Attracting dust but few prospective buyers in a car lot on the outskirts of Kabul, three sedan cars, a crane and a dump truck sit abandoned due to a numerical curse that has swept Afghanistan.
A bizarre phenomenon that equates the number 39 with prostitution has become a headache for the car industry, as buyers avoid car license plates containing the dreaded number for fear of being ostracized.
“This is no longer just a social issue, it is becoming an economic issue for us,” said the car yard’s owner Said Mohammad Zaman.
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透
“It has been months and no one is buying them,” he said, pointing at the white, black and blue sedans and the construction vehicles cluttering up his lot.
According to many Afghans, “39” got its bad reputation through a well-known pimp who was often identified by the number on his car plates as he drove around Herat, a western city that lies close to the border with Iran.
The man’s seedy image and illicit business meant that the number became associated with immorality. Apocryphal or not, the tale spread to other Afghan cities in recent years — and the curse was born.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
Now anyone seen traveling around sporting a “39” license plate is in danger of being linked to the underground sex industry that is taboo in the devoutly Muslim nation.
Bashir Ahmad, who bought a Toyota Corolla for US$12,000 (NT$345,000) in Kabul at the beginning of the year, is now trying to sell it for US$6,000 (NT$173,000) after becoming a laughing stock in his neighborhood due to the unlikely urban legend.
“I didn’t know about this 39 thing, but soon some boys near my home started ridiculing me,” he says. “At first I didn’t care, but now every time I return from work, the boys shout ‘Hey! Here comes Haji 39!’”
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
Car industry professionals say the number’s unwanted place in the popular imagination is damaging for dealers trying to make an honest living in the war-ravaged nation.
(AFP)
喀布爾市郊停車場停放待售的三台小轎車、一台吊車與一台傾卸車，因為阿富汗普遍對數字的忌諱，而鮮少有人願意購買這些車輛，致使這些車無人聞問，繼續停在停車場內積灰塵。
將數字「三十九」與娼妓畫上等號的怪異的現象，已使汽車產業大傷腦筋，因為買主皆避開車牌含令人害怕數字的車子，以防被排擠。
二手車商負責人薩伊德‧穆漢默德‧札曼說：「這不再只是社會問題，它對我們也是個經濟問題。」
他指著在塞滿車輛的停車場中的白色、黑色與藍色轎車，以及工程車說：「數個月過去了，還是沒人要買它們。」
根據許多阿富汗人，數字「三十九」之所以惡名昭彰，是因一位廣為人知的拉皮條者，過去經常開著車牌含有該號碼的車做為識別，四處行駛在西部鄰近伊朗交界的城市赫拉特。
這位男子的下流形象與他所從事的非法交易，讓這個號碼與放蕩缺德畫上等號。不管此傳聞是真是假，它在近幾年已傳到阿富汗其他城市，該詛咒也因而誕生。
現在只要看到有人駕駛亮出含有「三十九」的車牌號碼，他／她就會面臨被認為與地下色情業有染的危險，而對篤信教義的穆斯林國家來說，色情業是禁忌。
巴希爾‧阿瑪德今年初在喀布爾，以一萬兩千美元（新台幣三十四萬五千元）購買豐田Corolla轎車，但在鄰近地區，因該都會傳說讓他被被當成笑柄後，他正試著以六千美元（新台幣十七萬三千元）將此車脫手。
他說：「我原先並不知道關於『三十九』的事情，但不久後有些家附近的男孩開始奚落我。」他繼續說：「一開始我不以為意，但現在只要我下班回家，這些男孩就會大喊『嘿，哈吉（編按：赴麥加朝聖的回教徒）三十九來了。』」
汽車產業銷售員說，在大眾壓根兒對該號碼的排斥，已損及想在這個戰火摧殘國家中，試著誠實過生活的銷售員。
（法新社／翻譯：林亞蒂）
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been used in cooking for over a century to enhance flavor. It is often found in Chinese dishes and many other cuisines. Despite its common use, many people misunderstand the safety of MSG. The bad __1__ of MSG started in the late 1960s, when a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine described symptoms like a racing heart, weakness, and numbness after the writer ate Northern Chinese food. While no specific cause was __2__, a series of questionable studies in 1968 began to point the finger at MSG. In one such study, neurologist Herbert Schaumburg and
A: The World Expo 2025 is set to open in Osaka, Japan, on Sunday, with 158 countries and regions and nine international organizations participating in the event. B: Wow, what’s the theme this time? A: The theme is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” B: Do you want to go? How long will it last? A: It’ll run for 184 days, until Oct. 13. Maybe we can go to Osaka during summer vacation. A: 2025年世界博覽會預計週日將在日本大阪開幕，158個國家或地區及9大國際組織將參與盛會！ B: 哇這次的主題是什麼？ A: 主題是：「創造閃耀生命光輝的未來社會」。 B: 你想要去嗎？展出多久啊？ A: 世博會共展出184天到10月13日，或許我們暑假時可以去大阪玩。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
A: The World Expo 2025 is about to open in Osaka. Is Taiwan going to participate in the event too? B: Sure, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) will launch a Taiwan pavilion named “Tech World.” A: That sounds cool, and it can showcase our national strength in technology. B: The theme is “Connecting the world to create better future lives together.” The pavilion aims to attract over one million visitors. A: I hope humans can really create better future lives through this year’s fair. A: 2025年世博會即將開幕，這次台灣也會參加嗎？ B: 當然啦，外貿協會的台灣館將以「Tech World」名義參展！ A: 聽起來蠻酷的，應該是想強調台灣的科技實力。 B: 策展主題則是：「連結世界，共創未來美好生活」，希望能吸引到100萬人次參訪。 A: 希望藉由這次世博會，人類真的能共創美好生活。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
The study had several issues. Small sample sizes made it hard to draw __7__ conclusions. Additionally, taking a __8__ like pure MSG on an empty stomach is likely to make a person ill in any case. Choosing individuals who already had a history of the symptoms could have created a bias because they were likely to __9__ the reactions again. When real scientific research on the effects of MSG was eventually done, many of the myths surrounding it were proven __10__. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other global organizations have found MSG safe to eat. Today, MSG
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