________________________________

Hello everyone! Time to feast on another episode of News Bites!

I'm Paz Bueno…

And I'm Nancy Sun.

In today's news:

More women in local councils, Chinese pandas are going home, and a
once-in-a-lifetime comet in the sky!

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

台灣在地方議會中有更多女性代表
Taiwan Sees More Female Representation in Local Councils

Do you know who makes the decisions that affect your community (社區)?

In Taiwan, each city and county (縣) has a local government (政府) and
council (議會).

Local governments and councils are responsible for many policies (政策) and
services we use every day.

Like education, public safety...

Health and social services, parks…

Public transportation and… traffic!

It's important to have a government that represents (代表) all the people who
live in a community.

Children, adults, elderly, men, women... all of them have different needs.

In Taiwan, female representation in local councils is increasing!

In November last year, Taiwan held the 9-in-1 local elections to fill many
seats in local councils (補地方議會的許多席位).

Out of 3,048 local public representatives (代表人) elected, 901 were women.

Taipei City reports the highest female representation, with almost 50 percent
of elected officials being women!
台北市的女性代表比例最高，幾乎 50% 的民選官員是女性！

Other counties and cities with the highest female representation over
30-percent are Hsinchu City, Tainan, New Taipei City, and Keelung.

Having more women in leadership positions promotes gender equality.
讓更多女性擔任領導職務可以促進性別平等。

They can make decisions that help address the needs of everyone.

A more diverse and inclusive government (多元化和包容性的政府) can help every
citizen.
________________________________

愛丁堡動物園將大熊貓送回中國
Edinburgh Zoo to Return Pandas to China

Pandas are one of the cutest animals in the world.

They are a vulnerable species endemic to China.
它們是中國特有的易危物種。

They are also China's national treasure (國家寶藏).

All living pandas belong (屬於) to the Chinese government.

No one else can own one (擁有一個).

China lets some governments borrow pandas as a mark of respect between their
countries.
中國允許一些政府借用大熊貓，以示兩國之間互相尊重。

Having a panda can boost the status (提高地位) of a zoo.

Each zoo has to pass a test to be allowed to keep one, and it can cost a lot
of money.

Since 2011, pandas Yang Guang and Tian Tian have lived in Edinburgh Zoo in
Scotland.

They are the only pandas living in the U.K.

And, well, they won't be living there after this year.

That's because Edinburgh Zoo is returning Yang Guang and Tian Tian in October.

The zoo says caring for the pandas is too expensive (昂貴的).

It costs around ?750,000 pounds (英鎊) a year… or more than $27,800,000 NT!

Another reason the zoo plans to return the black-and-white bears is because
they could not mate (交配).

The zookeepers hoped the pandas would mate and have babies.

But they gave up after trying for ten years.
________________________________

一生只有一次，綠光彗星將出現在天空中
Green Comet to Make a Once-in-a-Lifetime Appearance in the Sky

For the first time since the Stone Age (石器時代), a green comet will be
visible (看得見) in the sky in 2023.

The comet is officially called C/2022 E3 (ZTF).

But, we'll just call it "the green comet".

It was discovered by astronomers (天文學家) in March last year.

It was about 640 million kilometers away from the Sun, inside of Jupiter's
orbit (木星的軌道).

NASA believes it came from the edge of the Solar System, in a place called
the Oort Cloud.
美國太空總署認為它來自太陽系的邊緣，一個叫做奧爾特雲的地方。

They have been watching it travel closer and closer to the Inner Solar System
(內太陽系).

The green comet will be closest to the sun tomorrow (1/12).

That's around 160 million kilometers from the Sun.

The closest the comet has come since the last Ice Age (冰河世紀)!

Astronomers say it might be visible to the naked eye at night, appearing like
a green blob (斑點) in the sky.

And it will be observable with binoculars or telescopes.
它可以用雙筒望遠鏡或望遠鏡觀察到。

They say it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (一生一次的機會) to see
the green comet.

NASA says the comet will approach (接近) the Sun around January 12th this
year.

And it will be the closest to the Earth on February 2nd.

The next time to see it will be in at least 50,000 years.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

In November last year, Taiwan held the 9-in-1 local elections to fill many
seats in local councils.

Out of 3,048 local public representatives elected, 901 were women.

Having more women in leadership positions promotes gender equality.
________________________________

China lets some governments borrow pandas as a mark of respect between their
countries.

Since 2011, Chinese pandas Yang Guang and Tian Tian have lived in Edinburgh
Zoo in Scotland.

But the zoo says caring for the pandas is too expensive.

So, they plan to return the pandas to China this year.
________________________________

And,

For the first time since the Stone Age, a green comet called C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
will be visible to us.

