Ecuador lies in South America on the equator, and in fact it gets its name from the Spanish word for “equator.” However, Ecuador straddles more than just two hemispheres. Take a look below to see how it also straddles different cultures, geographies and traditions.
厄瓜多坐落於南美洲赤道上，其國名事實上源自於西班牙文的「赤道」一字。然而，厄瓜多不只跨越了南北兩半球。讓我們來一窺厄瓜多是如何也跨越了不同文化、地理與傳統習俗。
A closer look 說古論今
PHOTO: AP
Ecuador was controlled by Spain for much of its history. As a result, its culture today is heavily influenced by Spanish traditions. Even though much of its native population died during Spanish rule, many native peoples survive today and play a part in Ecuador's politics and culture. Ecuadorian society has also been influenced by slaves brought from Africa and their descendants.
Ecuador is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world. Over 38 percent of the country is covered in forests, which are home to a wide variety of animals. While in Ecuador, you can see the snowy peaks of the Andys, the Amazon rain forests and the famous Galapagos Islands.
Each part of Ecuador has its own kind of food. As a result, there isn't a main Ecuadorian cuisine. However, Ecuador has made contributions to the culinary world. Many people in the mountains enjoy eating roasted guinea pig, and the word “jerky” in “beef jerky” comes from one of Ecuador's native languages.
Many of the walls in Ecuador's capital, Quito, are covered in graffiti. However, many people don't think of the graffiti as vandalism. Instead, they think of it as an art, and a part of Quito's urban culture. Much of the graffiti is poetry or political criticism. In fact, some politicians quote the graffiti that they see on the walls in their speeches.
歷史上厄瓜多曾受西班牙長期統治，所以其今日的文化深受西班牙傳統文化的影響。雖然當地許多原住民死於西班牙統治時期，現今仍有許多原住民存活，在厄瓜多政治與文化上扮演要角。厄瓜多社會也受到來自非洲的黑奴及其後裔的影響。
厄瓜多是世界上生物多樣性最多的國家之一。國土面積有38%以上是森林，裡頭居住的動物種類繁多。在厄瓜多可以看到覆雪的安地斯山頂、亞馬遜雨林與知名的加拉帕戈斯群島。
厄瓜多每一個地區都有自己獨特的飲食，所以無法定義主要的厄瓜多料理。不過，厄瓜多對料理界貢獻良多。山區民眾大多喜歡烤食天竺鼠，beef jerky（牛肉乾）一詞的「jerkey」這個字就是來自厄瓜多的原住民語之一。
厄瓜多首都基多的街頭許多牆都畫滿了塗鴉。不過，許多民眾可不認為塗鴉破壞市容。相反的，民眾認為這是一種藝術，是基多都會文化的一部分。這些塗鴉多半是詩或政治評論。事實上，有些政治人物還會在演講中引述所看到的街頭塗鴉。（翻譯：賴美君）
Who knew? 你知道嗎?
Abdala Bucaram was elected Ecuador's president in 1996, but only was in power for about six months. He did some really strange things while in office, and was forced to step down for being “mentally incapacitated.” He nicknamed himself “El loco,” which means “the crazy man” in Spanish, and he lived up to his title. Soon after becoming president, he recorded a CD called The Madman Who Loves and performed concerts with popular Ecuadorian bands to promote the CD. He also shaved his moustache on TV, called a former Ecuadorian president a donkey, and then apologized for insulting donkeys. He was also known to have wild parties at his presidential residence. His son once organized a party at the residence to celebrate making a lot of money through corruption.
