Taiwan's Electric Trains

I'm going to Taitung tomorrow. I'm so excited!

Taitung is on the east side of Taiwan, we call that the "East Coast."
我好期待明天要去台東！它在台灣的「東海岸」。

I'm going to take a train from Kaohsiung to Taitung!

And guess what?

The train ride from Kaohsiung to Taitung takes less than 2 hours now!
現在從高雄搭火車到台東，不用兩個小時。

It's faster now because it uses electricity.

And now all of the trains in Taiwan use electricity!
台灣現在所有的火車都電氣化，也更快了。

The old trains used a kind of gasoline... like a car. They are slower and
there is pollution!

The new electric trains are quiet, faster and there is no pollution!
現在的火車改用電，比較安靜、比較快更快而且不會有污染！

There are about 1,100 kilometers of rail lines in Taiwan…

They make a big circle around us! 鐵路繞台灣一圈，大約有1100公里長，so it
took a long time, more than 20 years, to make all of Taiwan's rail lines
electric, but now it's finished. 花超過20年，把鐵路全都電氣化！

Taking an electric train is faster and quieter and there's no pollution.

And, I can get to Taitung tomorrow in just under 2 hours! That's really fast!

The east coast of Taiwan is really beautiful!

Looking out of the train window, I'm going to see mountains and then... the
ocean!

I can't wait to take the electric train to Taitung!
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Vocabulary

現在台灣的火車，都使用電力。

1. Train 火車。I'm going to Matsu next week. 我下星期要去馬祖。So you'll take
the train? 所以你要搭火車去嗎? No, silly. There's no train going to Matsu.
別傻了，沒有火車到馬祖。

2. Electric 電的。This is an electric piggy bank. 這是個用電的撲滿。Wow, so
fancy! 哇，真豪華。 But why does it need electricity? 但是它為什麼需要電?
Because it talks.因為它會講話。It will tell you how much money you've put in.
它會告訴你，你存了多少錢。

3. Hour 小時。It takes five hours to travel to Taipei.
去台北需要五個鐘頭。Five hours?! That's too long! 五個鐘頭?! 太久了!

4. Fast 很快。Kevin is a fast runner. 凱文跑很快。He can join our running
club. 他可以加入我們的跑步社團。I run fast, too. 我也跑得很快。Can I join?
我可以加入嗎?

我們一起來讀單字.

train 火車 electric 電的 hour 小時 fast 很快
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Quiz

1. Where is the person in the story going?
A: Taipei
B: Taitung
C: Taichung

2. Why are trains in Taiwan faster now?
A: They use monkey-power
B: They use gasoline...like a car
C: They use electric power

3. What do we call the east side of Taiwan?
A: The west coast
B: The north coast
C: The east coast







Answers
1: B 2: C 3: C
 

Towers that Eat Pollution

Pollution is a big problem around the world. It's really bad for your health.
It can make you cough.

Oh, excuse me. In some parts of India, the pollution is really, really bad.
But India is trying to make its air cleaner. It built a tower that eats
pollution.
印度空氣汙染嚴重，為了淨化空氣，他們建了一座可以大口吞下髒空氣的塔樓。

Well, it doesn't eat the pollution like that. It sounds more like this.

The top of the tower has 40 huge fans. These 40 fans suck in the dirty air.
The air is cleaned in the tower. Then, the tower blows the clean air out.

塔樓最上面有四十座巨大的電扇，會吸入髒空氣，在塔樓裡面淨化，然後把乾淨空氣吹出來。

Like this: the dirty air comes in... And the clean air comes out. Again...

Whew! That's making me tired. But the fans never get tired. They keep working
and working.

If the tower works well, India will make more of these smog towers. Oh,
sorry, smog is a kind of pollution. So, a smog tower is a pollution tower.

