________________________________

Out of Gas But Unstoppable

People love ordering food online. Food delivery drivers are busy! In India,
one delivery driver uses his scooter to deliver food orders. But one day, it
needed gas. He went to the gas station.
人們喜歡線上點餐，讓外送員都很忙碌。印度有一位外送員騎機車送訂單。有一天他的機車需要加油，就去了加油站。

At that time, everyone was worried about gas. Was there enough? Maybe not! So
everyone wanted to buy gas. The line at the gas station was very long!
當時大家都很擔心汽油不夠，所以都去買油，讓加油站大排長龍。

The man waited... three hours! Then he got a new food order. This was a big
problem. He didn't want his hungry customer to wait! But his scooter needed
gas.
這位外送員一等就是三個小時，但是他有了新訂單，不能讓客人等。

The man had an idea. He used his friend's horse! He got the food. He put the
red delivery bag on his back. Then he rode the horse to deliver the
customer's order.
他有個主意，他可以騎朋友的馬送餐! 他騎著馬、揹著紅色外送袋去送客人訂的餐點。

The road was busy and noisy. But the horse walked calmly.
街道非常吵雜又擁擠，但是馬冷靜地向前走。

People were amazed to see a delivery driver riding a horse! Some posted
pictures online of this unstoppable food delivery driver. He became famous!
路人都很驚訝看到外送員騎馬送訂單，有一些人上傳照片到網路上，讓他一炮而紅。

His scooter was out of gas, but this delivery driver found a cool way to do
his job! Giddyap, horsey!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vocabulary
騎馬送餐去，真是使命必達。

1. famous 著名的
What's that long line for? 那麼長的隊伍在做什麼?
Don't you know? That's the famous pancake store. 你不知道嗎?那是有名的鬆餅店。

2. wait 等待
People are lining up for pancakes? 大家為了鬆餅排隊?!
Yeah, I once waited one hour standing there.
對啊，我有一次站在那兒等了一個鐘頭。

3. amazed 驚訝的
I'm amazed you'd do something like that. 我很驚訝你會做那種事。
Well, you've never tasted their pancakes. 因為你沒吃過他們的鬆餅。

4. deliver 運送
No, I'm amazed you didn't have it delivered to you. 不，我是驚訝你沒有叫外送。
For pancakes, you have to eat it nice and hot. 鬆餅一定要吃熱呼呼的啊。

今天學到哪些單字?
famous著名的
wait等待
amazed驚訝的
deliver運送
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Quiz

1. What is the man's job?
a. Camera operator
b. Horse trainer
c. Food delivery driver

2. How long did the man wait for gas?
a. 3 minutes
b. 30 minutes
c. 3 hours

3. What was the man's idea?
a. Order food
b. Ride a horse
c. Become famous

Answers:
1. c
2. c
3. b
 

________________________________

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

I'm Jacob Ingram.

And I'm Nancy Sun.

In this episode, we'll be talking about a new civil defense handbook, and a
very unusual prize.

And today's News Flash word is: Scam.

Stay tuned for those stories.
________________________________

新版本的全民防衛手冊
New Civil Defense Handbook

The Ministry of National Defense (國防部) has released a new civil defense
handbook （全民防衛手冊）.

This is a guidebook that teaches people what to do in case of an attack
（攻擊） or disaster （災難）.

This is already the third edition （第三版） of the handbook since 2022.

The earlier books talked about things like go-bags （緊急避難包）,
earthquakes, and typhoons.

But the newest version, released this September, has a stronger focus on what
happens during wars.

So, what's new inside?

The book explains six possible military threats （軍事威脅） Taiwan might
face.

For example, if an enemy destroys undersea cables (海底電纜), there could be
a big Internet outage （網路中斷）.

Or, an enemy might send drones （無人機） into Taiwan's airspace.

Other situations include hostile navies stopping Taiwanese ships, sudden
military drills around Taiwan, and even armed attacks.

