________________________________

Thailand Goes Big For Songkran

Today is the start of the traditional New Year in Thailand!

The Thai New Year is called Songkran. It is in April every year. It's
Thailand's most famous festival. There's a lot of music and dancing!
今天是泰國傳統新年--潑水節！潑水節在每一年四月，是泰國最有名的慶典，大家會在這一天唱唱跳跳。

There's a lot of water too. Water is very important for Songkran. There are
lots of big water fights! People throw water at each other. They shoot water
guns! Everyone has fun. And everyone gets very, very wet!
潑水節大家還會打水仗！他們會互相潑水、射水槍，全身都會溼答答。

There are lots of competitions at Songkran. There are cool drum competitions.
The drums are very big! The drummers can use any part of their body. They use
their hands, their feet, their elbows… or their heads!
潑水節還有很多不同的比賽。有個很酷的打鼓比賽，參賽者可以用身體的任何部位去打一面大鼓！

In Thailand, Songkran is very important for Buddhists. They go to a temple.
They pour water on images of the Buddha. They also pour water on the hands of
Buddhist monks. This is a sign of respect.
潑水節對泰國的佛教徒來說也很重要。他們會去寺廟，澆水在釋迦摩尼佛的神像上，也會澆水在和尚的手上。這是他們表達尊重的方式。

Thailand wants Songkran to be more famous. They want everyone to know about
Songkran. They want more people to visit Thailand.
泰國希望大家認識他們的潑水節，也希望更多人來泰國玩。

Today is an exciting day in Thailand. There is music, dancing, competitions,
and lots and lots of water! Songkran ends on Saturday. Happy Songkran,
everyone!
________________________________

Vocabulary
名聞遐邇的泰國潑水節，充滿熱帶國家風情。

1. wet 潮濕的
Songkran in Thailand sounds so much fun! 泰國潑水節聽起來真有趣！
Yeah, I'd sure like to go. 對啊，我好想去。
I've heard that you get wet from head to toe. 我聽說你會從頭到腳濕透透。

2. everyone 每個人
And people carry big water guns for a nice water fight. 大家會拿著水槍打水仗。
With strangers on the street? 跟路上的陌生人打？
With everyone on the street! 跟路上每個人打！

3. fight 搏鬥
That's so cool! 太酷了！
I would pick children to fight with. 我會找小孩子來打水仗。
They may be much better than you. 他們可能比你強得多呢。

4. April 四月
So we're going next April? 所以我們明年四月去？
Absolutely! 一定要的。

我們來讀今天的單字。
wet 潮濕的
everyone 每個人
fight 搏鬥
April 四月
________________________________

Quiz

1. What is Songkran?
A. A Thai song
B. A Thai dance
C. The Thai New Year

2. What do people throw at Songkran?
A: Water guns
B: Big drums
C: Lots of water

3. Where do Buddhists go for Songkran?
A: A mosque
B: A church
C: A temple

Answers
1. C
2. C
3. C
 

________________________________

Italy Wants to Keep its Food Safe

Ah! Italy…

Italy is a country. It's in Europe. It has a long history. It has a great
culture.

The Romans lived there two thousand years ago. They made beautiful statues,
temples, and other things.
義大利是歐洲一個歷史悠久的國家。羅馬人兩千年前在義大利創造了美麗的雕像還有聖殿。

We can see many of these things in Italy today. They are very, very old! But
Italy keeps them safe. They are important to Italian people. These things are
part of their heritage.
現在到義大利還能看到這些東西，它們歷史悠久，對義大利人來說意義重大，所以要好好保存。這是他們的文化遺產。

We all have a heritage. It is important. Heritage comes from our family. It
comes from the history and culture of our family's country.
我們都有遺產，有時候是家庭遺產，有時候是國家的歷史跟文化。

Where is your family from? Taiwan? Then you have Taiwanese heritage.

Italians love their heritage. They share Italy's history and culture.

It's important for countries to keep their heritage safe. So there is a list.
保存國家的文化遺產很重要，所以有人列了一張名單。

Some very famous things are on this list. The Taj Mahal in India and the
Great Wall of China are on the list.
上面有印度的泰姬瑪哈陵，還有中國的萬里長城。

Now Italy wants to put something new on this list. It's not a statue or a
temple… It's their food!
現在義大利想要在這個名單加上新的東西，不是雕像也不是聖殿，而是他們的食物。

Everyone loves Italian food! Pizza, pasta, ice cream… YUM! Italians want to
keep their food safe. Then everyone can enjoy their heritage for many, many
years!

