News Bites ICRT

Hello! You're listening to an all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Paz Bueno.

And I'm Nancy Sun.

Today's stories…
More pets than babies in Taiwan, animals behave strangely during an eclipse, and how much energy can you save by recycling?

Are you ready to find out more?

Here we go!
________________________________

寵物超越新生兒的數量
Pets Outnumber Babies in Taiwan

Last semester (上學期), we shared surprising news that pets outnumbered babies in Hsinchu County.

Now, this trend (趨勢) has spread across Taiwan!

More people registered their pet dogs and cats than there were babies born in 2023.
2023年，寵物狗和貓的數量超過了新生兒的數目。

Last year, there were 232,196 new registrations for pets compared to only 135,571 babies.

Among these pets, cats were especially popular (特別受歡迎), with their numbers even higher than newborn babies.

Taiwan is becoming a "super-aged society" (超高齡社會) where the number of older people is very high compared to younger people.

This change is affecting many things, including the jobs people do.

For example, there are now more doctors who specialize in taking care of pets (專門照顧寵物的獸醫) than there are pediatricians (小兒科醫生).

In 2023, there were 1,880 doctors for young children in Taiwan.

They worked in 1,048 places that provide medical care for kids.

Meanwhile, the number of veterinarians, or vets, (獸醫) has increased.

There are 5,773 vets in Taiwan, and many of them, about 69%, focus on treating pets (治療寵物).

Most veterinarians work in big cities.

This shows that in cities, more people are choosing to have pets, and they need doctors for them.

Yang Hsiao-po (楊孝柏), who has been a vet for 22 years, says pets are very important for people.

They help make their owners happier and healthier.

He noticed that these days, he mostly treats pets for serious health issues like diabetes (糖尿病) and heart disease (心臟病).

As more people in Taiwan prefer having pets, the number of animal hospitals is expected to grow.
隨著越來越多的台灣人喜歡飼養寵物，動物醫院的數量預計也會增加。

By the end of this year, there might be around 2,000 animal hospitals across the country.

This tells us that pets are becoming a big part of many people's lives in Taiwan!
________________________________

當動物遇到日全食
How Animals React to a Solar Eclipse

On April 8th, 2024, North America experienced a total solar eclipse (日全食).

This means the moon moved in front of the sun, making it dark during the day for a few minutes.

During an eclipse, not only do people find it exciting…

…but animals also behave in strange ways (出現奇怪的行為) because it suddenly becomes dark.

Long ago, people noticed that animals seemed scared or confused (害怕或困惑) when this happened.

For example, cows might go back to their barns (穀倉), thinking it's bedtime (以為睡覺時間到了).

And birds might stop singing and fall silent (寂靜無聲).

Many different animals act in their own unique ways.

Some get very quiet, like bees that stop buzzing (嗡嗡聲).

Others, like frogs, start making noise, thinking it's night time.

Even big animals like giraffes (長頸鹿) start running around, and then calm down when the light comes back.

Scientists are trying to learn more about how animals react to eclipses.
科學家想了解更多動物對日食的反應。

In a project called Eclipse Soundscapes, they asked people to help by watching and reporting what animals did during the April 8th eclipse.

More than 3,000 people sent their reports!

This will help scientists understand animal behavior better.

In some places, zoos also watched how their animals reacted.

They've found that animals can be quite confused by the sudden darkness.

They might start doing their night-time activities, like settling down to sleep, because they think it's night.

This unusual

Hi there.

It's time for an all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Nancy Sun.

And I'm Kelly Kimura.

In today's news:

Repairing Taroko National Park, and saving ocean corals.

And in today's Tasty Tidbit:

The clouds tell all!

Stay tuned for those stories, coming up next.
________________________________

太魯閣國家公園需花費10億修復
Taroko National Park Repairs Will Cost $1 Billion NT

Taroko National Park is known for its spectacular (壯觀) mountains and marble canyons (大理石峽谷).

The park was established in 1986 to protect the stunning beauty of the Taroko gorge.

The gorge is a 19 km long canyon.

It's filled with breathtaking scenic views of nature.

