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Rocket Hits Asteroid

Hi students! Today I want to talk about asteroids. An asteroid is a big rock
in space.
我們今天來聊聊小行星！

Scientists worry that an asteroid might hit Earth in the future. What would
happen if an asteroid did hit Earth? If it were big enough, it would cause
lots of trouble!
學家擔心小行星未來會撞到地球。如果小行星太大，我們就有麻煩了！

Remember the dinosaurs? Scientists think an asteroid hit the earth about 66
million years ago and killed them.
科學家認為有一顆小行星在六千六百萬年前撞到地球，把恐龍殺死了。

Right now, scientists don't think any asteroids will hit our planet soon. But
what about in the future?
現在沒有小行星會撞到地球，但是以後呢？

I don't want to scare you guys, but an asteroid might hit us one day. But,
here's the good news! NASA sent a rocket to hit an asteroid in space as a
test.
不用擔心，美國太空總署 NASA 測試了用火箭撞擊小行星。

It took 10 months for the rocket to hit the asteroid. The rocket blew up, but
the asteroid didn't. The purpose of the test was to hit the asteroid to
change its direction.
花了 10
個月的時間火箭才擊中小行星，而且爆炸了，但小行星沒有。測試的目的是要撞擊小行星，改變他的方向。

NASA scientists wanted to see if they could hit the asteroid. That way, if an
asteroid is coming right at Earth, we can hit it with a rocket. The rocket
can make the asteroid miss Earth.

Whew! Now, I feel safer!
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Vocabulary
這個實驗很像電影吧？故意用火箭去碰撞小行星，好讓它不要跟地球相撞。

1. hit 打到，撞擊
One of those stars may hit us someday. 那些星星有一顆可能會撞到我們。
And you're worried? 你很擔心嗎？
Not really. But I hope I can see it. 不會，不過我希望能看到。

2. earth 地球
You want to see a star hit the earth, our Earth?
你想看到一顆星撞上地球，我們的地球？
Yeah, it would be interesting to watch. 對啊，會很有趣吧。

3. kill 殺死
The last time it happened, all the dinosaurs were killed.
上回發生這種事的時候，所有的恐龍都完蛋了。
I know. But we're not a dinosaurs. 我知道，不過我們不是恐龍。
We won't be killed. 我們不會完蛋。

4. future 未來
I'm not sure about that. 這我可不確定。
I hope scientists can save us in the future. 我希望未來科學家能救我們一命。

今天的單字你記住了嗎？
hit 打到，撞擊
earth 地球
kill 殺死
future 未來
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Quiz

1. What is an asteroid?
A: A type of rocket
B: A big rock in space
C: A kind of bomb

2. How long did it take the rocket to hit the asteroid?
A: 10 days
B: 10 weeks
C: 10 months

3. What happened when the rocket hit the asteroid?
A: The rocket exploded.
B: The asteroid exploded.
C: The asteroid almost hit Earth.

Answers
1. B
2. C
3. A
 

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Taiwanese Man Will Come Home After 40 Years

Do you like to travel? It's fun to visit another country. You can eat
different food and meet interesting people. You can even hear another
language.
你喜歡旅遊嗎？去別的國家，會碰到不同的食物、人，還有語言！

It's great to travel and see new things, but it's also great to come home.
Some people travel for a few days, or even a few weeks. What if you didn't
come home for 40 years?
旅行後回家的感覺也很棒。但如果四十年回不了家，會怎麼樣？

That's what happened to a Taiwanese man named Mr Chen. He was a fisherman.
When he was young, he worked on a boat catching fish.
台灣有一個陳先生，他年輕的時候在船上當漁夫。

Once, the boat went to an island near Spain. Mr Chen went into town to make
friends with the island people.
他的船去了一個西班牙附近的小島，他進城去交朋友。

There, he fell asleep. When he woke up, his boat was gone.
後來在島上睡著了。當他醒來的時候，他的船已經離開了。

Mr Chen was sad, but he made the best of it. He learned to speak Spanish.
Then he became a chef, and learned to cook the local food. He even got
married and had seven kids.
他只好在那邊學西班牙文，後來成為了廚師，還結婚，有了七個小孩！

He stayed on that island for 40 years.
他在那邊生活了 40 年！

Recently, he met another Taiwanese person, who helped Mr Chen call his family.
最近他碰到了一個台灣人，終於幫他連絡到家人。

Now he wants to bring his wife and kids back to Taiwan. He knows it's never
too late to come home!
________________________________

Vocabulary
不幸流落異鄉的陳先生，替自己創造了另外一種人生。

1. travel 旅行
You just came back from Mexico. 你才剛從墨西哥回來。
And now you're going to Malaysia? 現在你又要去馬來西亞？
Yeah, I love traveling. 對，我喜歡旅行。
I get to meet different people… 我可以碰到不同的人...
And eat some delicious food. 並且享用美食。
Yes! 是的！

2. food 食物
So how do you like Mexican food? 所以你覺得墨西哥食物怎麼樣？
It's spicy but tasty. 很辛辣但是很好吃。

3. chef 大廚
I also made friends with this chef. 我還跟一位大廚成了朋友。
He's been to Taiwan before. 他來過台灣。

4. interesting 有趣的
He says Taiwanese people are interesting. 他說台灣人很有趣。
I agree. 我同意。
I find many people here interesting, too. 我也覺得這裡很多人很有趣。

Do you remember these words?
travel 旅行
food 食物
chef 大廚
interesting 有趣的
________________________________

Quiz

1. Why did Mr. Chen leave his boat?
A: To go catch fish
B: To go make friends
C: To go eat dinner

2. Where did Mr. Chen spend 40 years?
A: Japan
B: Canada
C: Spain

3. What does Mr. Chen want to do now?
A: Come back to Taiwan
B: Fall asleep
C: Get married

Answers
1. B
2. C
3. A
 

________________________________

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
________________________________

