周二主題(11/20) 婚姻外遇/跑腿公司
親愛的會員朋友們: 我們不談美國政治，這周我們談您對婚姻外遇的看法與見解
中國時報【劉屏／華盛頓十日電】
聲譽卓著的美國中央情報局（ＣＩＡ）局長大衛．裴卓斯（David Petraeus）外遇曝光，九日突然宣布請辭，並已獲得美國總統歐巴馬批准，成為歐巴馬勝選後第一個異動的首長。他外遇的對象是四十歲的有夫之婦寶拉．布羅德威爾（Paula Broadwell），是他的傳記共同執筆人。
裴卓斯剛在七日度過六十大壽，八日前往白宮，向歐巴馬面遞辭呈。他曾先後出任美國駐伊拉克及駐阿富汗的最高指揮官，後來擔任美國中央司令部司令，官拜上將，且表現均出色。四年前的共和黨總統候選人、軍人出身的麥肯曾稱讚他是「美國真正的英雄」。他在去年九月出任中央情報局長，原先排定下星期到國會報告美國駐利比亞大使遇襲身亡等事件。
裴卓斯畢業自西點軍校（即美國陸軍軍官學校），後取得普林斯頓大學國際關係博士學位。他在致中情局同仁的信上說，他請總統同意他「因為個人理由」請辭。信上說，他結婚卅七年，卻「在外遇一事上出現至為愚蠢的判斷」；「無論是為人夫，抑或身為我們這個組織的領導，這種行徑都是無法接受的」。
他外遇的對象是四十歲的寶拉．布羅德威爾（Paula Broadwell），是他的傳記共同執筆人。布羅德威爾是有夫之婦，有二個孩子。七年前她在哈佛大學讀公共行政碩士，裴卓斯到校演說，兩人因此結識。她也是西點軍校畢業，目前是倫敦國王學院（King’s College）博士候選人。她正在撰寫博士論文，主題即是裴卓斯的領導。
裴卓斯的妻子荷莉（Holly Petraeus）是聯邦消費者金融保護局助理局長。夫妻倆年齡相仿，大學時代結識，有二個孩子，均已成年。
歐巴馬在接受裴卓斯的請辭後，接著發表聲明肯定他數十年來的卓越表現，讚揚裴卓斯「是他這一代將領中最出色者之一」，又稱其表現「使我國更安全、更強大」。歐巴馬同時表示，中情局副局長莫瑞爾（Michael Morrell）將暫代局長。
Washington: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director David Petraeus on Friday resigned over an extramarital affair, saying his behaviour was "unacceptable".
The top intelligence official of the US submitted his resignation to US President Barack Obama during a meeting at the White House.
"After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgement by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behaviour is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organisation such as ours," he said in a statement, according to CNN.
Obama accepted his resignation and praised Petraeus on his extraordinary service.
"I am completely confident that the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission, and I have the utmost confidence in Acting Director Michael Morell and the men and women of the CIA who work every day to keep our nation safe," he said
"David Petraeus has provided extraordinary service to the United States for decades. By any measure, he was one of the outstanding General officers of his generation, helping our military adapt to new challenges, and leading our men and women in uniform through a remarkable period of service in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he helped our nation put those wars on a path to a responsible end," he said.
"By any measure, through his lifetime of service David Petraeus has made our country safer and stronger," Petraeus said.
Meanwhile, news reports said Petraeus extramarital affair was revealed over the course of an FBI investigation.
