________________________________

Trees and Forests Move

In South America, a tree's roots grow above the ground. They look like
octopus legs. Some people say the tree walks! Is that true?
南美洲有一棵樹的樹根突出地面，像是章魚腳，甚至有人說它會走路!

In movies, trees can run and dance. Sometimes they fight! Real trees move,
but not like that.
電影裡的樹會跳舞、跑步，甚至打架，真正的樹做不到，但它們也會移動!

First, baby trees grow up, up, up. Then they reach out with their branches.
They are looking for sunlight. It helps them make food.
小樹苗會努力往上長高，伸長自己的樹枝尋找陽光。

The roots of the trees move too. The roots of most trees grow in the ground.
They look for water. But the trees stay in the same place.
樹根也會移動，大部分樹根都在地底下，它們會蔓延尋找水分。

Trees can't walk. No. But forests can move! Wind, birds, and other animals
carry tree seeds to new places. After a long time, those seeds grow into new
trees. Slowly, forests move.
樹不會自己走路，但是風、鳥和其他的動物，會帶著種子移動到新的地方。

Now the Earth is getting warmer. Some trees can't live in the same place
anymore. So people plant them in better places. This helps the trees grow
better. Slowly, forests move.
現在地球不斷暖化，有一些樹不適合當地的氣候，於是人們會在別的地方重新栽種，長久下來，森林就會慢慢移動。

Trees don't walk. They don't run, dance, or fight like in the movies. But
they move. Yes. Slowly, they move together as a forest!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vocabulary
樹林不會自己移動，但是藉著動物和人類，它也能慢慢擴散。

1. seed 種子。
Is this the tree that you grew from a tiny seed?
這棵是你從小小種子種出來的樹嗎?
Yeah, crazy, isn't it? 對啊，滿狂的吧?

2. ground 地面。
It grew so fast over the years. 幾年來它長得好快!
Yeah, the branches are way above the ground. 對啊，樹枝都離地面很遠了。

3. bird 鳥類。
And there's a bird's nest up there! 而且上面有鳥巢。
I know. Animals love this tree. 我知道，動物都很喜歡這棵樹。

4. root 根部。
How did you make it so strong? 你怎麼讓它變這麼強壯?
I did nothing except giving it water. 我除了澆水什麼也沒做。
I guess plants just take root and grow. 我想植物會自己生根然後生長。

今天的單字都很簡單。
seed種子 ground地面 bird鳥類 root根部
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Quiz

1. Which part of most trees grows in the ground?
a. Branches
b. Leaves
c. Roots

2. What is one way forests move?
a. Trees run together
b. The sun shines on trees
c. Seeds grow in new places

3. Why are people helping trees move?
a. The Earth is getting colder
b. The Earth is getting warmer
c. The trees are growing taller

Answers
1. c
2. c
3. b
 

________________________________

Hello and welcome back to another new episode of News Bites!

I'm Allie Highsmith.

And I'm Paz Bueno.

In today's news: Taiwan ranks 24th in the world for freedom of press, and a
mini weiner dog reunites with her owner after being lost for a year and a
half!

And in today's tasty tidbit: Interesting June holidays.

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

新聞媒體自由 台灣全球排名第24名！
Taiwan Climbs to #24 in World Press Freedom Rankings

Hey Allie, have you ever heard of "press freedom" (新聞媒體自由)?

Um... not really. What's that?

Basically, it's the idea that journalists (記者) should not be punished by
the government for reporting the news.
基本上，新聞自由的意思是，政府不會亂懲罰記者。

In other words （換句話說）, it means the government lets journalists freely
do their jobs without them having to worry about punishments.

It's really important, so that the public （民眾） can know what the
government is doing, and journalists can tell the truth.

Ah I see.

Taiwan is currently ranked the 24th best country in the world for press
freedom by Reporters without Borders.

That's 3 spots higher than it was last year, and puts us between Spain and
France.

That makes Taiwan 2nd in the Asia-Pacific （亞太地區） and 1st in East Asia
（東亞地區）.