Millions of tourists flock to see the amazing views every year.

But the park has suffered severe damage from the powerful earthquake that happened on Apr 3rd.

The gorge and nearby trails were buried in landslides (土石流) and rockslides (岩石滑落).

Facilities (設施) and structures were also severely damaged.

Access to the gorge has been closed until further notice.

According to preliminary (初步) estimates, restoring the park would cost more than $1 billion NT.

And that is only for parts of the park that the Ministry of the Interior (內政部) takes care of.

However, $1 billion NT is just a rough estimate.

There are still aftershocks (餘震) in the area which have delayed detailed assessments.

There are also severely affected areas which experts cannot get to on foot.

The assessments have to be done by aerial photography (空拍).

The April 3rd earthquake is the strongest since the 921 quake 25 years ago.

Not only did it damage the national park, it also caused many buildings in Hualien to collapse.

Even the famous hotel within the national park, Silks Place Taroko, is temporarily closed for damage assessments and repairs.

相關單位評估3個月後將能夠逐漸開放災損較不嚴重的步道。

There is no definite date for when the park will be fully reopened.

But officials are confident that they will restore the park to its former glory.
________________________________

用吸管保護小珊瑚
Boba Straws Save Young Corals

We've all see the devastating (毀滅性) effects of plastic pollution in the ocean.

That includes plastic straws.

Many people have watched the video of a vet pulling out a plastic straw from a sea turtle’s nose.

But now, scientists are putting straws in the ocean to protect coral (珊瑚).

What are they thinking?

Don’t worry, these are not the usual plastic straws that we use for drinking.

It’s a biodegradable (生物分解) straw that will dissolve (溶解) in the ocean after a few months.

Scientists have been working hard to save coral reefs all over the world.

One of the solutions is growing new corals in lab and placing them in the ocean.

There is however, a major problem.

Fishes like to bite newly transplanted (移植) coral and destroy them.

This leaves the corals with a less than 40% survival rate (存活率).

One expert say parrot fish especially love biting the new corals.

He says it's like popcorn to them.

The fish lose interest as the coral grows up, but protection is needed when the corals are little.

To solve the problem, the experts and another researcher came up with a solution.

They created a small cage with biodegradable straws and put it over the new corals.

This increased the survival rate of newly transplanted corals to over 90%.

They called it the “Coral Fort.”

At first, they used regular sized straws that dissolve after 2 months.

However, the fish still wanted to bite the coral after 2 months.

They then experimented with other straws until they found the perfect one…

Boba straws (珍奶吸管)!

Boba straws are wider and thicker than average drinking straws.

And that gives just enough time for the coral to grow until the straws dissolve.

誰能想得到可生物分解的珍珠奶茶吸管竟然能保護珊瑚。

Experts hope that t

Hi everyone, it's time for a new episode of News Bites…

I'm Paz Bueno.

And I'm Brody Halverson.

Today's stories…
Sidewalks are getting safer to walk on, a newly discovered planet would not be good for a bath, and using frogs to keep milk fresh.

Let's go!
________________________________

新法改善人行道安全
New Laws Improve Sidewalk Safety

Do you feel safe when you walk outside?

On some roads, the cars and the scooters drive really fast.

That's why you should walk on the sidewalk (人行道).

Cars and scooters shouldn't drive on the sidewalk.

So it's supposed to be a safer place.

But in many parts of Taiwan, the sidewalks are… not great.

For example, sidewalks may be blocked by parked cars or walls.
And many roads have no sidewalk at all.
有的人行道被堵住，有的道路根本沒有人行道。

That's bad for pedestrians (行人) who want to walk places.

And many pedestrians get hurt or killed on Taiwan's roads every year.
That's why the government is making new laws for sidewalk safety.

The laws say they must plan for safer sidewalks.

They will need to build sidewalks on city streets that don't have any yet.

What's more, if the sidewalk is blocked by a mailbox or fire hydrant, the government needs to move those things (要把它們遷走).

If someone blocks a sidewalk by building over it, they will have to pay a fine (支付罰款).

What about sidewalk safety near schools or train stations?

Those are the places where there are often more people walking.
The law covers that, too.

