Taiwan has been hit with a cold spell of late, and early on Feb. 1 temperatures in the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area of Yilan County fell to minus 4 degrees Celsius. As there wasn’t sufficient water vapor in the atmosphere it didn’t actually snow, but the low temperatures caused a frost to form, and the recreation area turned into a world of white. In the environs of Cueifong Lake, in particular, the grassland and forested areas were blanketed in a thin layer of frost, with workers in the recreation area waking to a surprising scene that looked for all the world like they were in a northern European country.
(Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
近期寒流來襲,宜蘭縣太平山森林遊樂區二月一日清晨最低溫零下四度,但因水氣不足沒有下雪;不過,低溫引發結霜現象,園區還是變成銀白世界,尤其翠峰湖域四周草地與林木,都結上雪白薄霜,讓園區工作人員驚嘆宛如置身北歐國家。
Photo courtesy of the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area
照片:太平山森林遊樂區提供
(自由時報)
Photo courtesy of the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area
照片:太平山森林遊樂區提供
Photo courtesy of the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area
照片:太平山森林遊樂區提供
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