________________________________

Californians Collect Water From Storms

Today is World Water Day! What does that mean? Does it mean we should all go
take a bath and splash water everywhere?
今天是世界水資源日！這是甚麼意思？叫我們去泡澡、到處潑水嗎？

Not really! In fact, World Water Day is about taking care of our fresh water.
不是喔！世界水資源日要我們好好珍惜淡水資源。

Where does freshwater come from? It can come from the ground, or it can fall
from the sky.
淡水從哪裡來？它可以來自地下，也可以是從天上。

How can we take care of our fresh water? To answer that question, let's talk
about California. Recently, California has had two big problems with water.
我們如何保護我們的淡水？最近，加州碰到了兩個水資源的問題。

One problem is drought. That means it's too dry. For many years, there has
not been enough fresh water in California!
一個問題是乾旱。 加州好幾年以來，一直沒有足夠的淡水！

But this winter, California had the opposite problem. There were huge
rainstorms. The water came down too fast, and flooded many places.
但今年冬天，加州碰到了相反的問題。今年下了大豪雨，很多地方都淹水了。

Some Californians looked at these two problems, and had an idea. If they can
save the water from the rainstorms, they can use it again later when it gets
too dry.
加州有一些人想到，如果可以把豪雨的水存起來，以後就可以在乾旱時候用了。

So, they collected all the water they could. They keep it in barrels and in
cans. Later, when the weather is dry again, they can use it to water trees
and gardens.
他們盡可能把水蒐集起來，存在桶子裡面。當天氣又變乾時，那些水就可以用來澆花。

Taiwan sometimes has droughts too. Today, on World Water Day, let's remember
to use our water well!
________________________________

Vocabulary
水是珍貴資源，需要人類思考如何做最佳利用。

1. bath 洗澡
I'm going to take a bath. 我要洗個澡。
Two baths in one day? 一天洗兩次？
Why not? I'll sleep better. 為什麼不呢?我會睡得比較好。

2. drought 乾旱
We're going through a drought, you know. 你知道我們正在鬧旱災。
I do, and I've already stopped watering my trees.
我知道，我已經停止給樹澆水了。

3. save 儲存
You can save some of the bath water for that. 你可以存一些洗澡水去澆水。
That's too much trouble. 太麻煩了。
And the water may kill my trees. 那些水有可能弄死我的樹。

4. dry 乾掉
No, it won't. 不會的。
And it'll be better than just letting them dry up. 比讓那些樹乾枯好。

想想看，我們可以如何節省用水？來一起讀單字。
bath 洗澡
drought 乾旱
save 儲存
dry 乾掉
________________________________

Quiz

1. What day is today?
A: World Whale Day
B: World Wind Day
C: World Water Day

2. What happened in California this winter?
A: Rainstorms
B: Hurricanes
C: Tsunamis

3. What did Californians do with all the water that fell?
A: Take a bath
B: Save it for later
C: Splash it everywhere

Answers
1. C
2. A
3. B
 

________________________________

Ozone Layer Getting Better

Hi, students! I want to ask you a question. Do you know about pollution?
Pollution means things like air or water are dirty. We get air pollution from
many things, like cars.
Pollution 就是汙染。很多東西都會汙染空氣，像是汽車。

Pollution is bad. It causes a lot of problems. One problem is big: air
pollution hurts the ozone layer. The ozone layer is above the earth and the
clouds. You can't see it, but it helps us a lot.
空氣汙染會破壞臭氧層。臭氧層是在比雲還要高的地方，我們看不到它，但是它幫了我們很大的忙。

The ozone layer keeps us safe from the sun. We would be in big trouble
without the ozone layer! We would have more problems with our skin. We would
have more problems with our eyes too.
臭氧層幫我們抵擋太陽，沒有它，我們的皮膚跟眼睛都會受到傷害。

Air pollution made a hole in the ozone layer. That is very bad. But there is
some good news. The ozone layer is getting better!
空氣汙染讓臭氧層破了一個洞，不過好消息是，它的情況正在好轉！