It says local governments can declare pedestrian-friendly zones (行人友善區) around schools, hospitals and public transit stations.

How will we know if the plan works?

They government has set a clear goal (目標).

They hope to reduce pedestrian deaths by 50% by 2030 and have "zero pedestrian deaths" by 2050.
他們的目標是到 2050 年行人的死亡數降為零。

However, some people say this goal is not strong enough.

Why should we wait until 2050 for pedestrians to be safe on the road?

That's why all kinds of people are pushing for more pedestrian safety laws.
________________________________

科學家發現 熾熱行星
Boiling Water Planet Discovered

Do you like to bathe in hot springs (溫泉)?

It's so comfortable.

You go to a hot spring, where hot water comes from the ground.

Then you can sit in the water and relax.

Did you hear scientists have discovered a hot spring planet (溫泉行星)?

Yeah, they think the whole planet is covered in hot water.
科學家認為整個星球都被熱水覆蓋。

Wow! So can we take a bath there?

I don't think so.

For one thing, that planet is very far from Earth.

It's in outer space, 70 light-years (七十光年) away from us.

Scientists only found it with a powerful telescope.

They noticed water vapor (水汽) on the planet, which makes them think it could be covered in hot water.

But there's another reason we can't take a bath there…

The water is super hot.

Scientists from England think it's more than 100 degrees!

At that temperature, the planet's ocean is hotter than boiling water (比滾水還熱).

But another team of scientists from Canada thinks it's even hotter than that.

They saw the same planet, and they think it's actually 4,000 degrees!

They think the planet is covered in hot steam (熱蒸氣).

Hmmm… I guess that wouldn't be very comfortable for humans.

That's not all.

Scientists think the planet is tidally locked (潮汐鎖定).

That means it doesn't spin around, like Earth does.
Instead, one side of the planet always faces towards its star, and the other side always faces away.
它的一邊永遠面對太陽，也就是它自己的恆星，另外一邊永遠背對著。

The bright side would be very hot.

But the dark side of the planet would be much cooler.

Maybe the dark side would be easier for life to survive on.

By the way, what's this planet called?

They call it "TOI-270 d".

That's a boring name.

Le

Hi there.

It's time for an all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Jacob Ingram.

And I'm Nancy Sun.

In today's news: the Ministry of Agriculture launches digital ID cards for pets, and an Italian island is giving away goats for free.

And in today's Tasty Tidbit: The world's first camera.

Stay tuned for those stories, coming up next.
________________________________

毛小孩有身分證 整合生老病死資訊
MOA Launches ID Cards For Pets

We've got big news from the Ministry of Agriculture (農業部).

They're rolling out something special for furry friends (毛小孩).

What might that be?

Well, it's digital pet ID cards, of course!
就是寵物數位身份證。

Now, you might be wondering what the big deal with these cards is.

They aren't just ordinary cards.

They're like a VIP pass for pets, helping with their management and welfare.

See, more and more people are welcoming pets into their families.

Right now, there are over 2 million pet dogs and cats in Taiwan, and most of them have microchips (微晶片) for identification.

In fact, the number of registered pet dogs and cats in Taiwan outnumbered newborns by nearly 100,000 last year.

去年台灣的寵物狗和貓，登記數量比新生兒多了近 十萬隻。

So pets are becoming more and more popular.

The Ministry wants to make things even easier for pet owners.

That's why it's introducing these ID cards.

The Ministry explained these digital cards will have all the important information about pets.

For example, their name, the name of the owner, if they've been neutered (絕育), and even their vaccination records (接種疫苗的紀錄).

Imagine a handy card with all these details!

But it's not just about convenience.

These digital ID cards will also help crack down on illegal breeding and smuggling of pets.
可以打擊非法繁殖和走私寵物。

With clear info on where your pet came from, it'll be easier to spot any shady business (可疑的交易).

The Ministry is also planning to make it super easy for pet owners to update their info without any hassle.

Remember, pets are not just animals! They're companions, and bring joy to many owners every day.

