A: Here’s a menu. You can mark what you want to order on it.
B: OK, thanks. Wow, how come there are so many choices for the sweetness level? There is regular sugar, less sugar, half sugar, light sugar, sugar-free: Could you explain the difference between them?
A: To make it simple, it basically means 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% or zero sugar.
Photo: George Tsorng, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報記者叢昌瑾
B: Oh. Then I’ll have half sugar for all of them.
A: OK. Now, do you want regular ice, less ice, easy on the ice or no ice?
B: Good heavens, you even divide the amount of ice into categories. I’ll have regular ice for all of them, just to keep things simple.
A: Sure. And would you like extra-large, large, medium or small?
A: 這張菜單給你，你要點什麼可以直接在上面劃記。
B: 好，謝謝。哇，怎麼甜度的選項有那麼多種啊？正常糖、少糖、半糖、微糖、無糖，差別在哪裡呀？可以麻煩你解釋一下嗎？
A: 簡單來說，大概就是100%、75%、50%、25%、0%的意思。
B: 喔。那都半糖好了。
A: OK。那請問你要正常冰、少冰、微冰，還是去冰？
B: 我的天哪，連冰塊的量也要分這麼細喔？就全部正常冰好了，省得麻煩。
A: 好的。那請問你要超大杯、大杯、中杯，還是小杯呢？
(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.
A: Guess what’s included in Google Taiwan’s 2024 most searched words. B: Let me guess: Taiwan’s victory in the WBSC Premier 12 championship must be on the list. A: Wow, good guess. “Premier 12” is at No. 10. B: What are the other most popular searches? A: No. 9 to 6 are: Ticketing platform “Tixcraft,” Taiwanese film “The Pig, The Snake and The Pigeon,” Olympic gold boxer “Lin Yu-ting,” and the “Yuanta ETF coded 00940.” A: 猜猜看，Google 2024台灣搜尋排行榜，有哪些關鍵詞？ B: 我猜「棒球12強賽」一定超熱門吧。 A: 你好強，12強真的排在第10名！ B: 其他熱門搜尋有哪些？！ A: 第9至6名是︰「拓元」售票、電影「周處除三害」、奧運拳擊金牌「林郁婷」、元大ETF「00940」。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
Imagine racing up many flights of stairs, your heart pounding as you ascend a towering skyscraper. Welcome to the thrilling world of tower running, also known as run ups. Unlike traditional marathons on flat tracks, tower running involves climbing skyscraper stairs. Competitors start at the base and ascend to the top, tackling hundreds or thousands of steps, testing their speed, endurance and willpower. The physical demands of run ups are substantial, as stair climbing constitutes a prolonged, weight-bearing exercise. This activity places a significant strain on the body, burning up to four times the calories compared to regular running.
A: Which words ranked highest for Google Taiwan’s most searched words of 2024? B: No. 5 to 1 are: “US presidential election,” “Olympics,” “Ko Wen-je,” “typhoon” and “earthquake.” A: I heard that Google also released a list of most searched word meanings. B: Yeah, the most popular searches included “M3,” “APT” and “release without bail.” A: Let me google their meanings now. A: Google 2024 台灣搜尋排行榜，前幾名是什麼？ B: 第5至1名是︰「美國總統大選」、「奧運」、「柯文哲」、「颱風」、「地震」！ A: 我聽說Google還有一個搜尋字義的排行榜。 B: 對啊前幾名是︰「M3」、「APT」、「無保請回」。 A: 讓我搜尋一下他們是什麼意思。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
Stonefish may not be the most impressive-looking animal in the sea. In fact, this fish is so skilled at camouflage that most people wouldn’t notice it if they swam past it. Despite their unremarkable appearance, stonefish are the most venomous fish in the ocean. Stonefish come in various shades of brown, red, yellow, and orange. Their rough skin texture and blotchy color pattern give them a remarkable resemblance to stones, which is where their name comes from. This feature helps them blend in with their surroundings exceptionally well. Stonefish are notable for their 13 highly venomous spines which protrude
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