It will be closest to the Sun tomorrow, and to Earth on February 2nd.

Astronomers say it might be visible to the naked eye at night, appearing like
a green blob in the sky.
________________________________

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!
 

________________________________

Hello everyone! You're listening to another episode of News Bites.

I'm Paz Bueno…

And I'm Trevor Tortomasi.

In today's news:

Even more women in Taiwan's government, Mexico's solar power plans, and the
oldest dog ever!

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

台灣女性參政率創歷史新高
Female Participation in Taiwan's Politics at an All-Time High

Doctor… lawyer… president…

These are all jobs that for some people (對某些人來說), are typically held by
men (這些通常是男人擔任的工作).

That last one, especially.
尤其是最後那一個。

Taiwan made history (創歷) when people elected the first female president in
2016.
2016年，台灣人民選出第一位女總統。

And another gender equality milestone (性別平等里程碑) has been reached!

After last year's November 26th 9-in-1 local elections, the number of women
working in the government reached a historic high of 56-percent!
去年在政府機關工作的女性人數達到了 56% 的歷史新高！

This means that more women are in high-ranking positions (高階職位) in
Taiwan's government.

Not only that (不僅如此), women now account for more than one-third
(佔三分之一以上) of the seats on city and county councils.

The percentage (比例) of female judges and members of Taiwan's Control Yuan
(女法官及女監察委員) has passed 40-percent.

And the number of women lawmakers also reached an all-time high
(創下歷史新高) in January last year!

There's still room for improvement, though.
不過，仍有改進的餘地。

Women make up only 16-percent of the new Cabinet.
女性僅佔新內閣的 16%。

And there's still a gap between the income (男女的收入仍然有差距) of men and
women workers.
Having more women in leadership positions promotes gender equality.
讓更多女性擔任領導職務可以促進性別平等。

They can make decisions that help address (滿足) the needs of everyone.

A more diverse and inclusive government (多元化和更有包容性的政府) can help
every citizen.

And Taiwan is making progress.
________________________________

墨西哥將啟動 大型太陽能發電第一階段
Mexico to Power Up First Phase of Huge Solar Project in April!

Energy has been a hot button topic lately (最近的熱門話題).

Because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, global energy costs have gone up.
由於俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭，全球能源成本上升。

Many countries around the world are thinking of solutions.

And Mexico has a plan that kicks off (開始) in April.

Mexico is going to start using more renewable energy (再生能源), specifically
solar energy (特別是太陽能).

Solar energy is energy that comes from the sun.

The sun gives off (散發) light and heat, and we can use that energy to power
(提供動力) things like our homes, schools, and even cars.

Solar panels (太陽能板) collect that energy, and then convert (轉化) the
energy into electricity we can use.

Mexico's state-owned electric company (電力公司) is building a huge solar
project.

It will be able to make enough energy to power 500,000 homes.

Rows (一排排) of solar panels will cover 5,000 acres of land.

In April, the first 120 megawatts (120 百萬瓦電力) of the project will be
operational (可以使用).

A top Mexican official says his country is trying to change its focus and
move towards renewable energy faster.
________________________________

迎接有史以來最長壽的狗
Meet the New Guinness World Record for Oldest Dog Ever

A dog in Portugal is now officially (現在正式成為) the world's oldest dog.

His name is Bobi, and he's 30 years old.

30 years old!

That's a long time!

Dogs normally have a lifespan (壽命) of 10 to 13 years.

The previous record holder (之前的紀錄) was a dog from Australia named Bluey.

Bluey passed away when he was 29 years and five months old.

Bobi is a special kind of dog called Rafeiro do Alentejo (葡萄牙獒犬).

Bobi lives with his family, who take care of him well.

He eats the same food his family eats.
他吃的食物和他主人家吃的一樣。

Even though Bobi has some trouble walking and seeing
(行走和視力方面有些困難), he is doing well for his age.

Guinness World Records says Bobi is now the oldest dog alive and the oldest
dog ever.
金氏世界紀錄說波比現在是世界上最老的狗，也是有史以來最老的狗。
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

The number of women working in Taiwan's government reached a historic high of
56-percent!

A more diverse and inclusive government can help every citizen.

And Taiwan is making progress.
________________________________

Mexico is going to start using more renewable energy starting from April.

The state-owned electric company is building a huge solar energy project.

It will be able to make enough energy to power 500,000 homes.
________________________________

And, a dog in Portugal is now officially the world's oldest dog.

Bobi is a special kind of dog called Rafeiro do Alentejo, and he's 30 years
old.

