With no end to the drought in sight, the ground that is normally the source of water for the Shyuejian Recreation Area and the Erbensong (Two Pines) Guide Station in Shei-Pa National Park has run dry. With no water available, these two spots were closed temporarily on Thursday last week and will not be declared open again until the water shortage is relieved. Similarly, if the water surface level at Sun Moon Lake falls by another five meters, all jetties around the lake will be closed and pleasure boats services will come to a complete halt.
“This is the first time that we have ever been forced to close the park just because there is not enough water available,” says Chung Ming-shan, deputy superintendent of the Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters. It is not as though the Shyuejian Recreation Area and Erbensong Guide Station had never been temporarily closed, but past shutdowns have always been caused by road closures following typhoons. On this occasion, however, it is because water sources have run dry, with the stones in what used to be the beds of streams now lying exposed, so that there is no option but to close these spots down for the time being.
The water level in Sun Moon Lake also keeps falling, and this will soon have an impact on trips on the lake. With the average height of the lake’s surface currently down to 745 meters above sea level, the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration is going to put up low-water warning notices at the four main publicly-owned jetties, reminding tourists to watch out for their safety when embarking and disembarking.
Photo: Liu Pin-chuan, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者劉濱銓
A sculpture of a pile of nine frogs on a mud bank in Sun Moon Lake that is used to observe how full or empty the lake is has become a favorite spot for visitors lately. On Sunday last week a tourist carrying a camera went to get a close-up shot of the sculpture, but when he stepped onto the mud he sank into it, and the administration had to send a warden with a bamboo pole to get him out. It then hurriedly put up a sign forbidding people to step onto the mud and sent someone to stand guard. In the space of one day, the warden dissuaded 10 groups of tourists who wanted to step off the path to have their photos taken with the nine frogs.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Julian Clegg)
旱象未解,雪霸國家公園的雪見遊憩區與二本松解說站因水源地乾涸、無水可用,三月五日起休園,直至水情紓解後再行公告開放。同樣地,日月潭水位只要再降五公尺,將封閉所有潭區碼頭、遊艇全面停駛。
「因為沒水可用,只能休園,這還是史上頭一遭!」雪霸國家公園管理處副處長鍾銘山說,雪見遊憩區與二本松解說站啟用八年來不是不曾休園,但都是因為颱風過後、道路封閉所造成。這次則因水源地乾涸,原本的溪流都露出溪底石頭,不得不暫時休園。
日月潭水位也持續下降,很快就會影響遊湖活動。目前平均值為七四五公尺,日管處將在四大公有碼頭設置低水位警告牌示,提醒遊客注意進出安全。
日月潭沙洲上觀察水情榮枯的水蛙頭「九隻疊蛙」近日成為熱門景點,三月一號有遊客背著相機就近取鏡,一腳踩進泥淖,結果陷入其中,日管處人員拿著竹竿才將他救出。日管處趕緊設置禁止標示,並派人駐點管制,一整天下來勸阻十組想越過步道與九蛙合照的遊客。
(自由時報記者劉濱銓、周敏鴻)
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
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)
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