Even the seagulls are throwing the struggling San Francisco Giants baseball team for a loss this year.
Giants officials trying to find a humane solution to the worsening onslaught of the birds at home games are stumped, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
The gulls have routinely showed up at the end of night games since the park along San Francisco Bay opened in 2000, but it appears an increasing number of birds are crashing night games this year, bothering players, workers and fans alike.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
Hundreds of gulls sometimes land on the field during play. They also defecate on fans and create cleanup headaches for staff.
Biologists said they do not know how the seagulls time their arrival for the end of games to feast on discarded hot dogs, popcorn and other food. “They are incredibly intelligent animals,” said biologist Russ Bradley, a seagull specialist. “Unless you want to build a dome, there’s no easy answer.”
Federal law prohibits shooting the birds, and hiring a falconer to scare them away would cost US$8,000 a game, said Jorge Costa, the Giants’ manager of operations. The Giants are also concerned a falcon could gruesomely kill a seagull in front of families and a television audience.
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
(AP)
舊金山巨人隊今年戰況不佳,就連海鷗也來找麻煩。
《聖荷西水星報》報導,巨人隊官員正試圖尋求以人道方式來解決巨人隊主場上愈來愈嚴重的海鷗問題,但是卻束手無策。
自舊金山灣沿岸的這座球場於兩千年開幕以來,海鷗就經常在夜間球賽結束時現身。但今年闖進夜間球賽的鳥兒數量似乎愈來愈多,讓球員、工作人員和球迷都非常困擾。
數以百計的海鷗有時在球賽中途就降落在球場上。牠們甚至會在球迷身上排泄,工作人員事後要清理球場也很頭大。
生物學家表示,他們也不知道海鷗是如何選擇在球賽結束時來到球場,大啖被球迷們丟棄的熱狗、爆米花和其他食物。專研海鷗的生物學家布萊德利說:「他們是異常聰明的動物。」「除非你打算蓋起一座圓頂,否則問題很難解決。」
根據巨人隊營運經理約治‧柯斯塔表示,聯邦法律禁止射殺海鷗,而若要聘請養鷹人帶獵鷹來嚇走海鷗,則每場球賽的開銷達八千美元。巨人隊也擔心獵鷹可能在球迷家人和電視觀眾前對海鷗大開殺戒。
(美聯社/翻譯:俞智敏)
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