________________________________

People Pedal for Power

Being out in the sun with friends feels good! Doing this when we're
exercising, having fun, and helping others feels GREAT!
在太陽下跟朋友玩很享受，如果可以同時運動跟幫助人，感覺更棒!

About three hundred people met one day. Some were adults and many were kids.
Schools sent lots of students! The people were meeting to exercise. There
were hundreds of exercise bikes!
有一天，300 個大人小孩聚在一起運動，還有學校派學生參加，現場有好幾百台腳踏車。

But these bikes are not like the bikes in gyms or sports centers. And they
are not like the bike in your living room … you know, the one your dad or
mom doesn't use anymore! These exercise bikes make electricity!
但這些腳踏車不是一般健身房那種，它們可以發電!

The people got on the bikes. They started pedaling! As they pedaled, the
bikes made electricity. The more the people pedaled, the more electricity
they made!
這些人坐上腳踏車猛踩踏板，這些踏板會發電，所以越多人踩踏板，就能製造越多電力!

Together the people made more than 10,000 watts of energy. That can give
electricity to two homes for 24 hours! They gave the electricity they made to
people who need it.
他們製造超過 1 萬瓦電力，可以供兩個家庭使用 24 小時，最後電力送給需要的人。

Everyone had a great day! Together with their friends, they exercised, had
fun, and helped others!
________________________________________
Vocabulary
騎腳踏車可以發電，電力還可以供應住家呢!

1. exercise 運動。
That was lots of fun! 真是有趣!
Yeah, I forgot how much I enjoy biking. 對啊，我都忘了我有多喜歡騎車。It's
great exercise too! 它也是很棒的運動。
I hope I burned at least 500 calories. 我希望至少燒掉了五百卡路里。

2. gym 健身房。
And it's way better than the gym. 比健身房好多了。
Totally. Fresh air and sunshine win every time! 當然輸給新鮮空氣跟陽光。

3. together 一起。
We should do this every week. 我們應該每星期都來。
Good idea. Let's do it together with the kids. 好主意，來跟小孩一起騎。

4. pedal 踩踏板。
My 3-year-old has yet to learn how to pedal. 我的三歲小孩還沒有學會踩踏板。
No worries. He'll learn fast. 別擔心，他會學很快的。

來一起讀單字。
exercise運動 gym健身房 together一起 pedal踩踏板
________________________________________
Quiz

1. What did schools send to the meeting?
a. Lots of exercise bikes
b. Lots of students
c. Lots of adults

2. How much electricity did the big group make?
a. One watt
b. Three hundred watts
c. Ten thousand watts

3. Where was the electricity sent?
a. To people who needed it
b. To a bike in a living room
c. Outside

Answers
1. b
2. c
3. a
 

________________________________

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

I'm Paz Bueno.

And I'm Allie Highsmith.

In today's news:
Starfish are eating up a coral reef, and a book cover with a story.

And in today's Tasty Tidbit…starfish don't have brains.

Keep on listening to find out more!
________________________________

棘冠海星大軍來襲！東沙島珊瑚面臨危機
Starfish Attack! Coral in Trouble at Dongsha

The Earth is changing.

Oceans are getting warmer.

The weather is becoming stronger.

And animals, plants, even coral, are feeling the effects (影響).

Sometimes, one small change in nature can cause a big problem.

Something strange is happening in the ocean near the Pratas Islands National
Park, also known as the Dongsha Atoll (東沙環礁國家公園).

Thousands of crown-of-thorns starfish are eating the coral reef.
成千上萬的棘冠海星正在大口吃掉珊瑚礁。

These starfish look cool, but they are big trouble for coral.

If nothing is done, all the hard coral there could disappear (消失) in just
two years.

Wherever the starfish go, they eat everything.

The coral cannot grow back fast enough.
海星走到哪，就吃到哪，珊瑚來不及長回來。

Last year, Taiwan's Marine National Park called in volunteer divers to help.

These divers formed the "Dongsha Strike Team."

