Safari! 非洲狩獵記
The first thing Mark noticed when he stepped off the plane was the heat. “You still haven’t told me why we have come to Africa!” he said to Kathleen. She was standing at the luggage carousel wearing sandals and a safari hat. She pointed at the hat. “Does this give you a clue?” she said, with a big smile on her face. Mark looked confused. “We’re going on a safari, you silly billy!” Kathleen shouted. “Come on, our jeep is waiting to pick us up. Let’s go!”
A safari guide was waiting for them. “Hello. My name is Adam. Welcome to my safari tour. I will show you the incredible sights of Africa. I promise you, this will be a holiday you will never forget.” Kathleen was so excited that she couldn’t stop jumping up and down. Mark just looked tired.
They got in Adam’s jeep and he drove them out to the savanna. As they went down the dusty road, they noticed wild animals hiding amongst the trees. Kathleen peered through her binoculars. “I can see a hyena! And an eagle! And a giraffe! This is fantastic.”
She handed the binoculars to Mark, and he looked through them. “I can’t see anything. I don’t like it here. I wish I’d stayed at home instead.” But just then, he noticed a group of people. They were far away but they were getting closer and closer. And they were all carrying guns. “Kathleen, there’s something you should see,” Mark said.
Before she had a chance to take a look, a bullet flew over her head. “Oh no, Mark. They’re hunters. And they want your tusks! Let’s get out of here, quick!”
(JOHN PHILLIPS, TAIPEI TIMEs)
馬克一下飛機,立刻就感覺到炎熱高溫。他對凱薩琳說:「妳還沒有告訴我,我們為什麼要來非洲!」凱薩琳站在行李輸送帶前,穿著涼鞋還戴了一頂探險帽,她指著帽子開懷地笑說:「這讓你想到什麼?」馬克還是一臉茫然,凱薩琳大喊:「我們要去狩獵!你這個大呆瓜!來吧,接我們的吉普車已經在等了,走吧!」
一位狩獵導遊已經在等著他們,他說:「哈囉,我叫做亞當,歡迎參加這趟狩獵之旅,我將帶你們遊歷非洲令人驚嘆的美景。我向你們保證,這將是一趟永生難忘的旅程。」凱薩琳興奮到不停地跳上跳下,馬克則是一臉倦容。
他們坐上亞當駕駛的吉普車,驅車前往大草原。一路上塵土飛揚,他們發現有野生動物躲在樹後面,凱薩琳於是拿起雙筒望遠鏡仔細瞧,她說:「我看到一隻土狼!還有老鷹!還有長頸鹿!這太不可思議了。」
她把望遠鏡拿給馬克,讓他也看看那些動物,馬克說:「我什麼也沒看到,我不喜歡這裡,我寧願待在家裡。」就在此時,他看到遠方有一群人緩緩朝他們靠近,而且他們都帶著槍。馬克說:「凱薩琳,妳應該看看這個。」
但她還沒來得及看,一顆子彈已經從她頭頂飛過。「噢,馬克,不好了,他們是獵人,他們想要你的象牙!我們趕緊離開這裡,快!」
(翻譯:袁星塵)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from