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Scientists Study Seabird Safety

I'm eating lunch at the beach! Now, where are my sandwiches? ..... Hey!!!!
That seabird took my lunch! It's very smart! Now scientists want to see just
how smart seabirds are, to keep them safe.
海鳥偷走了我的午餐，牠們好聰明。科學家想要知道海鳥到底有多聰明，好保護牠們。

Scientists want to keep seabirds safe from wind farms. Wind farms make
electricity from the wind. They have big machines called 'turbines'. Turbines
have three blades. The wind spins the blades around and around.

There's lots of wind at sea. Turbines make the most electricity there. So
companies put wind farms there.
海邊風很強，所以風力發電渦輪機都蓋在海邊，上面有三片葉片，風會吹動扇葉來發電。

Scientists are worried about seabirds. Seabirds might fly into a turbine's
blades and die. So scientists studied seabird safety at a wind farm.
科學家擔心海鳥會飛進發電機轉動的扇葉而死亡，於是開始研究風力發電場的海鳥安全。

The study took two years. They watched 10,000 videos of the turbines. They
saw four kinds of seabirds come and go. And they found … nothing!

Zero seabirds flew into the turbine blades. Zero seabirds died! They all flew
far away from the spinning blades. Scientists don't know why. But those
seabirds are very smart indeed!
科學家研究了兩年，看了一萬多支發電機的監視器影片，發現有四種海鳥來來去去，但是這些海鳥就是很聰明，沒有一隻海鳥被撞死，科學家也不知道為甚麼。

Scientists need to study other kinds of seabirds. Maybe now they will find
how to save thousands of other seabirds too!
Bravo birdies!
________________________________________
Vocabulary
海鳥跟風力發電渦輪機相安無事，讓科學家有些意外。
1. fly 飛翔。
Fly, kite, fly! 飛呀，風箏，飛吧。
Look how high it is! 你看它飛得多高!
Yeah, it's beautiful against the blue sky.對啊，襯著藍天真好看。

2. spin 轉圈。
Oh no, it's spinning around. 糟了，它在轉圈圈。
It's just the wind. 只是風的關係。
It'll steady once the wind weakens. 風變小就穩定了。

3. far away 很遠的。
Now it's flying too far away. 現在它飛得太遠了。
It'll take an hour to bring it back. 要一個鐘頭才收得回來。
That's okay. We have a lot of time. 沒關係，我們有的是時間。

4. beach 海灘。
This is really a nice beach. 這真是個美好的海灘。
It is. We should come back more often. 真的，我們應該常回來。

你有在海邊放風箏過嗎?
fly飛翔
spin轉圈
far away很遠的
beach海灘

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Quiz
1. What are wind farms for?
A: Studying seabirds
B: Watching videos
C: Making electricity

2. What machines have three spinning blades?
A: Videos
B: Scientists
C: Turbines

3. How many seabirds flew into the machines?
A: Zero
B: Two
C: Four

Answers
1. C
2. C
3. A
 

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The 'Nest Man of India'

Have you ever been to Delhi? Delhi is in India. Lots and lots of people live
in Delhi!
你有去過印度的德里嗎？很多人住在那裡。

Many years ago, there were lots of sparrows in Delhi too. Rakesh Khatri gave
food to sparrows. He was a kid then.
德里很久以前有很多麻雀，Rakesh Khatri 小時候常常餵麻雀。

Sparrows are little brown birds. They like to live in cities. But sparrows
are leaving Delhi. They don't have many places to live. People are not making
space for sparrows in the city.
麻雀喜歡在城市裡生活，但是很多都飛走了，因為德里人口增加，留給麻雀的空間也一直縮水。

Rakesh Khatri wants to help sparrows live in Delhi. He has been making nests
for a long time. A nest is a bird's home. Sparrows live in nests. He puts the
nests all over the city. People call him the 'Nest Man of India'.
Rakesh Khatri
想要幫助麻雀，他特別為麻雀做鳥巢，放在城市每一個角落，人們都叫他「印度鳥巢人」。

He makes nests from coconut shells, cotton, or other natural things. He
recycles too. Sometimes he makes nests from old juice boxes.
他會用椰子殼、棉花等等的自然界物品做鳥巢。他也回收，有時候他用舊的果汁盒來做。

Rakesh Khatri has made 250,000 nests! He made them with no help! Now he
teaches students how to make nests too. He has been to 3,500 schools! Now
100,000 students can make nests!
他一個人做了 25 萬個鳥巢！他還拜訪過 3500
間學校，教學生怎麼做鳥巢，已經有十萬個學生學會了這個技巧。

Today is a day for helping animals. So thanks, Rakesh Khatri, the Nest Man of
India!
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Vocabulary
為了讓更多麻雀留在德里，這位印度人做了25萬個鳥巢。

1. little 小的
Look at those birds! 你看那些鳥！
Yeah, aren't they beautiful? 可不是，很美吧？
They're little egrets. 牠們是小白鷺。