I hope it works! Maybe they can build a smog tower in Taiwan, too!
如果這個塔樓很有用，還會建造更多。也許台灣也需要這樣的建築。
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Vocabulary

印度這座超大的空氣清淨機，是不是很有創意？

1) Air pollution 空氣汙染。
There's so much air pollution today! 今天的空氣汙染好嚴重！
Yeah, even the sky is grey. 對啊，連天空都是灰的。

2) Fan 電扇。
Here, this fan should blow away the bad air. 來，這座電扇應該可以吹走髒空氣。
One fan is not enough. 一座電扇不夠。

3) Tired 很累。
You look tired. 你看起來很累。
I feel tired. 我覺得很累。
Maybe you should go to bed earlier. 也許你應該早一點上床。
No, I've got work to do. 不行，我還有工作要做。

4) Work 工作。
You're working too hard! 你工作太辛苦了！
You're not a robot, you know. 你要知道你不是機器人。
I know. 我知道。

Let's read the words together.
air pollution 空氣汙染
fan 電扇
tired 很累
work 工作
________________________________

Quiz

Q1: Where is the pollution tower?
A: In India
B: In Canada
C: In America

Q2: How many fans does the tower have?
A: 14
B: 40
C: 400

Q3: What will India do if the tower works well?
A: Build more towers
B: Put more fans in the towers
C: Sell towers to other countries

Answers
1. A
2. B
3. A
 

Woman Makes Art from Trash

Do you like art? Today, I'm going to tell you about a very interesting
artist. She makes art from trash. You know what trash is, right? You could
call it junk, or garbage. It's something you just throw away.
美國有一個很有趣的藝術家，她利用垃圾做藝術品。

Stephanie Hongo lives in America. She makes beautiful art with things people
don't want anymore. She turns the trash into animals. She uses ping pong
balls for eyes. She uses plastic forks to make feathers for owls. And she
used the leg of a Barbie doll for the horn of a unicorn. Is a unicorn an
animal? Well, maybe.
她把別人不要的東西挑出來，做成動物的樣子。像是乒乓球當作眼睛，塑膠叉子變成貓頭鷹身上的羽毛，芭比娃娃的腿變成了獨角獸頭上的角。

Stephanie started using trash to make art after she quit her job. She didn't
have enough money to buy art supplies. So, she used junk. It sounds dirty to
use garbage. But Stephanie only uses clean trash. She gets the trash from her
family and friends. Sometimes, people on Facebook give her junk, too.
這位藝術家在離職之後沒錢買藝術作品的材料，於是想到利用垃圾。聽起來有點不衛生，不過她只用乾淨的，從親朋好友那裏收集來的垃圾。有時候臉書上的好友也會把不要的東西給她。

It's great that Stephanie uses trash to make art. She can help the
environment. She can also make money by selling her art!
________________________________

Vocabulary

Stephanie把垃圾變成藝術作品，真是化腐朽為神奇！

1. Garbage 垃圾。
Did you throw away your bag? 你把包包扔掉了嗎？
Yeah, it's in the garbage can now. 扔掉了，它現在就在垃圾桶裡。
Are you sure you don't want it? 你確定你不要它了？
I'm sure. 我確定。

2. Junk 垃圾。
You're eating too much junk food, Nancy. 你吃太多垃圾食物了，南西。
No, I'm not. Fried pork chop is not junk food. 我沒有，炸豬排不算垃圾食物。

3. Use 使用。
I don't know how to use this can opener. 我不知道怎麼用這個開罐器。
Here, let me show you.我來做給你看。

4. Artist 藝術家。
My mom is an artist. 我媽媽是藝術家。
Wow, so she paints pictures? 哇，所以她畫畫？
No, she makes salad that looks like art. 不是，她做的沙拉看起來像藝術品。

今天的單字你記住了幾個？
garbage 垃圾
junk 垃圾
use 使用
artist 藝術家
________________________________

Quiz

Q1: Which is NOT another name for trash?
A: Stuff
B: Garbage
C: Junk

Q2: What does Stephanie make with trash?
A: Toys for pets
B: Art that looks like animals
C: Ping pong balls

Q3: Where does Stephanie get the trash?
A: From garbage cans
B: From her friends
C: From stores

Answers
1. A
2. B
3. B
 

New Taipei Getting New YouBike Service in October

Guess what? New Taipei City is getting a new YouBike system. It's already in
Taipei City, but the new YouBike system will be ready in New Taipei City at
the end of this month! 新北市新的微笑單車，月底就可以用了。

It is called YouBike 2.0, and there will be new bikes and new stations. The
colors are a little different too. 顏色有一點不一樣。 The original was orange
and yellow. The new version is white and yellow.

There will be seven hundred places in New Taipei City where people can borrow
these bicycles… 有七百個地方可以租腳踏車。

These rental stations will be in places where it is convenient for a lot of
people. 會放在方便的地方。 For example, near MRT stations!

Another place you can rent them is at New Taipei City Hall in Banqiao.

