________________________________

Man Pulls Tons with His Teeth

There's a very strong man in Egypt. He pulled a 279-ton train. He used his
teeth to pull it!
在埃及有一個超級強壯的男人。他可以用牙齒拖動一列 279 噸重的火車！

People love him. He's famous! Kids run after him in the street! They call him
"strong man."
他很有名，大家都很喜歡他！小朋友在街上看到他都會追著他跑。大家都叫他「大力士」。

The man wanted to do something more amazing than pulling the train with his
teeth. But first he had to get ready. He exercised for six hours every day.
He ate twelve eggs, two chickens, and five kilograms of fish every day.
這位大力士想做更厲害的表演，但他得先做好準備。他每天除了運動六個小時之外，還會吃十二顆蛋、兩隻雞，跟五公斤的魚。

Then the man was ready. He wanted to pull a 700-ton ship. He used his teeth
again! He pulled and pulled! He grunted and yelled! And the man pulled the
ship!
他終於準備好了。這一次，他想拉動一艘 700
噸的船。他咬緊牙關用力的拉啊拉！最後，他真的把船拉動了！

Then the man did something more amazing than pulling one ship with his teeth.
He pulled two ships with his teeth! Together, the two ships weighed 1,150
tons!
接著，他竟然用牙齒拉動兩艘船，加起來有 1,150 噸那麼重！

What is the most amazing thing? He kept all his teeth! What will this strong
man with strong teeth pull next?
________________________________________

Vocabulary
埃及這位大力士喜歡挑戰自己的牙齒和力氣。

1. strong 強壯的。
I've made a decision. 我做了一個決定。
I'll only eat food that makes me strong. 我將只吃會讓我強壯的食物。

2. egg 雞蛋。
Oh, like what? Magic beans? 比如說什麼，魔術豆嗎?
No, chicken and eggs. 不是，雞肉跟雞蛋。
Don't forget fish. 別忘了吃魚。

3. every day 每天。
You're right, fish too. 你說得對，也要吃魚。
So do you plan to eat them every day? 所以你打算每天都吃那些?
Of course. 當然。

4. together 在一起。
And we'll also exercise together.我們也要一起做運動。
Wait, you mean you and I together? 等一等? 你跟我一起?
Yeah, don't you want to get strong? 對啊，你不想變強壯嗎?
No, I hate exercising! 不想! 我討厭運動。

我們來讀讀單字。
strong強壯的 egg雞蛋 every day每天 together在一起
________________________________________

Quiz

1. What do kids call the man?
a. Big Man
b. Strong Man
c. Amazing Man

2. How heavy was one of the ships?
a. 100 tons
b. 700 tons
c. 1,150 tons

3. What did the man eat twelve of every day?
a. Eggs
b. Chickens
c. Fish

Answers
1. b
2. b
3. a

________________________________

Hi there, it's time for an all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Jeffrey Mo.

And I'm Allie Highsmith.

In this episode, we'll be talking about Taiwan's rules about who you can
marry …

… and about how you could win a very expensive painting whilst supporting a
good cause at the same time.

And in this episode's News Flash, a good deal.
________________________________

台灣政府放寬婚姻對象的法律
Taiwan might relax rules about who can marry whom

Most of you listening today are too young to think about marriage.

But you already know whom you can't marry: anyone in your own family.

But then … how do you know who's in your family?

Sure, you know who your siblings - your brothers and your sisters - are, and
who your parents and grandparents are.

You probably know your aunts and uncles and your cousins, too.

But do you know your parents' cousins? Or your grandparents' cousins?

For many of us, these distant family members (遠房的親戚) are strangers
(陌生人).

So perhaps it's not surprising that a couple in Kaohsiung discovered only
after getting married that their grandmothers were sisters.
一對住高雄的夫妻結婚後才發現他們的外婆是姊妹。

Now, if my mother and Jeffrey's mother were sisters, then we would be cousins
(表兄弟姊妹).

But if our grandmothers were sisters, that would make us second cousins
(是隔了一層的表兄弟姊妹).

This couple in Kaohsiung didn't know that they were related and they didn't
break any rules on purpose (故意犯法).

