________________________________

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
 

________________________________

Laser Can Control Lightning

Have you ever seen a lightning storm? It's weather that can be very scary.
你看過雷暴嗎？這種天氣感覺很恐怖。

First, you see dark clouds in the sky and lots of rain. Then the clouds make
loud noises. This noise is thunder.
你會先看到烏雲密布、然後下起大雨，雲裡面還會有轟隆隆的雷聲。

Before you hear the thunder, you see a very fast white light. It comes down
from the sky to the earth. This light is lightning.
在聽到雷聲之前，你會先看到閃電。

Lightning is electricity. In your home, you need electricity. It is safe. As
lightning, it's dangerous. It can hit trees, buildings, or even people.
閃電是一種電，就像家裡用的電，不過閃電很危險，可能會打到樹、房屋，或是人。

Is there a way to control lightning? We don't want it to hurt anybody.
Scientists in Europe found how to control it. They use lasers!
歐洲的科學家找到了一種可以控制閃電的方法，那就是雷射！

They went to a mountain in Switzerland. When a storm came, the scientists
shot a laser into the clouds.
他們跑到瑞士的山上，暴風雨來的時候，他們對著烏雲發射雷射。

The lightning did not hit any buildings or people. It followed the laser.
結果閃電跟著雷射跑，沒有打到任何房屋或是人。

The scientists are happy. Their test went so well! Lasers can control
lightning. They hope lasers will make the world safer.

In the future, we won't fear dangerous lightning. When a lightning storm
comes, we can use a laser to control lightning!
________________________________

Vocabulary
科學家用雷射做實驗，引導閃電避開地面。

1. sky 天空
Where are we going this weekend? 我們這周末去哪裡？
To the beach, to swim under the blue sky. 去海灘，在藍天下游泳。

2. weather 天氣
Are you sure we'll get a blue sky? 你確定會有藍天嗎？
That's what the weatherman said. 氣象員是這麼說的。
Sunny skies and high temperatures. 艷陽天，高溫。

3. cloud 雲層
We're getting nothing but rain and clouds, Jane! 什麼都沒有，只有雨跟雲！
And thunder! 還有打雷！

4. safe 安全的
At least we're safe here in this beachside cafe. 至少我們在海邊咖啡館很安全。
But what about our swim? 那我們的游泳呢？
The storm should pass in no time. 風暴很快就過去的。

下次閃電時你要注意看看喔！
sky 天空
weather 天氣
cloud 雲層
safe 安全的
________________________________

Quiz

1. What is the loud noise in a storm?
A: Thor
B: Thunder
C: Thursday

2. What will scientists use to control lightning?
A: A laser
B: A fan
C: A tree

3. Where did scientists try to control lightning?
A: On a mountain
B: In a forest
C: On the ocean

Answers
1. B
2. A
3. A
 

________________________________

Kids to Record Roads for Earth Day

Tomorrow is Earth Day! I'm at the National Museum of Natural Science in
Taichung. The museum has lots of stones, plants, animals, and insects.
明天就是世界地球日！我現在人在台中科博館，裡面有很多岩石、植物、動物，跟昆蟲。

There are bees, butterflies, crickets and many more insects…
這裡有蜜蜂、蝴蝶、蟋蟀等等。

Insects help make the earth healthy. We need them! But many insects are dying
all over the earth.
昆蟲讓我們的地球更健康，但是世界上很多昆蟲正在慢慢地滅亡。

There's a natural science museum in the UK too. It's called the Natural
History Museum. It has a big science project for Earth Day. Kids in the UK
can help!
英國也有科博館，叫做自然史博物館。這間博物館有一個世界地球日的計畫，讓英國的小孩可以幫忙！

The project is about insects and noise. Are loud noises bad for insects?
Scientists don't know.
科學家想知道噪音是不是對昆蟲不好。

The project is very easy… First, kids pick a road.

Some roads are quiet. There's not much noise. Some roads are noisy.
要怎麼做呢？很簡單，小孩子可以先挑選一條路，有一些路很安靜，有一些很吵。

Kids record the noise on their road for five minutes.

