How’s the house-hunting going? (4/5) 你房子找得怎麼樣了？（四）
B: We went to view an apartment yesterday. It checked all the boxes for me, but my partner was not entirely convinced. A: Well, it’s an important decision. You will have to give it a lot of thought before you take the plunge. B: I know. It has a modern kitchen with newly fitted units and a spacious bathroom. All the walls are clean and there is plenty of storage in the bedrooms. A: It sounds pretty good to me. Why was your partner undecided? B: The main bedroom overlooks a main road. It could be quite noisy at night. We need to go back after dark to see if the noise levels are acceptable. B: 我們昨天去看了一間公寓，我需要的條件它都符合了，可是我另一半不太滿意。 A: 租房子是重要的決定，出手之前要想清楚。 B: 我知道。它有現代化的廚房，設備都是新的，還有空間寬敞的浴室。牆壁都很乾淨，而且臥室裡有很多收納空間。 A: 這聽起來很不錯啊？你另一半還要考慮什麼？ B: 那個主臥室旁邊底下是一條大馬路，晚上可能會蠻吵的。我們需要在天黑以後再去一次，看看噪音是不是在能接受的範圍內。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
How’s the house-hunting going? (3/5) 你房子找得怎麼樣了？（三）
A: How are you looking? Are you walking around neighborhoods you like and seeing if people have placed signs in their windows? B: No, we’re looking online, filtering for neighborhoods we would want to live in and setting the range we are willing to pay. A: Do you need to specify what kind of apartment you’re searching for? B: Yes. We’ve checked the boxes for a new building with an elevator, for at least two rooms and a balcony, and at least 20 ping. We need space for the dogs. A: You have dogs? Then you’d better also check whether the landlord will accept pets. A: 你們是怎麼找房子的？是到你想租的區域走一走，看有沒有人把出租的廣告貼在窗子上嗎？ B: 不是，我們是上網找的，用我們想住的地方來搜尋，然後設定價格區間。 A: 你需要具體說明要找怎樣的公寓嗎？ B: 需要。我們勾選了有電梯的新房子、最少有兩個房間、有陽台，而且面積至少二十坪，我們需要養狗的空間。 A: 你有狗啊？那你最好也要跟房東確認一下能不能養寵物。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
With the market for “Boys’ Love” (BL) dramas continuing to boom in Asia, the “Korean wave” is catching up with this trend. Despite the sensitivity surrounding LGBT issues, the first Korean BL series “Where Your Eyes Linger” was released online in May last year, followed by several BL shows within less than a year — including the hit drama “To My Star.” Starring actors Son Woo-hyun and Kim Kang-min, “To My Star” tells the romance of a free-spirited superstar and a straight-faced chef. Since the nine-episode mini series premiered in January, the adorable couple has caught the attention of fans in Taiwan and many other Asian countries and, at the request of Asian fans, the entire series has been combined into a movie version, with the DVD hitting the Taiwanese market last week. Meanwhile, three local BL dramas are currently airing in Taiwan, while LGBT video platform GagaOOLala’s new BL drama “Papa & Daddy” is set to debut on Friday next week, showing that the “pink economy” continues to thrive. (Eddy Chang, Taipei Times) 隨著「BL」劇（男男戀）在亞洲市場相繼爆發，「韓流」影視也終於跟上這股潮流。雖然同志議題在社會中較敏感，南韓的首部BL網劇《在你的視線停留》仍在去年五月推出，隨後不到一年有多部作品跟進——其中包括人氣影集《致我的星星》。 《致我的星星》由韓星孫宇賢、金江珉主演，是自由奔放的巨星和外冷內熱的廚師的故事。這部共九集的迷你網劇自一月開播後，這對可愛的情侶便吸引了台灣及亞洲各國粉絲的目光。為回應亞洲影迷要求，片商還將九集內容集結成電影版發行，DVD已於上週在台開賣。 同時，三部本土BL劇目前正在台灣熱映，同志影音平台GagaOOLala的新劇《酷蓋爸爸》亦將於下週五加入戰局，顯示跟同志題材相關的「彩虹經濟」持續升溫。 （台北時報張聖恩）
