Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's new campaign against teenage binge drinking in Australia revived questions last week about his own drunken escapade in a New York strip club.
Reports of the night he spent at "Scores" in 2003 surfaced while he campaigned ahead of last November's election. The bookish and church-going Rudd apologized, and most Australians believed him when he said it was the second time in his life that he was drunk.
Still, the incident resurfaced last week when Rudd launched a 53 million Australian dollar (NT$1.5 billion) campaign to combat excessive drinking among Australians teens.
"It's a bit rich for a man who got famously stonkered at a lap-dancing club in New York five years ago to be lecturing the rest of us on binge drinking," columnist Miranda Devine wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Rudd admitted last Friday that he was no "paragon of moral virtue."
"I'll take any incoming flak about yours truly, but I've got one target in mind and that is to get that number down," he told Melbourne radio 3AW, referring to the 168,000 Australian teenagers under the legal drinking age of 18 who abuse alcohol.
The campaign includes television, radio and Internet spots to shock young people on the consequences of binge drinking, as well as grants to clubs and community groups to help change the drinking culture. Some sports stars have agreed to appear in the ads.
Australians are relatively tolerant of excessive drinking. Former prime minister Bob Hawke held a Guinness World Record for speed beer drinking during his days as a Rhodes Scholar.(AP)
上週，澳洲總理陸克文為改善青少年狂飲問題而推行的新計畫，讓他曾在紐約一間脫衣酒吧酒醉荒唐的事再度成為民眾質疑的話題。
他去年十一月參選澳洲總理前，曾被媒體揭露他二ＯＯ三年某夜光顧「Scores」脫衣舞俱樂部的往事；當時有書卷氣息且總是按時上教堂的陸克文就道歉說，那是他生平第二次喝醉酒，這說法說服了大部份澳洲民眾。
儘管如此，當上週陸克文提出一個五千三百萬澳幣（新台幣十五億元）的計畫，以導正澳洲青少年過量飲酒問題時，該事件又再度被拿來炒作。
專欄作家米蘭達．戴凡在《雪梨晨鋒報》中寫道：「被一個五年前在紐約脫衣舞夜總會喝得酩酊爛醉的人教訓『狂飲』，實在是讓我們感到有一點荒唐。」
陸克文上週五承認他自己「在道德上並非完人」。
他對墨爾本3AW廣播電台表示：「對於大眾的抨擊我都虛心接受，但是我心中有一個目標，就是要減少狂飲的青少年人數。」他提到，澳洲未達十八歲法定年齡就酗酒的青少年約有十六萬八千人。
這項計畫包括在電視、廣播和網路上安插廣告，以可能的後果來嚇阻年輕人酗酒，並補助俱樂部和社區團體，以期改善飲酒文化；已有若干體育明星同意參與廣告拍攝。
相對而言，澳洲人對過量飲酒相當寬容；前總理霍克在當「羅德學人」期間，還曾是金氏世界紀錄極速狂飲啤酒項目的紀錄保持人。（美聯社�翻譯：袁星塵）
Warning: Excessive consumption
of alcohol can damage your health.
警告：飲酒過量有害健康。
A: Wow, singer Bruno Mars will be visiting Kaohsiung for the first time. B: Really? Where will he be performing? A: He’s going to hold a concert at the National Stadium on Sunday. B: Why do the Taiwanese like to call him the “Martian” in Chinese? A: Because his last name “Mars” is the same word as the planet Mars. A: 哇！火星人布魯諾將首度唱進高雄。 B: 真的嗎？在哪裡？ A: 他將於本週日，在國家體育場開唱唷。 B: 但是為什麼台灣人喜歡叫他火星人呢？ A: 因為他的姓氏「Mars」這個字剛好是「火星」的意思啊。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
A: Bruno Mars is definitely one of today’s most popular singers. B: He has even won 14 Grammy Awards. A: I love all his megahits, like “Just the Way You Are.” B: And his new song with Lady Gaga “Die with a Smile” has a caused worldwide sensation. A: I wonder if we’ll hear the new song at his Kaohsiung concert? A: 火星人布魯諾是近年來最受歡迎的流行歌手。 B: 對啊他還曾榮獲14座葛萊美獎。 A: 他所有的金曲我都愛，像《Just the Way You Are》。 B: 最近他和女神卡卡合唱《Die with a Smile》更造成大轟動！ A: 不知道在高雄有沒有機會聽他演唱這首新歌呢？ (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
The Lord returned home after a long day of hunting, a deer on his horse and a bow on his back. His apprentice had stayed behind, feeling unwell. He rode slowly through the forest, closed his eyes, and felt the warm sunlight on his face. He opened his eyes to a full moon rising. Time to make offerings and pray for peace, good weather, a bountiful harvest. And a child with his beloved wife. He smiled. As he approached, the house was quiet. Too quiet. He dismounted in the empty courtyard. “Feng Meng?” he called. Silence. He went to his apprentice’s
Strawberries are one of the fruits that signal the start of winter. Although “berry” is included in the name, a strawberry isn’t actually a berry in the __1__ sense of the word. True berries, such as blueberries and cranberries, have seeds inside the fleshy part of the fruits. If you look at a strawberry, you’ll see what seem to be seeds on the outside of the fruit. This __2__ makes strawberries fall into a category known as an aggregate fruit. It’s easy to see where the __3__ comes from. In everyday language, almost any small, juicy, edible fruit is called
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