英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

2024/01/24 05:30
◎管淑平

Train enthusiast Joe Biden unveiled a $8.2 billion plan to get America’s creaking rail network back on track, including its first ever high-speed link between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

火車愛好者喬‧拜登公布一份82億美元的計畫，要讓美國老舊的鐵路網重新上軌道，其中包括連結洛杉磯和拉斯維加斯的該國第一條高速鐵路。

The US president, who used the train between his Delaware home and Washington so much as a US senator that he was nicknamed "Amtrak Joe," visited Las Vegas to announce a series of federally funded rail upgrades.

這名在美國參議員任內搭火車往來德拉瓦住家和華府次數多到被暱稱為「美鐵喬」的美國總統，造訪拉斯維加斯，宣布一系列聯邦政府出資的鐵路升級工程。

2024/01/23 05:30
◎魏國金
South Korea’s parliament passed a bill to ban the eating and selling of dog meat, a move that will end the controversial centuries-old practice amid growing support for animal welfare.

南韓國會通過法案，禁止食用與販賣狗肉，在對動物福利的支持與日俱增下，此舉將終結數世紀之久的爭議性慣行。

Eating dog meat was once seen as a way to improve stamina in the humid Korean summer. But the practise has become rare - largely limited to some older people and specific restaurants - as more Koreans consider dogs as family pets and as criticism of how the dogs are slaughtered has grown.

在溼熱的韓國夏季，吃狗肉一度被視為補精益氣的方式。然而，此慣行已變得罕見—主要限於一些年長者，及特定餐廳—因為愈來愈多韓國人將狗視為家庭寵物，而對狗屠宰方式的批評也增多。

2024/01/17 05:30
◎管淑平

City lawmakers in Brazil have enacted what appears to be the nation’s first legislation written entirely by artificial intelligence — even if they didn’t know it at the time.

巴西的市議員通過實施顯然是該國第一部完全用人工智慧寫出來的法案—即使他們當時不知情。

The experimental ordinance was passed in October in the southern city of Porto Alegre and city councilman Ramiro Rosario revealed that it was written by a chatbot.

2024/01/16 05:30
◎盧永山
A 26-year-old man who tried to sell what he claimed was a walking stick used by the late Queen Elizabeth II has been sentenced for defrauding eBay buyers.

1名26歲男子試圖出售他聲稱是已故伊莉莎白二世女王使用的手杖，並因欺騙eBay買家而被判刑。

Dru Marshall, from Hampshire in southern England, claimed he was a senior footman at Windsor Castle and that the proceeds from the sale of the “antler walking stick” would go to cancer research. The auction had reached 540 pounds before he cancelled the listing after learning police had launched an investigation, prosecutors said.

來自英格蘭南部漢普郡的德魯‧馬歇爾聲稱，他是溫莎城堡的一名資深男僕，出售「鹿角手杖」的收益將用於癌症研究。檢察官表示，在得知警方展開調查後，馬歇爾取消拍賣，但拍賣價格已達540英鎊。

2024/01/11 05:30
◎孫宇青

A Georgia dentist earned a Guinness World Records title for his collection of 2037 different toothpaste tubes.

喬治亞州一名牙醫因收藏2037支各式各樣的牙膏管，創下金氏世界紀錄。

Dr. Val Kolpakov said his collection includes rare toothpastes from countries including Japan, Korea, China, India and Russia.

瓦爾‧科爾帕科夫醫師表示，他的藏品包括來自日本、南韓、中國、印度和俄羅斯等國的稀有牙膏。

2024/01/09 05:30
◎ 魏國金

ghouse after causing more than a quarter-million dollars’ worth of damage at a Houston car dealership.

一對流浪狗在造成一家休士頓汽車經銷商價值逾25萬美元的損失後，已落腳動物收容所。

One dog, described as a bull terrier mix, was captured in early December, and the second, whose breed was not known, was caught Dec. 31. Both dogs are being held by the Houston animal shelter, BARC.