A: How much are you willing to pay for rent? B: Well, we’re thinking of NT$20,000 per month, but we could stretch it to NT$25,000. A: I think you might have to aim slightly higher. I doubt you’ll find a nice place for that. You could try, but you might be looking for a long time. B: I’m happy to spend a good whack of my salary on renting a comfortable apartment, but my partner would prefer to rent a smaller place and save to buy later on. A: 你房租預算是多少？ B: 嗯，我們大概預估月租兩萬，不過也可以提高到兩萬五啦。 A: 我覺得你可能需要把預算稍微調高一點，不然你這種預算大概找不到什麼好房子。你還是可以用這個價位試試看啦，不過可能要花很長的時間才找得到。 B: 我是很願意砸薪水來租一間住起來舒服的公寓，可是我的另一半寧可租小一點的房子，把錢省下來以後買房。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
The four-day Tomb Sweeping Day long weekend is over. According to the Tainan City Government Fire Bureau, there were 143 fires in cemeteries and wooded areas during the same period around Tomb Sweeping Day last year. To reduce the occurrence of cemetery fires and save firefighters from getting exhausted as they rush around putting out fires, the Fire Bureau, as well as advising the public how to prevent fires, has also developed several effective tools for preventing and fighting fires in cemeteries, including drone broadcasts, leaf-blower fire extinguishers and fire-extinguishing brooms, which were all developed inexpensively. The Fire Bureau says that these firefighting tools and strategies proved effective during this year’s Tomb Sweeping Day long weekend, during which cemetery, wood and scrub fires have been reduced to 104 incidents. The Fire Bureau believes that the “three uses” demanded by Mayor Huang Wei-che, namely using big data to identify hotspots, using technology to assist in rescue operations and using case studies to reinforce public information, have proven effective at preventing and extinguishing fires. The Police Bureau’s Traffic Police Corps also says that because of the continued threat of COVID-19 outbreaks, with regard to people and vehicles involved in tomb sweeping during this year’s festival, traffic flows around Tainan’s 30 main cemeteries and columbaria were all significantly down on last year, but there were still large numbers of visitors and vehicles at 12 major scenic areas within the jurisdiction. The Police Bureau set up a total of 178 traffic control posts and mobilized 2,495 police officers to maintain the free flow of traffic around cemeteries, scenic areas and all main roads. To strengthen disaster prevention around Tomb Sweeping Day this year, the city government’s Bureau of Civil Affairs Bureau and district offices reduced the accumulation of combustible materials ahead of time by weeding public
A: How’s the house-hunting going? Have you found yourself a new apartment yet? B: We’ve just started looking, but we’re not having too much luck. A: Where are you looking? B: Anywhere will do, to be honest, so long as it’s near an MRT station. I would prefer to be reasonably close to work. A: 你房子找得怎麼樣了？找到新公寓了嗎？ B: 我們才剛開始找，可是手氣不太好。 A: 你要找的是哪裡的房子啊？ B: 其實地點不拘，只要離捷運站近就可以了。我比較偏向找離我上班地點近一點的地方。 （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, with nearly 600 people killed in a crackdown on anti-coup protests — nearly 50 of the dead were children — and more than 2,700 arrested. The Committee for Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) — a group of MPs from Aung San Suu Kyi’s party — said on Wednesday last week that its lawyers would meet UN investigators to discuss alleged atrocities committed by the junta. “CRPH has received 180,000 items of evidence. This evidence shows widescale abuses of human rights by the military,” the group said in a statement. They include more than 540 extrajudicial executions, 10 deaths of prisoners in custody, torture, illegal detentions and disproportionate use of force against peaceful protests, the statement said. As well as breaking up protests and making arrests, the security forces have also sought to shut off news of the crisis. Internet access has been throttled, and independent media outlets raided and shut down. The military insists that it is responding proportionately to what it says are violent, armed protesters. It has defended seizing power, pointing to allegations of voting fraud in the election in November last year which Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won comfortably. The growing bloodshed has prompted warnings that Myanmar could slide into broader civil conflict, particularly after 10 ethnic rebel armies came out in support of the protest movement. (AFP) 緬甸自從二月一日軍方將文職領導人翁山蘇姬趕下台以來，一直處於動蕩中，軍方鎮壓反政變抗議活動，已造成近六百人喪生──其中近五十人為兒童，逾兩千七百人被捕。 由翁山蘇姬所屬政黨之國會議員所組成的「緬甸聯邦議會代表委員會」（CRPH）上週三表示，其律師將與聯合國調查人員會面，討論軍政府被控所犯之暴行。 「緬甸聯邦議會代表委員會已收到十八萬項證據。證據表明，軍方大規模侵犯人權」，該委員會在一份聲明中表示。聲明說，這些事件包括五百四十多起非法處決、十名在押囚犯死亡、酷刑、非法拘禁，以及對和平抗議活動過度使用武力。 除了驅散抗議活動與逮捕民眾，安全部隊還試圖封鎖有關此危機情勢之消息；網路連線受到箝制，獨立媒體管道被查抄並關閉。 軍方堅稱，它是在對其所謂的暴力武裝抗議者做出適當反應，並辯稱，軍方奪取政權是由於翁山蘇姬所屬之政黨在去年十一月的選舉中，因作票而輕鬆勝選。 日益嚴重的流血事件讓人們警覺，緬甸可能會陷入範圍更廣的內戰，尤其是在十個少數民族叛軍表態支持抗議運動後。 （台北時報林俐凱編譯）
With the nation in the middle of a long period of drought, the water level at Sun Moon Lake has dropped significantly, exposing numerous objects that had been sitting at the bottom of the lake. One visitor who incautiously dropped his iPhone into the lake one year ago was recently reacquainted with his long-lost gadget as a result of the severe drought. The tourist, surnamed Chen, shared the news on the Facebook group “Baofei Commune.” Chen says he took part in a stand up paddle board activity one year ago at Sun Moon Lake. Chen says that he fell into the water many times and on one of these occasions, while his attention was averted, the iPhone that was hung around his neck fell into the lake. Chen says that after he realized he had lost his phone he felt so dejected that he had no desire to continue paddle boarding. However, one year later Chen was astounded to receive a message from the paddle boarding company informing him that his phone had been found. Chen was shocked and overjoyed, calling it a miracle. Because Chen had placed the iPhone inside a waterproof protective case, not only had the phone not been damaged by water, but, after connecting the charging cable, Chen was able to turn it on and use the device as if nothing had happened. Chen was so surprised that he decided to share the experience on Facebook. The Nantou County Sun Moon Lake Water Tourism and Recreation Development Association has confirmed Chen’s account, stating that the lake’s water level has recently fallen significantly because of the severe drought. Water has drained out of the stand up paddle boarding recreation area, which necessitated the association to rearrange the rows of kickboards and canoes moored on floating docks on the shoreside sandbanks.
