________________________________

A Big Job on a Roof

In one part of New Taipei, people were very worried about a building. They
called the city. City workers went to the building. They went up to the top.
They looked at the roof.

Many, many things were on the roof! There were old bikes and suitcases. There
were old chairs and tables. There were also old bottles and other things to
recycle. But they were not recycled.

Many more things were on the fifth floor. It was full! The stairs were full
too. Why were there SO many things?

For many years, a man carried things up to the roof. He said he used them to
study science. Everything got older and older. They smelled. Lots of big bugs
came. Lots of mice came.

The city and others cleaned up the roof two times a few years ago. But the
man carried more things up.

A typhoon was coming. Maybe it would come to New Taipei! Strong winds could
blow things off the roof! They could fall on people! City workers needed to
clean up the roof fast!

Forty workers came. They put everything on the roof in big white bags. Tall
cranes took the bags down. Trucks carried the bags away.

The days were hot. Everything smelled bad. But the workers kept working. They
cleaned up more than 24,000 kilograms of old things. It took four days. Now
the man must pay the city two million NT.

Maybe more typhoons are coming. But the people near the building feel safer.
The roof is clean... for now!
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Vocabulary
新北市一棟公寓的屋頂上堆滿了雜物，還好在颱風來之前全部清掉了。

1. clean up 清除。
Jane, you have too much old stuff! 你的舊東西太多了!
You really need to clean it up. 你真的需要清理。
I know. 我知道。

2) full 滿的。
But my living room is not full yet. 不過我的客廳還沒有放滿。
Are you kidding? 開玩笑。
I have to move around things just to get to the door! 我要繞過一堆東西才能走到門口。

3) table 桌子，chair 椅子。
And I can’t sit down.而且還沒辦法坐。
There's stuff piled up on every table and chair! 桌子和椅子上都堆了東西。
You’re right, sorry about that.你說的對，真抱歉。

4) carry 搬運。
I can help you carry some of these downstairs. 我可以幫你把一些搬下樓。
No no. I’ll just buy one more chair.不了，我會去買一張椅子。

請跟我讀今天的單字。
clean up清除 full滿的 table桌子 chair椅子 carry搬運
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quiz

1. What was on the roof?
a. Many old things
b. New chairs
c. A garden

2. What came to the roof?
a. Cats
b. Bugs
c. Trucks

3. Who cleaned up the roof?
a. People living near the building
b. The man
c. City workers

Answers
1. a
2. b
3. c

________________________________

Hello and welcome back to a brand-new episode of News Bites!

I’m Jacob Ingram.

And I’m Nancy Sun.

In today’s news: Crocodile meat for your Mid-Autumn barbecue, and Team USA
makes a big comeback to win the Women’s Basketball World Cup.

And in today’s News Flash, our word is: raise.

Keep on listening to find out more!
________________________________

中秋節烤鱷魚腿？
Crocodile on the Grill?

Today is Mid-Autumn Festival!

And across Taiwan, many families and friends will be getting together for one
of the holiday’s most popular traditions: barbecue.

You’ll probably see meat, shrimp, vegetables and maybe some seafood on the
grill.

But Chiayi County has another suggestion.

How about… crocodile leg?

嘉義縣推薦今年中秋烤肉來點不一樣的：烤鱷魚腿！

The Chiayi County Agriculture Department has been promoting local aquaculture
products as food for Mid-Autumn barbecues.

Aquaculture (水產養殖) means raising fish and other water animals for food.

Chiayi produces oysters, clams, shrimp, tilapia and eels.

But it also produces something much more unusual.

What people often call “crocodiles” are actually spectacled caimans
(眼鏡凱門鱷).

Caimans are close relatives of crocodiles.

Taiwan’s largest concentration of caiman farms is in Yizhu Township (義竹鄉),
Chiayi County.

Local officials say the meat has a mild flavor (味道溫和) and a firm texture.

They say it tastes a little like chicken.

There are also many ways to cook it.

It can be fried, boiled, baked, stewed or, of course, grilled.

For today’s barbecue, officials recommend skinless caiman leg.

They say it tastes good on the grill and could also become quite a topic of
conversation (聊天話題).

If the skin is still on, officials say the leg is better for soup or dishes
such as three-cup crocodile.

They say its texture is similar to giant grouper (龍膽石斑).

So while you’re enjoying your Mid-Autumn barbecue today, somewhere in Chiayi
there might be something very different cooking on the grill.

Not chicken.

Not pork.

But crocodile!
________________________________

美國女籃逆轉奪世界冠軍
USA Comes Back to Win the World Cup

Imagine playing in a championship game.
Your team is losing by 14 points.

But instead of giving up, you fight your way back.

That’s exactly what the United States women’s basketball team did at the FIBA
Women’s Basketball World Cup.

The tournament was held in Berlin, Germany.

Sixteen national teams competed to become world champions.

美國隊在冠軍賽中一度落後14分，但最後成功逆轉。

In the final on September 13, the US faced France.

France started the game very strongly.

At one point, the French team was ahead by 14 points.

But the Americans slowly began to catch up (追上).

Just before halftime, Caitlin Clark made a three-point shot.

That cut France’s lead to only two points.

The score was 45 to 43.

Then, in the second half, everything changed.

Team USA took control of the game.

Breanna Stewart and Jackie Young led the comeback (帶領逆轉).

Stewart scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Young added 18 points.

By the end of the game, the United States had turned a 14-point deficit into
an 18-point victory.

The final score was 97 to 79.

美國隊最後以97比79擊敗法國隊。

The victory gave the United States its fifth Women’s World Cup title in a row.

It was also the country’s 12th title overall.

That is more than any other country.

Stewart was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, or MVP (最有價值球員).

She also became the first player ever to win the Women’s World Cup MVP award
twice.

France did not win the championship, but the tournament was still historic
for the team.

It was France’s first time reaching the Women’s World Cup final.

And for the United States, the victory showed that even when you fall far
behind, the game is not over until the final whistle.
________________________________

So, in today’s News Bites:

Chiayi County is promoting an unusual food for Mid-Autumn Festival barbecues:
crocodile leg.

The animals are actually spectacled caimans, which are close relatives of
crocodiles.

Officials say the meat is mild and firm, a little like chicken.
________________________________

And,

The United States won its fifth straight FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

The team came back after falling 14 points behind France.

The US won 97 to 79, and Breanna Stewart was named the tournament’s MVP.
________________________________

NEWS FLASH

In today’s News Flash, our word is “raise”! (飼養、舉起).

“Raise” is a verb, and it has several meanings.

One meaning is to take care of an animal as it grows.

For example: “Farmers raise chickens for eggs.”

In our first story, farmers in Chiayi raise spectacled caimans.

But “raise” can also mean to lift something upward.

For example: “She raised her hand to answer the question.”

And after winning a championship, athletes often raise the trophy above their
heads.
________________________________

If you have a fun fact or a joke you’d like to share with us, record your
message and send us your Bite-Size 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!