Keepers at a British zoo are in a flap about a flamingo missing since it was blown away by the storms that battered Europe in mid-January.
Florence, a pink Chilean flamingo, was caught unaware by a sudden gust on January 15 and was blown clean out of Drusillas Park Zoo near the southeast English coast.
The flamingo was sucked into the air and dumped in a nearby field —and despite a number of sightings since, worried zookeepers have failed to recapture her.
Managers have offered annual membership and entry passes for the zoo for information leading to the safe recapture of Florence, who was born at the park in 2004.
But despite their best efforts, Florence — who has clipped wings — has so far managed to give them the slip.
“It's quite difficult to catch a flamingo as when she's been in open fields she can see the keepers approaching so she's been taking flight. They're trying to wait until she goes into an area that's not as open when it's dusk, so they can sneak up on her,” said a spokeswoman for the zoo.
“She must be a cheeky flamingo if she's taught herself how to fly.”
As time goes on, zookeepers are increasingly worried about how Florence is coping on her own.
“It will be distressing for her as flamingos are a flock species,” the spokeswoman said. “In the wild, flamingos eat crustaceans and shrimps, so she's not going to come across many of those.
“She's in a very vulnerable state. She was seen feeding off the algae in a waterlogged field, but otherwise we don't know how she's managing to get food. We just want to get her back as soon as possible.”
(AFP)
英國一間動物園內有一隻紅鶴被一月中侵襲歐洲的狂風捲走後失蹤至今，讓動物園管理員急得像熱鍋上的螞蟻。
一月十五日突然刮起一陣強風，將粉紅色的智利紅鶴「佛羅倫斯」吹出英國東南岸附近的杜希拉斯動物園。
佛羅倫斯被捲入空中，拋在附近的空地，儘管不少民眾看到牠的身影，憂心忡忡的動物園管理員還是無法將牠捉回。
民眾若提供安全捉回佛羅倫斯的資訊，動物園將提供成為動物園一年會員和門票作為獎勵。佛羅倫斯二○○四年在杜希拉斯動物園出生。
儘管他們使出渾身解數，翅膀被剪過的佛羅倫斯還是有辦法逃脫。
動物園女發言人說︰「曠野中不太容易抓到的佛羅倫斯，她可以看到看守人接近，提早飛走。他們會等到她在天黑時進入不太空曠的地方，再偷偷靠近。」
他說︰「她必須是隻大膽的紅鶴，才有
辦法教自己學飛。」
日子一天天過去，動物園管理員愈來愈擔心佛羅倫斯如何自力求生。
女發言人表示︰「紅鶴是群居動物，所
以這個情況對她來說很糟糕。野外的紅鶴吃甲殼類動物和蝦子，她無法自己找到足夠的甲殼類食物。」
她說︰「她現在情況非常危險，要不是有人看見她在淹水區食海藻，我們也不會知道她如何覓食，我們只希望能盡速將她帶回來。」
（法新社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀）
A: Hey, didn’t you go to the opening of the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang last week? B: Yeah, there are about 300 shops, including the first overseas branch of Japan’s Mahou Dokoro — a famous Harry Potter-themed store. A: Wow, I’ve always wanted to get a magic wand. B: There are also a bunch of great restaurants, such as Smart Fish hotpot restaurant. A: I wish I had Harry Potter’s “apparition” and “disapparition” magic, so I could teleport to the mall right now. A: 你上週不是有去LaLaport南港的盛大開幕嗎？有什麼特別的？ B: 那裡有多達300家專櫃，包括魔法之地的海外首店——它可是日本知名的《哈利波特》專賣店。 A: 哇我一直想買根魔杖。 B: 另外還有各式各樣的美食，像是林聰明沙鍋魚頭。 A: 真希望我也有哈利波特的「現影術／消影術」魔法，能瞬間移動到商場去！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
When it comes to movies, some people delight in watching spine-chilling horror films. Surprisingly, apart from containing a few scares, horror movies may also offer an unexpected __1__. According to a study, watching 90 minutes of a scary movie can burn an average of 113 calories, which is roughly __2__ to taking a 30-minute walk. Researchers from the University of Westminster carried out an experiment in which they __3__ participants’ oxygen intake, carbon dioxide output, and heart rates while they were watching horror movies without any distractions. The results revealed that physiological responses to fear play a crucial role
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Dos & Don’ts — 想想看，這句話英語該怎麼說？ 1. 你覺得這部電影怎樣？ ˇ What do you think of the movie? χ How do you like the movie? χ How do you think of the movie? 註︰What do you think of ＝ What is your opinion of。 think 的受詞是 what，不能用 how。 2. 你認為哪一個歌星唱得最好？ ˇ Which singer do you think is the best? χ Do you think which singer is the best? 註︰英語中 which singer 似乎是 do you think 的受詞，實則 do you think 是插入語，其他例子如下： 你以為他喜歡誰？ Who do you think he likes? 你以為我住在哪裏？ Where do you think I live? 你想我昨天在公園裏碰到了誰？ Whom/Who do you think I met in the park yesterday? 3. 他不論到什麼地方，總是帶著一把雨傘。 ˇ No matter where he goes, he
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