Yoga for the Winter Blues 冬季 瑜伽課 給 沮喪

The waiting’s finally over. Snow descends on Taiping Mountain
終於等到了！太平山降下瑞雪

Tourists play in the snow on Taiping Mountain in Yilan County on Friday last week.
二月六日在宜蘭縣太平山上看到雪，遊客開心地玩起來。

Photo COURTESY OF THE Luodong Forest District Office
照片：羅東林管處提供

As a cold wave brought low-enough temperatures and sufficient moisture, at 7:30am on the morning of Friday last week snow finally fell on Taiping Mountain for the first time this winter. Delighted tourists danced with joy, shouting “The waiting’s finally over.” The Taiping Mountain Villa Hotel said that snow mixed with soft hail fell for about one hour. It then stopped snowing and the ground was covered with an approximately 0.5cm layer of snow.

From November last year until last week, the temperature at Taiping Mountain had fallen below zero many times, but due to insufficient moisture the most that formed was rime ice, with no snow falling. After nightfall on Thursday the temperature dropped below zero and there was sufficient moisture. By early morning, as Taiping Mountain’s plants and roadways started to ice over, an employee at the Taiping Mountain Villa Hotel predicted that there would be a chance of snow, and sure enough the auspicious snowfall came to pass.

(Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones)

寒流來襲，這次冬天還未下雪的太平山，在溫度低濕度足的情況下，上周五早上七點半，終於降下瑞雪，遊客開心地手舞足蹈，直呼「終於等到了！」太平山莊表示，降雪時間約一個小時，中間夾雜冰霰，然後停止下雪，而地上有約量零點五公分厚的積雪。

太平山從去年十一月至上周，多次溫度在零下，但都因濕度不足，頂多結霧淞，沒有下雪。周四入夜後，溫度下降至零下，濕度也足夠，清晨時，太平山上的植物、道路，開始出現結冰情況，太平山莊人員評估有降雪機會，果真降下瑞雪。

〔自由時報記者朱則瑋〕

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. dance with joy v. phr. 手舞足蹈 

例: Viola danced with joy when she found out she had won first price.

(知道贏得頭獎，費歐拉手舞足蹈起來了。)

2. sure enough adj. phr. 果真 

例: The room was searched by the police and, sure enough, the gun was found.

(警察搜索房間，果真找到槍了。)

3. ice over v. phr. 結冰 

例: Once the road had iced over, driving conditions become extremely hazardous.

(道路一旦結冰，路況就變得十分危險。)

Mountain Pose 擺好山姿勢

50-something climbs Taiwan’s 100 tallest peaks in four years 四年完登百岳　竹崎半百婦圓夢

Mountaineer Wen Hsiu-hsia, 50, left, holds a wooden plaque with the words “woman warrior of the 100 peaks” at Yushan’s West Peak on May 9, commemorating her successful ascent of Taiwan’s 100 tallest peaks.
山友溫秀霞（左）五月九日在玉山西峰慶祝登完台灣百岳與山友拿著寫有「白岳女霞」的匾額留影。

Photo courtesy of the Fongtianyan Tea Enthusiast Association
照片由奉天岩茶友會提供

Four years ago female mountaineer Wen Hsiu-hsia, 50, hailing from Chiayi County’s Jhuci Township, set the life goal of climbing all 100 of Taiwan’s tallest mountains (known as baiyue in Chinese). At the beginning of May, accompanied by nearly 20 fellow mountaineers, Wen accomplished that goal after reaching the top of Yushan’s West Peak at 3,518m above sea level. Attaining the ultimate piece in her baiyue conquest, Wen finally realized her dream of many years. On the peak, a fellow mountaineer held up a large sign commemorating the occasion and presented her with an inscribed plaque to congratulate her.

Originally from Taitung County’s Taimali Township, Wen married over to Jhuci Township in Chiayi County more than two decades ago, where Wen and her husband work in the cargo business. Moving heavy objects every day has given her the physical foundation needed to surmount Taiwan’s tallest peaks. Near where her husband’s family lives is the famous lone peak of Fongtianyan. Often climbing this mountain and drinking tea there with fellow mountain climbers is what eventually led her down the path of conquering the baiyue. After considering all the physical exertion needed to run a cargo business, Wen and her husband decided to start up their own orchid business, which has given the couple more time for mountaineering and hiking. Nurturing a keen interest in mountaineering, Wen secretly set the goal of climbing the baiyue.