A: What an idiot I am! There’s nothing wrong with the air conditioner. It’s the remote that’s not working. B: Is the remote faulty, or are the batteries dead? A: I changed the batteries, but it’s still not doing anything. See, I bought this new one online. B: Wow, nice! And you even bought the right model! A: The seller was really patient, and told me exactly which model I needed to buy. But I think that remotes die so quickly, and you have no choice but to throw them away. It’s really not very environmentally friendly. A: 我真是豬頭啊，冷氣機根本沒壞，是遙控器壞了！ B: 遙控器到底是壞了，還是電池沒電？ A: 我換了電池還是沒反應。所以你看，我就上網買了這個新的遙控器！ B: 哇，厲害！虧你還買對了型號！ A: 那個賣家很有耐心，詳細告訴我買哪一支才是對的。不過我覺得遙控器動不動就壞，最後只能丟掉，真的很不環保。 （Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
A: I think the air conditioner’s on the blink. It doesn’t turn on when I push the button. What are we going to do? B: We’ve had this air conditioner for years. Let’s just get a new one. We could buy one with a heater function. A: Heater? Are you pulling my leg? B: A lot of people do the same thing: They buy an air conditioner in the summer when it’s scorching hot, and they forget how cold it gets in winter, much to their regret when it gets cold. A: That’s right. My brother-in-law is from the US, and he says that Taiwan is colder than any other country, because in the winter the temperature drops to under 10 degrees, but there’s no interior heating. B: It’s not cold in Taiwan for a long time over the year, but for those few days when we have a cold front, having a heater is worth every cent you spent on it. A: 怎麼辦，冷氣機好像壞了，按開關都沒反應！ B: 這冷氣機也用了好多年了，乾脆換新的好了。買個有暖氣功能的。 A: 暖氣？你在開玩笑嗎？ B: 大部分的人就是跟你一樣，買冷氣機的時候都在夏天，熱得要命，所以都忘記冬天會有多冷，到時才後悔！ A: 啊對，我姐夫從美國來，說台灣是世界上最冷的國家，因為冬天十度以下，室內卻沒有暖氣。 B: 雖然一年當中台灣冷的時間不長，但是寒流來的那幾天有暖氣可以用，就值回票價了。 （Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
A: I think that the air conditioning in Thailand must be working harder than anywhere else in the world. B: Ha, yeah. Outside is so hot, you want to cool down as quickly as possible when you go indoors, so they must turn the air conditioning up full. A: With it boiling hot outside and the air conditioning turned up so high indoors, it must be like being transported to the North Pole. It’s such a relief when you first walk into the room, but once you stop moving around, you’ll start shivering from the cold. B: It’s the same in Taiwan. The temperature indoors is so different to outdoors. One minute you’re hot, the next you’re freezing. It’s very easy to catch a cold, or at least get a headache. A: That’s why I always carry a long-sleeved top with me: It keeps me warm in an air-conditioned room and protects me from the sun outside. A: 我覺得世界上冷氣最冷的地方是泰國。 B: 哈哈對耶！因為外面太熱了，一進到室內，希望趕快冷卻下來，所以冷氣都開得超強！ A: 外面多熱，裡面冷氣就開多強，簡直是穿越時空到北極！一到室內覺得很涼很爽，可是一靜下來，就冷到發抖。 B: 在台灣也差不多。這樣室內和室外溫差太大，忽冷忽熱很容易感冒，不然就是頭痛。 A: 所以我隨身攜帶一件長袖，在有冷氣的室內可以保暖，到室外可以防曬。 （Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
The Chairman in Hong Kong was named the No. 1 restaurant in the region by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021 on March 25. It was the first establishment in Hong Kong to take the top spot, followed by Odette in Singapore and Den in Tokyo, Japan at the second and third spot. The event is hailed as the Oscars of fine dining in Asia. Five Taiwanese restaurants made it to this year’s list: Mume (No. 15), Raw (No. 21), JL Studio (No. 26), Shoun RyuGin (No. 45), as well as new entry Logy (No. 24). However, Taiwan’s only Michelin three-star restaurant Le Palais was not on the list. All the winning restaurants are located in Taipei except JL Studio in Taichung. Angela Lai of Tairroir in Taipei was named Asia’s Best Pastry Chef 2021, becoming the first Taiwanese chef to take the crown. Originally from Singapore, Lai moved to Taiwan in 2015 and is best known for her signature “Pong Pia” dessert. (Eddy Chang, Taipei Times) 「亞洲50最佳餐廳」於三月二十五日揭曉，香港大班樓榮獲亞洲區最佳餐廳冠軍，亦是榜上首次奪冠的香港餐廳，亞軍是新加坡的前冠軍Odette，季軍是日本東京的Den，該評比素有亞洲美食界奧斯卡之美譽。 今年一共有五家台灣餐廳上榜︰包括Mume（十五名）、Raw（二十一名）、JL Studio（二十六名）、祥雲龍吟（四十五名），及新上榜的Logy（二十四名），然而台灣唯一的米其林三星頤宮卻未能入選。在上榜餐廳中除了台中的JL Studio，其餘都在台北。 此外台北態芮甜點主廚賴思瑩則勇奪「亞洲最佳甜點主廚」大獎！成為台灣奪冠第一人。她來自新加坡，二○一五年搬到台灣，以招牌甜點「椪餅」聞名。 （台北時報張聖恩）
