卓蘭大峽谷

卓蘭大峽谷位於台中縣與苗栗縣交界的大安溪上，在連結卓蘭鎮與東勢鎮的蘭勢大橋上游約二公里處，從停車處至大峽谷步行有一段距離，沒有明顯的方向標示，但假日跟著人群(或足跡)走，不難找到，走在若大的河谷中尋覓，頗有探險之樂。大峽谷實際上是類似沙質的岩石被河流沖刷出來的，結構不是很穩定，過一段時日之後，應該又是另一番風景，或是美景不再。

What's in a name?

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Sc. 2

flower in the rain

the lyrics of SHE (Charles Aznavour)

雖是老歌，卻是我的新歡
美的像詩的歌詞，令人感動

SHE (Charles Aznavour)

She
May be the face I can't forget
A trace of pleasure or regret
May be my treasure or the price I have to pay
She may be the song that summer sings
May be the chill that autumn brings
May be a hundred tearful things
Within the measure of the day.

She May be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into heaven or a hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams
A smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem
Inside a shell

She who always seems so happy in a crowd
Whose eyes can be so private and so proud
No one's allowed to see them when they cry
She may be the love that can and hope to last
May come to me from shadows of the past
That I remember till the day I die

She
May be the reason I survive
The why and where for I'm alive
The one I'll care for through the rough and rainy
Me I'll take her laughter and her tears
And make them all my souvenirs
For where she goes I got to be
The meaning of my life is
She, she, she

一旦你決定了一件事，去做就對了

星期六午后的冬陽及公園的小花

"Once you decide on doing one thing, it will be right if you can carry on doing it."


『一旦你決定了一件事，去做就對了。』


摘自All+互動英文雜誌２００８年一月份ｐ２０

跨年的英文

跨年　 the countdown to the new year
跨年晚會 　the countdown party (動詞用gather或converge, 例：gather/converge at the countdown party)
　　　　　the New Year's Eve party
慶祝　celebration
煙火　 fireworks
熬夜　stay up late
狂歡的人　reveller

新店中興路好吃的水煎包 Delicious fried dumplings in Xindian

這是台北縣新店市的中興路，路過時發現一排車(圖最左邊)臨停及一堆人在排隊買，周圍沒有任何賣吃的店家，很奇特的景象。
This is a scene on the ZhongXing Road in Xindian City, Taipei County: some cars pulling over and lots of people waiting in line in a fried dumplings store. No other vending stalls or eateries near the store, its good business interested me.

沒有店名，這麼多人潮，一定很好吃吧！
It doesn't even get a name. The sigh just says "Fried dumplings."

於是加入排隊的行列。
I joined the queue.

爐子就一個，擺在路邊。

There is only one stove with an iron plate pan on it, just on the side of the road.

只賣煎包及豆漿，右上角有營業時間，早上(5:30-12:30)是高麗菜口味，下午(3:00-6:30)是韭菜口味，每週二休息。

The store sells only fried dumplings and soy bean milk. The business hours are 5:30-12:30 in the morning (cabbage stuffing only) and 3:30-6:30 in the afternoon (leek stuffing only). The store is closed on Tuesdays.

水煎包一起鍋，老闆就忙著包給客人，大部份的人都買八個十個的，一下子就沒了！（又要再等下一鍋了:(）等待時聞到了麻油香，很特別。

As soon as the dumplings were well-cooked, the bosses were busy packing. A whole pan of dumplings were soon gone because each customer took eight or more . Oh, no! I had to wait for the next pan. While waiting, I smelled of the fragrance of sesame oil. No wonder the dumplings are popular.

天哪！有ｇｏ好吃的！內餡除了韭菜，還有加一些豆干、肉及蛋，第一次吃到這樣的韭菜水煎包，實在的料、完美的味道及酥脆但有料的外皮 ，真是美食大發現！
Wow! How delicious! The stuffing includes not only leek but also some tofu, pork, and egg.

The stuffing is special and good, and the dumpling skin is nicely chewy and crispy.

ｐｓ.地址是台北縣新店市中興路一段112號，離碧潭捷運站不遠，走路５分鐘。

P s. The address is 112 XhongXing Rd. Xindian City, five minutes walk from the Bitan MRT station.

got fleas? Get the vacuum 有跳蚤？拿起吸塵器吧！

"Vacuum cleaners kill fleas just as well as any poison...the vacuum brushes wear away a waxy outer layer on insects called the cuticle (表皮). Without it, the fleas, larvae (昆蟲的幼蟲) and pupae (蛹) probably dry up and die."

(摘要)

吸塵器能把昆蟲有蠟的表皮刷掉，讓牠們乾燥而死，因此能殺死跳蚤。

English news from The China Post, page 11, 2007/12/20

新聞選自英文中國郵報，第十一版，2007/12/20

講到跳蚤，就令人想到John Donne 的那首詩The Flea（跳蚤）

The Flea by John Donne
Mark but this flea, and mark in this,How little that which thou deny'st me is;It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;Thou know'st that this cannot be saidA sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead;Yet this enjoys before it woo,And pampered swells with one blood made of two,And this, alas, is more than we would do.Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,Where we almost, yea, more than married are.This flea is you and I, and thisOur marriage bed, and marriage temple is;Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,And cloistered in these living walls of jet.Though use make you apt to kill me,Let not to that, self-murder added be,And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.Cruel and sudden, hast thou sincePurpled thy nail in blood of innocence?Wherein could this flea guilty be,Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?Yet thou triumph'st and say'st that thouFind'st not thyself, nor me the weaker now;'Tis true, then learn how false fears be:Just so much honor, when thou yield'st to me,Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.