B*News Bites 文字檔 (國中)
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Hi there! It's time for another episode of News Bites!
I'm Nancy Sun.
And I'm Hope Ngo.
In today's news:
Bringing fossils back to life, and coffee in your concrete.
And for today's Tasty Tidbits….
What's the smallest mammal you can think of? Are you thinking of a mouse? We've got one smaller. We'll tell you all about it at the end of the episode!
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台灣的"化石先生"
Taiwan Fossil Preparator Preserves Ancient History
Millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
They have been extinct for a long time.
But we still find them fascinating (令人著迷).
People of all ages go to museums to see dinosaur skeletons and fossils.
And many are amazed by how real the displays seem to be.
This is the work of those who clean and repair the fossils and bring them back to life.
They are called fossil preparators (化石清修師).
Despite their special skills, many people don't know much about this job.
There aren't many fossil preparators in Taiwan, because of the lack of dinosaur fossils here.
However, one local fossil preparator, Hsiao Yu-fu is helping people learn more about the job.
Hsiao has a nickname, "Mr. Fossil".
He started working as a fossil preparator by accident (意外的).
When he was a teenager, he was deeply fascinated by natural science and fossils.
At the age of 21, he went to Germany to learn more about the field.
Originally, he just wanted to exchange fossils and stones in some trade fairs (交易會).
A friend, who was involved in fossil digging and restoration (復原), introduced him to the career.
Since then, Hsiao has been digging and restoring fossils.
He even set up his own fossil restoration company.
In 2018, Hsiao worked together with a land owner in Montana.
He was asked to excavate (挖掘) and restore a Triceratops (三角龍) skull.
After it was restored, the skull was the most complete Triceratops skull in the world.
It was nicknamed "Big Boss".
Hsiao is also one of the first to find dinosaur eggs in the body of a mother dinosaur.
He then co-authored (共同執筆) a study that answered the mystery of how dinosaurs laid eggs.
Over the years, Hsiao's achievements have made him a leader of the field in Taiwan.
Other than restoring fossils, he also curates (策劃展覽) for museums.
His dream is to open a museum where people can learn about fossils through interactive displays.
He says restoring fossils is like "opening a blind box, you never know what you'll get".
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強化混凝土用咖啡渣?
Processed Coffee Grounds Make Concrete Stronger
Millions of people around the world start their day with a cup of coffee.
And around 18 million tons of used coffee grounds are produced each year.
Coffee grounds are actually very useful.
It is a good fertilizer (肥料) which can help your plants grow.
Some people use it to get rid of bad smells.
Some even use it to get rid of dead skin cells.
But we still throw away a lot of coffee grounds.
So where do they go?
Just like all garbage, they mostly end up in landfills (垃圾掩埋場).
Most might think that disposing coffee grounds in landfills is harmless, because it's biodegradable.
But when coffee grounds decompose (分解), it releases methane (甲烷).
And all that methane makes global warming worse.
But scientist might have found a way to solve this problem.
They've found a way to use coffee grounds in concrete (混凝土).
The coffee is heated to around 350 degrees Celsius.
This turns it into biochar (生物碳).
Then this biochar is added to concrete.
Researchers found that doing this made the concrete almost 30 percent stronger.
And using biochar means using less sand.
And that means we dig up less sand from the environment.
Researchers are still working on this idea.
But they believe it could be a good solution (解決方案).
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So, in today's News Bites:
A Taiwanese fossil preparator, Hsiao Yu-fu is helping people learn more about the job.
He has been digging and restoring fossils from a young age, and even set up his own fossil restoration company.
Hsiao has restored the most complete Triceratops skull in the world.
Hsiao is also one of the first to find dinosaur eggs in the body of a mother dinosaur.
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And,
Scientist have found a way to use coffee grounds in concrete.
Researchers found that this made the concrete almost 30 percent stronger.
And using coffee grounds to make concrete means we use less sand, protecting the environment.
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趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit
Lots of stories and songs talk about things "as tiny as a mouse". But maybe they don't know about the "bumblebee bat"!
The bumblebee bat is the world's smallest mammal. Its body from head to toe is about 3 centimeters long. And it weighs about 2 grams. It easily fits onto the tip of your finger!
The bat is also called Kitti's hog-nosed bat, and to see one, you have to visit special caves in parts of Thailand or Myanmar.
If you have a fun fact 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!