Today is World Heritage Day. What is your heritage?
________________________________

Vocabulary
義大利有豐富的文化遺產，還有美味的義大利菜。

1. culture 文化
I love Italian food! 我愛義大利菜！
Me too. 我也是。
Italian people must have a happy culture. 義大利人一定有快樂的文化。
Even their food is good for celebrations. 連他們的食物也很適合慶祝。

2. history 歷史
Like pizza? 比如說披薩嗎？
Like pizza. 比如說披薩。
You just have to share when eating it. 吃披薩一定要大家分享。
I agree. 我同意。
I also like reading about the history of the Romans. 我也喜歡讀羅馬人的歷史。

3. thousand 千
Two thousand years of history. 兩千年的歷史。
Right, isn't that amazing? 對，很驚人吧？
It's almost as long as Chinese history. 幾乎跟中國歷史一樣長。

4. old 老的
Both countries are old. 兩個國家都很老。
Very old. 非常老。

Please read the words with me.
culture 文化
history 歷史
thousand 千
old 老的
________________________________

Quiz

1. Where does our heritage come from?
A: Our family
B: Our friends
C: Our phone

2. Where did the ancient Romans live?
A: India
B: China
C: Italy

3. What does Italy want to put on the list?
A: A Roman statue
B: Italian history
C: Italian food

Answers
1. A
2. C
3. C
 

________________________________

A Water Festival in Taiwan

Hi there! Have you ever been to a water festival? People throw lots of water.
Everyone gets very wet! It sounds like fun!
你參加過潑水節嗎？大家都會全身濕淋淋的，很好玩！

There is a water festival in a country called Myanmar. The festival is called
Thingyan. It celebrates Myanmar's New Year. Their New Year is in April.
緬甸的潑水節在四月舉辦，叫做 Thingyan，是緬甸的新年。

Many people from Myanmar live in Taiwan. Many of them live in New Taipei
City. New Taipei City has a "Little Myanmar". Little Myanmar has many shops
and restaurants.
很多緬甸僑胞住在台灣的新北市，新北有個地區綽號叫做小緬甸，有很多商店跟餐廳。

Every year, people from Myanmar have a big water festival there. But this
year, there was a problem. There wasn't much rain. And now it is important to
save water in Taiwan. What happened to the water festival this year?
每一年，緬甸人都會在小緬甸舉辦潑水節，但今年台灣的雨太少了，需要節約用水，怎麼辦呢？

They still had the festival. They celebrated their culture and traditions.
They shared them with festival visitors too. But they used very little water!
They sprinkled some drops of water on people. Their tradition says this water
washes away bad luck.
他們還是舉辦了潑水節，慶祝傳統文化，不過只撒一點點水在身上。他們相信潑水可以洗去厄運。

People from Myanmar had their water festival with very little water! Let's
help Taiwan save water too!
________________________________

Vocabulary
新北市的小緬甸，每年都會慶祝潑水節。

1. celebrate 慶祝
My friend has just returned from Thailand. 我的朋友剛從泰國回來。
He says he had the best time celebrating the Water Festival there.
他說他在那裏的潑水節玩得非常開心。

2. everyone 每個人
What did they do? 他們做了什麼？
He and his friends bought big water guns… 他跟他的朋友買了大水槍...
And they shot water at each other? 然後互相射擊？
Yeah, and everyone they saw on the street. 對，並且也針對路上看到的每個人。

3. year 年
That does sound like a lot of fun! 聽起來真好玩！
Yeah, I want to go, but it's too late now. 我很想去，但是現在太遲了。
You can go next year. 你可以明年去啊。
They have this festival every year. 他們每年都有這個節日。

你想慶祝潑水節嗎？
celebrate 慶祝
everyone 每個人
year 年
________________________________

Quiz

1. When is Myanmar's water festival?
A: January
B: April
C: August

2. What do people do at water festivals?
A: Make other people wet
B: Swim
C: Drink a lot of water

3. How much water did this year's water festival use?
A: A lot
B: Very little
C: No water

Answers
1. B
2. A
3. B
 

________________________________

American Students Visit Taiwan

In today's news, nine American high school students visited Taiwan! What did
these students learn in one week?
有九個美國高中生來到台灣！他們在這一個禮拜中學到了什麼呢？

One: Taiwan's cities like nature! A student saw a big tree at her hotel
window. It was growing freely.
第一，台灣的城市喜歡大自然。學生從飯店窗戶看到外面自由生長的大樹。

She said this kind of tree is cut down in their city. She says Taiwan lets
nature be. Their city has trees and trees and grass. But they're in parks,
gardens, and along streets.
她說在他們的城市，樹都砍掉了，只有公園、花園，跟道路兩邊才有樹木。

