The year of the pig has arrived, and auspicious pig-related items can be seen everywhere. But you might not be that knowledgeable about pigs.
The pig is in actuality a clean and smart animal, even smarter than cats and dogs. It is, in fact, among the smartest of all mammals.
The English phrase “sweat like a pig” also isn't entirely accurate, since pigs do not have any sweat glands and are totally unable to sweat. When the weather is hot, pigs take a dip in mud or water, lowering their body temperature as the water evaporates.
Pigs have a very sensitive sense of smell, at least as sensitive as a dog's. Pigs are not only often used to locate truffles (a sort of underground fungi), but have even been used to search for landmines.
Pigs can also be kept as pets. There is a type of pig called a miniature pet pig. Its head and tail are black, while its body has a large swath of black and the rest of the skin is pink. It is said that the pig gives off a smell like milk. However, one must pay attention to the type of pet pig one gets. Otherwise the miniature pig may grow up to be a huge sacrificial pig.
One must know what one is getting into before taking care of any pet. Otherwise, after swarming to buy a miniature pig, you may find yourself wanting to get rid of it after the novelty has worn off!
(Translated by Jason Cox)
豬年到了,有關豬的吉祥物隨處可見,有關豬的知識
,你可能就沒那麼熟悉了。
豬其實又愛乾淨又聰明,甚至比貓狗都聰明,在哺乳類動物的排行中名列前茅。
英文片語中的「sweat like pig」也所言不實,因為豬身上沒有汗腺,根本不會排汗,天氣熱時,牠們會將自己浸在水或泥巴裡,藉由水氣蒸發來降低體溫。
豬的嗅覺非常敏銳,比起狗可有過之而無不及,牠們不僅常被用來找出珍貴的松露(一種地底下的蕈菇),甚至曾經被用來偵查地雷。
豬也可以被當成寵物,有一種「迷你麝香豬」,頭部和尾巴呈黑色,身軀有一大塊黑,其餘部位呈粉紅膚色,據說身上會散發出牛奶的香味。不過得注意麝香豬的品種,否則體型嬌小的「迷你豬」可能會被養成龐大的「神豬」。
養任何寵物前都得想清楚,可別一窩蜂地搶著飼養麝香豬,新鮮感退卻後就隨意拋棄喔!(鄭湘儀編撰)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Finally, cultural influence also plays a role in which hand people prefer. Historically, items that require physical manipulation have been designed for right-handed use. For example, tools like scissors and musical instruments are often constructed with right-handers in mind, making it difficult for left-handers to use them. __4__ While these factors offer some explanation, they remain speculative. The precise reasons for the global prevalence of right-handed people continue to be debated. Nevertheless, left-handedness will remain a phenomenon of great curiosity among scientists and researchers for many years to come. 最後,文化影響也在人們偏好哪一隻手上扮演一角。歷史上,需要用到肢體操作的物品都被設計來供右手使用。舉例來說,像是剪刀、樂器等工具常常就是考慮到右撇子而打造的,造成左撇子難以使用這些工具。因此,許多天生就是左撇子的人可能就必須透過學習使用右手來適應。 雖然這些因素都提供了一些解釋,但它們仍是推測而已。全球右撇子如此普及,確切的原因仍持續被爭論著。不過,在未來的許多年裡,左撇子依然會是科學家和研究人員相當好奇的一個現象。 What Did You Learn? (A) Specifically, different areas of