The year before last, a woman surnamed Lin and a man surnamed Chang in New Taipei City were short of money, so they dishonestly claimed to have ownership of a plot of Aboriginal reserve land, further claiming that it was in an advantageous location that was suitable for commercial use. In this way, they succeeded in defrauding a buyer surnamed Wu of a deposit of NT$100,000.
Lin and Chang, who were both unemployed with no income, knew perfectly well that the plot of land next to Sinwu Road in Sindian District was state-owned land reserved for use by Aborigines and that the Aborigine surnamed Ruan who had ownership of any buildings on the land had no intention of selling them. In spite of this, in May of the year before last, they stealthily mounted a for-sale sign outside the door of the house that attracted the buyer surnamed Wu to come forward and negotiate.
When Lin and Chang saw that they had hooked a big fish, they not only claimed to have property rights to the house and land, but also boasted about how well built the house was and how suitable the location was for doing business. Finding it hard to resist the pair’s persuasive sales pitch, Wu forked out NT$100,000 on the spot to pay the deposit.
Photo: Chiang Hsiang, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者姜翔
Later, when chatting with friends, Wu heard that a for-sale board had once more been set up on the site, upon which he went there to check. Only then did Wu realize that he had been tricked, and he angrily took Lin and Chang to court. Following a trial at the Taipei District Court, the judges found that both Lin and Chang had no income and that they had reached a settlement with the buyer. On July 28 the court sentenced each of the two defendants to three months imprisonment suspended for two years, with leave to appeal.
(Liberty Times, translated by Julian Clegg)
新北市林姓女子與張姓男子，因缺錢花用，前年間竟謊稱擁有新店區一處國有原住民保留地的所有權，並強調該處地段優、適合經商，藉此向一名吳姓買家詐得十萬元訂金。
失業、無收入的林女與張男，明知新店區新烏路旁一塊土地是國有的原住民保留地，擁有地上建物所有權的阮姓原住民也無意賣掉屋子，卻於前年五月間私自在房屋門外張貼出售廣告，吸引吳姓買家前來商談。
林、張兩人見大魚上鉤，不僅自稱擁有房屋及土地的產權，更極力鼓吹該處房子堅固、地段適合做生意，在兩人的慫恿下，吳姓買家果然難以抗拒，當場掏出十萬元支付訂金。
吳姓買家後來與朋友聊天時，聽聞該處又再度貼出出售廣告，前往確認後才得知受騙，氣得向林、張兩人提告。台北地院審理後，審酌林、張兩人均無收入，且已與買家達成和解，七月二十八日判兩人各三個月徒刑，緩刑兩年，仍可上訴。
（自由時報記者黃欣柏）
1. short of phr.
缺 (que1)
例: I was short of cash so I sold some shares.
(我缺現金，所以拿出一些股票來賣。)
2. have no intention of phr.
無意 (wu2 yi4)
例: I have no intention of getting married before I turn 30.
(我無意在三十歲以前結婚。)
3. fork out phr.
掏出 (tao1 chu1)
例: Sandra forked out several hundred US dollars to buy a fancy handbag.
(珊卓掏出幾百塊美金來買一個時髦的手提包。)
Taiwan has recently been hit by a succession of cold spells. The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Health Promotion Administration (HPA) has issued a special reminder for scooter and motorcycle riders to beware of strong winds that could cause their body temperature to drop too fast, and to take precautions against the cold. People should memorize the warning signs of heart disease and stroke, and anyone who suffers from facial drooping, arm weakness or speech difficulties should promptly be taken for medical treatment. All parts of Taiwan have been experiencing cold weather under the influence of a strong continental cold
B: I envy your friend. I’d love to work from home. A: He doesn’t mind not being able to meet his colleagues face to face every day. Still, even he occasionally misses the office buzz and ability to socialize. His wife finds the situation more difficult, though. B: Why? She doesn’t like him hanging around the house all day? A: No, she has a job, too, with many international clients, and she’s used to traveling overseas on a regular basis. She’s finding the situation a bit disorientating. B: 我好羨慕你朋友喔，我很想在家工作。 A: 不能每天跟同事見面，他並不介意。可是他偶爾還是會想念辦公室充滿活力的氣氛，可以跟大家社交。可是現在這種情況對他太太來說比較難熬。 B: 為甚麼？他太太不喜歡他一天到晚都在家晃來晃去？ A: 不是，他太太自己也有工作，而且有很多國際客戶，以前常常出國。現在這種情況讓她覺得有點無所適從。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English
I certainly won’t miss the commute! (5/5) 我對通勤是絕對不會想念的！（五） A: With global telecommunications, wireless connectivity and the death of the office, it will be possible to work from anywhere. B: So you think you could just take off to a beach or a beautiful, sun-soaked spot in an idyllic part of the world and do your work from there? A: If we could do it, many others could, too. There wouldn’t be an idyllic place left on Earth. They’d all be crowded with people shouting into their mobile devices or tapping away on their keyboards. A: 有了全球電信系統、無線網路，再加上辦公室的消失，以後要在哪裡工作都可以。 B: 所以你想這樣就可以到海邊，或者世界上某個詩情畫意、陽光普照的地方去，在那裡工作？ A: 如果我們可以這樣，很多人也可以呀！這樣地球上就不會有什麼詩情畫意的地方了。因為這些地方都會擠滿人，大家都大聲講手機，或是在鍵盤上劈哩啪啦打字。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文:
I certainly won’t miss the commute! (4/5) 我對通勤是絕對不會想念的！（四） B: Urban planners are going to have to massively rethink how cities are designed. Business districts will go out of the window. Office buildings will have to be repurposed. Commuter routes will become a thing of the past. A: They will be able to make open, green spaces for people to work in, which will be easier now with all this wireless connectivity. It’s going to be great! B: Careful what you wish for. We might not be tethered to the office, but we’ll still be tied to our mobile devices. We’ll still need to be contactable 24/7, slaves
RSS