A : I would like to cancel my mobile phone contract.
B : But your contract expires one year from now. You might have to pay a penalty.
A : I know, but your call quality is very bad and I often can’t receive a signal. It’s very inconvenient.
A : 我想取消我的手機合約。
B : 可是您的合約還有一年才到期。您可能會因此付一筆違約金。
A : 我知道，可是你們的通話品質很差，經常收不到訊號，使用非常不方便。
疫情之下國旅興盛，近幾年露營（camping）更是成為不少人休閒娛樂的首選。而露營的設備、器具和方式也越來越多元，不同形式都有各自的擁護者。本次就讓我們來學習露營度假相關的英文吧！ Go camping camp (n)「營」可用在許多地方，例如summer camp「夏令營」、boot camp「戰鬥營」、甚至concentration camp「集中營」也是用這個字；而Camp David「大衛營」則是美國總統度假的地方。此外，camp也可當動詞「紮營」，camping當名詞是「露營」，紮營的地點「營地」則是campsite。 Fans of the world-renowned rock band, Crazy Noise, camped out the night before the band’s first concert in Europe. （世界知名搖滾樂團Crazy Noise的歌迷，在樂團首場歐洲演唱會的前一晚，就在外紮營徹夜等待。） Rebecca and I met at a summer camp in Florida when we were 12 years old. （十二歲那年，我和瑞貝卡在佛羅里達州的夏令營首次相遇。） 露營重要須知 若想在國家公園內露營，需要事先登記或申請許可證（permit），也因為在野外過夜，要準備充足的裝備與食物，重要配備像是帳篷、手電筒、睡袋…等，或者有些營地也有提供camping gear「露營裝備」的租借服務，gear是「設備」的意思，與equipment同義；此外，腳踏車或汽車的變速段數也可用gear來形容。 The demonstration video on the company’s Web site shows customers how to use bicycle gears properly. （公司網頁的示範影片展示如何正確使用腳踏車的變速設備。） Smith & Smith Outdoors offers a collection of rental camping gear such as tents, trekking poles, sleeping bags and so on. （史密斯戶外用品店提供一系列的露營用具租借，例如帳篷、登山杖、睡袋…等。） 手電筒的美式英文是flashlight，這個字同時也可解釋為「（手機或相機中的）閃光燈」。要注意「手電筒」在英式英文裡是torch (n)，在美式英文中torch則是「火把」的意思，因此奧運開幕式的火炬就稱為Olympic Torch。 It’s important to include a battery-powered flashlight, bottled water, and non-perishable food in the emergency survival kit. （在緊急救難袋中放置一個電池供電的手電筒，瓶裝水和不容易腐壞的食物是很重要的。） 搭帳篷（pitch a tent）也是露營的重要過程，pitch可當動詞或名詞，而且有多重字義，pitch在這裡是「搭」，也就是put up的意思。此外pitch也可解釋為「投擲」，如投手就是pitcher，而在多益測驗中，pitch常用作名詞使用，例如sales pitch「銷售宣傳、口號」。 You need
Tigers are the largest cats in existence. Below you’ll learn some lesser-known facts about these awe-inspiring creatures. 1. Tigers have an excellent memory. Did you know that tigers have one of the best memories of any animal? In fact, their short-term memory is even better than that of humans. Studies show that tigers can remember information for 30 seconds longer than we can. 2. A group of tigers is called an ambush or a streak. You can remember these terms if you keep in mind that tigers attack their prey by ambushing them, and that they have streaks of black on their orange fur.
Taipei Performing Arts Center opens this week (3/3) 「大貢丸」北藝中心開幕（三） A: During the trial operation period, some audience members reported broken seats, poorly marked seat numbers, high steps, stuffy auditoriums and a lack of facilities for disabled people. B: That’s quite a lot of problems! A: There’s more: residents living nearby have complained of noise from outdoor activities at the center’s plaza. B: Well, it seems like the “meatball” needs to up its game. A: 不過試營運期間有觀眾反映︰北藝中心座椅破損、標示不清、樓梯陡峭、場地悶熱、無障礙規畫也不佳。 B: 問題還真不少。 A: 而且附近居民也抱怨，該中心在戶外廣場辦活動時噪音太吵。 B: 看來「大貢丸」要加油了。 （Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
Arriving on Aug. 2, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi shone out from the darkness in a pink pantsuit. Pelosi is famous for bringing her fashion A-game in punchy blazers and suits. Having a penchant for pops of color, the speaker often takes things a step further by coordinating her outfits from head to toe. Here are a few tips for building a chic wardrobe like Pelosi: Matching shoes to your outfit: Pelosi’s outfit tells us there are three guidelines for choosing the right shoes. You can either match your shoe color with your outfit, your tops underneath or simply
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