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)
Whether they are a Siamese, Persian, Maine Coon, or Domestic Shorthair, there are hundreds of millions of cats living with people around the world. But despite their popularity as pets, the history of cat domestication has remained difficult for scientists to decipher. A new genome study is providing some insight into the matter by determining the timing of a key milestone in feline domestication - the introduction of domestic cats into Europe from North Africa. Domestic cats pounced into Europe roughly 2,000 years ago in early imperial Roman times, the researchers found, probably thanks to maritime trade. Some of these furry trailblazers
You’re half-asleep with your head resting on the desk during your lunch break. All of a sudden, your leg kicks violently, your head snaps up, and you’re wide awake in a split second. This __1__ sensation is called a “hypnic jerk,” a common phenomenon that strikes just as your body starts to relax, but your brain mistakenly hits the panic button. A hypnic jerk is an involuntary muscle spasm that usually occurs during the __2__ from wakefulness to sleep, especially during the early stages of sleep. As the body begins to relax, muscles loosen and breathing slows down. One
In English, “name idioms” are part of what makes English fascinating. Let’s put a few examples under the microscope. Doubting Thomas This expression stems from the Bible. Thomas, one of Jesus’s disciples, refused to believe Jesus had been resurrected from the dead. He declared he wouldn’t accept it until he could see the nail marks in Jesus’s hands and touch his wounds himself. Today, this idiom refers to someone who won’t believe something without concrete evidence. For instance, if your friend’s expertise is reliable, but you’re still suspicious, you might be a “doubting Thomas.” Smart Aleck The origin of this phrase likely comes from
Scientists at Argentina’s Marambio Station in Antarctica have detected high levels of ammonia gas in the air near an “Adelie penguin” colony. The ammonia, released from nitrogen-rich penguin guano, reacts with sulfur compounds emitted by oceanic plankton to form aerosol particles. These particles boost cloud formation and can sometimes lead to fog. Scientists found that even after the penguins left the area, the remaining guano continued to give off significant amounts of ammonia. Clouds created by the guano can influence the local climate by either reflecting sunlight or trapping heat, depending on environmental conditions. In other words, penguin waste