________________________________

The Biggest Pumpkin Festival

Today is Halloween. Maybe you'll see pumpkins with scary faces! BOO!
今天是萬聖節！你也許會在路上看到可怕的南瓜燈喔！

Germany has the world's biggest pumpkin festival. There are half a million
pumpkins! Whoa! They are orange, green, white, yellow, brown, pink, and
black! Ewwww!
世界上最大的南瓜節在德國。這個節日有五十萬顆七彩繽紛的南瓜！

Why are there so many pumpkins? Well, this year, you can see Superman, Mickey
Mouse, King Kong and others. They are big. And they are made of pumpkins!
今年的南瓜節會看到超人、米老鼠、還有金剛的雕像。這些雕像全都是用南瓜做的！

And, you can buy pumpkins. You can make scary faces on them! You can eat
pumpkin ice cream! And pumpkin pizza! And pumpkin french fries!
你也可以在南瓜節買南瓜，在上面刻出可怕的表情，或者是享用各種美味的南瓜料理，像是南瓜冰淇淋，還有南瓜披薩，或是南瓜薯條！

You can watch a boat race. The boats are made of … yes, big pumpkins!
在南瓜節還可以看到划船比賽，那些船是超大南瓜做的！

You can go to two contests for the biggest pumpkin! One is for Germany. One
is for Europe. The world's biggest pumpkin was about 1,250 kilograms. Will
there be a bigger one this year?
很多人會參加德國跟歐洲最大南瓜比賽。世界最大的南瓜有1250公斤重，今年會不會有南瓜破紀錄呢？

At the end of the festival, big pumpkins are cut open. And you can buy their
seeds. Then you can grow big pumpkins.
活動結束時，大南瓜會被切開，而你可以把南瓜子買回家，試著種出更大的南瓜！

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Vocabulary
南瓜節聽起來很好玩吧?

1. contest 比賽。
Hey, Nancy, are you going to the Halloween party? 南西，你去不去萬聖節派對?
Sure, I already bought a big pumpkin for the contest.
當然，我已經買了大南瓜參加比賽。

2. bigger 更大的。
How big are we talking? 有多大呢?
Bigger than any you've ever seen! 比你看過的都大!

3. watch 看。
Wow, I'd love to see it! 哇，我想看看。
Then come to the party and watch me win. 那你也去派對，看我贏。

4. ice cream 冰淇淋。
What are you going to do with that giant thing? 你準備拿那個大東西怎麼辦?
I'll make pumpkin ice cream and pies. 我要做南瓜冰淇淋跟南瓜派。

你喜歡吃南瓜嗎? 來一起讀單字。
contest比賽 bigger更大的 watch看 ice cream冰淇淋
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Quiz

1. Where is the world's biggest pumpkin festival?
a. Jamaica
b. Germany
c. Japan

2. How many pumpkins are at the festival?
a. Half a million
b. Half a billion
c. Half an hour

3. What can you watch at the festival?
a. A dragon boat race
b. A pumpkin boat race
c. A pumpkin pizza race

Answers
1. b
2. a
3. b

________________________________

Hi, and welcome back to an all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Jacob Ingram.

And I'm Kelly Kimura.

In this episode, we'll be talking about someone who won two special prizes,
and a sushi master who loves what he does.

And today's News Flash word is: President.

Stay tuned for those stories.
________________________________

唐獎得主榮獲諾貝爾獎
Tang Prize Winner Wins Nobel Prize

Today's story is about two very special prizes - and one person who won both!

In 2025, Professor Omar M. Yaghi won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
(諾貝爾化學獎)!

But this wasn't his first big honor.

Just one year earlier, in 2024, he received the Tang Prize (唐獎) in Taiwan.

The Tang Prize is a special award given every two years to people who make
the world better.

Many people even call it "Asia's Nobel Prize."

It was created in 2012 by Taiwanese entrepreneur Samuel Yin (尹衍樑).

The Tang Prize has four areas: Sustainable development (永續發展),
biopharmaceutical science (生物製藥科學), sinology (漢學), and the rule of
law (法治).

Because of the Tang Prize, Taiwan helps support new ideas that can change the
world.

