Deadly floods that have upended life in both China and Germany have sent a stark reminder that climate change is making weather more extreme across the globe. At least 56 people in the central Chinese province of Henan died on Tuesday last week, including a dozen trapped in a city subway as waters tore through the regional capital of Zhengzhou after days of torrential rain. Coming after floods killed at least 180 people in Germany and another 31 in Belgium two weeks ago, the disaster has reinforced the message that significant changes will have to be made to prepare for similar events in future. “Governments should first realize that the infrastructure they have built in the past or even recent ones are vulnerable to these extreme weather events,” said Eduardo Araral, associate professor and co-director, Institute of Water Policy, at Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. In Europe, climate change is likely to increase the number of large, slow-moving storms that can linger longer in one area and deliver deluges of the kind seen in Germany and Belgium, according to a study published on June 30 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters entitled “Quasi-Stationary Intense Rainstorms Spread Across Europe Under Climate Change.” As the atmosphere warms with climate change, it also holds more moisture, which means that when rainclouds break, more rain is released. By the end of the century, such storms could be 14 times more frequent, the researchers found in the study using computer simulations. (Reuters) 在中國和德國造成死亡、讓人流離失所的洪水，透露出赤裸裸的訊息，提醒人們氣候變化正讓全球的天氣變得更加極端。 中國中部的河南省在連續幾天的暴雨後，上週二大水沖過首府鄭州，造成至少五十六人死亡，其中十多人是被困在鄭州市地鐵中無法逃生。 洪水兩週前才在德國造成至少一百八十人死亡，在比利時造成三十一人死亡，鄭州的這場災難強化了一個訊息──必須做出重大改變，才能夠為以後的類似情況做好準備。 新加坡李光耀公共政策學院水資源政策研究所副教授兼聯席主任艾德表示：「政府應首先了解，他們過去甚至最近所建造的基礎設施，很容易受這些極端天氣事件衝擊」。 根據六月三十日發表在期刊《地球物理研究通訊》的一項研究──「氣候變化下席捲歐洲之準穩態激烈暴雨」，在歐洲，氣候變化可能會讓大型、緩慢移動之風暴的數量增加，這種風暴能在一個地方停留更長的時間，並帶來德國和比利時所見的那種暴雨及洪水。 由於氣候變化，大氣變暖，而含納了更多水分，這表示當雨雲破裂降雨時，會釋放出更多的雨水。研究人員以電腦模擬所做出的研究發現，到了本世紀末，此類風暴的發生頻率可能會增加十四倍。 （台北時報林俐凱編譯）
A n invasion of Southeast Asian dwarf honey bees, suspected to have entered the country via cargo or passenger ship, and initially detected not far from Kaohsiung Harbor, is causing problems in the city. Since the bees prefer to build their hives on branches, poles or other long cylindrical objects found on balconies, their presence often causes a big shock to residents. In the first half of this year alone, Kaohsiung public health officials have removed more than 500 beehives — a clear indication that the bee population is gradually expanding through the city. In an effort to deal with the increasing number of beehives and bee reproduction in metropolitan areas, the Kaohsiung City Government has set aside a budget of NT$5.25 million to capture the bees. Suspecting that the influx of Southeast Asian bees came via cargo or passenger ship, the Council of Agriculture and Kaohsiung City Government Agriculture Bureau have launched an investigation. Dwarf honey bees are small — just half the size of a normal bee — and are a species of wild honey bee endemic to South and East Asia. The