Questions:
1. What do you think about extramarital affair?
2. Why Men and Women Cheat?
3. Should an extramarital affair mean the end of a career?
4. Do you think love affairs that ruined life?
5. In your opinion, men or women who easily engage in extramarital affairs?
6. How to End an Affair?
中國大陸另類新職業 「跑腿員」大受歡迎【阿波羅新聞網】
美國有線電視新聞網(CNN)13日報道說，中國上海出現了不少替人排隊的「跑腿公司」，而且很受歡迎。
美國有線電視新聞網(CNN)13日報道說，中國上海出現了不少替人排隊的「跑腿公司」，而且很受歡迎。
擁有2300萬人口的上海在中國城市中排第二。3、4年前上海就有了跑腿公司。目前從只有一個人的公司到擁有30名臨時員工的公司，從事經營活動的跑腿公司多達20多家。
跑腿服務的收費通常是每小時20元，在客戶領取簽證、購買機票、問診預約時，跑腿員可以代為排隊。排到差不多的時候，跑腿員會給客戶打電話，兩人換位即可。如果客戶有需求，跑腿員也可以提供送午餐、去機場接人、購買紀念日禮物等服務。
客戶最多的地方是醫院。上海的頂級醫院和著名中醫吸引了全國各地的患者，他們等待的平均時間最少5小時，有的人會等上1天。所以出現了專門在醫院裡排隊的公司。
據悉，工作穩定的跑腿員月薪最少3000元。與去年中國民企的勞動者平均工資（1730元）相比，幾乎高出一倍。「跑腿888」公司的經營者馮俊傑說：「2050年上海人口會增至2倍，屆時對跑腿服務的需求必將激增。」
No Pai Dui, You Needn't Queue! Pay Someone to Do It for You!
Imagine you're standing 30 deep in a queue at the train station. I'm sure many of us have thought, isn't there any way out of this? Actually, there is. Now in Beijing and other cities in China, you don't have to wait or buy your ticket. If you are willing to pay, someone else will.
Pao tui (errand running services) are popping up in big cities providing a range of services, from delivery to queuing, to buying train tickets. [Photo: addbrainpoo.tumblr.com]
Call the hotline of the Paotui agency. Paotui means run-errands in Chinese. And it's not just for rich people anymore. Andrea Hunt:
On a lovely spring day or on leisurely occasions, waiting in line or running errands may not seem so tedious. But waiting in Beijing with the rest of what sometimes feels like millions of people in scorching heat or perhaps in the rain can really sour a good mood.
In China, since everyone has the same exact public holidays, many people fear and loathe getting travel tickets. Zhao Lifan lives in Beijing but is from Xian and says he wishes this was one task he could avoid.
"I have so many memories about long lines, but the most dreadful memory should be waiting in line for a train ticket. Because I have to get back home, when spring festival comes, every winter vacation you need to wait in a really really long lines to get tickets. That's very stressful experience. I don't think I would like that anymore, so if I had a chance to get this service I would definitely do it."
Chen Wenlu from Beijing says his moment of sheer exasperation arrived last year while visiting China's World Expo held in Shanghai.
"A lot of students all over China were taking their summer vacation. My god, there were a lot of people in Shanghai and that was a terrible experience for me. And when I arrived at the Expo Park, and I was really shocked by the sea of people. And they had umbrellas to prevent the sun and waiting for their turn. At that time, it was really summer, it was burning outside, you can't imagine. I stayed in line for more than two or three hours. I felt almost killed by the sun."
A long queue for train tickets over national holiday in China. [Photo: cnngo.com]
We've all been there and would gladly have had someone take our place. Maybe it's not decadence after all, maybe it just makes sense?
Whatever it is, professional errand agencies started popping up with 24 hour services to make life easier. Queuing fees start at 20 Yuan or about 3 dollars an hour and go up to around 200 for twenty-four hours. This gave Wu Zhijian, the founder of Chengxinfuyin Paotui agency an idea.
"I noticed there are Paotui Agencies in Beijing five or six years ago, but I had another job at that time. At the end of last year, I had some savings in hand and was eager to start my own business, so I wanted to try my hand at this. I'm really familiar with Beijing and I know how big it is. It's common to take 2 or even 3 hours if you want to go to somewhere in the city. I figure I can help people who don't have time to deal with it. In a way, I am also contributing to society."
But errands are the main focus of these agencies and delivery charges start at 10 Yuan. They add on extra time, expense fees, but they will pick up hot food, pay your utilities, and provide courier services. They'll even go drop off a friend's birthday present.
