________________________________

Paintings Help People in the Hospital

Hospitals are not fun. They can make people sad. But a woman in the U.S. is
making hospitals nicer. She helps people who are very sick.
醫院常常是讓人傷心的地方，但美國一個婦人用自己的方式幫助病人，讓醫院變得更好。

Is she a doctor? No, she's an artist. She paints big pictures on the hospital
walls. The paintings look like open windows. They are not real windows. But
they look real.
她並不是醫生，而是一位藝術家，她在醫院牆壁畫上逼真的窗戶，還有美麗的風景。

Pictures of nature are outside the windows. One picture shows a river. Other
pictures show green grass, pretty flowers, and trees. The artist also paints
roads outside every window.
畫中的窗戶外面有河流、草地、漂亮的花朵和大樹，或是長長的道路。

The paintings make people happy. They can't go outside. They are too sick.
But they can look at the pictures. In their minds, they can take a trip
outside. In their minds, they can go on the roads.
這些畫讓病人很開心，他們生病不能出門，但這些插畫讓他們想像自己在大自然旅行。

The artist also writes nice words on her paintings. The words help people
think about happy things. Painting for people makes the artist happy too. She
was very sick before. But now she's better. So she's helping people who are
sick.
畫家也在畫作寫上鼓勵的話語，她也曾經生病住院，現在則用繪畫幫助其他病人。

Paintings can make hospitals a better place!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vocabulary
這位藝術家用她的圖畫，安慰被疾病困在醫院裡的人。

1. outside 在外面。
Hey, Nancy, what are you painting today? 南西，你今天畫什麼呢? Nothing
special. 沒什麼特別的。
Just the view outside my window. 就是窗外的景色。

2. pretty 美麗的。
Wow, it's so pretty! 真好看!
I love the green grass and the flowers 我喜歡那些綠草和花朵…
except that there's no such thing out there. 但是外面沒有那些。

3. artist 藝術家。
I'm an artist. 我是藝術家。
I wanted my picture to look nice. 我想要我的畫很好看。
Okay, then maybe you can add some trees. 好吧，那也許你可以加幾棵樹。

4. nicer 更好的。
It'll make your painting even nicer. 會讓你的畫更美。
You're right, thank you! 你說得對，謝謝!

今天的單字你可記住了?
outside在外面 pretty美麗的 artist藝術家 nicer更好的
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quiz

1. What does the artist paint?
a. Nature
b. Sick people
c. Pets

2. Why does the artist paint?
a. To go on a trip
b. To make money
c. To make people happy

3. What is true about the artist?
a. She's a doctor too.
b. She was sick before.
c. She lives in a hospital.

Answers:
1. a
2. c
3. b
 

________________________________

Hi there, it's time for today's episode of News Bites.

I'm Nancy Sun...

And I'm Hope Ngo.

So, in today's stories...

It's cats versus dogs, a shapeshifting robot, and Ed's new album.

All that and more, coming up next.
________________________________

喵星人大崛起
Cats Take Over Northern Taiwan

Are you a dog person, or a cat person?

你是汪星人還是貓奴？

This is asking if you like dogs or cats more.

Many people think you can learn a lot about a person by asking this question.

Some think people who love dogs more are fun and full of energy.

And some think people who love cats more are independent (獨立) and creative.

This might not be true all the time.

But it's still a fun question.

Here in Taiwan, lots of people have pet cats or dogs.

But which is more popular (受歡迎)?

New government data shows that there are about 2.2 million pet cats and dogs
in Taiwan.

1.4 million are dogs.

And 820,000 are cats.

政府的新統計顯示，111年底，犬貓合計登記數量已達222萬隻，其中犬為140萬隻、貓為82萬隻。

So it looks like dogs are still more popular for now.

But the number of cats is slowly going up.

And that's especially the case in northern Taiwan.

The data shows that in Keelung City, 64 percent of pets are now cats.

And in Taipei City, 61 percent of pets are cats.

Overall, the city that has the most pets, is Taichung City.

There are more than 33,200 pets there!

Kaohsiung City has the most pet dogs.

And Taichung City has the most pet cats.
________________________________

變型機器人是真的？
Shapeshifting Robot

Robots can do many jobs.

They can build cars.

They can help us grow food.

They are even used for surgery (手術).

But soon, they may be able to do even more.

Scientists have made a new type of robot.

It's a shapeshifting robot (變形機器人).