Two: Taiwanese people do big things in small spaces! The students learned
motorcycle repair shops and many other businesses don't need big spaces.
第二，台灣人在小小的空間裡做很多事！這些學生看到摩托車修理廠，還有很多小小的店家。

The students' city has a lot of space. So people use lots of space!
這些學生的家鄉有很大的空間，所以人們就使用很多空間。

Three: Taiwanese people are kind! They shared their homes and their daily
lives. They talked with the students in Chinese. Everyone helped them.
第三，台灣人很友善！他們招待學生住進自己家，跟他們一起生活，還跟學生講中文。大家都會幫他們忙。

The students said Taiwan was very interesting. They learned about nature,
spaces, and Taiwanese people. And they feel stronger speaking Chinese now!
________________________________

Vocabulary
小小的空間裡可以做很多事！

1) hotel 旅館
Now this is really a small room! 這真是個小房間。
It's a small hotel. 這是一家小旅館。

2) space 空間
Can I put my bag here? 我可以把行李箱放在這裡嗎？
No, this is my personal space. 不行，這是我的個人空間。
Your personal space? 你的個人空間？
It's one meter away from your bed! 這離你的床有一公尺呢！

3) a lot of 很多
I know, I just need a lot of space. 我知道，我就是需要很多空間。
Next time let's stay at a big hotel. 我們下次住大旅館。

4) share 分享
Or we can have two rooms. 或者我們可以要兩間房。
Then we don't need to share. 那樣就不用分享。
No, that would be too lonely. 不要，那太寂寞了。

你今天學到哪些英文字？
hotel 旅館
space 空間
a lot of 許多
share 分享
________________________________

Quiz

1. How many American students came to Taiwan?
A: 9
B: 19
C: 90

2. What made the students think Taiwan's cities like nature?
A: Tall buildings
B: Trees growing freely
C: Parks

3. What did people do when a student made a mistake in Chinese?
A: Got angry
B: Helped the student
C: Said it wasn't okay

Answers
1. A
2. B
3. B
 

________________________________

Superhero Kids Are Saving the Earth

The Earth needs a lot of help. Who can help? One man says kids can help the
Earth! 有個人說小朋友可以幫助地球!

The man made a game for kids. The game helps them save the Earth! In this
game, kids are superheroes.
他為小朋友設計了一個救地球的遊戲，在遊戲裡，他們都是超級英雄。

How do kids play the game? First, they make a superhero group. Superheroes
are stronger together. 這個遊戲該怎麼玩呢? 首先小朋友們要組成超級英雄聯盟。

Then they look at their neighborhood. Can they help the Earth there? Are the
parks dirty? Are there no trees or gardens?
他們找找看家裡附近有沒有可以幫助地球的，公園乾不乾淨，是不是沒有樹或花園。

The superheroes talk to people in their neighborhood. They learn a lot. Some
people give them more help.
超級英雄們和鄰居聊過，他們學到很多，有一些鄰居還給他們很多幫助。

The superheroes have many ideas. They make a plan and then … the superheroes
have fun! 孩子們有很多的想法。他們訂了一個計劃。

The superheroes make parks clean and green! They plant trees! They make
neighborhood gardens! They have fun together and help save the Earth!
孩子們綠化了公園，也把它變乾淨! 他們玩得很開心還幫助了地球!

The Earth needs many superheroes. You and your friends can be superheroes
too! Play the game together.
地球需要更多的超級英雄。你跟你的朋友也一起參加遊戲吧!

************************************************************************************************
Vocabulary
一個好玩的遊戲，讓兒童幫地球的忙。

1. dirty 髒的。

Wow, this beach is really dirty! 哇，這個海灘真是髒!
Yeah… It was not like this when I was little. 是啊，我小時候不是這樣的。

2. look at 看，注視。

Look at all these bottles and bags! 你看這些瓶子袋子。
Should we help clean this beach? 我們應該幫忙清理這個海灘嗎?

3. neighborhood 鄰近的區域。

No! What we should do is get everyone in this neighborhood to help out.
不，我們應該做的，是讓這個地方每個人都來幫忙清理。
That's too hard. 那太難了。

4. together 一起。

I know. But it's the only way. 我知道，不過這是唯一的辦法。And it can be fun
when people do it together. 而且大家一起做，還會很好玩呢!

一起來讀今天的單字。
dirty髒的 look at注視 neighborhood鄰近的區域 together一起

************************************************************************************************
Quiz

1. What did one man make to help save the Earth?
a. a park
b. a game
c. a lot of money

2. Why do the kids make a superhero group?
a. to clean parks
b. to plant trees
c. to be stronger together

3. Where do the superheroes help the Earth?
a. the supermarket
b. their neighborhood
c. their friends' homes

Answers:
1. b
2. c
3. b