The first-ever Annual Taiwan Marathon was held on May 3 in Hsinchu County, attracting more than 14,000 competitors. Runners from a dozen countries, including the US, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia took part in the race. Competitors registered for a full marathon, half marathon, challenge run or family run according to their individual abilities. Of these, the marathon group ran a full course of 42.195 kilometers, attracting top international runners to take part. The family run, on the other hand, was just three kilometers long, and many families including parents and children ran the race together.
Yu Chung-cheng, who traveled from Yilan County to take part in the challenge run, entered the fray leaning on crutches. Yu, a road-running enthusiast, did not give up the sport despite losing his left leg in a motor accident, and in fact he tries to take part in each and every race. “Although losing a leg makes me run a bit slower, I still want to keep on running,” he says.
(Liberty Times, translated by Julian Clegg)
Photo: Tsai Meng-shang, Liberty Times
自由時報記者蔡孟尚
第一屆台灣馬拉松五月三日在新竹縣舉辦,吸引一萬四千多名選手參加。這場賽事共有來自美國、德國、日本、荷蘭、捷克、新加坡、韓國、馬來西亞等十幾個國家的選手參加,依選手個人實力報名分為全馬、半馬、挑戰、休閒等組,其中全馬組全程四十二點一九五公里吸引國際菁英好手參賽,休閒組路程僅三公里則有不少親子全家一起來跑。
從宜蘭縣來參加挑戰組比賽的余中正拄著柺杖單腳上場,熱愛路跑的他雖因車禍失去左腳,但仍不放棄這項運動,而且有比賽就盡量參加;他說:「少了一隻腳雖然跑的慢一點,但也要繼續跑下去。」
(自由時報記者蔡孟尚)
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
A: As well as Eid al-Fitr, Southeast Asia is celebrating the Water Festival this week. B: And this year, Thailand is expanding the celebration between April 12 and 16 for the event, officially known as the Songkran Festival, expecting to make 24.3 billion Thai baht in tourism revenue. A: Does Taiwan celebrate the Water Festival? B: Some local cities and counties do have similar activities. A: Let’s go experience the festival then. A: 除了「開齋節」外,東南亞「潑水節」本週也盛大登場! B: 泰國今年從4月12日到16日擴大「宋干節」連假,預估觀光收入可高達243億泰銖。 A: 台灣會慶祝「潑水節」嗎? B: 有些縣市會舉辦類似活動。 A: 那我們也去體驗一下吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)