Feimaotui Paotui Agency started last year in Beijing. Mr Hu, one of the professional Pao-tui-ers says they are trying to build their company by providing a range of services.
"Paotui is a new concept and not so well known by the public. People still immediately think of delivery services and not always about us. We're still new so we don't have many orders and we only have around ten employees. The majority of our customers are companies who need delivery service. Others are people who want us to help queue up and check in at the hospital or get them train or air tickets".
In China, people wait in lines at the public hospital for hours sometimes just to get an appointment number and forms to see the doctor. The Paotui services will wait, and then call when the number is up, saving many parents uncomfortable hours with a sick child in the waiting room.
Customers can pay online for some services using sites like Baixin, Zhifubao or Taobao and Wu says they prefer this method because it's safer.
"If we had an agreement on a price, say 80 Yuan, the customer can save money on Zhifubao first. After we finish our job, the customer will confirm and the money can be transferred into our account online. Zhifubao ensures our agreement and we have credibility online. That's the way we ensure payment."
Hu explains that unfortunately, not everyone is honest about payment.
"We once got an order wanting us to help check in at Beida Hospital. We honor credibility so we helped pay the fee first. The next morning, that customer claimed to be on the way, but at the time of his appointment, he didn't show up."
However, Hu says he enjoys the job because it's laid back generally without a lot of pressure. Wu Zijian is pretty hopeful for the future of his business and says he's happy even though it's not making him rich.
As for us, we can be glad some business savvy souls have taken the art-or annoyance of waiting- and made a trade of it. It's hard to believe no one thought of it before.
For CRI, I'm Andrea Hunt.
Questions:
1. How long can you wait if you stand in a long queue for doing something?
2. Do you want to run a business like this? Why or why not?
3. What are your new ideas to start a new business?
4. Will you hire someone help you stand in a line?
Conversation:
Doctor
:Please come in. What seems to be the trouble?
Billy
: I had abdominal pains. I think probably I had too much for lunch.
Doctor
:Can you tell me what you had for lunch?
Billy
: Seafood, sausages, fried chichen. Oh, a great variety of things
Doctor
: Have you vomitted?
Billy
:Yes, I made several trips to the bathroom today.
Doctor:
It`s nothing serious, but indigestion due to too much oily food. I will
prescribe you some medicine for it to make you feel better. I do advise you to
avoid oily food for the next few days.
Billy
:I will follow your advice. Thanks a lot.
Doctor
:You are welcome.
School Cellphone Ban Spawns Thriving Niche Storage Market (by Joann Pan )
Mobile devices have become like wallets — among the must-have items on your person when you leave the house. Teens are no exception to this rule, but for New York City’s students, this poses a real problem.
The New York Board of Education has banned the use of electronics in public schools since the 1980s. For years, there was an“out of sight, out of trouble” policy. Recently, new safety precautions such as metal detectors and backpack checks upon entry, have made it harder for middle school and high school students to smuggle their gadgets into classes. Electronics are confiscated on sight.
Two years ago Vernon Alcoser, a Bronx businessman and federal correctional officer, came up with a unique solution for the problem. His big idea — to provide mobile storage for students to store gadgets during the school day. In 2010 Alcoser and his sister Theresa bought a white truck and painted the side with a blue “Pure Loyalty Electronic Device Storage” decal. Parked outside Herbert H. Lehman High School in the Bronx, high school students flocked to the truck’s small window to turn in their electronics for $1 — two gadgets for $1.50.
“A friend called me and said her daughter was storing her cellphone in grocery stores and bodegas in the area,” Alcoser tells Mashable. “[Students] were going away from the direction of school in order to do that. I thought if we brought storage closer to the schools, it would be a favor to the kids.”
The mobile gadget storage business is now booming and the owners expect to expand.
There is certainly a ready market for school-day cellphone storage: The NYC Department of Education (DOE) serves 1.1 million students in over 1,700 schools.
And unlike their suburban counterparts, New York City students generally take public transportation to school. Their commutes can rival those of adult workers in length and complexity.
