________________________________

How Wind Spins into a Tornado

Do you know what tornadoes are? They are towers of wind. They spin around and
around very fast. They're very strong and very, very scary!
你知道什麼是龍捲風嗎? 它是一個旋轉的空氣柱，破壞力很強，又非常嚇人!

A big tornado hit an American town. The tornado destroyed buildings and cars.
People had no electricity. They needed help!
龍捲風襲擊美國一個小鎮，摧毀建築物跟車子。當地還停電，民眾需要幫助。

How do tornadoes happen?
龍捲風怎麼形成的呢?

During some storms, warm air goes up to the clouds. At the same time, cold
air falls from the cloud. The warm and cold air mix and spin faster. If the
spinning air goes down to land, it becomes a tornado!
天氣不穩定的時候，暖空氣上升，冷空氣同時下降，冷暖空氣對流讓轉速越來越快，碰到地面就變成龍捲風。

Tornadoes show us that nature has a lot of power. Small, slow tornadoes can
pull off roof tiles. Big, fast tornadoes destroy buildings and pick up cars!
People try to stay safe in basements or places with no windows.
龍捲風向我們展現大自然的力量。小而慢的龍捲風會把屋頂的瓦片捲走。快而大的龍捲風會把房子跟車子吹走。民眾只能躲在地下室或是沒有窗戶的地方。

The tornado in the American town destroyed homes, shops, and restaurants.
龍捲風破壞小鎮的房屋、商店跟餐廳。

People are working together to fix their town.
居民合力一起恢復他們的小鎮。

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Vocabulary
龍捲風力量驚人，要是碰觸到地面，經常造成損害。
1. hit 打擊。
A tornado hit my sister's town! 龍捲風擊中了我妹妹的小鎮。
Oh no, is she okay? 糟糕，她還好嗎?
Yeah, she's fine, but her car is destroyed. 她很好，但是她的車子毀了。
2. land 地面。
That's terrible! 真可怕!
Yeah, and she said 3 tornadoes touched land in 3 different
areas.對，她說三個龍捲風落在三個不同的地區。
3. electricity 電力。
The electricity was out for a while. 有一陣子還停電。
At least they still have the house. 至少他們還有房子。
4. spin 旋轉。
That's true. 那是真的。
I wonder what it's like 我真想知道… to be spun around by the
wind.被風吹得團團轉是怎樣。
來一起讀今天的單字。hit打擊 land地面 electricity電力 spin旋轉

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Quiz
1. What is a tornado?
A: A type of cloud
B: A tower of spinning wind
C: A big rainstorm

2. How do tornadoes form?
A: When it rains a lot
B: When the sun shines very bright
C: When hot and cold air mix and spin really fast

3. What does the story say about small tornadoes?
A: They can pull off roof tiles
B: They can lift cars
C: They can destroy buildings
Answers
1. B
2. C
3. A

 

________________________________

Scientists Say It's Raining More… And Less

Do your mom and dad say it's raining more? Because of climate change, it is.
Air holds more water in our warmer world.
你爸媽有說過雨越下越多嗎?沒有錯，因為氣候變遷的關係，
氣候暖化讓空氣中有更多的水分。

Scientists say it's raining much more during wet times, and much less during
dry times. And these changes are causing problems.
科學家說雨季的雨水越來越多，乾季越來越乾燥，這些變化都會造成問題。

Too much rain can cause floods. There's too much water everywhere. Heavy rain
and floods damage farmers' crops. They damage homes, roads, and bridges.
Floods keep us from leaving our homes or schools. Flood water is dirty and
can make us sick!
雨太大會造成水災，會破壞農作物、家園、道路跟橋梁，我們只能待在家裡或學校。水災的髒水還會讓人生病。

Too little rain can cause droughts. There's too little water for everything.
Droughts hurt farmers. They need lots of water to grow crops. In Taiwan,
droughts hurt some technology companies. They need lots of water to make
their products. And droughts hurt us! We need water for a healthy life!
雨太少會引起乾旱。乾旱讓農作物無法生長，也影響科技公司製作產品，還會影響我們的健康。

We can't stop floods or droughts. But we can all help Taiwan have a little
more water every day. We can take shorter showers. We can turn off the water
when we brush our teeth or wash dishes.
我們沒辦法阻止水災或乾旱，但我們可以每天為台灣省多一點水，洗澡洗快一點，刷牙、洗碗的時候把水關掉。

Can you think of more ways?

