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Charity Shop Finds Mystery Card

Today is Valentine's Day! A day for love. Some people love chocolate, they
want to eat it all the time! Some people love their pets… but they don't
want to eat them!
愛有很多種，有人愛巧克力，有人愛寵物。

Some people love helping others. A great way to do that is to donate. That
means giving your stuff away for free.
還有人愛幫助別人。這些人會去捐東西。

Charity shops are where you can donate your stuff. They sell it, and use the
money to help good causes.
你可以把東西捐給慈善商店。他們會把東西賣掉，用賺來的錢幫助其他人。

In the UK, someone donated an old bag full of stuff to a charity shop. They
found a mystery Valentine's Day card!
在英國，有一個人捐了滿滿一袋東西給慈善商店，結果他們找到一個神秘的情人節卡片！

In the card was a beautiful poem, and a photo of a woman and her three
children. The end of the poem says: "From the person that loves you more than
anything else in the world". Awwww!
卡片上面有一首詩，還有一個媽媽跟三個小孩的一張照片。詩的結尾寫說：「愛你勝過一切的人敬上」。

The card was written for the woman in the photo, but no-one knows who she is!
這張卡是給照片裡面的媽媽的，但沒有人認識他。

The photo is black and white, so they know the card must be very old. It will
be hard to find the woman, or her family. But it will make her so happy to
see the card again!
因為照片是黑白的，所以一定是很久以前的，要找到人應該很難，但如果她真的收到了，一定會很開心！

The things we do for love…
________________________________

Vocabulary
一張表達深刻愛情的卡片，讓人想追尋它的故事。

1. woman 女子
There's an old woman standing there with a bag in her hand.
有一個老婦人站在那兒，手裡拿著個包包。
Hmmm, do you think she needs help? 你覺得她需要幫忙嗎？

2. donate 捐獻
I don't know. 不知道。
Maybe we can donate some food to her. 也許我們可以捐一點食物給她。
Donating food? 捐食物嗎？
What if she's not hungry? 要是她不餓怎麼辦？

3. give 給予
Then we can give her something else. 那我們就給她別的東西。
Well, you'd better ask her what she needs. 你最好問問她需要什麼。

4. sell 賣
She's just hoping to sell the bag! 她只是想把包包賣掉。
She made many different ones. 她做了很多個不同的包。
Wow, silly us! 哇，我們真傻。

你有捐獻過什麼東西嗎？
woman 女子
donate 捐獻
give 給予
sell 賣
________________________________

Quiz

1. What word means to give your stuff away for free to help people?
A: Donut
B: Donate
C: Debate

2. Where can you go to give away your old stuff?
A: Clarity stops
B: Hilarity pops
C: Charity shops

3. What color was the photo in the card?
A: Black and blue
B: Black and white
C: Blue and white

Answers
1. B
2. C
3. B
 

________________________________

Boy Hopes to Have Book Published

Oh, hey there! Let me get out of here first so I don't bother anybody.
我先離開這裡，才不會吵到人家。

Okay, now I can speak more loudly. I was just in the library reading a book.
Reading is one of my favorite things to do to pass the time. It's my favorite
hobby.
我剛剛在圖書館看書，這是我最大的嗜好。

I love reading fantasy stories and imagining the characters' adventures in my
head.
奇幻故事是我最喜歡的。

I have always wanted to write my own book, but writing is hard!
我也想自己寫書，但是寫作好難喔！

It's not so hard for a talented little boy named Jayce though. Jayce was only
three years old when he started writing. That's impressive!
不過對於 Jayce 來說，寫作不難，他三歲就開始寫了。

Now, Jayce is four years old, and he has already written two books!
現在他才四歲，已經寫了兩本書耶！

These books are being published this March. They are called "A Beach With No
Sea" and "Jayce's Sweet Tooth".

The stories are about Jayce's trips to the park, museum and zoo.
這兩本書叫做「沒有海的海灘」跟「Jayce
愛吃糖」，講的是他去公園、博物館，跟動物園的故事，三月會出版。

Those sound like fun books to read! I don't think I have ever read a book
written by a four year old boy before.
聽起來很有趣！我以前從來沒有看過四歲小孩寫的書。

And, great news: today is World Book Day! So grab a book and start reading!
Or maybe you could write one yourself!
________________________________

Vocabulary
四歲小孩已經是兩本書的作者，夠厲害了！

1. adventure 探險
I want to write a book for children. 我要寫一本童書。
Really? What's it about? 真的喔，講什麼呢？
About a crocodile going on an adventure in Paris. 講一隻鱷魚在巴黎探險。

2. fun 好玩的
Hmmm, that sounds like a lot of fun! 聽起來很好玩！
It is. It's a fun book. 是很好玩。是一本好玩的書。
But I feel I've read it before. 可是我覺得我以前看過。

