________________________________

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!
 

________________________________

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

I'm Nancy Sun…

And I'm Hope Ngo.

In today's news:

Delve into prehistory, take on nonstop cooking, and Taiwan's top music awards.

All that and more, coming up next.
________________________________

台灣史前博物館重新開館
Taiwan Prehistory Museum Reopens

You can learn a lot about history in a museum.

But what's in a museum about "prehistory"?

Prehistory is the time before humans started to write things down.

Humans used simple tools (工具).

But they did not have the complex (複雜的) writing systems that we have now.

So how do we know what was Taiwan like during that time?

The National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung has reopened.

It shows visitors Taiwan's prehistory, natural history, and the culture of
Taiwan's indigenous peoples.

The museum was closed for almost three years for renovation (整修).

And it reopened just in time for International Museum Day.
國立台灣史前文化博物館閉館近3年進行整修，日前改造完成重新開幕。

The museum's director says the museum shows Taiwan's history from the
Paleolithic Period (舊石器時代) to the 21st century.

The director says there are stone tools that are around 30,000 years old.

And there are new things, like a Golden Melody Award trophy lent (借) by Amis
singer Suming Lupi.

The director says she hopes visitors can see the amazing contributions of
Taiwan's Indigenous peoples.

And the museum also shows Taiwan's links to the world.

The director says archeologists have found things that show Austronesian
settlers coming to Taiwan as early as 30,000 years ago.
________________________________

奈及利亞女廚師破世界紀錄
Nigerian Chef Breaks World Record for Nonstop Cooking

How would you show the world you are strong and hardworking?

How about by breaking a world record?

A Nigerian chef has set a new global record for nonstop cooking.

She has cooked for more than 100 hours!

The last record for nonstop cooking was 87 hours and 45 minutes.

That record was set by Indian chef Lata Tondon in 2019.

Hilda Baci started cooking on Thursday, May 11th in Lagos, Nigeria.

And she passed 100 hours on May 15th.

She took a five-minute break every hour.

Or she took a one-hour break every 12 hours.

During that one hour of rest, she would take a shower, get checked by a
doctor, and rest.
奈及利亞女廚師 Hilda Baci 挑戰連續烹飪的世界紀錄，製作出超過100道的佳餚。

Thousands of people have gathered to watch Hilda cook.

She has made dozens of Nigerian dishes, including rice and stew.

Many people are also watching online.

Why is she doing this?

Hilda says she wants to show how hardworking and determined (有決心) young
Nigerians are.

She also wants to help show how strong young African women are.

Hilda says they often have to go "an extra mile to be taken seriously".

And she is helping the world learn more about Nigerian cuisine.
________________________________

第34屆金曲獎
Golden Melody Awards Ceremony Coming Soon

The 34th Golden Melody Awards will take place next month.

The award ceremony will happen on July 1st, at the Taipei Arena.
第34屆金曲獎頒獎典禮將於7月1日於台北小巨蛋舉辦。

The nominees (被提名者) for this year's music awards was recently announced.

There are six nominees for "Best Male Vocalist", including MC Hot Dog, and Wu
Qing-feng.

And there are six nominees for "Best Female Vocalist", including A-Lin and
Penny Dai.

The ceremony will be hosted by singer and songwriter WeiBird.

Officials say the jury (評審團) got more than 24,000 submissions (入圍申請)
this year.

That's the highest in the history of the awards.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites...

The National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung has reopened, after being closed
for renovations.

It shows visitors Taiwan's prehistory, natural history, and the culture of
Taiwan's indigenous peoples.

And it reopened just in time for International Museum Day.
________________________________

A Nigerian chef has set a new global record for nonstop cooking.

Hilda Baci started cooking on Thursday, May 11th in Lagos, Nigeria, and she
passed 100 hours on May 15th.

Hilda says she wants to show how hardworking and determined young Nigerians
are.
________________________________

And,

The 34th Golden Melody Awards will take place on July 1st, at the Taipei
Arena.

The ceremony will be hosted by singer and songwriter WeiBird.

Officials say the jury got more than 24,000 submissions this year.
________________________________

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 field trips.

