New Taipei Getting New YouBike Service in October

Guess what? New Taipei City is getting a new YouBike system. It's already in
Taipei City, but the new YouBike system will be ready in New Taipei City at
the end of this month! 新北市新的微笑單車，月底就可以用了。

It is called YouBike 2.0, and there will be new bikes and new stations. The
colors are a little different too. 顏色有一點不一樣。 The original was orange
and yellow. The new version is white and yellow.

There will be seven hundred places in New Taipei City where people can borrow
these bicycles… 有七百個地方可以租腳踏車。

These rental stations will be in places where it is convenient for a lot of
people. 會放在方便的地方。 For example, near MRT stations!

Another place you can rent them is at New Taipei City Hall in Banqiao.

And in the future, the government plans to add even more stations for
YouBikes… as many as one-thousand-five-hundred!
還會增加一千五百個租腳踏車的地方。

This is great! I really like riding bikes, and I'm excited to try the new
bikes. I think they're very convenient to use to get around the city.

They are also better for the environment than driving cars, and it helps you
get very good exercise! 我覺得腳踏車很方便，也比開車環保，而且你還可以運動！

Will you be using the YouBike 2.0 bicycles?
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Vocabulary

大台北地區，要騎YouBike越來越方便。

1. System 系統。
We have a new YouBike system. 微笑單車現在有新的系統。
So I don't need to bring my EasyCard? 所以我不需要帶悠遊卡？
That's right. You only need your cell phone. 對的。只需要手機。

2. Ride a bike 騎腳踏車。
I feel bored. 我覺得好無聊。
Let's go and ride bikes at the riverside park. 去河濱公園騎車吧。
Great idea! 好主意！

3. Excited 興奮的。
I'm so excited about tomorrow's School Day! 我好興奮明天的學校日！
Me too. I'm excited to see my old friends.
我也是。我很興奮會跟我的老朋友碰面。
Are they coming? 他們會來嗎？
Yes they are! 會來。

4. In the future 未來。
There will be more bike trails in the future. 未來會有更多自行車道。
I can't wait. 我簡直等不及了。

Do you ride a bike every day?
system 系統
ride a bike 騎腳踏車
excited 興奮的
in the future 未來
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Quiz

1. What kind of transportation is this story about?
a. Cars
b. Trains
c. Bicycles

2. What are the new bicycles called?
a. YouBike 2.0
b. YouTube 2.0
c. Moovo

3. What city is mentioned in this story?
a. Taipei City
b. New Taipei City
c. Taichung City

Answers
1. C
2. A
3. B
 

Company Makes Masks from Plants

Oh, hi kids! I'm just eating some vegetables. Vegetables are plants. Fruits
are plants, too. We eat lots of plants. Do you know what other things we can
do with plants? Make things! We can make houses with trees, for example.
First, you cut the trees down. Then you can make a house.
蔬菜水果都是植物。植物可以吃也可以用來製造東西，很多房子就是木頭做的。

There is an American company that uses plants to make face masks.
一家美國的公司開始用植物來做口罩。

That is great! Do you know why? Well, because of COVID-19, there are a lot of
face masks these days. When people throw them away, it makes a lot of
garbage. 使用過的口罩被丟掉造成很大量的垃圾。

Have you ever seen face masks on a sidewalk? Yes, I really hate that, too!
Face masks are usually made from a type of plastic. Plastic takes a very long
time to disappear from the environment. So all those face masks are a big
problem. They take up space in landfills. "Take up" means "uses."
這些垃圾占用了很大的空間。

But one company named G95 makes masks from plants. These masks fully
disappear from the environment in 90 days after they are thrown away! When
people have used the masks, they can mail them back to the company. G95 then
recycles the old masks! That is so great!
這家公司用植物做成的口罩，丟掉90天之後就分解不見了。要是你把用過的口罩寄回去，這家公司還會把它回收利用。
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Vocabulary

用植物做成的口罩，可以自行分解。

1. Disappear 消失。
My pretty face masks have disappeared! 我的漂亮口罩不見了！
Face masks don't just disappear. 口罩不會就這樣消失。
Here, they are in the garbage can. 在這裡，在垃圾桶裡。

2. Throw away 扔掉。
But I didn't throw them away. 可是我沒有把它們扔掉啊。
I think they fell off from the desk. 我想是從桌上掉下去的。

3. Environment 環境。
This is a really nice environment. 這是個很好的環境。
There are so many trees around. 周圍有好多樹。
Yeah, I hope we can live here. 是啊，真希望我們可以住在這裡。

