Have you noticed that there are a lot of poinsettias around at the moment? Poinsettias are a very popular Christmas plant. Do you know the story of the poinsettia?
In Mexico, children take presents to their local churches at Christmas. The presents are for baby Jesus, whose birthday is celebrated at Christmas. The story says that a very poor child, Pepita, wanted to take a present too. But she didn't have any money to buy anything. She didn't have anything at all that she could give because her family was so poor. Not even a toy.
Pepita decided to pick some flowers as a present. But because it was winter there weren't any flowers. So she picked some weeds instead and took those.
PHOTO: CATHERINE THOMAS, TAIPEI TIMES
When she arrived at the church all the other children had nice presents. Pepita tried hard not to look at the other people as she went up and put down her gift. Suddenly, the weeds turned into a beautiful red plant!
Parents in Mexico explain to their children that a present given with love will always be beautiful, no matter what it is.
(CATHERINE THOMAS, STAFF WRITER)
你是否有注意到現在耶誕紅到處可見?耶誕紅是耶誕節很受歡迎的植物。你知道耶誕紅的故事嗎?
在墨西哥,耶誕節當天,小朋友會帶禮物到當地教堂慶祝耶穌基督的誕生。聽說有從前有一個名叫Pepita的小孩,也想要送禮物,但她一毛錢也沒有。她也沒有任何東西可以送人,因為她家很窮,連一個玩具都沒有。
Pepita決定採些花當作禮物,但是因為正值冬天,沒有什麼花,所以她摘了些野草當禮物。當她到了教堂,所有其他小孩都準備了精美的禮物。Pepita不管其他人的眼光,走向前並放下她的禮物。突然間,這些野草變成了美麗的紅色植物!
在墨西哥,父母親跟他們的小孩解釋說,充滿愛心的禮物,不管它是什麼,總是很漂亮。 (翻譯:楊鴻泰)
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