2. nest 鳥巢
They come here in the spring, build a nest and breed. 他們春天來築巢繁殖。
And then they fly away? 然後就飛走了？

3. leave 離開
Right, they often leave in the summer or autumn.
對，通常在夏天或是秋天就走了。
Where do they go? 去了哪裡呢？
I'm not sure. 我不確定。

4. place 地方
A place that's cooler than Taipei, I guess. 我想是去比台北涼快的地方。
So you've watched them for a long time? 所以你觀察牠們很久了？
Yeah, I come here once a month. 對，我每個月來一次。

今天你學到哪些單字？
little 小的
nest 鳥巢
leave 離開
place 地方
________________________________

Quiz

1. What color are sparrows?
A: Blue
B: Brown
C: Black

2. What is the Nest Man of India's name?
A: Rakesh Khatri
B: Delhi
C: Nest Man

3. How many students can make nests now?
A: 250,000
B: 3,500
C: 100,000

Answers
1. B
2. A
3. C
 

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Scientist Studies Hippie Monkeys for 40 Years

Do you like animals? Cats? Dogs? How about... monkeys?

One scientist likes northern muriqui monkeys. She likes their cinnamon smell
too! She likes to study these monkeys.
有一位科學家喜歡北絨毛蛛猴，也喜歡研究牠們。

Northern muriquis are the biggest monkeys in North and South America. They're
about 150 centimeters tall. They're about 15 kilograms. Their tails are long
and very strong. Their tails help them go from tree to tree.
這種猴子是美洲最大的猴子。身高150公分、體重15公斤。長長的尾巴讓牠們可以從一棵樹盪到另外一棵樹。

Most monkeys fight. But northern muriquis are very peaceful. They don't
fight. They hug each other a lot! People call them "hippie monkeys".
這種猴子非常溫和。牠們不會吵架，會互相抱抱。

The scientist studies these muriquis. But she is trying to save them too.
They're in very big danger!
這位科學家也努力拯救牠們，因為牠們現在瀕臨絕種。

One million northern muriquis lived in forests a long time ago. But people
cut down many trees. They wanted to make farms. The forests became smaller
and smaller. There are only 1,000 northern muriquis now. People still cut
down trees.
很久以前，森林裡有
100萬隻北絨毛蛛猴。但人類砍了很多樹，森林變得越來越小，現在只剩下1,000隻。

When forests are too small, there can be no northern muriquis.
森林變太小就會沒有牠們了。
The scientist has been helping the northern muriquis for 40 years now. She
doesn't want to stop. There is a lot to do. Good luck!

************************************************************************************************
Vocabulary
美洲最大的猴子，因為棲息地縮小而面臨絕種。

1. small 小的，smaller 更小的
What a cute monkey! 好可愛的猴子!
Yeah, it's a cotton-top tamarin. 對啊，牠叫做棉頭絹猴。
They're so small! Even smaller than a cat. 牠們好小喔，比貓咪還小。

2. hug 擁抱
Don't you just want to hug them? 你不覺得很想抱抱牠們嗎?
No! I would never hug a monkey. 不，我一點也不想抱猴子。

3. fight 打架
Hey, look, they're about to fight! 你看，牠們快要打架了!
Wow, this should be interesting to watch. 哇，這應該很好看。

4. peaceful 和平的
I thought monkeys were peaceful animals. 我以為猴子是很和平的動物。Obviously
these two are not. 顯然這兩隻不是。

我們來讀今天的單字。
smaller更小的
hug擁抱
fight打架
peaceful和平的

****************************************************************************************************
Quiz

1. What do people call the northern muriquis?
a. Happy monkeys
b. Hoppy monkeys
c. Hippie monkeys

2. How many northern muriquis are there now?
a. One million
b. One thousand
c. One hundred fifty

3. What do the northern muriquis' tails help them to do?
a. go from tree to tree
b. hug each other
c. fight other monkeys

Answers:
1. c
2. b
3. a

 

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Leather from Mushrooms

Mushrooms are part of a group of amazing living things that are not really an
animal and not really a plant. 香菇不是動物也不是植物，它們是菇類！

You can eat some mushrooms, and they're super yummy. But you can also make
leather from them. 它們不只很好吃，還可以做成皮革！

We use leather for many things. I have a leather belt and leather shoes.
皮革可以做成很多東西，像是我自己有皮帶或跟皮鞋。

But some people say we should try to stop making things with leather.
有人說我們不應該再用皮革做東西。

Why? Well, two big reasons …

One, to make leather you need a lot of chemicals. Those chemicals can be bad
for people, and they are bad for the earth - they cause pollution.
第一個原因是，做皮革要用很多化學藥劑，對人跟地球都不好。

And number two: Leather comes from animals - mostly cows. Many people think
we need to stop eating so much meat and stop using things made from animals.
第二個原因是，很多皮革都是用牛做的。有人覺得我們不要再吃這麼多肉，也不要再用動物做東西！

That's why scientists are making leather from mushrooms! It looks almost
exactly like leather from animals, and it's strong too.
所以科學家要用菇類做皮革！它很像用動物做的皮革，也是很堅固！

Many companies are interested in this new mushroom leather.

