A British charity has sold a complete set of Harry Potter books autographed by their author, J.K. Rowling, on eBay for £18,200 (NT$1.2 million).
Bidding for the seven books on the online auction site closed at midnight on Sep. 29 after a starting offer of £100 (NT$6,650). The books were sold to raise money for a charity called Books Abroad.
Rowling's mother-in-law, Barbara Murray, works for the Scottish charity. Books Abroad supplies books to schools worldwide.
Photo: AP
The set received 63 bids. The charity did not say who had bought the books.
Rowling agreed to donate the books as part of the charity's 25th anniversary celebrations. The books were stored in a local police station while the auction was running.
The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in 1997. The final and seventh novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, came out in English on July 21.(Staff writer, with afp)
一家英國慈善團體在eBay拍賣網上,以一萬八千兩百英鎊的價格(約合新台幣一百二十萬元),賣出J.K.羅琳親筆簽名的全套《哈利波特》小說。
全套七本書以一百英鎊的價格在拍賣網站上起標,於上個月二十九日午夜十二點結標。這套書是為了替一個叫「Books Abroad」的慈善團體募款而拍賣。
羅琳的婆婆芭芭拉:莫瑞為蘇格蘭這家慈善機構工作。「Books Abroad」專門提供書籍給世界各地的學校。
整套書獲得了六十三次出標,但該慈善團體未透露得標者身分。
羅琳同意捐出這套小說,來慶祝該慈善團體二十五週年。拍賣期間,這套書存放在當地的警察局裡。
這套小說的第一集,《哈利波特:神秘的魔法石》於一九九七年出版。第七集也是最後一集的《 哈利波特:死神的聖物》英文版已於今年七月二十一日上市。 (法新社/翻譯:楊鴻泰)
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)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang As with many aspects of Japanese culture, there is etiquette to follow when you enjoy noodles. To fully experience noodles like a local on your next visit to Japan, consider these simple guidelines. First, be careful where you put your chopsticks. Don’t leave them sticking up in the broth or set them at the side of the bowl. When you have finished eating or if you’re taking a break, place them on the chopstick rest next to the bowl. Also, it is impolite to wave chopsticks around or bring them above mouth-level. Second, don’t take too