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

I'm Nancy Sun,

And I'm Clifford Chu.

In today's news:

A search for young musicians, a statue for kindness, and old jewelry that
looks new.

All that and more, coming up next!
________________________________

國家青年交響樂團2023年成立
National Symphony Youth Orchestra Looking for Young Musicians

Are you a musician?

The National Symphony Orchestra is going to set up a youth orchestra
(青年交響樂團) next year.

The orchestra says it wants to help young musicians grow and learn.

The NSO will hold auditions for musicians between 12 and 25 years old.

And the orchestra will pick around 70 people.

These 70 young musicians will go through an education program.

The program will be held at the Northern Miaoli Art Center (苗北藝文中心).

Then the group will give its first concert there in July.

The youth orchestra will also hold four or five concerts around Taiwan.

樂團將招募約70位全台各地的年輕音樂家，經過二週的樂團排練、課程後在各縣市舉辦4到5場音樂會。

They will play both classic (古典) and contemporary (現代) music.

The NSO hopes the youth orchestra can become cultural ambassadors for Taiwan.
________________________________

仁慈的雕像
A Statue for Being Kind

There are many statues (雕像) around the world.

Most of them are statues of famous people, like kings, queens, and presidents.

But there is a new statue in the U.K. that honors (尊敬 ) a woman for being
kind.

The woman's name is Jo Newby, and she has been a volunteer for 20 years.

During that time as a volunteer, she fostered 92 children.

Jo在20年中照顧了92名寄養兒童。

But she's not just a foster mom.

Jo Newby also started a special football club (足球俱樂部) in her town.

All children are welcome, including those who have disabilities (身心障礙).

Local coaches say the club is important.

They say there is no other program like it in the area where they live.

The new statue is four meters tall, and is made with recycled material
(回收材料).

The statue shows Jo holding football shoes in one hand.

And in the other hand, she holds 92 balloons to symbolize (代表) all her
foster children.

Jo doesn't think she has done anything to deserve (該得到) the statue.

She says all she thinks about is the children she helps, and making sure they
feel happy, included (被接受) and safe.

She also believes that any act of kindness makes a difference.
________________________________

考古學家發現千年維京首飾
Scientists Find Ancient Jewelry that Looks New

An archaeologist is a scientist that studies history by looking for, and
discovering antiques and artifacts (古老文物).

To do this, they have to travel to faraway places (遙遠的地方).

So when they finally find things that show them how people lived hundreds of
years ago, they get very excited.

Archaeologists in Sweden made one such discovery recently (最近).

They found treasure that they think is about 1,000 years old!

The treasure was hidden in a pot.

There are rings, pearls, and coins made of silver.

The archaeologists were very excited because they said the jewelry looked
almost completely new.

考古學家說這些古老的首飾看起來像是新的。

Some of the coins did not come from the area.

Instead, they came from France, England, Bohemia and Bavaria.

The French coin is important, because the archaeologists say it is very rare
(稀有).

They think the coin was made during the 10th century, A.D.

The artifacts were buried under the floor of a building.

The building is in an area where Vikings (維京人) lived for several hundred
years.

Scientists still don't know why such valuable things were buried like that.

But they want to find out.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

The National Symphony Orchestra is going to set up a youth orchestra next
year.

The NSO will hold auditions for musicians between 12 and 25 years old.

And the orchestra will pick around 70 people.
________________________________

A new statue in the U.K. honors a woman for being kind.

Jo Newby has fostered 92 children over 20 years.

She also started a special football club that welcomes all children.
________________________________

And...

Archaeologists in Sweden found treasure that they think is about 1,000 years
old!

There are rings, pearls, and coins made of silver.

The archaeologists were very excited because they said the jewelry looked
almost completely new.
________________________________

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 food.

Food is a big part of our lives. And at times, food can mean different things
to us. If you were a food, what food would you be?

Record your message and send it to newsbites@icrt.com.tw with your name and
age, and if you'd 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!
 

________________________________

Hello everyone! It's time for another episode of News Bites!

I'm Nancy Sun…

And I'm Paz Bueno.

In today's news:

A searchable map for New Year's, silent e-bikes to catch poachers, and
lab-made milk without the pollution.

Stay tuned and we'll tell you more about these stories, coming up next!
________________________________

A Searchable Map for New Year's Sunrise
天文館推出元旦日出地圖

A lot of people love to watch the sunrise on New Year's Day, as it represents
a fresh start.

