An Internet meme, “It’s so much like love,” has created a stir and become viral recently in Taiwan — simply adding this phrase at the end of any sentence turns it into a short poem.
It all started with a photo of handwriting by an estate agent surnamed Wang, in which he hadwritten down step-by-step instructions: first write something that comes to you randomly, then conclude with “It’s so much like love,” and voila, you have a short poem. Written in June last year, the note only became viral in the last few weeks after being forwarded by Internet influencers.
The public sector has also jumped on the bandwagon, for example, as written on a policy poster of the Ministry of the Interior warning against illegal parking and double parking: “Forcing your way into an inadequate space you only end up getting yourself hurt; obviously there’s no room, but squeeze in regardless; it’s so much like love.”
Photo copied by Liu Wan-chun, Liberty Times 照片： 自由時報記者劉婉君翻攝
Some people pointed out that the meme “It’s so much like love” had been widespread among netizens in China last year, so Taiwan is lagging behind.
There are also writers who take it seriously and analyze it. They say that juxtaposing irrelevant sentences prompts the human brain to bridge the gaps to create meanings. What we write down is not something random, but our guided thoughts that have unconscious connections to love.
Love, what art thou? The whole nation is in search of the answer among games and trivial things.
(Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times)
網路近來瘋傳「像極了愛情」新梗，在任何語句後面加上「像極了愛情」，就能變成一首簡單的詩。
帶起這風潮的人是王姓物業管理上班族，他在去年六月寫下這段文字，近來因轉傳而爆紅。他教大家寫詩的步驟：先隨意寫一段話，最後加上「像極了愛情」即完成。
連公部門的政令宣導也趕上流行，例如內政部規勸民眾不要違規停車與併排，便寫道：「強求卡位，吃虧的終究是自己，明明沒有位置，還要硬擠過來，像極了愛情」。
有網友指出「像極了愛情」這個梗去年即在中國網友間流行，台灣不過是後知後覺。
也有作家認真分析，不相干的句子並置後，人的腦袋會自動填補空隙，讓其產生意義。我們也不是「隨意」寫出這些句子，而是受到引導，已先在潛意識中搜尋出其與「愛情」的關聯。
「問世間情為何物」？全民在遊戲與瑣事間推敲答案。
（台北時報林俐凱）
A note written by an estate agent surnamed Wang lists the steps for writing a simple poem by just ending random sentences with “It’s so much like love.”
Let me show you how to write a poem:
Step 1. Write anything random
Step 2. Add “It’s so much like love” at the end
Step 3. Finish
Example 1.
The air-conditioning technician said he won’t come this week
Not sure if he will come next week either
It’s so much like love
Example 2.
In the morning it was sunny
But it rained heavily in the afternoon
It’s so much like love
Example 3.
She got into a Maserati
The way she left without even a look back
It’s so much like love
Street lights are often taken for granted until a power outage plunges the world into darkness. When that happens, the value of these lighting installations becomes evident as the world turns into a more dangerous place for pedestrians and motorists alike. The Chinese could claim to be the first to have constructed a crude type of street light. Around 500 BC, residents of Beijing employed a type of street lamp that used hollow bamboo pipes and natural gas vents to create burning torches. Later, ancient Romans adopted lamps fueled by vegetable oil, which relied on slaves to light and
A: Who else is on Billboard’s list: “The 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st Century?” B: No. 15 to 6 are: Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Usher, Adele, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Britney Spears. A: I can’t believe that Adele’s only at No. 10. B: No. 5 to 1 are: Lady Gaga, Drake, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Beyonce. A: Well, they surely deserve the honor. A: 《告示牌》雜誌的「21世紀最偉大的25位流行歌手」，還有誰上榜啊？ B: 第15至6名是：麥莉希拉、大賈斯汀、妮姬米娜、阿姆、亞瑟小子、愛黛兒、亞莉安娜、小賈斯汀、肯伊威斯特、小甜甜布蘭妮。 A: 真不敢相信愛黛兒只排第10名。 B: 第5至1名是：女神卡卡、德瑞克、蕾哈娜、泰勒絲、碧昂絲。 A: 這幾位真是實至名歸！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
A: The 21st Century is now entering its 25th year. B: So Billboard has released a list: “The 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st Century.” A: Who are the greatest pop singers? B: No. 25 to 16 are: Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Bad Bunny, One Direction, Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars, BTS, The Weeknd, Shakira and Jay-Z. A: Wow, my favorite K-pop supergroup BTS has made it to the list. A: 21世紀正在邁入第25個年頭了。 B: 《告示牌》雜誌特別公布：「21世紀最偉大的25位流行歌手」。 A: 最偉大的歌手有哪些？ B: 第25至16名是：凱蒂佩芮、紅髮艾德、壞痞兔、1世代、小韋恩、火星人布魯諾、防彈少年團（BTS）、威肯、夏奇拉、Jay-Z。 A: 哇，我最愛的韓流天團BTS也上榜了！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
Spoiler alert and shift blame 破梗&甩鍋 在新冠疫情期間，無論是因為封城 (lockdown) 還是居家隔離 (self-isolation at home)，人們關在家中使用網路的時間大增。這也讓一些原本只存在於網路論壇的用語廣為普及。我們來談一下破梗 (spoiler alert) 與甩鍋 (shift blame) 這兩個用語。 有位古典文學教授 Joel Christensen 針對領導統御與疫情控制寫了一篇以古喻今、相當深入的文章：“Plagues follow bad leadership in ancient Greek tales”，文中出現一些講法，可用來翻譯上述的流行語： In the 5th century B.C., the playwright Sophocles begins Oedipus Tyrannos with the title character struggling to identify the cause of a plague striking his city, Thebes. (Spoiler alert: It’s his own bad leadership.) (Joel Christensen, “Plagues follow bad leadership in ancient Greek tales,” The Conversation, March 12, 2020) 作者提到 Oedipus（伊底帕斯）想找出瘟疫何以降臨他的城邦的緣由，加了一句：Spoiler alert: It’s his own bad leadership.（破梗：領導無方）。Spoiler alert 就是「破梗」，如果用在有人洩漏電影劇情的情境中，也可以翻作「小心爆雷」或「劇透警告」。疫情之下，在家看影集、電影成了很多人的娛樂，但要小心劇透 (spoilers)，很多 YouTube 上的影評在開頭也都會說 Spoiler alert!，警告還沒看過電影的觀眾小心爆雷、劇透。 至於「甩鍋」，源自大陸網民用語，通常意指某人犯了錯之後想推卸責任、轉移焦點、甚至讓別人背黑鍋的做法。疫情爆發後，相關網路資訊量爆增，許多中國網民也想找人為這場疫情負責，紛紛呼籲地方政府首長、地方黨書記不要「甩鍋」。 其實，在古代文學《奧德賽》中，就有「將自己的責任怪罪眾神」的說法，試用時下流行的「甩鍋」來重新翻譯： Humans are always blaming the gods for their suffering, but they experience
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