There's a whole, wide world out there! All around the world, people just like you are living interesting lives in places you have never heard of. Take a minute to get to know Cyprus, and find out what makes the cypriot people tick.
世界之大,無奇不有!同為地球村民,有些人住在你從未聽過的地方過著有趣的生活。花一點時間來了解塞浦路斯這個國家,看看塞浦路斯人的生活重心為何。
A closer look 說古論今
PHOTO: AP
Cyprus, like Taiwan, is a small island nation. And like Taiwan, it has a politically complex past and present. For thousands of years, the island of Cyprus has been controlled by the governments of different countries, including Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome and England. The country that has had the strongest influence on Cyprus is Greece. Large numbers of Greeks came to Cyprus beginning in 1200BC, so for thousands of years, the culture, language and traditions of Cyprus have been mostly Greek.
Because Cyrpus is located right between Europe, the Middle East and Africa, it has many cultural influences. This also makes it a very convenient place for countries to put their military, so countries have been fighting over Cyprus for centuries. Even now, the British government still uses Cyrpus for its military.
Cyprus also has Turkish cultural influences. About 18 percent of the population is Turkish. When Cyprus became an independant country in 1960, the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots shared control of the government. But since many Greek Cypriots wanted Cyprus to become a part of Greece, the Turkish Cypriots broke away from the Greek Cypriots and created their own illegal government in the north of the island. This was a violent and hostile time in the history of Cyprus, and although the two parts of the island are still not friendly, many people hope that they will be able to work together in the future.
塞浦路斯就像台灣一樣,是個小島國,而且和台灣同樣有複雜的政治現況和歷史。幾千年來,塞浦路斯被埃及、波斯、希臘、羅馬和英國等不同政權所掌控,但希臘對塞浦路斯的影響最為深遠。西元前一千兩百年,希臘人開始大舉進入塞浦路斯,幾千年下來,塞浦路斯的文化、語言及傳統,都與希臘息息相關。位於歐洲、中東和非洲交界處的塞浦路斯,亦受到許多不同文化的影響。其方便的戰略位置,更使它成為幾世紀來各國兵家必爭之地。時至今日,英國政府仍以塞浦路斯做為軍事據點。
塞浦路斯也受到土耳其文化的影響,人口有百分之十八是土耳其人。塞浦路斯在一九六○年成為獨立國家時,土裔塞浦路斯人和希裔塞浦路斯人共理朝政,但由於許多希裔塞浦路斯人希望塞浦路斯成為希臘的一部份,土裔塞浦路斯人便與希裔塞浦路斯人絕裂,在北方成立另一政權,造成塞浦路斯動盪衝突,雖然現在島上兩方仍不友好,許多人仍希望他們在未來能攜手合作。
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
There are several methods to prevent or slow down enzymatic browning in fruit. __3__ This lowers the pH level of the fruit tissue, causing the PPO to be far less active. Another method is to store the fruit in an airtight container or to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Doing this will reduce its exposure to oxygen. __4__ Although fruit that has undergone enzymatic browning may look less appealing, it is still safe to eat. However, by using one of these simple methods, you can enjoy fresh-looking fruit for a longer period. 有一些方法能避免或減緩水果的酶促褐變。其中一個有效的方式就是在切片水果的表面塗上酸性物質,像是檸檬汁或醋。這樣做能降低水果組織的酸鹼值,讓 PPO 更不為活躍。另一個方式是將水果存放在密封的容器內,或用保鮮膜將其緊緊包住。這樣做會減少水果與氧氣的接觸。快速蒸一下切片水果或將其短暫浸泡在滾水中也能使PPO失去活性,並終止 PPO 與空氣的作用。 雖然經歷酶促褐變的水果可能看起來較不吸引人,但仍然可以安全食用。然而,藉由採用這些簡單方法中的其中一個,你就能在更長的一段時間享用看起來新鮮的水果。 What Did You