Next, kids look at 10 meters of their road. They record all the insects they
see. Then they send everything to the museum. Scientists will study this
information.
孩子們要先在路邊錄音五分鐘，然後在路旁十公尺紀錄所有他們看到的昆蟲，再把所有資料送到博物館裡面，然後科學家會負責研究。

What are you doing for Earth Day?
________________________________

Vocabulary
英國的小學生，幫忙科學家研究昆蟲。

1. butterfly 蝴蝶
We're going on a field trip tomorrow. 我們明天要校外教學。
To see butterflies. 去看蝴蝶。
Are you going to the Taipei Zoo? 你們要去台北動物園嗎？

2. insect 昆蟲
They have a good Insect Hall... 他們有很好的昆蟲館...
With butterflies and other bugs. 有蝴蝶和其他昆蟲。

3. natural 自然的
No, we want a more natural environment. 不是，我們要更自然的環境。
We'll be going to Yangmingshan. 我們要上陽明山。

4. quiet 安靜的
That's a nice and quiet place. 那是很安靜的好地方。
No, it's never quiet on holidays. 不，陽明山假日的時候並不安靜。

你喜歡看蝴蝶嗎? 我們一起來讀今天的單字。
butterfly 蝴蝶
insect 昆蟲
natural 自然的
quiet 安靜的
________________________________

Quiz

1. Where is the National Museum of Natural Science?
A: Tainan
B: Taichung
C: Taipei

2. What are some insects?
A: Stones and plants
B: Bees and butterflies
C: Cars and people

3. What do kids record for the project?
A: Noise and insects on a road
B: Museums and scientists
C: Earth Day in the UK

Answers
1. B
2. B
3. A
 

________________________________

Town Builds Houses Under Big Rock

Do you like to look at buildings? There are many interesting buildings in the
world. Taipei 101 is interesting. It is so tall!

One small town in Spain has some very cool buildings. This small town is
called Setenil de las Bodegas. It is home to 3000 people. They have houses
built in caves! And some houses have been built under very, very big rocks.
Why did people build them?
西班牙有一個有三千個人的小鎮，那裏的建築很特別，鎮上有一些房子蓋在洞穴裡面，而且有一些房子蓋在很大很大的石頭下面。為甚麼他們要這麼做呢？

First, the houses did not take much money to build. Rock is a big part of
each house, it's the walls and the roof! People didn't need to buy much wood
and other material. They made the caves bigger. They made some walls for new
rooms.
首先，這種房子的屋頂跟牆壁都已經是石頭，不用買太多的木材或其他的材料，所以很便宜，不需要花太多的錢。如果要增加房間，只要建隔間牆。

Second, rock makes the houses comfortable. Comfortable?! Yes! It makes the
houses cool in the summer… and warm in the winter.
第二，石頭讓房子冬暖夏涼，住起來很舒服！

Third, rock makes the houses safe. Rock doesn't catch on fire. It is also
very strong. The houses won't fall down in an earthquake.
第三，石頭不會著火，地震的時候也不會倒塌，石頭房很安全！

What do you think? These houses don't cost a lot of money to build. They're
not too hot. They're not too cold. They're safe. And they're very
interesting! Do you want to live in a house built in a cave?
________________________________

Vocabulary
西班牙這些石頭房屋有各種優點，而且很便宜呢。

1. rock 石頭
We went on an outing yesterday and walked through this lovely rock tunnel.
我們昨天去郊遊，走過一條可愛的石頭隧道。
Rock tunnel? Where? 石頭隧道? 在哪裡？

2. roof 屋頂
It's in Rui-fang, New Taipei. 在新北市的瑞芳。
It's an old railway tunnel. 它是個舊的鐵路隧道。
The roof and walls are all stone. 屋頂跟牆壁都是石頭。

3. warm 溫暖的
They give such a warm and cozy feeling! 它們有種很溫暖舒服的感覺。
Is it long? 很長嗎？
Yeah, about 3,000 meters long. 很長，大約三千公尺。

4. cool 涼爽的
It was hot under the sun, but cool inside the tunnel.
外面太陽底下很熱，但是隧道裡面很涼快。
Sounds really nice! 聽起來真不錯！

今天你學到哪些單字？
rock 石頭
roof 屋頂
warm 溫暖的
cool 涼爽的
________________________________

Quiz

1. What is the story about?
A: Some cool buildings
B: Taipei 101
C: Earthquakes and fires

2. What is true about the houses in the summer?
A: They're hot
B: They're cool
C: They're not comfortable

3. What happens to the houses in an earthquake?
A: They fall down
B: They are safe
C: They catch on fire

Answers
1. A
2. B
3. B