一隻被描述為混種鬥牛犬的狗狗，在（去年）12月初被捕，第二隻狗於12月31日被捕，其品種不得而知。這兩隻狗被休士頓動物收容所BARC收容。

2024/01/08 05:30
◎陳成良

Three trafficked Sumatran orangutans were sent back from Thailand to Indonesia on Thursday as part of a joint effort between the countries to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

週四，3隻被販運的蘇門答臘紅毛猩猩從泰國被送回印尼，這是兩國共同努力打擊非法野生動物貿易的一環。

Nobita and Shizuka, both 7 years old, and Brian, 5 years old, had been living at a wildlife sanctuary in the western Thai province of Ratchaburi. After the repatriation, there are no more trafficked orangutans currently under the care of Thai authorities, officials said.

7歲的大雄和靜香，以及5歲的布萊恩，一直住在泰國西部叻武里府一個野生動物保護區。官員稱，遣返後，目前泰國當局不再監管任何被販運的猩猩。

2024/01/05 05:30
◎ 張沛元

Gone are the days when a laborious search by hand is required to locate a missing item at the lost and found office.

得在失物招領處用手費盡找出遺失物的日子，已成為往事。

In May, Tokyo-based private railroad operator Keio Corp. introduced a service that relies on artificial intelligence to sort things out quickly.

2024/01/03 05:30
◎管淑平

New York state sued PepsiCo on Wednesday, pointing to the soda giant’s plastic waste as a scourge of waterways and blasting the company’s "misleading" statements on the environment.

紐約州週三起訴百事公司，指這家飲料大廠製造的塑膠垃圾，是水道的大患，並抨擊該公司在環境方面發表「誤導性的」聲明。

The civil suit, filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James in New York state Supreme Court, seeks a finding that PepsiCo contributed to a "public nuisance" in the Buffalo River; the imposition of financial penalties and compensatory damages on the company; and an order that PepsiCo cease the sale of single-use plastic on goods that do not warn of the environmental ills.

2024/01/02 05:30
◎盧永山

An Alabama woman with two uteri and two cervixes has given birth to two babies after carrying one of them in each uterus.

阿拉巴馬州1名擁有2個子宮和2個子宮頸的婦女，在每個子宮各懷1個嬰兒後，產下2個嬰兒。

Kelsey Hatcher of Dora, about 45 kilometers northwest of Birmingham, gave birth to two girls on Wednesday and Thursday after a combined 20 hours of labor.

2023/12/28 05:30
◎孫宇青

Doctors in northeastern Peru saved the life of a 2-year-old boy who had swallowed eight injection needles while playing.

祕魯東北部的醫生團隊，救回一名在玩耍時吞下8根注射用針頭的2歲幼童的生命。

"It was once we were in the operating room and we opened up his abdomen that we found those metal pieces, (and realized) they were really needles," Dr. Efrain Salazar said.

2023/12/27 05:30
◎管淑平

South Korean smartphone giant Samsung Electronics will roll out a real-time translation service on calls using AI technology next year, a company representative told AFP on Friday.

南韓智慧手機巨擘三星電子公司，明年將推出利用人工智慧技術在通話中即時翻譯服務，該公司一名代表週五向法新社說。

The new real-time translation feature will be incorporated into Samsung’s new Galaxy flagship model, which will launch early next year, the representative said.

2023/12/26 05:30

◎ 魏國金

The Vatican said in a ruling approved by Pope Francis that Roman Catholic priests can administer blessings to same-sex couples as long as they are not part of regular Church rituals or liturgies.

梵蒂岡在教宗方濟各批准的一份裁決中表示，羅馬天主教神父可以為同性伴侶施行祝福禮，只要它們不屬於正規教會儀式或禮拜儀式的一部分。

A document from the Vatican’s doctrinal office said such blessings would not legitimise irregular situations but be a sign that God welcomes all.

梵蒂岡教義辦公室的一份文件稱，這樣的祝福不會合法化非正規狀況，卻是上帝歡迎所有人的記號。

It said priests should decide on a case-by-case basis and "should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing".

該文件說，神父應逐案決定，「不應在任何人們可能透過簡單祝福，而尋求上帝幫助的狀況下，阻止或禁止教會與人們保持親密關係」。

The pope hinted that an official change was in the works in October in response to questions put forward by five conservative cardinals at the start of a synod of bishops at the Vatican.

教宗暗示，一項官方變革計畫在10月進行，以回應5位保守派紅衣主教在梵蒂岡主教會議開始時提出的問題。

2023/12/21 05:30

◎孫宇青

A Canadian chef known for his knife skills broke a Guinness World Record by chopping 166 slices of cucumber in 30 seconds while wearing a blindfold.