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Vocabulary
雨水太多會造成水災，不夠的話又變成旱災。

1. too much 太多
It's raining like crazy out there! 外面的雨下得真瘋狂!
Yeah, just yesterday I was worried about my tomatoes getting too much sun.
對啊，我昨天還在擔心我的番茄曬太多太陽。

2. too little 太少
Now it's too much water.現在是水太多了。
But when there's too little rain 但是雨水太少的時候…
I would be worried too.我又會擔心。

3. farmer 農夫
I really don't want to grow anything anymore. 我真的什麼都不想種了。
I'm not a good farmer. 我就不是好農夫。

4. problem 問題。
Hey, blame it on climate change. 要怪氣候改變吧。
It's the weather that's causing problems, not you. 是天氣造成問題，不是你。

Do you like rain? 一起來讀單字。
too much太多
too little太少
farmer農夫
problem問題

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Quiz

1. What can too much rain cause?
a. Snow
b. Floods
c. Hot weather

2. What can too little rain cause?
a. Droughts
b. Typhoons
c. More rain

3. What can we do to save water?
a. Take longer showers
b. Take hotter showers
c. Take shorter showers

Answers:
1. b
2. a
3. c

 

________________________________

Typhoon Holidays

Typhoons can be very strong. Their fast winds and heavy rain cause lots of
damage. Typhoons can kill people.
颱風有很強的威力，它帶來的強風跟豪雨可能造成很多破壞，甚至奪走人的生命。

That's why Taiwan has typhoon holidays. These holidays keep everyone safe.
Your parents don't have to go to work. And you don't have to go to school!
所以台灣有颱風假，來保護大家的安全，放假時你的爸媽不用去上班，你也不用上學!

Each city says when there's a typhoon holiday. But it's hard to know how
strong a typhoon will be. Maybe a typhoon gets weak when it leaves the ocean.
It's also hard to know where it will go! Maybe it will turn and go to another
place. Surprise!
每個城市的政府會自己決定要不要放假，不過颱風強度很難預測，可能一離開海就變弱，移動的路線也是，它一轉彎就可能跑到別的地方!

Sometimes there's a typhoon holiday, but the typhoon isn't strong. You and
your friends can have fun outside! Everyone is happy! But companies aren't
happy. They have to pay their workers for no work!
有時候放颱風假後，天氣沒有不好，你跟你的朋友就會開心地在外面玩!
但有公司不開心，他們要付錢給沒有工作的員工!

And sometimes there's no typhoon holiday, but the typhoon is strong! Your
parents have to go to work. You have to go to school. And everyone gets wet
in the wind and heavy rain. Ugh! Nobody is happy then.
也有時候沒有放假，但是颱風非常強!
你跟爸媽都需要去上班上課，所以每一個人都淋得全身濕透，大家都不開心!

On your next typhoon holiday, stay safe!
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Vocabulary
颱風假有利有弊，不是大家都喜歡颱風假。

1. have to 必須。
Another day-off tomorrow! 明天又放一天!
No work and school! 不用上班上學。
Oh no, there are things I have to do! 糟糕，我有事情一定要做呢!

2. wind 風。
Do it at home. 在家做啊。
I can't! I must do it at the office! 沒辦法，一定得在辦公室。
Besides, the winds are not strong.而且風並不強。

3. outside 外面。
The rain is really heavy now. 現在雨真的很大。
Heavy rain never bothers me. 大雨從來不影響我。
Wait, are you going outside now?等等，你現在要去外面?

4. another 另一個。
Yeah, I can't wait for another day. 對，我不能再等一天。
I'll go and bring my computer back.我要去把我的電腦拿回來。

請跟我一起讀今天的單字。
have to必須 wind風 outside外面 another另一個
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quiz

1. Why does Taiwan have typhoon holidays?
a. To pay your parents
b. To keep everyone safe
c. To cause damage

2. Who says when there is a typhoon holiday?
a. The city
b. The president
c. Teachers

3. What happens when there's a typhoon but no typhoon holiday?
a. Everyone is happy!
b. Everyone is safe!
c. Everyone gets wet!

Answers:
1. b
2. a
3. c
 

________________________________

After Long Wait, Taichung School Gets New Sports Field

In 2004, a big typhoon hit Taiwan. It hurt many people. It destroyed many
homes and businesses. Taichung was one of the cities the big typhoon hit. The
wind and rain were very strong! The typhoon destroyed an elementary school
sports field!
2004 年有一個大颱風襲擊台灣，台中受到很大損失，一座小學操場被風雨毀掉!

This typhoon hurt Taichung very badly. People there had to build their city
again. They cleaned up roads. They fixed buildings. They took care of family
and friends who were hurt.
台中人努力重建城市，他們清理道路、重新蓋大樓，還有照顧受傷的民眾。

The school and the local people tried to fix the sports field. But fixing it
was not easy. There were many problems. They took a lot of time.
而那座小學也試著修理操場，但是問題太多了，花了很多時間。

Now it's 21 years after the big typhoon. And it's an exciting time for the
school and the local people!
現在過了 21 年，學校迎接一個讓人興奮的時刻!

