The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) confirmed last week that actor Tom Cruise will be filming his next Hollywood blockbuster in space. The Mission Impossible superstar plans to fly through the atmosphere to shoot a film on the International Space Station (ISS), hoping to become the first actor to achieve this.
“NASA is excited to work with @TomCruise on a film aboard the @Space_Station!,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine wrote on his Twitter page, adding that the move could “inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists” to make NASA’s ambitious plans for space travel a reality. According to online news site Deadline, tech mogul Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX has been attached to this project.
The ISS orbits at 400km above the Earth’s surface. In March, SpaceX announced that it will partner with Axiom Space to launch a spaceflight to the ISS next year. Tourists will be carried on SpaceX’s “Crew Dragon” capsule, and a ticket for the trip costs US$55 million (about NT$1.7 billion).
Photo courtesy of NASA via AFP 照片︰美國國家航空暨太空總署經由法新社提供
(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)
美國國家航空暨太空總署(NASA)上週證實,影星湯姆克魯斯將上太空拍攝他的下一部好萊塢大片。這位以《不可能的任務》系列而走紅的超級巨星,計劃將要飛越大氣層,在國際太空站上拍片,期盼能創下影壇先例。
NASA署長吉姆布萊登斯坦在推特上寫道︰「NASA很興奮可以和阿湯哥合作,登上太空站拍電影!」還表示,此舉將「激勵新一代的工程師和科學家」,實現該署對推展太空旅行之雄心壯志。根據新聞網站Deadline報導,科技大亨伊隆馬斯克創立的太空探索科技公司將參與此計劃。
國際太空站在地表上空約四百公里處,環繞地球的軌道運行。稍早在三月時,太空探索科技公司宣布和公理太空公司結盟,預計明年推出前往太空站的太空飛行。旅客將搭乘前者的「飛龍號」旅行太空艙,每張票價高達五千五百萬美元(約十七億台幣)。
(台北時報張聖恩)
Taiwan wants to lure higher-spending travelers from Southeast Asia as Chinese arrivals dwindle, a shift that could reshape the island’s tourism industry. Despite increasingly fraught relations across the strait, visitors from across Asia, and Southeast Asia in particular, are traveling to Taiwan in greater numbers than before the pandemic, first-quarter data from Taiwan’s Tourism Administration show. The number of Thai visitors has risen 12 percent from the same period in 2019, according to the travel body, while Singapore’s is up 10 percent and Malaysia’s has reached pre-COVID levels. Hotel revenues and the number of local travel agencies have returned to where they were
A: The “Big Three” in tennis can no longer dominate the Wimbledon Championships. B: Roger Federer retired two years ago, Rafael Nadal is skipping the tournament, and Novak Djokovic just had surgery. A: Federer has won 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, and Nadal has won 22 titles. B: Djokovic has won 24 titles. Together, the trio have dominated tennis for over two decades. A: Is the “Big Three” era coming to an end? A: 今年的溫布頓錦標賽,網球「三巨頭」恐怕風光不再。 B: 費德勒前年宣布退休,納達爾這次不參賽,喬科維奇則剛動過手術。 A: 費德勒有20座大滿貫冠軍,納達爾也有22座冠軍。 B: 喬科維奇則有24座,三大球王已稱霸網壇20多年! A:「三巨頭」的時代終於要落幕了嗎? (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Stalls selling egg-shaped pancakes are often found on the streets or in night markets in Taiwan. These pancakes are cooked using molds to create shapes with the pancake batter. They are delicious traditional snacks with affordable prices. Egg-shaped pancakes are made with only four ingredients: flour, sugar, butter and egg. The recipe was created in the 1950s by a grocery store owner who made a batter using eggs which had broken upon delivery. He cooked it in an iron mold on a gas stove. The idea was quite successful because the finished product was delicious. 雞蛋糕是在台灣的路邊和夜市隨處可見的點心,是將麵糊倒入模具加熱煎成。雞蛋糕的原料只有麵粉、糖、奶油和雞蛋,起源於1950年代,據說是一位雜貨店老闆發明的,他把搬運時弄破的雞蛋做成麵糊,倒在加熱的鐵模中,就成了香甜可口的雞蛋糕。 mold
A: What are some other highlights at the Wimbledon Championships? B: I’m looking forward to Taiwanese tennis queen Hsieh Su-wei’s matches. A: Hsieh has performed amazingly this year, and has even reclaimed the World No. 1 title in women’s doubles since March. B: And she’s a four-time champion at Wimbledon, having won the women’s doubles title in 2013, 2019, 2021 and 2023. A: Let’s hope she can snatch another Grand Slam title. A: 今年的溫布頓錦標賽還有哪些看點呢? B: 台灣球后謝淑薇也很令人期待。 A: 她在今年三月重返女雙世界第一寶座真厲害。 B: 她於2013、2019、2021、2023,四度在溫網女雙奪冠。 A: 希望她在今年也能打出好成績! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)