Animals Laugh, Too

Here's a question for you. Can animals laugh? Many people think only people
laugh. But animals can laugh, too! Well, not like that. They don't sound like
humans.

But at least 65 animals can laugh in their own way.
至少有65種動物跟人一樣都會笑，但是聽起來跟人不太一樣。

Some researchers from the USA found this out. They found out that dogs,
seals, cows, monkeys and dolphins laugh. I wish I could tell you all of the
65 animals that laugh. But we don't have enough time.
美國的研究員發現，狗、海豹、牛、猴子，還有海豚都會笑。

Why do animals laugh? Researchers think they know why. Animal laughter
usually happens when animals play. Many animals play. They often play fight.
動物為什麼笑呢？很多動物經常打打鬧鬧，牠們會在玩耍的時候笑。

They don't want to hurt the other animal when they play fight. They just want
to have fun. The researchers think laughter is a signal.

Laughter is a signal to other animals that says, "Hey, I'm only playing. I
don't want to hurt you."
動物玩耍的時候，笑就成為訊號，告訴別人「我是在跟你玩，不想要傷害你。」

Maybe that's why we laugh, too. Laughter might be a signal to other people.
What do you think?
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Vocabulary
想到動物會哈哈大笑，我也要笑了。

1. Laugh 笑，laugher 笑聲。
Have you ever heard animals laugh? 你有聽過動物笑嗎？
Sure, my dog laughs all the time. 當然有，我的狗一天到晚笑。
How do you know it's laughing? 你怎麼知道牠在笑？
Its laughter is different from barking. 牠的笑聲跟叫聲不一樣。

2. Sound like 聽起來像。
What does its laughter sound like? 牠的笑聲聽起來像什麼？
It sounds like coughing. 像咳嗽。

3. Signal 訊號。
Your dog is playing with the bowl. 你的狗在玩牠的飯碗。
It's a signal that it's hungry. 這是牠餓了的訊號。

4. Human 人類。
Dogs are like humans in many ways. 狗狗在很多方面跟人類好像！
I think they're smarter than humans. 我覺得牠們比人聰明。

These are fun words to learn!
laugh 笑
laughter 笑聲
sound like 聽起來像
signal 訊號
human 人類
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Quiz

1. How many animals can laugh?
A: 16
B: 60
C: 65

2. When do animals usually laugh?
A: When they are eating
B: When they are playing
C: When they are running

3. Why do animals laugh?
A: To make themselves feel better
B: To scare other animals away from them
C: To tell other animals they won't hurt them

Answers
1. C
2. B
3. C
 

25 Years of Beach Legos

In 1997... 25 years ago... way, way, way before some of you were born… a
container ship got hit by a huge wave!
25年前，有一艘貨櫃輪被大浪打中！

The ship was sailing near the UK when the wave hit. The ship was lucky. It
didn't sink… but more than 60 containers fell off the ship and into the
ocean.
這艘船當時很靠近英國海岸，它沒有沉沒，但是60多個貨櫃掉進了海裡。

One of the containers was full of Legos! Lots of Legos. There were about 5
million Lego pieces in that container.
其中一個貨櫃裡面裝了大概500萬個樂高積木！

Legos are made out of plastic... so they float. Every year since the Legos
fell in the water in 1997, Lego pieces have been washing up on beaches in the
UK.
從那時候開始，每年都有樂高積木被沖到英國的海灘。

Every year, some people in the UK like to go hunting for Legos… yup! They go
to the beaches and try to find Legos. The hunters like to show each other
what Legos they found… and hunting for Legos is kind of fun.
每年都會有人去海邊尋找，然後給同好看他們找到的積木。

But, of course, it's not so fun for the ocean. There is a lot of plastic in
the ocean… and the problem is that plastic doesn't go away.
這些積木是塑膠做的，對海洋來說有一點不妙，因為它們不會被分解。

So… make sure you don't throw any plastic into the ocean!
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Vocabulary
樂高積木掉進海中，可以漂到岸邊！

1. Hit 打
Our ship was hit by waves after waves. 我們的船被一波一波的海浪打到。
What happened then? 然後怎麼樣？
Then I fell into the sea! 然後我掉到了海裡！

2. Beach 海灘
Wow! Were you washed up onto a beach? 你被沖到了沙灘上嗎？
Like in the movies? 像在電影裡那樣？
No, I wasn't! 我沒有！
I swam to the beach. 我游到了海灘。

3. Float 漂浮
Ice floats on water. 冰塊浮在水上。
Plastic floats too. 塑膠也會漂浮。
That's right. 對的。

4. Sink 下沉
Ice and plastic don't sink. 冰塊和塑膠不會下沉。
But coins always sink in the water. 但是硬幣總是沉在水裡。
Yeah, they are heavy. 對，硬幣很重。