This robot can be hard...

And it can be soft, like a liquid (液體)!

The robot is made of a special metal, called gallium.

Gallium melts (融化) when the temperature is around 30 degrees Celsius.

This means you could melt gallium, just by holding it in your hand.

And scientists also added in tiny pieces of magnets (磁鐵).

They control the magnets, to move the metal robot.

And they can also use the magnets to make the robot hot.

When the robot gets over 30 degrees, it melts and becomes a liquid.

科學家利用質地柔軟的金屬鎵，成功做出了變型機器人。

Why do we need a robot that can be hard or liquid?

When the robot is liquid, it can get into very small spaces.

Then it can turn hard to hold something, or fix something.

They could turn liquid and go into a person's body to take out something
dangerous.

Or they could turn liquid to get into a machine, and turn hard to hold
something together.

The scientists also put the robot in a cage (籠子).

Then they had the robot turn liquid, and get out of the cage by moving
between the bars.

The scientists posted videos of the robot doing these things online.

They say there is still a lot of work to be done.

But they hope the shapeshifting robot can be useful in many ways in the
future.
________________________________

英國歌手紅髮艾德準備發行新專輯
Ed Sheeran Announces New Album

Singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran has a new album coming.

Ed has been making music since he was very young.

The 32-year-old singer has won 4 Grammy awards, and is famous for songs like
"Thinking Out Loud".

He says the new album "-", is pronounced "subtract".

紅髮艾德準備發行新專輯【-】(減法).

Ed says it's about some personal things (私人的事情) in his life recently.

The singer says the songs come from his "deepest, darkest thoughts".

He says writing songs is therapy (心理治療 ) for him.

And he wanted to put out an album that's "honest" and "true".
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

New government data shows that there are about 2.2 million pet cats and dogs
in Taiwan.

1.4 million are dogs, and 820,000 are cats.

But the number of cats is slowly going up, especially in northern Taiwan.
________________________________

Scientists have made a shapeshifting robot.

This robot can be hard...

And it can be soft, like a liquid!
________________________________

And,

Singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran has a new album coming.

He says the album "-", is pronounced "subtract".

Ed says it's about some personal things in his life recently.
________________________________

And that's today's episode of News Bites!
________________________________

主播每周一問
Have Your Say

This week, we want you to have your say about travel.

The world is slowly starting to open back up after the pandemic. Some people
are starting to travel to other countries again.

So, if you could go anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go?

Record your message and send it to newsbites@icrt.com.tw with your name and
age, and if you'd like, the name of your school.

Send us your recording by Thursday at noon, and you might hear your message
on our show on Friday!
 

________________________________

Hi there, it's time for a new episode of News Bites...

I'm Nancy Sun...

And I'm Hope Ngo.

In today's episode...

A diamond from the vegetable market, life on a cruise ship, and a new Spotify
record.

All that and more, coming up next!
________________________________

菜市場還有鑽石？
Man Finds Diamond at Vegetable Market

We go to traditional markets (菜場) for a lot of things.

We can buy fruits and vegetables there.

We can also get meat there.

But how about a diamond (鑽石)?

A man in Kaohsiung went to the market one day.

He says he went to buy a drink.

And something shiny caught his eye (吸引他的目光).

He says he passed by this same place for three days.

And every time he passed by, he saw something sparkling (閃亮) on the ground.

He thought it was glass (玻璃).

And finally, on the fourth day, he decided to see what it was.

When he picked it up, he found out it was a diamond!

He was shocked (震驚).

He put the diamond in a plastic bag.

And he took it to a police station.

Police say the diamond is about 0.5 carats.

And if it is a natural diamond (天然鑽石), it would be worth around $20,000
NT.

People who live close by say they have not seen anyone looking for the
diamond.

And police say anyone who says they are the owner must show proof.

警方也說如果要來認領鑽石，需要提供相關的證據，而警方也會釐清。
________________________________

住郵輪環遊世界
Live on a Cruise Ship

Many people enjoy going on cruises (郵輪) for vacation.

They stay on a huge ship for days.

They enjoy delicious food, and fun shows on the ship.

It's a great getaway (放假、小旅行).

But what if you could LIVE on the cruise ship?

A company is offering a chance to live on a cruise ship for years.

The MV Gemini has 400 rooms.

It can carry around 1,000 passengers.

The cruise ship sets sail from Istanbul in November this year.

