Hawk Keeps People Safe from Pigeon Poo

Hey students, do you know what animal this is?
這是什麼動物呢？

Did you guess a pigeon?
你們猜到的是鴿子嗎？猜對了！

You see them a lot in parks. Some people like to feed them. Pigeons are okay
on the ground. But the trouble with pigeons is that they fly. And when they
fly... That's right, they poo! And sometimes that poo lands on people's
heads. Yuck!
很噁心！鴿子邊飛邊大便，有時候會掉在人的頭上。

In San Francisco, pigeons poo a lot on people. That's why, in San Francisco,
they decided to do something about it.

They got a man to bring his hawk! The man and his hawk go to a subway station
in San Francisco three days a week.
在舊金山，有一個人每一個禮拜有三天，會帶他的老鷹去地鐵站。

Pigeons are afraid of hawks. They think hawks will eat them. So, when they
see a hawk, they get scared and fly away!
鴿子怕老鷹，就會飛走！

The hawk's name is Pac-Man. His owner gives Pac-Man lots of food and treats,
so Pac-Man doesn't eat the pigeons, he just scares them away.
這隻老鷹叫 Pac-Man，牠的主人給牠很多食物，所以牠不會吃鴿子。

Because of that, he isn't hungry, so he doesn't need to eat the pigeons. But
he still scares them away. Which is much better! Nobody likes to get pigeon
poo on their head!
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Vocabulary
放出老鷹來嚇走鴿子，這究竟是不是個好主意？

1. scare away 嚇走
Look, a hawk is coming this way. 你看，一隻老鷹飛過來了。
Uh oh, it's going to scare away the pigeons! 糟糕，牠會把鴿子嚇走！
I'm scared of hawks, too. 我也怕老鷹呢。

2. afraid of 害怕。
Why are you so afraid of hawks? 你為什麼這麼怕老鷹？
Are you kidding? Hawks are hunters. 開什麼玩笑，老鷹會打獵。

3. fly away 飛走。
Don't worry. It's flying away now. 別擔心，牠飛走了。
So are all the pigeons. 鴿子也都飛走了。
I hope they fly back. 我希望牠們再飛回來。

4. on the ground 在地上。
I don't like so much pigeon poop on the ground. 我不喜歡這麼多鴿糞在地上。
Me either. 我也不喜歡。

These are useful phrases.
scare away 嚇走
afraid of 害怕
fly away 飛走
on the ground 在地上
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Quiz

1. Why did the subway system hire the man with a hawk?
A: To keep people safe from pigeon poo
B: To make people laugh
C: To get more people to ride the subway

2. What does the hawk do?
A: It eats pigeons
B: It scares pigeons
C: It eats food so pigeons can't get it

3. Why does the man feed the hawk lots of food and treats?
A: So it works harder
B: So it doesn't bite the man
C: So it doesn't eat pigeons

Answers
1. A
2. B
3. C
 

Milestone in Ocean Clean Up

Do you know what a "milestone" is? In Chinese, it's 【里程碑】.

There are many kinds of milestones. When you become 18 years old, that's a
milestone. When you get your first job, that's a milestone. And, if you get
married or have a baby, those are milestones, too.
18歲成年、第一份工作、或是結婚生小孩，每一個都是一種里程碑。

Today, I want to talk about a different kind of milestone. This one is about
plastic. The milestone is about cleaning up a lot of plastic in the ocean.
現在，有一個清理海洋塑膠垃圾的里程碑！

First, I need to tell you about something called the Great Pacific Garbage
Patch. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a really big pile of plastic
floating in the ocean. Most of that plastic is in very small pieces. It can
hurt fish and other animals in the ocean.
太平洋垃圾島是一堆在海上飄的垃圾推起來的，這些垃圾會害魚跟其他的動物受傷。

Some people are trying very hard to clean up the plastic from the ocean. One
of these people is a man named Boyan Slat. He made a special type of machine
to clean up plastic from the ocean.
一個叫做 Boyan Slat 做了一台清理塑膠的機器。

This year, his machine hit a milestone. It cleaned up 220,000 pounds of
plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. That's almost the same weight
as a blue whale, the biggest animal on earth!
今年這台機器達到了一個里程碑，清了好多垃圾，重量幾乎跟一頭藍鯨一樣重！

Wow! Congratulations!
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Vocabulary
環保人士清除了大量海洋垃圾，達成新的里程碑。

1. get married 結婚
Tom says he's getting married when he's 21. 湯姆說他要21歲時結婚。
But he's only 10 now! 但是他現在才十歲！

2. try 努力
Well, he says he'll try hard to save money. 他說他要努力存錢。
How much has he saved? 他存了多少了？
About one hundred NT. 大約一百塊吧。
He has to try harder. 他得再努力一點。

3. milestone 里程碑
I think for him, 1,000 NT would be a milestone.
我想對他來說，一千塊就是個里程碑。
That shouldn't be too hard. 那應該沒那麼困難。

4. job 工作
Maybe he can get a job. 也許他可以找個工作。
He's too young to have a real job. 他太小了，不能真的去工作。
He can water my plants. 他可以幫我的植物澆水。

These are very useful words.
get married 結婚
try 努力
milestone 里程碑
job 工作
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Quiz

1. What is a milestone?
A: An important day
B: A heavy rock
C: A kind of shoe

2. What is 'The Great Pacific Garbage Patch'?
A: A small pile of floating trash
B: A breed of dog
C: A big pile of floating trash

3. What did Boyan Slat do?
A: Made a machine to clean the ocean
B: Named 'The Great Pacific Garbage Patch'
C: Weighed a Blue Whale

Answers
1. A
2. C
3. A
 

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First Fully Biodegradable Shoe

Ahhh, the beach is so nice.

