Looking out over the Andes mountains in Peru, you think you see an airplane. But is that really what it is?
In that part of the world, you might have to take out your binoculars to get a closer look. The Andes mountains are home to Andean condor, one of the largest birds in the world. Its wings are up to 310cm from tip to tip, so it is no wonder that these huge birds are sometimes mistaken for small airplanes.
Condors are covered in black feathers, with a ring of white feathers around the bottom of their necks and patches of white feathers on their wings. They only eat animals which are already dead. Larger animals, such as deer and cows, are their food of choice.
PHOTO: AP
Often times, these condors will go for days without eating, and then they will eat a lot of food all at once. Sometimes they eat so much that they cannot lift themselves off the ground to fly!(Emily Shih, Staff Writer)
在祕魯安地斯山脈登高望遠,你以為自己看到了一架飛機。不過,那真的是飛機嗎?
在世界的那一端,你可能得拿出雙筒望遠鏡來看個仔細。安地斯山脈是世界上最大型的鳥類之一「安地斯禿鷹」的家鄉。安地斯禿鷹的翼幅寬達三百一十公分,難怪這些大鳥有時會被誤認為小型飛機。
安地斯禿鷹全身覆滿黑羽毛,脖子底端有一圈白羽毛,翅膀也有幾塊白羽毛。牠們只吃死的動物。如鹿、牛等較大型的動物是牠們食物的選擇。
這些禿鷹往往會有好幾天不吃東西,再一次吃下許多食物。有時候牠們吃太多了,甚至無法飛離地面! (翻譯︰賴美君)
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
A: As well as Eid al-Fitr, Southeast Asia is celebrating the Water Festival this week. B: And this year, Thailand is expanding the celebration between April 12 and 16 for the event, officially known as the Songkran Festival, expecting to make 24.3 billion Thai baht in tourism revenue. A: Does Taiwan celebrate the Water Festival? B: Some local cities and counties do have similar activities. A: Let’s go experience the festival then. A: 除了「開齋節」外,東南亞「潑水節」本週也盛大登場! B: 泰國今年從4月12日到16日擴大「宋干節」連假,預估觀光收入可高達243億泰銖。 A: 台灣會慶祝「潑水節」嗎? B: 有些縣市會舉辦類似活動。 A: 那我們也去體驗一下吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)