They worked hard to remove the starfish.
去年，海洋國家公園召集了潛水志工組成「東沙突擊隊」，努力清除海星。

In total, they removed over 13,000 starfish last year.

But this year, they've already taken out more than 33,000!

Each starfish can lay around 300 million eggs a year (一年可以產下三億顆卵).

Even if only a few survive, their numbers grow very fast.
就算只有一小部分孵化成功，數量也會爆炸性的成長。

This is why scientists are worried.

They say one team cannot stop the problem alone.

A long time ago in Guam (關島), a starfish outbreak (海星大爆發) ate all the
coral around the island in two and a half years.

Scientists fear Dongsha could have the same problem.

The Taiwanese Coral Reef Society (台灣珊瑚礁學會) says more help is needed.

They want the government to act fast.

If not, the problem could spread (個問題可能會蔓延到) to other places like
Green Island or Kenting.

For now, volunteers (志工) are doing their best to save the reef.
________________________________

亞瑟王失落的故事竟藏在書皮裡！
Lost King Arthur Story Found in a Book Cover

Sometimes, treasure isn't gold or jewels.
寶藏不一定是黃金或是寶石。

Sometimes, it's a hidden story (一段隱藏的故事) or an old secret found in a
very strange place.

Our next story is about a discovery that was hiding in plain sight
(藏在顯眼的地方)…

At Cambridge University Library in the UK, scientists found a lost story
about King Arthur and Merlin.
在英國劍橋大學圖書館，科學家發現關於亞瑟王和魔法師梅林一個失傳很久的故事。

But it wasn't inside the book; it was the book cover!

The book was made in the 1500s, but the cover (書皮) was even older.

It was made of animal skin, called parchment (羊皮紙).

It had old writing in French, but most of it was hidden or rubbed off (模糊).

Because the cover was so fragile (脆弱), scientists didn't want to take it
apart (拆開).

So, they used computers and special cameras to take pictures using different
kinds of light.

They also made a 3D model with X-rays to see inside.

Slowly, they "unfolded" the cover digitally!
科學家決定用電腦和特殊攝影機，拍下不同光線下的照片，還用X光製作3D模型，慢慢「數位解開」書皮。

It took five years, but they finally saw the whole story.

It was written around 1275-1315.

There are fewer than 40 copies of this old French story in the world.
這段用法文寫的文字，大約於1275到1315年之間完成，全球只有不到40份手寫副本。

The writing tells two stories.

One is about a battle with Arthur's knight, Sir Gawain, using his magic
sword, Excalibur.
它有兩個故事：一個講高文爵士，他是亞瑟王圓桌武士的一員，會用魔法「石中劍」戰鬥。

The other is about Merlin pretending to be a blind musician.

Later, he turns Arthur's flag into a dragon!
另一個講梅林偽裝成盲人音樂家，在戰場上把亞瑟王的旗幟變成一條龍！

The scientist who led the project said it was "like solving a puzzle"
(好像在解開拼圖).

This new method helps protect old papers and can help other libraries
discover more hidden history.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

Thousands of crown-of-thorns starfish are eating the coral reef in the ocean
near the Pratas Islands National Park, also known as the Dongsha Atoll.

If nothing is done, all the hard coral there could disappear in just two
years.
_______________________________

And,

At Cambridge University Library in the UK, scientists found a lost story
about King Arthur and Merlin.

But it wasn't inside the book; it was the book cover!

Because the cover was so fragile, scientists didn't want to take it apart.

So, they used computers and special cameras to "unfold" the cover digitally!
________________________________

趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

Did you know that starfish don't have brains?

It's true! They don't have a brain like humans do, but they can still do some
amazing things.

Starfish move using tiny feet under their arms.

They can find food, eat, and even grow back an arm if they lose one.

Some can even grow a whole new body from just one arm!
_______________________________

If you have a fun fact, interesting news, or a joke you'd like to share with
us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to
newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you might hear it at the end of an episode!

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