Meteorite Almost Hits Woman While Crashing to Earth

Argh! Okay, okay, stop! That is not a pleasant way to wake up.

But do you know an even worse way to wake up? A giant rock falling into your
bed! 有人睡覺時被砸下來的石頭嚇醒！

Yep, that is something that has really happened! A woman named Ruth in Canada
was woken up one day when a large rock fell through her roof, and landed
right in her bed.
事情發生在加拿大，一塊大石頭穿過屋頂，掉到一位女士的床上。

Ruth didn't know right away what happened. She woke up and saw there was a
hole in her ceiling, and a lot of dust on her face.
她醒來發現臉上都是灰塵，還有天花板破了一個大洞。

But when she looked around, she saw there was a rock between her pillows.

The rock weighed 2.8 pounds, and was about the size of a small cabbage.
石頭的大小像一顆高麗菜。

And guess what else? It came from space!
它是從外太空來的!

A smart scientist found out that the rock was part of a meteor shower that
had passed by.
有一位科學家發現石頭是流星雨的一部分。

Ruth is keeping the rock for now. And experts say if she wants to sell it in
the future, she could probably make a lot of money!

Wow, that sounds great. But I think I would still rather not have space rocks
falling into my home!
聽起來不錯，但是還是不要有石頭砸到我家比較好！
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Vocabulary
醒來發現床上有大石頭，這可不好玩！

1. Rock 石頭。
A rock fell into the woman's bed! 一顆石頭掉在那個女子的床上！
Isn't that the strangest thing? 這真是最奇怪的事了。
There must be an earthquake. 一定是有地震。

2. Wake up 醒來。
There's no earthquake. 沒有地震。
The woman woke up when the rock hit her bed. 女子在石頭砸到床上的時候醒來。
That's a bad way to wake up! 那樣子驚醒真糟糕。

3. Look around 看一看四周。
Look around and tell me what you see. 你四周看看，然後告訴我你看到什麼。
Lots of trees and rocks? 很多樹木跟石頭嗎？
No, look again. 不對，你再看。

4. Fall 落下。
Something is falling from the sky! 有東西從天上掉下來！
It's snow! Ha ha, it's snow! 是雪，是在下雪！

So how do you like to wake up in the morning?
rock 石頭
wake up 醒來
look around 看一看四周
fall 掉下來
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Quiz

1. What fell through Ruth's roof?
a. An apple
b. A rock
c. A bird

2. Where did the rock land?
a. In Ruth's bed
b. In Ruth's toilet
c. In Ruth's kitchen sink

3. Where did the rock come from?
a. The neighbor's house
b. Outer space
c. Her attic

Answers
1. B
2. A
3. B

Hello everybody, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Nancy Sun...

And I'm Ryan Drillsma.

In today's news:

Fireworks over a river, poetry from a robot, and no Elf movies for this actor.

All that and more, coming up next.
________________________________

新北舉辦跨河煙火秀
New Taipei New Year's Fireworks on River

More New Year's fireworks shows are coming!

New Taipei City will have a fireworks show on a river.

The city government says the show will happen on December 31st, starting at
8:22 PM.

They say it will be 13 minutes and 14 seconds long.

They chose to make the show this long, because 1, 3, 1, 4 sounds like "for a
lifetime" in Chinese.

And the theme (主題) of the show is "love you for a lifetime".

In total, the show will use more than 10,000 fireworks!

跨河煙火秀會在12月31日晚間8點22分登場，今年煙火施放時間會長達13分14秒。

The fireworks will be over Dan-jiang Bridge, between Danshui District and
Ba-li District.

The bridge is being built right now, and will be finished in the year 2024.

The show will have nine parts, and the fireworks will be 1 kilometer wide in
the sky.

The city government says because the fireworks will be very wide, people can
see it both in Danshui and in Bali.

Officials say everyone who wants to watch the show near the river should wear
face masks.

They should also avoid walking and eating at the same time.

And the show will be livestreamed online.

So if you plan on staying home that night, you can still enjoy the beautiful
fireworks!

新北市政府說施放煙火的範圍很大，所以淡水和八里河岸都可以觀賞，到時候也會有直播，可以在家輕鬆觀賞煙火秀。
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機器詩人分享作品
Robot Artist Shares Poetry

We often think of robots as machines that help us.

Robots can do jobs that are too hard, or too dangerous for people.

And sometimes in movies, they are shown as super strong, and sometimes even
scary.

But did you know robots can make art too?

Ai-Da is a robot artist.

She was made by British inventor (發明者) Aidan Meller.

Ai-Da has skin made of silicone, and real-looking hair.

Her teeth are 3D-printed.

She also has eyes with cameras inside.

Ai-Da has legs, but she can't walk.

And her head, arms, and upper body move.

And last month, Ai-Da read a poem she wrote at Oxford University.

To write the poem, Ai-Da first read Dante's "Divine Comedy"
(意大利詩人但丁的長詩"神曲").

Then she used algorithms (計算程式) to find patterns (句型).

Ai-Da then used the patterns and the words she knows, to make a new poem.

Here is a little bit of Ai-Da's poem.

Is that what you thought it would sound like?

Ai-Da's inventor Aidan says very soon, poems and sentences made by robots
will sound the same as ones made by people.

Aidan says we won't be able to tell the difference.

He says he finds it a little "unsettling" (令人不安).

But Aidan says Ai-Da also helps us learn a lot about ourselves, and how we
think.

機器詩人Ai-Da用人工智慧寫詩，她的發明者說Ai-Da的作品可以讓我們更了解自己。
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威爾·法洛回絕電影續集
Will Ferrel Turns Down Movie Sequel

A comedian has said no to playing an old character.

Will Ferrell starred in the Christmas movie Elf back in 2003.

He was recently approached about doing a sequel, but Will turned it down
(回絕).

He says the script for the second movie wasn't good enough.

威爾·法洛決定不參與精靈總動員續集電影，因為劇本不夠好。

Will felt the script was too similar (相近) to the original movie.

He was offered 29 million dollars for the role, but he still refused.

He said he wouldn't be able to honestly promote the movie because he didn't
think it would be good.

The original Elf movie made 220 million dollars worldwide.

雖然他可以賺兩千九百萬美金，威爾說他無法老實的宣導一部他覺得不夠好的電影。
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

New Taipei City will have a New Year's fireworks show on a river.

The show will be 13 minutes and 14 seconds long.

In total, the show will use more than 10,000 fireworks!
________________________________

Ai-Da is a robot artist.

Last month, Ai-Da read a poem she wrote at Oxford University.

Ai-Da then used patterns from a famous poem and the words she knows, to make
a new poem.
________________________________

And,

Will Ferrell starred in the Christmas movie Elf back in 2003.

He was recently approached about doing a sequel, but Will turned it down.

He was offered $29 million dollars to do it, but says the script for the
second movie wasn't good enough.
________________________________

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

主播每周一問
Have Your Say

This week, we want you to have your say about your dream job.

When we get older, we all have to do some work to make money… but work can
be fun, too. If we can find a job that makes us happy, then it might not even
feel like work at all! Some people call this a "dream job".

So, what is your dream job?

Record your message and send it to newsbites@icrt.com.tw with your name and
age, and if you like, the name of your school.

Make sure to send us your recording by Thursday at noon, and you might hear
your message on our show on Friday!