今天的單字簡單又常用，我們來讀一遍。
hit 打
beach 海灘
float 漂浮
sink 下沉
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Quiz

1. Why did the Legos fall into the ocean?
A: A kid threw them in
B: A wave pushed containers off a ship
C: An airplane full of Legos crashed into it

2. What do some people in the UK like to do?
A: They like to hunt for Legos on the beach
B: They like to play with Legos under the ocean
C: They like to find huge waves of Legos

3. How long can plastic stay in the ocean?
A: Not long. Maybe for one year
B: Super long. Maybe for 1000 years!
C: A little long. Maybe 25 years

Answers
1. B
2. A
3. B
 

Hair Can Clean Up Oil Spills

When you get your haircut, what do you do with the hair clippings? Your hair
clippings are the pieces of hair that you have cut off.
剪完頭髮之後，你要如何處理剪下來的頭髮？

Well, most of the time, all that chopped off hair goes into the garbage. But
leftover hair can actually be very useful!
這些被剪掉的頭髮通常進垃圾桶，但其實它很有用。

Did you know that hair can help clean up oil spills?
你知道頭髮可以清理海上的油汙嗎？

Oil spills happen when something goes wrong with big ships on the ocean.
Sometimes these ships are carrying a lot of oil, and the oil leaks out into
the water. This is an oil spill.
船隻如果在海上發生意外，就有可能會漏油。

Oil spills are very bad for animals. This is because oil makes everything
dirty, and pollutes the water and makes sand on the beach slimy and dirty.
Oil is also very, very difficult to clean up.
漏油不但傷害海洋生物，還會把沙灘弄得又黏又髒，並且很難清理乾淨。

But hair makes cleaning up oil a lot easier! Hair can be made into special
material that can soak up oil, and this makes it easier for people to get oil
out of the ocean.
頭髮可以做成可以吸附油汙的特殊材料，用來清除海面漏油很有效。

That's amazing! I didn't know the hair on my head was so useful.

Hm… my cat has a lot of hair too, and he leaves a lot of furballs everywhere.

I wonder if I can use that to help clean up the ocean too?
我家裡到處都是貓咪的毛球，也許那些毛球也可以派上用場？
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Vocabulary
頭髮可以清理油汙，沒想到吧？

1. Useful 有用的
Hair can be very useful. 頭髮可能會很有用。
Are you trying to tell me to get a haircut? 你是不是想叫我去剪頭髮？
No, of course not. 當然不是啦。

2. Oil 油
I dropped some oil on my shirt. 我襯衫上滴了一些油。
You can clean it up by using water and soap. 你可以用水跟肥皂把它清掉。

3. Difficult 困難的
It's difficult, you know. 有點難呢。
See, there's still a mark. 你看，還是有個汙點。
It'll come off after you wash it more. 你洗更多次它就沒了。

4. Beach 海灘
The weather is so nice. Let's go to the beach! 天氣真好，我們去海灘玩吧！
Sounds great. We can go to Bai-sha Bay in New Taipei.
真棒，我們可以去新北市的白沙灣。

Today's words are very useful!
useful 有用的
oil 油
difficult 困難的
beach 海灘
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Quiz

1. What is an oil spill?
A: When we spill oil on the table
B: When we use oil while cooking
C: When oil spills into the ocean

2. What does oil do to the environment?
A: It makes everything dirty
B: It cleans everything up
C: It disappears on its own

3. What is mentioned in this story to clean up oil spills?
A: Hair
B: Towels
C: Soap

Answers
1. C
2. A
3. A
 

New Glass Frog Discovered

There are lots of rainforests in South America - not only the famous Amazon
rainforest in Brazil.
除了亞馬遜叢林之外，南美洲還有很多雨林。

And scientists keep finding new animals in these rainforests!
科學家常常在雨林找到新的動物。

Usually, they don't find new big animals… usually they find amazing small
animals that live in these rainforests.

And recently, they found a new frog.
最近他們找到一種新的青蛙。

It's called a 'glass frog.'

Can you guess why? -Yep! You can see through parts of its body… just like
glass!

You can see its red heart beating!
牠叫做玻璃蛙，因為我們可以看透牠的身體，還可以看到牠的心跳！

There are many kinds of glass frogs, and this new one is tiny… but it can
jump more than 3 meters!
這種玻璃蛙很小，但是可以跳三公尺高。

And, these newly-found glass frogs do something very different.

Unlike most frogs … for these kinds of glass frogs… it's the daddy glass
frog who watches the eggs and waits for them to hatch into tadpoles, not the
mommy!
這種玻璃蛙，是由青蛙爸爸照顧蛙卵孵化成為蝌蚪，而不是媽媽。

We call a group of one kind of animals a 'species'.