The school will have a very nice new sports field by the end of the year!
After waiting for so long, the kids and the local people will be able to
enjoy having a sports field.
今年年底學校會有新操場！學生和當地民眾終於能好好享受運動。

Everyone can have fun together at Taichung's newest school sports field!
________________________________________
Vocabulary
小學操場被颱風摧毀之後二十一年，終於重建。

1. field 操場。
Oh boy, look at this field! 天哪，你看這個操場!
It's totally destroyed! 全部毀掉了。
Well, it's not that bad. 也沒那麼糟糕。

2. hurt 受傷的。
Just some fallen trees and running tracks with big
holes.只有一些倒下的樹，跑道上有幾個大洞。
I hope no children got hurt. 希望沒有小孩受傷。

3. clean up 清理。
They'd better clean up this place fast. 他們最好趕快把這裡清理乾淨。
Workers must be very busy today. 工人今天一定都很忙。

4. hit 打擊。
No typhoon holiday for them. 他們沒有颱風假。
How many typhoons have hit us so far? 到現在為止有幾個颱風來?
Four, I think. 我想有四個。

你有見過很恐怖的颱風嗎? 來一起讀單字。
field操場 hurt受傷的 clean up清理 hit打擊
________________________________________
Quiz

1. In this story, when did the big typhoon hit Taichung?
a. 2004
b. 2021
c. 2024

2. What did the big typhoon do to a school sports field?
a. Built it
b. Destroyed it
c. Fixed it

3. When can people enjoy the new sports field?
a. In 21 years
b. At the end of this year
c. At the end of next year

Answers
1. a
2. b
3. b
 

________________________________

Asteroid Won't Hit Earth, May Hit Moon

Scientists say something is flying in space. And it's near Earth. It's not a
spaceship. It's not a plane. It's a rock! Huh?
科學家說地球附近有物體在飛，不是太空船或飛機，是一顆石頭！

Many rocks go around and around the sun. They are asteroids. Earth and other
planets go around the sun too. But asteroids are much, much smaller.
很多石頭不停繞著太陽轉，叫做小行星。地球跟其他的行星也繞著太陽轉，不過小行星小很多。

Small asteroids can cause big problems. On June 30th, 1908, an asteroid
killed eighty million trees!
小行星可能會釀成災害，1908 年 6 月 30日，一顆小行星撞地球，摧毀了 8 千萬棵樹！

Last year, scientists found an asteroid near Earth. They named it 2024 YR4.
It is 53 to 67 meters wide. It looks like a pancake! Most asteroids look like
potatoes.
去年，在地球附近有一顆被命名為 2024 YR4 的小行星，有 53 到 67
公尺寬，長得像扁扁的鬆餅，大部分小行星都像馬鈴薯。

At first, scientists worried about 2024 YR4. Was it going to hit Earth? But
don't worry! Now scientists say it won't hit Earth. Whew! We are safe! But
scientists also say the asteroid may hit the moon in 2032!
科學家原本擔心它會撞地球，好消息是我們很安全！不過它可能會在 2032 年撞到月球。

Hey, it's June 30th again! That means today is International Asteroid Day! Do
you want something to do this summer? Find out more about asteroids!
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Vocabulary
小行星撞地球並不是只有在電影中，它真的可能發生。

1) worry 擔憂。
Imagine an asteroid hitting Earth. Boom! 想像一顆小行星撞地球，砰！
Don't joke about it. 不要開玩笑。
What? Do you really worry about it? 什麼，你真的擔心?
Yeah, I do. 是，我擔心。

2) planet 行星。
But it's not going to happen. 但是不會發生啊。
How can you be so sure? 你怎麼那麼確定?
Well, Earth is just a small planet. 地球只是一個小小的行星。
The universe is very big. 宇宙很大呢。

3) spaceship 太空船。
I think scientists should build many spaceships.
我覺得科學家應該造很多太空船。

4) summer 夏天。
So that we can fly away anytime? 好讓我們隨時飛走?
Yeah, like going on a summer vacation. 對，就好像去過暑假。

上完這一課，你就可以放假了！來一起讀單字。
worry擔憂 planet行星 spaceship太空船 summer夏天

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Quiz

1. What do asteroids go around and around?
a. The sun
b. Earth
c. Other planets

2. What does 2024 YR4 look like?
a. A potato
b. A pancake
c. A ball

3. When may this asteroid hit the moon?
a. 2027
b. 2032
c. 2038

Answers:
1. a
2. b
3. b