A: The four-day long weekend for Tomb-sweeping Day begins today. Are you going south to sweep tombs this weekend?
B: I went south early last weekend, so I could attend South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun’s show at the Kaohsiung Sakura Festival, but he canceled his visit after a scandal broke out.
A: The late actress Kim Sae-ron’s family accused him of dating her since she was a minor, at just 15 years old. Fans are shocked.
Photo: Liberty Times 照片:自由時報
B: Didn’t the media report that the age of consent in South Korea used to be 13? Technically, he didn’t break the law.
A: Yes, but his superstar persona is collapsing. Maybe we can go to another superstar Andrea Bocelli’s show instead.
A: 清明節4天連假開始了,你這週要回南部掃墓嗎?
B: 我上週就提早南下,原本要去高雄「櫻花季」看韓星金秀賢的表演,但他因醜聞爆發而取消演出。
A: 已故女星金賽綸的家人指控他,自女方15歲未成年就開始和她交往,令粉絲大感震驚!
B: 媒體不是說,南韓之前合法性交年齡為13歲?嚴格說他沒犯法。
A: 不過亞洲男神「人設」恐怕崩塌啦,我們改去歐洲男神波伽利的演唱會吧。
(By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
Even as he grows older, Microsoft founder Bill Gates still fondly remembers the catalytic computer code he wrote 50 years ago that opened up a new frontier in technology. Although the code that Gates printed out on a teletype machine may look crude compared to what’s powering today’s artificial intelligence platforms, it played a critical role in creating Microsoft in April 1975 — a golden anniversary that the Redmond, Washington, company celebrated on April 4. Gates, 69, set the stage for that jubilee with a blog post reminiscing on how he and his old high school friend — the late Paul Allen
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been used in cooking for over a century to enhance flavor. It is often found in Chinese dishes and many other cuisines. Despite its common use, many people misunderstand the safety of MSG. The bad __1__ of MSG started in the late 1960s, when a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine described symptoms like a racing heart, weakness, and numbness after the writer ate Northern Chinese food. While no specific cause was __2__, a series of questionable studies in 1968 began to point the finger at MSG. In one such study, neurologist Herbert Schaumburg and
Australia’s strict immigration policies have long been criticized, particularly for how they treat people with disabilities. Having been residents of Australia for years, Scottish Laura Currie and her Italian partner, Dante Vendittelli, recently experienced the impact of these immigration policies. Their son Luca, born in Australia and diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, became the reason their residency application was denied due to the anticipated high healthcare costs. Had Luca been healthy, there would have been no objections to their permanent residency. This case not only highlights discrimination against disabled individuals, but also raises questions about fairness and inclusion within Australia’s immigration
The study had several issues. Small sample sizes made it hard to draw __7__ conclusions. Additionally, taking a __8__ like pure MSG on an empty stomach is likely to make a person ill in any case. Choosing individuals who already had a history of the symptoms could have created a bias because they were likely to __9__ the reactions again. When real scientific research on the effects of MSG was eventually done, many of the myths surrounding it were proven __10__. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other global organizations have found MSG safe to eat. Today, MSG