________________________________

8th Grader Wins Spelling Bee with 'Taiwan'

How do you spell the word "Taiwan"?
你知道「台灣」用英文要怎麼拼嗎？

One girl spelled Taiwan, and… she won a spelling bee!

What's a spelling bee? It's a contest in American schools. Many students like
it. Winners can go to state and national spelling bees.
拼字比賽在美國很受歡迎，學校比賽的冠軍可以參加全國拼字比賽。有一個女生因為拼出台灣，得到了冠軍！

In this contest, students try to spell words. They say the letters. But some
English words are hard to spell.
參賽的學生需要說出單字的正確拼法，但有一些英語單字很難拼。

Kayla is an 8th grader. She is from Idaho. She went to a big spelling bee in
Idaho. Kayla is a very good speller. But she didn't think she would win.
愛達荷州的國二學生 Kayla 參加了這項比賽，她覺得自己不會贏。

The words got harder and harder. One by one, students made spelling mistakes.

Finally, there was only Kayla… and one more student. Kayla had one more word
to spell. If she spelled it right, she would win.
但是單字越來越難，競爭對手一個一個被淘汰，剩下 Kayla 跟另外一個學生，Kayla
只要拼對最後一個字就會獲勝。

Kayla took a deep breath and said three letters: "T-A-I"... Then she said
three more letters: "W-A-N". It was Taiwan!
Kayla 深呼吸，然後開始拼出 T-A-I-W-A-N。

She was right! Kayla was the winner! She won $1000 dollars. And now she can
go to the national spelling bee.
她答對了！Kayla 獲得冠軍，有一千美元獎金！現在她可以參加全國拼字大賽了。

Good luck at the national spelling bee, Kayla!
________________________________

Vocabulary
台灣這個字的英文其實很簡單，而Kayla拼對了。

1. hard 困難的
I find these math problems really hard. 我發現這些數學題真的好難。
Don't look at me. I can't help you there. 別看我。我幫不上忙。
I didn't even ask. 我都還沒問呢。
I know. I'm just saying. 我知道，我只是說說。

2. harder 更困難
But it feels like it's getting harder and harder every day.
但是我覺得它一天比一天難。
That's because you're learning something new. 那是因為你在學新的東西。

3. mistake 錯誤
But I keep making mistakes. 但是我一直犯錯。
Of course. How else can you learn? 當然啦，要不然怎麼學？

4. contest 比賽
You sound like you've won math contests before. 你聽起來以前贏過數學比賽。
Not at all. 完全沒有。

拼字比較難還是數學？
hard 困難的
harder 更困難
mistake 錯誤
contest 比賽
________________________________

Quiz

1. Which U.S. state is Kayla from?
A: Iowa
B: Texas
C: Idaho

2. Where can Kayla go next?
A: The Iowa State Spelling Bee
B: The National Spelling Bee
C: The World Spelling Bee

3. At spelling bees, how do students spell words?
A: They write letters
B: They say letters
C: They read letters

Answers
1. C
2. B
3. B
 

________________________________

Man Gets Degree 52 Years After Beginning

Yay! I'm finished studying! I went to college. I studied for two years. I got
a degree in cooking! My degree shows I can cook well.
唸了兩年，我終於從廚藝學校畢業了！

Some people go to college or university. They want a degree. A degree shows
they studied something. Some degrees take two years. Some take four or five
years. But guess what? One man's degree took fifty-two years! That's a very
long time!
有一些人去讀大學，想要拿學位。學位是他們學習的證明，有一些學位需要兩年時間，有些要四到五年。但有一個人花了五十二年！

Nick wanted a Ph.D. A Ph.D is one of the highest degrees. Ph.D. students
think of new ideas. They study their new ideas. Nick studied his math idea.
It was 1970. He was 23 years old.
Nick 想要讀博士，是最高的學位。博士生需要構思新點子，並且做研究。Nick 在1970
年，也就是他 23 歲的時候，開始攻讀數學博士學位。

He studied for five years. But… he did not finish his degree! Nick did not
study for a long time. His idea was big. He wanted to think about it. He did
other things. He worked. He had a family.
過了五年，他仍然沒有獲得博士學位，
因為他的點子太龐大了，需要好好思考。所以他先去工作，也有了自己的家庭。

Then he went to university again. He was 69 years old! Some people stop
studying. They do not study again. But Nick did. Nick finished studying his
math idea. He got his Ph.D. He was 75 years old!
等到他重回大學，已經 69 歲了! 他繼續鑽研數學， 75
歲那年終於完成了研究，得到了博士學位！

Nick shows us we can study and learn at any time in our lives!
________________________________

