A group of single-legged young men, all victims of Sierra Leone's brutal civil war in which thousands lost arms, legs and other body parts, has come together for encouragement and hope. They are Sierra Leone's national amputees soccer team.
They play with just one foot each while balancing only on the crutches. But their skills are breathtaking all the same.
"We started playing (soccer) as a social game after we became envious of other boys with two legs," said Victor Musa, of the Sierra Leone Single Leg Amputees Sports Club.
PHOTO: AFP
"Now we don't feel that disabled anymore; we can play football too," said Musa.
Today they are a professional team, and last year they came in third at the World Cup single-leg soccer tournament in Brazil.
The sport has helped to spread a message of hope.
"We are happy that we can get together and encourage each other," said Mohamed Lappia, who stepped on a mine that shattered his leg.
Saidu Mansaray, 22, is the team's goalie. He has both his legs, but he catches the ball with one hand because the four non-thumb fingers of the other hand were chopped off with an axe.
The team struggles to find money for transportation to attend practice sessions, let alone pay for soccer shoes. Most play with threadbare sneakers, but that does not dampen their spirits.
As for Liberia's ex-president Charles Taylor, accused of sponsoring the war and facing a war crimes trial at a UN-backed court in Sierra Leone, team captain Fornah said, "If he is found guilty, he should spend the rest of his life in jail." (AFP)
這一群「獨腳」青年是獅子山共和國殘酷內戰下的受害者，這場內戰導致許多人失去手腳及身體其他部分，他們如今為彼此激勵和希望齊聚一堂。他們是「獅子山截肢者足球隊」。
他們只用一條腿踢球，以柺杖平衡身體，卻仍然技藝精湛。
獅子山單腿截肢者運動俱樂部的成員維克多*穆沙表示：「我們因為羨慕其他有兩條腿的男孩才開始踢足球。」
他說：「我們現在不覺得自己行動不便了，我們也能踢足球。」
他們如今是專業隊伍，去年在巴西舉行的世界盃單腳足球錦標賽名列第三。
這項運動有助於傳遞希望。
踩到地雷，腿被炸碎的莫翰*賴比亞說：「我們很高興可以在一起為彼此打氣。」
今年二十二歲的賽杜*曼沙瑞是隊上的守門員，他雙腿完好，卻用單手接球，因為另一隻手除了大拇指之外的指頭全被斧頭砍掉了。
這支隊伍連籌措參加練習的交通費都有困難，更別說買足球鞋，多數人穿著破舊的球鞋，士氣卻不受打擊。
至於被指控煽動戰爭，目前於獅子山聯合國戰犯法庭受審的賴比瑞亞前總統泰勒，隊長佛納表示：「如果他被判有罪，應該在監獄裡渡過餘生。」 （法新社／翻譯：鄭湘儀）
Street lights are often taken for granted until a power outage plunges the world into darkness. When that happens, the value of these lighting installations becomes evident as the world turns into a more dangerous place for pedestrians and motorists alike. The Chinese could claim to be the first to have constructed a crude type of street light. Around 500 BC, residents of Beijing employed a type of street lamp that used hollow bamboo pipes and natural gas vents to create burning torches. Later, ancient Romans adopted lamps fueled by vegetable oil, which relied on slaves to light and
A: Who else is on Billboard’s list: “The 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st Century?” B: No. 15 to 6 are: Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Usher, Adele, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Britney Spears. A: I can’t believe that Adele’s only at No. 10. B: No. 5 to 1 are: Lady Gaga, Drake, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Beyonce. A: Well, they surely deserve the honor. A: 《告示牌》雜誌的「21世紀最偉大的25位流行歌手」，還有誰上榜啊？ B: 第15至6名是：麥莉希拉、大賈斯汀、妮姬米娜、阿姆、亞瑟小子、愛黛兒、亞莉安娜、小賈斯汀、肯伊威斯特、小甜甜布蘭妮。 A: 真不敢相信愛黛兒只排第10名。 B: 第5至1名是：女神卡卡、德瑞克、蕾哈娜、泰勒絲、碧昂絲。 A: 這幾位真是實至名歸！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
A: The 21st Century is now entering its 25th year. B: So Billboard has released a list: “The 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st Century.” A: Who are the greatest pop singers? B: No. 25 to 16 are: Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Bad Bunny, One Direction, Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars, BTS, The Weeknd, Shakira and Jay-Z. A: Wow, my favorite K-pop supergroup BTS has made it to the list. A: 21世紀正在邁入第25個年頭了。 B: 《告示牌》雜誌特別公布：「21世紀最偉大的25位流行歌手」。 A: 最偉大的歌手有哪些？ B: 第25至16名是：凱蒂佩芮、紅髮艾德、壞痞兔、1世代、小韋恩、火星人布魯諾、防彈少年團（BTS）、威肯、夏奇拉、Jay-Z。 A: 哇，我最愛的韓流天團BTS也上榜了！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
Spoiler alert and shift blame 破梗&甩鍋 在新冠疫情期間，無論是因為封城 (lockdown) 還是居家隔離 (self-isolation at home)，人們關在家中使用網路的時間大增。這也讓一些原本只存在於網路論壇的用語廣為普及。我們來談一下破梗 (spoiler alert) 與甩鍋 (shift blame) 這兩個用語。 有位古典文學教授 Joel Christensen 針對領導統御與疫情控制寫了一篇以古喻今、相當深入的文章：“Plagues follow bad leadership in ancient Greek tales”，文中出現一些講法，可用來翻譯上述的流行語： In the 5th century B.C., the playwright Sophocles begins Oedipus Tyrannos with the title character struggling to identify the cause of a plague striking his city, Thebes. (Spoiler alert: It’s his own bad leadership.) (Joel Christensen, “Plagues follow bad leadership in ancient Greek tales,” The Conversation, March 12, 2020) 作者提到 Oedipus（伊底帕斯）想找出瘟疫何以降臨他的城邦的緣由，加了一句：Spoiler alert: It’s his own bad leadership.（破梗：領導無方）。Spoiler alert 就是「破梗」，如果用在有人洩漏電影劇情的情境中，也可以翻作「小心爆雷」或「劇透警告」。疫情之下，在家看影集、電影成了很多人的娛樂，但要小心劇透 (spoilers)，很多 YouTube 上的影評在開頭也都會說 Spoiler alert!，警告還沒看過電影的觀眾小心爆雷、劇透。 至於「甩鍋」，源自大陸網民用語，通常意指某人犯了錯之後想推卸責任、轉移焦點、甚至讓別人背黑鍋的做法。疫情爆發後，相關網路資訊量爆增，許多中國網民也想找人為這場疫情負責，紛紛呼籲地方政府首長、地方黨書記不要「甩鍋」。 其實，在古代文學《奧德賽》中，就有「將自己的責任怪罪眾神」的說法，試用時下流行的「甩鍋」來重新翻譯： Humans are always blaming the gods for their suffering, but they experience
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