Guinness World Records says Bobi is now the oldest dog alive and the oldest
dog ever.
________________________________

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 using money.

Money can't buy everything… but it can buy some things! You can use money to
buy something for yourself, you can use it to help other people, or you can
do both.

So, if you had a lot of money, what would you do with it?

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, March 2nd, at noon, and you might hear
your message on our show on Friday, March 3rd!
 

________________________________

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

I'm Nancy Sun...

And I'm Hope Ngo.

So, in today's stories...

Happiness in Taiwan, seaweed in the ocean, and a giant spider in danger.

All that and more, coming up next.
________________________________

【世界快樂報告】出爐！台灣排亞洲第4
Taiwan Ranked 4th Happiest in Asia

How are you today?

Are you feeling happy?

A United Nations report says Taiwan is the 27th happiest place in the world.

And it is the 4th happiest in Asia.

聯合國發表2023年的"世界快樂報告"，台灣名列世界第27名，在亞洲排名第4。

The report looked at over 150 countries and territories around the world.

It looked at six different factors (因素), like freedom and health, to see
how happy people are.
報告用六個指標來為各國排名，包括預期健康壽命、自由指數、和人民慷慨。

In Asia, Israel was the happiest.

The second happiest was Singapore, and the third was the United Arab Emirates.

Finland was listed as the happiest country in the world.

Finland has been the happiest country in the report for six years now.

The second happiest is Denmark, and the third is Iceland.

The report says these countries all have high scores for happiness and
equality (平等).

More people in these countries live long healthy lives.

They take care of each other.

And people in these countries have freedom to make big decisions in their
life.

And the most unhappy country is Afghanistan.

It's been the last on the list since 2020.

The country has been dealing with war for more than 20 years.
________________________________

馬尾藻大軍襲美國
Giant Seaweed Blob Nears U.S.

A dangerous giant blob (一團的物體) is moving closer to the U.S.

Is this a sci-fi movie?

No, it's a blob of seaweed!

The seaweed is called Sargassum.

Every year, sargassum grows in the ocean, and floats around in the water.

They are a natural part of the ocean.

And they are a home for many sea animals, from shrimp, to eels, and sea
turtles.

But starting in 2011, scientists noticed a lot more sargassum in the sea.

The brown seaweed covered beaches.

And the rotting (腐爛) sargassum gave off a bad smell, like rotting eggs.

All that seaweed also sucks all the oxygen out of the water.

This can kill fish and other sea animals.

海藻太過濃密，會吸取海水裡的氧氣，導致珊瑚跟海草死亡，腐化後還會釋放有毒的氣，造成魚類暴斃，危害人體。

Scientists are still trying to understand why so much sargassum grows now.

But they think climate change could be one of the reasons (原因).

Now, a giant blob of sargassum is moving towards the U.S. state of Florida.

How big is this seaweed blob?

It's over 8,000 kilometers wide!

The blob is big enough to go across the United States, TWICE!

這一團海藻遍布範圍達8000公里，相當於美國國土寬度的兩倍。

Scientists think the seaweed will show up on beaches in Florida in July.

They are not sure if the seaweed blob will be this big every year.

They say more research is needed.
________________________________

澳洲發現巨大蜘蛛物種
Rare Giant Spider Found in Australia

A new type of giant spider has been found in Australia.

The Euoplos dignitas was found living in Queensland.

The body of these spiders can get up to 5 centimeters long.

That's not including its legs.

They are a reddish brown color.

They live in forests, in open spaces.

And they build burrows (洞穴) in the soil.

But scientists say these spiders need to be protected (受到保護).

They say the Euoplos dignitas has lost much of its home.

Much of the forests they live in has been cleared by humans.

Scientists say the Euoplos dignitas is probably an endangered species.

科學家說這個新發現的蜘蛛物種已經大量失去了棲息地，很有可能是瀕危物種。
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

A United Nations report says Taiwan is the 27th happiest place in the world.

And it is the 4th happiest in Asia.

The report looked at over 150 countries and territories around the world.
________________________________

A giant blob of sargassum is moving towards the U.S. state of Florida.

This seaweed blob is over 8,000 kilometers wide!

Scientists think the seaweed will show up on beaches in Florida in July.
________________________________

And,

A new type of giant spider has been found in Queensland, Australia.

The body of these spiders can get up to 5 centimeters long.

Scientists say these spiders need to be protected.
________________________________

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 weekend.

Are you ready for your long weekend? Tomb Sweeping Day and Children's Day are
coming up. Tell us what your plans are for this 5-day-long weekend.

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!
 

________________________________

Hello everyone! You're listening to an all-new episode of News Bites!