So, if you've got a pet, make sure to register them and grab their ID card.
________________________________

義大利小島 願意捐贈山羊
Italian Island Giving Away its Goats

Here's a quirky story coming all the way from Italy.

A tiny island off the coast of Sicily is dealing with a goat problem.

Yep, you heard that right - goats!

This island is called Alicudi.

It's super small, and only has about 100 people living there.

But the island has over 600 goats roaming around!

Now, these goats might seem cute, but they're causing quite a stir.
這些山羊也許看起來可愛，但是牠們也製造麻煩。

They're munching on people's crops, barging into homes, and basically making a mess everywhere they go.
牠們偷吃農作物，闖進人們家裡，引起混亂。

That sucks for the inhabitants (居民).

The mayor says it all started with a few goats supposedly escaping from their owner.

Then they multiplied.

他們繁殖得很快。

Now there's too many to handle.

They're causing "massive damage" to the island's landscape (也破壞風景).

But here's the twist: The Island has come up with a solution.

They're giving away these goats to anyone who wants them.

The goats would normally cost 200 euros each - that's just under 7000 NT.

But the Alicudi goats will be free to anyone who wants them!

It's not often you get free goats in life.

The goats will be checked out by a vet (獸醫會先檢查) before they are delivered.

So far, they've had requests from all over Italy, from as far as Tuscany to Lombardy.

There's also no limit to how many goats you can ask for.

So what if you ask for one million goats?

There's only 600 goats on the island, so requesting one million just isn't possible.

Well that's my masterplan to become a millionaire foiled.

I mean, i

Hi everyone, welcome to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Kelly Kimura…

And I'm Nancy Sun.

Coming up next in today's news: eat bugs to protect fruit, and drones deliver to prison cells in France!

And in today's Tasty Tidbit… what spends most of the day in water but can't swim?

Stay tuned for more on those stories!
___________________________________________________________

吃臭蟲來保護水果
Eat Bugs to Protect Fruit
Taiwan is famous for many things, and one of them is fruit.

We have some of the best fruit in the world.

We have mangos, pineapples, wax apples (蓮霧), star fruits (楊桃), lychees (荔枝), longans (龍眼), and more!

Our hard-working farmers and excellent agricultural technologies (農業技術) grow these delicious fruits.

However, there is a big problem that technology hasn't solved (解決): pests (害蟲).

One pest has been causing problems for lychee and longan farmers.

It's the lychee giant stink bug (荔枝椿象).

It damages (損害) lychee and longan trees.

The bug protects itself by releasing a stinky liquid (釋放臭的液體).

(Cough, cough) The stinky liquid burns the leaves and the fruit on the trees.

So farmers sprayed organic pesticides (他們噴灑有機農藥).

And local governments (地方政府) offered money for stink bug eggs!
But lychee giant stink bugs are still a problem.

Now, there's a new way to get rid of (消滅) them.

It's easy!

Cook and eat the stink bugs!

We can eat stink bugs?! Ummm…yum??

Ewwww!

Well, eating them is a good way to get protein (蛋白質).

And we can protect lychees and longans by eating these bugs!

But how do we cook them?

Well, now the Ministry of Agriculture's Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (農業部林業及自然保育署) is giving stink bug cooking classes!

The classes teach easy ways to cook these bugs.

People in some parts of Southeast Asia and China eat lychee giant stink bugs.

But will people here eat these bugs too?

Can we eat enough to help Taiwan get rid of them and protect some of Taiwan's fruit?

台灣雖然有昆蟲料理，不過願意嘗試的人畢竟是少數。

This is a "stink" bug we're talking about…

But who knows? Maybe it's a tasty tidbit!

Hahaha! (Laughter) That's a good one!
___________________________________________________________

無人機向法國監獄牢房運送
Drones Deliver to Prison Cells in France

Deliveries by drones can cut delivery times in half.

So why aren't drones being used for deliveries?

It's because there are problems to solve first.

Flight paths (航線) are a big problem.

What will happen when many companies deliver thousands and thousands of packages a day with drones?

The sky will be full of drones!

That sounds terrible!

However, there are drone deliveries to places most people don't think about: prison cells (監獄)!

