school at Puli’s Tiger Head Mountain so their grandfather could fulfill his dream. Yu strapped on safety equipment and, with everyone running alongside, caught the wind and soared into the air with his instructor. Using the air currents, the two spiraled through the sky while Yu filmed it all, using a selfie stick. While filming some golden memories, he had plenty of time to take in the scenery before the two safely landed to a round of hearty applause from everyone on the ground. After landing, an ecstatic Yu said although it was a dream of his to go paragliding, on arrival he didn’t in the least bit apprehensive and just focused on the flying. He added that the birds-eye view was spectacular and the experience had left him with wonderful memories that he will cherish for ever. Yu’s instructor says when Yu’s granddaughters first got in touch and enquired whether
A: Bands haven’t been making money from album sales for ages: Royalties from modern alternatives like streaming apps aren’t enough to earn an income. B: You mean, their main source of income is through live performances? A: Yep. In addition to ticket sales, they also make money selling merchandise. B: I’m more into classical music; I think main income for that comes from ticket sales, too. A: 現在的樂團已經很久不靠賣專輯，或是更現代的方法──例如從串流平台獲得權利金來賺錢。 B: 你的意思是，辦演唱會才是他們主要的收入來源嗎？ A: 是啊，演唱會除了票房收入，還有一卡車的週邊商品可以賣。 B: 我比較喜歡聽古典音樂，但是以票房作為主要收入來源應該是類似的。 English 英文: Chinese 中文:
A group of high school students sued the College Entrance Examination Board, claiming its advanced placement tests are unfair to teens trapped at home by the coronavirus pandemic without adequate computers or Internet connections. The board, which offers college-level curriculum for courses and exams to high school students, and Educational Testing Services (ETS), which administers the advanced placement exams, discriminated against students without sufficient resources, those in remote locations and the disabled, according to a proposed class-action complaint filed last Tuesday in a Los Angeles federal court. “It is unrealistic to think that all students have quiet, private spaces at home in which to test,” the students said. “Lower-income students are much more likely to face cramped housing, siblings and parents sharing the same workspace, Internet connectivity problems, noisy environments and less comfortable testing spaces.” The students were joined in the complaint by FairTest, an advocacy group that has been pushing colleges to drop the SAT and ACT as an admissions requirement because the standardized tests are allegedly biased against poor and minority students. Like most of higher education, standardized college exams have been upended during the pandemic. In-person SAT exams have been canceled and a number of selective schools have made the exams test optional, at least temporarily. Students take the AP exams often with the hopes of earning college credit. As many as 20 percent of students were unable to submit their responses through the testing platform in the first three days of the exam, according to the lawsuit. Others couldn’t finish their exams or log into the platform at all, although they practiced beforehand, according to the complaint. The College Board said it would contest the lawsuit and expects to prevail. ETS referred a request for comment to the College Board. Peter Schwartz, general counsel for the College Board, said that almost three million
A: One of the bands that I liked canceled their tour, but they decided to livestream a gig without an actual audience. B: An online gig sounds cool, but without a live audience wouldn’t it be a bit flat? A: I was also skeptical at first, but as soon as the gig started I was totally into it. B: Won’t the bands lose money hand over fist? A: 雖然我喜歡的樂團取消巡演，但是他們後來決定在原場地網路直播無觀眾演唱會。 B: 線上演唱會聽起來很酷，但是仔細一想沒觀眾好像有點冷清？ A: 我本來也不抱期待，沒想到演唱會一開始我就立刻沉浸在其中。 B: 不過樂團辦這樣的活動是不是會虧錢啊？ English 英文: Chinese 中文:
The Dunhua Eslite branch is to shut up shop at the end of this month. During a news conference held on the afternoon of April 23, Mercy Wu, chairwoman of Eslite Spectrum Corp, spoke candidly about the bookstore founded by her father Robert Wu, and about how it stirred up emotions inside her still. She also spoke of her decision, made in this very store, not to study overseas, and instead to stay in Taiwan to run the store with her father. When speaking about the special place the bookstore had in her heart, she compared it to the rose in the Little Prince. On the difficulties of running a bookstore, in addition to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Wu acknowledged that many bookstores had been hit with a 40 percent drop in business, but that this had not dented her resolve to keep a store open 24 hours. For Wu, 24-hour opening was a promise that the bookstore had made to the area, and the Xinyi branch would remain open for 24 hours, even if it was not actually making money. She added that this would not change, whatever happens. Also, Wu said that the Dunhua S. Rd bookstore, apart from being the store her father had run, was also the store that she found, when she was a girl, that teachers would go to buy books, and she remembered this filling her with pride. She also remembered being more than a little shocked when she later discovered that she still had to pay for the books she wanted to buy, even if her own father owned the store. She also said that, after she graduated, she had originally planned to study overseas, and that her father had agreed, even encouraging her to travel around after she had completed
A: With the COVID-19 pandemic starting to ease off, the government seems to be slowly lifting restrictions on public gatherings. B: Weren’t you always going to gigs? How have you coped? A: Some bands I like had to cancel their tours. At first I was devastated, but then I realized it was the safe thing to do. B: Have any of the bands come up with any ideas to get around the restrictions? A: 武漢肺炎疫情開始減緩了，政府似乎慢慢在解禁各種群聚活動。 B : 你以前不是很常去聽演唱會，這段時間你是怎麼熬過來的啊？ A : 有一些我喜歡的樂團取消預計舉行的巡迴演出，我當時有點失落，不過後來也覺得這樣比較安全。 B : 那他們有想出什麼因應疫情的措施嗎？ English 英文: Chinese 中文:
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