And it will go on a round-the-world trip.

The trip will be 3 years long.

The company says the ship will take passengers (乘客) to 135 countries.

The ship will visit all seven continents of the world.

And passengers will be able to see many famous sites (觀光景點).

They would visit India's Taj Mahal, the pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu, and
many other sites.

這三年內，遊客可以搭著郵輪去世界各地的觀光聖地，包括泰姬瑪哈陵、吉薩金字塔群、和馬丘比丘。

The ship will also stop at more than 100 tropical islands (熱帶島).

And if passengers get tired of being on land, they can enjoy fun on the ship
itself.

The company says the ship has many restaurants and shows.

There's also a library, and offices with meeting rooms.

There's even a hospital that's open 24 hours a day.

Sounds like an amazing trip right?

How much will a ticket cost?

$30,000 US dollars for each person, each year.

That's about $900,000 NT (九十萬台幣).
________________________________

威肯又創Spotify新紀錄
The Weeknd Breaks Spotify Record

The Weeknd has broken a Spotify record.

The singer and songwriter is the first to hit 100 million monthly listeners
on Spotify.

That's compared with (和...比較) The Beatles with 27 million monthly
listeners.

Madonna has 23 million, and Michael Jackson has 34 million.

The musician with the second-most monthly listeners is Miley Cyrus.

She has 82.5 million monthly listeners.

And The Weeknd also has the most-played song of all time on Spotify.

"Blinding Lights" has been played 3.4 billion times on the music-streaming
service.

威肯的 "Blinding Lights"是Spotify上播放次數最多的歌曲。
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

A man in Kaohsiung went to the market one day, and found a diamond on the
ground.

He took it to a police station.

Police say the diamond is about 0.5 carats, and could be worth around $20,000
NT.
________________________________

A company is offering a chance to live on a cruise ship for 3 years.

The cruise ship will take passengers to 135 countries to see many famous
sites.

Tickets cost $900,000 NT for each person, each year.
________________________________

And,

The Weeknd has broken a Spotify record.

The singer and songwriter is the first to hit 100 million monthly listeners
on Spotify.

The musician with the second-most monthly listeners is Miley Cyrus, with 82.5
million monthly listeners.
________________________________

And that's today's episode of News Bites!
________________________________

主播每周一問
Have Your Say

This week, we want you to have your say about someone you find interesting.

There are many interesting people in the world. Some of them made history,
some of them did amazing things, and some of them had something crazy happen
to them.

So, if you could have lunch with any person, alive or from history, who would
you like to meet?

Record your message and send it to newsbites@icrt.com.tw with your name and
age, and if you'd like, the name of your school.

Send us your recording by Thursday at noon, and you might hear your message
on our show on Friday!
 

________________________________

And tonight's podcast award goes to... News Bites!

Starring Paz Bueno...

And Trevor Tortomasi.

Thank you, thank you...

Okay, in today's news:

A bike race in Taiwan, this year's Oscars ceremony, and... chicken poo.

Stay tuned!
________________________________

國際自由車環台公路大賽
Tour de Taiwan

You can probably ride a bicycle (腳踏車)...

But maybe you don't have a safe place to ride (沒有安全的地方可以騎), because
of all those cars.

Well, there are 192 people who aren't scared!

These 192 people are in a bike race (自由車賽) from Taipei to Kaohsiung.
這 192 個人加入了這場大賽，從台北到高雄。

It's called the "Tour de Taiwan" (環台賽)!

The racers (參賽者) are divided into 23 teams (分成二十三個隊), from 31
countries (來自31個不同的國家).

For the first part of the race (比賽的第一部分), they rode around Taipei for
more than 80 kilometers (騎了八十多公里).

Every day after that, they rode around 100 more kilometers...

And the road was super steep (超級陡峭)!

And on the last day, they finished at the Kaohsiung National Stadium
(在高雄國家體育場結束比賽).

Of course, they were riding REALLY fast, and they needed to be very careful
(小心).

So they had cars driving in front and in back, to give them space to ride
safely.
他們的前後面都有汽車開道，幫他們維持騎腳踏車的安全空間。

So... who won?
到底是誰贏了比賽？

Well, as we're recording now, we don't know yet.
我們錄音的時候還不知道。

But when you hear this, you can go check!
________________________________

2023年奧斯卡金像獎
2023 Academy Awards

Every year, Hollywood's "Academy" holds an awards ceremony for the best
movies of the year.
每年，好萊塢的【影藝學院】都舉辦頒獎典禮給全年最佳的電影。

It's called the "Academy Awards", and the award is a little golden statue
named "Oscar" (【奧斯卡】小金人).

