Robot Farmers

In Taiwan, some farms are small, and some are big... 台灣的農場有大，有小。

But guess what? There are farms in America that are bigger than all of Taipei
City! 在美國，有些農場比台北市還大喔。

On super big farms, farmers can't look at every vegetable… they can't check
every plant to see how it's growing.

But a robot can!

And….Scientists now have "robot farmers"!
這麼大的農場，農夫沒辦法照顧所有的蔬果。但「農夫機器人」可以！

These robots can find every vegetable… check every plant… and they can take
really good pictures!
「農夫機器人」可以照顧全部的蔬果植物，還會拍照記錄生長狀態。

The robots look a little like cars… they have wheels like cars… but they
are tall... I guess you could say they look like cars with legs.
這種「農夫機器人」長得像有腳的車子。

They drive over the vegetables and plants... look down... take pictures...
find information... and then send what they find back to a computer.
機器人會幫蔬菜和植物拍照、做資料記錄，然後再傳給電腦。

The farmers can see if bugs are eating plants in one part of the farm… or
maybe in another part of the farm, the plants are thirsty and need more
water. 農夫查看電腦就知道，農場哪裡的植物被蟲吃掉了、哪邊需要多澆點水。

That's a big help for farmers.

Robots are helping farmers grow more food and better food!

I'm sure robots will soon be helping farmers in Taiwan, too!
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Vocabulary

機器人現在能做的事情真不少!

1. Farm農場，farmer 農夫。So you are a farmer now! 所以你現在是農夫了！ Yes,
I am. I like working on a flower farm. 對，我是農夫。我喜歡在花卉農場工作。

2. Check 檢查。I can't find my bag. 我找不到我的包包! Did you check your
room? 你有檢查你的房間嗎? I have checked everywhere! 我全部檢查過了!

3. Take a picture 照相。Would you take a picture of me here?
可以幫我在這裡照張相嗎? Sure, this is a nice spot. 當然，這是個很好的點。

4. Thirsty 口渴的。I need some water. 我需要水。Are you thirsty? 你口渴了嗎?
Very much so. 很渴。Me too. Let's find a
Seven-Eleven.我也是，我們來找一家小七。

Let's read the words together.

Farm 農場 check 檢查 take a picture 照相 thirsty 口渴的
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Quiz

1. What is a robot farmer?
A: A robot cat to scare mice
B: A robot that sings to farmers
C: A robot that can check plants on big farms

2. What can a robot farmer do?
A: It can see every plant, and take pictures
B: It can shoot lasers from its eyes
C: It can eat all the plants and vegetables

3. What could a robot tell farmers?
A: The plants need water!
B: The plants want to play mahjong
C: The plants want to eat pizza







Answers
1. C 2. A 3. A
 

Taiwan's Electric Trains

I'm going to Taitung tomorrow. I'm so excited!

Taitung is on the east side of Taiwan, we call that the "East Coast."
我好期待明天要去台東！它在台灣的「東海岸」。

I'm going to take a train from Kaohsiung to Taitung!

And guess what?

The train ride from Kaohsiung to Taitung takes less than 2 hours now!
現在從高雄搭火車到台東，不用兩個小時。

It's faster now because it uses electricity.

And now all of the trains in Taiwan use electricity!
台灣現在所有的火車都電氣化，也更快了。

The old trains used a kind of gasoline... like a car. They are slower and
there is pollution!

The new electric trains are quiet, faster and there is no pollution!
現在的火車改用電，比較安靜、比較快更快而且不會有污染！

There are about 1,100 kilometers of rail lines in Taiwan…

They make a big circle around us! 鐵路繞台灣一圈，大約有1100公里長，so it
took a long time, more than 20 years, to make all of Taiwan's rail lines
electric, but now it's finished. 花超過20年，把鐵路全都電氣化！

Taking an electric train is faster and quieter and there's no pollution.

And, I can get to Taitung tomorrow in just under 2 hours! That's really fast!

The east coast of Taiwan is really beautiful!

Looking out of the train window, I'm going to see mountains and then... the
ocean!

