The car license plate I LOVE U sold for US$180,000 (NT$5.9 million) earlier this month in the first auction of novelty personalized plates in Hong Kong.
Buyers crowded into a government auction of unusual license plates which included the chance to have the words HANDSOME, BABYFACE and MR DVD on the fronts and backs of their cars.
Around US$770,000 (NT$25 million) was raised in one morning alone, with the highest price paid for I LOVE U, a plate which attracted fierce bidding.
PHOTO: AP
The personalized plates are among the first batch to be auctioned off by the territory’s government in a new plan to raise money by releasing unusual combinations of letters and numbers for car plates.
Plates that read NEPTUNE, MASTER, and HEHEHAHA were also sold at the mid-September auction.
The Personalized Vehicle Registration Marks Scheme is expected to generate nearly US$9 million (NT$290 million) a year for the Hong Kong government. The money will be spent on projects for the poor.
Despite its wealth, densely-populated Hong Kong has one of the developed world’s lowest car ownership rates with less than 40 percent of adults owning cars.
Because of the small size of the city of 6.8 million and the high cost of running and parking a car, most people choose to get around using public transport or taxis.(DPA)
本月初在香港首場新穎自訂車牌拍賣會上，「我愛你」車牌以十八萬美元（新台幣五百九十萬元）賣出。
買家湧入政府舉辦的獨特車牌拍賣會，有機會讓自己車子的前後車牌寫上「帥氣」、「娃娃臉」與「DVD先生」等字。
光是當天早上就募得約七十七萬美元（新台幣兩千五百萬元），其中競標激烈的「我愛你」車牌以最高價成交。
這些自訂車牌是港府釋出結合文字與號碼的獨特車牌來募款的新計畫中，首批拿來拍賣的一部分。
「海王星」、「大師」與「嘻嘻哈哈」車牌也於九月中旬的拍賣會中賣出。
「自訂車牌號碼計劃」預計將為香港政府帶來約九百萬美元（新台幣二億九千萬元）收益，所得將做為扶貧計畫之用。
雖然生活富裕，但人口稠密的香港卻是全球已開發地區汽車擁有率最低的地方之一，不到四成的成年人擁有車輛。
由於人口六百八十萬的香港面積窄小，開車與停車花費高，多數人都選擇搭乘大眾運輸或計程車趴趴走。
（德通社/翻譯︰賴美君）
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
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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
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