Head to the checkout at an Ikea in Stockholm to pay for your new leather corner sofa and with the swipe of a Visa card it is yours. Do not try that in Berlin — that will be 1,699 euros (NT$64,000) up front please.
It is that financial culture — a deep-seated aversion to debt and an emphasis on responsibility — that makes Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hardline approach to solving the European financial crisis so popular in Germany.
The attitude shows up in all walks of life, from the daily trip to the grocery store to putting a roof over your head.
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
The economy is so reliant on cash for transactions small and big, a way to ensure you do not spend more than you have, that Germany pushed hard for the 500 euro note to replace its popular 1,000 mark bill when it joined the common currency.
Around the world Merkel has been derided as intransigent in her approach to the financial crisis, demanding budget cuts and fiscal austerity from allegedly profligate EU members. But her hardline stand plays well among the people who elected her.
A new poll for Stern magazine shows 64 percent of Germans think the chancellor should stick to her guns, while only 32 percent think she should reconsider her insistence on austerity.
(AP)
到斯德哥爾摩的宜家家居結帳櫃台替你的新角落皮沙發買單,只要刷一下威士卡,沙發就是你的了。在柏林可不能試這招,你得當場掏出一千六百九十九歐元(約新台幣六萬四千元)。
正是這種財務文化,也就是對債務根深柢固的厭惡及對責任的強調,才讓德國總理安潔拉˙梅克爾對解決歐洲金融危機所採取的強硬手段在德國這麼受歡迎。
從到雜貨店進行日常購物,到尋找一個棲身之所,這種態度展現在生活的各個面向中。
由於德國經濟非常仰賴現金來進行大大小小的交易,確保不會超支消費,以致德國在加入歐元區時就極力推動印製面額五百元的歐元紙鈔,來取代原本很受歡迎的千元德國馬克紙鈔。
在全球各地,梅克爾都曾因為在解決歐洲金融危機上採取強硬不妥協立場、要求被指為過度揮霍的歐盟成員國刪減預算並實施財政緊縮政策而遭到譏諷。但她的強硬立場在投票選出她為總理的選民間卻極受歡迎。
根據《Stern》週刊最新民調顯示,有百分之六十四的德國人認為總理應堅守立場,只有百分之三十二的民眾認為她該重新考量堅持撙節政策的做法。
(美聯社/翻譯:俞智敏)
A: Wow, three Taiwanese restaurants just won the 2024 “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” awards. B: Awesome! Which three restaurants? A: Taipei’s Logy at No. 22 and MUME at No. 34, and Taichung’s JL Studio at No. 33. B: Actually, there are many more great establishments in Taipei. How about other Asian cities? A: Singapore claimed nine spots this year, making it Asia’s new “food capital.” A: 2024「亞洲50最佳餐廳」名單揭曉了,台灣有3家餐廳上榜。 B: 好厲害,哪3家? A: 台北的Logy和MUME分獲第22和34名,台中的JL Studio獲第33名! B: 其實台北還有很多好餐廳,那其他的亞洲城市呢? A: 新加坡今年入選9家,可說是亞洲美食之都。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process. In 2021, more than 80 percent of US IVF procedures involved the transfer of frozen embryos, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. HOW IS EMBRYO FREEZING USED IN IVF? IVF uses high doses of hormones to stimulate ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Once
A situation puzzle is a game in which one person describes a scenario and asks the players to explain it. The situation is deliberately lacking in details, but the players may acquire more information by asking questions — however, these can only be answered with “yes” or “no.” A player wins by describing the approximate events that led up to the situation. To do so, they must use a blend of logical and lateral thinking. A famous example of this is sometimes known as “Turtle Soup.” Here’s the riddle: “A man in a restaurant orders turtle soup, tastes it