The number of downloads of games and apps has surged in China recently, as tens of millions of people are confined by the COVID-19 outbreak to their homes. More than 222 million downloads were made in China through Apple’s online store in the first week of February, and app downloads during the first two weeks of the month jumped by 40 percent.
“Millions of workers and students leveraged mobile apps to seek alternative methods to resume daily activities remotely,” said mobile data provider App Annie. Since schools in many Chinese cities have remained closed and are not expected to reopen soon, downloads of various education apps are particularly popular as schools promote online learning.
Meanwhile, as the world confronts the spread of the coronavirus, interest in disease-themed films, TV series and games has exploded, with worried viewers turning to documentaries and disaster movies for answers and ways to cope, according to AFP. A blast of disaster flicks from the past are storming the download charts.
Photo courtesy of Hualien Industrial Vocational Senior High School
照片︰花蓮高工提供
(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)
上千萬民眾因新型冠狀病毒爆發被關在家裡，使得手機遊戲及應用程式在中國下載量激增。在二月第一週，蘋果公司線上商店在中國的應用程式下載量，即打破二‧二二億次，在二月前兩週，下載量更大幅成長百分之四十。
手機數據平台App Annie說：「數百萬員工和學生都在透過應用程式，尋找他們能自遠距恢復日常活動的替代方案。」由於在許多中國城市學校仍維持關閉、短期內不太可能開學，校方便推廣線上學習，使得教育類的應用程式特別受到歡迎。
在全球對抗冠狀病毒擴散之際，據法新社報導，這也引爆了人們對於疾病相關主題的電影、電視和遊戲之興趣。擔憂的觀眾們，轉向紀錄片和災難電影找答案，以尋求對付病毒之道，一堆過去的災難片正席捲下載排行榜。
（台北時報張聖恩〉
A: Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses is touring Taiwan tomorrow. What about pop diva Lady Gaga? B: Unfortunately, Singapore has once again exclusively secured Gaga’s concerts in Asia, just like Taylor Swift’s exclusive Asian shows last year. A: The Singaporean government reportedly paid up to US$2.2 million to secure Swift’s shows. B: And the shows did boost its economy and tourism. A: But I’m angry about this approach, so I’m not going to Gaga’s shows this time. A: 硬式搖滾天團槍與玫瑰明天即將來台，流行天后女神卡卡呢？ B: 真可惜，新加坡再度取得卡卡亞洲巡演的獨家主辦權，就像去年泰勒絲的亞洲獨家演出一樣。 A: 據報導新加坡政府付出高達220萬美元，取得泰勒絲的亞洲獨家主辦權。 B: 而她的秀也的確提振了該國的經濟和旅遊業。 A: 但我對此還是很不爽，所以不去新加坡看卡卡了！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
A: Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses and pop diva Lady Gaga are finally touring Asia again. B: Are they also coming to Taiwan? A: The band will stage a show at the Taoyuan Sunlight Arena on Saturday. B: Wow, so this will be the band’s third visit. I really love its 1992 power ballad “November Rain.” The nine-minute hit was the Billboard chart’s longest song at one point. A: Let’s go celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release. A: 硬式搖滾天團槍與玫瑰、女神卡卡終於再度展開亞洲巡演了。 B: 他們也會來台巡演嗎？ A: 槍與玫瑰本週六即將在桃園陽光劇場開唱唷。 B: 哇這將是該團第三次來台演出，我超愛他們1992年強力情歌《November Rain》，全長近9分鐘還曾是告示牌排行榜最長神曲。 A: 那我們一起去慶祝該團出道40週年吧！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 Emma had reviewed 41 resumes that morning. While the ATS screened out 288 unqualified, she screened for AI slop. She could spot it a mile away. She muttered AI buzzwords like curses under her breath. “Team player.” “Results-driven.” “Stakeholder alignment.” “Leveraging core competencies.” Each resume reeked of AI modeling: a cemetery of cliches, tombstones of personality. AI wasn’t just changing hiring. It was draining the humanity from it. Then she found it: a plain PDF cover letter. No template. No design flourishes. The first line read: “I once tried to automate my
Every May 1, Hawaii comes alive with Lei Day, a festival celebrating the rich culture and spirit of the islands. Initiated in 1927 by the poet Don Blanding, Lei Day began as a tribute to the Hawaiian custom of making and wearing leis. The idea was quickly adopted and officially recognized as a holiday in 1929, and leis have since become a symbol of local pride and cultural preservation. In Hawaiian culture, leis are more than decorative garlands made from flowers, shells or feathers. For Hawaiians, giving a lei is as natural as saying “aloha.” It shows love and
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