Norway
挪威
This week we will explore the Kingdom of Norway, a nation with an extensive coastline that is famous for its beautiful fjords, or long skinny parts of the ocean that cut into the land and are surrounded by steep cliffs. Read on to find out more about the country sometimes known as "The Land of the Midnight Sun."
PHOTO: EPA
本週我們將探索挪威,她綿延海岸的狹長峽灣驚艷寰宇,深入內陸且峭壁環繞。往下讀,深入了解這時而被稱為「子夜太陽之國」的國度。
A closer look 說古論今
One of the most important parts of Norwegian history has to do with the Vikings who lived there from the eighth to 11th centuries. The Vikings united the groups of people living in Norway at the time and then expanded to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and parts of the British Isles. Following Viking rule, Norway entered into a union with neighboring countries Sweden and Denmark. Although Sweden declared its independence in 1523, Norway remained a part of Denmark until 1814. Today, Norway is a land rich in natural resources and has one of the highest standards of living in the world. Its natural resources include petroleum (gas), water power, fish, forests, and minerals. Only Russia and Saudi Arabia export more oil per year than Norway. Norway is also now ranked the number-one nation in the UN Human Development Index. The Index measures how well-developed nations in the United Nations are based on things like how long a person is expected to live, how many people can read and write, and how much money a person can be expected to make. Norway has had the number-one spot since 2001. In the most northern parts of the country, the sun shines all day and all night for part of the summer because it is so close to the Arctic Circle. Because of this phenomenon, Norway is sometimes known as "The Land of the Midnight Sun."
八世紀到十一世紀居住在挪威的維京人奏出挪威史上重要的樂章,他們一統當時境內各民族,一路攻克冰島、法羅群島、格陵蘭及部分不列顛群島。維京人統治時期過後,挪威與鄰國瑞典和丹麥組成聯合王國。瑞典在一五二三年宣布獨立,挪威卻一直到一八一四年以前都是丹麥的領土。今日的挪威是天然資源豐富的沃土,生活水平位居世界之冠,天然資源包括石油(天然氣)、水力和漁林礦業,石油年出口量只有俄羅斯和沙烏地阿拉伯超越挪威。挪威也是聯合國人類發展指標排行最高的國家,這項指標根據個人預期壽命、識字率和個人預期薪資衡量聯合國各會員國的發展程度。挪威自二○○一迄今年年蟬聯榜首。挪威北部大半領土因靠近北極圈,夏天有時會出現太陽終日高掛天空的現象,挪威因此被稱為「子夜太陽之國」。(翻譯:鄭湘儀)
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
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
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
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110