bee population, initially discovered in close proximity to Kaohsiung Harbor, spread into Cianjhen and Siaogang districts, then expanded into other areas of the city. The highest bee population density was found in areas surrounding Kaohsiung International Airport in Siaogang District. While the authorities suspect that the bees came via cargo or passenger ship, they have been unable to confirm the cause of the outbreak and continue to investigate. For public officials, the most concerning aspect of the situation is that dwarf honey bees favor establishing their hives on walls and balconies in residential areas and particularly love using the branches of bushes, shrubs and trees. A medium-sized beehive will be about 20cm long and will wrap around
A: We still haven’t decided what to do with all these free mangoes. I keep coming up with ideas, and you just shoot them all down. B: I think the fairest thing to do is just divide the boxes between the staff. A: There are 25 boxes and only 20 people working here today. What do we do with the other five boxes? B: Go home and get your blender and the milk and ice. I could do with a smoothie after all this back and forth. A: 我們還沒決定到底要怎麼處理這些免費的芒果。我不停想到一些做法，可是都一直被你打槍。 B: 我覺得最公平的做法，就是把這幾箱平均分配給同事。 A: 這裡有二十五箱，可是今天只有二十個人來上班。那剩下的五箱要怎麼辦？ B: 回去把你的果汁機、牛奶和冰帶來啦！我們討論那麼久，我真的需要喝點冰沙了。 (Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯)
A: OK, I have one more idea about the free mangoes. Just hear me out. I have a blender at home. I’ll be back in a while with some milk and ice, and we’ll make smoothies for the office. We could charge NT$25 a pop, just to cover my costs and labor. B: Instead of thinking about schemes to make money from the management’s generosity, why don’t you do some actual work? Also, do you have any idea how many smoothies 25 boxes of mangoes will make? A: You can’t have too many mango smoothies. It’s the elixir of the gods. People will thank us. A: OK，我還有一個點子可以處理那些免費的芒果。你聽好，我家裡有一台果汁機，我等一下會把一些牛奶和冰一起帶過來，我們來做冰沙給辦公室的人吃，一杯二十五元，算是分攤一下成本和工錢。 B: 與其搞一些花招把公司的好意拿來賺錢，你不如實實在在做點工作。而且啊，你知道二十五箱芒果可以做多少冰沙嗎？ A: 芒果冰沙是永遠不嫌多的，因為那是神仙美味。大家會感謝我們的。 (Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯) Audio recordings for Speak Up! dialogues will be suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.
A: I have another idea about the mangoes. There’s no way the reduced staff will take them all away. Why don’t we set up a stall on the street outside and sell some of them? B: Are you crazy? There’s so much about that idea that is wrong. It’s not morally right, and I’m pretty certain it’s not legal. A: We could just give them away for free, but ask for a small donation to pay for a cup of coffee for us. B: Will you put those mangoes back in the box? They’re not for you. A: Where’s your entrepreneurial spirit? A: 要怎麼處理那些芒果，我還有一個點子。來上班的人變少了，沒辦法把這些芒果都拿完，那我們為什麼不到外面街上擺個攤，去賣掉一些？ B: 你瘋了嗎？你這鬼主意說多爛就有多爛。這不但不道德，而且我很確定還不合法。 A: 我們可以用送的啊，但是叫他們捐點小錢，讓我們可以買杯咖啡。 B: 你把這些芒果放回箱子裡好嗎？那不是給你的。 A: 你的創業家精神到哪裡去了？ (Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯) Audio recordings for Speak Up! dialogues will be suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.
Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics is finally taking place between this Friday and Aug. 8. The 68-member Taiwan team is set to take part in 18 sports, including archery, badminton, boxing, canoeing, cycling, dressage, golf, gymnastics, judo, karate, rowing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, track and field and weightlifting. Taiwan only won one gold and two bronze medals at the Rio Olympics. Although a forecast of medals is difficult since the pandemic has disrupted qualifying events and training, Taiwan is expected to get five to 10 medals. Some top athletes — such as weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chun, gymnast Lee Chih-kai and badminton player Tai Tzu-ying — are all strong contenders for golds. Over 11,000 athletes from 206 nations and territories will attend the Tokyo Olympics. According to AP, the pressure to hold the Olympic Games during the pandemic is largely financial for the International Olympic Committee (IOC): cancellation could cost the IOC about US$3 to US$4 billion (NT$84 to NT$112 billion) in broadcast rights income. (Eddy Chang, Taipei Times) 因武漢肺炎（新冠病毒，COVID-19）而延期的東京奧運，終於將在本週五開幕，比賽至八月八日閉幕。本屆台灣代表隊將派出六十 八名選手，參加十八種體育競賽，包括射箭、羽球、拳擊、輕艇、自由車、馬術、高爾夫、體操、柔道、空手道、划船、射擊、游泳、桌球、跆拳道、網球、田徑、舉重。 台灣隊在上一屆的里約奧運只奪下一金二銅，因疫情打亂了資格賽和選手訓練活動，這一屆的獎牌估算變得較困難，不過台灣仍有希望取得五至十面獎牌。幾位頂尖好手——像是舉重女神郭婞淳、鞍馬王子李智凱、羽球球后戴資穎——都是奪金的熱門人選。 來自全球二○六個國家或地區、超過一萬一千名選手，將參與這次東奧盛會。據美聯社報導，國際奧委會（IOC）主要因財務壓力而決定在疫情下辦奧運，如果東奧停辦，IOC將損失約三十至四十億美元（約八百至一千一百二十億台幣）的轉播權利金。 （台北時報張聖恩）
A: Management was generous to send us all these mangoes, but we can’t eat them all. I suppose we could give some to other departments, but it does seem a shame… B: Every department is getting 25 boxes. We’ll just have to share them around our office. A: I volunteer to take them all home myself. I’ll set up a small temporary assembly line in my kitchen. I’ll make mango salad, mango curry, mango chutney, mango ice cream, mango cheesecake, mango pickle… B: Don’t be such a glutton. Management gave them to the office, not to you. Put up a sign saying “free mangoes, take as many as you can, everything must go before the end of the day.” A: 公司送這麼多芒果給我們，真的很慷慨，可是我們吃不了那麼多。或許我們可以送一點給其他部門，不過這樣好像有點可惜。 B: 每個部門都收到二十五箱。我們在辦公室分一分就好了。 A: 我可以把它們都帶回家。我會在廚房組一個臨時小型生產線，做芒果沙拉、芒果咖哩、芒果印度甜酸醬、芒果冰淇淋、芒果起司蛋糕、醃漬芒果…… B: 你不要那麼貪吃啦。公司是給全辦公室的，又不是只給你。你去貼一個告示說：「免費芒果，無限量自取，下班前一定要清空」。 (Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯)
An elderly married couple in Keelung’s Jhongjheng District have been living in a corrugated iron house that is potentially dangerous because it is too dark inside and the bathroom floor is wet and slippery. On Wednesday last week, volunteers from the Keelung City Skywalker Charity Association carrying a bathtub, cement and other materials climbed up the hill to repair the elderly couple’s house and make their indoor environment more accessible. The two seniors smiled happily when they saw how much safer and brighter their home had become. Skywalker Charity Association chairman David Lee said that the 81-year-old gandfather, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and possible dementia, is looked after by the 79-year old grandmother, and their daughter-in-law also visits and looks after them from time to