And this year, one movie won a lot of prizes (獲得很多獎)!

It was a movie called "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (媽的多重宇宙),
starring Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊).

And because of her performance, Michelle Yeoh is the first Asian person to
win the Oscar for "Best Actress"!
楊紫瓊以絕佳演技，成為奧斯卡歷史上第一個亞洲人贏得【最佳女主角】獎項的演員！

The movie's two directors (兩位導演) won the award for "Best Director"
(最佳導演)...

And two other people in the movie were named "Best Supporting Actors"
(最佳男女配角).

But there were so many other amazing moments (驚人的時刻)!

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" (黑豹 2：瓦干達萬歲) won "Best Costume
Design" (最佳服裝設計).

The Indian action movie (印度動作片) named "RRR" got "Best Original Song"
(最佳原創歌曲), for its song "Naatu Naatu"...

And "Best Documentary" went to a movie about Alexei Navalny, a man fighting
for change in Russia (一個為改革而戰的俄羅斯人).

Many people say this year's Academy Awards felt very different than before,
and many people are happy about the change.

But one nice thing stayed the same...

Almost everyone who got an Oscar made sure to thank their mom and dad!
________________________________

雞糞的力量
Chicken Poo Power

Okay, our last story is pretty silly...

But it's really good news!

One man in Kenya (肯亞) has found a new way to get power (供應能源) for his
farm.

He uses chicken poop (雞的大便)!

Every morning, he collects the poopoo and puts it into a special machine
(放進一台很特別的機器).

This makes something called biogas (沼氣).

Of course, the biogas has to go through a filter, to remove all the bad stuff
and bad smells.
當然，這個沼氣要先過濾，濾掉所有不好的成分和味道。

But after that, it can be used for power (供應能源)!

He uses it for hot water, for cooking, and even to charge his electric car
(給他的電動汽車充電)!

He says it helps him to save money (省錢), and it doesn't hurt the
environment (不會傷害環境).

So, this poopoo is pretty useful (滿好用)!

Are you brave enough to use it?
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

The "Tour de Taiwan" is a bicycle race from Taipei to Kaohsiung.

192 people, from 31 different countries, are riding their bikes for five days.

Who won? I guess we'll find out!
________________________________

And,

Michelle Yeoh is the first Asian person to win the Oscar for "Best Actress",
thanks to the movie "Everything Everywhere All at Once".

Many people say this year's Academy Awards felt very different than before,
and many people are happy about the change.
________________________________

And,

One man in Kenya has found a new way to get power for his farm.

He uses chicken poop to make biogas!

The biogas can be used for hot water, cooking, and charging his electric car.
________________________________

Okay... that's all for today's News Bites!
________________________________

主播每周一問
Have Your Say

This week, we asked you to have your say about meeting someone from history.

7-year-old Tara, from Zhongshan Elementary School, says she wants to meet an
artist named Eric Carle.

***

Thanks Tara... okay, that's it for this week's "Have Your Say"!

Remember, if your answer was used in the show this week, we'll be sending you
a gift in the mail.

Make sure to tune in again next week for an all-new question!
 

________________________________

Hello everyone! You're listening to another episode of News Bites!

I'm Paz Bueno…

And I'm Trevor Tortomasi.

In today's news:

BLACKPINK brings business to Kaohsiung, plastic rocks in South America, and
the world's youngest speed skating gold medalist.

Stay tuned and we'll tell you more about these stories, coming up next!
________________________________

人氣女團BLACKPINK刺激高雄經濟
BLACKPINK Boosts Kaohsiung's Economy

You probably already know that BLACKPINK came to Taiwan recently.

The popular South Korean girl group had two concerts in Kaohsiung City.

It was one of the many stops in their ongoing Born Pink World Tour.
這是他們正在進行的 Born Pink 世界巡演中的眾多站點之一。

The concerts drew (吸引了) over 90,000 people to Kaohsiung.

As a treat (作為款待), the city government gave NT$50 vouchers to
concertgoers (演唱會的觀眾).

They could use their concert ticket stubs (演唱會票) and use them to shop in
stores and restaurants.
觀眾可以憑演唱會門票，即可兌換面額 50 元的優惠券。

Many people visited the Liuhe Night Market and other shopping areas.

