Time to show you some pics taken during my trip to California last year. Enjoy them! (What's behind me is the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco.)

A fortune-telling Web page

A fortune teller means one who professes to predict future events for people curious about their life. According to the above definition, this following link shouldn't be eligible as a fortune-telling one, because no future of you will be foretold there at all. By browsing it, in stead, you may think back to some people who ever passed you by in the past. Are they still on your mind? Kind of fun, though. Check it out!
http://home.kimo.com.tw/byppgi/indo.htm

A little ashamed.

I'm sorry for having posted nothing here for quite a while. Still, I gotta go Xin Zhu for the English class yesterday. What was new was that I only got one class to teach at GV from 6:30 to 8:30 pm 'cuz it was an entire day-off for another school since they were gonna throw a year-end party for their employees. While teachers were the exemption from their guest list, I didn't think there was anything wrong with that. They were gonna cost a small fortune if they dared invited us over. If I were the boss, I would hit my pocket that bad.

An unhealthy nightly schedule.

Do I look listless at all time? That's how people think of me whenever they see me. I think that is probably because my nightly schedule is way too messed up--I sometimes don't even go to bed until 1:30 am. That is no wonder why I always look sleepy to them. It is high time that I had to quit living a night owl's life.

listless 無精打采的
nightly schedule 作息
mess up 打亂
it is high time that S + Ved(一定要用過去式)... 該是..的時候了
night owl 貓頭鷹

This is the place you get help from.

The advantage of being a teacher is having more chances to know people around you. I know I have always tried the best I can to help those who are in trouble while they are learning English. However, sometimes I found I couldn't find time to solve everyone's problem as I have a tight daily schedule. Or it may take a bit longer to answer some tough questions or do some translation jobs for them. So, here is the rule to make. If you do have some serious questions for me, please save it as a draft on this BLOG. No need to be published, though. I hope I can spend more time on them in stead of just a quick-and-reckless-in class-troubleshooting. Please bear with me.

Let's go bowling with a mouse and tongue.

Hey dear,
I know you are checking out our Web site every now and then, so my responsibility for keeping a quality BLOG has become much heavier. Just wanna say thanks for your time and here is the link that will take you to a wonderful game site where you can bowl with your mouse.
http://games.hostway.com/holiplay/BodyBowling.swf

A good point of interest.

If you are interested in visiting Alaska, this Web site may come in handy for you.
http://home.fujifilm.com/alaska/index.html

point of interest 景點
come in handy 派的上用場

She has left us behind.

After a few day's struggle with life, the little 4-year girl Chu finally left everyone behind. While the medicine authority has begun reflecting themselves on the mistake sending the poor little girl off to a faraway place for emergent remedy, the major reason that caused this tragedy is actually associated with domestic violence. Until now, there still have been numerous children who are under their cruel parents' thumb with their life threatened to death. Shouldn't we do something for them?

to leave one behind 留下某人而走開
to reflect on something 反省某事
be under one's thumb 在某人的控制之下

New Taiwan premier

If you are a politics freak, you can't miss this article.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/detail.asp?ID=57447&GRP=A

freak= an enthusiast 狂熱份子, 怪胎

Our regular chat room schedule

Many of you have accustomed yourselves to visiting this BLOG on a daily basis; in fact, it's a pleasant thing to know. I would furthermore suggest you come join the chat room from 8 pm-10:30 pm nightly. Meanwhile, I will definitely take part in your conversation in the chat room when I get home from work. Talk to you later tonight!

A special announcement

Since the delivery of this BLOG, I have been trying the best I can to tell my friends about some advantages of visiting our Web site. Our members visiting here can not only read and post their own articles, but also join the chat room to share piece of their minds. So far, I think everything is going well here except for one thing-- they are too afraid to post any articles here.

So, here is what I am going to do. If you are already the member of this BLOG, please try and save your own work here as a draft, which means it will not be posted yet without being published.