The handbook also gives clear safety tips （安全建議）.

If your area comes under attack, the best choice is to go to the nearest
basement （地下室）.

If you are indoors, hide behind two walls and stay away from windows.

If you are outside, lie down facing away from the explosion and cover your
head.

Another important part is about disinformation （假訊息）.

The handbook warns that if you see messages saying the government has
surrendered or the military has lost, those messages are false.
手冊警告說，如果你看到有人傳訊息說政府已經投降、軍隊已經戰敗，那些訊息都是假的。

The guide also encourages families to talk honestly about the threat of war
（戰爭威脅） with children.

Parents can let kids help pack go-bags, and teach them how to recognize false
news.

This can help reduce fear and anxiety.

Finally, the book shares how people can become disaster prevention
specialists （防災專員） or even join the armed forces.

Officials said the handbook is available both in print and online.

They hope that if a crisis comes, everyone will already know what to do.
________________________________

2025年搞笑諾貝爾獎：日本「斑馬牛」驅蠅研究
Japanese Scientists Win Ig Nobel for Painting Zebra Stripes on Cows

This next story is about a very unusual prize.

It's called the Ig Nobel Prize （搞笑諾貝爾獎）.

This award goes to scientists who do research that makes people laugh-and
then think.

This year, the ceremony was held in Boston （波士頓）.

Instead of money, winners received a funny trophy shaped like a human stomach
（胃） and a single hand wipe.

The tradition also includes the audience throwing paper airplanes at the
stage!

One winning team from Japan painted black-and-white zebra stripes
（斑馬條紋） on cows.

Why?

They wanted to see if this could stop flies from biting the animals.

The experiment worked!

The cows with stripes had fewer flies.

But the researchers said it might be hard to use this method on many cows at
the same time.

Another funny project came from Africa and Europe.

Scientists studied what kinds of pizza lizards like to eat.

There was also a group that discovered alcohol （酒精） can sometimes help
people speak a foreign language more easily.

And one researcher even studied fingernail growth （指甲生長） for decades!

The Ig Nobel prizes covered 10 categories this year.

Some other winners researched drunk bats （蝙蝠喝醉）, smelly shoes
（臭鞋子）, eating Teflon （吃鐵氟龍）, and even the physics of pasta sauce
（義大利麵醬的物理學）.

The event was full of fun performances too.

There was a short opera （歌劇） about doctors who treat stomach problems.

And some scientists gave 24-second lectures （簡短演講） about their work.

One man only licked an ice cream cone and said "yum" many times!

The organizer said every discovery looks a little crazy at first.
主辦人說，每一項發現一開始看起來都有點瘋狂。

That's why the Ig Nobel celebrates research that is silly but also
interesting.

And as one winner said, these prizes show that scientists don't always have
to be serious-they can laugh, have fun, and still share exciting science.
________________________________

So in today's News Bites,

The Ministry of National Defense released a new civil defense handbook.

It teaches people what to do during war or disaster.

The book warns against false news and gives safety tips.

Officials hope that if a crisis comes, everyone will already know what to do.
________________________________

And,

The Ig Nobel Prize celebrates funny and strange science.

This year, winners painted stripes on cows and studied pizza for lizards.

Other winners looked at drunk bats, smelly shoes, and pasta sauce.

The prize shows science can be silly but also meaningful.
_______________________________
News Flash

Today's vocabulary word is scam, or "詐騙" in Mandarin.

A scam is a trick (騙局) to make someone give away their money or personal
information.

Scams can happen online, on the phone, or even in person.

For example, there are romance scams (愛情詐騙), where a scammer pretends to
love someone to get money.

There are also investment scams (投資詐騙).

Taiwan is a very safe country (治安很好), but scams are still a big problem.

In fact, news reports about scams appear almost every day.
________________________________

If you have a fun fact, a joke or interesting news story 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 an episode.

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