Health officials want to turn the scantily clad women who sell betel nuts at stands along Taiwan's roadways into anti-AIDS campaigners.
Betel nuts, chewed as a mild stimulant, are popular among truck and taxi drivers — and vendors often compete by staffing roadside sales booths with young women in bikinis, translucent blouses or nurses' uniforms with miniskirts.
The government plans to have the women give their customers boxes containing condoms and an AIDS warning, Yang Shih-yang, an official at the Center for Disease Control, said on Apr. 7.
PHOTO: LIN ZHI-QING, TAIPEI TIMES
"Research done from Africa to Himalayan countries has proved one thing: The AIDS virus is spread along the highways," Yang said.
He was apparently referring to truckers and cab drivers engaging in prostitution or sex with multiple partners.
However, Yang said the plan is still under study because authorities do not want the act to accidentally promote the sale and chewing of betel nuts — which many physicians say could cause cancer.
In recent years, the provocatively dressed roadside saleswomen called "betel nut beauties" have become part of Taiwanese culture.
Several of the saleswomen, interviewed recently by Sanli Cable News, dismissed the anti-AIDS proposal as too sexually suggestive, and said it could expose them to risk of assault.
The plan "might give people wild thoughts," said one, whose name was not given.
Officials say AIDS cases have been rising by about 3,000 a year in Taiwan.
In an attempt to contain the spread of the HIV virus, authorities recently began a program under which convenience stores distribute free needles for drug addicts. (AP)
衛生官員希望能讓台灣路邊檳榔攤穿著清涼的檳榔西施，化身反愛滋人士。
嚼起來有如興奮劑的檳榔，廣受卡車與計程車司機歡迎，商家往往在路邊檳榔攤雇用年輕女性員工，讓她們穿著比基尼、若隱若現的罩衫或裙子超短的護士服來搶生意。
疾病管制局組長楊世仰四月七日表示，政府計畫請這些女性發給顧客內附保險套並印上愛滋警語的檳榔盒。
楊世仰說︰「從非洲到喜馬拉雅山的國外研究都發現︰愛滋病毒沿著公路蔓延。」
他顯然是暗指嫖妓或有多重性伴侶的卡車與計程車司機。
不過，楊世仰說由於政府不希望這項行動意外促銷檳榔與嚼檳榔，計畫仍在研究階段。許多醫師指出檳榔會致癌。
穿著清涼養眼、在路邊賣檳榔的女性銷售員近幾年來被稱為「檳榔西施」，已成為台灣文化之一。
最近接受三立新聞採訪的幾位賣檳榔女性，都認為這項反愛滋計畫有過多的性暗示，可能會讓自己冒上性侵害風險。
其中一位匿名者表示，這項計畫「可能讓人產生瘋狂聯想」。
官員表示，台灣一年已增加三千個愛滋病例。
為了抑制愛滋病毒傳播，官員最近已展開便利商店免費發放針頭，供毒癮者使用的計畫。
（美聯社／翻譯：賴美君）
SAY WHAT? 說說看
under study 研究中
If a plan is under study, then it is being reviewed and does not have final approval. Phrases with a similar meaning include under review and under consideration. You can also say something is being studied, is being reviewed or is being considered. "We really like your proposal for a new park in this neighborhood, but there are lots of complicated issues involved. At this time, your plan is still under review, but we'll tell you as soon as we have made a decision."
An understudy is an actor who prepares as backup in case another actor can't perform.
假如一項計畫正「under study」，即指正在研究中，尚未獲得最後批准。類似的片語還有「under review」與「under consideration」。你也可以說某件事「is being studied」、「is being reviewed」或「is being considered」。例如︰「我們真的很喜歡你在社區打造新公園的計畫，但還牽涉到許多複雜問題。目前你的計畫仍在評估中，但我們決議後會儘快通知你」。
一個「understudy」就是替角演員，以免另一名演員無法登台表演。
OUT LOUD 對話練習
Peggy: Hey! On my way over here, I passed a betel nut stand.
Kristen: See anything unusual?
Peggy: Well, I noticed the vendors are handing out condoms and an AIDS warning.
Kristen: That's news to me. I'd also say it sounds like a good plan.
Peggy: Yeah, it complements the needle distribution program too.
