______________________
The Cat at the Station

Have you been to Hualien Bus Station? A cute orange cat works there. But last
year, he was a hungry kitten. A kitten is a baby cat! One night, station
workers heard a cat meowing. Where was the cat? They looked and looked. But
they did not find it.
花蓮轉運站有一隻橘色的貓咪，牠是怎麼來的？之前一個晚上，車站員工聽見貓叫聲。

The next morning, some fish snack bags were opened. People eat snacks on the
bus, so the bus station sells snacks. They sell bags of fish snacks. The fish
snacks were eaten! Who ate them? Was it the cat?
第二天早上，員工發現車站賣的魚條零食包被打開了！是誰那麼想吃魚做的零食?

The station workers looked and looked AGAIN. They looked EVERYWHERE in the
bus station. They looked in back of some lockers! Lockers are where bus
riders can keep their things safe. The station workers found a small kitten
there. He was alone.
他們在轉運站裡面到處找，連置物櫃後面都看了，才發現有一隻小貓躲在那裡。

The station workers kept the kitten. They gave him a name. It means Egg Tart
in English. Egg Tart likes his job. He wears a yellow scarf around his neck.
He meows to people. Egg Tart works four days a week. He can stop working when
he does not want to work. He gets lots of rest!
轉運站變成了小貓的家，車站員工叫牠蛋塔。蛋塔戴著黃色的領巾，一個星期打工四天，可以隨時休息！

Many people watch videos of Egg Tart online. Some people go the bus station
to meet him. Egg Tart is famous!
很多人上網看蛋塔，還有人特別來花蓮看牠！

Egg Tart is one small cat. But he makes everyone at Hualien Bus Station
happier!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vocabulary

流浪小貓蛋塔，在花蓮車站找到自己的家。

1. where 在哪裡。
Where’s the fish I was going to eat? 我要吃的魚去哪裡了?
I certainly didn’t touch it.我肯定沒有碰。

2. fish 魚。
Wait, is that your cat under the table? 等一下，桌子底下是不是你的貓?
Oh no, she found your fish! 糟糕，她發現了你的魚!
Yeah, she sure did.她確實是。

3. hungry 飢餓的。
Sorry about that.真抱歉。
It’s okay, but now I’m really hungry.沒關係，但是我現在真的餓了。

4. keep 留著。
I can make you a sandwich. 我可以替你做個三明治。
Thank you! 謝謝你!
So I can keep my cat? 所以我可以繼續養貓?
You sure can. She’s still cute! 當然可以。她還是很可愛的。

今天的單字還記得嗎? where在哪裡 fish魚 hungry飢餓的 keep留著
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quiz

1. What is a baby cat called?
a. A puppy
b. A kitten
c. A locker

2. Where does Egg Tart work?
a. A train station
b. A police station
c. A bus station

3. What does Egg Tart do at work?
a. He sells snacks.
b. He meows to people.
c. He watches videos.

Answers
1. b
2. c
3. b

 

________________________________

Hi there! Welcome back to a brand new episode of News Bites.

I’m Nancy Sun.

And I’m Hope Ngo.

Coming up today, pens that smell like Taiwan, and beavers to the rescue.

And in today’s News Flash, it's time to get started!

All that and more, coming up next.
________________________________

打開筆蓋 聞到台灣的香氣
Pens that Smell Like Taiwan

We're starting out with something simple.

Something you use every day.

A pen.

But not just any pen.

Pens that smell like Taiwan!

A company made these special pens.

And they showed these pens at a special event.

Everyone stopped to check out these pens.

They stood in a long line...

They opened the pen caps (筆蓋)...

And they took a big sniff.

Some people said "Oooh, yes!"

And some people said "Ewww, no!"

What's going on here?

Well, the company said most pens are all about writing well.

But they wanted to try something different.

They wanted pens that could make you feel something...

Bring back a memory...

Make you smile.

They thought...