The only country higher than Taiwan in the Asia-Pacific is New Zealand
（紐西蘭）.

But most countries' press freedom rankings got worse last year.

So most of Taiwan's rise is actually because other countries around it fell;
Taiwan's score out of 100 is 77.04, almost the same as last year.

There is some really good news though- in Taiwan, more people trust the media
（媒體） than they did before.

In 2020, only 24% of people said that they trusted the media, but last year
33% of people said that they did.

And how's the situation abroad （國外）?
In Hong Kong （香港）, press freedom has gotten a lot worse; Hong Kong's
score was only about 40 out of 100 this year.

Experts say, it's very hard for Hong Kong journalists to report the news when
they have lots of pressure （壓力）from the government.

The highest-ranked countries were Norway （挪威）, Estonia （愛沙尼亞）, and
the Netherlands （荷蘭）.

The lowest were China, North Korea （北韓）, and Eritrea （厄利垂亞）.
________________________________

臘腸狗在澳洲曠野生活了18個月，終於跟主人重聚
Mini dachshund reunites with owner after being lost for 18 months

A mini weiner dog （迷你臘腸狗） is back with her family after she was lost
for a year and a half.

The dog, named Valerie, spent all that time on an island in Australia.

Valerie's owner, Georgia, said her dog came over to her immediately
（馬上）when they reunited.

Georgia said she cried a lot when she saw her weiner dog again.

Valerie seemed pretty happy too; Georgia said Valerie was wagging her tail
（搖尾巴） and making happy sounds.

Before that, Georgia and Valerie had not seen each other since November 2023!

An organization （組織） called Kangala Wildlife Rescue helped get the two
back together.

Valerie was lost on an island called Kangaroo Island (袋鼠島), which is near
the state of South Australia.

She got lost when Georgia was vacationing on the island and left her campsite.

Valerie escaped （逃避） while Georgia was gone.

Georgia searched for Valerie for a long time, but she had to give up and go
home.

Valerie was brought back to Georgia in April after she spent 529 days living
in the wild （曠野）.

When she got lost, she weighed 4 kilograms.

But when she came back, she weighed almost 7!
之前，Valerie的體重是4公斤，但他跟主人團聚的時候，體重增加到7公斤！

Some people think Valerie probably ate a lot of animal droppings to survive.

Volunteers （志工） from Kangala Wildlife Rescue discovered the dachshund in
March.

I guess Valerie didn't really blend into the Australian wilderness…

Later, volunteers captured her.

They spent about 1000 hours looking for her!

Experts say, it's really surprising that Valerie survived; she is a mini
weiner dog after all.

Georgia said that she will work with a trainer （訓練師）to help Valerie
transition （轉型）back into home life; she's probably used to living like a
wild animal now.

Valerie will also reunite with her siblings （兄弟姐妹）, a cat named Lucy
and two dogs, named Mason and Dorothy.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

Taiwan ranks 24th in the world for press freedom, 3 spots higher than the
year before.

But, a lot of countries around the world are dropping in the rankings of
press freedom.

Press freedom is very important, because it means that the public can know
what the government is doing, without journalists needing to be afraid that
they will be punished.
________________________________

And...

A mini dachshund reunites with her owner after being lost for 18 months.

Valerie the weiner dog spent all that time living in the Australian
wilderness.

She was in pretty good condition when she was found.

Valerie and her owner both were very very happy to meet again.
________________________________

趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

快要下班了！

Hey Paz, can you hand me my helmet?

Sure, what for?

June 3rd is World Bicycle Day!

So I'm biking home from work.

That's awesome! I'm getting some chocolate ice cream after work to celebrate
Chocolate Ice Cream Day on June 7th.

Oh, did you wanna head to the beach with me this weekend?

June 15th is International Surfing Day!

And I'll see you next week at work ... with my cat!

June 17th is Bring Your Cat to Work Day- for the purr-fect day at work!
________________________________

That's all for today's episode of News Bites!

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

Catch you next time, for an all-new episode of News Bites.