一位以刀工著稱的加拿大廚師，蒙著眼睛在30秒內切了166片黃瓜，打破金氏世界紀錄。

Wallace Wong, a chef and bodybuilder known as the Six Pack Chef on TikTok, put his chopping skills to the test for an episode of Guinness World Records’ Italian TV series Lo Show dei Record.

華勒斯‧黃是一名廚師兼健身運動員，在TikTok（抖音國際版）上被稱為「六塊肌廚師」。他在金氏世界紀錄的義大利電視節目「Lo Show dei Record」一集中，測試了自己的切菜技術。

Wong donned a blindfold and chopped some long strips of halved cucumber into 166 thin slices in the 30-second time period.

黃先生戴上眼罩，在30秒內將一些對半切的長條黃瓜切成166個薄片。

Wong, who has previously appeared on TV shows including Fridge Wars, Top Chef Canada and Chopped Canada, said surviving a bout with cancer at age 17 inspired him to overcome obesity and set goals for his bodybuilding and cooking careers.（UPI）

黃先生之前曾上過「冰箱大戰」、「加拿大頂級廚師」和「切碎的加拿大」等電視節目。他說，17歲時從癌症中倖存的經歷，激勵他克服肥胖，並為自己的健身和烹飪生涯設定目標。（合眾國際社）

2023/12/19 05:30
◎盧永山

The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office said this week that one of its law clerks Peter Park passed the State Bar of California exam at age 17.Park is the youngest person to pass the exam.

圖萊里郡檢察官辦公室本週表示，該辦公室的一名律師助理朴彼得，17歲就通過加州律師資格考試。朴彼得是通過這項考試最年輕的人。

“Passing the California Bar exam is a major accomplishment at any age, and for someone as young as Mr. Park, it is quite an extraordinary feat and one worth celebrating,” The State Bar executive Director Leah Wilson said.

加州律師協會執行董事里亞‧威爾森表示：「通過加州律師考試對於任何年齡的人來說，都是一項重大成就，對於像朴彼得先生這樣年輕的人來說，更是一項非凡之舉，值得慶祝。」

2023/12/18 05:30
◎陳成良

An extremely rare white leucistic alligator has been born at a Florida reptile park.

一隻極為罕見的白色「白變」種短吻鱷，在佛羅里達州爬行動物公園出生。

The 19.2-inch (49 cm) female slithered out of its shell and into the history books as one of a few known leucistic alligators, Gatorland Orlando said Thursday.

奧蘭多鱷魚樂園週四稱，這隻體長19.2英寸（49公分）的雌性鱷魚從殼裡爬了出來，做為少數已知的白變種鱷魚之一載入史冊。

2023/12/15 05:30
◎張沛元

For the first time in 44 years, Japan Broadcasting Corp.’s (NHK) New Year’s Eve singing contest will not include any performers from the scandal-hit former Johnny & Associates Inc. talent agency.

日本放送協會（NHK）的除夕歌唱競賽節目44年來首度沒有任何1名來自醜聞纏身的前傑尼斯經紀公司的藝人（出席）。

The public broadcaster announced the lineup on Nov. 13 of the 44 groups and performers invited to perform in the annual “NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen”.

2023/12/14 05:30
◎孫宇青

TikTok’s latest trend, parents cracking an egg on a young child’s head, has been criticised by medical experts over the potential damage it could do.

父母在年幼孩童頭上敲蛋是抖音平台最新流行，但醫學專家批評此舉隱藏傷害。

The videos, many of which use the hashtag #eggprank, usually show a parent with a young child in the kitchen.

有很多這類影片加上「#eggprank」（蛋的惡作劇）的標籤，場景通常是父母親之一和一名孩子在廚房裡。

2023/12/12 05:30
◎魏國金

A senior Paraguayan official was fired after signing a cooperation memorandum with a country he has since learned does not exist.

一名巴拉圭高級官員，在與一個他後來得知並不存在的國家簽署一份合作備忘錄後被開除。

Arnaldo Chamorro told reporters he was dismissed from his job as chief of staff to the agriculture minister after signing the document with purported officials from the "United States of Kailasa".

阿納爾多‧查莫洛告訴記者，在他與據稱為「凱拉薩合眾國」的官員簽署該文件後，他被免除農業部幕僚長的職務。