The sun, the ocean, the shoes….what?? Shoes?

Why are there shoes floating in the water?

海裡怎麼會有鞋子飄著呢？

How can they be floating in the ocean for so long, and still look almost
new??!

鞋子為甚麼能在海上漂這麼久，看起來還這麼新？

It's because they are not biodegradable!

"Biodegradable" means something that turns back into nature after time.

因為它不能被生物分解！生物分解就是東西會隨著時間回歸大自然。

So, wood is biodegradable, many clothes are biodegradable, and even some
kinds of metal are biodegradable.

木頭是會被分解的，有一些衣服也是，甚至有一些金屬也會被分解的。

Things that are not biodegradable can take hundreds and hundreds of years to
break down into tiny pieces, and that's bad for the earth!

過了好幾百年都不會被分解的東西，對環境不好！

But now you can buy a new kind of shoe that is 100% biodegradable!

When you throw them away, they become part of the earth again in just one
year!

但現在你能買得到百分百可以被生物分解的鞋子，他們被丟掉後，一年就會被分解！

We all need to think about what we buy and ask "Is this biodegradable?"

Ok, let me get those shoes out of the ocean.
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Vocabulary

可以生物分解的鞋子，能減少垃圾量。

1. shoes 鞋子。
I need a pair of sports shoes. 我需要一雙運動鞋。
There's this shoe store that sells biodegradable shoes.
有一家鞋店賣可以生物分解的鞋子.

2. break down 分解。
I've heard about them. 我有聽說過。
But they break down easily, right? 但是它們很容易分解，對嗎?
Yeah, they usually break down in a year. 對，通常一年之內就會分解

3. throw away 扔掉。
You can then just throw them away. 然後你就可以把它扔掉。
But I don't want that to happen when I'm climbing mountains.
但是我可不想在爬山時發生那種事。

4. earth 地球。
Well, look at the bright side. 要看好的一面。
Your shoes will become part of the earth again. 你的鞋子又變回地球的一部份了。

你今天學到哪些英文單字?

shoes鞋子
break down分解
throw away扔掉
earth地球
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Quiz

1. What is "biodegradable"?
A: Something that becomes part of nature
B: Something that lives for 400 years
C: Something for dogs

2. What can you buy now?
A: 100% biodegradable shoes!
B: Shoes for fish!
C: 100% plastic shoes!

3. When do biodegradable shoes go back to nature?
A: In one year
B: In 500 years
C: In ten years










Answers
1. A
2. A
3. A
 

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Scientists Zap Clouds with Electricity

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. 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. 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
 

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Plastic Pyramid Protests Pollution

Egypt is a country in the north of Africa. It has sandy deserts, a big river
called the Nile, snappy crocodiles, and lots of huge pyramids!
埃及有沙漠、尼羅河、鱷魚，還有超大的金字塔！

Most of their pyramids were made long ago, in ancient times, out of big stone
bricks.
金字塔是古時候的埃及人用大石塊建造的。

But now, a new pyramid has been built in Egypt. One that is quite different…
現在，埃及蓋了一座新的，很特別的金字塔！

The bricks are big, but they're not made of stone. Instead, they're made of
trash! It's taller than a three-story building!
蓋這座金字塔的磚塊很大，但不是石頭，而是由垃圾做成的！高度比三層樓還高！

It weighs 20 tons… that's the same as three elephants!
它有 20 噸重，跟三頭大象差不多！

All the trash used to make these bricks was taken from the river Nile. Sadly,
the Nile is filled with trash. It's very polluted.
這些垃圾都是從尼羅河裡面撿來的。尼羅河現在污染很嚴重。

The pyramid's builders don't just want to clean the Nile, they want to clean
the whole planet…
蓋金字塔的人不只是想要把尼羅河清乾淨，還想要把全世界清乾淨！

They hope to put teams of cleaners all over the world. Their job will be to
clean the earth five days a week, every week, every year, for the next 100
years!
他們希望派清潔隊伍到世界各地，每一個星期花五天，持續一百年清理環境！

A huge pyramid made of trash, and cleaners for 100 years! I wonder if they'll
clean my bedroom for me too…
________________________________

Vocabulary
埃及蓋了寶特瓶金字塔，來提醒世人污染的嚴重。

1. trash 垃圾
I used to swim here. 我以前在這裡游泳。
But look how dirty it is now! 但是你看它現在多髒！
Yeah, it's filled with trash. 對啊，滿滿都是垃圾。

2. clean 清理
I wonder if anyone will come and clean it up. 不知道會不會有人來清理。
I doubt it. 我很懷疑。
Would you clean it? 你會清理嗎？
Me? No! I didn't grow up here. 我？不會。我又不是在這裡長大的。

3. building 建築物
Who built this house? 誰蓋了這棟房子？
I think Norman Foster did. 我想是 Norman Foster 蓋的。
He built many famous buildings. 他蓋了很多有名的建築。

4. made of 用某種材料做。
Is it made of steel? 是用鋼鐵做的嗎？
I believe so. 應該是的。

今天學到哪些單字？
trash 垃圾
clean 清理
building 建築物
made of 用某種材料做
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Quiz

1. What is Egypt's big river called?
A: The Vile
B: The Nile
C: The Style

2. How much does 20 tons weigh?
A: The same as three elephants
B: The same as three crocodiles
C: The same as three pyramids

3. How long do they want teams cleaning the earth?
A: 100 days
B: 100 months
C: 100 years

Answers
1. B
2. A
3. C