time. Apart from the wet, slippery floor and dim interior, the old couple’s corrugated iron house did not have any railings to lean on, and they have suffered occasional falls, but because vehicles cannot reach their house and they have a limited budget, it has been very hard for them to find anyone willing to work on the house. The Keelung City Long-Term Care Management Center cooperated with Skywalker volunteers to repair the elderly couple’s house. Eight Skywalker volunteers carried mechanical tools, cement, gravel and other materials under the blazing sun, but nobody complained about being tired. They fitted the elderly couple’s home with a new bathtub and water heater, installed more lights and a new kitchen sink, and also installed some fall-prevention equipment. Skywalker Charity Association CEO expressed his gratitude to general managers Lee Run-yu of Tien Yang Engineering and Yin Chun-chi of Fu Chuang Co for taking part in this philanthropic activity to improve senior citizens’ living environment. (Translated by Julian Clegg, Taipei Times) 基隆市中正區一對老夫妻住在山坡上鐵皮屋，因室內燈光不足、浴室地面濕滑，潛在危險，基隆市天行者慈善協會志工上週三搬著浴缸、水泥等材料上山，為老夫妻修房子，改善屋內的無障礙環境，看著家裡更安全明亮，兩老開心笑了。 天行者慈善協會理事長李昌萬說，八十一歲的老爺爺患有帕金森氏症，並疑有失智症，由七十九歲的老奶奶照顧，兒媳不定時會返家照料。 除了地面濕滑、照明光線不足，爺奶住的鐵皮屋又沒有扶手欄杆，老人家曾經跌倒，但礙於車輛無法抵達及預算有限，很難找到願意施工的人，基隆市長期照顧管理中心和天行者的志工合作，幫爺奶修繕房子。 天行者八名志工頂著大太陽，人力搬運機具、水泥、沙石等材料，但沒人喊累。他們幫爺奶換上新浴缸、熱水器，再加裝燈具及新的水槽，還設置防跌設施。 天行者慈善協會執行長黃永翔說，很感謝典陽工程李潤宇總經理及富創企業社殷純驥總經理幫忙，共同參與公益關懷活動，讓老人家改善居住環境。 （自由時報記者盧賢秀）
A: I’ve just got a phone call from downstairs. We’ve received a delivery of mangoes, a gift from management. B: Fantastic. Mangoes are the king of all fruits. How many boxes? A: They said 25. That’s over 200 mangoes. We have a reduced staff, now that most people are working from home. What are we going to do with them all? B: Well, we can’t keep them in the office overnight. They might go bad, and the fragrance will attract rodents. What shall we do? A: 樓下打電話來說，說有一批芒果送來，是公司要給我們的。 B: 太棒了。芒果是水果之王。有幾箱啊？ A: 他們說有二十五箱。這樣就有超過兩百顆芒果耶。我們現在縮減上班人力，大部分的人都在家上班。這麼多芒果要怎麼辦？ B: 嗯，我們不能把芒果放在辦公室整晚，可能會壞掉，而且香味會把老鼠引來。該怎麼辦才好呢？ (Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯)
When users get asked on iPhone devices if they’d like to be tracked, the vast majority say no. That’s worrying Facebook Inc.’s advertisers, who are losing access to some of their most valuable targeting data and have already seen a decrease in effectiveness of their ads. The new prompt from Apple Inc., which arrived in an iOS software update to iPhones in early June, explicitly asks users of each app whether they are willing to be tracked across their Internet activity. According to Branch, which analyzes mobile app growth, people are giving apps permission to track their behavior just 25 percent of the time, severing a data pipeline that has powered the targeted advertising industry for years. Facebook advertisers in particular have noticed an impact in the last month. Media buyers who run Facebook ad campaigns on behalf of clients said Facebook is no longer able to reliably see how many sales its clients are making, so it’s harder to figure out which Facebook ads are working. It also makes it more difficult to “re-target” people with ads that show users items they have looked at online, but may not have purchased. Apple has made privacy a foundation of the company’s latest marketing effort around the iPhone. The privacy changes apply to all app developers on the iPhone, not just Facebook. But the social network has been protesting the loudest, arguing for months that Apple’s new privacy features would hurt small businesses that rely on targeted advertising — and make up the bulk of the company’s sales. (Bloomberg) 當iPhone問使用者是否願意被追蹤時，絕大多數的人說不。