And night market vendors sold twice as much!
夜市攤販的業績是之前的兩倍！

The city government is expecting (預計) there will be more visitors next
month, thanks to other concerts and events.

That is great news for local businesses (本地商業).

The Kaohsiung Mayor thanked BLACKPINK and their fans (粉絲) in a Facebook
post.

He also thanked the workers who helped direct crowds at public transportation
facilities after the concerts.
他也對演唱會結束後，幫忙引導群眾搭公車捷運的人員表示感謝。

It looks like Kaohsiung is going to keep busy (忙個不停) with all these
concerts!
________________________________

塑膠汙染 成為大地的一部份
Plastic Pollution Goes Geologic

Some scientists have made a worrying discovery (令人擔憂的發現) on an island
(島) in South America called Trindade Island.

They found rocks made from plastic debris.
他們發現塑膠碎片形成的岩石。

Trindade Island is an uninhabited volcanic island (無人居住的火山島) on the
east coast of Brazil.

It's a protected area (保護區) for green turtles.

A geologist (地質學家) studying the island explained that the plastic on the
beaches comes from fishing nets (漁網).

The nets are dragged by marine currents (被海流帶到這裡) and accumulate on
the beach (堆積在沙灘上).

When the temperature rises, the plastic melts (熔化) and becomes embedded
(嵌進去) with the beach's natural material.

Environmental pollution will forever be preserved in the Earth's geological
records.
環境污染將永遠保存在地球的地質記錄中。

This is a reminder (提醒) for us to always dispose of our trash properly
(正確處理垃圾).

And to do our part (儘我們的一份力量) in keeping our planet clean.
________________________________

史上最年輕 世界競速滑冰金牌得主
Meet the World's Youngest Speed Skating Gold Medalist

A young speed skater named Jordan Stolz has just become the youngest person
ever to win a world speed skating gold medal.
滑冰選手Jordan Stolz 成為有史以來，最年輕的世界競速滑冰金牌得主。

He won gold in the men's 500 meters event at the World Single Distance
Championships in the Netherlands this month.
在荷蘭舉行的世界單人競速滑冰錦標賽男子 500 公尺比賽中，他榮獲金牌。

Not only that, he also won two other gold medals, beating Olympic champions
(擊敗了奧運冠軍) in each of those events!

Speed skating is a sport where athletes (運動員) race around an icy track
(結冰的跑道) at speeds as fast as 56 kilometers-per-hour (時速 56 公里).

18-year-old Stolz is from the US State of Wisconsin (美國威斯康辛州).

He's been winning national championships since fifth grade, and in high
school, he went to school online so that he could train for up to six hours a
day.
他從小學五年級開始就一直是全美國冠軍。高中時他用網路上學，這樣可以每天訓練六個鐘頭。

His coach (教練) says one of Stolz's greatest talents is the way he takes
corners on the curving track at high speeds.
Stolz 最了不起的天賦就是他在彎道上高速轉彎的方式。

Stolz's speed and strength have amazed many people (讓很多人驚嘆不已).

Stolz's wins mean that he's the first person to win both the junior
championships (青少年錦標賽) and adult championships (成人錦標賽) in three
separate events in the same year.

It's incredible to see someone so young achieve (成就) so much!
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

The popular South Korean girl group BLACKPINK had two concerts in Kaohsiung
City recently.

The concerts drew over 90,000 people to Kaohsiung.

It was a huge boost to local businesses.
________________________________

Some scientists have made a worrying discovery on a remote island in South
America called Trindade Island.

They found rocks made from melted plastic debris.

Environmental pollution will forever be preserved in the Earth's geological
records.
________________________________

And,

A young speed skater named Jordan Stolz has just become the youngest person
ever to win a world speed skating gold medal.

The 18-year-old is the first person to win both the junior championships and
adult championships in three separate events in the same year.
________________________________

And that's all for today's episode of News Bites!
________________________________

主播每周一問
Have Your Say

This week, we asked you to have your say about your favorite part of the day.

14-year-old Penny from Hong Jen Junior High School in Nantou County tells us
about her daily routine, and what she looks forward to the most.

***

Thank you for sharing with us, Penny!

That's all for this week's "Have Your Say"...

Remember, if your answer was used in the show, we'll be sending you a gift in
the mail.

Tune in again next week for an all-new question!