Wen says that the mountains have pretty much become her home over the past few years. She always carries her own equipment, weighing 35kg. Having just finished climbing one of the baiyue, she returned home for only a few days, and was back out again challenging yet another summit. In order to squeeze in as many peaks as possible, Wen climbed 41 summits over the past year and a half. Wen was beside herself with joy when she finally climbed the last of the 100 tallest peaks with a fellow mountaineer at the beginning of May. She is grateful for support from her husband and family and all of the encouragement from her fellow alpinists.

(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. surmount v. 登上；克服；越過 

例: The obstacles couldn’t be surmounted in the end.

(這些障礙最後無法克服。)

2. exertion n. 努力；費力 

例: She couldn’t lift the box despite all her exertion.

(她使勁出力還是拿不起盒子。)

3. beside oneself idiom 極度興奮 

例: Bruce was beside himself with rage.

(布魯斯勃然大怒。)

嘉義縣竹崎鄉五十歲女山友溫秀霞，四年多前把攀登台灣百岳訂為人生目標，五月初在近二十位山友同行下，登上海拔三千五百一十八公尺的玉山西峰，完成攀登百岳最後一塊拼圖，實現企盼已久的夢想，在峰頂接受山友舉大字報及送上匾額祝賀。

溫秀霞出身台東縣太麻里，二十多年前嫁到嘉義縣竹崎鄉，與丈夫一起從事貨運業，每天搬運重物，奠定征服百岳的體力基礎，夫家附近有知名獨立山奉天岩，山友多在此泡茶聊天，開啟她的百岳之路；她與夫婿考量貨運業須付出很大的勞力，將事業重心改種蘭花，有較多時間登山健行，卻爬出興趣來，暗自許下完登百岳的夢想。

溫秀霞表示，近年幾乎到了以山為家的程度，每每全程獨力揹負重達三十五公斤裝備，剛征服一座百岳，回家待不到幾天，又登上另一峰，最後這一年半趕進度的衝刺期，就攀登四十一座高峰，五月初由山友陪同登上玉山西峰，集滿百岳，當下心情極為開心激動，感謝丈夫、家人支持及山友鼓勵。

（自由時報記者謝銀仲）

Forgiveness 原諒

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:37)

“你們不要判斷人，就必不受判斷；不要定人的罪，就必不被定罪；要饒恕人，就必蒙饒恕； (路加福音 6:37)

Words of the Day: 

1. forgive (原諒；寬恕 ) to stop blaming or being angry with someone for something they have done, or not punish them for something

EX: I don't think she's ever quite forgiven me for getting her name wrong that time.

我認為那次把她的名字弄錯後她一直都沒完全原諒我。

I've never found it easy to forgive and forget (= to behave as if something wrong had never happened).

我覺得不念舊惡殊為不易。

I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to the kids.

要是孩子們有個三長兩短，我永遠也不會原諒自己。

2. Forgiveness (原諒；寬恕) the act of forgiving or the willingness to forgive

to ask for/beg forgiveness

請求／乞求寬恕

3. forgive me (對不起，請原諒) used before you ask or say something that might seem rude

Forgive me for asking, but how much did you pay for your bag?

請原諒我問一下，你的袋子花了多少錢？

MEDITATIONS 沉思，冥想:

Forgiveness Meditation Christian (基督教的)

Secular (世俗的；非宗教的)

Buddhist (佛教徒)

Kundalini

Are smartphones making young people emotionally stunted? 智慧手機使年輕人 情緒感受遲鈍嗎？

A visitor tests a smartphone on display at the IFA Consumer Electronics Show in Berlin, Germany on Sept. 5.
一名訪客九月五日在德國柏林消費電子展上試用一台智慧型手機。

Photo: Bloomberg
照片：彭博社

It is the generation that can understand exactly how you are feeling through a few simple emoticons.

But now researchers claim that children are so engrossed in their phones, they are unable to accurately read how people are feeling in real life.

This is the result of less face-to-face time interaction, according to the study, which found young kids are glued to electronic devices for nearly five hours each day.

The finding was made after testing the ability of 11 to 12-year-olds to recognize the emotions of people pictured in photos.

“Many people are looking at the benefits of digital media in education, and not many are looking at the costs,” said study author Patricia Greenfield, professor of psychology at the Children’s Digital Media Center, part of the University of California, Los Angeles.

“Decreased sensitivity to emotional cues — losing the ability to understand the emotions of other people — is one of the costs.”

Lead author Yalda Uhls said that emoticons are a poor substitute for face-to-face communication: “We are social creatures. We need device-free time.”