4. Company 公司。
The biggest company in the world is an American company.
世界最大的公司是一家美國公司。
Is it McDonald's? 是麥當勞嗎？
No. 不是。

今天學了哪些字，還記得嗎？
disappear 消失不見
throw away 扔掉
environment 環境
company 公司
________________________________

Quiz

Q1: What is this story about?
A: Making masks from plants
B: Using wood to make houses
C: Growing different kinds of plants

Q2: What are most face masks made from?
A: From plants
B: From wood
C: From plastic

Q3: What is G95?
A: A mask
B: A company
C: A plant

Answers
1. A
2. C
3. B
 

Marz Ketchup

Yeah... A little more... All right!

Oh, hi. Sorry! I'm just putting a little tomato ketchup on my hot dog. Wait,
you didn't think… no! Eww! It was ketchup! I love ketchup! 我愛番茄醬！

You know who else usually loves ketchup? Astronauts!
太空人也愛番茄醬。

A lot of the food they bring to space is dried and flavorless, so ketchup and
other sauces can help make it taste better.
太空食物乾乾的，沒什麼味道，加一些醬會好吃一點。

Maybe one day they'll even be able to make ketchup in space, on Mars.

Yep! Scientists have created a special type of ketchup called Marz Ketchup.
科學家做出火星番茄醬！

They made it using tomatoes grown here on earth. But they used conditions
like those on Mars! The conditions on Mars are very different to Earth. The
soil, temperature, and water conditions are all different.
因為火星的泥土、溫度跟水，都跟地球不一樣，所以科學家在地球上模擬了火星的環境來種番茄。

But they could still grow tomatoes, they could still make ketchup, and it
still tasted good!
做出來的番茄醬，一樣很好吃！

Cool! Maybe one day, when people do go to Mars, the one thing they won't have
to pack is ketchup!
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Vocabulary
模擬火星的自然環境來做番茄醬，結果味道沒有什麼不同。

1. Flavor 味道。
I don't like the flavor of this ketchup. 我不喜歡這個蕃茄醬的味道。
What's wrong with it? 它有什麼問題？
It has an artificial flavor. 它有一股人工的味道。

2. Grow 種植。
Can we grow tomatoes on Mars? 我們可以在火星上種番茄嗎？
I don't know. 我不知道。
But the movie "The Martian" says we can grow potatoes on Mars.
不過電影[絕地救援]說我們可以在火星上種馬鈴薯。

3. Mars 火星。
Did you know that Mars is smaller than Earth? 你知道火星比地球小嗎？
I do. Earth is twice the size of Mars. 我知道，地球是火星兩倍大。

4. Different 不同的。
The two planets are very different. 這兩個行星很不一樣。
Right, as different as oranges and bananas. 就像橘子跟香蕉那樣不同。

Would you like to taste Marz ketchup?
flavor 味道
grow 種植
Mars 火星
different 不同的
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Quiz

1. What sauce is the story about?
A: Mustard
B: Mayonnaise
C: Ketchup

2. Which of these ingredients are used to make this sauce?
A: Bananas
B: Tomatoes
C: Potatoes

3. What planet's conditions were used to grow this ingredient?
A: Conditions like those on Earth
B: Conditions like those on Mars
C: Conditions like those on Jupiter

Answers
1. C
2. B
3. B
 

Shoes Made Out of Coffee Grounds

I love a good cup of coffee.
我好喜歡喝咖啡。

It smells delicious, tastes delicious, and it helps me wake up in the
morning.

But every time I make a pot of coffee, I have a bunch of coffee grounds that
I have to throw away afterward.
但每次煮咖啡後都留很多咖啡渣。

Well, guess what? There is a Taiwanese company that has come up with a great
way to reuse coffee grounds, so they don't go to waste.

This company turns coffee grounds into shoes!
有一家公司把咖啡渣變成鞋子！

Experts at this company studied for many, many years to come up with a way to
reuse the waste that comes from making coffee.
專家花了很多年研究再利用咖啡渣的方法。

And they realized coffee waste is a good material to put into different kinds
of shoes!

