A: Excuse me, how long will this airmail parcel take to arrive?
B: It usually takes 10 to 15 days, but recently, due to the pandemic, many flights have been cancelled, so the shipping times will be considerably longer. It’s not possible to confirm when it will reach the destination.
A: Heavens, in two weeks’ time, my friend will be off on a business trip, so the parcel absolutely must arrive before then.
Photo: Chen Yi-chia, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報記者陳宜加
B: Alternatively, you could send it by express mail instead, this way it will be loaded onto the airplane quicker, and the arrival time is typically four to five days, although at the moment this is still subject to delays.
A: So how much will it cost to mail it by express?
B: It will be NT1,260. Sending it by the ordinary parcel service will be NT$1,105.
A: 請問這航空包裹大概多久會寄到呢？
B: 一般是十到十五天，但是最近因為疫情的關係，很多航班都取消了，所以郵遞時間會大幅延誤，實際到達日期沒辦法確定。
A: 天哪，可是再過兩個禮拜，我朋友就要出差了，包裹一定要在這之前寄到才行。
B: 不然你可以改寄國際快捷，這是能讓它最快搭上飛機的方法，寄達時間一般是四到五天，不過現在也是有延誤的情況。
A: 那寄快捷要多少錢啊？
B: 一千兩百六十元。寄普通包裹的話是一千一百零五元。
(Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱)
Audio recordings for Speak Up! dialogues will be suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.
Did you know that one in 10 people will develop kidney stones in their lifetime? These tiny, hard deposits can cause intense pain that sends even the toughest individuals to the emergency room. Kidney stones form when minerals and waste in urine become too dense. Normally, these substances are flushed out with the urine. However, if there’s not enough water in the body, or the levels of these substances are too high, they can cluster together and form crystals. Over time, these crystals can grow into hard lumps that may block the flow of urine. The primary symptom is
With the pace of climate change speeding up, extreme weather and other impacts are taking an increasing toll on populations and environments across the globe. Here are some of the developments this year in climate science: WARMER, FASTER Global temperatures are not just climbing, they are now climbing faster than before, with new records logged for 2023 and 2024, and at points in 2025. That finding was part of a key study in June that updated baseline data used in the science reports done every few years by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The new research shows the average global
A: The 62nd Golden Horse Awards ceremony is set for next weekend. So what are the nominees for Best Narrative Feature? B: The nominees are: A Foggy Tale, The Waves Will Carry Us, Left-Handed Girl, Queerpanorama and Mother Bhumi. A: What about the nominees for Best Leading ActorActress? B: Richie Koh, Will Or, Joseph Chang, Chang Chen and Lan Wei-hua are nominated for Best Leading Actor. Caitlin Fang, Rene Liu, Ariel Lin, Alexia Kao and Fan Bingbing are nominated for Best Leading Actress. A: It’s a shame that many of those movies haven’t even been released yet. Meanwhile, some blockbusters won zero nominations this
A: For next weekend’s Golden Horse Awards ceremony, the Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Chen Shu-fang. B: Didn’t Chen win both Best Leading Actress and Best Supporting Actress in 2023? What a talented performer she is. A: But with the debut of the world’s first AI-generated “actress,” human performers may start to worry about their jobs. B: The news says the debut of AI-generated “actress” Tilly Norwood in a recent conference attracted studio executives’ interest. A: With big stars like Robert Redford and Diane Keaton passing away one after another, could human performers gradually be replaced in the future? A: 下週末登場的金馬獎，終身成就獎將頒給陳淑芳！ B: 她前年不是同時贏得女主角、女配角獎？真是位好演員。 A: 但隨著全球首位人工智慧（AI）生成「女星」亮相，人類演員或許要開始擔心了。 B:
RSS