A: Hey, the world’s major dictionaries just unveiled their words of the year for 2025.
B: Yup, the Cambridge Dictionary chose the word “parasocial,” which refers to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they don’t really know.
A: One-sided parasocial relationships with celebrities, influencers and even AI chatbots have clearly become more common.
Photo: AP 照片:美聯社
B: The Oxford Dictionary picked “rage bait” — online content designed to elicit anger by being frustrating, provocative or offensive in order to increase traffic to Web sites or social media accounts.
A: The Collins Dictionary picked “vibe coding.” Let’s look up the word in the dictionary to find its meaning.
A: 世界各大字典近日分別公布了2025年代表字!
B: 劍橋字典的代表字為︰「parasocial」(擬社交),意思是人們自行想像與不認識的名人之社交關係。
A: 人們與名人、網紅、甚至AI聊天機器人的單向擬社交關係明顯在增加中。
B: 牛津字典的代表詞為︰「rage bait」(憤怒誘餌),意思是刻意設計用來激怒他人的網路內容,通常透過令人沮喪、挑釁或冒犯的方式呈現––以增加網頁或社群帳號流量。
A: 柯林斯字典的代表字為︰「vibe coding」(氛圍編程),我們來查字典找出它的意思。
(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