A: Did you know that somebody once asked Lee Kuan Yew, the former prime minister of Singapore, what the secret of Singapore’s success was, and he replied that one major factor was air conditioning. B: What? Air conditioning? He meant air conditioners? A: That’s right. He said that, for them, air conditioning was a most important invention. Without air conditioning, people in the tropics can only work in the early morning and after dusk. B: Well, that makes a lot of sense. Even in Taiwan, it’s so hot in the summer that I often find it difficult to think, and it’s so humid that even breathing makes me feel sleepy. It must have been even worse in Singapore, so close to the Equator. A: 你知道嗎，有人問新加坡前總理李光耀說，新加坡成功的秘訣是什麼，他說一個很重要的因素是空調。 B: 什麼？空調？你是說冷氣機嗎？ A: 對呀，他說空調對他們來說是最重要的發明。沒有空調的話，熱帶的人只能在一大早和黃昏以後工作。 B: 嗯，這真的很有道理耶！即使在台灣，夏天我常常熱到沒辦法思考，而且空氣很潮濕，光是呼吸都讓人昏昏欲睡，更不要說在赤道附近的新加坡了！ （Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
A certain Ms Chen, aged 39, recently sought treatment at an orthopedic clinic, saying that she had a pain in the area extending from her left buttock to her calf that had lasted for more than three weeks, and she had no idea what had caused it. She was diagnosed with a herniated disc causing severe low back pain. Hu Yu-feng, an orthopedic surgeon at the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Taipei Hospital, said that frequent heavy lifting and sedentary office work are both risk factors for herniated discs. Hu said that low back pain is a commonly seen condition in orthopedic clinics and that, according to research, more than 90 percent of people have suffered from it at some time in their lives. In most cases, it is caused by a bulging disc pressing on nerves. It is three times more common in men than in women, and obesity, smoking, frequent bending down to lift heavy objects, sitting for long periods in an office and carrying children are all risk factors. Hu said that, as well as low back pain, pressure on nerves leading to pain and numbness in the lower extremities is another common symptom of disc herniation. Patients with unexplained symptoms are advised to first see if physical therapy helps. For those with severe symptoms or who see no improvement after six weeks of physical therapy, or who feel so much pain after walking a few steps that they have to stop and rest, or even suffer from urinary or bowel incontinence, it is necessary to arrange to have an MRI scan and then seek decompression surgery to relieve their symptoms. Hu explained that decompression surgery can be performed in a minimally invasive way, with only a small piece of bone needing to be removed to draw out the intervertebral
A: In March, spring was upon us, then the last two weeks it suddenly turned cold, and now it’s like a hot summer’s day. This weather is really unpredictable. B: Yep. Summer will be here soon. We should clean the filter in the air conditioner to get ready. A: Huh? You can take this out? B: My god, you’ve never cleaned it? It’s caked with dust! This way the air conditioner will waste electricity. A: No wonder my electricity bill was so high last summer. A: 三月春暖花開，然後前兩個禮拜忽然變得好冷，現在又熱得跟夏天一樣，這種天氣真是難以捉摸！ B: 對呀，夏天快到了，我們把冷氣機濾網清洗一下，提早做準備。 A: 蛤？這個可以拆喔？ B: 天哪你都不洗的嗎，你看好多灰塵！這樣冷氣會很耗電耶！ A: 難怪去年夏天電費那麼高！ （Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