I can't wait to take the electric train to Taitung!
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Vocabulary

現在台灣的火車，都使用電力。

1. Train 火車。I'm going to Matsu next week. 我下星期要去馬祖。So you'll take
the train? 所以你要搭火車去嗎? No, silly. There's no train going to Matsu.
別傻了，沒有火車到馬祖。

2. Electric 電的。This is an electric piggy bank. 這是個用電的撲滿。Wow, so
fancy! 哇，真豪華。 But why does it need electricity? 但是它為什麼需要電?
Because it talks.因為它會講話。It will tell you how much money you've put in.
它會告訴你，你存了多少錢。

3. Hour 小時。It takes five hours to travel to Taipei.
去台北需要五個鐘頭。Five hours?! That's too long! 五個鐘頭?! 太久了!

4. Fast 很快。Kevin is a fast runner. 凱文跑很快。He can join our running
club. 他可以加入我們的跑步社團。I run fast, too. 我也跑得很快。Can I join?
我可以加入嗎?

我們一起來讀單字.

train 火車 electric 電的 hour 小時 fast 很快
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Quiz

1. Where is the person in the story going?
A: Taipei
B: Taitung
C: Taichung

2. Why are trains in Taiwan faster now?
A: They use monkey-power
B: They use gasoline...like a car
C: They use electric power

3. What do we call the east side of Taiwan?
A: The west coast
B: The north coast
C: The east coast







Answers
1: B 2: C 3: C
 

Burning Mountain of Coal

People use coal for many things. Old trains burn coal to make steam… that's
how a choo-choo-train works!
煤可以來拿做很多事，像蒸汽火車，需要燃燒煤炭才能動。

Coal is found deep in the earth. It looks like black rocks.
煤礦在地底深處，長得很像黑色的石頭。

Today we try not to burn coal because it's not clean. When you burn coal, it
makes the air dirty, and if we breathe the dirty air... it hurts our lungs.
燒煤炭會造成空氣汙染，也對肺有害。

But sometimes people don't burn coal … nature burns coal. Deep under the
ground, coal sometimes catches fire and burns. And, sometimes it burns for a
really long time. 大自然有時候也會自己燃燒煤炭，而且可以燒很久唷。

There is a mountain in Australia... where one natural coal fire has burned
for a crazy long time! This coal fire is inside the mountain, and scientists
say it has burned for more than 6,000 years! The mountain is called…
"Burning Mountain"! 在澳洲有一座火焰山，已經燒了6000年了！ 6,000 years is a
really long time!

Nobody knows when it will stop burning...沒人知道什麼時候會停止燃燒。But
don't worry. This coal fire is far away and the smoke doesn't hurt people.

Burning Mountain is just another amazing thing about our amazing world! A
6,000-year-old fire! 真的很難以想像!
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Vocabulary

已經燃燒六千年的地底煤礦，真有點難以想像。

1. Burn 燃燒。Do you burn paper money on special days?
你們在特別的日子會燒紙錢嗎? No, not any more. 現在不燒了。

2. Fire 火。Look, that house is on fire! 你看，那棟房屋起火了! You're right!
It looks bad.你說得對，看起來很糟糕。 Let me call the fire department.
我來打電話給消防隊。

3. Mountain 山。Why is this mountain called Seven Stars Mountain?
為什麼這座山叫做七星山? I think it's because the mountain has 7
peaks.我想是因為那座山有七座山峰。

4. Old 老的, older 更老。I moved into my house when I was eight.
我八歲的時候搬進我的房子。It's a really old house now.
它現在真的是老房子了。My house back in London is older.
我在倫敦的家更老。It's more than 100 years old.它有一百多年了。

我們來一起讀單字。

burn 燃燒 fire 火 mountain 山 old 老的 older 更老
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Quiz

1. Where is Burning Mountain?
A: America
B: Argentina
C: Australia

2. What is burning in Burning Mountain?
A: Wood
B: Toilet paper
C: Coal

3. How long has the mountain been burning?
A: 60 years
B: 6 million years
C: 6,000 years







Answers
1: C 2: C 3: C
 

Lion Poop For Sale

Hi, students!

Today's story is about poop. 今天的故事是有關大便。 But not just any poop,
this is special poop.

This poop is lion poop.

And it's for sale! 是獅子的大便 還可以買！

Would you like to buy some? No? Well, that's okay.

But actually, some people really do want to buy it! Isn't that crazy?
很難相信真的有人想買！

This is happening at a zoo in Germany! They are selling jars of lion poop.
德國有一個動物園在賣裡面有獅子大便的罐子。

It costs about 150 Taiwan dollars. Is that cheap or expensive for lion poop?
價錢差不多150塊. 算貴嗎? I don't know!

But some people are really buying it!

They want to put it in their garden. 有的人想把獅子大便放在花園。

They say the smell of the lion poop scares away small animals or pests they
don't want in their gardens! 聽說獅子便便的氣味可以把小動跟海寵嚇跑！

I guess the other animals can smell the lion poop and think "uh-oh!"

