★ Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。
“Get in. It’s pouring.” She slid into the back seat, drenched and silent. “Tissues?” the driver asked. “No, thank you,” she said. Water beaded off her hair, ran from her coat, and made a small lake on the vinyl. She kept her head down, long black strands clinging to her face. “Where to?” She gave an address.
“Funeral?” he asked as they slipped into the Xinhai Tunnel, rain fading to a hollow drum. She glanced up, puzzled. “No. Why?” “Crematorium’s about the only thing here.” He caught her eyes in the mirror. She looked away. The rain returned like static when they exited the tunnel. Neither spoke.
Photo: ChatGPT 照片：ChatGPT
They arrived at the house. It was old with crooked sills and cracked paint. The driver could smell the wet moss through the window. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I don’t have my purse. Could you wait while I get it?” “Sure,” he said. She crossed the path, then the door swallowed her.
He waited. A minute. Then another. The meter blinked. The rain thickened. He grabbed his umbrella, walked to the door and pressed the door bell. Nothing. He knocked — three careful taps. He noticed a white strip to the left of the door, ink running with the rain.
An elderly man opened up, eyes going past the driver to the taxi. “How much?” The driver told him. The old man nodded, counted the bills with practiced fingers, and pressed them into his hand. “Keep the change.” The driver looked at the old man, “Is the young lady alright?” The old man’s gaze softened. “My daughter,” he said. The driver thought the girl was his granddaughter.
Behind the old man, incense thinned the air. On the family altar were fresh lilies, a bowl of fruit, and a framed old photograph. It was the young woman with long dark hair.
“She always visits this time of year, always takes a taxi home every night,” the old man said. “She worries I’ll be alone. Thank you for bringing her.” The door closed with a tired click. Back in the car, the driver glanced into the mirror. The lake on the vinyl was gone. The back seat was bone-dry. Only a faint scent of wet moss and incense remained. . .
「上車吧，雨下得好大。」女孩全身濕透、一言不發地溜進了後座。「要衛生紙嗎？」司機說。 女孩回：「不用了，謝謝。」水珠從她的頭髮上滴落，又從大衣上流下，在後座的塑膠椅墊上積成了一窪小水攤。她低著頭，長長的黑髮黏在臉頰上。「要去哪裡？」女孩給了一個地址。
「剛參加完葬禮嗎？」當他們駛入辛亥隧道時，司機問道。雨聲變成了空洞的鼓點。女孩抬起頭，不解地回：「不是。為什麼這麼問？」「這邊除了火葬場之外什麼都沒有。」司機透過後照鏡與她對到了眼。女孩看向了別處。當他們駛出隧道時，雨聲又再度響起，如同雜訊般將他們包圍。兩人誰都沒有再說話。
他們抵達了那棟房子，一棟門檻歪斜、油漆斑駁的老屋。司機彷彿都能夠過窗戶聞到潮濕青苔的氣味。「不好意思，」她輕聲說。「我沒帶錢包，我去拿一下，你等我一下好嗎？」司機說：「好啊。」她走過小徑，身影隨即被大門吞噬。
司機等啊等，時間一分一秒的過去。計程車的跳表器閃爍著，雨也越下越大。司機拿了傘，走到門口，按了門鈴，但沒有反應。他輕輕地敲了敲門三下。他注意到門左邊貼著一張白紙，上面的墨水被雨水暈開了。
一個老人打開了門，他的目光越過司機，看著計程車。「多少錢？」司機告訴了他車資。老人點了點頭，用熟練的手指數著鈔票，塞進司機手裡。「不用找了。」司機看著老人，問：「那位小姐還好嗎？」老人的目光柔和下來。「是我的女兒，」他說。司機以為那女孩是他的孫女。
在老人身後，空氣中瀰漫著線香的味道。祭壇上放著新鮮的百合、一碗水果，還有一個舊相框。相框裡的就是那位留著長長黑髮的年輕女孩。
「她每年這個時候都會回來，每次都搭計程車回家。」老人說。「她擔心我一個人，謝謝你帶她回來。」門關上時，發出一聲無力的喀噠聲。回到車上，司機看了一眼後照鏡。塑膠椅墊上的水灘不見了，後座乾爽無比。只剩下淡淡的青苔及線香的氣味……。
Epilogue 故事討論
The Xinhai Tunnel is one of Taipei’s most famous haunted places. It was built on a hill that used to be a cemetery. Drivers tell of strange events there — feeling trapped in the tunnel no matter how fast they drive, or seeing an old woman sweeping the road who disappears before they reach her. One of the best-known stories is the taxi girl: a driver on a rainy night picked up a young woman, took her to an old house, and later learned from her father that she had died years earlier in a crash in that same tunnel.