Field trips can be a lot of fun. It's exciting to get out of the classroom
with your classmates, and see something new. And you can learn a lot and get
experience things you read about.

So, what would be your dream field trip?

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 another episode of News Bites!

I'm Nancy Sun…

And I'm Hope Ngo.

In today's news:

Really high traffic lights, lonely young people, and invisible solar panels.

All that and more, coming up next.

________________________________

海拔3275公尺的紅綠燈

Traffic Lights at 3,275 Meters

Hehuanshan has beautiful scenery throughout the year.

People rush up to see snow in winter and flowers in spring.

Hikers and climbers are eager to explore the famous mountain.

In Sept. 2020, Hehuanshan was officially certified (認證) by the International Dark-Sky Association (國際暗空協會) as the first International Dark-Sky Park in Taiwan.

It's a great place for stargazers (天文迷) to see the night sky.

Now, put all these things together...

And you have thousands of visiting tourists.

But the roads on the mountain are narrow (狹窄).

Making them wider would be bad for the environment.

And this all leads to lots of traffic jams (塞車).

With so many people visiting the mountain, safety is very important.

Traffic lights were installed in Wuling (武嶺) to control traffic during holidays and weekends.

There are two sets of lights.

They are just red and green lights.

And they are 400 meters apart.

They will not be in use 24 hours a day.

And police officers will control the lights.

Officials hope that the traffic lights will help everyone stay safe.

合歡山武嶺隘口兩端設置交通號誌，警方希望這樣可以有效疏緩車流。

________________________________

南韓鼓勵【孤獨年輕人】重返社會

South Korea Pays 'Lonely Young People' to Get Back into Society

Can you imagine living a reclusive (隱居) life?

South Korea's Ministry of Gender Equality and Family says there are around 338,000 South Koreans like this.

They are around 19 to 39 years old.

They live in a small space.

They are disconnected from the outside world for a long time.

And they have a hard time living a normal life.

The government says these people start getting isolated in adolescence (青春期).

They can’t interact (互動) with others.

And it's hard for them to get use to different environments.

This can be caused by going through family problems, or health problems.

It can also be caused by mental illness.

So the South Korean government wants to encourage these people to get back into society.

It says it will give up to $500 US dollars each month to people like this, who are 9 to 24 years old.

And the government is planning more ways to work with welfare groups (社福機構) for young people.

南韓政府規劃了許多幫助方案，希望可以幫助"孤獨年輕人【重返社會】。

________________________________

龐貝古城裝【隱形】太陽能板

New 'Invisible' Solar Panels in Ancient Pompeii

Pompeii is an ancient city in Italy.

It was destroyed by a volcano in 79 A.D. (西元).

It is one of the most well-preserved ancient cities (保存完整的古城).

Each year, 3.5 million tourists visit the city to learn about its history.

But Pompeii is quite big.

It takes a lot of electricity to keep the city running.

And this means there are lots of cables and poles (電線，電線桿).

This leaves the city looking...not very nice.

Now there is a new way to get electricity, and keep the city looking beautiful.

An Italian company has made "invisible solar panels" (【隱形】太陽能板).

The panels look like stone, wood, concrete (混凝土) or brick (磚頭).

They can be hidden on walls, floors and roofs.

The panels used in Pompeii look like terracotta (陶製) roof tiles used by the Romans.

The panels were put on two sites, the House of Cerere and the House of Vettii.

Pompeii officials say the solar panels are just the beginning.

They believe the panels will help other historical sites around the world.

保存文化遺產同時又能發電及節能減碳，真的是一舉數得。

________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

Traffic lights were installed on Hehuanshan to control traffic during holidays and weekends.

They are 3,275 meters high!

Officials hope that the traffic lights will help everyone stay safe.

________________________________

The South Korean government wants to encourage "lonely young people" to get back into society.

It says it will give up to $500 US dollars each month to people like this, who are 9 to 24 years old.

And the government is planning more ways to work with welfare groups for young people.

________________________________

And,

An Italian company has made "invisible solar panels".

The panels used in Pompeii look like the terracotta roof tiles used by the Romans.

This helps the city get electricity, and still look beautiful.

________________________________

And that's today's episode of News Bites!