這令臉書的廣告商憂心，因為他們對一些最有價值的目標式廣告數據正失去掌握，並已見到他們的廣告效果降低。 這個新提示是蘋果公司六月初所發布的iPhone作業系統iOS軟體更新中加入的，在每個應用程式都明確詢問用戶是否願意讓該程式追蹤其網路活動。分析手機應用程式成長的Branch公司表示，人們允許應用程式追蹤其行為的時間只有百分之二十五，切斷了多年來提供數據、讓目標廣告產業賴以生存的管道。 這對臉書的廣告商而言尤其如此，他們在上個月已注意到此衝擊。代表客戶經營臉書廣告活動的媒體購買者表示，臉書不再能夠確實了解其客戶的銷售額，因此更難估算出哪些臉書廣告是有效的。這也使得「再行銷」──向用戶展示他們在網路上看過，但可能並未購買之商品的廣告──變得更加困難。 蘋果公司以隱私為基礎，將之作為行銷iPhone的最新賣點。對於隱私之更動，適用所有的iPhone應用程式開發者，而不只是臉書。 但臉書這社群網站的抗議之聲一直最響亮，數月來不斷主張，蘋果新的隱私功能會傷害依賴目標式廣告的小型企業——這也是臉書營收大部分的來源。 （台北時報林俐凱編譯）
The former residence of influential physician Mao Chao-chuan, an 85-year-old house located in Tainan’s Lioujia District, has recently undergone a two-year restoration to transform it into the “Chuan Residence 1936 Youth Co-creativity Base.” As well as being run by local youth, the building will serve the local community as a heritage museum and library, and as an exhibition and performance space for local arts and culture. Mao’s father, Mao Wei-lin, was the head of what was then Lioujia Village during the Japanese colonial era. After attaining a medical degree in Japan, Mao Chao-chuan returned to Lioujia Village to practise medicine and went on to become a Tainan City councilor after World War II. The Mao family married into the families of Wu Hsin-jung — a famous physician and contributing writer to the Taiwanese literary journal **Literature of the Saline Land** — and physician Wang King-ho, known as the “father of blackfoot disease.” In 2018, the building’s current owners, married couple Lee Ya-hui and Wu Chih-cheng, learned that the Mao family home was up for sale and entered into negotiations to purchase the property. In 2019, Lee and Wu obtained a grant from the Ministry of Culture to cover 50 percent of the restoration costs and received an additional 20 percent subsidy from Tainan City Government Cultural Affairs Bureau. With funding secured, a two-year restoration project commenced. The main timber-framed building was built during the 1930s in the Japanese style, using a monochrome color scheme and incorporating decorative elements in pale yellow hues. The adjoining outhouse is constructed from reinforced concrete in the modern style, with large windows and S-shaped balustrades, and faced with pale yellow ceramic tiles, imbuing it with a 1960s design aesthetic. (Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones) 有八十五年歷史的六甲區望族毛昭川故居，歷經將近兩年的整修計畫，最近修復完工，後續將化身為「川宅一九三六青年共創基地」，除了由在地青年進駐營運，也將與社區合作，發展文物館、圖書館、藝文展演等相關使用，與在地情感連結。 毛昭川的父親毛維麟，為日治時期六甲庄長，毛昭川於日本取得醫師資格後回鄉從醫，戰後曾任台南縣議員；毛家並與「鹽份地帶文學家」吳新榮醫師、「烏腳病之父」王金河醫師聯姻。 二○一八年，現任屋主李雅惠、吳志成夫婦得知川宅要出售即洽談購得。 二○一九年，該夫婦獲文化部補助毛醫師故居百分之五十修復經費，台南市政府增額補助百分之二十，展開將近兩年的修復工程。 故居的主棟木造建築約建於三○年代，為日本樣式造型，以黑白色系點綴淺黃色系，附屬建築則為鋼筋混凝土結構的現代樣式造型，大面窗戶開口、S符號金屬欄杆、淺黃色磁磚搭配呈現六○年代設計語彙。 （自由時報劉婉君）
