US senators opposing an almost US$1 trillion economic stimulus package are struggling to find ways to explain just how big that one with 12 zeroes after it really is.
Republican Senator John Thune said you could circle the equator 38.9 times with 100-dollar bills stretched side-by-side, and showed a picture of Earth encircled in greenbacks to emphasize his point.
“One trillion dollars is a terrible thing to waste,” he said. “We shouldn’t spend money we don’t have on things we don’t need.”
PHOTO: AFP
A day earlier, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell also grappled with ways to illustrate how big the US$888 billion stimulus plan, which could easily grow before a final vote, really is.
“Just to put a trillion dollars in context, if you started spending the day that Jesus was born and you spent a million dollars every single day, you still wouldn’t have spent a trillion dollars. This is a lot of money,” he said.(AFP)
對近一兆美元的經濟振興方案持反對立場的美國參議員,正努力用各種方式解釋這個後面有十二個零的數字到底有多大。
共和黨參議員約翰.圖恩表示,若將一兆美元以百元鈔票一張一張相連起來,可繞行赤道三十八點九圈,他並秀出一張地球被美鈔繞行的圖片來強調他的論點。
他說:「一兆美元不應該拿來隨便浪費,我們不該舉債支應我們不需要的東西。」
就在前一天,參議院共和黨領袖米區.麥康奈爾也努力想辦法凸顯這次紓困計畫的八千八百八十億美元究竟有多少,預算金額在最終表決前很可能會再追加。
他說:「我告訴你一兆元有多少,如果你從耶穌誕生那天開始每天花一百萬元,到今天也還花不完一兆元。這真的是很大一筆錢。」(法新社�翻譯:袁星塵)
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)
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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