I'm Paz Bueno…

And I'm Nancy Sun.

In today's news:

Training female reservists, a map of the ocean floor, and a star eats a
planet.

Stay tuned for more on those stories, coming up next.
________________________________

台灣女性後備軍人 開始教育召集
Taiwan's Female Reservists Begin Training

Reservists are people who have military training (軍事訓練) but are not
full-time soldiers (全職士兵).

They can be called to help the military (軍方) when needed.

And here in Taiwan, they've started training the first group of female
reservists!

Before, only men had to take part in this training.

But now, women can volunteer (自願參加).

The women will train in a special place in Taoyuan.

They'll do the same training as men.

The government didn't say exactly how many women are in this first group.

But this year, they plan to train 220 female reservists in total.

As of 2021 (截至2021年), there were 8,915 women listed as reservists in
Taiwan.

And 15% of Taiwan's 180,000 active military people (現役軍人) are women.

The training will take place in "strategic locations" (戰略地點).

That means the reservists will learn about the land and important buildings
in the area they might have to protect.

This change will help the military be faster and better at protecting Taiwan
during emergencies (緊急情況).
________________________________

四分之一的海底地形 製成地圖
A Quarter of the Ocean Floor Now Mapped

Did you know that only a small part of the ocean floor has been mapped
(畫成地圖)?

But now, almost a quarter of the seabed (海床) has been mapped, thanks to a
project called Seabed 2030.

Prince Albert II of Monaco (摩納哥的阿爾伯特二世親王) announced this big
achievement (成就).

The project wants to map the whole ocean floor (整個海底地形) by the year
2030.

Mapping the ocean floor is important because it helps us make decisions about
taking care of the ocean, managing resources, and protecting the environment.
製作海底地形圖很重要，因為它可以幫助我們照顧海洋、管理資源，保護環境。

In just six years, scientists have collected data of about 90 million square
kilometers of the ocean floor.
在短短六年裡，科學家已經收集了九千萬平方公里的海底地形資料。

They've even discovered over 19,000 underwater volcanoes (海底火山)!

But there's still a lot of work to do.

Mapping the whole ocean floor is challenging because it's so big, deep, and
expensive.

Seabed 2030 works with other organizations to train and support people who
study the ocean.

They want to create a diverse and inclusive (多元包容) community of ocean
mappers (海洋繪圖師).

This project shows how people can work together to achieve big goals for the
benefit of everyone.

________________________________

被恆星吃掉的行星
A Planet Swallowed by a Star

Have you ever wondered what happens to planets when their stars run out of
energy (能量耗盡)?

Scientists have just seen a planet being swallowed (吞下去) by its star for
the first time!

This might happen to Earth one day, but don't worry - that's about five
billion years away (50億年之後).

When a star runs out of energy, it turns into a red giant (紅巨星).

This means it gets really big and eats anything in its path, including
planets!

Scientists had never seen a planet being swallowed while it was happening.

Dr. Kishalay De from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology accidentally
discovered this event.
麻省理工學院的Kishalay De博士無意間發現了這個事件。

He was looking at data from a sky survey (天空測量) when he noticed a star
that had become 100 times brighter (比以前明亮一百倍) in just 10 days.

This star is in our Milky Way galaxy (銀河系), about 12,000 light years
(光年) away from Earth.

The researchers found out that the planet being swallowed was a gas giant,
like Jupiter.
研究人員發現，被吃掉的行星是一顆類似木星的巨大氣體行星。

The star ate the planet over 100 days, and there was a bright explosion
(爆炸) in the last 10 days when the planet was completely destroyed.

Dr. Morgan MacLeod from Harvard University said that most planets found
outside our Solar System will eventually have the same fate.
在我們的太陽系以外發現的行星，大部分都會遭遇同樣的命運。

But when Earth's time comes, it won't be a big explosion.

That's because Earth is a rocky planet (岩石行星) and much smaller than a gas
giant.

Scientists hope to see more planets being swallowed by their stars in the
future.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

Taiwan has started training the first group of female reservists.

This year, they plan to train 220 female reservists in total.

They can be called to help the military when needed.
________________________________

And,

Almost a quarter of the seabed has been mapped, thanks to a project called
Seabed 2030.

The project wants to map the whole ocean floor by the year 2030.

This work is important because it helps us take care of the ocean, manage
resources, and protect the environment.
________________________________

And,

Scientists have just seen a planet being swallowed by its star for the first
time!

This star is in our Milky Way galaxy, about 12,000 light years away from
Earth.

The star ate the planet over 100 days, and there was a bright explosion when
the planet was completely destroyed.
________________________________

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 something wonderful.