3. start 開始
Impossible. 不可能。
I haven't started writing it. 我還沒開始寫呢。
Perhaps someone else has? 也許別人寫過了？

4. story 故事
Anyway, the story was called "Mr. Crocodile in Paris."
不管怎樣，那個故事叫做「鱷魚先生遊巴黎」。
Wow, that should be my story. 哇，那應該是我的故事。
It's already written. 已經寫出來了。

請注意，要讀單字了。
adventure 探險
fun 好玩的
start 開始
story 故事
________________________________

Quiz

1. How old is the boy in this story?
A. Three
B. Four
C. Five

2. What does he like to do?
A. Write
B. Sing
C. Run

3. How many books has he written?
A. Two
B. Three
C. None

Answers
1. B
2. A
3. A
 

________________________________

Government Pays Families to Leave Tokyo

Do you live in a big city? If you do, you know it is crowded.
你住在大城市嗎？如果是，你應該知道它很擁擠。

More families are moving, and leaving the country for the city all the time.
They come from the countryside and from small towns.
越來越多家庭移動前往城市， 他們來自鄉下跟小鎮。

These families are looking for good jobs and good schools. They hope to find
these opportunities in big cities.
這些家庭希望有更多機會找到好工作跟好學校。

What's the biggest city in the world? It's Tokyo, Japan.
世界上最大的城市在哪裡？在日本東京。

Tokyo, in Japan, has almost 40 million people.
東京擁有近 4000 萬人口。

This is a problem for Japan. Nobody wants to live in the countryside. But
Tokyo is too crowded.
沒有人想留在鄉下，但是東京太擁擠了，這已經成為日本的難題。

Now the Japanese government is paying families to leave Tokyo. Each family
will be given one million yen for every child when they move to the
countryside.
現在日本政府要付錢讓更多家庭離開東京。他們會給每個家庭每個孩子一百萬日元讓他們搬走，相當於22萬台幣。

Families take that money and move to the countryside. The money is nice, but
families understand the countryside has good things too.
領到錢的家庭會搬到鄉下，當然除了金錢之外，他們也明白鄉村地區的優點。

There is more space to live. Plus, children can be closer to their families
who never left the countryside.
不但有更多的居住空間，孩子們也可以更親近還住在老家的家人。

Now, more and more families take the money and leave Tokyo. Would you?
________________________________

Vocabulary
日本政府為了紓解大都市的人口壓力，付錢讓人搬回鄉下。

1. leave for 前往
I'm leaving for Japan next week. 我下星期去日本。
Where in Japan? 日本哪裡？
Gifu, a little place in the countryside. 岐阜，在鄉下的一個小地方。

2. crowded 擁擠的
Taipei is too crowded for you? 台北對你來說太擠了？
Yes, I need space and Gifu has some cute small towns.
對，我需要空間，岐阜有一些可愛的小鎮。

3. town 鎮
We have many cute small towns here. 這裡也有可愛小鎮啊。
There's no such thing here. 這裡沒有那種東西。
Yes, there is! 有啊！

4. understand 了解
I understand you're trying to keep me here. 我明白你想讓我留在這裡。
But I won't stay. Not for a million NT. 但是就算給我一百萬我也不會留在這裡。

來一起讀單字。
leave for 前往
crowded 擁擠的
town 鎮
understand 了解
________________________________

Quiz

1. Where is the biggest city in the world?
A: Russia
B: America
C: Japan

2. How many people live in Tokyo?
A: 40 thousand
B: 40 million
C: 40 billion

3. Where is there more space to live?
A: The city
B: The countryside
C: The schools

Answers
1. C
2. B
3. B
 

________________________________

70,000 Books Found in Hidden Library

Today is World Storytelling Day. It's a great day to get out your favorite
book and read a story. Where do you keep your favorite books? Most people
keep them on a bookshelf at home.
今天是世界說故事日，趕快拿一本最愛的書來讀吧。你最愛的書放在哪裡呢？大部分人放在家裡的書架上。

There's a man in Germany who collected 70,000 books! Where would you keep
that many books? No bookshelf is that big!
有一個德國人擁有七萬本書！這麼多書要放哪裡？

Bruno was an engineer who lived in a small village. He was a quiet guy who
loved one thing. He loved collecting books. Every day, Bruno would buy a few
more.
Bruno 是工程師，喜歡收藏書本，每天都會買幾本新書。

Soon there were too many books. They were everywhere, filling up his whole
house! His wife told him to do something.
家裡很快就推滿了書，他的太太叫他想想辦法。

So Bruno used his engineering skills. He built bookshelves everywhere in his
home. From down in the basement to up in the attic, every room had books.
於是 Bruno 用他的工程師專業，把家裡從地下室到閣樓都做了書架。