It has become a tradition for many Taiwanese.

From Alishan to the mountains and coastlines (海岸線) of eastern Taiwan...

These are all popular spots for watching the first ray of sunlight.

For these "sun catchers" (追日族), things might just have been made easier.

The Taipei Astronomical Museum has a new interactive (互動式) online map.

This map allows users to find the sunrise and sunset times in places around
the world.

Users choose a spot on the map to find out the exact time the sun will rise
and set.

The museum explained that the time for sunrise and sunset are different in
each place, based on latitude (緯度), longitude (經度), and altitude (高度).

According to the museum, the best sunrise location in Taiwan for January 1st,
2023 will be Po Nan Shan (柏南山) in Hualien County.

So, if you want to catch the first sunrise of 2023, find a location on the
map and get your camera ready.

把相機拿出來，準備迎接2023年的第一道曙光吧！
________________________________

Park Rangers are Using E-bikes to Catch Poachers
護林員利用電動機車安靜的優勢逮捕盜獵者

Have you ever been surprised by an electric bike?

They are so quiet and sometimes you don't know they are right beside you.

The quietness is sometimes dangerous in the city.

But it can be a good thing!

This advantage (優勢) is being used to catch poachers (盜獵者) in African
wildlife parks.

A Swedish electric bike company is working with Southern African Wildlife
College (SAWC).

SAWC trains park rangers (護林員) for 127 parks across Africa.

In the past, poachers can escape easily because of the loud noises the petrol
(汽油) motorbikes make.

They can even hear the rangers coming from over a kilometer away.

But now, the silent motor of the e-bike has become the surprise secret weapon
for saving the world's most endangered species (瀕危物種).

電動機車安靜的馬達成為拯救野生動物的秘密武器。

Several poaching attempts have been stopped this year by rangers on e-bikes,
saving a variety of animals.
________________________________

Lab-made Milk to Fight Climate Pollution
人造牛奶：無環境污染的濃醇香

For thousands of years, humans have been drinking milk.

We grow grass, raise cattle, milk the cows, and so on.

People drink a lot of milk and use it to make many other foods.

Milk is used in cheese, yogurt, chocolate, and cookies.

But keeping animals for milk this way is hurting the environment.

Studies have shown that cows belch methane (甲烷) that contribute to global
warming.

In recent years, food scientists, dairy experts and biologists (生物學家)
have been trying to solve the problem.

Now, they've come up with a few different ways to make milk, without making
methane.

The most common method is using micro-organisms (微生物).

The secret lies in cow DNA.

DNA stores instructions of how living creatures function.

Cow DNA knows how to produce milk, but is only activated during pregnancy
(懷孕).

Scientists inserted the gene sequence (基因順序) that produces dairy protein
into the microbes.

The microbes then make lots of milk.

The scientists are very optimistic (樂觀) about this technology.

Animals are not needed for this process.

It doesn't produce waste that pollutes the land and water.

The most important thing is that it doesn't produce methane.

Lab-made milk is currently used in ice cream, milk and cheese.

The scientists say it tastes just like milk from a cow.

隨著科技持續進步，實驗室食品取代農場食品也許也是不可避免的。
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

The Taipei Astronomical Museum has a new interactive online map.

This map allows users to find the sunrise and sunset times in places around
the world.

Users choose a spot on the map to find out the exact time the sun will rise
and set.
________________________________

A Swedish electric bike company is working with Southern African Wildlife
College.

They are giving rangers e-bikes to ride.

This helps the rangers get close to poachers quietly, and catch them.

Several poaching attempts have been stopped this year by rangers on e-bikes,
saving a variety of animals.
________________________________

And,

Scientists have come up with a few different ways to make milk, without
making methane.

The most common method is using micro-organisms.

Animals are not needed for this process, and it doesn't pollute the land and
water.
________________________________

And that's all for 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 words.

Most languages use words to communicate, and they can be used to talk about
all sorts of ideas. We can say them, write them, and even show them with our
hands. But, of course, some words are more useful than others!

So, what is your favorite word?

Record your message and send it to newsbites@icrt.com.tw with your name and
age, and if you'd 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!
 

________________________________

Hi there, it's time for another episode of News Bites!

I'm Nancy Sun…

And I'm Trevor Tortomasi.