But they still got a divorce (離婚).

Do you know why marriage between family members is frowned upon and usually
illegal (受到反對或是非法的)?

Simple: It's because of our genes (基因).

Your genes are made up of DNA, which is like a sequence of letters.
基因是由去氧核糖核酸組成的，它的排列好像一連串字母。

The DNA gets translated into proteins (基因發出指令形成蛋白質), and proteins
make life possible.

For example, some proteins carry oxygen (氧氣) to your cells (細胞).

Humans usually have two copies of each gene - you inherit (遺傳) one from
your father and one from your mother.

So if your dad gave you one defective (缺損的) copy of a gene, the copy from
your mom will usually still be OK.

But if your parents are related to each other, it's more likely that they
will both have the same bad copy of a gene.
如果你的父母屬同一家族，有可能兩人都有一樣的壞基因。

So it's also more likely that their kids will inherit genetic diseases
(遺傳疾病).

But there are now tests that can tell you whether or not babies will be born
with genetic problems.

In Taiwan, government researchers are debating whether or not to relax these
rules about whom you can marry.

Some say that extended families aren't as close today as they used to be, so
it's less likely that you'll know your distant relatives.

And genetic screening means that parents can avoid having babies with fatal
(致命的) genetic problems.

But no decision has been taken yet (還沒作出決定).
________________________________

你可以參加抽獎 以3600台幣贏得一張畢卡索的畫
You could win a Picasso painting for just 3600 NTD!

Have you heard of Pablo Picasso (畢卡索)?

He was a Spanish artist who lived in the twentieth century.

He painted, sculpted (雕塑), and made theatre sets (舞臺佈景).

He changed the art world with the style he pioneered, known as Cubism
(他首創立體派).

Instead of painting a normal human face, for example, he would break up the
face into different parts.
他不畫一張普通的臉，而是把臉分成小塊。

These parts looked like squares, rectangles or cubes (長方形或是小方塊).

Picasso then put these pieces back together in a strange way.

These paintings are now in major museums worldwide, like the Museum of Modern
Art in New York.

Picasso was incredibly productive (作品非常多).

When he died, there were still around forty-five thousand works that he
hadn't yet sold.

And now, you too can win one of these pieces of art!

The Alzheimer's Research Foundation (阿茲海默症研究基金會) in France is
selling tickets to win a painting called "Woman's Head", that Picasso painted
in 1941, during World War II.

Each ticket costs about thirty-six hundred NTD.

They will sell one hundred and twenty thousand tickets in total, collecting
(獲得) almost four hundred and forty million NTD!

That's a good deal, since they bought the painting from an art gallery for
about thirty-six million NTD.
這很划算，因為他們以三千六百萬台幣從一家畫廊買下這張畫。

And the painting is worth a lot more than that - the art gallery sold it to
them at a low price because it was for a good cause (做好事).

Alzheimer's disease (阿茲海默症) affects the brain, making it hard for those
who suffer from it to do their daily tasks (很難做日常工作).

Their memory gets worse, their vocabulary becomes smaller, and they start to
have problems writing or drawing.
他們的記憶力變差，詞彙量減少，不再能寫字或畫畫。

Eventually, they lose most of their muscles, can no longer speak, and depend
entirely on caregivers (看護者).

Are you tempted to try your luck (想要碰碰運氣) and support a good cause at
the same time?
_______________________________

So, in today's News Bites, …

… the Taiwanese government is considering changing the rules about whom you
can marry, …

… and you have a chance to win a valuable painting by Pablo Picasso by
entering a lottery to support research into Alzheimer's disease!
________________________________

In today's News Flash, our vocabulary word is a "good deal".

You get a good deal on something if you pay less than what you probably
should.

Here, the Alzheimer's Research Foundation paid only thirty-six million NTD
for a painting that was worth a lot more, and they're going to make four
hundred and forty million euros once they sell all of their lottery tickets.

That's a good deal!

And what's the opposite of a good deal? A bad deal, of course!
________________________________

If you have a fun fact or a joke you'd like to share with us, record your
message and send us your Bite-Sized Break to newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you
might hear it in a future episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!