In the sport of baseball, a pitch is very important. A good pitcher can keep runners from ever getting on base. If runners never get on base, no one can score any runs.
Often times pitchers use speed to try to get the ball over home plate and into the catcher’s glove without the batter hitting it. A hard, fast pitch is called a “fastball.”
Pitchers don’t just rely on speed to get a pitch past a batter. They also practice a few different kinds of pitches to surprise the batter and make him swing and miss.
PHOTO: AP
One of these kinds of pitches is called a “curveball.” If thrown right, a curveball drops right before it gets to home plate. Also, a curveball is usually a little bit slower than a normal pitch, so it throws the batter’s timing off.
In English, if you throw someone a curveball, it means you tell them something or do something to that person that surprises him or her so much it makes that person not able to do his or her job — just like a batter who swung at a pitch and missed.
Usually, throwing someone a curve ball is not a nice thing to do. Most people like to be prepared to deal with problems they will have to face.(Kayleen Hartman, Staff Writer)
打棒球時，投球是很重要的。一位好投手可以讓跑者不要上壘。假如完全沒有跑者上壘，沒有人可以得分。
通常，投手利用速度，試著讓球往本壘方向飛進捕手手套裡，不讓打擊者擊球。投出又快又狠的一球稱為「快速球」。
投手不只仰賴速度讓打擊者打不到球。他們也會投出幾種不同的球，讓打擊者措手不及、揮棒落空。
有一種球路稱為「曲球」。假如投得正確，曲球會正巧在抵達本壘前墜下。此外，曲球的球速也往往比一般球慢一點，讓打擊者錯過擊球時機。
在英文中，假如你投給某人一個曲球，意指你對那個人說了某件事、或做了某件事，讓那人過於訝異而無法繼續做事——就像打擊手揮棒卻落空一樣。
一般來說，突然丟了個問題給某人（throw someone a curve ball）並不是好心的事。多數人喜歡預先準備來應付必須面對的問題。
（翻譯︰賴美君）
Picture a 45-foot-long animal with a 5-foot-long skull and 3-foot-long arms. It may not seem strange until you realize that a human with those proportions would be 6 feet tall with 5-inch arms. Although the Tyrannosaurus rex went extinct 65 million years ago, the mystery of its unusual body __1__ has fascinated scientists for over a century. Barnum Brown, the paleontologist who first discovered T. rex fossils, initially found it hard to believe that the tiny arms belonged to such a __2__ creature. One of his colleagues speculated that the short forelimbs might have been used to hold the
A: Actually, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is particularly good for small people like you. B: Really? How so? A: According to Diana Wang, a US doctor of physical therapy, the BJJ’s purpose is to help smaller, weaker people defend themselves by using various techniques, such as leverage. B: That sounds interesting. What time does Dr Wang’s BJJ seminar begin tonight? A: The event is scheduled for 7:30pm at PMA Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in Taipei. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. A: 其實你的個子比較小，很適合練巴西柔術呢。 B: 真的嗎？為什麼？ A: 據美國理療醫師王幼瑞博士說，巴西柔術的概念是讓弱小的人，也能利用槓桿作用等技巧防身。 B: 真有趣，王醫師的巴柔研討會幾點開始？ A: 今晚7點半在「台北巴柔運動館」，免費入場自由樂捐唷！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
Photographer Franziska Stuenkel likes to take spontaneous urban shots, so she needs a nimble camera that is ready to go when inspiration strikes: her German-made Leica M11. “I have to be very quick and discreet,” said the Berlin-based artist who captures reflections of people walking past windows, their contours merging with the shapes behind the glass. Stuenkel’s compact Leica is the perfect camera for the job, the 51-year-old told AFP. Famous for its pocket-sized and retro-style devices, the Leica brand is celebrating a milestone as it marks 100 years since its first commercial camera was presented to the public. The
Dogs’ noses are incredibly keen. They can even detect changes in cortisol levels in human sweat and breath. Known as the “stress hormone,” cortisol increases when humans are under pressure. Recent research indicates that the smell of human stress can influence a dog’s behavior and emotions. In the study, human volunteers were exposed to the stressful tasks of preparing and delivering a speech on the spot and then solving math problems. __1__ Researchers collected sweat and breath samples from the volunteers on pieces of cloth during both their stressful and restful states. Meanwhile, other researchers worked with 18
RSS