In today's news:

Citizen scientists, art on money, and a bigger sun.

Stay tuned and we'll tell you more about these stories, coming up next!
________________________________

號召公民科學家
"Citizen Scientists" Help Termite Study

Would you like to be a scientist when you grow up?

How about starting now?

Researchers at National Chung Hsing University were working on an important
project.

They wanted to learn more about termites (白蟻).

They wanted to know which types of termites did the most damage (損害) to
buildings in Taiwan.

To do this, they would have to catch termites that were living in buildings.

But they couldn't go into people's homes to do their work.

So they asked for people's help.

They put out a call for "citizen scientists" (公民科學家).

They asked these citizen scientists to catch termites.

The researchers also set up a website (網站).

People can record the time and place where they caught the termite.

They can then send the termites to the university.

More than 200 citizen scientists sent termite samples (樣本) to the
university.

The researchers got more than 3,000 termite samples.

All this helped the researchers learn something important.

They found that the termites that did the most damage to buildings are the
Formosan termite, and the Asian subterranean termite.

分析樣本以後，研究人員發現危害臺灣建築物最嚴重的是臺灣家白蟻與格斯特家白蟻。

This helped them come up with better ways to stop the termites and protect
buildings.
________________________________

阿根廷藝術家用紙鈔作畫
Argentine Artist Paints on Money

Artists sometimes make money through their artwork.

But what if their artwork IS money?

Sergio Guillermo Diaz paints on banknotes (紙鈔).

The artist from Argentina paints pictures on the country's money, "pesos"
(比索).

Sergio has painted movie characters on $2 and $5 peso bills.

He has even painted soccer star Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup on a $10
peso bill.

Why not just use normal paper?

Sergio says the peso bills are not worth much (價值低).

He says once he paints on the money, he can sell it for much more.

There's a bigger picture here (完整情況、主要的事情).

In the past few years, Argentina's money has lost a lot of value.

This is because of inflation (通貨膨脹).

It's when the cost of things go up.

Inflation happens for many reasons.

But inflation in Argentina has been made worse by world events, like the
COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Now, a $1,000 peso bill is worth around just $170 NT.

And that $1,000 peso bill is not enough to buy a combo meal at a fast food
restaurant, which costs around $1,500 pesos.

阿根廷公布的11月通膨年增率，已升至92.4％，成為全球通膨最嚴重的國家之一。

Sergio says his art shows how inflation affects the lives of Argentinians.
________________________________

全年看太陽最大的「近日點」
Earth's Closest Point to the Sun

We've had some cold weather recently.

So you may be surprised to know...

Our planet was closest to the Sun last week.

The Earth orbits (地球公轉) once around the Sun every year.

And Thursday last week, the Earth was at the place in its orbit that brings
it closest to the Sun.

That point is called "perihelion" (近日點).

「近日點」是一年中地球最接近太陽的位置，也是全年中太陽看起來最大的一天。

Perihelion comes around about two weeks after December solstice (冬至、至日).

This year, it happened on January 5th, shortly after 12 AM.

At that time, Earth was about 147,000,000 kilometers from the Sun.

And to us, the Sun looked about 11 percent bigger than usual.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

Researchers wanted to know which types of termites did the most damage to
buildings in Taiwan.

So they asked citizen scientists to catch termites and send the termites to
the university.

This helped researchers come up with better ways to stop the termites and
protect buildings.
________________________________

Argentinian artist Sergio Guillermo Diaz paints on banknotes.

Sergio says the peso bills are not worth much.

He says once he paints on the money, he can sell it for much more.
________________________________

And,

Thursday last week, the Earth was at the place in its orbit that brings it
closest to the Sun.

That point is called "perihelion".

Perihelion comes around about two weeks after December solstice.
________________________________

And that's all for 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 trying something again.

Sometimes, we want to do something great… but maybe we can't do it right.
And later, we wish we could "re-do" it, or do it again, to see if we could
have done it better.

So, if you could redo anything in your life, what would you change?

Record your message and send it to newsbites@icrt.com.tw with your name and
age, and if you'd 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!
 

________________________________

Yo, what's up everybody?

It's me, Trevor Tortomasi...

And me, Nancy Sun.

Alright, today's topics:

Is Taiwan too convenient?

Toys rain down on a football match...

And a little doggie goes on a big trip.