Every day, Roci Cepeda travels 30 minutes each way from Brooklyn to Washington Irving High School in Manhattan.Students come in to this school from all other boroughs, arriving as early as 7 a.m.
“I need it [my phone] in case I need to communicate with someone,” Cepeda says. “In case of an emergency.”
Parents often want to be able to communicate with their children. Many are enthusiastic about Pure Loyalty’s service.
“We have a lot of parents that call us and ask if we can come to a particular school because they want to stay in contact with their kids that are going and coming home from school,” says Alcoser.
Jose Garcia, a business student at Bronx Community College, works in the truck each weekday from 7 a.m. to around 5 p.m.— or when the last phone is returned. At schools where metal detectors have been installed at entrances, current students reported having leaving their cellphones at corner stores, delis and markets nearby where owners would watch them for $1.
It’s a system Garcia is familiar with. “When I was in high school, we used to leave our phones in grocery stores,” he says. “This is a brilliant idea.”
The trucks are staffed with two employees at all times. Once the truck is parked and collecting phones, the vehicle never leaves, so students may retrieve their property whenever it’s convenient. Phones are stored in sleeves and students are given security cards with a unique word or code to ensure correct returns. At Washington Irving, roughly 300 to 400 phones are stored each day. A other locations, Pure Loyalty collects an average of 500 to 700 gadgets a day.
Another sign of the venture’s success is the number of copycat services that have sprung up since its inception.
“A lot of competition has formed based on them seeing us on the news,” Alcoser says. “There are a few other companies — I don’t know licensed or insured like us.”
Pure Loyalty pays insurance that protects phones if truck is lost, stolen or damaged. It has a $2 million insurance policy that covers just the phones. NYC DOE officials conducted thorough background checks on the company its staff, according to Alcoser. He says Pure Loyalty is welcomed by the city’s public schools because the service keeps the students and their property safe.
“The school doesn’t want the kids to leave,” he said. “For them, to send the child who came to school away with a phone is not in the school’s best interest.”
Questions:
1. Should cell phones be banned within schools?
2. Why cell phones should be banned in the classroom?
3. Do you believe that cell phones can have a negative impact on students?
4. How cell phones affect in our lives?
5. Do you notice any negative impact of mobile phones on society?
怪獸能量飲料
美國食品藥物管理局(FDA)發言人勃吉斯(Shelly Burgess)23日表示，FDA正針對和怪獸能量(Monster Energy)飲料有關的5起死亡案件、以及可能引發的心臟病展開調查，但尚未證實彼此有因果關係。
勃吉斯透過電子郵件指出，她可以證實，FDA已接獲可能和怪獸能量飲料有關的5起死亡、以及1起心臟病發報告。她用詞審慎地表示，這些報告對FDA來說是一項訊號，但並未證明飲料的生產或成份與這些事件具有因果關係。
不過勃吉斯也表示，FDA嚴正看待這些報告、並將用心調查。她並且呼籲飲用能量飲料曾出現不良反應的消費者，要注意這些製造廠商。
心臟有狀況的馬里蘭州14歲少女福尼耶(Anais Fournier)，去年12月在24小時內喝下2罐怪獸能量飲料之後死亡。她的家屬已在19日對怪獸能量公司(Monster Beverage Corp)提告，指控這家公司未針對飲料的風險警告消費者、要求索賠。
不過怪獸能量公司發表聲明說，他們年賣80億罐能量飲料，從未聽過致命個案，公司將強力對抗這項指控。
Monsterenergy drinks
TORONTO – For many people who love - and rely on - the rush of a quick caffeine hit, energy drinks may be their drink of choice.
While the drinks, popular among youth, are readily available in most grocery stores, the safety of the product was questioned on Tuesday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it's investigating reports of five deaths and a non-fatal heart attack linked to highly caffeinated beverage. The Monster Energy brand is being scrutinized in particular.