I don't want to be here when this lion comes back!" And they run away.
小動物聞到獅子大便，害怕獅子會回來，趕快跑掉了！

Lions are scary, especially for small animals and pests.

So using their poop is pretty smart, right? Probably smelly, but smart!
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Vocabulary

你會想買獅子的便便嗎？

1. Crazy 瘋狂的。That's a crazy idea! 真是瘋狂的想法! No, it's a smart idea!
不會，是很聰明的主意。I don't think the zookeeper is crazy.
我覺得那個動物園管理員並不瘋狂。

2. Cheap 便宜的，expensive昂貴的。A 50-NT hamburger is very
cheap.五十塊錢的漢堡很便宜。But a 50-NT coke is
expensive.但是可樂五十塊就很貴了。

3. Garden 花園。Wow, you have a lovely garden! 哇，你有個漂亮花園! Thank you.
It's nice to have a garden on the rooftop. 謝謝你，有個花園在屋頂上很好。

4. Run away 跑掉。What's happening? 發生了什麼事? Why are people running away
from the station? 為什麼大家從車站跑出來? Maybe there's a lion in the
station. 也許車站裡有獅子。 That's crazy, Ryan! 太扯了，萊恩!

Please read the words with me.

crazy 瘋狂的 cheap 便宜的 expensive 昂貴的 garden 花園 run away 跑掉
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Quiz

1. What strange item is for sale in the story?
a. Tiger hugs
b. Lion poop
c. Chicken eggs

2. Where is it for sale?
a. A zoo in Germany
b. A supermarket in Italy
c. A toy store in Japan

3. Why do people want to buy it?
a. It smells great
b. It scares away animals and pests
c. It's cheap







Answers
1: b 2: a 3: b
 

Outer Space Garbage Robot

There are a lot of things floating around in outer space. Planets, the stars,
and… garbage?

That's right, garbage!

Do you think of space crafts, planets, and even aliens when you think of
outer space? 外太空會讓你想到什麼…太空船？行星？還是外星人？

But did you know that there is also a lot of garbage out there?
你知道外太空，也有很多垃圾嗎？

This is because sometimes when spacecraft and astronauts go into space, they
leave some things behind.

These things end up floating around in outer space.
留下來的東西，就變成在外太空飄來飄去的垃圾。

The garbage can accidentally bump into space crafts, and can even hurt
astronauts.垃圾可能會撞到太空船，或傷到太空人。

This is why experts have decided to create a machine to help clean up space.

The machine will go into space, and it has cameras and radar to help it find
garbage. 專家想發明一種裝有攝影機跟雷達的機器，來撿垃圾。

Then it will pick the garbage up. But it won't bring the trash back to Earth.
It will burn up the garbage in space! 它不會把垃圾帶回，就在外太空燒掉。

Experts are not sure this is going to work.

This is why smart people are spending a lot of money and time to try to
figure out the best way to make this space garbage robot.
專家還不知道這個方法能不能成功. 他們花了很多錢還有時間，要做出這種機器人。

Hopefully they can make it work, and keep future astronauts safe!
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Vocabulary

太空垃圾怎麼處理，地球人很傷腦筋。

1. Garbage 垃圾。Where's my garbage can? 我的垃圾桶呢? It's right there.
Under your pile of garbage. 就在那裡。在你那堆垃圾底下。

2. Space 太空。I want to travel to space someday. 我想有一天去太空旅行。Space
travel, huh? That would be something! 太空旅行嗎? 一定會很精彩！

3. Astronaut 太空人。Would you like to be an astronaut? 你想當太空人嗎? No,
never. 一點也不想。Why? I thought you like space.為什麼呢?
我以為你很喜歡太空。Yes, but I'm scared of space suits.
對，可是我害怕太空裝。

4. Work 有用。Ryan, your computer doesn't work. 萊恩，你的電腦沒有用。 What
do you mean it doesn't work? 你說它沒用是什麼意思? See, it works fine!
你看，好好的啊！

Would you read the words with me?

garbage 垃圾 space 太空 astronaut 太空人 work 有用
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Quiz

1. What kind of problem is mentioned in this story?
a. Garbage in the oceans
b. Trash in the Amazon Rainforest
c. Garbage in outer space

2. What are experts trying to do?
a. Build a space garbage robot
b. Ignore the problem
c. Stop going to space

3. How does the garbage robot see?
a. With cameras and radar
b. There's a person in the robot
c. It can't see







Answers
1. C 2. A 3. A