B*News Bites 文字檔 (國中)
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Hi everyone, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!
I'm Nancy Sun…
And I'm Hope Ngo.
In today's news:
The hidden dangers of hotpot, and fighting rising waters.
And in today's Tasty Tidbit…
What would you say if you met an alien? Hear all about it at the end of the episode!
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北市抽檢火鍋料，5分之1不合格
Hotpot Ingredients Fail Inspections.
Taiwan is known for its delicious delicacies (美食).
One of these tasty treats is hotpot.
Taiwan has many different types of hotpot.
Many people enjoy eating hotpot, especially when the weather gets cold.
Going to a hotpot restaurant is convenient.
We don't have to get the ingredients, or clean up afterwards.
But is the food safe or healthy?
The Taipei Department of Health recently finished a random inspection (隨機抽查) of hotpot ingredients.
They chose 55 items to test.
They checked for pesticide residue (農藥殘留), food additives (食品添加物) and other harmful substances.
They include 15 types of vegetables, 15 frozen processed foods, 10 meat products, 5 seafood items, 5 soybean products and 5 peanut powders.
Five vegetables were found with pesticide residue levels over the legal limit.
Two peanut powder items had excessive (過多的) levels of aflatoxins.
Three tofu products contained benzoic acid, a preservative (防腐劑).
Most of the items that failed the inspections were taken from well-known hotpot restaurants.
Out of the 3 tofu items, 2 had no labels or information on the company that made the food.
The restaurants using those tofu items were each fined $30,000 NT.
All these items have been removed from the shelves.
The restaurants' branches (分店) now have to check if they use the same supplier.
This problem is not only found in restaurants.
Experts say excessive pesticides can also be found on the vegetables that we buy to take home.
Fruits and vegetables have to be washed with running water.
Then they have to be soaked for 10 to 20 minutes, then washed again with running water.
專家們建議消費者向有良好商譽的商家購買食品。
Authorities also urge farmers to use pesticides appropriately (適當) to lower excessive residues.
Hot pot is delicious, but we should also pay attention to the quality of the food we eat.
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馬爾地夫建造人工島嶼
Maldives Building Islands as Sea Levels Rise
Global warming is a serious problem that the world has to face.
And it is more dangerous for some countries than others.
The rise in global temperature has caused glaciers (冰河) and ice sheets (冰原) to melt into the ocean.
This causes the water level of the ocean to rise over the years.
According to statistics, the sea level has risen about 21 to 24 cm since 1880.
Some experts say that by the end of the century, the sea level is going to rise at least 30 centimeters.
This threatens low-lying (低窪) areas, especially island countries.
Maldives is an island in the Indian Ocean.
Many people like to go there for holidays.
It is famous for its white sand beaches, turquoise lagoons and vast coral reefs.
Sadly, this island paradise is in danger because of the rising sea level.
80% of the country is less than 1 meter above sea level.
If ocean waters keep rising, the Maldives could become completely submerged (沈沒).
The former president of the country wanted to buy land in neighboring countries.
He warned that citizens might need to move to another place.
The current president Mohamed Muizzu has promised that they would survive.
He says the Maldives can work on land reclamation (填海造地) and building the island higher.
A giant sea wall (海堤) already surrounds the capital of Maldives.
The wall protects the city against the waves.
The country has also built Hulhumale.
It's an artificial (人造) island.
The island was built 2 meters above sea level.
It's designed to withstand (抵擋) the rising waters.
There are also plans to build other islands and sea walls.
如果一切順利，這些計畫或許能夠拯救這些即將沈沒的島嶼。
But environmental and rights groups are warning Maldives.
They say that land reclamation must be done with care.
And the work must follow environmental protection laws.
Maldives has a rich ocean environment.
So experts and researchers are still trying to find a better solution.
The best solution would save the country and protect the environment at the same time.
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So, in today's News Bites:
The Taipei Department of Health recently finished a random inspection of hotpot ingredients.
Five vegetables were found with pesticide residue levels over the legal limit.
And other items were found to have too much preservatives or toxins.
The restaurants and manufacturers were fined.
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And,
Maldives is in danger because of the rising sea level.
The country built Hulhumale, an artificial island 2 meters above sea level.
There are also plans to build other islands and sea walls.
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趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit
Today's Tasty Tidbit is out of this world!
You ready?
What do aliens like to drink?
"Gravi-tea"!
And here's 12-year-old Danny from Shih Min Elementary School in Yilan County on what he would say to an extraterrestrial.
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If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news 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 your voice at the end of an episode.
Tune in again next time, for an all new episode of News Bites!