The agency acknowledged the reports Monday, but FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess says the incidents don't prove that the drinks caused the deaths. The news follows last week's filing in California of a wrongful death suit by the parents of a 14-year-old, Hagerstown, Md., girl who died after drinking two, 24-ounce Monster Beverage Corp. drinks in 24 hours.
An autopsy concluded she died of cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity. She had an inherited disorder that can weaken blood vessels.
In Canada, these highly-caffeinated energy drinks are regulated by Health Canada and they’re classified as a food product - meaning strict labelling laws are required.
Manufacturers must include information about nutrients, vitamins and minerals, caffeine amounts and allergens that may be in the product and place warning labels about consuming the drink with alcohol on the product.
Health Canada made the changes to reclassify the drinks a year ago to ensure that Canadian families were getting adequate information about the safety of these type of drinks.
Similar to the most recent concerns of the FDA, some Canadian medical professionals also expressed concern about the inexpensive pricing of the highly-caffeinated drinks, according to previous Postmedia News reports.
A can of regular coke (355 ml) contains about 44.94 mg of caffeine, while an energy drink roughly around the same size (550 ml) contains a whopping 255 mg of caffeine, according to the same reports.
Monster U.S. says it doesn't believe its products caused any deaths. Shares of the Corona, Calif.- based company plunged $7.20, or 13.5 per cent, to
1. Are energy drinks good or bad for our health?
2. Can energy drinks really boost energy?
3. Do you know any side effects of Energy Drinks?
4. What kind of energy drinks have you had? Do the Energy Drinks Really Work?
Conversation:
Doctor :Please come in. What seems to be the trouble?
Billy : I had abdominal pains. I think probably I had too much for lunch.
Doctor :Can you tell me what you had for lunch?
Billy : Seafood, sausages, fried chichen. Oh, a great variety of things
Doctor : Have you vomitted?
Billy :Yes, I made several trips to the bathroom today.
Doctor: It`s nothing serious, but indigestion due to too much oily food. I will prescribe you some medicine for it to make you feel better. I do advise you to avoid oily food for the next few days.
Billy :I will follow your advice. Thanks a lot.
Doctor :You are welcome.
江子翠 11月6日星期二
各位親愛的會員: 11月6日將討論兩個主題: 抗癌少女/同志街頭革命
Topic 1.抗癌少女YouTube教化妝.
這是一個勇敢堅強的故事，Billy看了影片後感動的熱淚滿眶，哭濕了三條手帕，非常佩服這個女孩，當她知道生命即將結束，還是滿臉笑容，無比地堅強。
要是Billy知道生命只剩下幾個月，鐵定會崩潰，
多麼勇敢的女孩，願上帝/媽祖賜與她神秘的力量。
我們是不是也得到一些啟示，多善用我們的人生 用我們的寶貴的時間，努力完成我們的夢想，也要多愛我們身邊的每一位有緣人。
「化妝就是我的假髮」美國13歲抗癌少女YouTube教化妝.
(國際中心／綜合報導)
(國際中心／綜合報導)
美國抗癌美少女13歲的塔莉亞‧卡司特拉諾（Talia Castellano），設立YouTube個人頻道，教人化妝，吸引1900多萬人次點閱。罹癌6年，她選擇正面迎戰病魔，「化妝就是我的假髮（MAKEUP IS MY WIG）」讓人見識到樂觀堅強的一面。
塔莉亞正和兩種癌症病魔對抗中。2007年2月，先被診斷出神經母細胞瘤，但愛美的她得知噩耗，反應不是「天啊！我要死了」，而是頭髮掉光，要戴假髮怎麼辦？「我討厭戴假髮，那讓我看起來不像真的我。」不能到學校見朋友也讓她感到失落，於是她從化妝中找到自我，研究出一套適合光頭造型的化妝法，「別人看我焦點不在光頭，而是我的妝法！」
今年夏天，塔莉亞在自己的影片部落格宣布，罹患了第二種癌症白血病，接受化療、放射線、幹細胞移植等治療，醫師評估，如果她不接受骨髓移植，只能再活4個月至1年，但她說：「我正決定是否接受骨髓移植，或是就這樣過完剩下的時間。」雖然還沒有定論，她仍堅持上傳化妝教學影片，希望大家「記住我從哪來」。
化妝品大廠「Cover Girl」被塔莉亞樂觀對抗病魔的故事感動。上個月，她擔任脫口秀《艾倫愛說笑》（The Ellen DeGeneres Show）的特別來賓時，主持人艾倫狄珍妮絲（Ellen DeGeneres）在節目中宣布，「Cover Girl」邀請塔莉亞擔任榮譽代言人的好消息，讓她又驚又喜。
「罹癌讓我受益良多」。堅強的塔莉亞表示，當初建立YouTube個人頻道就是希望激勵更多人，「能以化妝當我的假髮是多麼美好的事」。
“Make-up is my wig,” (By Rachel Elbaum TODAY)
A 12-year-old girl with cancer, who has captivated the Internet with her makeup tutorials over the past year, announced that her cancer has spread to her bone marrow.
