Some people have told Taipei City Councilor Kerr Chen that every year, as spring turns into summer, it is common for people to get sprayed with foul-smelling liquid by litchi giant shield bugs, which are in their breeding season at that time. The liquid causes skin allergy and inflammation, which can be very painful. Litchi giant shield bugs being an alien species, some people confuse them with red fire ants and mistakenly report them as such, but despite several such reports, the city government has been passive and not done much about it. It has therefore been suggested that they should issue a “shield bug warning” to inform the public.
The Taipei City Parks and Street Lights Office says that litchi giant shield bugs are an insect pest that has appeared in northern Taiwan in the last two years. They lay their eggs in April and May and are active between May and July. The office says that in future, when the bugs appear, it will put up public information notices to tell people where they are. During the bugs’ egg-laying season in April and May they will pick their egg clumps off trees and destroy them, or else remove the bugs by spraying the trees with water jets. In addition, for places that have experienced relatively heavy litchi giant shield bug infestations, the office will assess the extent of the damage to determine whether insecticide should be sprayed as a preventive measure.
Chang Chan-jung, director of the parks office’s Floriculture Experiment Center, reminds the public not to catch litchi giant shield bugs out of curiosity, so as to avoid getting burned by the liquid that they spray out of their stink glands to defend themselves. Chang also said that people need not be overly fearful of the bugs, they only need to refrain from frightening or provoking them. If people discover such bugs, they can immediately contact the parks office, which will send some of its staff to deal with it.(Liberty Times, translated by Julian Clegg)
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Parks and Street Lights Office
照片：臺北市公園路燈工程管理處提供
有民眾向台北市議員陳重文陳情，每逢春夏季節交替之時，常遭正值繁殖期的荔枝椿象臭液噴到，造成皮膚過敏紅腫，疼痛不已。因荔枝椿象屬於外來種，還有人誤以為是紅火蟻而誤報，屢次向市府反映，市府卻消極以對。因此有人建議應發布「防疫警報」告知。
臺北市公園路燈工程管理處表示，荔枝椿象為近兩年出現在台灣北部地區的害蟲，產卵期為四至五月，活動期為五至七月；往後荔枝椿象出現時，會在出現地點張貼宣導文宣，並在四至五月間荔枝椿象產卵期摘除樹上卵塊銷毀或利用水柱沖刷移除蟲體。另外，針對荔枝椿象疫情較為嚴重地點，依照危害情形評估是否進行預防性噴藥防治。
公園處花卉試驗中心主任張栴榕提醒，民眾千萬不要因為一時好奇而捉捕荔枝椿象，以免遭到防禦性臭腺汁液灼傷；也不需要過於恐慌，只要不去驚擾牠。如有發現時，可即時通報公園處派員處理。(自由時報記者盧姮倩)
A: Yet another shopping mall has just opened in Taipei. B: Do you mean the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang? A: Yeah, the shopping mall run by Japanese Mitsui & Co. opened last week. B: I hear the mall features about 300 stores, Vieshow Cinemas and Japanese Lopia supermarket. A: With the opening, a war is breaking out between Taipei’s department stores. A: 台北又有新的購物商場可逛啦。 B: 你是說Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport 南港？ A: 對啊這家日本三井集團旗下的商場上週開幕。 B: 聽說商場有威秀影城、樂比亞日系超市，還有多達300家專櫃。 A: 新商場一開幕，看來又要掀起一場百貨大戰啦！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
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
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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