In Taiwan, the seventh lunar month is called Ghost Month, when people believe the gates of the Underworld open and spirits return to the living world. Families make offerings of fruit and flowers at tables with red cloth, burn joss paper for the dead, and place incense before a home altar. White, the symbolic color of death in Chinese culture, is seen everywhere during mourning, from the white paper notice on a mourning home’s door to the white lilies on the altar.
Homes mark their doors to show loss, just as the old man’s house did that rainy night. Some believe that in Ghost Month, filial spirits like his daughter’s return to keep promises they could not keep in life.
辛亥隧道是臺北最著名的靈異地點之一，坐落於一座曾經為墓地的山丘。司機們宣稱在那裡遇過各種怪事——不管開得多快卻無法離開隧道，或是看見一個老婦人在掃地，老婦人卻在他們靠近前就消失了。其中最有名的故事就是「計程車女孩」：一個司機在雨夜載了一名年輕女子，送她到一間老房子，後來從女孩的父親口中得知，她幾年前就在同一個隧道裡因為車禍去世了。
在臺灣，農曆七月被稱為鬼月，人們相信地府的大門會打開，讓靈魂回到人間。家家戶戶會在鋪著紅布的桌子上擺放水果和鮮花，為亡者燒金紙，並在祭壇點香。白色是中華文化中象徵死亡的顏色，在喪事中隨處可見，從喪家門口的白紙（示喪紙），到祭壇上的白色百合。
傳統上家門貼上白紙，表示家裡有人過世，就像那個雨夜裡老人家的房子一樣。有些人相信在鬼月，像他女兒這樣孝順的靈魂，會回來完成生前未能實現的承諾。
Vocabulary 單字片語
1. Ghost Month 鬼月（農曆七月）
2. underworld 地府、陰間、黑社會
3. spirit 靈魂、幽靈、精靈
4. altar 祭壇
5. incense 香、線香、焚香
6. joss paper (ghost money) 金紙、紙錢
7. tunnel 隧道
8. cemetery 墓地
9. crematorium 火葬場、焚化場（cremate 火化、焚燒）
10. silent 沉默安靜、一言不發
Idioms 相關成語
1. pouring (heavy rain) 傾盆大雨
2. bone-dry 乾爽無比
3. urban legend 都市傳說
Nigel P. Daly is a writer with a language learning newsletter called Chin-glish bilingual lab (https://ndaly.substack.com).
Cynthia Chen is a translator and writer specializing in blogs, scripts and articles.
In 2024, multiple airplane accidents caused severe casualties, including a Jeju Air disaster at the year’s end. However, not all incidents ended in tragedy. Early in the year, a Japan Airlines flight caught fire after landing in Tokyo, but all 379 passengers and crew members escaped within 90 seconds. This event highlights the “golden 90 seconds” that experts emphasize — most survivors evacuate the plane within this critical window. Proper preparation ensures you can act quickly and decisively during these crucial moments when every second counts. Your survival strategy begins before takeoff. Wear long pants, a comfortable top, and
If you think you’re cool and know all the latest trends, then here’s a question for you: What does the word “brat” mean? If you said something like, “a child who behaves badly or is annoying or rude,” you might not be as hip as you think. This four-letter word now has a new definition that has become quite popular. Its popularity caught the eye of Collins Dictionary, which crowned it as “Word of the Year 2024.” According to this new meaning of brat, it is used as an adjective to describe someone who has a confident, independent, and hedonistic
A: Seeing as the 2025 Michelin Guide extended to New Taipei City and Hsinchu City and County, it’s hard to believe that none of the restaurants won a Michelin star. B: Some fine establishments — like Hsinchu’s A Cut steakhouse — surely deserve the honor. A: Michelin-starred restaurants have good quality food, but some of them are so pricey. B: I once had barbeque pork at a starred restaurant that set me back NT$4,800. That’s even higher than my weekly food budget. A: No wonder several of them have closed down recently, as high prices and the tariff war are scaring off
A: The Michelin Guide Taiwan announced the 2025 Bib Gourmand eateries and starred restaurants last week. B: What were the highlights this year? A: In addition to Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, New Taipei City and Hsinchu City and County were included for the first time. B: As a New Taipei resident, I can’t wait to try all the awarded local delicacies. Should we start from the more affordable Bib Gourmand selection? A: Sure, New Taipei and Hsinchu each boast 15 Bib Gourmand eateries now, including some famous establishments such as San Tung restaurant. A: 2025《米其林指南》近日公布「必比登推介」和星級餐廳。 B: 今年的名單有哪些亮點？ A: 除了台北、台中、台南、高雄，今年加入新北、新竹縣市！ B: 身為新北人，我真想吃遍當地的美食，我們要不要從平價的必比登先開始？ A: 好啊新北、新竹各有15家入選必比登，像山東小館等知名餐廳都有上榜唷。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
RSS