Now there are books on the walls and books on the doors, books by the windows
and books on the floor. Bruno even made special shelves. Why? There are books
on the ceiling too! His home is like a library!
牆上，門上，窗戶邊，地上都有書，Bruno
甚至在天花板上製作了特別的書架來放書！他的家就像一個圖書館。

Sadly, Bruno has now died. Where should his books go? His wife doesn't want
them. He had no kids. Nobody knows what to do with them.
可惜Bruno 已經過世了。
他的書要怎麼辦？妻子不想要，他也沒有孩子。沒有人知道怎麼辦。

Do you know anyone who wants 70,000 books?
________________________________

Vocabulary
Bruno家裡書本堆積如山，造成很大的問題。

1. library 圖書館
Where are you going? 你要去哪兒？
I'm gonna get a book. 我要去弄一本書。
From a library? 從圖書館嗎？
No, library books are used. 不是，圖書館的書都用過了。

2. bookshelf 書架
What's wrong with that? 那有什麼不對？
Nothing, but I like the smell of new books. 沒有不對，不過我喜歡新書的香味。
Your bookshelves are all filled up. 你的書架都滿了。

3. room 房間
I know. I'll get a new shelf tonight. 我知道，我今晚會買個新的。
You'll put it in your room, right? 放在你房間，對吧？

4. wall 牆壁
No, by the wall over there. 不，靠著那邊牆壁。
Then I can buy another 50 new books. 然後我就可以再買50本新書。
You can't read so many! 你看不了那麼多！

你喜歡看書嗎？來一起讀單字。
library 圖書館
bookshelf 書架
room 房間
wall 牆壁
________________________________

Quiz

1. What day is today?
A: World Engineering Day
B: St. Patrick's Day
C: World Storytelling Day

2. Where did Bruno live?
A: Germany
B: Japan
C: Jamaica

3. Where did Bruno keep his books?
A: His office
B: His home
C: His school

Answers
1. C
2. A
3. B
 

________________________________

First Grammy Award for Poetry

Today is World Poetry Day! It's a great day to read your favorite poetry.
今天是世界詩歌日！

What is poetry? It's a special way of speaking. It is like a song, but you
don't need to sing it. You can just say it. That's why poetry is kind of like
music.
詩歌是一種特別的說話方式。它像一首歌，但你不用唱，只要念就好了。

In the USA, there's a big award for music. It's called a Grammy. Every year,
the people who make the best music get a Grammy.
美國有一個音樂大獎，叫做葛萊美獎。每一年，創作最佳音樂的人都會獲得一座葛萊美獎。

So, can poetry get a Grammy Award? For a long time, it could not. Many people
said poetry was not music.
詩歌可以得葛萊美獎嗎？以前不行，因為很多人說詩歌不算是音樂。

But this year, it's different. Now there is a Grammy Award for poetry. The
winner was a poet named J. Ivy.
但是今年不一樣了，葛萊美頒發了詩歌獎，今年的贏家名叫 J. Ivy。

J. Ivy felt proud when he won the award. He thanked his high school English
teacher, and then he told a story.
J. Ivy 覺得很自豪。 他謝謝他的高中英語老師，還說了一個故事。

When J. Ivy was in high school, he was shy. Still, the teacher saw he was
talented. She told him to write a poem and read it to his class.
J. Ivy
高中的時候很害羞，但是老師仍然看出他的才華，請他寫一首詩，朗讀給全班聽。

At first, he was nervous. But when he read his poem, everyone loved it. That
was years ago. Now, his poetry has won a Grammy!
他原本很緊張，但大家都很喜歡他的詩。現在他的作品獲得了葛萊美獎。

J. Ivy has shown everyone that poetry is music.
________________________________

Vocabulary
葛萊美獎是音樂獎，卻增加了給詩人的獎項。

1. poem 詩歌
What a beautiful day today! 今天真是美好！
I must write a poem for it. 我一定得來寫一首詩。
Great, let's hear it. 太棒了，我們來聽聽。

2. proud 驕傲的
"A shining sunrise and a new day, good morning for today."
燦爛的日出，嶄新的一天，大家早安。
That sounds almost like music! 聽起來幾乎像音樂！
I know, right? I'm so proud of myself. 我知道，我很自豪呢。

3. win 贏得
Have you written poetry before? 你以前有寫過詩嗎？
In fact I have. I've even won prizes for it. 確實寫過。我甚至贏過獎品！

4. ago 以前
But that was many years ago. 不過那是很多年前了。
It's never too late to begin again. 重新開始從不嫌晚。

來跟我一起讀讀單字吧！
poem 詩歌
proud 驕傲的
win 贏得
ago 以前
________________________________

Quiz

1. What day is today?
A: World Pirate Day
B: World Poetry Day
C: World Pancake Day

2. What award did J. Ivy win?
A: A Grammy
B: A Tony
C: An Emmy

3. Who did J. Ivy thank?
A: His brother
B: His son
C: His teacher

Answers
1. B
2. A
3. C