Angelina Jolie, Hollywood superstar and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, is reportedly planning to adopt an aboriginal child from Hualien. The little girl, identified as Hsiao Kai-wan, is a four year old orphan and will be the fifth child for the actress and her partner, screen idol Brad Pitt.
Jolie, 31, filed adoption papers in Hualien in late January through a US based agency, April's Premier Adoption Agency. She plans to adopt the girl as a single parent because she is unmarried, officials have said. Taiwanese law does not stipulate that adopters must be married.
The Taiwanese adoption process is relatively straight forward. Prospective parents must file an application with the Taiwan Supreme Court. The Supreme Court then delegates the case to the relevant Taiwan District Court. The process, including the approval of the home study, child referral and formal completion of the process takes around 10 months. The prospective parent must appear before the appropriate District Court in person towards the end of the process.
PHOTO: AP
Adoptions of Taiwanese orphans by American citizens have risen steeply from 48 adoptions in 2002 to 187 last year.
Jolie and her partner Pitt already have four other adopted children: Maddox, from Cambodia, aged five; two-year-old daughter Zahara, who was adopted from Ethiopia; and three and a half year old Pax Thien, whom Jolie adopted from Vietnam in March of this year. Jolie and Pitt also have a biological daughter, Shiloh, born to the couple last May in Namibia.
Jolie reportedly has tattoos of the geographical coordinates of her children's birthplaces — Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Addis Alem, Ethiopia; and Swakopmund, Namibia. (Catherine Thomas, Staff Writer, With Agencies)
根據報導，擔任聯合國難民事務高級專員公署親善大使的好萊塢超級巨星安吉莉娜裘莉，正計畫收養花蓮一名原住民兒童。這個名叫蕭凱婉的四歲孤女，將成為裘莉及其銀幕偶像情人布萊德彼特的第五名子女。
三十一歲的裘莉一月底透過總部設在美國的收養機構「April's Premier」向花蓮方面遞出領養申請。承辦人員表示，未婚的她打算以單親身分收養這名女童。台灣法律並未規定領養人必須已婚。
台灣的領養申請手續相當簡單，有意領養的父母須先向最高法院提出申請，最高法院再將申請案派發相關地方法院處理。整個申請過程包括到府訪查認可、兒童推薦到手續正式完成，需時約十個月。在申請完成前，有意領養的父母必須親自到相關地方法院辦理手續。
美國民眾申請領養台灣孤兒的案件已從二００二年的四十八件驟增到去年的一百八十七件。
裘莉與男友布萊德彼特已領養了四名小孩：五歲的柬埔寨男童馬達克斯、兩歲的衣索比亞女童撒哈拉及今年三月才收養的三歲半越南男童派克斯。裘莉與彼特還有個去年五月在納米比亞出生的親生女兒希洛。
據報導，裘莉的身上刺有小孩出生地座標的刺青─柬埔寨的金邊、衣索比亞的阿迪斯阿聯及納米比亞的斯瓦科蒙特。
（綜合外電／翻譯：林倩如）
A: Yet another shopping mall has just opened in Taipei. B: Do you mean the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang? A: Yeah, the shopping mall run by Japanese Mitsui & Co. opened last week. B: I hear the mall features about 300 stores, Vieshow Cinemas and Japanese Lopia supermarket. A: With the opening, a war is breaking out between Taipei’s department stores. A: 台北又有新的購物商場可逛啦。 B: 你是說Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport 南港？ A: 對啊這家日本三井集團旗下的商場上週開幕。 B: 聽說商場有威秀影城、樂比亞日系超市，還有多達300家專櫃。 A: 新商場一開幕，看來又要掀起一場百貨大戰啦！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
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
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
RSS