A: Wow, you look really bookish in those glasses!
B: Actually, they’re a bit of a pain, and I’m really sad about it: doesn’t this mean I won’t be able to train to be a pilot?
A: If you’re not too short-sighted you should still be alright. What is your prescription?
Photo: Fang Chih-hsien, Taipei Times 照片:自由時報記者方志賢
B: I am short-sighted 200 degrees, and I have a bit of astigmatism.
A: If you look after your eyes starting now, your eyesight could recover. You need to rest your eyes for 10 minutes after using them for half an hour, and you should read at a distance of between 35 and 40cm. Also, go for walks outside, and look at distant objects.
A: 哇你戴上眼鏡,看起來好有書卷氣喔!
B: 其實我覺得很不方便,而且很難過──我近視,以後是不是就不能考機師了?
A: 如果你近視不是很深的話,說不定還有機會。你幾度啊?
B: 我近視兩百度,還有一點散光。
A: 你如果現在趕快好好保護眼睛,搞不好可以回復視力。你用眼睛三十分鐘,就要休息十分鐘,看書要保持三十五到四十公分的距離。多到戶外走走、看遠的地方。
(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: I’ve been a fan of singer Jay Chou for 24 years, since his debut in 2000. B: But this time, his Taipei Dome concerts have shed light on the issue of ticket scalping. A: Isn’t the law stricter after being amended last year? B: Yeah, ticket scalping is illegal, even if you only raise the price by NT$1 when reselling. A: Why aren’t scalpers afraid of getting caught? Maybe a real-name ticketing system would be better. A: 自從周杰倫2000年出道以來,我都已經追星24年了。 B: 不過這次大巨蛋開唱,他卻引爆黃牛票問題。 A: 去年修法後,法規不是變得比較嚴格? B: 是啊,就算加價1元轉賣也算違法! A: 黃牛們怎麼都抓不怕?或許票券「實名制」會更有用。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
When a large group of people struggles to reach a consensus, voting is often used to help make a decision. Surprisingly, humans are not the only animals that exhibit this type of democratic tendency. Several different species of animals demonstrate similar voting behavior. One of the most notable examples of animals engaging in this activity involves African buffalo. Ecologist Herbert Prins first observed herds of African buffalo performing voting behavior in the 1990s. Groups of African buffalo would pause under the intense midday sun and rest until dusk. Prins noticed that some buffalo would periodically stand up and gaze
UK lawmakers voted on Nov. 29 in favor of assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and Wales, advancing the emotive and contentious legislation to the next stage of parliamentary scrutiny. MPs voted by 330 to 275 in support of legalized euthanasia in the first vote on the issue in the House of Commons for nearly a decade. The result came following an emotionally-charged debate that lasted almost five hours in a packed and hushed chamber, and as competing protestors made their voices heard outside parliament. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill now progresses to the committee
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang The African buffalo’s voting system is straightforward. One buffalo initiates the process by getting up, looking intently in a particular direction, and lying back down. If other buffalo agree with this choice, they will mimic this behavior. Conversely, buffalo with a differing preference will face their desired location. Ultimately, the direction favored by the majority dictates where the herd will graze that evening. Not all buffalo are involved in the decision-making process, though. It’s primarily the adult females of the herd that participate. The voting system displays a certain level of fairness because the status of each buffalo in