Five cups of coffee grounds can be put into a pair of sneakers.
五杯的咖啡渣可以做一雙球鞋。

Two cups of coffee grounds can be used to make slippers.
兩杯可以做拖鞋。

And waste from fifteen cups of coffee can make a pair of rain boots!
煮十五杯咖啡剩下的咖啡渣可以做雨鞋！

That's so cool. It would be so great if all the grounds that come from the
coffee I drink could be turned into something useful.
不浪費咖啡渣，真的很棒。

I wonder if these shoes smell like coffee, too.
這種鞋子會不會有咖啡香味呢？

Would you like a pair?
________________________________

Vocabulary
廢物再利用，是最環保的辦法。

1. Come up with 想出來。
I've got to come up with a plan. 我一定要想出辦法。
For what? 要做甚麼呢？
For winning the race. 贏得賽跑勝利。
Just get up and practice every day. 你就每天早起練習啊。

2. Useful 有用的。
Old newspapers can be useful. 舊報紙可以很有用。
Yeah, I often use them to clean my oven. 對啊，我經常用它們來清理烤箱。

3. Shoes 鞋子。
Would you wear shoes that are made of waste? 你會穿用廢物做的鞋子嗎？
Probably not. Would you? 大概不會。你會嗎？
I'm already wearing eco-friendly shoes. 我已經在穿環保鞋。

4. Reuse 再利用。
I think it's great to reuse things. 我覺得把東西重複利用很棒。
I agree. 我同意。
I'm using your water bottle as my vase. 我正在用你的水瓶當花瓶。

Please read the words with me.
come up with 想出來
useful 有用的
shoes 鞋子
reuse 再利用
________________________________

Quiz

1. What kind of waste is mentioned in this story?
a. Coffee grounds
b. Disposable cups
c. Plastic straws

2. What is made out of the waste in this story?
a. Shoes
b. Shirts
c. Pants

3. Where is the company mentioned in this story based?
a. Taiwan
b. Japan
c. South Korea

Answers
1. A
2. A
3. A
 

New Playgrounds in Kaohsiung

Playgrounds are fun!
遊樂場真好玩！

Everyone loves slides, swings, and monkey bars.

But in Kaohsiung, some of the playgrounds are very old… The swings are
broken… the slides are broken… and the monkey bars are broken.
高雄有些遊樂場很老舊，設備都壞了。

But... good news! Kaohsiung will soon open new parks… with new playgrounds!
不過馬上就有新的公園和遊樂場了！

All the swings, slides, tunnels and monkey bars are new… and they look like
fun!

One big new playground park is now open in the Auzidi Park.
新的遊樂場在凹子底公園。

The Auozidi Playground looks really cool!

There are some small slides and one really big slide!
有小溜滑梯，也有超大的溜滑梯！

You have to climb up a tower of ropes to get to the big, tall slide!

And there are swings... 還有鞦韆... and tunnels for children to play in.

And of course, lots of monkey bars and other things for exercise and play!
有好多遊樂器材可以玩！

Kids in Kaohsiung will soon have many new places to play! And all the
playground equipment is new!
高雄的小朋友，未來有好多新的地方可以玩，設備也都是新的。

I'm so happy for Kaohsiung! Maybe I'll go visit!

It's wet and cold in Taipei in the winter, but it's usually warm and sunny in
Kaohsiung!
台北的冬天濕冷，但高雄溫暖又晴朗。

Perfect weather for going to the park!
________________________________

Vocabulary
高雄凹子底公園，會成為孩子們的新樂園。

1. Park 公園。
What's your favorite park in Taipei, Ryan? 台北你最喜歡哪個公園？
It would be the Riverside Park. 是河濱公園。
I can go biking there, 我可以去那裡騎車， and the view is wonderful.
而且景觀很棒。

2. Broken 損壞的。
What's going on? 這是怎麼回事？
All the slides and swings are broken! 所有的溜滑梯跟鞦韆都壞了！
Yeah, why didn't they fix these broken things?
對啊，他們怎麼沒有修這些壞掉的東西？

3. Sunny 有太陽的。
It'll be a sunny day tomorrow. 明天是晴天。
Let's go out and have some fun! 我們出去玩兒吧！

4. Open 打開，開幕。
Great idea. 好主意。
A new water park has opened in Nantou. 南投有一家水上樂園新開幕。
Then what are we waiting for? 那我們還在等什麼？

Shall we read the words?
park 公園
broken 壞的
sunny 有太陽的
open 打開
________________________________

Quiz
1. What is a 'playground'?
A: A videogame
B: A place to park your car
C: A place to play on swings, slides, and monkey bars!

2. Why are they opening new playgrounds in Kaohsiung?
A: Things in the old parks are broken
B: It's wet and cold in Kaohsiung
C: The city wants children to stay home

3. What was one park in the story?
A: Auozidi Park
B: Monkey Park
C: Lala Park

Answers
1. C
2. A
3. A