To make a draft on this BLOG is fairly easy. All you need to do is log on the BLOG and then you will enter the so-called "dashboard" of this BLOG. Next, click on the link that says "Albert's on-line club". The coming-up screen will be the control/ management panel of our BLOG. Right there you can create an article and save it as a draft. Please make sure to write down "Finished version" next to the title of your article, so I will understand you are not going to make any more changes. When I see the final draft done by you, I will go over it and do some necessary revision on that. Or I may ask other people to do it for you.

How does that sound? Understandably fantastic, right? You should return me the favor one day, because I am doing it for all our members for free.

Get your butt moving now.

dashboard 儀表板(此指BLOG的顯示視窗)
so-called 所謂的
draft 草稿
revision 修改
understandably 理所當然的
return someone the favor 還人情
Get one's butt moving now 開始動作

Mind you.

Mark told me that he had fallen through the General English Proficiency Test this year, so he wasn't in a good mood. I said, "Mind you, there is always next chance. You should try harder next time but don't just cram for it the night before."

fall through + n. 失敗某事
mind you= If you don't mind, I will say...
cram for + n. 密集讀書(臨時抱佛腳之意)

Go downhill

When I got out of the army in 1991, the average salary for a college graduate was $25,000 NT or so. Thing doesn't get better now but remains the same in stead. According to the economists, the Taiwan's economy will be still going under this year, though it has been in a sorry state for long.

go under/ downhill 走下坡
in a sorry state 在一個不好的狀態

Hey, fancy seeing you here.

One day, you might bump into someone whom you don't want to see in your life. He probably used to be one of your rivals, having had a fight with you before. She could be some significant other of yours, but for some reason she left you behind--a heartbroker was she.

What would you do to this embarrasement?

"Hey, fancy seeing you here. How is it going?..."

....... .. ..... ..(silence)

Sometimes a white lie is a necessary evil.

fancy seeing you 沒想到會見到你
Sometimes a white lie is a necessary evil. 有時候善意的謊言是必要之惡

More about the chat room.

Thanks to PChome's chat room service, so we can talk to one another in real time from now on .
Due to my busy schedule, my most possible show time will be somewhere around 11 pm on nightly basis. If you can't find me there, why don't you just talk to other friends while you are at it? Have a nice chatting moment. But be sure..in English please.

while someone is at it 順便

A Chatroom is ready.

In order to serve all members and friends who like this BLOG with more fun stuff, I've just applied a CHATROOM for all of your needs.
Keep your eyeballs on the right of this BLOG. See it? Yah, that's it. Just click on the chatrooom link! You are all set and right on it.
Just give it a shot. I will join the chatroom with you any minute.

I gave him the...

I was planning on a trip to Muzha today to check out the tea farmlands. By the way, we also wanted to go hiking in the mountains of Maokong. Just right before we entered the south-bound lane of Highway 3, a traffic light turned red indicating we needed to make a full stop before we merged into the highway. All of sudden, a series of a horn-honking sound came from behind. I looked at the mirror. An asshole pushed us to get going while I was waiting for the light to turn green. This really pissed me off. After the light went green, this guy tried to put the gas and pass me by. I pulled down the driver-side windshield, and gave him the finger. Bad driver always deserves this.

south-bound lane 南向車道
horn-honking sound 按喇叭聲
driver-side windshield 駕駛座車窗
give someone the finger 給某人一個中指

Fun stuff about English

The following link will take you to the Web site where you can find some funny stuff about English jokes. I regret I couldn't just copy and paste them here because it's prohibited to swipe other's intellectual property. So, please click on the link below.

http://www.ahajokes.com/eng002.html

How to improve one's English ability?

I have been asked countless times about how to improve our English proficiency. Basically, I can't say my English is the best among others, and that is for sure. Frankly speaking, I am a learner too. However, there is a saying goes, "Practice makes perfect." I believe that the best and most effective way to learn English better is to train yourself and practice it more. Unfortunately, our environment for learning English revolves around the "test" at all time. Without face-to-face practice, according to some experts, the exam-based learning will be in vain. So, you should ask yourself when to start learning it the right way before you are over the hill. The sooner you are on the right track, the better outcome you will obtain.
Put your best foot forward now.

I can't say...= I don't think 我不認為
revolve around someone/ something 以...為中心
in vain= to no avail 沒有用
over the hill 不再年輕
Put one's best foot forward 加快腳步, 表現最好的一面

Wrong usage in English.