Think of it like this. You fall down. You get a cut on your skin. Then your
skin gets better. It heals. The cut goes away.
有的時候你跌倒，皮膚會擦傷。然後它會慢慢地復原，傷口也就不見了。

Like your skin, the ozone layer is healing. The hole in the ozone layer is
getting smaller.
臭氧層的狀況就像人類的皮膚，它的洞也在慢慢地變小。

That is great news! It's healing because the air is cleaner. Maybe one day,
the hole in the ozone layer will go away.
會這樣是因為空氣變得更乾淨，也許有一天，臭氧層的破洞會完全消失。
________________________________

Vocabulary
大氣的臭氧層可以阻擋部分紫外線，保護地球上的生物。

1. heal 癒合
Your wound is healing. 你的傷口正在癒合。
It looks smaller now. 它現在看起來比較小了。
Yeah, it hurt like crazy yesterday. 是啊，昨天還痛得要命。
But now it's getting better. 現在就好些了。

2. fall 跌倒
I still can't believe you fell down the stairs. 我還是不相信你會從樓梯摔下來。
I know, and hit my head on the cabinet. 我知道，並且還撞到櫃子。

3. help 幫忙
I'm lucky to still have two eyes. 我很幸運還有兩隻眼睛。
You're lucky to have me help you with cooking. 你很幸運有我幫你做飯。

4. safe 安全的
How can I stay safe? 我怎樣才能保持安全？
By staying upstairs…? 就待在樓上嗎？

今天學到哪些單字？
heal 癒合
fall 跌倒
help 幫忙
safe 安全的
________________________________

Quiz

1. What does the ozone layer do?
A: It makes the air dirty
B: It makes problems with our skin
C: It keeps us safe from the sun

2. What made the hole in the ozone layer?
A: Pollution
B: The sun
C: Clouds

3. What is the great news about the ozone layer?
A: It is getting bigger
B: It is not changing
C: It is healing

Answers
1. C
2. A
3. C
 

________________________________

Scientists Study Seabird Safety

I'm eating lunch at the beach! Now, where are my sandwiches? ..... Hey!!!!
That seabird took my lunch! It's very smart! Now scientists want to see just
how smart seabirds are, to keep them safe.
海鳥偷走了我的午餐，牠們好聰明。科學家想要知道海鳥到底有多聰明，好保護牠們。

Scientists want to keep seabirds safe from wind farms. Wind farms make
electricity from the wind. They have big machines called 'turbines'. Turbines
have three blades. The wind spins the blades around and around.

There's lots of wind at sea. Turbines make the most electricity there. So
companies put wind farms there.
海邊風很強，所以風力發電渦輪機都蓋在海邊，上面有三片葉片，風會吹動扇葉來發電。

Scientists are worried about seabirds. Seabirds might fly into a turbine's
blades and die. So scientists studied seabird safety at a wind farm.
科學家擔心海鳥會飛進發電機轉動的扇葉而死亡，於是開始研究風力發電場的海鳥安全。

The study took two years. They watched 10,000 videos of the turbines. They
saw four kinds of seabirds come and go. And they found … nothing!

Zero seabirds flew into the turbine blades. Zero seabirds died! They all flew
far away from the spinning blades. Scientists don't know why. But those
seabirds are very smart indeed!
科學家研究了兩年，看了一萬多支發電機的監視器影片，發現有四種海鳥來來去去，但是這些海鳥就是很聰明，沒有一隻海鳥被撞死，科學家也不知道為甚麼。

Scientists need to study other kinds of seabirds. Maybe now they will find
how to save thousands of other seabirds too!
Bravo birdies!
________________________________________
Vocabulary
海鳥跟風力發電渦輪機相安無事，讓科學家有些意外。
1. fly 飛翔。
Fly, kite, fly! 飛呀，風箏，飛吧。
Look how high it is! 你看它飛得多高!
Yeah, it's beautiful against the blue sky.對啊，襯著藍天真好看。

