Purple Tomatoes are the New Designer Fruit

Name some fruits and vegetables that are the color purple!

Well, there are grapes, eggplants… And I've also seen some purple carrots…
But have you ever seen a purple tomato?
葡萄、茄子、還有某一些胡蘿蔔都是紫色的，但你看過紫色的番茄嗎？

Probably not.
大概沒有吧？

That's because there is no such thing as a purple tomato, right? Well, you're
wrong!

A very smart farmer in the U.S. invented a purple tomato. This farmer did
something special during the process of growing tomatoes, and ended up
inventing a new kind of tomato! A purple tomato!
美國有個聰明的農夫發明了紫色番茄！

Don't worry, purple tomatoes don't taste any different. They taste just as
delicious as regular red tomatoes.
它們吃起來跟普通番茄一樣。

The other thing that makes this purple tomato special is that it seems to
stay fresh twice as long as regular red tomatoes.
但紫色番茄的保鮮時間是普通紅番茄的兩倍。

That's great! That means it won't go bad as easily as regular tomatoes.

What's also really cool is that this special kind of purple tomato might be
sold in the future. Which means you might be able to buy a purple tomato and
eat it!
未來我們也許買得到這些紫色番茄。

I hope I will be able to buy these purple tomatoes in the future! I would
like to make tomato sauce for pasta with it.
我想要做一道紫色番茄義大利麵！

Just think about it, purple pasta sauce! That would be fun to eat!
________________________________

Vocabulary
紫色番茄是新發明，想吃還吃不到呢。

1. invent 發明
What new food would you like to invent? 你會想發明什麼新的食物？
Crabs that are easy to eat. 容易入口的螃蟹。
You must love crabs a lot. 你一定很愛吃螃蟹。

2. purple 紫色的
I don't eat eggplants. 我不吃茄子。
Because you don't like the taste? 因為你不喜歡它的味道嗎？
No, because they're purple. 不，是因為它是紫色的。

3. delicious 美味的
How about grapes? 那葡萄呢？
They're purple but delicious. 它是紫色不過很好吃。
Grapes are fine. 葡萄可以。

4. buy 購買
Where can I buy carrots? 我在哪裡可以買胡蘿蔔？
At any supermarket. 任何超市都可以。

So would you like to taste purple tomatoes? Let's read today's vocabulary.
invent 發明
purple 紫色的
delicious 美味的
buy 購買
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Quiz

1. What is the new kind of vegetable mentioned in this story?
A: Grapes
B: Eggplants
C: Tomatoes

2. What color is the new vegetable?
A: Purple
B: Yellow
C: Pink

3. What else is special about this vegetable?
A: It stays fresh longer
B: It does not stay fresh as long
C: There's nothing else special about it

Answers
1. C
2. A
3. A
 

Portable Charger for Electric Vehicles

Hey, kids! Has your mom or dad ever run out of gas? I hate running out of gas!
車子沒油了很討厭！

This is also a problem for electric vehicles, or EVs. But electric vehicles
don't use gas. They use electricity. So, EVs don't run out of gas. They run
out of power.
電動車也會有沒電的問題。

This can be a big problem for electric cars and scooters because they must
often be recharged.
電動車常常會需要重新充電。

What happens when your EV runs out of power? One company called ZipCharge has
the answer. They made a charger. This charger can recharge EV batteries. They
call this charger the ZipCharge Go.
有一間叫做 ZipCharge 的公司做出了一個給電動車用的充電器。

The ZipCharge Go is heavy, about 22 kilograms. It looks like a small
suitcase, with wheels!
這個充電器很重，它看起來像一個有輪子的小行李箱。

So, the charger is portable. People can put it in their car's trunk. So, if
their car's battery runs out of power, they can charge it.
所以它可以帶著走，放在後車廂，當車子沒電的時候，它就會派上用場。

It takes just 30 minutes to one hour to charge the battery. Then, the car can
travel about 50 kilometers. So, drivers won't have to worry so much about
their car battery losing power.
用它來充電只要30分鐘，然後車子就可以跑50公里。

EVs are very quiet, and they are also better for the environment. They don't
pollute the air like regular cars or scooters do.
電動車安靜又環保，不會汙染空氣。

I think EVs are great!
________________________________

Vocabulary
電動車需要充電，最新款的電池非常輕便耐用。

1. run out of 用完
We're running out of toilet paper. 我們的衛生紙就快用光了。
Let's go to the supermarket. 我們去超市一趟。
I'll get the car. 我去開車。

2. gas 汽油
But we're running out of gas too. 但是我們的汽油也快沒了。
Luckily, we still have the scooter. 我們很幸運，還有摩托車。

3. scooter 摩托車
What's wrong? 怎麼了？
I can't seem to start this scooter. 我好像發動不了這台摩托車。
Did you charge it yesterday? 你昨天有充電嗎？
No, I forgot. 沒有，我忘了。

4. battery 電池
Now what should we do? 現在我們怎麼辦？
That's okay. It only takes an hour to charge the battery.
沒關係，充飽電池只要一小時。

These are useful words.
run out of 用完
gas 汽油
scooter 摩托車
battery 電池
________________________________

Quiz

1. What did the company called ZipCharge make?
A: A small electric vehicle
B: A battery that lasts a long time
C: A charger for EVs

2. What does "portable" mean?
A: Something is easy to carry.
B: Something is easy to use.
C: Something is very quick.

3. Which is NOT true about ZipCharge Go?
A: It is very light.
B: It is convenient.
C: It looks like a small suitcase.

Answers
1. C
2. A
3. A
 

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？
________________________________

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
________________________________

