Inmates who set fire last month to a jail in the US state of Missouri, located in the central part of the US, are in for a big surprise when they return to the refurbished facility: authorities have painted it pink.
Dallas County Sheriff Mike Rackley said that he hopes the new color scheme — which he described as "Pepto-Bismol Pink"— will have a calming effect on the inmates. All of their cells will also feature blue teddy bears painted on the walls.
"There were several studies done by some universities and they have determined that pink is a soothing color," Rackley said. "It is our hope that it will have the same effect on the inmates."
PHOTO: AP
He said that so far eight inmates have been returned to the facility, located in a rural region, and their only reaction was: "Now that is pink."
Rackley said a total of 34 inmates, ranging from murderers to rapists to drug addicts and traffic violators, will be housed at the jail once the renovation has been completely finished.
"I'm not necessarily a fan of the color pink, but we'll utilize anything that has been shown to work," he said. "We are a day care for adults and basically; they are unable to curb their behavior in public so we have to house them here to curb their behavior. I'm sure the pink color will have a calming effect on them." (AFP)
美國中部密蘇里州一座監獄的受刑人上個月在獄中縱火。他們返回整修過的監獄時，將會大吃一驚了︰主管機關把監獄漆成粉紅色。
達拉斯郡警長邁可．雷克利表示，他希望自己形容為「粉紅良藥」的新顏色策略有安撫受刑人的功效。所有囚室牆壁也會漆上藍色泰迪熊。（註︰Pepto-Bismol 是美國暢銷的腸胃藥品牌，藥品與包裝均為粉紅色。）
「幾所大學的研究已證實粉紅色是安定人心的顏色，」雷克利說︰「我們希望它對受刑人也有相同功效。」
他表示，目前已有八位受刑人返回位於鄉間的監獄，他們反應一致︰「現在變粉紅色了。」
雷克利說，一旦整修工作完成，總計有三十四位從殺人犯、強暴犯、毒癮者到走私犯的受刑人將被安置獄中。
「我並非粉紅色迷，不過我會利用任何有效的東西，」他說︰「我們是成年人的養護機構，基本上他們無法約束自己在公領域的行為，所以我們必須在這裡安置他們，以約束他們的行為。我相信粉紅色有讓他們平靜的功效。」 （美聯社/翻譯：賴美君）
A: Yet another shopping mall has just opened in Taipei. B: Do you mean the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang? A: Yeah, the shopping mall run by Japanese Mitsui & Co. opened last week. B: I hear the mall features about 300 stores, Vieshow Cinemas and Japanese Lopia supermarket. A: With the opening, a war is breaking out between Taipei’s department stores. A: 台北又有新的購物商場可逛啦。 B: 你是說Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport 南港？ A: 對啊這家日本三井集團旗下的商場上週開幕。 B: 聽說商場有威秀影城、樂比亞日系超市，還有多達300家專櫃。 A: 新商場一開幕，看來又要掀起一場百貨大戰啦！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
A: Hey, didn’t you go to the opening of the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang last week? B: Yeah, there are about 300 shops, including the first overseas branch of Japan’s Mahou Dokoro — a famous Harry Potter-themed store. A: Wow, I’ve always wanted to get a magic wand. B: There are also a bunch of great restaurants, such as Smart Fish hotpot restaurant. A: I wish I had Harry Potter’s “apparition” and “disapparition” magic, so I could teleport to the mall right now. A: 你上週不是有去LaLaport南港的盛大開幕嗎？有什麼特別的？ B: 那裡有多達300家專櫃，包括魔法之地的海外首店——它可是日本知名的《哈利波特》專賣店。 A: 哇我一直想買根魔杖。 B: 另外還有各式各樣的美食，像是林聰明沙鍋魚頭。 A: 真希望我也有哈利波特的「現影術／消影術」魔法，能瞬間移動到商場去！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
When it comes to movies, some people delight in watching spine-chilling horror films. Surprisingly, apart from containing a few scares, horror movies may also offer an unexpected __1__. According to a study, watching 90 minutes of a scary movie can burn an average of 113 calories, which is roughly __2__ to taking a 30-minute walk. Researchers from the University of Westminster carried out an experiment in which they __3__ participants’ oxygen intake, carbon dioxide output, and heart rates while they were watching horror movies without any distractions. The results revealed that physiological responses to fear play a crucial role
Dos & Don’ts — 想想看，這句話英語該怎麼說？ 1. 你覺得這部電影怎樣？ ˇ What do you think of the movie? χ How do you like the movie? χ How do you think of the movie? 註︰What do you think of ＝ What is your opinion of。 think 的受詞是 what，不能用 how。 2. 你認為哪一個歌星唱得最好？ ˇ Which singer do you think is the best? χ Do you think which singer is the best? 註︰英語中 which singer 似乎是 do you think 的受詞，實則 do you think 是插入語，其他例子如下： 你以為他喜歡誰？ Who do you think he likes? 你以為我住在哪裏？ Where do you think I live? 你想我昨天在公園裏碰到了誰？ Whom/Who do you think I met in the park yesterday? 3. 他不論到什麼地方，總是帶著一把雨傘。 ˇ No matter where he goes, he
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