2. spin 轉圈。
Oh no, it's spinning around. 糟了，它在轉圈圈。
It's just the wind. 只是風的關係。
It'll steady once the wind weakens. 風變小就穩定了。

3. far away 很遠的。
Now it's flying too far away. 現在它飛得太遠了。
It'll take an hour to bring it back. 要一個鐘頭才收得回來。
That's okay. We have a lot of time. 沒關係，我們有的是時間。

4. beach 海灘。
This is really a nice beach. 這真是個美好的海灘。
It is. We should come back more often. 真的，我們應該常回來。

你有在海邊放風箏過嗎?
fly飛翔
spin轉圈
far away很遠的
beach海灘

________________________________________
Quiz
1. What are wind farms for?
A: Studying seabirds
B: Watching videos
C: Making electricity

2. What machines have three spinning blades?
A: Videos
B: Scientists
C: Turbines

3. How many seabirds flew into the machines?
A: Zero
B: Two
C: Four

Answers
1. C
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. (SFX: electric zap) 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. (SFX: heavy
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

 

________________________________

NASA's Super-Quiet Supersonic Jet

Let's have a quick quiz! Listen: what's this?

This sound is a sonic boom. It happens when something moves faster than the
speed of sound!
這是聲爆，當物體移動的速度比聲音快就會發生聲爆。

Sound moves very fast through the air. Airplanes do too. The fastest
airplanes are jets. Some jets fly faster than sound! They're supersonic jets.
聲音在空氣中傳得很快，飛機也是這樣。最快的飛機是噴射機，超音速噴射機比聲音還要快。

One of the most famous supersonic jets was the Concorde. Most airplanes take
seven hours to fly from London to New York. The Concorde did it in three and
a half hours!
最有名的超音速噴射機是協和號客機，協和號只需要花三個半小時就可以從倫敦飛到紐約，是普通噴射機的一半。

One problem with the Concorde was the sonic boom. It was too loud! People
didn't like it.
協和號其中的一個問題是聲爆太吵了，大家不喜歡。

NASA is the space agency of the USA. Now, NASA is making a new, very quiet
supersonic jet! It's called the X-59.
美國太空總署正在製造新型的超音速噴射機，聲音很小，叫做 X-59。

NASA says the X-59 can fly from New York to London in one and a half hours!
That's much faster than the Concorde! And the sonic boom is now a little
sonic thump.
太空總署說這款飛機從紐約到倫敦只需要一個半小時! 比協和號更快!

The X-59 is a new start for much faster, much quieter flights!
________________________________________

Vocabulary
超音速噴射機的聲音太吵，美國太空總署正在改善。

1. fast 快的
Wow, that was fast! 哇，飛得好快!
Yeah, so cool! 對啊，好酷 !
What kind of fighter jets are they? 那是哪一種噴射戰機?
I think they're F-16. 我想是F-16.

2. airplane 飛機
They're so much faster than an airplane. 它們比飛機快多了。
It's because they're much smaller. 因為它小很多。

3. supersonic 超音速
They can go supersonic as well.它們也可以超音速飛行。
I hope they do that now. 我希望它們現在就那樣飛。
I can't wait for the sonic boom. 我等不及要聽聲爆了。

4. loud 大聲的
It'll be so loud that you have to cover your ears. 那聲音會大到你得遮住耳朵。
Really? How exciting! 真的嗎? 好興奮!

今天的單字很有趣。
fast快的
airplane飛機
supersonic超音速
loud大聲的
________________________________________

Quiz

1. What happens when something moves faster than sound?
a. Thunder
b. An explosion
c. A sonic boom

2. What kind of airplane was the Concorde?
a. A super-quiet jet
b. A superhero jet
c. A supersonic jet

3. In how many hours can the X-59 fly from New York to London?
a. Seven hours
b. Three and a half hours
c. One and a half hours

Answers:
1. c
2. c
3. c