Please refer to the following article.

當心, 老外在偷笑.

Come to think of it...

Gee, it has been the rainy day since last week. People used to call Keelung the "Rain Harbor", but I think the city in which I am living doesn't make Keelung alone. I just can't see why the weather between here and Taipei varies so much though they are just a jump from each other.
Come to think of it, I really doubt it if I have to settle down here forever. Maybe a dryer place fits me better.

be a jump from some place 數步之遙
come to think of it 經這麼一提...

About the child abuse news...

We should find a solution to stop child abuse in Taiwan, in the mean time people criticize the lousy medical network system.
check the news blow.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/detail.asp?ID=56777&GRP=A

Stop fiddling around with my stuff !

He is one of my old friends in San Francisco. Whenever he came to my place, he always fiddled around with everything in my room such as photo album, notebook, letters, wallet, and just to name a few. One day I thought I was totally fed up with his bad behavior. I went," Stop doing that! A proper gentleman wouldn't do that." Well, he is still my good friend until now.
If your parents liked to spy on you, you could say the phrase to them. You sure have to make them understand the words.

fiddle around with something 亂動...
be fed up with someone/something 忍受某人/某事
a proper lady/ gentleman 有教養的女士/男士
spy on someone 監視

Have you ever got locked out?

When I was in the college many years ago, I always hung out with my friends till very late. My parents were very angry with me as they seemed not to be able to tolerate this anymore. They even warned me one day if I didn't come home early, I would be locked out of the door and no one was going to open it for it. What I did was just turning a blind eye to them. One day they really locked me out, so I couldn't get in my home. It was too late at midnight to call for a locksmith to pick the lock. Consequently, I returned to my friend's home getting nowhere to go. This was just one of the craziest things I had ever done when I was young.

We need you to share your story about being locked out. Please post your article as soon as possible. Perfect time for practicing writing now.

lock out 反鎖在外
pick the lock 開鎖
turn a blind eye to someone/something 對...不理不採

Something about privacy.

After moving back to Taiwan, I have found there are many cultural differences between American and Taiwanese. One thing impresses me the most is that people respect one another in a distinctive way. In Taiwan, people like to know how much their friends get paid. I guess they just like to know who is the most capable person in making money.
Sometimes, when I am in the middle of a talk with people at work, I can be easily interrupted by the third person who butts in our conversation without any notification. Whereas in the US, people usually ask for permission before interrupting other group's talk. An easy way to say words for interruption is, " May I interrupt?", "Sorry for the interruption, but I really need to talk to you for a second.", "May I have a minute of you?". Doing so makes people feel a little comfortable when being interrupted.

For those who want to sign up as a member...

There are about 21 people on the waiting list to become the members. However, they might have ignored the fact that they needed to open the invitation mail that I sent over to them, and next, they need to follow the instructions within the mail. Enter the username and password of their own choice. Without the job done, they can't be any members of this BLOG. If your own the following email account, you must be one of them. So, write me back for any problems of becoming the member and then I can give you a hand.

chu_7283@yahoo.com.tw
debbie_tai@hotmail.com
Lin6939@ms38.hinet.net
amberyubeuaty@yahoo.com.tw
jimmylin91@yahoo.com.tw
joy@tbroc.gov.tw
tyjtina1@ms41.hinet.net
saduex11@ yahoo.com.tw
Arthur_Hu@episil.com
meada_31@yahoo.com.tw
97027@ems.hccg.gov.tw
rosa19850310@yahoo.com.tw
meego121@pchome.com.tw
angel.750719@yahoo.com.tw
wangbihua@yahoo.com.tw
love-evenlye@yahoo.com.tw
amy@ jnc.com.tw
meego121@pchome.com.tw
didi990810@yahoo.com.tw
BIO026@EMAIL.CIB.GOV.TW
f0327@pchome.com.tw

(Repost) Instructions: How to post an article.

