Sleep with a Million Bees

Today, I want to tell you about a place where you can hear a lot of bees
buzzing. Over a million bees!
有一個地方可以讓你一直聽蜜蜂的嗡嗡聲，有超過一百萬隻蜜蜂！

A man in Italy made a special house. This man is a beekeeper. His special
house has a big beehive.
有一個義大利的養蜂人蓋了一間特別的房子，裡面有個大蜂窩。

The hive has more than a million bees in it. People can pay money to stay in
the house he made.
蜂窩裡面有一百萬多隻蜜蜂，人們還可以付費住在裡面。

Why would people do that? Do they want to get stung? Don't worry. The bees
can't get into the room, but people can safely watch them buzz above their
heads!
別擔心，你不會被蜜蜂叮，因為牠們進不來你的房間，但你可以看牠們在頭上飛來飛去。

The beekeeper wants to let people know how important bees are. They help
flowers and give us honey. He thinks it's important for people to like bees
and treat them nicely.
這個養蜂人想讓大家知道蜜蜂有多重要。蜜蜂會幫花授粉，也會給我們蜂蜜，要好好地對牠們。

Would you stay in a house with a million bees? They say the sound of bees is
soothing. It helps you to sleep better.
你會想在一個有一百多萬隻蜜蜂的地方住嗎？有人說蜜蜂的聲音讓人感到很平靜，可以讓你好好地睡覺。

I think I would be too afraid to get any sleep! But I still think bees are
great.
________________________________

Vocabulary
蜜蜂房屋，拉近人類和這種小昆蟲的距離。

1. buzz 嗡嗡聲
This buzzing sound is so noisy! 這個嗡嗡聲好吵！
Well, we're in a bee house. 我們住在蜜蜂屋裡啊。
Buzzing is what bees do. 蜜蜂就是會嗡嗡嗡。

2. house 房屋
Tell me again why we're in a bee house. 再說一次為什麼我們住蜜蜂房子。
You said you want to stay in a special place. 你自己說你要住很特別的地方。

3. special 特別的
I guess this is as special as it can get. 這真是最特別的地方了。
Cheer up! You can make friends with a million bees.
高興一點，你可以跟百萬隻蜜蜂做朋友。

4. million 百萬
Give me a million NT and I can build a much better house.
給我一百萬，我可以蓋更好的房子。
You can't build anything with one million NT. 一百萬什麼也蓋不了。

Have some honey during your summer vacation! 我們來讀單字。
buzz 嗡嗡聲
house 房屋
special 特別的
million 百萬
________________________________

Quiz

1. How do bees help the environment?
A: They help flowers and give us honey
B: They recycle old plastic bottles
C: They help save polar bears

2. What is the man's job?
A: He builds houses
B: He takes care of bees
C: He is a hotel manager

3. Why did the man build the special house?
A: To teach people about bees
B: To make people scared of bees
C: To help people to sleep better

Answers
1. A
2. B
3. A
 

Hi there, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Nancy Sun...

And I'm Trevor Tortomasi.

In today's news:

Stinky trees, floating cities, and BTS on break.

All that and more, coming up next.
________________________________

路樹使高雄瀰漫臭味
Skunk Trees Cause a Stink in Kaohsiung

We all know not to bother skunks (臭鼬).

If they are scared or angry, skunks can spray out something very smelly!

But did you know that skunk trees can also make a terrible smell?

Skunk trees (掌葉蘋婆) are tall, with long, pointy leaves.

They grow next to many roads in Kaohsiung.

In the fall and winter, skunk trees grow bright red fruits.

And in the summer...

They get smelly!

During early summer, skunk trees grow reddish flowers.

These flowers smell bad!

In fact, the scientific name for the skunk tree is Stericulia foetida.

The first word "Stericulia" is for the Roman god of bad smells and manure.

The second word "foetida" is from the Latin word for "stink".

And the stinky flowers of the skunk tree can be a big problem, if people live
close by.

