Photo courtesy of New Taipei City Government’s Sports Office 照片：新北市政府體育處提供
Photo copied by Yao Yue-hung, Liberty Times 片：自由時報姚岳宏翻攝
Photo copied by Yao Yue-hung, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報姚岳宏翻攝
Photo: CNA 照片：中央社
British fiction writer J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise has become a global phenomenon, but Quidditch, the real-life sport inspired by the airborne game played by wizards in the series, is now ditching its whimsical name. Quidditch, the fictional sport invented by Rowling in the series, was adapted by Harry Potter fans and made into a real-life sport. The sport is now played in 40 countries among nearly 600 teams. However, the International Quidditch Association (IQA) said it was joining US Quidditch (USQ) and Major League Quidditch (MLQ) in adopting the new name after the two bodies had previously announced their decision
Taipei Performing Arts Center opens this week (1/3)「大貢丸」北藝中心開幕（一） A: The Taipei Performing Arts Center finally opens to the public this week. B: Are you talking about that building next to Shilin Night Market which looks like a massive meatball? A: Yes. The sphere-shaped theater has three auditoria and was designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Rem Koolhaas. B: We should find a time to visit the center together. A: 台北表演藝術中心本週終於要開幕了。 B: 你說的是士林夜市旁，很像一顆「大貢丸」的建築嗎？ A: 這座球型綜合劇院有三個劇場，由榮獲普利茲克獎的建築大師庫哈斯所設計。 B: 那我們就找機會去參觀一下吧。 （Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
Go camping camp (n)「營」可用在許多地方，例如summer camp「夏令營」、boot camp「戰鬥營」、甚至concentration camp「集中營」也是用這個字；而Camp David「大衛營」則是美國總統度假的地方。此外，camp也可當動詞「紮營」，camping當名詞是「露營」，紮營的地點「營地」則是campsite。 Fans of the world-renowned rock band, Crazy Noise, camped out the night before the band’s first concert in Europe. （世界知名搖滾樂團Crazy Noise的歌迷，在樂團首場歐洲演唱會的前一晚，就在外紮營徹夜等待。） Rebecca and I met at a summer camp in Florida when we were 12 years old. （十二歲那年，我和瑞貝卡在佛羅里達州的夏令營首次相遇。） 露營重要須知 若想在國家公園內露營，需要事先登記或申請許可證（permit），也因為在野外過夜，要準備充足的裝備與食物，重要配備像是帳篷、手電筒、睡袋…等，或者有些營地也有提供camping gear「露營裝備」的租借服務，gear是「設備」的意思，與equipment同義；此外，腳踏車或汽車的變速段數也可用gear來形容。 The demonstration video on the company’s Web site shows customers how to use bicycle gears properly. （公司網頁的示範影片展示如何正確使用腳踏車的變速設備。） Smith & Smith Outdoors offers a collection of rental camping gear such as tents, trekking poles, sleeping bags and so on. （史密斯戶外用品店提供一系列的露營用具租借，例如帳篷、登山杖、睡袋…等。） 手電筒的美式英文是flashlight，這個字同時也可解釋為「（手機或相機中的）閃光燈」。要注意「手電筒」在英式英文裡是torch (n)，在美式英文中torch則是「火把」的意思，因此奧運開幕式的火炬就稱為Olympic Torch。 It’s important to include a battery-powered flashlight, bottled water, and non-perishable food in the emergency survival kit. （在緊急救難袋中放置一個電池供電的手電筒，瓶裝水和不容易腐壞的食物是很重要的。） 搭帳篷（pitch a tent）也是露營的重要過程，pitch可當動詞或名詞，而且有多重字義，pitch在這裡是「搭」，也就是put up的意思。此外pitch也可解釋為「投擲」，如投手就是pitcher，而在多益測驗中，pitch常用作名詞使用，例如sales pitch「銷售宣傳、口號」。 You need
Taipei Performing Arts Center opens this week (2/3) 大貢丸」北藝中心開幕（二） A: At a cost of NT$6 billion (about US$200 million), the Taipei Performing Arts Center is finally set to open nine years after construction began. B: Wow, that’s expensive, although it does look cool. A: To celebrate its opening to the public, the center has put together a program of 37 shows, comprising 142 performances. B: Fantastic! I’m going to take a look at the program calendar. A: 聽說北藝中心造價高達近六十億台幣（約近兩億美元），蓋了九年終於蓋好啦。 B: 這麼貴？不過看起來是蠻酷的。 A: 為了慶祝開幕，該中心還安排了三十七檔節目、一百四十二場演出呢。 B: 太棒了！我先來查一下節目表。 （Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
RSS