Taiwan has amazing food.

Night markets are full of incredible things to eat and drink.

Smells that every Taiwanese person knows and loves.

So what if you could put those smells in a pen?

And that is exactly what they did.

It's all in these seasonings (香料) markers.

These pens smell like the cooking smells of Taiwan!

Love it or hate it, there's coriander (香菜)!

There's also basil (九層塔), the green herb that goes on top of fried chicken at
the night market!

Or how about sesame oil, like the smell of sesame oil chicken on a cold
winter day.

And there's also garlic, black pepper, and ginger (蒜、黑胡椒、薑)!

But wait, what if your favorite thing about Taiwan is its drink shops?

Well, there's another set of pens for Taiwan's most loved drinks.

There's passion fruit iced tea, like summer in a pen.

There's jasmine green tea, light and refreshing (清爽).

And of course there's milk tea, a Taiwanese classic (經典).

這些趣味的筆融入了台灣夜市小吃和人氣手搖飲的香氣。

These pens sound like a lot of fun!

If you could choose for yourself...

What smell would you put in a pen?

________________________________

野生河狸成為英國治水秘密武器
Beavers to the Rescue! A UK City Gets its Flooding Fixed

We are going to London!

To meet some very special city residents.

Beavers!

In a part of London, there is a place called Paradise Fields.

And Paradise Fields is... well... right in the middle of the city.

But a few years ago, this patch of land was transformed into a lush, green,
watery wetland.

Who made this?

Five wild beavers.

For years, whenever there was heavy rain, Paradise Fields flooded.

To fix it, the city would have to use lots of heavy machines and concrete
(水泥).

That's expensive, and not very good for nature.

But a wildlife expert had a different idea.

"Why don't we bring back beavers?"

Beavers live partly in water and partly on land.

They chew through sticks and trees.

They eat the bark (樹皮)...

And use the wood to build dams (水壩)!

They build dams across streams and rivers.

The dams stop water from flowing.

This creates ponds and wetlands.

Natural reservoirs (天然的水庫)!

The beavers also dig canals (運河).

These canals spread through the land, like a web of water.

Wild beavers went extinct in the UK about 400 years ago.

Humans hunted them.

But now, the five beavers brought to Paradise Fields got straight to work.

They built dams.

They created ponds.

They dug canals.

They turned a patch of land into a beautiful wetland.

By the beavers' second winter at Paradise Fields, there was no flooding in
the area.

For the first time in a decade!

The wetland works like a sponge.

When heavy rain falls, the water soaks into the wetland.

No flooding.

Just five beavers.

Doing what beavers do.

河狸的水壩可以幫助降低淹水風險，過濾髒污，讓水質變好。

And the wetland they created is now home to birds, butterflies, bats, fish
and shrimp.

There are now eight beavers at Paradise Fields.

And this spring, a new litter of baby beavers, called kits, was born!

Living in the city...

Right alongside beavers.

Doesn't seem like such a wild idea!
________________________________
RECAP

So, in today's News Bites:

A company made pens that smell like night market seasonings and drinks

Love it or hate it, there's coriander!

And of course there's milk tea, a Taiwanese classic.

The company says it wanted to use smells that every Taiwanese person knows
and loves.

________________________________
And,

For years, whenever there was heavy rain, Paradise Fields flooded.

So the city brought in five wild beavers, and they got straight to work!

They built dams, created ponds, and dug canals.

By the beavers' second winter at Paradise Fields, there was no flooding in
the area.

For the first time in a decade!

________________________________
NEWS FLASH

In today’s News Flash, a phrase for getting down to it.

"Get to work" means to start doing something, to stop waiting and begin.

Like, "The project is due tomorrow, we need to get to work!"

Now, "get STRAIGHT to work" means the same thing...

But faster, like right now!

The word "straight" here means without stopping, without doing anything else.

And now you know.
________________________________

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 an upcoming episode!

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