The Kaohsiung City government got many reports from people this month.

These people said there was a terrible smell.

Some said it smelled like pig feces (豬糞).

Others said it smelled like a dirty sewer (臭水溝).

City workers went to find out where the smell came from.

And they figured out that the stink came from flowering skunk trees.

高雄市環保局發現臭味來源應該是行道樹掌葉蘋婆。

The city says this smell is natural, and not dangerous.

And the city says there are other trees in Taiwan that also smell bad when
they grow flowers.

Some of these are blackboard trees, fukugi trees, and Formosan nato trees.

其他常見花期會產生異味的行道樹還有黑板樹、福木、和大葉山欖。
________________________________

馬爾地夫建漂浮城市
Maldives Builds a Floating City

You've heard a lot about climate change.

One of the biggest dangers from climate change, is that sea levels will rise.

If sea levels get too high, some small island countries could disappear.

The lowest country in the world is Maldives.

It is made up of many small islands.

Most of the land in Maldives is about just 1 meter above seawater.

馬爾地夫是島國，土地平均海拔不到1公尺，是地球上地勢最低的國家。

Rising sea levels is a big threat (威脅) to Maldives.

So it has come up with an idea.

It is building a floating city.

20,000 people could live in this city.

It is shaped like coral (珊瑚形狀的), with houses, restaurants, shops and
schools.

And people will not drive cars on big roads.

Instead, everyone will get around the floating city by boat, in canals (水道).

Or they can walk, ride a bike, or use electric vehicles on small streets.

Experts think floating cities may help Maldives deal with higher sea levels.

A floating city would not disappear underwater.

Instead, it would rise with the sea.

All the houses would be attached to the seabed, so they will not float away.

Experts have made sure they do this in a way that will not hurt sea life.

And manmade coral banks will be put on the bottom of all these houses.

These will be good places for coral to grow naturally.

And when coral grows there, it will be a good place for fish and other sea
animals to live.

城市的底部將會養殖珊瑚礁，盡量不傷害大自然。

People can start moving in to the floating city in 2024.

And the whole city will be finished by 2027.
________________________________

BTS宣布單飛不解散
BTS Takes a Break

BTS is one of the most famous music groups in the world.

Some of their hit songs are "Butter" and "Dynamite".

But the k-pop band says they are now taking a break.

BTS members say they want to take some time to do solo projects.

BTS團員們希望可以用這段時間來各自沈澱、各自發展事業。

The group did not say how long this break would be.

But the seven members say they want to use this time to grow.

Band member RM also told fans on social media, that "this is never the end".

In fact, 28-year-old J-Hope is getting ready to release a solo album
(個人專輯.).

Suga says he will use the time to take lots of classes.

He wants to take dance, vocal, English, Japanese, guitar, keyboard, and
pilates classes.

And Jungkook has recorded a song with American singer Charlie Puth.

Charlie posted a short video on TikTok about the song.

The new single "Left and Right" might come out this month.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

The Kaohsiung City government got many reports of a terrible smell.

The smell came from the flowers of skunk trees.

Skunk trees grow next to many roads in Kaohsiung.
________________________________

Maldives is building a floating city.

20,000 people could live in this city.

A floating city would rise with the ocean water, as sea levels rise because
of climate change.
________________________________

K-pop band BTS says they are taking a break.

They want to take some time to do solo projects.

The seven members say they want to use this time to grow.
________________________________

And that's today's episode of News Bites!
________________________________

主播每周一問
Have Your Say

Well, that's our last News Bites episode for this school year!

We want to say a big thank you to all the students, teachers, and schools out
there, we hope you've enjoyed the show.

And thank you to the K-12 Education Administration of the Ministry of
Education, for supporting us, and helping us make sure that English learning
can be easy for everyone.

We hope you all have a safe and fun summer. Make sure to continue washing
your hands and wearing face masks!

In the meantime, keep practicing your English, and see you again in September!