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
 

Super Skinny Skyscraper

There's a new 'super skyscraper' in New York City!
紐約有一座新的超級摩天大樓！

A 'super skyscraper' is a building that's between 300 and 600 meters tall.
Taipei 101 is about 508 meters tall… so Taipei 101 is a 'super skyscraper.'
超級摩天大樓300到600公尺高，像台北101就有五百零八公尺。

Many cities around the world are building super skyscrapers because there
isn't any more room! The only place to build is up!
很多城市因為空間不夠，都在蓋摩天大樓。

There are about 8 million people in New York City, but New York City is quite
small. So, what to do? Yeah! Build super skyscrapers!
紐約市不大，但是有八百萬居民，怎麼辦呢? 答案是超級摩天大樓。

And, they just finished building a new super skyscraper in New York… it's
about 435 meters tall… so it's not as tall as Taipei 101.
這棟最新建築高度435公尺，比台北101矮一點點。

But, this new building in New York City is the skinniest super skyscraper in
the world! Skinny is another way to say 'thin.' And yeah! This new super
skyscraper is super skinny! When you look at it, you think, "Wow… is that
going to fall over?"
但它是全世界最瘦的摩天大樓！看起來真的是弱不禁風。

The reason it's so skinny is there just isn't any more land in downtown New
York City.
它會這麼窄，是因為紐約市區土地不夠了。

Wow! This new super skyscraper is really super!
________________________________

Vocabulary
在擁擠的城市，想要增加空間只能往上走。

1) sky 天空
Look, Taipei 101 is really touching the sky! 你看，台北101真的碰到天空了！
That's because of the thick clouds, Jane. 那是因為雲層很厚。
To me it's the sky. 在我看就是天空。

2) building 建築物
I don't like super tall buildings. 我不喜歡超高建築。
Me either. They're blocking the sun. 我也不喜歡。它們擋住陽光了。

3) land 土地
I'm buying this land. 我要買這塊地。
What do you want it for? 你買它做什麼？
To build a windmill. 來建一個風車。
For your children? 給你的小孩？
For all children. 給所有小孩。

4) skinny 纖瘦的
That's one skinny puppy! 真是一隻瘦巴巴的小狗！
I think it's going to fall down. 我想牠會倒地。
No, it's walking well. 不會呀，牠走得很好。

Let's read these words.
sky 天空
building 建築物
land 土地
skinny 纖瘦的
________________________________

Quiz

1. How tall is the Taipei 101 building?
A: About 1000 meters tall
B: About 508 meters tall
C: About 20 meters tall

2. What does 'skinny' mean?
A: Tired
B: Hungry
C: Thin

3. Where is the world's skinniest new super skyscraper?
A: Tokyo
B: London
C: New York

Answers
1. B
2. C
3. C
 

A Shield to Make People Invisible

Hey, kids? Are you Harry Potter fans? He's a pretty cool character.
你們喜歡哈利波特嗎？

If you are a fan of Harry Potter, then you know about his cloak of
invisibility. He wears this to become invisible.
如果你喜歡，一定會知道隱形斗篷。

It would be great if there really were a cloak of invisibility. You could do
so many interesting things with it. It would be good for a game of
hide-and-seek!
如果真的有隱形斗篷，捉迷藏就贏定了。

Well, one company in London, England, has made something that can make you
invisible. It's not a cloak. It's a shield. But this shield is not made from
metal, and it is not heavy. It's easy to carry.
倫敦有一家公司發明了隱形盾牌，但不是用鐵做的，而且重量很輕。

The way it works is a bit hard to understand. But it is all about the way it
reflects light. The shield reflects light in a special way. It reflects light
so that things behind it can't be seen. So, if people stand behind it, you
can't see them.
這個盾牌會用特別的方式反射光線，讓我們看不到後面的東西。

The shield works best when there is a lot of light. So, it works best when
the sun is shining brightly.
這個盾牌在晴天時效果最好。

It comes in two different sizes. The bigger one is almost a meter high. The
other one is about 30 centimeters.
它有兩個尺寸，大的有一公尺高，小的有30公分。

There are so many ways you could use this. You could have fun hiding from
your friends with it. But there are a lot of other ways people could use it,
especially if they could make bigger shields. You could hide your car, or
even your house!
如果盾牌夠大，還可以藏車子，甚至房子！

If you had an invisible shield, what would you hide with it?
________________________________

Vocabulary
隱形盾牌用反光的原理，讓人看不見它後面的東西。

1. hide 躲藏
Where did you hide my cell phone? 你把我的手機藏到哪了？
I didn't hide anything. 我沒有藏任何東西。
Then where is it? 那它在哪裡？
Right behind your books. 就在你那堆書後面。

2. behind 在之後
Here it is! 在這裡！
How did you know it was behind the books? 你怎麼知道在書後面？
It's easy to see if you're standing. 要是你站著，很容易看到。

3. easy 容易的
I love my phone. It's so easy to use. 我喜歡我的手機，它很好用。
Mine is not easy at all. 我的一點兒也不好用。

4. heavy 重的
That's because it's too heavy. 那是因為它太重。
Yeah, what can I say? It was a gift. 我能怎麼說？它是個贈品。

今天的字很容易，你記住了嗎？
hide 躲藏
behind 在之後
easy 容易的
heavy 重的
________________________________

Quiz

1. What is true about the shield?
A: It is made of metal.
B: It is very heavy.
C: It easy to carry.

2. How many sizes does the shield come in?
A: 1
B: 2
C: 3

3. When does the shield work the best?
A: When it is sunny
B: On cloudy days
C: At night

Answers
1. C
2. B
3. A