Have you ever looked up into the sky on a clear day and seen an airplane flying high in the clouds? If so, you’ve probably also noticed the long white streaks it leaves behind in its path. They are called contrails, and there’s more to these white lines in the sky than meets the eye. The jet fuel that powers the engines of a plane is intensely hot, often burning at more than 500°C. In contrast, the air temperature at high altitudes where commercial flights typically cruise can reach as low as -56°C. When the hot exhaust gases, which include water
Jiang Yiwu paced the small room and wondered how the leader of the Literary Society had got here. He could hear the Russian and Manchu police outside. They were looking for him. The Russians controlled the railways now, cutting through China, taking land and resources. The people were angry, and so was he. The revolution was almost ready. But things went wrong. Sun Wu, a key leader, lay in the hospital with critical wounds. The explosives were meant for the revolution but detonated by accident. Sun and the revolutionary plans were discovered by the police. Jiang grimaced at the
Have you ever counted the number of keys on a piano? On a standard modern piano, the number of keys is 88. So, why is this the case? The piano is believed to have been invented around the beginning of the 18th century. It was first created as a modified version of the harpsichord. Most harpsichords at the time had 60 keys—covering five octaves, with each octave comprising seven white keys and five black keys. That’s why the earliest pianos also had 60 keys. The white keys on a piano are called natural keys and correspond to the musical
新冠疫情期間確診者「解除隔離」(released from hospital isolation),「出院後又復陽」(tested positive again after being discharged) 的案例頻傳,國內也出現首例三次採檢陰性出院後,又因胸口不適採檢復陽個案。後來中央流行疫情指揮中心表示,因應國際間「復陽」(retesting positive) 狀況頻傳,檢疫標準進一步增加為「三次採檢均為陰性」(three consecutive negative tests),才能解除隔離。 以下為國外媒體報導: People are retesting positive for COVID-19 again; doctors suggest three consecutive negative results before discharging . . . . Taiwan has implemented stricter requirements when releasing patients, now requiring three consecutive negative tests instead of just two. (The Online Citizen , March 9, 2020) 疫情中心表示COVID-19發病後第一週病毒量較高,較易採檢到陽性;若發病時間較長,可能「時陰時陽」,會謹慎多採幾次。 「時陰時陽」英文怎麼說?可以說tested positive and negative on and off。如: I am currently infected with Covid-19 in Brisbane, Australia. . . . for 17 days and testing positive and negative on and off. (Covidessay.blogspot.com, March 21, 2020) 國家教育研究院「雙語詞彙審譯會」則是把「時陰時陽」譯為inconsistent test results。 除了時陰時陽以外,因為此病毒的檢測時有不明確的狀況,搭配患者幾無症狀的表現,又出現了「介於陰陽之間」的說法: 我國438例確診者,目前除了一名個案三採陰出院後轉陽,還有三名個案出院後,再回院採檢結果介於陰陽之間,「類似當時軍艦有官兵採驗陰性後,又出現陽性結果,介於陰陽之間不容易判讀。」 (2020年5月6日,《聯合報》) 「(採檢結果)介於陰陽之間」的英文又該怎麼說?可以說tests with ambiguous results,不過更簡潔的譯法是:inconclusive test result。 美國退伍軍人部(Department of Veterans Affairs)網站上對inconclusive