英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

◎黃靖媗

Archaeologists in northern Peru have identified a 3,200-year-old mural painted on the side of an ancient adobe temple that is thought to depict a zoomorphic, knife-wielding spider god associated with rain and fertility.

考古學家在秘魯北部鑑定出一幅3200年前，畫在一座古老土胚寺廟側面的壁畫，該壁畫描繪一尊具動物形象、揮刀，並且與雨及豐饒有關的蜘蛛神。

The spider on the shrine is associated with water and was an incredibly important animal in pre-Columbian cultures.

神廟上的蜘蛛與水有關，且在前哥倫布時期的文化中，是極其重要的動物。

The mural – applied in ochre, yellow, grey and white paint to the wall of the 15m x 5m mud brick structure in the Virú province of Peru’s La Libertad region – was discovered last year after much of the site was destroyed by local farmers trying to extend their avocado and sugarcane plantations.

這幅塗上赭色、黃色、灰色與白色顏料的壁畫是在去年被發現，它畫在秘魯拉利伯塔德區比魯省的15公尺×5公尺的泥磚結構的牆上，許多地方已被試圖擴大酪梨與甘蔗園的當地農夫破壞。

Experts believe the shrine was built by the pre-Columbian Cupisnique culture, which developed along Peru’s northern coast more than 3,000 years ago.

專家認為，這座寺廟建造於前哥倫布時期的庫比司尼克文明，該文明在3000多年前沿著秘魯北方海岸發展。

英倫翻譯轉自https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1442400

2021/04/09 05:30

◎張沛元

When the coronavirus began racing around the globe last spring, Katie Ledecky couldn’t find a swimming pool for training and saw her competition schedule wiped clean through the summer and beyond.

當新冠病毒在去年春天蔓延全球，（美國奧運金牌女泳將）雷德基找不到游泳池進行訓練，以及目睹她在整個夏天甚至更久以後的賽程全被清空。

To focus on the Olympics, she was in the midst of an extended break from her studies at Stanford, but when the Tokyo Games were postponed, the 24-year-old suddenly had some time on her hands.

為了專心備戰奧運，她當時跟所就讀的史丹福大學請長假；但當東京奧運宣告延期，這名24歲的運動員突然有很多閒暇時間。

So Ledecky re-enrolled in classes as a way to keep busy as the world around her shut down. She took a full load of classes in the spring, summer and fall, and in November she completed all of the coursework for an undergraduate degree in psychology. It was a silver lining of sorts to the pandemic that seemed to upend just about everything else.

於是雷德基重新註冊上課，讓自己在周遭世界停擺之際有事可做。她在春、夏與秋天選修了一大堆課，然後在11月修完了心理學學士學位所需的所有課業。在這個看似把一切搞得天翻地覆的疫情大流行中，就像是困境中的一線慰藉。

英倫翻譯轉自https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1442012

2021/04/08 05:30

◎孫宇青

A year into the coronavirus epidemic, Japanese retailer Shuhei Okawara has come up with a new take on the theme of facial camouflage - a hyper-realistic mask that models a stranger’s features.

新型冠狀病毒大流行1年後，日本零售商大河原修平（譯音）想出臉部遮掩方式的新點子—以陌生人五官特徵為範本的超逼真面具。

Okawara’s masks won’t protect you or others against the virus. But they will lend you the exact appearance of an unidentified Japanese adult whose features have been printed onto them.

大河原的面具不會保護你或其他人免於病毒威脅，但可以讓你擁有一個陌生日本成年人的容貌，他們的五官特徵都被印在上面。

The masks will be sold for 98,000 yen apiece at his Tokyo shop, Kamenya Omote, whose products are popular as accessories for parties and theatrical performance.

這些面具將在他的商店Kamenya Omote，以每個9萬8000日幣（約2萬5700台幣）的價格販售。該店因販售派對和戲劇表演配件而廣受歡迎。

More than 100 applicants sent Okawara their photos, with each receiving 40,000 yen in return.

逾100名申請「賣臉」者，已將自己的照片寄給大河原，每人可獲4萬日幣（約1萬500台幣）報酬。

Demand for the masks are strong, Okawara said. "There are not so many people who buy （face masks） for specific purposes. Most see them as art pieces."（Reuters）

2021/04/07 05:30

◎管淑平

China is increasing its defense spending by 6.8%, a slight uptick from last year, amid high government debt and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic impact.

在政府債台高築，以及新型冠狀病毒疫情衝擊帶來影響之際，中國增加其國防經費6.8％，略高於去年。

The government says most of the spending increases go toward improving pay and other conditions for troops while observers say the budget omits much of China’s spending on weaponry.

政府說，大多數增加的開支將用於改善部隊待遇和其他生活條件，而觀察家指出，這項預算忽略了中國大多數武器的開支。

China’s military is largely engineered to maintain its threat to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, although it has also grown more assertive in the South China Sea, the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and elsewhere. （AP）

中國軍力大多規劃用來維持其威脅使用武力統治台灣，不過中國在南海、西太平洋、印度洋和其他地方，也已愈來愈強勢。（美聯社）

英倫翻譯轉自https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1441646

◎ 陳成良

The governor of Utah on Wednesday announced a new law requiring an anti-pornography filter on smartphones and tablets sold in the conservative Mormon-majority US state.

猶他州州長週三宣布新法，明定在美國這個保守派摩門教徒佔多數的州內，販售的智慧手機與平板電腦必須內建阻擋色情內容的過濾器。

The law, which Republican Spencer Cox said he had signed the night before, would penalize manufacturers failing to include the filter between $10 and $500 per violation.

共和黨籍州長柯克斯表示，昨晚簽署的這條法律，將對未內建過濾器的業者開罰，每次違規罰款在10至500美元之間。

Backed by conservative lawmakers in the western state － where members of the Mormon Church make up two-thirds of the population － the measure would only take effect in the unlikely event that five other states pass similar laws.

這項法律受到這個西部州的保守派議員支持，該州3分之2人口為摩門教徒，但措施實施機會不高 ，僅有在其他5州通過類似法案時才會上路。

In practice, the reform could look like the reverse of parental controls on existing devices sold by tech companies such as Apple and Google, in which the filters are by default turned off.

實際上，這比較像是推翻既有裝置由家長控制的改革。蘋果與谷歌等科技公司的手機，都已預設關掉這些過濾器。

英倫翻譯轉自https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1441282