More on that, coming up in just a sec(ond)!
________________________________

台灣最後一個 沒有便利商店的小鎮
Taiwan's Last Township Without a Convenience Store

It's there when you're hungry...

And it's there when you need to mail a letter (寄信), or pay your bills
(付帳單), or buy toilet paper (買衛生紙).

What is it?

It's a convenience store (便利商店)!

And in Taiwan, convenience stores are all over the place (到處都是).

Well, except for one...

Taitung's Jinfeng Township is now the last township in Taiwan without a
convenience store.
台東的金峰是台灣最後一個沒有便利商店的小鎮。

So, does that mean it's inconvenient (不方便)?

Of course not!

Some people in Jinfeng say it would be nice to have a 7-11, or a FamilyMart,
or an OK Mart, or a Hi-Life, or a Simple Mart, or a...

But other people say it would be bad for local businesses.
有人說有便利商店會讓附近的小生意不好做。

They say if you can buy everything at a convenience store, then you might not
walk down the street to a fruit shop, or a restaurant, or a post office, or a
toilet paper store, or a...

And other other people believe the convenience stores and local stores could
find a way to work together.

Either way...
不管怎麼樣...

How convenient... is too convenient?
________________________________

足球賽觀眾 把玩偶丟到球場上
People Throw Toys at a Football Match

In Turkey, a recent football game was paused after 4 minutes and 17 seconds.
土耳其最近一場足球賽，才開始4分鐘17秒就喊暫停。

That's because Turkey and Syria (敘利亞) recently had a giant earthquake
(強烈地震) on February 6th, at 4:17 AM.

In the earthquake, many people lost their homes, or their lives.

And because life is so difficult for the survivors (倖存者), many people want
to help.

Some are donating money (捐錢), and others are donating food (捐贈食物).

So, why did Turkey pause that football game?

They paused it to let people throw toys onto the field!
土耳其暫停足球賽的原因，是讓觀眾丟一大堆玩偶到球場上！

All of these people were donating toys (捐贈玩具) to help the children who
survived the earthquake.

Of course, they were all soft toys, like stuffed animals (填充玩具), dolls
(娃娃), and colorful pillows (各種顏色的枕頭).

The crowd cheered (歡呼), and thanked everyone who had worked hard to help
others.

So, think about all of the nice things you have...

What would you give to someone else?
________________________________

狗狗意外的旅程
Dog Accidentally Goes Traveling

Maybe you enjoy going on road trips (開車旅行)...

But if you're going on a long trip in a car, you probably want to plan it
first (最好先有所計畫).

Not this dog, though!
有一隻狗並非如此！

This dog, named Ralph, was walking with his owner (主人) down the street.

And while his owner paused to talk with a friend, Ralph saw an open door, and
jumped inside.
Ralph看到打開的車門，就跳進去了。

But it was the door of a taxi (計程車)...

And suddenly (突然), they were driving!

Ralph had no collar, so the driver could not call his owner.
因為Ralph沒有戴狗項圈，計程車司機沒辦法打電話給Ralph的主人。

And the driver still had to do his job... so he drove!

Ralph was in the car for 160 kilometers (一百六十公里) before the driver
finally had time to drive him home.

Ralph was happy to see his owner again... but maybe he's still thinking about
his next road trip!
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

Taitung's Jinfeng Township is now the last township in Taiwan without a
convenience store.

Some people in Jinfeng say it would be nice to have a convenience store, but
others say it would be bad for local businesses.

They say if you can buy everything at a convenience store, then you might not
walk down the street to a fruit shop or a restaurant.
________________________________

And,

In Turkey, a recent football game was paused to let people throw toys onto
the field.

The people were donating toys to help children who survived a recent
earthquake, in Turkey and Syria.

Of course, they were all soft toys, like stuffed animals, dolls, and colorful pillows.

The crowd cheered, and thanked everyone who had worked hard to help others.

Life has been difficult for the survivors, and many people want to help.
________________________________

And,

A dog named Ralph jumped inside a taxi, when his owner wasn't looking.

But because Ralph had no collar, the driver could not call his owner.

Ralph was in the car for 160 kilometers before the driver finally had time to
drive him home.
________________________________

That's all for today's News Bites... thanks for listening!
________________________________

主播每周一問
Have Your Say

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

The world is slowly starting to open back up after the pandemic. Some people
are starting to travel to other countries again.