如何張貼文章步驟
進入 http://www.blogger.com/start
輸入使用者名稱及密碼(你必須是加入的會員)尚未加入請來信告知 aboto1@yahoo.com
輸入使用者名稱及密碼之後請按登入
進入控制主頁(這就是你的個人管理頁面的首頁)
在BLOG名稱之下:列出了你所有加入的BLOG網站(當然一定少不了我們的網站囉)
點取Albert's On-line Club
進入只屬於Albert's On-line Club的管理頁
在Posting目錄區:你可以Create(創造新文章), Edit post(觀看文章清單, 刪除你自己寫過的文章), 以及Status(重新上傳網站)
在Create區內你可以編寫文章, 但是別忘了寫完要上傳喔. (按Publish Post的橘色按鈕)
在View BLOG目錄區下:跳出上傳文章之後的網站(你的大作也包括其中), 記得按一下瀏覽器的重新整理按鈕.

Blame it on the weather

Albert's On-line Club
“It’s so hot outside! I feel I’m an egg frying out there. Just add a bit of salt, and I’ll be ready for breakfast. I tell you…”Steve went on.

“There he goes again,” Martha, one of his co-workers at the Evening Star, said. “Once Steve starts about the weather, he doesn’t stop.”

The Evening Star, a small newspaper, was located in downtown Boston. The city is known for having very different weather in each of the four seasons. Some people enjoy that kind of variety, but not Steve. He grew up in southern Florida, where it’s basically hot and humid most of the year, without much variation.

“Really,” Steve continued, “it’s unbearable. I don’t know how I put up with living here. It’s like being in an oven.”

Steve’s colleagues were so used to his complaining that they hardly paid attention anymore. He worked at the newspaper as a reporter, so he frequently went out on assignment to interview people, collect information, or investigate a story. No matter what he was doing, or what the season was, Steve complained non-stop, like a scratched CD that keeps repeating the same thing over and over.

In the cold of winter, when snow covered the city, more optimistic people commented on how pleasant and romantic the streets looked. They cheerfully watched the delicate snow flakes fall. And, they warned themselves with thoughts of holiday season. But not Steve.

“I’ m freezing,” he moaned to his assistant. “I just don’t how I tolerate this weather. You know, if I slip and fall, the snow’s going to cover me, and I’ll wind up like a giant ice cube. And then, I shall sue, sue, sue!”

Naturally, Steve also came down with several colds. After all, aren’t people supposed to get more colds in the winter time?

Basically, Steve’s problem was he never took responsibility for what happened to him. He looked for something to blame, and the weather was the most convenient.

“Steve, why don’t you loosen up?” his friend Tim suggested. “I mean, sometimes it’s really boring listening to you. Think about it this way: If the weather didn’t change as the seasons pass, life would be a lot less interesting. Come to think of it, if that were the case, you’d probably complain about how nothing ever changed.”

“Aw, gimme a break,” Steve replied. “You can’t say you’re totally indifferent about weather it rains or snows. I’m sure it can change your mood, can’t it?”

“Yeah, probably. But, I don’t take it that seriously. Just take it easy. That’s all I’m saying.”

Steve respected Tim’s opinion. For a while, Steve tried relaxing and not paying attention to the climate. But then he realized he didn’t have anything to talk about at work. His main topic of conversation was missing.

Anyway, a few days later Steve forgot about what Tim had said. All it look was a hot summer day to get Steve back into prime complaining form. When he walked into the office, everyone knew from the look on his face what was coming.

“Uh, oh. Let’s get out of his way,” Betty from accounting said.

“I think I’m burning!” Steve began. “It’s like a fire out there!”

“You’re telling me,” a man whom Steve had never seen before said. “I had to walk three miles to get there. I think I’ve got a sunburn. Not only that, but my hair is wet, my clothes are soaked in sweat, and I ‘m tired.”

“You said it. And another thing-” Steve tried to say.

“Yeah, and another thing. I’ve been feeling sick lately. I think it’s this lousy weather. Some day I’m gonna get out of this area.”

“We haven’t met, have we?” Steve asked the man.

“No, I don’t think so. I’m Chris. I started here today.”

“Nice to meet you,” Steve answered. “You know, this weather-”

“Right. As I was saying…” Chris went on and on and on. If people thought Steve sounded like a scratched CD, then Chris was a scratched CD library. He never shut up. Even while working, he mumbled to himself about the weather.