Using mushroom leather means we can say goodbye to bad chemicals, and it
means we don't need to use animals.
這樣子我們可以遠離化學藥劑，也不用動物做東西。
_______________________________
Vocabulary
生活中有哪些東西是皮革做的，你可知道?

1. leather 皮革。
I don't wear leather shoes any more.我不再穿皮鞋了。
Why not? 為什麼不呢?

Because I'm wearing cotton shoes now. 因為我現在都穿棉布鞋。
They are light and comfortable. 它們很輕，又很舒服。

2. strong 堅固耐用。
But they are not as strong as leather. 但是它們沒有皮革堅固。
That's true. So I don't wear them on rainy days. 這是真的，所以我雨天不穿。

3. use 使用。
You use cotton for your bags too? 你也用棉布做包包嗎?
Yeah, look at my book bag. 對啊，你看我的書包。
Very cute! 很可愛呢!
Yeah, I use cotton for many things. 我用棉布做很多東西。

4. company 公司。
A lot of companies are making these products. 很多公司也在做這些產品
I know. But I prefer to do it myself. 我知道，不過我喜歡自己動手。

這些字簡單好用，來一起讀一遍。
leather皮革
strong堅固耐用
use使用
company公司
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Quiz

1. How does animal leather hurt the earth?
A: Making it uses bad chemicals.
B: Making it takes 100 years
C: Making it means bigger typhoons

2. What are scientists using to make new leather?
A: Mushrooms
B: Fried rice
C: Frogs

3. Where does leather come from?
A: Mostly cows.
B: Mostly clouds.
C: Mostly clowns.

Answers
1. A
2. A
3. A
 

Scientists Zap Clouds with Electricity

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Summers in Taiwan can be very hot! When the sun comes out, everyone feels
warm. And sometimes, it's too dry. Isn't there any way to make it rain?!
台灣的夏天很熱，有時候也很乾！有沒有甚麼方法可以讓天空下雨呢？

In the past, we could not change the weather. But scientists have had an
idea. They have found a way to make it rain, using electricity.
現在，科學家發現一種用電讓天空下雨的方法。

We know where rain comes from. It falls from clouds in the sky.
我們知道雨水是從天上的雲落下來。
Clouds are made of water. When the water gets too heavy, the clouds start to
rain. 雲是水構成的，當這些水太重，就會開始下雨。

Sometimes there is not enough rain. That is not good. When the rain is too
little, people have no water to drink, and plants become too dry. So how can
we make it rain more? 如果雨水太少，我們就會沒有水喝，植物也會乾枯。

Recently, scientists did a test. They used a little robot to zap a cloud with
electricity. (SFX: electric zap) The electricity made the drops of water
stick together. 科學家做了一個實驗，他們電擊一朵雲，讓雲層中的水滴黏在一起。

When the drops of water come together, they get heavier. Then they fall to
earth. So when the cloud is zapped with electricity, it turns into rain.
水結成大水滴之後會變得更重，然後變成雨，落到地面。

What a useful idea. Scientists think it can help people. When the weather is
too hot or dry, people can use this technology to make rain. (SFX: heavy
rain) All it takes is a cloud and a little electricity.

_________________________________________________________________

Vocabulary
給雲層通上電，就有可能製造出雨水。

1. cloud 雲。
How's the weather? 天氣怎麼樣?
A gray sky with lots of thick clouds. 灰色天空，有很多厚厚的雲。
Uh oh, that doesn't sound good. 糟糕，聽起來很不好。
No. I think it's going to rain very soon. 是不好，我想很快就會下雨。

2. rain 下雨。
It rained all day yesterday. 昨天就下了一整天的雨。
But it's better than a hot and dry day. 但是總比又熱又乾好。
I prefer a dry day. 我比較喜歡乾燥的天氣。

3. electricity 電力。
What's happening? 怎麼回事?
The light won't come on. 電燈不亮。
Because there's no electricity. 因為停電了。

4. in the past 從前。
What should we do? 我們怎麼辦?
In the past we would light candles. 以前我們會點蠟燭。
No, I don't want to stay here. 不了，我不要待在這裡。

一起來讀讀單字吧。
cloud雲
rain下雨
electricity電力
in the past從前

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Quiz

1. Where does rain come from?
A: The sun
B: The moon
C: The clouds

2. How can we make clouds rain?
A: Burn them with fire
B: Tell them "more rain please"
C: Zap them with electricity

3. When do clouds become rain?
A: When they get too heavy
B: When they get too light
C: When they get too sad









Answers
1. C
2. C
3. A