________________________________

Asteroid Won't Hit Earth, May Hit Moon

Scientists say something is flying in space. And it's near Earth. It's not a
spaceship. It's not a plane. It's a rock! Huh?
科學家說地球附近有物體在飛，不是太空船或飛機，是一顆石頭！

Many rocks go around and around the sun. They are asteroids. Earth and other
planets go around the sun too. But asteroids are much, much smaller.
很多石頭不停繞著太陽轉，叫做小行星。地球跟其他的行星也繞著太陽轉，不過小行星小很多。

Small asteroids can cause big problems. On June 30th, 1908, an asteroid
killed eighty million trees!
小行星可能會釀成災害，1908 年 6 月 30日，一顆小行星撞地球，摧毀了 8 千萬棵樹！

Last year, scientists found an asteroid near Earth. They named it 2024 YR4.
It is 53 to 67 meters wide. It looks like a pancake! Most asteroids look like
potatoes.
去年，在地球附近有一顆被命名為 2024 YR4 的小行星，有 53 到 67
公尺寬，長得像扁扁的鬆餅，大部分小行星都像馬鈴薯。

At first, scientists worried about 2024 YR4. Was it going to hit Earth? But
don't worry! Now scientists say it won't hit Earth. Whew! We are safe! But
scientists also say the asteroid may hit the moon in 2032!
科學家原本擔心它會撞地球，好消息是我們很安全！不過它可能會在 2032 年撞到月球。

Hey, it's June 30th again! That means today is International Asteroid Day! Do
you want something to do this summer? Find out more about asteroids!
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Vocabulary
小行星撞地球並不是只有在電影中，它真的可能發生。

1) worry 擔憂。
Imagine an asteroid hitting Earth. Boom! 想像一顆小行星撞地球，砰！
Don't joke about it. 不要開玩笑。
What? Do you really worry about it? 什麼，你真的擔心?
Yeah, I do. 是，我擔心。

2) planet 行星。
But it's not going to happen. 但是不會發生啊。
How can you be so sure? 你怎麼那麼確定?
Well, Earth is just a small planet. 地球只是一個小小的行星。
The universe is very big. 宇宙很大呢。

3) spaceship 太空船。
I think scientists should build many spaceships.
我覺得科學家應該造很多太空船。

4) summer 夏天。
So that we can fly away anytime? 好讓我們隨時飛走?
Yeah, like going on a summer vacation. 對，就好像去過暑假。

上完這一課，你就可以放假了！來一起讀單字。
worry擔憂 planet行星 spaceship太空船 summer夏天

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Quiz

1. What do asteroids go around and around?
a. The sun
b. Earth
c. Other planets

2. What does 2024 YR4 look like?
a. A potato
b. A pancake
c. A ball

3. When may this asteroid hit the moon?
a. 2027
b. 2032
c. 2038

Answers:
1. a
2. b
3. b
 

________________________________

Hello and welcome back to another episode of News Bites!

I'm Nancy Sun.

And I'm Paz Bueno.

In today's news, a tiny goldfish made of gold, and a young bear cub learns
from people dressed like bears.

Stay tuned for more on those stories, coming up next.
________________________________

雕刻家陳逢顯刻出0.3公分黃金小金魚
Taiwan Artist Sculpts World's Smallest Goldfish

Today we've got a teeny-tiny tale.

It's all about a small thing making a BIG splash!

Have you ever seen a goldfish (金魚)?

Now imagine one so small...

It could sit on the tip of your pencil (鉛筆尖)!

A very talented artist in Taiwan has made the world's smallest goldfish.

And it's made of gold!

Chen Forng-shean (陳逢顯) is a miniature artist.

That means he's a master of mini things!

He made many tiny pieces of art...

Tiny teapots, itty-bitty ants...

And now a goldfish.

This goldfish is just 3 millimeters long.

That's smaller than a grain of rice (一粒米).

The fish looks like it is swimming in water that's coming from a golden
faucet (水龍頭).

Forng-shean worked on this tiny fish for 30 days.

What does this artwork mean?

He says the goldfish wants to be free.

It is swimming against the water.

And the faucet is about people's control.

陳逢顯說「水龍頭象徵人為控制，而金魚在激流中逆游，代表對自由的渴望」。

Making this tiny piece of art wasn't easy.

Gold is very soft.

It's also very shiny.

Forng-shean had to use special tools and a microscope.

He had to work very carefully to make the fish's tiny fins, big eyes, and
open mouth.

0.3公分的黃金小金魚有鰭、頭、2隻大眼睛、還有張開的嘴。

One tiny mistake...

And the whole thing could break!

黃金非常的柔軟而且反光強烈，需要用顯微鏡和特殊的工具，反覆雕刻，一個不小心可能就會把雕刻弄壞。

You can see this amazing artwork at the Chen Forng-shean Miniature Art Museum
in New Taipei.
________________________________

照顧員穿「熊裝」照顧小黑熊
Bear Buddies in Disguise

Now we've got another BEARY special story.

What do you get when you mix a fur coat, gloves, and a bear mask?

Is it Halloween?

Is it a fashion show?

Guess again...

It's people helping a tiny black bear cub!

This little bear was found all alone in a forest in California.

He was only two months old.

At this age, cubs are with their moms all day, and don't really leave their
den (巢穴).

People looked for his mom for many days.

But sadly, she was gone.

So they took the cub to the San Diego Humane Society.

It's a place that helps wild animals.

And the people there wore costumes to take care of the cub.

Why? Because they wanted the bear to stay wild.

If the bear stays wild...

One day, it can go back to the forest that it came from.

So the caretakers put on gloves, a fur coat, and a bear mask.

The fur coats are real fur, donated to the society.

The fur coats even smell like bears!

The society gets some dried grass from a place where real bears live.

And they put the grass on the fur coats.

This helps the coats have a black bear scent (氣味).

The baby bear sleeps with a giant teddy bear.

He also has trees to climb, bugs to eat, and places to hide, just like in the
forest.

照顧員穿上毛皮大衣、手套和熊面具，模仿熊媽媽的模樣，避免小熊對人類產生依賴，希望把小熊養大後野放。

One time, the caretakers tested the cub.

They went in to see the cub without wearing their fur coat, gloves and mask.

They wanted to see what the cub would do if it saw humans.

The cub got scared, and ran up a tree!

That's good news!

It means he knows humans may be dangerous.

The caretakers are also teaching him bear things...

Like how to dig for food, and build a nest.

They hope the cub will grow strong and live free in the wild when he grows up.

That would be a bear-y happy ending.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

Miniature artist Chen Forng-shean made a tiny piece of art.

It's a goldfish swimming in water that's coming from a golden faucet.

This goldfish is just 3 millimeters long.

You can see this amazing artwork at the Chen Forng-shean Miniature Art Museum
in New Taipei.
________________________________

And...

A little black bear was found all alone in a forest in California.

The San Diego Humane Society is taking care of the cub.

The caretakers wear gloves, a fur coat, and a bear mask, because they wanted
the bear to stay wild.

They hope the cub will grow strong and live free in the forest when he grows
up.
_____________________________________

趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

Now for our final Tasty Tidbit...

How do you make the last day of school fly by?

Throw a clock!
_____________________________________

And that's our last episode of News Bites for this school year.

We hope you had a lot of fun listening in!

A big thank you to all the students, teachers, and schools out there, and
thank you to the K-12 Education Administration of the Ministry of Education,
for supporting us and helping us make sure that learning English can be easy
for everyone.

We hope to see you again in September, and in the meantime, have a great
summer!