As I was walking through a sleepy town, with no traffic on the road, I passed a woman standing on the pavement. She was staring at an abandoned motorbike outside a derelict building. I didn’t stop to ask her what she was doing, but later wondered what she had been up to.
The building may have once been her family home.
Her family might have moved away many years ago.
Photos: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報記者古德謙
I have no idea why. There could have been a fire.
The building may well have been structurally damaged and declared unsound.
It may well have been too expensive to repair.
Photos: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報記者古德謙
Then there is the motorbike sitting outside. It is very rusty. The paint has fallen off. The tires are flat. It must have been sitting there, unused, for a long time.
It could have been there for years.
The collapsed roof is lying on top of the motorbike.
The bike must have been in place when the roof collapsed.
The original residents may not have wanted to take the bike with them when they left. Otherwise, they would have removed it.
What do you think the woman’s connection to the building is?
What do you think might have happened?
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
當我走過一座謐靜的小鎮,路上連一輛車的蹤影都沒有,我看到一名女子站立在馬路上。她在一座荒廢的屋子外,注視著一輛廢棄的機車。我並沒有停下來問她在做什麼,但事後我卻一直想著她可能發生的故事。
這座房子也許曾是她的老家。
她的家人也許很多年前就搬走了。
究竟為何遷走不得而知,或許這裡曾發生一場大火。
也有可能這棟房子因結構受損被公告為危樓。
修建將花上一大筆錢。
屋外停放著一輛機車,鏽蝕得很厲害,上面的漆都脫落了,輪胎也沒氣了。這輛機車一定很久以前就已經被丟棄在那裡,乏人問津。
也許就這樣丟在那裡好多年了。
毀壞的屋頂就壓在機車上面。
屋頂崩塌時,機車應該早已在那邊了。
原本的住戶搬走時也許壓根兒就沒打算帶車一起走。不然,那車早就不在那了。
你覺得這名女子與這間屋子的關係是甚麼呢? 這裡可能發生了甚麼事?
(台北時報詹豐造翻譯)
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A: “Forbes” magazine just revealed Hollywood’s top 10 highest-paid stars of 2023. B: How much did those superstars make last year? A: Denzel Washington was at No. 10, having made US$24 million, which is about NT$771 million. B: That’s an astronomical figure to me. A: No. 9 to No. 6 were: Ben Affleck with US$38 million, Jason Statham with US$41 million, Leonardo DiCaprio with US$41 million, and Jennifer Aniston with US$42 million. A: 《富比世》最近公布了好萊塢去年的片酬排行榜。 B: 大明星的片酬到底有多高? A: 第10名是丹佐華盛頓、片酬2400萬美元,大約7.7億台幣。 B: 天啊這根本是天文數字! A: 第9到6名是︰班艾佛列克、3800萬美元,傑森史塔森、4100萬美元,李奧納多狄卡皮歐、4100萬美元,珍妮佛安妮斯頓、4200萬美元。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)