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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The World's Biggest Water Battery

We can use the power of water to make clean energy, without any smelly smoke
or dirty pollution.
我們可以用水力製造乾淨的能源，還不會製造汙染跟濃煙！

That's why, high in the mountains of Switzerland, they've just built the
world's biggest water battery!
現在瑞士在一座高山上，蓋了世界最大的水電池！

It's made of two huge lakes, one high above, and one down below. To make
electricity, water moves super-fast from the high lake down to the low lake,
through big long tunnels!
這個電池由兩座湖構成。水會從比較高的湖，通過隧道流到比較低的湖裡面，這樣就可以發電！

Inside the tunnels are huge turbines. They look like the blades of a fan, but
much, much bigger!
隧道裡面有很大很大的渦輪，長得很像電風扇的葉片。

The power of the rushing water makes the turbines spin really fast. As the
turbines spin, they make electricity!
水沖過渦輪，渦輪會開始高速轉動，就可以產生電力！

This water battery is so big it took 14 years to build, and it can make
enough electricity to power 900,000 homes! That's more than they need in
Switzerland, so they want to share it with the rest of Europe.
蓋這個水電池一共花了14年，生產的電力可以供應九十萬個家庭使用。因為自己用不完，瑞士打算跟其他國家分享！

Lots of clean energy for folks all over Europe, for years, all thanks to the
world's biggest water battery!
________________________________

Vocabulary
瑞士的水電池，是利用水位的高低差來發電。

1. Switzerland 瑞士
Have you ever been to Switzerland? 你有沒有去過瑞士？
No, have you? 沒有，你去過嗎？
No, but I'd sure like to visit. 沒有，很想去看看。

2. lake 湖泊
They have lots of beautiful lakes and high mountains.
他們有很多漂亮的湖和高山。
Yeah, and lots of snow too. It must be very cold there.
對，還有很多雪。那裏一定很冷。

3. biggest 最大的
And Lake Geneva is the biggest high-mountain lake in Europe.
還有，日內瓦湖是歐洲最大的高山湖。
Bigger than Sun Moon Lake? 比日月潭大嗎？
Much bigger. 大多了。

4. clean 乾淨的
It uses clean energy too. 它也用乾淨能源。
It all sounds great. 聽起來都很不錯。
But I prefer a warm place. 可是我喜歡溫暖的地方。

今天學到哪些單字？
Switzerland 瑞士
lake 湖泊
biggest 最大的
clean 乾淨的
________________________________

Quiz

1. Where is the world's biggest water battery?
A: Sweden
B: Swaziland
C: Switzerland

2. What's inside the water battery's big long tunnels?
A: Smelly smoke
B: Huge turbines
C: Dirty pollution

3. How long did this water battery take to build?
A: 43 years
B: 14 years
C: 40 years

Answers
1. C
2. B
3. B
 

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A Goal to Protect 30% of Earth

Do you have a goal? Most people have goals in life. That means they know what
they want.
你有目標嗎？大部分的人都會有一些人生的目標。這意味著他們對自己想要的東西有想法。

The best goal is a clear goal. If you know exactly what you want, it is
easier to get.
最好的目標就是清楚地知道你想要什麼，就更容易得到。

Recently, all the countries in the world had a big meeting called COP15 ("cop
fifteen"). Their goal was to solve a problem.
一百多個國家的代表最近聚集在一起，參加 COP15聯合國生物多樣性大會。
他們的目標是解決一個問題。

Every year, more kinds of plants and animals are lost forever. It is one of
Earth's biggest problems. We need to act soon.
每一年都有更多種類的植物跟動物永遠消失。這是地球上最大的問題之一。我們需要盡快採取行動。

To deal with this problem, the countries set a clearer goal. They call it
"Thirty by Thirty". That means they want to protect 30% of Earth's nature by
the year 2030.
為了解決這個問題，各國設定更清楚的目標。他們稱之為「三十乘三十」。
意思是他們希望2030年之前保護地球30%的自然環境。

That sounds like something we can really do! Now we only have a few years to
reach the goal, so all the countries on Earth must work together.
這聽起來是我們真的可以做的事情！
現在我們只有幾年的時間來實現這個目標，所以地球上的所有國家都必須共同努力。

They have a clear goal... do you have one?
________________________________

Vocabulary
保護動植物，也是愛護地球的方法。

1. life 人生
Do you know what you want in life? 你知道你的人生想要什麼嗎？
Yes, very clearly. 知道，很清楚。

2. want 想要
I want to always eat good food, live in a nice house and have lots of
clothes. 我想要總是吃美食，住好房子，有很多衣服。
You're right. 你說對了。
You do know what you want. 你確實知道想要什麼。

3. easier 比較容易的
How about you? 你呢？
Well, I'd like to have an easier job. 我想要有個比較輕鬆的工作。
That sounds like a good idea. 聽起來是個好主意。

4. together 一起
But what kind of job? 但是哪種工作呢？
A job like watching TV together with my family. 比如說家人一起看電視。
What?! 什麼啊？！
You can't make money that way! 這樣賺不到錢！

你的人生想做什麼呢？
life 人生
want 想要
easier 比較容易的
together 一起
________________________________

Quiz

1. What kind of goal is best?
A: A big goal
B: A clear goal
C: A fast goal

2. What did the countries in COP15 want to protect?
A: Cops
B: Money
C: Nature

3. How much of Earth did they set a goal to protect?
A: 15%
B: 30%
C: 60%

Answers
1. B
2. C
3. B