So far, scientists have found more than 150 different species of glass frogs
in the South American rainforest!
"Species" 就是物種。科學家已經在南美洲雨林發現超過150種的玻璃蛙。

Nature is so cool! And it keeps giving us new surprises!
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Vocabulary

玻璃蛙的肚子半透明，可以看到牠的器官。

1) animal 動物。The glass frog is an amazing animal! 玻璃蛙是很驚人的動物。It
really is. 真的是。It's the only land animal with see-through skin.
牠是唯一有透明皮膚的陸地動物。

2) forest 森林, rainforest 雨林。Why does it live in rainforests?
為什麼牠住在雨林? I think all frogs love rain. 我想所有青蛙都喜歡下雨。And it
lives in trees. 而且牠住在樹裡面。

3) frog 青蛙。I'm afraid of frogs. 我害怕青蛙。Because of how they look?
因為牠們的長相嗎? Yeah, they are ugly. 對啊，牠們好難看。

4) jump 跳。But frogs can jump very high. 不過青蛙可以跳好高。And some people
think they're cute. 有的人覺得牠們可愛。

I guess you're right. 我想你是對的。

今天的單字很有趣喔。 Animal動物 rainforest雨林 frog青蛙 jump跳
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Quiz

1. Why is this new frog called a 'glass frog'?
A: Because it will break if you drop it
B: Because it wears glasses
C: Because you can see through parts of its body

2. Can this glass frog jump far?
A: Yes! It can jump over 3 meters!
B: Yes! It can jump from North to South America
C: No. It can only walk slowly

3. What's something special about this glass frog?
A: It's black and hides under the mud
B: The daddy frog watches the eggs - not the mommy
C: The daddy frog reads stories to the eggs every night









Answers
1. C
2. A
3. B
 

Tuna Sells for over NT$2 Million

Do you guys like fishing? Lots of people like to go fishing for fun. And they
like to eat the fish they catch. Some people earn money from fishing, too.

They sell the fish to other people. Some people can earn a lot of money from
just one big fish! 你們喜歡釣魚嗎？有一些人可以靠著釣魚賺大錢！

In Pingtung County, a fisherman made more than NT$2 million from one big
fish. Wow, that's a lot of money!
屏東有個漁夫，因為一條大魚賺了兩百多萬台幣！

What kind of fish was it? It was a bluefin tuna. It was big, and very heavy.
How heavy was it? It was 210 kilograms! (SFX: a crowd gasping in awe).
他釣到一條兩百一十公斤的黑鮪魚。

The fisherman took the fish to an auction. (SFX: a crowd at an auction).
There, people made bids. As people bid on the huge fish, the price went
higher and higher. In the end, someone bid more than NT$2 million for the
fish. 在拍賣市場，買家喊價越喊越高，最後以兩百多萬成交。

That is a record. A record means it is the first time something is done. It
is the first time a bluefin tuna has ever sold for so much money!
它的價格破了紀錄！

Who paid so much money for that fish? It was the owner of a seafood
restaurant in Pingtung County. 一位屏東的海鮮餐廳老闆買下了這條魚。

I guess his customers really like to eat bluefin tuna!

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Vocabulary
漁夫釣到今年屏東黑鮪魚季的第一尾，賺到了大錢。


1. Go fishing 去釣魚。Let's go fishing when bluefin tuna comes around.
黑鮪魚來時我們去釣魚吧。What?! You don't know a thing about fishing!
什麼啊，你對釣魚一無所知!

2. catch 抓到。Fishermen can make big money if they catch bluefin tuna.
漁夫要是抓到黑鮪魚，可以賺大錢。Right, but you're not a fisherman.
對，但是你不是漁夫。

3. earn 賺錢。We can have somebody else do it. 我們可以請別人做。Think of the
money we can earn! 想想看我們可以賺到的錢! We're already earning a lot by
selling ice cream. 我們賣冰淇淋已經賺很多了。

4. price 價錢。No, that's not enough. 不夠的。Our prices are too low.
我們的定價太低了。You sell nothing if the price is too high.
價錢太高你什麼都賣不掉。

Do you like eating fish? Let's read the words. Go fishing去釣魚 catch抓到
earn賺錢 price價錢

________________________________________
Quiz

1. How much did the fish weigh?
A: 220 kilograms
B: 210 kilograms
C: 230 kilograms

2. Who bought the big fish?
A: A fisherman
B: A salesman
C: A restaurant owner

3. What did the man probably do with the big fish?
A: Eat it all himself
B: Serve it to customers
C: Keep it as a pet

Answers
1. B
2. C
3. B