A few days later, when everyone in the office was ready to toss Chris out the window, Steve said to a colleague, “Is that what I sound like?”

“Now you’ve got it,” his colleague answered.

“God, that’s terrible. Sorry. I guess it is kind of stupid complaining about the weather all the time.”

After a moment standing there looking out the window, Steve got excited. His eyes lit up, his face turned red, and , as he pointed to the street below, he said, “But you know, that traffic outside really makes me mad!”

“Oh, no, here we go again,” Steve’s colleague said. But Steve wasn’t listening. He was too busy complaining about the traffic.



Questions
B 1.What was the name of the newspaper where Steve worked?
a)The Morning Sun
b)The Evening Star
c)The Boston Herald
d)The Washington Post
A 2.What was the weather like where Steve grow up?
a)Hot and humid
b)Cold and snowy
c)Rainy and windy
d)Dry and hot
D 3.What did Tim say about Steve’s complaining?
a)He thought it was funny.
b)He thought it was interesting.
c)He didn’t care.
d)He thought it was boring.
B 4.What was special about Steve’s new colleague?
a)He was really funny.
b)He complained more than Steve.
c)He liked to sing songs while working.
d)He fought with everyone.
C 5.What became Steve’s new topic to complain about?
a)The government
b)His boss
c)Traffic
d)Computers

NHI premium is going to raise again.

I just heard that the government is planning on raising the premium rate in the NHI (National Health Insurance) program. If memory serves, they told us two years ago that the DOH (Department of Health) would never propose a raise for the NHI within a short period of time, but they seem to break the promise now. They are son of the gun! I am worried that it will hit my pocket again.

If memory serves 如果記得沒錯
to hit one's pocket 荷包大失血

Johnathon, one of my students, sent me the picture the other day. I don't know how he did it but I really think he should make more of this for all of us, right? However, I wish I could own a real one like that. greedy me..

Bye, Bye, Beautiful..: Never ending circle.

I just found the article on one guy's BLOG. I guess this guy must be heart-broken by his ex or what. Well, let's see what he has to say in his writing. I kind of relate to his feeling.

Bye, Bye, Beautiful..: Never ending circle.

A Toastmaster's weekly meeting minute--by Bruce Lin

The following article is one of Bruce's work done for his club. Please enjoy reading it.

We had our usual hot time in our meeting, and the heat stayed on until almost 11 o’clock because we went to have a tiny “after-meeting meal.” Members were laughing, teasing, eating…I thought to myself, “This is good.”

Heavyweight Bill did not show up. Probably he just had a new “target” somewhere and we were temporarily abandoned. Hope this time he scores. Just don’t forget to come back. The meeting was progressing with its own tempo. Timer didn’t seem to matter; overtime or not, all qualified. Jack was Toastmaster of the evening and he was in control, kind of suave and very well-rounded. Oozing confidence, Annie was also in charge of her joke session well. It’s amazing how in two years a person can turn so different. Jo was also in charge…er…of her notes quite well. She gave us training on impromptu speech while keeping looking at her notes. Very encouraging.

Celine delivered a good speech on marriage. However, she always makes me feel that she purposely underperforms, as if God would punish her if she is too outstanding. She brought a notebook computer along on stage which she didn’t quite need; she could have smoothened her speech if she could just spend 5 minutes in advance thinking “How should I present myself?” While being true to god, it is not a bad idea to be true to ourselves.

與您分享---實用的英文線上翻譯與資訊

Dear 張老師, 及各位同學們, 大家好:

很謝謝 Albert老師為我們同學們提供一個學習的網站.

剛朋友提供下列好用的 實用的英文線上翻譯與資訊,
便想起 Albert老師的同學您們, 更想與您們大家分享上msg.
嗯, 希望 大伙能在英文學習上能有所突破.
尤其是我這個從國中及未打好基礎…
卻可一直混到現在及需用英文的人. 能有所進展.

加油了.