(Courtesy of Liberty Times)

這是個只要透過幾個簡單的表情符號就能了解你感受如何的世代。

但是現在研究人員宣稱，現在孩子花太多時間在他們的手機上，以至於無法精準解讀真實世界中人們的感受。

根據這份研究，這是較少面對面互動的結果。這項研究發現孩童每天有將近五小時的時間3C設備不離手。

這項發現是經測試十一到十二歲者辨識照片中人們情緒的能力所得出。

「許多人看的是數位媒體在教育中的好處，審視必須為此付出何種代價的人不多，」研究報告作者洛杉磯加州大學兒童數位媒體中心心理學教授派翠希亞．葛林菲爾說。

「對情緒訊號的敏感度降低，即失去理解他人情緒的能力，就是其中的代價之一。」

報告第一作者亞爾達．烏爾斯說，表情符號不能取代面對面的溝通，「我們是社交動物。我們需要有拋開電子器材的時間。」

（自由時報提供／翻譯：管淑平）

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. stunted adj. 遲鈍的；發育不良的 

(例: The poor diet resulted in stunted brain development.

(飲食不均衡導致腦部發育遲緩。)

2. engross v. 使全神貫注 

例: Benny is engrossed in his Internet business.

(班尼全心投入他的網路事業。)

3. cue n. 暗示；提示；訊號 

例: The bus bombing was the cue for a more wider terrorist attack.

(這起巴士爆炸案表示一場更大規模的恐怖攻擊開始了。)

Yoga for Hangovers 解宿醉的方法

An elephant grazes at Amboseli National Park, approximately 220km southeast of Nairobi, Kenya on Oct. 7 last year.
一頭大象去年十月七日在肯亞奈洛比東南方兩百二十公里的安博塞利國家公園內吃草。

Photo: AFP
照片：法新社

Elephants get ‘drunk’ on fruit 大象吃果子「醉了」

We all know what we get like after one too many glasses of wine, but we were quite surprised to see a group of elephants appear to be drunk.

The herd of young calves were captured stumbling around Singita Kruger National Park in South Africa, acting like they had just had a boozy night out.

Instead of downing too many glasses of wine, however, the elephants had been nibbling marula fruit.

Ross Couper, a field guide at Singita Kruger National Park, witnessed the animals move through the bush, feeding on the fruit strewn across the ground — the older and wiser elephants teaching the young what to eat.

One of the adult cow elephants forcefully knocked the fruit down from a tree, shaking it back and forth for the young to feed on.

As they had already snacked on marula throughout their journey, it was not long before the youngsters started to behave as if they had been knocking back the beers.

According to African myth this sweet fruit can have an intoxicating effect on large mammals when they eat large amount.

(Liberty Times)

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. one too many phr. 過量 

例: Joe has had one too many.   (喬喝多醉了。)

2. drunk adj.

喝醉的；醉心的 

例: Many politicians are drunk with power. (許多政治人物醉心於權力。)

3. knock back v. phr.喝光 

例: Steve knocked back four shots of vodka in five minutes.

(史蒂夫在五分鐘內乾掉四杯伏特加。)

我們都知道喝酒喝多了會怎樣，但看到一群大象顯然喝醉了，還是讓我們相當驚奇。

這群年幼大象被拍到在南非克魯格國家公園跌跌撞撞地走著，彷彿牠們剛喝了一整晚的酒，喝得酩酊大醉。

但是，這群大象並非灌下太多杯酒，而是吃了馬魯拉果。

克魯格國家公園嚮導羅斯．庫柏目睹大象穿過灌木叢，吃著掉得滿地的果子，年長、較有智慧的大象教小象什麼可以吃。

其中一隻成年象還猛力搖晃樹幹，硬把果子從樹上搖下來讓年幼的大象吃。

但是就在他們一路吃著馬魯拉果，沒多久年幼大象的舉止便開始有如喝光所有啤酒一樣。

根據非洲傳說，大型哺乳動物吃下大量這種甜味果實會出現酒醉反應。

（自由時報／翻譯：管淑平）

If Santa were salaried...如果耶誕老人支薪 年薪可賺四百萬

A child has his picture taken with a Father Christmas who turned up bearing gifts in Greater Tainan on Dec. 17.
十二月十七日在台南耶誕老人突然造訪送禮，小朋友驚喜，開心合影。

Every Christmas Eve is Santa’s busiest time. Santa Claus does not have an easy job. He not only has to prepare gifts for each of the world’s children, he also needs to deliver them to the kids in a single night. But if we were to actually calculate Santa’s salary, how much would he earn?