Vocabulary
活到老學到老，尼克並沒有因為年齡而限制自己。

1. study 讀書
Join our party Friday night, Paz. 來參加我們星期五晚上的派對吧。
There will be barbecue and music.會有烤肉，還有音樂。
Oh, I wish I could! 我真希望我能去！
But I need to study. 但是我要讀書。

2. year 年
You've already studied for two years! 你已經讀了兩年了。
I know, and I still have two more years to go. 我知道，還要再讀兩年呢。

3. get 獲得
Before getting your doctorate degree? 之後就拿到博士學位嗎？
Yeah. It feels like a long time. 對，感覺還要好久。

4. finish 完成
But after you finish, you can get a good job. 但是完成之後，就可以找到好工作。
If I am lucky. 要是我運氣好的話。

這些單字簡單好用。
study 讀書
year 年
get 獲得
finish 完成
________________________________

Quiz

1. What did Nick study?
A: English
B: Math
C: Chinese

2. How long did it take Nick to get a degree?
A: 5 years
B: 50 years
C: 52 years

3. How old was Nick when he got his degree?
A: 23 years old
B: 69 years old
C: 75 years old

Answers
1. B
2. C
3. C
 

________________________________

Kids in Jail in the USA

Narrator: Guys! Listen up! Two kids were arrested! The police put them in
jail!

The kids were fighting in the street. They were running into each other. They
were fighting with their heads!
有兩個小孩在路上用頭互撞的方式打架，被警察逮捕了！

Some people saw the fight. One person said the kids had "been fighting all
weekend".
有人說那兩個小孩整個周末都在打架。

Some people were worried. They didn't want the kids to get hurt. So they
called the police.
有人很擔心他們受傷，所以叫了警察。

The police came and pulled the kids apart.

Police: Come on, you two!

Narrator: The kids were very angry! They wanted to keep fighting!
警察把他們拉開，但他們還是很生氣，想要繼續打架！

The police took them to the police station. The kids spent a night in jail.
他們被帶到警察局，在監獄裡面待了一個晚上。

The next day, their owner came and took them home.

Wait! Their owner?! Kids don't have owners, do they? They have mothers and
fathers and teachers… but no one owns them. Right?!
隔天主人來把他們帶走。等等，主人？小孩只有爸媽，沒有主人吧？

Well, these kids have an owner. You see, they aren't people like you and me.
These kids are goats!
其實，他們跟你們不一樣，他們是小山羊！

Yep! A 'kid' is a young goat…like a puppy is a young dog, and a kitten is a
young cat!
"Kid" 除了是小孩，也是小山羊的意思。就像 puppy 是小狗，kitten 是小貓。

So, two young goats went to jail for fighting. Those are some baaaaaaad kids!
________________________________

Vocabulary
兩隻小山羊被關起來了，免得繼續打架。

1. get hurt 受傷
Come on, boys, knock it off! 好啦，孩子們，該停止了！
You may get hurt! 你們可能會受傷。

2. fight 打架
Why do boys like fighting? 為什麼男生喜歡打架？
I don't know. 我不知道。
Girls fight too, but not with their fists. 女生也會，只是不用拳頭。
Yeah, girls fight with words. 對，女生用語言。

3. listen 注意聽
They say things to hurt each other. 她們說一些話傷害對方。
Sometimes people just need to listen. 有時候大家只要聆聽就好了。

4.angry 生氣的
They can't if they're very angry. 假如他們很生氣就做不到。
Right, I can't when I'm angry. 對，我生氣的時候就沒辦法。

大家一起來讀單字。
get hurt 受傷
fight 打架
listen 注意聽
angry 生氣的
________________________________

Quiz

1. What do we call a young goat?
A: A puppy
B: A kitten
C: A kid

2. How long did the goats spend in jail?
A: A weekend
B: A night
C: A month

3. What were the goats fighting with?
A: Their heads
B: Their hands
C: Their teachers

Answers
1. C
2. B
3. A
 

________________________________

Reading Books Is a Sport

Some people like to exercise on their own. Maybe they like jogging, or going
to the gym. Some people like to play team sports, like baseball or
basketball. They play with their friends on a team.

There's a fun new team sport! It's reading!
有一些人喜歡自己去運動，像是慢跑或去健身房。有一些人喜歡團隊運動，像是棒球或籃球。但現在有一種新的團隊運動，就是閱讀！

At some schools, students can make teams. The teams read 10 books to get
ready for a game. They talk about the books. Who are the writers? What are
the names of the books? What are the books about? Who are the people in the
books? Students study the books. Then the teams are ready.
學生可以組隊，一起閱讀十本書。然後討論作者、書名、書的內容、角色等等。

The teams play against other teams at their school. The winners play against
teams from other schools.

