A: Read an English newspaper? But English news is super difficult, I can’t understand it at all.
B: Well, you could start out by reading “Bilingual Times,” which has English and Chinese side by side for comparison.
A: That’s a great idea.
Photo: Eddy Chang, Taipei Times 照片:台北時報張聖恩
B: Also, starting from April, the Taipei Time’s “Bilingual Times” section will be providing a series of new English language learning units.
A: 看英文報紙?可是英語新聞好難我都看不懂。
B: 那你可以從中英對照的「雙語版」開始啊。
A: 真是個好主意。
B: 而且《台北時報》「雙語版」從四月起,推出了一系列學英文的新單元。
(Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Audio recordings for Speak Up! dialogues will be suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.
A: Finally! Cantopop superstar Andy Lau is touring Taipei starting tonight. B: Yeah, he is set to perform at the Taipei Arena for four nights. A: It seems like he is still energetic on stage even at the age of 63. B: Lau, Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai and Arron Kwok are dubbed Hong Kong’s “Four Heavenly Kings.” A: Hopefully, the four “kings” can visit Taiwan more often. A: 終於啊!香港天王劉德華今晚起將在台北開唱。 B: 他預計在台北小巨蛋,一連熱唱4天! A: 看來劉天王雖然63歲了,在舞台上還是一尾活龍。 B: 他和張學友、黎明、郭富城還被稱為香港「四大天王」。 A: 希望天王們以後能更常來台灣。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Imagine the thrill of diving into the ocean, holding your breath, and exploring underwater worlds without any modern gear. This is the life of the haenyeo, South Korea’s sea women. Armed with only diving goggles and handmade tools, these skilled divers venture into the ocean’s depths to manually harvest marine products like abalone and seaweed. The haenyeo tradition, dating back to the 17th century, was originally dominated by men. However, a combination of wars and deep-sea fishing accidents created a shortage of male labor. Women’s greater resistance to cold proved a blessing to the struggling communities. As a result, they began
A: Originally, supergroup Mayday was also going to launch four charity concerts starting today. B: I know, they were trying to boost Hualien’s tourism industry. A: And all 14 artists from B’in Music were going to join the free concerts. B: But they just announced all shows will be postponed due to Typhoon Kong-Rey. A: Well, safety first. A: 原本今天起,天團五月天的公益演唱會也將開跑。 B: 我知道,主要是為了振興花蓮的觀光業。 A: 「相信音樂」旗下14組歌手,聽說這次都會共襄盛舉。 B: 結果主辦單位宣布所有演出因颱風康芮延期。 A: 嗯安全至上吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
For people with hearing loss, clear communication can seem like a distant dream. However, advancements in technology are __1__ this barrier. TranscribeGlass, a wearable device, can translate spoken words into text displayed on a transparent screen directly in the user’s field of vision. This innovation enables people with hearing disabilities to fully engage in conversations. Assistive technology like captioning is an important means of communication for people with hearing loss. Captioning software on cellphones can be a helpful option, but it has limitations. Many users often find themselves __2__ to constantly glance down at the phone screen, which disrupts eye contact