The latest labor survey announced on an insurance Web site discovered that, if you combined all of his festive activities, from the management and distribution to tasks such as checking off name lists of how good or naughty children have been, altogether Santa should get an annual salary of US$139,924, approximately NT$4.4 million.

The Web site explained that Santa’s tasks include managing the reindeer, reading kids’ letters, wrapping presents, keeping a stealthy check on whether children have been good, sweeping chimneys, driving the sleigh, and singing Christmas carols.

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. naughty adj. 淘氣 

例: He was always a very naughty child.

(他以前是個非常淘氣的小孩。)

2. stealthy adj. 偷偷 

例: He stole a stealthy look at the presents.

3. carol n.耶誕歌 

例: We will sing Christmas carols tonight.

(我們今晚會吟唱耶誕歌。)

(Liberty Times, translated by Paul Cooper)

每年耶誕節前夕就是耶誕老人工作的旺季。耶誕老人工作並不輕鬆，不僅須要為世上每個孩子準備禮物，還要在一個晚上之內送到孩子手上！但若現實一點估算耶誕老人薪水，他能賺多少？

一份由保險網站公布的最新的勞動力調查發現，綜合整個耶誕慶祝活動，從管理送貨系統到檢查小孩子的乖寶寶和淘氣名單等各項工程，加總起來耶誕老人一年應可賺到十三萬九千九百二十四美元（約新台幣四百四十萬元）薪水。

該網站解釋，耶誕老人的工作內容包括，管理馴鹿、閱讀孩子寫的信、包裝禮物、偷偷調查孩子乖不乖、掃煙囪、駕駛雪橇、唱耶誕歌等等。

（自由時報)

Lost sleep leads to loss of brain cells, study suggests 研究：喪失睡眠導致大腦細胞流失

South Korean marines sleep on a ferry in the Yellow Sea on April 10.
南韓海軍陸戰隊隊員四月十日在黃海海域，於渡船上睡覺。

Photo: Reuters
照片：路透社

Sleep loss may be more serious than previously thought, causing a permanent loss of brain cells, research suggests.

In mice, prolonged lack of sleep led to 25 percent of certain brain cells dying, according to a study in The Journal of Neuroscience.

If the same is true in humans, it may be futile to try to catch up on missed sleep, say US scientists.

They think it may one day be possible to develop a drug to protect the brain from the side-effects of lost sleep.

The study looked at lab mice that were kept awake to replicate the kind of sleep loss common in modern life, through night shifts or long hours in the office.

A team at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine studied certain brain cells which are involved in keeping the brain alert.

After several days of sleep patterns similar to those followed by night workers — three days of night shifts with only four to five hours sleep in 24 hours — the mice lost 25 percent of the brain cells.

(Liberty Times)

研究顯示，喪失睡眠會導致大腦細胞永久流失，可能比過去想像的還要嚴重。

針對老鼠的實驗顯示，長期缺乏睡眠導致百分之二十五的特定大腦細胞垂死，根據《神經科學期刊》刊登的研究。

如果相同的情況發生在人類身上，試圖彌補失去的睡眠可能沒有用，美國科學家說。

他們認為，未來或許可能研發出能保護大腦不受喪失睡眠副作用影響的藥物。

這份研究觀察保持醒覺的實驗室老鼠，複製現代生活中因上夜班或長時間工作而常見的喪失睡眠情況。

賓州大學醫學院的團隊，研究與保持大腦警覺相關的大腦細胞。

經過幾天類似夜間工作者的睡眠模式，也就是三天上夜班、每二十四小時只睡四到五小時，老鼠喪失百分之二十五的大腦細胞。

（自由時報／翻譯：自由時報國際新聞中心）

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. prolonged adj. 長期的 

例: Prolonged use of the drug is known to have harmful side-effects.

(長期使用藥物已知會有不良副作用。)

2. futile adj.無益的 

例: It’s quite futile trying to reason with him. He just won’t listen.

(跟他講理沒有用，他不會聽。)

3. catch up v. phr.趕上

例: He was off school for a while and is finding it hard to catch up.

(他離開學校一陣子，現在發現很難趕上。)

BONUS:

A : We have to go back to work tomorrow.

B : I know. It feels like the weekend goes by so incredibly fast.

A : It’s kind of depressing.

B : Try to get to bed earlier tonight. Be sure to get plenty of rest so you can give it your best tomorrow.

A : 明天又要上班了。

B : 對啊！感覺假日時間過超快的。

A : 真令人提不起勁。

B : 今晚早點休息養足精神，明天好好加油吧！