A: Do you think it’s better to buy ground coffee or to buy coffee beans and grind them yourself at home? B: It depends on what you want. Ground coffee is more convenient and less time consuming, but it can get damp easily; coffee beans have a longer shelf life, you can just grind as much as you need at any one time and you can also adjust the grain size, depending on the situation. A: What difference does grain size make? B: If you are hand-pouring drip coffee using filter papers, finer grain is better; if you’re using this French press, then you need a coarser grain. A: What? That pot is for making coffee? I’ve always used it for brewing tea! A: 你覺得買咖啡粉比較好，還是買咖啡豆回來自己磨？ B: 看你的需要吧。咖啡粉方便省時間，可是容易受潮；咖啡豆可以保存比較久，要喝多少就磨多少豆子，而且還可以看情況調整研磨的顆粒大小。 A: 咖啡粉顆粒大小有什麼差別啊？ B: 如果是用濾紙滴漏的手沖咖啡，就磨細一點；如果是用這個濾壓壺泡的話，顆粒就要粗一點。 A: 什麼？那個壺子是泡咖啡的喔？我都拿來泡茶欸！ (Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱)
A: You have some foam on your lip, do you want to wipe it off? B: Oh, thanks. Therein lies the joy of drinking cappuccinos. A: Your coffee machine has a steam hose for making foam, so you can do all kinds of things, even latte art! B: Yep, I’ve put in a lot of practice. I used to be really into my latte art, I even took classes in it, I could make all kinds of designs: hearts, bears, cats, roses… A: Really? That’s pretty impressive. Will you teach me? A: 你嘴唇上有奶泡，要不要擦一下？ B: 喔，謝謝。喝卡布奇諾就是這麼過癮！ A: 你這咖啡機有蒸氣管可以打奶泡，可以做出的咖啡就更多樣了，還可以拉花！ B: 對呀，我練了好久喔！以前好迷拉花，還特別去學，什麼心形的、小熊、小貓、玫瑰花這些圖案都會做。 A: 真的？好厲害喔！我要拜你為師！ (Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱)
A: That is one good cup of coffee. I take my coffee black. If you add milk or sugar to good coffee, you cover up its flavor. B: Yep. When I was talking about Americano before, it’s not quite the same thing as black coffee. Black coffee is an umbrella term, it just means that there’s no added sugar, milk or creamer. An Americano refers to a diluted espresso. A: Huh, I never knew there was that clear distinction between them. It turns out you’re something of a coffee connoisseur. B: Actually, I’m not usually that discerning. I’ll drink anything, instant, in a can, drip bag coffee… I don’t give it a thought. I only drink it to wake myself up. A: 這咖啡真是好喝！我喜歡黑咖啡，好的咖啡如果加了牛奶和糖，反而掩蓋了它的香味。 B: 對了，我上次說的美式咖啡，其實並不等同於黑咖啡。因為黑咖啡是一個統稱，只是表示不加糖、牛奶或奶精。而美式咖啡指的是加了水的espresso。 A: 喔，沒想到還有這麼清楚的定義，你還真是個咖啡達人。 B: 其實我平常也沒那麼講究啦！即溶咖啡、罐裝咖啡、濾掛式咖啡隨便亂喝，沒想太多，只要能讓我頭腦清醒就好。 (Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱)
Japanese player Shohei Ohtani achieved another milestone in the Major League Baseball’s (MLB) near-century history, being selected as both a hitter and a pitcher for the All-Star Game. The Los Angeles Angels’ “two-way” sensation was among the starting pitchers for the Denver showcase today Taiwan time. Ohtani is currently leading the MLB in home runs, and had already been voted by fans to start as a designated hitter for the game. Early this month, he made history by hitting his 30th homer of the season to break the record by legendary Babe Ruth, who hit 29 homers as a two-way player during the 1919 season. On July 5, Ohtani hit his 31st homer of the season on his 27th birthday to tie Hideki Matsui’s record for most homers in an MLB season by a Japanese-born player. “It makes me happy that I’ve matched a player I’ve looked up to since I was little,” Ohtani said. The once-in-a-century player later broke the record with 33 homers, and is ready to dash more records in baseball. (Eddy Chang, Taipei Times) 日本選手大谷翔平近日又創下另一項里程碑，成為美國職棒大聯盟（MLB）近百年歷史上，唯一一位同時入選明星賽投手及打者的球員！