Some delivery services (送貨服務) deliver orders to prisoners (囚犯) in prisons in France and Belgium (比利時).

That is illegal (違法的), of course.

Prisoners order online.

The average (平均) order is almost $500 US dollars for one package.

They order phones, food, illegal drugs (非法藥物), books and many other things.

But the packages can't be heavier than 350 grams.

Drones can't carry more than that.

Delivery services mostly use small and quiet drones.

The drones deliver the packages late at night.

There are fewer prison guards then
深夜時.守衛人員比較少。

The drones fly with no lights on.

Prisoners shine a light (點亮一盞燈)from their prison cell windows.

The drones go to the light.

Then the prisoners put their hands out to catch their orders!

Prison guards say there are hundreds of deliveries every year.

The French government spent a lot of money on equipment (設備) to fight the problem.

But the equipment hasn't stopped all drone deliveries.

These delivery services are always thinking of new ways to deliver to prison cells.

這種貓捉老鼠的模式真是防不

Hello and welcome to another episode of News Bites!

I’m Paz Bueno.

And I’m Nancy Sun.

In today's news:
Two eateries accused of food poisoning, bad sleep can make you feel years older than you really are, and a Milky Way!

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

王品旗下兩間餐廳 顧客疑似食物中毒
Two Eateries Linked to Food Poisoning

Nowadays, many people work late and don’t have time to cook.

So they either eat out or order food deliveries.

From fine dining to roadside vendors (路邊攤販), Taiwan has a competitive catering industry (餐飲業).

With so many food providers, food safety is really important.

Recently, food poisoning has been all over the news.

A while ago, many people that dined at two Wowprime restaurants (王品集團旗下餐廳) had to go to the hospital.

They ate at Truewow and Xiang La Hotpot Restaurant Ximen branch, which are next to each other.

They showed suspected food poisoning symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea (腹瀉).

Upon receiving the report, the Taipei Department of Health sent inspectors to inspect the restaurants.

At Truewow, many areas and equipment were found to be dirty, food ingredients were repacked in undated bags (未標示日期包裝), and scraps of food were found on the floor.

At Xiang La, food ingredients were also repacked in undated bags, ingredients didn’t have source documents, and kitchen countertops were dirty.

The Health Department collected swabs (用棉花棒取樣本) from patients and the kitchen area, as well as taking samples of the drinking water.

The swabs will be used to test for the source behind the food poisoning.

The restaurants were ordered to improve their hygiene (衛生) problems.

The amount of people suspected of food poisoning has exceeded the criteria (標準) for suspending operations (停業).

The restaurants were ordered to close down for investigation and submit an improvement plan.

They would be allowed to resume business after they pass the re-inspection and their improvement plans are approved.

According to the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), if they fail again, they might face a fine between $60,000 to 200 million NT.

Experts commented that there are really too many cases of food poisoning happening lately.

相關部門真的必須落實食品安全檢驗，為民眾的健康把關。
________________________________

睡眠不足 讓人覺得老了
Bad Sleep can Make You Feel Older

Sleeping is important for all humans.

Experts recommend that adults should get seven hours of sleep each night.

However, sleep deprivation (睡眠不足) is becoming more common as people live in high-stress environments.

Sleep deprivation causes high levels of anxiety and depression (憂鬱).

It could even make people act more selfish.

Now, there is another important reason to sleep well.

Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt a lot older than you really are?

Or have you ever had a good night’s sleep and woke up feeling fresh and young?

There is an explanation to this phenomenon (現象).

The results of this research were published in a scientific journal by Stockholm University.

The researchers first interviewed 429 participants the age that they feel right now.

They also asked about their sleep conditions for the past 30 days.

They found out that those who experienced no days of bad sleep felt six years younger than their true age.

Those that didn’t sleep well, they felt that they had aged three months with each day of bad sleep.

For the second part of the research, they had 186 volunteers experience two consecutive (連續) nights of sleep.

Those that had bad sleep—only four hours of sleep per night—felt over four years older than their true age.

Those who had two nights of saturated sleep (睡飽了) felt three months younger.

According to experts, how old a person feels may have an important i