________________________________

趣味小點

Tasty Tidbit

Have you got the hang of our new segment, Tasty Tidbits yet?

Every day, at the end of each episode, we'll share with you a fun fact, a joke, or some interesting news. Make sure to stay tuned to hear it!

And we'd love to hear from you too! If you have a fun fact, a joke, or some interesting news you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you might hear it at the end of an episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!

________________________________

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

I'm Nancy Sun.

And I'm Paz Bueno.

In today's news:

Staying healthy in all ways, and giving back a piece of history.

And in today's Tasty Tidbit...

We've got something berry funny to share with you. Make sure to stay tuned!
________________________________

台大通過「心理健康假」
NTU to Have Mental Health Leave


We all know being healthy is important.

So we know we should try to eat healthy foods, get some exercise, and take
care of our bodies.

But we are starting to learn that mental health (心理健康) is important too.

Many things in life can cause mental health problems.

So slowing down and getting rest is very important.

The National Taiwan University's Student Counseling Committee (輔導委員會) is
trying something new.

They want to start letting students take "mental health leave".

This mean students can take up to 3 days off school each semester for mental
health.

學生每一學期可以請三天的心理健康假。

They can use an online system to apply for this leave.

And the students do not need to show proof that they are sick.

But the second time that students take leave, the system would send a
notification (通知) to the university's counseling center (心理諮商中心).

And the center would start taking steps to help the student.

Some other universities in Taiwan also let students take mental health leave.

Experts are reminding (提醒) the schools to keep student information private.

They say students should be able to take the leave online, without telling a
teacher.

And the experts point out that it's still hard for high school students to
take mental health leave.

High school students have to fill out a form (申請表).

Then they have to give it to the teacher for approval (許可, 批准)

The students also have many classes, which makes it hard for them to have
time to visit the counseling office.

And they may be worried about how other people would react (反應) if they
found out.

But all the experts agree that student mental health is important, and it
should not be neglected (忽略).

________________________________

希臘要求歸還大理石雕
Greece Calls for British Museum to Return Parthenon Sculptures


The British Museum is one of the most famous museums in the world.

It houses countless (數不清楚) treasures.

But earlier in August, around 2,000 treasures were stolen from the museum.

Police found that it was an inside job (內賊作案).

And the stealing had been happening for over two decades.

These priceless artifacts were stolen because they were not properly
cataloged (編入目錄) by the museum.

After this, many people questioned if the museum could handle taking care of
all those artifacts.

Now, Greece is calling for the museum to return the Parthenon Sculptures.

The sculptures were taken from a famous temple in Athens, Greece hundreds of
years ago.

被要求歸還的「帕德嫩石雕」，是在19世紀一位英國外交官從希臘「帶出」的文物。

Greece has asked the museum to return the sculptures many times.

But the museum says the sculptures were taken to protect them.

Other countries, like Nigeria and China, are also calling for the museum to
return things.

Hundreds of years ago, the British Empire (大英帝國) controlled many parts of
the world.

And some experts say many cultural treasures were taken from those places
during this time.

They say many things in the British Museum were looted (被掠奪).

Over the years, some museums in Europe and the US have started returning
artifacts taken from other countries.

But it remains to be seen (尚不確定) if the British Museum will do the same.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

The National Taiwan University's Student Counseling Committee wants to start
letting students take "mental health leave".

This mean students can take up to 3 days off school each semester for mental
health.

Experts agree that student mental health is important, and it should not be
neglected.
________________________________

And...

Greece is calling for the British Museum to return the Parthenon Sculptures.

This is after thousands of treasures were stolen from the museum.

Many people questioned if the museum could handle taking care of all those
artifacts.

Over the years, some museums in Europe and the US have started returning
artifacts taken from other countries.

But it remains to be seen if the British Museum will do the same.
________________________________

趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

And before you go, here's a Tasty Tidbit to go with today's News Bites. Get
ready...

What do you call a sad strawberry?

A blueberry!

And speaking of berries...

11-year-old Harley from Heping Elementary School has an interesting fact
about one!

If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with
us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to
newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you might hear it at the end of an episode!

Tune in again next time for an all new episode of News Bites!