這位洛杉磯天使隊能投又能打的「二刀流」球星，和其他幾位先發投手一起入選了在丹佛舉行的明星賽，比賽預計在台灣時間今日登場。 同時大谷在MLB本季全壘打數保持領先，稍早也已被球迷票選為這次明星賽指定打者。本月初他更刷新歷史，擊出本季個人第三十支全壘打，打破傳奇球星貝比魯斯的紀錄。魯斯曾於一九一九年以「二刀流」的身份，轟出二十九支全壘打。 而在七月五日、他二十七歲生日當天，大谷擊出本季個人第三十一轟，追平了由前輩松井秀喜所創下，日籍球員在MLB擊出單季最多支全壘打的紀錄。大谷說︰「能追上我從小到大景仰的選手，這讓我很開心。」這位百年一見的奇才隨後以三十三轟超越前輩的成就，本季勢必將打爆更多棒球紀錄。 （台北時報張聖恩）
A: Why do we call what is basically just a black coffee an “Americano”? Is it because all Americans take their coffee like this? B: Nobody knows for sure, but one theory goes that it was invented by Italians, as the name Americano is actually Italian. A: Don’t all Italians drink espresso or cappuccinos? Those names are definitely Italian. B: It is said that during World War II, Americans stationed in Italy couldn’t get used to drinking the strong, thick espressos, so they asked the Italians to dilute it with hot water to make a slightly weaker black coffee. A: So it’s like drinking beer if you can’t stomach Kaoliang? B: Yeah, that analogy is a bit weird, but it’s something like that. A: 明明就是黑咖啡，為什麼要叫做「美式咖啡」啊？因為美國人都喝這種咖啡嗎？ B: 它的起源其實不可考，不過有一說認為是義大利人發明的 ，因為美式咖啡的英文「Americano」是義大利文。 A: 義大利人不是都喝espresso，或是卡布奇諾嗎？因為這兩個名詞根本就是義大利文啊。 B: 傳說是二戰時期駐守在義大利的美軍喝不慣濃烈的espresso，所以就要求義大利人在espresso裡加點熱水，變成比較淡的黑咖啡。 A: 所以就是喝不慣高粱，改喝啤酒的意思。 B: 你這個比喻有點怪，可是也好像蠻貼切的。 (Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱) Audio recordings for Speak Up! dialogues will be suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.
On Tuesday last week, a man in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township rushed into the Fire Bureau’s Gongguan Branch, saying he had handcuffed one of his wrists with a pair of handcuffs he had found and could not get it free. The firefighters were surprised when they heard his story, and first contacted the police to make sure the man was not involved in a crime. They then used a tool to cut through the bar of the locked handcuff and were finally able to remove it. According to Commander Yen Chin-yi of Miaoli County Fire Bureau’s First Corp, the man said he had found the handcuffs abandoned by the roadside. Curious, he had played around with them and ended up handcuffing himself. The keyhole was no longer working, so the only way to get the cuff off was to cut through it. When the firefighters had successfully removed the handcuffs, they saw that the metal had cut into the man’s wrist, so they immediately flushed and cleaned the wound with saline solution and dressed it with gauze to prevent infection. Miaoli County Fire Bureau said it is common to see people with rings stuck on their fingers after wearing them for years, but it is pretty rare to come across someone who had handcuffed himself and needed to have the cuffs removed. (Translated by Julian Clegg, Taipei Times) 苗栗縣公館鄉一名男子，上週二匆忙跑進公館消防分隊，指出自己被撿來的手銬銬住，無法拿下。消防人員聽到也覺得訝異，先與警方聯繫確認男子並未涉及刑事案件，之後用破壞器材破壞手銬主要結構後將其拆除。 苗栗縣消防局第一大隊大隊長顏勤益說，當時該名男子稱自己從路邊撿到廢棄手銬，好奇玩著玩著結果銬住自己，而手銬鑰匙孔早就壞掉，只能直接破解拆除。 男子手銬取下後，消防人員發現男子手腕已被手銬形成環狀痕跡，立即以生理食鹽水沖洗、清理傷口並使用紗布覆蓋避免感染。 苗栗縣消防局說，一般常見狀況為戒指因年久卡住，遇到有人被手銬銬住需要拆除真的很罕見。 （自由時報記者蔡政岷）
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