New York’s tabloid newspaper front pages are easy to imagine — a photo of a nightmarish traffic jam caused by a strike at the largest US commuter railroad juxtaposed with a shot of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio sunning himself on an Italian beach.
Despite the potentially damaging political optics, the Democratic mayor on July 19 embarked on a nine-day Italian vacation in the face of a looming Long Island Rail Road strike, which if it had happened would have paralyzed portions of the largest US city.
The mayor had said he would return from his trip if a crisis arose, but signaled that he believed his team could manage without him.
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
Even before the Long Island Rail Road labor talks broke down, the trip, funded in part by taxpayers, raised eyebrows. De Blasio has been in office only since January, and his vacation is scheduled to last longer than those of recent mayors.
(AP)
紐約八卦畫報的頭版不難預料:一張全美最大通勤鐵路罷工所導致的噩夢般交通阻塞的照片,旁邊再配上一張紐約市市長白思豪在義大利海灘上曬日光浴的照片。
儘管這可能對他的政治形象造成潛在傷害,這位民主黨籍市長打定主意,七月十九日展開九天的義大利度假之旅。若長島鐵路真的罷工,全美最大城市紐約市的許多地區可能會因此癱瘓。
這位市長已表示,倘若爆發危機,他就會返回紐約;但他暗示,他深信他的團隊可以在他不在的情況下把事情處理好。
即便在長島鐵路勞資談判破裂前,這趟部分經費由納稅人負擔的旅行,就已引人側目。白思豪今年一月才上台,但他的假期比最近歷任市長都要長。
(美聯社/翻譯:張沛元)
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)
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
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang As with many aspects of Japanese culture, there is etiquette to follow when you enjoy noodles. To fully experience noodles like a local on your next visit to Japan, consider these simple guidelines. First, be careful where you put your chopsticks. Don’t leave them sticking up in the broth or set them at the side of the bowl. When you have finished eating or if you’re taking a break, place them on the chopstick rest next to the bowl. Also, it is impolite to wave chopsticks around or bring them above mouth-level. Second, don’t take too