瓊瑤 2005.1.6

* 愛, 就是當他人需要時, 看到自己的責任! 在自己不足時, 看見上帝的恩典 *
中央研究院計算中心 Academia Sinica, Computing Center
No. 128, Sec.2, Academia Rd. Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan.
E-Mail: cyhuang@sinica.edu.tw Tel:(02)2789-9249 Fax:(02)2783-6444

能解決的事, 不必去擔心; 不能解決的事, 擔心也沒用 --- 達賴喇嘛西藏諺語
你要保守你心, 勝過保守一切, 因為一生的果效是由心發出.--- 箴4:23


顏元叔英漢/英英雙解辭典
英漢字典

林語堂當代漢英詞典
漢英字典

譯點通線上字典
英漢/漢英字典

英漢/漢英詞彙語料庫
英漢/漢英字典

香港 Net Dictionary
英漢/ 字詞搭配資料庫

Cambridge Dictionary
劍橋線上英英字典

Longman WebDictionary
朗文線上英英字典

Merriam-Webster On-Line
韋氏英英字典/同義字

Wordsmyth
同義/反義字典

Collins Cobuild Collocation
可以查字詞搭配的資料庫

Slang Dictionary
英文俚語辭典

Encyclopedia.com
百科全書--寫報告查資料的好地方

Bartleby.com
英文字典, 百科全書, 文學經典, 用法, 名言

yourdictionary.com
覺得字典不夠? 什麼都查得到!

Taiwan News
英文時事

Taipei Times
英文時事

Student Post
英文時事

全民英檢-語言訓練測驗中心
老是對全民英檢一知半解嗎? 快來看看!

92大學各校系考試方式查詢系統
可查各系考試科目及錄取標準

大學入學考試中心
最新升學資訊...

小笨霖英語筆記本
台灣留學生在國外的實用英語會話筆記,電子報很棒喔!

大同資訊高中輔導雜誌.
每一期都很值得看!!

遠東高中英文
遠東版高中英文相關輔助教材

常犯的英文錯誤
可以檢測自己是否有英文中常犯的錯誤

香港線上語言中心
聽說讀寫全方位的遠距教學

e書時空
有很多電子書可以下載

暨南大學網路多媒體英語教室
訓練聽ICRT英語新聞, 文章閱讀, 網路教師

中央大學英語學習資料庫
各式各樣英語學習資源

輔仁大學英語教學資料庫
加強作文與會話

龍騰文化
龍騰版高中教材輔助資源

學習加油站
教育部的學習資源網站

英語傳教士
一個大學教授教你怎麼學英文，畢生功力盡在其中

KK音標線上學習
有嘴型影片及聲音喔須(先下載Flash及Quicktime Player)

Randall's Listening Lab
聽力不好來這裡練功就對了

English Jokes
英文笑話園地

English Club
很豐富的英語學習資料庫

ShoutCast.com
可以線上收聽全世界的各種音樂及廣播

SNOOPY.COM
每天有不同的SNOOPY漫畫

Halloween on-line
所有關於萬聖節好玩的東西都有

ICRT
ICRT網站! 有英語新聞稿喔...

Flash Quizzes
英語機智問答

The Internet Movie Database
全世界所有電影及明星的資料都在這

Activities for ESL Students
英語線上測驗, 各式英語學習資源的寶庫

BBC Radio
英國的廣播節目,有各種音樂, 新聞, 演講...

CNN Learning Resource
想試試聽新聞英語嗎

BBC Learning Resources

A simple but better idea.

Remember that I just had a hard time figuring how to keep all members posted with our daily updates on this BLOG. Ideally I expect the system can automatically send articles/ messages to everyone via email once a new article arrives. But it was in vain--it does not have the function. I came up with an alternative way to work it out. That is, I created a new mailing list on my Yahoo mail box and bingo. It is just that easy. So, from now on, you guys are going to receive my email every now and then. Have a good time enjoying it!

You can't receive any articles from here.

I thought you could, but I was wrong.
It seems like even if you have become the member of this BLOG, so what? you still got no way to get any new released articles done by members here to be sent to you via email. What a BIG FRUSTRATION!! I need to calm down and figure out how to deal with this real trouble now............think, think,think,....