Professor Yaghi works at the University of California, Berkeley in the U.S.

He is a pioneer (先驅者) in something called reticular chemistry (網格化學).

That's the science of building new materials from very small parts to make
something brand new.

He shared the 2025 Nobel Prize with Susumu Kitagawa from Japan and Richard
Robson from Australia.

Together, they developed something called metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs
(金屬有機骨架).

MOFs are tiny structures made of metal and organic parts.
MOF是由金屬和有機部分組成的微小結構。

You can think of them as super small sponges (超小海綿) or 3D cages
(立體籠子) that you can't see with your eyes.

Inside these "sponges," there are many empty spaces (空間) - like lots of
tiny rooms or holes.

Because of these spaces, different gases (氣體) can go in and out easily.

Scientists believe MOFs can help solve big world problems, such as:

‧ Drought (乾旱) - they can pull water from dry air, even in deserts!

‧ Air pollution (空氣汙染), and...

‧ Global warming (全球暖化) - they can capture carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) and
other harmful gases.

In other words, MOFs can help clean the air, save water, and protect our
planet.

After the Nobel Prize was announced, the Tang Prize Foundation in Taiwan
celebrated and sent congratulations.

This is already the fourth time that a Tang Prize winner has later received a
Nobel Prize - so Taiwan is very proud!
________________________________

日本一百歲的壽司老手
Japan's 100-Year-Old Sushi Master

This next story is about a sushi master from Japan who is now 100 years old,
and he still loves his work!

His name is Jiro Ono, and he is famous all over the world for making amazing
sushi.

His restaurant earned three Michelin stars (米其林三星) - that's one of the
highest awards a restaurant can get!

His restaurant is called Sukiyabashi Jiro (數寄屋橋次郎).

It's very small, with only 10 seats.

And it's in the basement of a building in Tokyo's fancy Ginza (銀座) area.

Many important people have eaten there — even former U.S. President Barack
Obama!

And once, even the Japanese government couldn't get a reservation right away
- the restaurant was already full!

Even at 100, Jiro Ono says he wants to keep working for five more years.

He said that working is the best medicine (最好的藥).

He can't go to the restaurant every day now, but he still tries whenever he
can.

Japan has many people who are 100 years old or older.

There are almost 100,000 of them in the country!

Jiro Ono started learning to cook when he was just 7 years old, became a
professional sushi chef at 25, and opened his own restaurant in 1965.

He has spent his whole life trying to make the perfect sushi.

There's even a famous movie about him called "Jiro Dreams of Sushi
(壽司之神)."

In the movie, he said he hasn't reached perfection yet — and he will keep
trying to get better every day.
在這部著名的電影中，他說自己還沒有達到完美，並且會繼續往頂峰前進。

The movie's director (導演) said that Jiro Ono is humble (謙虛) and kind
(善良).

Now, his son Yoshikazu Ono is the head chef and runs the restaurant.

Jiro Ono now makes sushi only for special guests, because his hands are not
as strong as before.

But he still has big dreams.

He says he wants to live until 114 years old!

He stays healthy by eating well, walking often, and not drinking alcohol.

When people ask him about his favorite sushi, he answers right away: Tuna
(鮪魚), gizzard shad (鰶魚), and eel (鰻魚).

Jiro Ono's lifelong effort is a true inspiration (激勵) to everyone.
________________________________

So in today's News Bites,

A scientist named Omar Yaghi won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry this year.

He won Taiwan's Tang Prize last year!

He studied special structures called MOFs.

MOFs can help with problems like air pollution and drought.
________________________________

And,

Jiro Ono is a 100-year-old sushi chef in Japan.

He still wants to work and make sushi.

He earned three Michelin stars with his small restaurant.

He said he wants to live until 114 years old!
_______________________________

Today's vocabulary word is: President, or "總統" in Mandarin.

That's spelt P-R-E-S-I-D-E-N-T.

A President is the leader (領導人) of a country.

The President is usually elected (選出) by the people, and is responsible for
leading the government and representing the nation.

For example, Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) works with the
government to make decisions about the economy, national security, and
foreign relations (外交關係).
________________________________

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!