A private school in the western Indian state of Gujarat made pupils walk over burning coals and broken glass in a hair-raising test designed to boost their confidence.
Officials at the Riverdale school in the city of Surat described the challenges set at a summer camp as “important exercises that will make a child strong and determined.”
“We asked the students to walk with naked feet on fire and on broken glass pieces as it teaches them to deal with their fear and find new ways to overcome it,” Kalpesh Patel, a school administrator, told AFP.
Patel said 80 children aged nine to 14 walked on the hot coals, while 110 students walked over glass pieces. He said no one suffered any injuries.
Television footage of the event was picked up by Indian news channels.
“The children were reluctant in the beginning but afterwards they exuded confidence,” Patel said, adding that the school had been running the activities for more than a decade.
Fire-walking has existed as a religious ritual in many cultures for thousands of years. It has also gained some popularity in the US as a team-building exercise and alternative health remedy.
(AFP)
為了增加學童信心，印度西部古加拉特省一所私立小學，舉行了一場令人毛骨悚然的測驗，要學童赤腳走過火紅木炭與碎玻璃。
蘇拉特市里弗代爾小學人員表示，這項夏令營活動「是讓孩童變強壯，培養堅忍毅力的挑戰」。
校方行政人員卡爾貝希•巴戴爾跟法新社表示：「我們要求學生赤腳走在火苗與碎玻璃上，因為這讓他們學習面對恐懼，並找出克服它的方法。」
巴戴爾說，八十名九到十四歲的孩童走上火紅木炭，而走過碎玻璃的有一百一十位，但沒有任何人受傷。
印度多家電視新聞台紛紛報導這個活動。
巴戴爾說：「孩子們一開始很排斥，但後來卻表現的很有信心。」他還說，學校舉辦這個活動已經超過十年。
這種過火宗教儀式在在許多文化中已流傳數千年。在美國則因做為團隊合作訓練與另類健康療法而小有名氣。
（法新社╱翻譯：吳岱璟）
A: It’s a pity that I can’t go to Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue’s concert. B: Why not? A: Hit Japanese singer Kenshi Yonezu is staging two shows at the Taipei Arena this weekend, and I already bought tickets long ago. B: Wow, isn’t he one of the most popular Japanese singers in recent years? A: And Yonezu’s megahit “Lemon” topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100’s year-end chart in 2018 and 2019 consecutively. A: 我不能去澳洲歌后凱莉米諾的演唱會真可惜。 B: 為什麼？ A: 日本人氣歌手米津玄師週末將在小巨蛋熱唱兩場，我早早就買票啦。 B: 哇他可是日本近年來最紅的歌手之一。 A: 米津的神曲《Lemon》甚至還在2018、2019年連續稱霸告示牌日本單曲榜年度冠軍！ (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪)
A: Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue is set to visit Taiwan for the third time on Saturday. B: I remember that her Taipei concerts in 2008 and 2011 caused a sensation, and I love her megahit “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” A: This will be her first time performing in the southern city of Kaohsiung. B: Many music critics praise Kylie’s show as “a must-see in your lifetime.” A: Let’s go to Kaohsiung this weekend. A: 澳洲歌后凱莉米諾週六即將三度訪台。 B: 她曾在2008、2011年兩度在台北開唱都造成大轟動，我超愛她的神曲《Can’t Get You Out of My Head》。 A: 這次可是她首度唱進南台灣的高雄呢。 B: 許多樂評家說她的演唱會是「此生必看」！ A: 那我們週末去高雄吧。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
The Lemon Festival is a fun annual celebration in Menton, France. This festival began in 1934 and honors the region’s exceptional lemons. __1__ in February during the lemon season, the festival features beautiful floats and sculptures covered with dazzling lemons and oranges. These citrus creations are on display in the bright sunshine throughout the day, while at night, they are lit up and turn the town into a __2__ spectacle. The festival’s origins can be traced back to the late 19th century, when Menton was a major lemon producer. __3__, hotels would decorate their spaces with lemons and oranges
中國海關總署突然發布通知，指台灣輸入的釋迦及蓮霧檢出介殼蟲「大洋臀紋粉蚧」，決定暫停輸入。 In September 2021, China’s customs administration announced that it would suspend imports of sweetsop and jambu from Taiwan, citing discoveries of Planococcus minor, a type of mealybug. 蓮霧 (jambu/champoo, Syzygium samarangense) ，又名洋蒲桃，是桃金孃科熱帶水果，原產於印尼和馬來西亞，在星、馬稱作水蓊，中、港、澳稱作天桃。 蓮霧學名中的種小名 samarangense，係因模式標本採自印尼的Semarang (三寶瓏) 而得名。 蓮霧馬來語稱為 jambu air，第二個字 air讀作 /?a??(r)/，是水的意思，荷蘭人從印尼引進台灣，台語音譯為蓮霧 ian-b?。 以往蓮霧常見譯為 wax apple，聽起來好像素描靜物用的蠟製水果 (Wax Fruit)，曾有人問美國朋友要不要吃蓮霧? Care for a wax apple? 對方回一句：Why not a real one? 近來美國市場流行泰語的講法 champoo。蓮霧果實長得像鈴鐺，因此又稱為 bell-fruit。 Syzygium samarangense is a tropical fruit in the family Myrtaceae, native to the Greater Sunda Islands and the Malay Peninsula. Common names in English include champoo, jambu, bell fruit, rose apple, Java apple, and wax apple. In Taiwan, the dark red cultivars are nicknamed “Black
RSS