B: What kind of toys did you have when you were young, then?
A: I remember one year I got a ventriloquist’s dummy for my birthday. It had a grotesque face and a shock of red hair, with bushy eyebrows and googly eyes.
B: I think that face would have given me nightmares. My sister had a doll with eyes that opened when she sat up and closed when you put her down to sleep. It spoke, too, saying things like, “Mom, I’m hungry.”
Photo: Wikimedia Commons 照片：維基共享資源
A: My sister had one of those, too. When the doll got old, the eyes would flicker in the halfway position, neither open nor closed. It used to freak me out. Especially when it stared at you with those flickering eyes and told you it was hungry.
B: 那你小時候是玩什麼玩具啊？
A: 我記得有一年生日我收到用來表演腹語的玩偶。那個玩偶有很詭異的臉和紅色的爆炸頭，眉毛很濃，眼睛還凸出來。
B: 我如果看到這張臉，會做惡夢耶。 我姊有一個洋娃娃，坐著的時候眼睛會張開，讓它躺著，眼睛就會閉起來。它也會講話喔！會說「媽，我餓了」之類的。
A: 我妹也有這種娃娃。那個娃娃後來舊了，眼睛就變成半開半閉，眼皮卡在中間抖個不停，把我嚇壞了，尤其是那個娃娃用半開半閉、不停顫動的眼睛看著你，跟你說它餓了的時候。
（Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯）
English 英文:
Chinese 中文:
Ventriloquist
A ventriloquist is an entertainer who can give the impression their voice is coming from a source other than themselves, usually a puppet or “dummy.” The ventriloquist is said to be able to “throw” their voice.
With the international COVID-19 pandemic increasing in severity, tighter border restrictions mean that only a small number of Taiwanese will be able to travel abroad during this year’s Lunar New Year holiday period. As a result, hotels are doing a roaring trade in family reunion dinners this year, with several well-known five-star hotels becoming booked out as early as December last year. Two months ago, the Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel had sold nearly 200 preorders, while places for Lunar New Year dinners at the Okura Taipei and the Fullon Hotel also sold out last year. The pandemic has given a
I certainly won’t miss the commute! (5/5) 我對通勤是絕對不會想念的！（五） A: With global telecommunications, wireless connectivity and the death of the office, it will be possible to work from anywhere. B: So you think you could just take off to a beach or a beautiful, sun-soaked spot in an idyllic part of the world and do your work from there? A: If we could do it, many others could, too. There wouldn’t be an idyllic place left on Earth. They’d all be crowded with people shouting into their mobile devices or tapping away on their keyboards. A: 有了全球電信系統、無線網路，再加上辦公室的消失，以後要在哪裡工作都可以。 B: 所以你想這樣就可以到海邊，或者世界上某個詩情畫意、陽光普照的地方去，在那裡工作？ A: 如果我們可以這樣，很多人也可以呀！這樣地球上就不會有什麼詩情畫意的地方了。因為這些地方都會擠滿人，大家都大聲講手機，或是在鍵盤上劈哩啪啦打字。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文:
I certainly won’t miss the commute! (4/5) 我對通勤是絕對不會想念的！（四） B: Urban planners are going to have to massively rethink how cities are designed. Business districts will go out of the window. Office buildings will have to be repurposed. Commuter routes will become a thing of the past. A: They will be able to make open, green spaces for people to work in, which will be easier now with all this wireless connectivity. It’s going to be great! B: Careful what you wish for. We might not be tethered to the office, but we’ll still be tied to our mobile devices. We’ll still need to be contactable 24/7, slaves
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