Talia Castellano started her YouTube video channel, “Make-up is my wig,” about a year ago and quickly gained a following of more than 100,000 people. She appears in her videos bald, and goes through how to apply different styles of eye shadow and shows off finds from shopping expeditions.
Castellano, who lives in Orlando with her mother, father and older sister, was diagnosed with cancer more than five years ago when she was 7. Since then, she has continued going to school, while still pursuing her interest in makeup, art and dancing.
“I saw other girls making makeup videos on YouTube and thought it would be fun,”Castellano told TODAY.com. “I put one up and ever since then it gotten more and more popular. It’s cool that people are now seeing that fighting cancer is not just about chemo, and that there are different things that help us through the journey. For me that was makeup.”
In the past year, Castellano has posted 150 videos on YouTube, not only talking about makeup, but also bringing awareness to childhood cancer, and promoting the CureSearch Walk. With makeup skills to rival any pro, she artfully applies primer, combines colors and explains which brushes to use when.
In her most recent video, Castellano, who turns 13 on Aug. 18, told her viewers that the cancer has returned and spread to her bone marrow.
“I know it’s a lot to take in. Right now I am leaning to not doing [the treatment] because I don’t want to go through that,” Castellano said haltingly in the video. “The chances of not surviving are fewer than surviving. If we even find a match, if my body rejects it then I am screwed, I went through all that crap for nothing.”
Doctors have told Castellano’s parents that after so many years of treatment, she should make the ultimate decision on how and if she wants to proceed.
“I will support her in whatever she wants to do,” Castellano’s mother Desiree told TODAY.com. “She told me, ‘I know my body,’ and I believe she does.”
Since announcement, scores of supporters have commented on her video, wishing her well.
"Please take solace in the fact that you are NOT going through this alone," wrote Android Ashley. "We're all behind you."
DisneySinger12 wrote: "I look up to you, because I wouldn't know how to deal with a situation like you're in. So, keep going and keep pushing. No matter what you decide to do, just know that we are all here to support you."
Castellano's family is now busy planning her Las Vegas-themed 13th birthday party, complete with showgirls and games tables.
Her parents plan continue in their efforts to raise money in support of cancer research and their own medical bills that have piled up over her many years of treatment. To update friends, family and well wishers on Castellano's progress, the family started a website, AnglesforTalia.com.
"I feel proud that I have accomplished so much on YouTube, have so many people watching and now taking seriously how childhood cancer don’t have enough funding," Castellano told TODAY.com.
Though she is only entering her adolescence, she sounds much older than her nearly 13 years, and she plans to continue making videos as long as she is able.
"The journey of having cancer has been amazing, but every journey has to have an end," she said in the video.
But sounding more like the child that she still is, she also comments: “I'm only 13, I shouldn't have to be doing this... It’s really not fair for kids to have cancer and it really frickin sucks."