阿布達拉．布卡蘭一九九六年被選為厄瓜多總統，不過只掌權六個月左右。他在總統府有不少怪異行徑，因「心神喪失」被迫下臺。他為自己取了「El loco」的綽號，也就是西班牙文「狂人」之意，實至名歸。布卡蘭獲選為總統不久後，灌錄一張名為《愛的狂人》的專輯，並與厄瓜多熱門樂團一起舉辦了幾場演唱會來促銷這張專輯。他還在電視上刮鬍子，稱厄瓜多某位前總統為驢子，再道歉說自己侮辱了驢子。他也因為在總統官邸舉辦瘋狂派對而聞名。布卡蘭的兒子甚至還在總統官邸舉行慶祝貪污致富的派對。
Size: 283,560km2
Location: South America
Border countries: Colombia, Peru
Capital: Quito
Population: 13,547,510
Languages: Spanish, Quechua
Government: Republic
Currency: Since the year 2000, Ecuador has used the US dollar. US$1 equals NT$32.37
面積：二十八萬三千五百六十平方公里
位置：南美洲
鄰國：哥倫比亞、祕魯
首都：基多
人口：一千三百五十四萬七千五百一十人
語言：西班牙文、格楚哇語
政府：共和政體
貨幣：自二○○○年起，厄瓜多採用美元。一美元約等於新台幣三十二點三七元
疫情之下國旅興盛，近幾年露營（camping）更是成為不少人休閒娛樂的首選。而露營的設備、器具和方式也越來越多元，不同形式都有各自的擁護者。本次就讓我們來學習露營度假相關的英文吧！ Go camping camp (n)「營」可用在許多地方，例如summer camp「夏令營」、boot camp「戰鬥營」、甚至concentration camp「集中營」也是用這個字；而Camp David「大衛營」則是美國總統度假的地方。此外，camp也可當動詞「紮營」，camping當名詞是「露營」，紮營的地點「營地」則是campsite。 Fans of the world-renowned rock band, Crazy Noise, camped out the night before the band’s first concert in Europe. （世界知名搖滾樂團Crazy Noise的歌迷，在樂團首場歐洲演唱會的前一晚，就在外紮營徹夜等待。） Rebecca and I met at a summer camp in Florida when we were 12 years old. （十二歲那年，我和瑞貝卡在佛羅里達州的夏令營首次相遇。） 露營重要須知 若想在國家公園內露營，需要事先登記或申請許可證（permit），也因為在野外過夜，要準備充足的裝備與食物，重要配備像是帳篷、手電筒、睡袋…等，或者有些營地也有提供camping gear「露營裝備」的租借服務，gear是「設備」的意思，與equipment同義；此外，腳踏車或汽車的變速段數也可用gear來形容。 The demonstration video on the company’s Web site shows customers how to use bicycle gears properly. （公司網頁的示範影片展示如何正確使用腳踏車的變速設備。） Smith & Smith Outdoors offers a collection of rental camping gear such as tents, trekking poles, sleeping bags and so on. （史密斯戶外用品店提供一系列的露營用具租借，例如帳篷、登山杖、睡袋…等。） 手電筒的美式英文是flashlight，這個字同時也可解釋為「（手機或相機中的）閃光燈」。要注意「手電筒」在英式英文裡是torch (n)，在美式英文中torch則是「火把」的意思，因此奧運開幕式的火炬就稱為Olympic Torch。 It’s important to include a battery-powered flashlight, bottled water, and non-perishable food in the emergency survival kit. （在緊急救難袋中放置一個電池供電的手電筒，瓶裝水和不容易腐壞的食物是很重要的。） 搭帳篷（pitch a tent）也是露營的重要過程，pitch可當動詞或名詞，而且有多重字義，pitch在這裡是「搭」，也就是put up的意思。此外pitch也可解釋為「投擲」，如投手就是pitcher，而在多益測驗中，pitch常用作名詞使用，例如sales pitch「銷售宣傳、口號」。 You need
Arriving on Aug. 2, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi shone out from the darkness in a pink pantsuit. Pelosi is famous for bringing her fashion A-game in punchy blazers and suits. Having a penchant for pops of color, the speaker often takes things a step further by coordinating her outfits from head to toe. Here are a few tips for building a chic wardrobe like Pelosi: Matching shoes to your outfit: Pelosi’s outfit tells us there are three guidelines for choosing the right shoes. You can either match your shoe color with your outfit, your tops underneath or simply
Tigers are the largest cats in existence. Below you’ll learn some lesser-known facts about these awe-inspiring creatures. 1. Tigers have an excellent memory. Did you know that tigers have one of the best memories of any animal? In fact, their short-term memory is even better than that of humans. Studies show that tigers can remember information for 30 seconds longer than we can. 2. A group of tigers is called an ambush or a streak. You can remember these terms if you keep in mind that tigers attack their prey by ambushing them, and that they have streaks of black on their orange fur.
A: Hey, you’re watching “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” Me too! B: Of course, it’s the biggest K-drama of the year and a global phenomenon. A: The lead actress Park Eun-bin plays a lawyer with autism. She plays the part so well that many viewers mistakenly believed the actress really is autistic. B: Then there’s lead actor Kang Tae-oh who plays the attorney’s handsome assistant. He’s totally my type! A: 原來你也在看《非常律師禹英禑》，我也是。 B: 當然啦，這可是今年全球最紅的韓劇呢。 A: 女主角朴恩斌飾演自閉症律師，演技好到讓觀眾以為她真的有自閉症。 B: 飾演她同事的男主角姜泰伍也好帥唷，完全是我的菜！ （Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
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