One team played against another school's team. Their families, friends, and
other students were watching. The teams answered 20 questions. But there was
no winner yet!
校內比賽的贏家會跟其他的學校比賽，家人朋友都來看比賽！但是回答了 20
題，贏家還沒有出爐。

The teams answered eight more questions. They gave good answers again and
again! Which team was going to win the game?
比賽隊伍又回答了 8 題，通通答對了，到底最後會獎落誰家？

Then... there was a winner!

Reading on a team and playing against other teams is fun! Could reading be a
sport in Taiwan?
________________________________

Vocabulary
閱讀這種靜態活動，也可以當成團隊運動項目來比賽呢。

1. gym 健身房
Heading out for the gym? 去健身房嗎？
Right, I really need to work out. 對，我真的需要運動。
I've been lazy for two weeks. 我已經偷懶兩個星期。

2. jog 慢跑
Gym is boring. 健身房很無聊。
You can try some outdoor sports. 你可以試試看戶外運動。
Like jogging or biking? 像是跑步或是騎車嗎？
No, thank you. 不，謝了。

3. exercise 運動
I'd rather exercise indoors. 我寧願在室內運動。
It's no fun when you're alone.自己一個人不好玩。

4. talk about 說到
You can talk about things when you jog with someone. 你跟別人一起跑可以聊天。
No, I don't want to wait for others. 不，我不想等別人。

Let's read the vocabulary.
gym 健身房
jog 慢跑
exercise 運動
talk about 說到
________________________________

Quiz

1. Which of these is not a team sport?
A: Basketball
B: Jogging
C: Baseball

2. How do students get ready to read as a sport?
A: Throw books
B: Study books
C: Kick books

3. How many books did the teams have to read?
A: 8
B: 20
C: 10

Answers
1. B
2. B
3. C
 

________________________________

Barbershops Stop Boredom with Books

Barbers cut people's hair. They work in barbershops.

Many people like barbershops. They talk with the barber. They see their
friends. They relax and have fun. Oh, and they get a haircut!
很多人喜歡理髮店，可以跟師傅聊天，見見朋友，當然也是為了剪頭髮。

One day, a teacher went to his barbershop. One of his students came in. But
his student didn't have fun. He had nothing to do. He was very bored. He
wanted to go!
有一天，一位老師去剪頭髮。他的學生也在那裡。但是這個學生覺得很無聊，想要離開。

The teacher knew his student. He needed a good book to stop his boredom. Then
the teacher had a great idea!
老師知道他的學生需要看書才不會無聊。他想到一個好點子!

The teacher gave his barbershop many good kids' books. The books were free -
and fun! He wanted kids to read at the barbershop. He wanted kids to like
reading. And great news! His idea worked very well!
他捐了很多童書給理髮店，希望小朋友可以在理髮店看書，也從此喜歡看書。

Now he helps over two hundred barbershops! He gives them fun kids' books. The
barbers talk with kids about reading too. They ask "Do you like to read?" and
"How is that book?" Kids like reading and talking about books there!
這個老師捐書給兩百多家理髮店。理髮師也會問小朋友們喜不喜歡看書。

That's thousands of kids' reading books, getting a haircut, and having fun!
________________________________________

Vocabulary
到理髮店剪頭髮，順便看故事書，很棒的主意!

1. haircut 剪頭髮
Hey, you got a new haircut! 嘿，你剪了新髮型!
Looks great on you! 很好看呢!
Really? I did it yesterday. 真的喔? 我昨天剪的。
I'm still not sure if I like it. 我還不確定喜不喜歡。

2. bored 厭煩
So you were just bored with your old look? 所以你就是厭煩了老樣子?
Yeah, I got all sweaty with my long hair. 對啊，長頭髮讓我流好多汗。

3. free 免費的
But the best thing is my haircut was free! 最棒的是，我剪頭髮是免費的。
How is that possible? 怎麼可能?
A free haircut in Taipei? 在台北免費剪頭髮?

4. great 很棒的
It's true! 真的啊。Isn't it great? 不是很棒嗎?
I won a gift voucher in a lucky draw.我在幸運抽獎時抽中了禮券。

還記得今天學到哪些單字嗎?
haircut剪頭髮
bored厭煩
free免費的
great很棒的

________________________________________

Quiz

1. Who works in a barbershop?
a. Teachers
b. Students
c. Barbers

2. What did the student need to stop his boredom?
a. Nothing
b. A haircut
c. A good book

3. How many barbershops is the teacher helping?
a. Under 200
b. Around 200
c. Over 200

Answers:
1. c
2. c
3. c