And in the future, the government plans to add even more stations for
YouBikes… as many as one-thousand-five-hundred!
還會增加一千五百個租腳踏車的地方。

This is great! I really like riding bikes, and I'm excited to try the new
bikes. I think they're very convenient to use to get around the city.

They are also better for the environment than driving cars, and it helps you
get very good exercise! 我覺得腳踏車很方便，也比開車環保，而且你還可以運動！

Will you be using the YouBike 2.0 bicycles?
________________________________

Vocabulary

大台北地區，要騎YouBike越來越方便。

1. System 系統。
We have a new YouBike system. 微笑單車現在有新的系統。
So I don't need to bring my EasyCard? 所以我不需要帶悠遊卡？
That's right. You only need your cell phone. 對的。只需要手機。

2. Ride a bike 騎腳踏車。
I feel bored. 我覺得好無聊。
Let's go and ride bikes at the riverside park. 去河濱公園騎車吧。
Great idea! 好主意！

3. Excited 興奮的。
I'm so excited about tomorrow's School Day! 我好興奮明天的學校日！
Me too. I'm excited to see my old friends.
我也是。我很興奮會跟我的老朋友碰面。
Are they coming? 他們會來嗎？
Yes they are! 會來。

4. In the future 未來。
There will be more bike trails in the future. 未來會有更多自行車道。
I can't wait. 我簡直等不及了。

Do you ride a bike every day?
system 系統
ride a bike 騎腳踏車
excited 興奮的
in the future 未來
________________________________

Quiz

1. What kind of transportation is this story about?
a. Cars
b. Trains
c. Bicycles

2. What are the new bicycles called?
a. YouBike 2.0
b. YouTube 2.0
c. Moovo

3. What city is mentioned in this story?
a. Taipei City
b. New Taipei City
c. Taichung City

Answers
1. C
2. A
3. B
 

Company Makes Masks from Plants

Oh, hi kids! I'm just eating some vegetables. Vegetables are plants. Fruits
are plants, too. We eat lots of plants. Do you know what other things we can
do with plants? Make things! We can make houses with trees, for example.
First, you cut the trees down. Then you can make a house.
蔬菜水果都是植物。植物可以吃也可以用來製造東西，很多房子就是木頭做的。

There is an American company that uses plants to make face masks.
一家美國的公司開始用植物來做口罩。

That is great! Do you know why? Well, because of COVID-19, there are a lot of
face masks these days. When people throw them away, it makes a lot of
garbage. 使用過的口罩被丟掉造成很大量的垃圾。

Have you ever seen face masks on a sidewalk? Yes, I really hate that, too!
Face masks are usually made from a type of plastic. Plastic takes a very long
time to disappear from the environment. So all those face masks are a big
problem. They take up space in landfills. "Take up" means "uses."
這些垃圾占用了很大的空間。

But one company named G95 makes masks from plants. These masks fully
disappear from the environment in 90 days after they are thrown away! When
people have used the masks, they can mail them back to the company. G95 then
recycles the old masks! That is so great!
這家公司用植物做成的口罩，丟掉90天之後就分解不見了。要是你把用過的口罩寄回去，這家公司還會把它回收利用。
________________________________

Vocabulary

用植物做成的口罩，可以自行分解。

1. Disappear 消失。
My pretty face masks have disappeared! 我的漂亮口罩不見了！
Face masks don't just disappear. 口罩不會就這樣消失。
Here, they are in the garbage can. 在這裡，在垃圾桶裡。

2. Throw away 扔掉。
But I didn't throw them away. 可是我沒有把它們扔掉啊。
I think they fell off from the desk. 我想是從桌上掉下去的。

3. Environment 環境。
This is a really nice environment. 這是個很好的環境。
There are so many trees around. 周圍有好多樹。
Yeah, I hope we can live here. 是啊，真希望我們可以住在這裡。

4. Company 公司。
The biggest company in the world is an American company.
世界最大的公司是一家美國公司。
Is it McDonald's? 是麥當勞嗎？
No. 不是。

今天學了哪些字，還記得嗎？
disappear 消失不見
throw away 扔掉
environment 環境
company 公司
________________________________

Quiz

Q1: What is this story about?
A: Making masks from plants
B: Using wood to make houses
C: Growing different kinds of plants

Q2: What are most face masks made from?
A: From plants
B: From wood
C: From plastic

Q3: What is G95?
A: A mask
B: A company
C: A plant

Answers
1. A
2. C
3. B