A: The problem with charity stores is that they are often full of items that the original owners no longer want. Maybe they’re broken, outdated, out of fashion or obsolete.
B: There is a very fine line between out of fashion and “vintage.” Look at that swallow-tail leather jacket. It shouts “1970s,” but it would look very cool on the right person.
A: I guess you’re right. And look at that blender over there. That’s a reputable brand, and it’s still in the original box. I can’t believe they’re only asking NT$500 for it. That’s a real find.
Photo: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times 照片:台北時報古德謙
B: Yes, but you have to question why it’s still there, collecting dust. Why is nobody buying it? It must be faulty. I wouldn’t touch that with a barge pole.
A: Yeah, sure. Get out of my way. You’ll be back tomorrow to buy it. I’m going to get it now. Finders, keepers.
A: 慈善二手店的缺點是,那裡都是一些原來的主人不要的東西,可能是壞了、過時了、不流行了,或是被淘汰的。
B: 「不流行」和「有年代」之間的界線是很微妙的。你看那件燕尾皮夾克,它明顯傳達出一九七○年代的味道,可是穿在對的人身上,看起來就會很酷。
A: 你說的大概沒錯。你看那邊的果汁機,它是很好的牌子,而且還在原來的盒子裡。我不敢相信這只賣五百塊。這真是打著燈籠都找不到的。
B: 是沒錯啦,可是你會想問說,為什麼它還在那裡長灰塵。為甚麼都沒有人買?這一定是瑕疵品。這東西我是碰都不想碰的。
A: 對啦,沒錯,你閃開點。你明天就會回來買。我現在就要把它買到手。誰找到就是誰的。
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times/台北時報林俐凱譯)
English 英文:
Chinese 中文:
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
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