Lots of things happen in our daily lives. Sometimes, especially if you're
having a hard time, it can be nice to remember something that made you feel
happy. What is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to you?

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!

 

________________________________

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

I'm Paz Bueno…

And I'm Brody Halverson.

In today's news:

Equal rights for parenting, a pasta mystery, and baaa-rave firefighters.

Stay tuned for more on these stories, coming up next.
________________________________

台灣同志伴侶可以共同領養子女
Same-Sex Couples Can Jointly Adopt

Taiwan is Asia's leading country for LGBT rights (權益).

LGBT stands for people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender.
LGBT代表女同志、男同志、雙性戀者，以及跨性別者。

These are people who may love someone of the same gender (性別) or feel they
are a different gender from the one they were born as.

In 2019, Taiwan became the first place in Asia to allow same-sex (同性)
couples to get married.

There are laws to protect people from being treated badly because of who they
love or how they feel about their gender.

There's even a special day when people march in the streets to celebrate love
and diversity (多元文化), called the Pride Parade (同志遊行).

On May 16th, the Legislative Yuan (立法院) changed a rule to help same-sex
couples.

Before, these couples could only adopt their spouse's child if it was their
biological child.
過去，這些伴侶只能領養配偶的親生子女。

But now, these couples can also adopt a child together.

Everyone is saying it's a fair thing to do because it's important that all
kinds of families can take care of children.

People who care about the rights of children and LGBT people are really happy
about this change.

Love is love, no matter who you are.
________________________________

森林中的義大利麵
Mysterious Pasta in the Woods

Picture this (想像一下): You're walking in the woods, and guess what you
find?

Piles and piles of pasta!
一堆又一堆的義大利麵！

This happened near a river in the US city of Old Bridge last month.

No one knew how the pasta got there.

And when the city cleaned it up, they found there were 500 pounds of noodles
(500磅的麵條)!

Pictures of the pasta were posted on Facebook, and many people found it
funny.

A netizen (網友) joked that cleaning it up was "Mission Im-pasta-ble"
(不可能的任務).
這個字把 "impossible"（不可能）與 "pasta"（義大利麵）結合在一起。

And another joked, "Lead suspect (主要嫌疑人) is a guy named Al Dente."
"Al Dente"是一個義大利詞語，用來形容煮得恰到好處、口感稍硬的義大利麵。

It turns out the suspect was not a guy named Al Dente, but a man who wanted
to clean out his pantry (食物儲藏室).

Neighbors say the city doesn't have bulk garbage pickup (大型垃圾收集服務),
which is a big problem.

The man didn't know how else to throw away all the pasta he had.

The incident brought a lot of attention (吸引很多注意) to the town's garbage
problem.

The residents hope city authorities can provide better trash pickup services
after this.
________________________________

智利的山羊如何保護森林
How Goats are Saving Forests in Chile

Forest fires are becoming more and more common as we deal with the climate
crisis.
隨著氣候變遷危機，森林火災變得越來越常見。

They hurt the trees and plants, animals that live in the woods lose their
homes, and the smoke harms our earth.

It's important to know how we can prevent (防止) forest fires.

In a city in Chile named Santa Juana, there's a team of helpers that help
protect the forest from dangerous fires.

And they're goats (山羊)!

These goats have already helped to save a forest park called Bosques de
Chacay from a big fire that happened in February.

But thanks to the goats, the park was safe!
The goats eat the dry plants that can catch fire easily during the hot
summer.
山羊會吃掉在炎熱的夏天容易著火的乾燥植物。

They also help the soil stay healthy with their poop.
他們的糞便也有助於土壤保持健康。

A forestry engineer (林業工程師) says, "These animals can help us a lot."

He thinks more people should use goats to eat the dry plants that can catch
fire.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

On May 16th, the Legislative Yuan changed a rule to help same-sex couples.

Before, these couples could only adopt their spouse's child if it was their
biological child.

But now, these couples can also adopt a child together.
________________________________

And,

A man discovered mysterious piles of pasta near a river in the US city of Old
Bridge last month.

It turns out the suspect was a man who wanted to clean out his pantry.

Neighbors say the city doesn't have bulk garbage pickup, which is a big
problem.
________________________________

And,

In a city in Chile named Santa Juana, there's a team of goats that help
protect the forest from dangerous fires.

The goats eat the dry plants that can catch fire easily during the hot
summer.

These goats have already helped to save a forest park from a big fire that
happened in February.
________________________________

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 being angry.

We all go through hard times. Or something not very nice happens, and we feel
angry! That's very normal, and totally okay! So when you are angry, how do
you deal with those feelings?

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!