Sun Jou-hui of National Changhua Girls’ Senior High School, who received 74 points at this year’s university entrance exam test, did not go to cram school in her three years of high school in order to reduce the burden on the family economy. She relied fully on her own diligence and hard work in combination with the study resources available on the Internet.
Sun, who attends the advanced language class at her school, received 14 points in the natural sciences test but a full 15 points in all the other tests. Sun is interested in business, and she is looking toward a future in international banking and finance.
Sun says that what is most lacking for high school students studying English in Taiwan is exposure to Western culture and everyday conversation. In order to make up for this shortage without spending a lot of money, she goes to the YouTube Web site to look for colloquial English dialogue and to gain a wide exposure to knowledge about politics, economics and everyday life. Thanks to the vast amount of colloquial expressions that she has learned directly from foreigners, her own English is becoming more authentic.
Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者張聰秋
Sun has her sights set on the University of Hong Kong. She says Hong Kong is an international financial center that offers a lot of competition and a lot of opportunities. In the future, she wants to work in business, because that offers a lot of internship, work and employment opportunities. However, she does not exclude a future in Taiwan and says she will strive hard and try her fortunes in both places.
(Liberty Times, translated by Perry Svensson)
今年大學學測考了七十四級分彰女考生孫柔惠,為了減輕家裡經濟負擔,高中三年沒有補習,完全靠自己的勤奮努力和善用網路學習資源。
彰化女中語文資優班學生孫柔惠,五科成績只有自然科十四級分,其他四科各十五級分最高分,她興趣在商,未來想朝國際金融財經發展。
孫柔惠說,台灣高中學生學英語,最欠缺的是對西方文化和日常生活對話涉獵不足,為了補足這方面的欠缺,在不花錢的情況下,她會上YouTube網站尋找英語口語對話,政治、經濟、生活知識廣泛涉獵,靈活運用從外國人身上學來的大量口語,讓自己的英語更道地。
孫柔惠志在香港大學,她表示,香港是國際金融發展重心,競爭多、機會相對也多,日後她想從商,在實習、工作、就業出路選擇性多,但另一方面,她也不排斥在台灣發展,兩邊都會努力爭取和嘗試。
(自由時報記者張聰秋)
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
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110