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)
Computex, Asia’s biggest electronics conference, kicked off Monday in Taipei, and as in years past drew industry chieftains from Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang and Qualcomm Inc.’s Cristiano Amon to Young Liu of Foxconn, which makes the bulk of the world’s iPhones and Nvidia servers. But while last year’s event was a celebration of the post-ChatGPT AI boom, executives this time are likely grappling with the uncertainty of the Trump administration’s effort to reshape the global trade order — disrupting a decades-old model for tech manufacturing. This year’s exhibition will of course feature the hardware required to bring artificial intelligence to life.
A: Where will the 35 sports of the 2025 World Masters Games be held? B: Apart from Taipei and New Taipei City, some games will take place in Yilan County, Taoyuan County, and Hsinchu County and City. A: The news says about 25,000 people, including many celebrities and sports stars, have already registered for the games. B: Even Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, who is 47, registered for softball and squash. New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi, who is 68, also registered for table tennis. A: And it will be the largest sports event ever in Taiwan’s history. How exciting. A:
Dog owners often wish they could understand their pets’ thoughts. “Dog buttons” might turn their dream into a reality. These specially designed buttons, __1__ sound chips, enable dogs to communicate their needs by pressing buttons corresponding to pre-recorded words like “walk,” “play,” “outside,” and “food.” This bridges the communication __2__ between humans and their canine companions. The science behind dog buttons is based on the concept of associative learning. It’s a process __3__ learners can link actions with outcomes. For instance, if an owner consistently presses the “walk” button and then takes their dog for a walk, the dog
1. 眾所皆知,資訊產業是我國經濟的基礎。 ˇ As everyone admits, the IT industry is the backbone of our economy. χ As everyone admits that the IT industry is the backbone of our economy. 註:這裏 as 作關係代名詞,引導從屬子句。誤句多了 that, IT industry is. . . 就變成從屬句,欠缺了主句,結構上錯誤。又如: As my friend pointed out, necessity is the mother of invention. As is known to all, grammar is not the only important thing in language study. 2. 她心情總是非常好。 ˇ She is always in a good mood. χ She always is in a good mood. 註:always, often 一般放在行為動詞之前,連繫動詞、助動詞之後: He always behaves well. He is always happy and gay. He is always reading. 其他用法類似的副詞,還有 still、also、hardly、seldom、never 等。 3. 你看!他還在寫報告呢。 ˇ Look! He is still working