So, if you could go anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go?

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

Send us your recording by Thursday at noon, and you might hear your message
on our show on Friday!

________________________________

Hi there, it's time for a new episode of News Bites...

I'm Nancy Sun...

And I'm Hope Ngo.

In today's episode...

Eggs everywhere, surprise islands, and taking the red pill.

All that and more, coming up next!
________________________________

校園有雞，處處有驚喜
A School with Eggs Everywhere

Many schools keep pets.

Some have dogs.

Some have fish.

But how about "school chickens" (校雞)?

Ming-qing Elementary School in Changhua County keeps chickens.

The school says 7 chickens live there.

They sleep in the trees at night.

And during the day, they will walk around the schoolyard.

雞群晚上飛到樹上休息，白天飛到樹下生蛋、孵蛋。

The hens (母雞) lay many eggs.

In fact, they lay around five to six eggs every week.

You might have heard news stories about an "egg shortage" (缺蛋).

But this school has eggs all over the place!

The hens lay eggs in the grass, in the school garden, and sometimes in boxes
and on papers.

This means that students may find a "surprise" when they are at school.

The school principal says students will tell him about finding eggs at school
almost every day.

But the principal says not many eggs hatch (孵化).

The school now has a special machine to keep the eggs warm and help them
hatch.

So students there often see hens taking care of chicks.

And they are learning a lot about eggs, chickens, and the wonder of living
things.

學生們了解母雞、生蛋的過程，在學校上課之外多了許多學習樂趣。
________________________________

日本多了 7,000 個島
Japan Finds 7,000 New Islands

Japan is a country made up of islands.

It has four big islands.

They are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.

And there are also many more small islands.

But Japan recently got a big surprise.

It found more islands.

In fact, it found 7,000 more islands!

35 years ago, Japan counted its islands.

At that time, scientists had found 6,852.

But now, scientists used new mapping technology.

And they found 7,000 more islands.

日本專家重新計算，發現全國的島嶼數量增加了7千多個。

Some of those new islands also come from volcano eruptions.

Lava from the volcano flows into the ocean.

And it cools and hardens, becoming a new island.

So now there are 14,125 islands in Japan.

All these islands are natural, not made by people.

And they all have a circumference of at least 100 meters.

這些都是自然形成的島嶼，周長達到100公尺以上。

It seems science just never stops surprising us!
________________________________

基努李維把紅色藥丸直接帶回家
Keanu Reeves Takes the 'Red Pill', Literally

Keanu Reeves (基努李維) is a famous actor.

He's been in many big Hollywood movies.

In one of his most famous roles (角色), he plays Neo in "The Matrix" movies
("駭客任務"系列).

Neo is a normal guy, who finds out his world is not real.

In one scene (橋段), Neo has to decide if he takes a blue pill or a red pill.

The blue pill lets him forget, and go back to the fake world.

And the red pill lets him see the real world.

電影中，尼歐必須選擇吃下藍色藥丸然後回到虛擬世界，或是吃下紅色藥丸進入被電腦機器統治的真實世界。

Well, it turns out, Keanu took the red pill.

As in, he really took it.

The actor says in an interview, that he took the red pill prop (道具) home
with him.

But hey, Keanu says he didn't steal it!

He says it was given to him.

What other props does he have at home?

Keanu says he has a watch and wedding ring from the "John Wick" movies
(【捍衛任務】系列).

And he has a sword from "47 Ronin" (【浪人47】).
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

Ming-qing Elementary School in Changhua County keeps chickens.

The hens lay eggs in the grass, in the school garden, and sometimes in boxes
and on papers.

The school principal says students will tell him about finding eggs at school
almost every day.
________________________________

Japan is a country made up of islands.

And recently, it found 7,000 more islands, using new mapping technology.

So now there are 14,125 islands in Japan.
________________________________

And,

Keanu Reeves said in a recent interview that he took the red pill prop from
"The Matrix" movies home.

Keanu says it was given to him.

He says he also has a watch and wedding ring from the "John Wick" movies, and
a sword from "47 Ronin".
________________________________

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 someone you find interesting.

There are many interesting people in the world. Some of them made history,
some of them did amazing things, and some of them had something crazy happen
to them.

So, if you could have lunch with any person, alive or from history, who would
you like to meet?

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

Send us your recording by Thursday at noon, and you might hear your message
on our show on Friday!