A: Congratulations on your imminent retirement! Have you given much thought to how you want to spend your new-found freedom?
B: I’ve been researching it and have discovered a wonderful new pastime that I think suits me down to the ground. I’ve been practicing. Look.
A: But you’re just sitting there doing nothing, with your feet on the desk and your arms behind your head.
Photo: Pixabay 照片:Pixabay
B: That’s right. It’s called “vegging out,” apparently, and the great thing is, you can do it anywhere: on the balcony, watching the TV, waiting for the laundry to finish…
A: 恭喜你快退休了!你想好要怎麼好好利用這新的自由了嗎?
B: 我已經在找了,而且發現了一個很棒的消遣娛樂,非常適合我。我已經在練習了。你看!
A: 可是你只是坐在那裡,把腳蹺到桌上,兩手放在頭後面,什麼都沒做啊!
B: 沒錯。這個叫做「耍廢」,很棒的是,這個你在哪裡都可以做:在陽台上、看電視的時候、在等衣服洗好的時候……
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times/台北時報林俐凱譯)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from