佩姬︰嘿！我來這裡的路上經過一處檳榔攤。
克莉絲坦︰有什麼不尋常的嗎？
佩姬︰我注意到小販在發送保險套與愛滋標語。
克莉絲坦︰挺新鮮的。我認為聽起來是個好主意。
佩姬︰是啊，它還配合發送針頭的計畫。
news to someone 挺新鮮的，沒聽說過
If something is news to you, than you didn't know it before. "Sarah is getting married?! That's news to me! When's the wedding?"
假如有事情「news to you」，你從未聽過這種事。例如︰「莎拉要結婚了！我居然不知道！婚禮是什麼時候？」
Global coffee prices have soared to their highest in nearly 50 years due to poor weather in Brazil and Vietnam, forcing roasters such as Nestle to raise prices and consumers to hunt for cheaper brews amid the cost of living crisis. Spiking prices will benefit farmers with the crop this year, but challenge traders who face crippling hedging costs on exchanges and a scramble to receive the beans they pre-bought. WHAT DRIVES PRICES? Production problems linked to bad weather in Brazil and Vietnam have seen global supplies lagging demand for three years. That has left stocks depleted and driven benchmark ICE exchange prices
A: I love December. There are always so many concerts to attend at the end of the year. B: I just went to Bigbang member Tae-yang’s Taipei concert last weekend, and it was awesome. A: And I went to the weekend concerts at Christmasland in New Taipei City, featuring Tae-yang’s wife Hyo-lyn and various artists. B: Taiwanese superstars A-mei, Mayday, and Hong Kong superstar Aaron Kwok will also stage shows starting this week. A: It’s so hard to decide. Which one do you want to go to? A: 我好喜歡12月，因為每到年底總有許多演唱會！ B: 我上週才剛去過BigBang太陽的台北演唱會，超精彩。 A: 我也剛去過新北歡樂耶誕城的演唱會，太陽的老婆孝琳還有來表演唷。 B: 台灣天后阿妹、天團五月天、香港天王郭富城等巨星的演唱會從本週起也將陸續開唱。 A: 真難決定，你想去哪一場？ （By Eddy Chang,
The vast ocean stages countless miracles of life, but none are quite as awe-inspiring as the phenomenon of a “whale fall.” When a giant whale reaches the end of its life, its immense body gently descends and eventually lands in the inky abyss. This moment, which might seem like the end, ignites a burst of new life on the ocean floor. Deep beneath the ocean’s surface, where sunlight is unable to venture and nutrients are scarce, a whale fall is like an oasis in a barren landscape. Over decades, even centuries, the remains of a single whale can sustain thousands of
電視節目畫面底下常會出現橫條滑動的「新聞跑馬燈」文字，顯示最新發生的新聞，這英文叫 chyron 或 news ticker。「新聞跑馬燈」是 1970 年代 Chyron 公司為廣播業研發的滑動圖案文字顯示器，因此廣播新聞業就把它稱為 chyron。 Merriam-Webster 對 chyron 的定義如下： chyron / ?ka? r?n/ : a caption superimposed over usually the lower part of a video image (as during a news broadcast) 台灣的讀者對 chyron 這詞可能很陌生，但據 Merriam-Webster 的統計，這詞算是常用詞，普及程度是 “Top 30% of words”，台灣的讀者會覺得令人難以置信。不過若就新聞英語而言，chyron 無疑的是經常出現，就以底下這則 CNN 跑馬燈新聞報導為例：川普總統手拿聖經，走往白宮附近一座教堂供媒體拍照，和平示威人士遭噴催淚瓦斯驅散。 CNN chyron: “PEACEFUL PROTESTERS NEAR WHITE HOUSE GASSED, SHOT WITH RUBBER BULLETS SO TRUMP CAN HAVE CHURCH PHOTO-OP” CNN 新聞跑馬燈：白宮附近和平示威人士遭發射催淚瓦斯 及橡膠子彈。 (June 1, 2020) 2018 年初，美國聯邦政府差點停擺事件前，也出現以下報導： “U.S. Government Hours Away From Shutdown,” heralded the chyron. 新聞跑馬燈預告：美國聯邦政府即將「停擺」 (Vanity Fair , January 19, 2018) 下次看到 chyron 這個字時，多看它一眼，它可是新聞裡常出現的詞彙呢！ 防疫必備詞彙：疫情新聞詞彙 宿主 host 中間宿主 intermediate host 野味 bushmeat; game 菊頭蝠 rufous horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus spp. ) 穿山甲 pangolin P4 實驗室 Biosafety Level 4 lab
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