The maker of the Tamagotchi virtual pet is looking for another hit with a toy ant farm, which it hopes will attract stressed office workers who want to watch someone else hard at work.
In “Ant's Life Studio,” created by the Japanese company Bandai, digital ants on a hand-held screen build and destroy nests, find caterpillars to feed their queen ant and — if they’re not careful — get eaten by passing spiders.
“Since fancy toys are a hit right now with adults, this toy can be used as a snazzy interior decoration,” a Bandai spokeswoman said.
PHOTO: AFP
“Stressed-out employees can keep it on their work desks and be comforted just by watching the ants work. By watching them work, they can take their minds off their own work for a while,” she said.
The virtual ant farm is interactive but busy office workers do not need to put in much effort other than warding off the occasional hungry spider by pressing a couple of buttons.
The ants can make up to 100 different nests — which toy buyers may appreciate more on their screens than in their living rooms.
The 15cm toy, which is priced at 7,980 yen (NT$2,250), will be in stores in mid-November.
The Tamagotchi, a global fad in the mid-1990s, is a hand-held digital pet which users must feed and play with to keep happy.(AFP)
電子寵物蛋（Tamagotchi）的製造商打算以玩具螞蟻農場帶動另一股熱潮，希望能吸引上班壓力大、希望是別人在認真工作的上班族。
日本萬代公司打造的「螞蟻生活屋」中，出現在掌上型螢幕的數位螞蟻會建造、摧毀螞蟻窩，找毛毛蟲來奉養蟻后，而且，假如不小心的話，它們會被路過的蜘蛛吃掉。
萬代公司女發言人表示︰「由於現今高檔玩具廣受成年人歡迎，這種玩具可以當成酷炫的室內裝飾。」
她說︰「壓力大的員工也可以將它放在辦公桌上，只要觀看螞蟻工作就會得到安慰。藉由觀看螞蟻工作，他們可以暫時讓心思抽離於工作之外。」
虛擬螞蟻農場採互動方式，不過忙碌的上班族無需花費太多心思，只要按下一兩個按鍵，避開偶爾出現的飢餓蜘蛛即可。
這種螞蟻可以建造多達一百個不同的蟻窩，玩具買主在掌上型螢幕欣賞這些蟻窩，可能比在客廳欣賞真蟻窩更有樂趣。
這種十五公分高的玩具售價七千九百八十日圓（新台幣兩千二百五十元），將於十一月中旬上市。
在一九九○年代中期掀起全球熱潮的寵物蛋是一種掌上型的電子寵物，玩家必須餵食它、陪它玩，讓它保持開心。 （法新社?翻譯︰賴美君）
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 Just yesterday, the boy had helped hang the lucky red couplets. Tonight, as firecrackers signaled the New Year, he lay in bed burning with a surging fever. The herbalist checked the boy’s pulse and went still. “The only cure is in the county town across the mountains,” he said. “But the snow is deep, and the shops are shuttered until the Fourth Day.” The boy’s father looked at the window. “I will go.” “The roads are impassable for a cart,” the herbalist warned. “And too far for a man on foot.” The concerned neighbor
Many animals spend the winter in a deep, low-energy state known as “hibernation.” When food becomes scarce and cold conditions drain body heat, bats, hedgehogs, and some ground squirrels retreat to safe shelters. Their bodies slow down to save energy: heart rates drop, breathing becomes shallow, and body temperature falls. Plenty of preparation goes into hibernation. Shorter days and falling temperatures provoke these animals to eat more and store fat, which sustains the brain and other organs. Inside the body, hormones guide this seasonal change, triggering specific behavior and switching the system to energy-saving mode. Hibernation is not the only winter survival
1. 我沒有兄弟姊妹。 ˇ I have no brother(s) and sister(s). ˇ I don’t have any brothers or sisters. ˇ I have no siblings. χ I have not any brothers or sisters. 註：首句 no 是形容詞，加在名詞前作修飾用，意思等於 don’t have any。I have not any 是彆扭過時的講法，現代英文一般會說 I don’t have any... 或 I have no...。 又如：*In totalitarian countries people have not any freedom. 應改為 people have no freedom. 或 people do not have any freedom. 2 不要怕那隻狗。 ˇ Don’t be afraid of the dog. ˇ Don’t fear the dog. χ Don’t afraid of the dog. 註：afraid 是形容詞，在句中作補語，前面必須加 be 動詞。注意：「我不怕熱」，一般不說 *I’m not afraid of hot weather. 可以說：Hot weather doesn’t bother me. 3. 他準備好了嗎？ ˇ Has he got everything
對話 Dialogue 清清：下個星期公司要辦尾牙，你會去參加嗎？ Qīngqing: Xià gè xīngqī gōngsī yào bàn wěiyá, nǐ huì qù cānjiā ma? 華華：應該會吧。聽說今年會請大家吃一頓不錯的。 Huáhua: Yīnggāi huì ba. Tīng shuō jīnnián huì qǐng dàjiā chī yí dùn búcuò de. 清清：我第一次參加尾牙，有一點緊張，不知道要做什麼。 Qīngqing: Wǒ dì yī cì cānjiā wěiyá, yǒuyìdiǎn jǐnzhāng, bù zhīdào yào zuò shénme. 華華：不用擔心啦，尾牙主要就是吃飯、聊天，大家放鬆一下。 Huáhua: Búyòng dānxīn la, wěiyá zhǔyào jiù shì chīfàn, liáotiān, dàjiā fàngsōng yíxià. 清清：聽說尾牙還會抽獎，是真的嗎？ Qīngqing: Tīng shuō wěiyá hái huì chōujiǎng, shì zhēn de ma? 華華：對啊，有些公司獎品還不錯，所以很多人都很期待。 Huáhua: Duì a, yǒuxiē gōngsī de jiǎngpǐn hái búcuò, suǒyǐ hěn duō rén dōu hěn qídài. 清清：那如果不去，會不會不太好？ Qīngqing: Nà rúguǒ bú qù, huì bú huì bú tài hǎo? 華華：通常不會勉強，不過去參加比較有機會跟同事拉近關係。 Huáhua: Tōngcháng bú huì miǎnqiǎng, búguò qù cānjiā bǐjiào yǒu jīhuì gēn tóngshì
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