Questions:
1. What do you think of Talia?
2. What is the most inspirational story you've heard?
3. What person or event inspired you or changed you in a positive way?
4. Who has inspired you most?
5. What would you do If you only had a short time to live?
6. What would you do if you got cancer?
Topic 2.同志街頭鬧革命 高喊結婚有理
中國時報【許俊偉╱台北報導】2012年10月28日
台北街頭昨天彩虹旗飄揚，逾六萬五千名同志和異性戀朋友上街「鬧革命」，爭取婚姻平權和伴侶多元權。這場亞洲最大的同志遊行邁入第十個年頭，今年兵分南北兩路全長九公里，路線規模世界第一，不僅外國客相挺，同志父母也出面力挺，高喊「他他」和「她她」也要婚姻權。
為推動同志人權，台灣伴侶權益推動聯盟日前才剛推出民間版民法修正草案，訴求同志婚姻、伴侶制度和收養、多人家屬制度。聯盟發起人之一的簡至潔說，他們正在發動「百萬連署」運動，盼在明年九月能將民間版草案送進立法院。
自一九八九年丹麥率先通過同志伴侶法以來，目前已有近四十個國家或地區，陸續立法承認「異性戀婚姻」以外的多元家庭形式。其中有十一個國家和兩個地區實施同志結婚權。
Albert說，修法只是第一步，整個社會的反歧視人權教育和改革二元性別文化，才是同志平權的艱困漫長路。他說，遊行不只訴求法制革命，更要透過同志上街運動，讓更多人扭轉潛藏在內心的歧視。
台灣同志遊行走過十年歲月，從一開始只有五百人、僅爭取能見度，到如今參與人數突破六萬五千人、進展到提倡同志政策，參與人數已是亞洲之最。今年遊行路線總長更勝巴西聖保羅的同志遊行，「全球第一長」。
Over 50,000 at gay parade call for same-sex marriage equality (Gaypedia.com)
Over 50,000 at gay parade call for same-sex marriage equality
A record of over 50,000 people from across Taiwan and abroad marched through the streets of Taipei yesterday afternoon for the 2012 Taiwan Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Parade.
Participants called for the legalization of same-sex marriage during the parade — the largest event of its kind in Asia, according to the Taiwan LGBT Pride Community, organizer of the event.
The organizer said a record number of over 3,000 foreign LGBT supporters from 23 countries joined the event, which carried the theme “Marriage Revolution — Equal Rights to Marriage, Diversity in Partnership.”
Inaugurated in 2003, the annual parade celebrates its 10th edition this year, and the number of participants has rapidly surged over the years from 500 to 50,000, indicating the growing support and recognition of LGBT people in Taiwanese society.
Participants gathered at 1 p.m. on Ketagalan Boulevard and were divided into two groups, with one heading north and the other south before regrouping on the boulevard at the end of their routes.
Several local and foreign musicians and entertainers performed at the event to support the appeal. Gigi Leung, a Hong Kong-born singer, said that love transcends sexual orientation and people should have the right to enjoy happiness.
Marchers carried balloons, rainbow flags and self-made placards with slogans calling for equal rights to marriage. Many dressed in creative costumes, including men wearing bridal gowns and women wearing suits.
Eleven countries have legalized same-sex marriage, but Taiwan, despite claiming to support human rights, has continued to deny homosexual couples such rights, the organizer said.
Questions:
2. Do you support "those" gay pride events?
3. Do you think gay parades are disgraceful to society?
4. Do you support gay rights?
5. Do you support the legalization of gay marriage?
CONVERSATION
Go to the gym
Tina: Billy, what should we do this afternoon?
Billy: I have been staying home all morning. I'd like to exercise.
Tina: Me too. Let's go to the gym.
Billy: Great idea. What are we going to do there?
Tina: We can do aerobics or do weight lifting, and
I like to do aerobics. Are you good at it?
Billy: Not really, but I like to do yoga and play badminton, do you think we can play badminton there?
Tina: No, there's not enough room. I think it's better if we play outside.
Billy: OK, maybe we can go play badminton later this afternoon.
Tina: Oh, No, It's raining outside. Let's wait until the weather gets better.
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