More than 20 heads of government and global agencies in a commentary published Tuesday last week called for an international treaty for pandemic preparedness that they say will protect future generations in the wake of COVID-19. But there were few details to explain how such an agreement might actually compel countries to act more cooperatively. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and leaders including Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain, Premier Mario Draghi of Italy and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda proposed “a renewed collective commitment” to reinforce preparedness and response systems by leveraging the UN health agency’s constitution. International regulations governing health and implemented by the WHO already exist — and can be disregarded by countries with few consequences. Despite an obligation for nations to share critical epidemic data and materials quickly with the WHO, for example, China declined to do so when the coronavirus first broke out. And with no enforcement powers, WHO officials had little means of compelling them to share details, an AP investigation last year found. Steven Solomon, the WHO’s principal legal officer, said the proposed pandemic treaty would need to be ratified by lawmakers in the participating countries. European Council President Charles Michel first laid out the idea of a pandemic treaty at the UN General Assembly in December last year. Although the 25 signatories of the commentary called for “solidarity,” and greater “societal commitment,” there was no indication any country would soon change its own approach to responding to the pandemic. China, Russia and the United States didn’t join in signing the statement.(AP) 有鑒於武漢肺炎（新型冠狀病毒病，COVID-19）之教訓，二十多位政府與全球機構負責人在上週二發表的評論書中，呼籲制訂國際條約，以後面對疫情便能有備無患，以保護未來的世代。 但是，如何讓此協議實際上迫使各國採取行動更加合作，幾乎沒有細節說明。 世界衛生組織秘書長譚德塞，以及包括英國首相強森、義大利總理德拉吉和盧安達總統卡加梅在內的領導人提出「新的共同承諾」，以透過此聯合國衛生機構之章程來加強備災及應對系統。 世衛組織已實施衛生相關之國際法規，然而，不遵循這些法規的國家，也不會面對什麼嚴重後果。例如，儘管各國有義務與世衛組織立即共享重要的流行病數據及資料，但在冠狀病毒爆發之初，中國拒絕履行此義務。美聯社去年的一項調查發現，由於沒有執法權，世衛組織官員幾乎沒有辦法強迫中國分享細節。世衛組織首席法務官索羅門表示，擬制定的疫病國際條約須經由參加國之立法者批准。制訂疫病國際條約的構想，是由歐洲高峰會主席米歇爾在去年十二月的聯合國大會上首次提出。 儘管簽署該評論書的二十五國呼籲「團結」及更大的「社會承諾」，但並無跡象顯示有任何國家會很快改變應對疫情的方式。中國、俄羅斯與美國也並未加入簽署該聲明的行列。 （台北時報林俐凱編譯）
The COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University has been associated with a spate of blood clot cases in Europe. A number of European nations, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, Denmark and Ireland, temporarily suspended administering the shot due to concerns about possible side effects. Responding to the news, a Taiwanese pediatric emergency doctor has recommended seeking immediate medical treatment if anyone experiences the following symptoms between four and 20 days after receiving the vaccine: rapid breathing, chest pain, paleness of the legs and feet, reduced blood circulation, persistent abdominal pain, headaches, blurred vision or bruising. Wu Chang-teng, a pediatric emergency resident doctor at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, in a post on Facebook, addressed recent reports of “rare” cases of severe blood clots in Europe in individuals who had taken the AstraZeneca vaccine, including cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis associated with thrombocytopenia. To date, most of the cases identified are women under 55 years of age. However, there are also reports of male cases, and most of them have occured between four to 16 days after vaccination was administered, said Wu. Wu explained that the condition is being termed as “vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia,” or VIPIT for short. Wu added that this is because VIPIT is associated with the production of antibodies that can activate platelets which stimulate the formation of blood clots, leading to thrombocytopenia. Wu said that the process is similar to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), but the exact mechanism that triggers VIPIT is still being studied. Wu emphasized that medical professionals are still waiting for confirmation of the precise incidence of adverse reactions to the vaccination. According to data provided by the European Medicines Agency on March 18, it was initially estimated that one per million people who took the AstraZeneca vaccine had experienced VIPIT.
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