A hit counter

If you scroll down all the way to the bottom of the page, you will notice a number with three digits is being played. It is called a "Hit-Counter" which tells you the total number of the page to be be visited on this BLOG. By looking at the hit-counter counter will I understand how many times the Web site has been browsed. It won't surprise you at all if you are an Internet freak. I recently figured out how to post pictures to this Web BLOG. Consequently, people can now see the pics that I published over here.

Shimen Reservoir of Taoyuan county. Can you believe it is one of the point of interests in Taiwan? Amazing, Huh? Picture was take on December 26, 2004

Shimen Reservoir of Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Another picture of Shimen Reservoir.

Happy 2005!!

The time now is 0:00:00. It's 2005!! Yeah!! Too bad I forgot to change the date on my camera.

The fireworks on Taipei 101 is expolding!! Brano!!

Do you see the Taipei City Hall's digital clock in the center of the picture? It says 23:59:17.

This picture below was taken before the new year countdown. The date on the pic is wrong. It should be printed as 12 31 '04. Sorry for the wrong date.

The New Year countdown was damn cool.

When I asked people if they would like to join some new year countdown stuff, they usually said that they wouldn't be that stupid to do it especially in such a cold weather. Well, I think they really have missed a wonderful time.

On the contrary, I went to the Taipei City Hall last night and I just couldn't believe there were so many people out there waiting for the countdown. I was thrilled in toto when watching such a huge crowd over there in my life.

There was a stage set right in front of the City Hall, where some singers, including Mayor Ma, were singing their songs. It seemed impossible to come any closer to the stage because in front of it was the wide-ranging space flooded with tens of thousands of people left and right watching this live performance. When it came down to the last 15 seconds before the year of 2005, every one went so high and couldn't help but counted the number all together.

What's more exciting was the firecrackers were also being put on on the top of Taipei 101. Oohs and ahhs were exploding everywhere at the same time.

I definitely will go there again for the next new year countdown.

Repost(重登): Albert 老師的網站版本更新通知

各位親愛的朋友們:
我們的網站經過反覆的定位後, 結果終於出爐.我把它當作是一個讓大家自由發揮英文寫作的地方.也就是說, 如果你敢秀你的writingability,我們就敢看你的大作. 也就是說,這不是我一個人維護的網站(說實在我也沒那麼多時間),而是大家一起要來共同經營的網站. 怎麼說呢?請看以下分解.
首先, 網站的地址是:http://aboto1.blogspot.com/進入之後,你可以選擇刊登自己的文章(Post your article)或是在某個文章下面留下意見(Post your comment).
如果你要刊登自己的文章,必須要做一件事情--做本站的一份子. 很簡單,只要回信告訴我你要加入會員.稍後我就會寄給你一封邀請郵件, 邀請你加入會員.你只要按照郵件的操作步驟, 點取到本站的介面,加入新的帳號及密碼即可. 帳號和密碼只有你自己能保管.
因為早先我的作業錯誤, 把本站已加入的會員名單刪除了,如果之前已經加入的朋友怎麼辦呢? , 別擔心,你們仍是blogger註冊的使用者, 所以帳號和密碼仍有效,只是還要麻煩你再登錄一次加入會員才行.你不需要再申請新的帳號及密碼,直接用你原來的就可以登錄了.
一但你成為本站會員, 你就可以在任何時間登錄本站,http://www.blogger.com/start 在管理頁中加入你的文章,也許剛開始的使用刊登界面不太容易了解,但是只要多試幾次就一定OK.接下來就是切磋與交流的時間囉. It's show time!!
如果你不想刊登文章, 只想留下意見. 那你什麼也不用做.只要到本站首頁 http://aboto1.blogspot.com/瀏覽任何一篇文章,並在文章的下方的comment文字連結點取,就可以留言了. Doesn't that sound good to you?
如果你有仍何操作上的問題, 歡迎來信問我.別忘了來信告訴我你要會員.
My email is: aboto1@yahoo.com
Again, I am your friend ALBERT as well as the managerof this Web BLOG. You are heartily invited by us, andwe are looking forward to having you be our member forthe days to come.
Take care...
Albert Chang