News feed：The most expensive JPEG

[2021.04.14] 發表

【明報專訊】Adigital collage of 5,000 pieces by Beeple (pictured), a US artist, has sold for US$69.3 million (about HK$540 million) at an auction house late last month. Everydays: The First 5,000 Days, the most expensive JPEG file, contains a ''non-fungible token'' (NFT), a digital certificate using blockchain (區塊鏈) technology, which makes files impossible to be copied. Some say it shows that people have greater confidence in digital assets, while others think it makes bidding artworks easier, thus cheaper, which might wipe out sculptures and paintings.

Air-con bus stop

THE Yue Man Square Public Transport Interchange (裕民坊公共運輸交匯處), the largest in Hong Kong, was opened in early April alongside YM2, a new mall. Located at the core of the Kwun Tong Town Centre redevelopment project, the interchange also has the city's first air-conditioning bus station. The bus terminal is on the first floor, and the minibus terminal is on the ground floor. Reaction was generally positive, but some elderly people said it took a lot of time to find the entrance and the smart gates.

''Goddess of interpretation''

DUBBED ''Little Zhao Wei (小趙薇)'' and ''Goddess of interpretation'' because of her good looks and translation skills, mainland interpreter Zhang Jing (張京) has shot to fame on Chinese social media after she translated China's diplomat Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪) 's 16-minute speech into English during the Alaska talks between the US and China. ''中國人是不吃這一套的'', one of Yang's soundbites, was translated by her into ''this is not the way to deal with the Chinese people''.

■Gear up

According to the passages on this page, circle the correct answers.

(Answers on next text)

(1) It was not easy for some elderly people to locate the entrance at the new bus stop.

( True / False / Not given )

(2) Zhang Jing is a veteran actress.

( True / False / Not given )

(3) Beeple only create artworks via JPEG files.

( True / False / Not given )

■Glossary

collage (n) 拼貼畫

auction house (n) 拍賣行