Hey there! It’s time for another episode of News Bites.
I’m Paz Bueno.
And I’m Nancy Sun.
In today’s news:
More furbabies than babies in Hsinchu, and an overview of India’s first moon rover.
And in today’s Tasty Tidbit…what does it take to be a planet?
Keep on listening to find out!
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新竹縣寵物數量超過新生兒
Pets Outnumber Newborns in Hsinchu County
Do you have a pet at home?
A fluffy cat or a friendly dog?
Well, you’re not alone!
For the third year in a row (連續三年), Hsinchu County has had more new pets than new babies.
Since 2020, the number of pet cats has increased by about 25 percent each year…
…while dog registrations have risen 10 percent annually!
從2020年以來，寵物貓的註冊量每年增加25％，而寵物狗的註冊量則每年增加10％。
In 2022, 5,129 dogs and cats were registered as pets, while only 4,033 babies were born in the county.
2022年新竹縣內註冊的寵物貓和狗數量達到5, 129隻，而只有4, 033名嬰兒出生。
Furbabies outnumber babies!
毛小孩數量超過嬰兒!
Officials say that this shows how pets are increasingly seen as “a part of the family” (寵物越來越被看作是”家庭的一份子”).
Not only that (不止如此), but Hsinchu County is also becoming more and more pet-friendly (友善寵物).
It recently opened a new Animal Protection Education Park (保護動物教育園區) in Zhubei.
This park is all about teaching people how to take good care of animals.
The county government also offers perks for people who adopt a pet instead of buying one.
針對那些領養寵物而不是購買寵物的人，縣政府還提供了一些小福利。
They provide free pet registration (寵物登記), rabies vaccinations (狂犬病疫苗), and sterilization (絕育手術).
They have even teamed up (合作) with eight local businesses that are all about pets.
So, when people adopt, they can get discounts on stuff like vet visits, grooming, pet boarding, and various pet products.
領養寵物的人可以享受到看獸醫、寵物美容、寄宿和各種寵物用品的優惠。
Some people are a bit worried that young families are choosing to adopt pets instead of having babies.
They want the government to keep an eye on this (注意到這個情況), as Taiwan’s birth rate is going down (台灣的出生率正在下降).
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印度「月船」成功登陸月球南極
India’s Moon Rover Successfully Lands on Lunar South Pole
India has joined an exclusive list of countries (極少數國家名單).
It’s now the fourth country in the world to successfully land a lunar rover!
印度現在是全球第四個成功登陸月球的國家！
The Chandrayaan-3 moon mission was launched by the Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO.
月球任務 Chandrayaan-3 由印度太空研究組織發射。
It was launched on July 14th, and this mission consists of two main parts—a lander named Vikram and a rover called Pragyan.
這個任務在7月14日發射，主要包括兩部分—登陸器 Vikram 和月球探測器 Pragyan。
The names come from Sanskrit (梵語)–chandra means ‘moon’, yana means ‘ship’ (船).
And vikram means ‘brave’ (勇敢), and pragyan means ‘wisdom’ (智慧).
Vikram and Pragyan touched down near the moon’s south pole (降落在月球南極) on August 23rd.
That makes India the first country to land there.
People from all over India and even the world watched the landing (登陸).
Schools showed it live (現場直播), and people prayed (祈禱) for its success.
There were big celebrations, and the media called it India’s biggest scientific achievement so far (印度到目前為止最大的科學成就).
Indian newspapers celebrated with headlines (標題) like “The moon is Indian.”
People in India were over the moon—literally!
印度人民真是高興到月亮去了！
Pragyan has special tools to check out what the moon is made of.
It will test the water ice on the moon’s south pole, which could be super useful for future missions.
Right now, both Vikram and Pragyan are taking a little “nap” (小睡一下).
They went to sleep mode (休眠模式) in early September because they were running low on solar power (太陽能供應不足).
They’re set to wake up and start working again on September 22nd, when the sun rises on the moon (月球上日出的時候).
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So, in today’s News Bites:
Hsinchu County has more new pets than babies for the third year in a row.
Not only that, Hsinchu County is also becoming more and more pet-friendly.
The county government offers perks for people who adopt a pet instead of buying one.
Some people are worried young families are choosing to adopt pets instead of having babies.
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And,
India is the fourth country in the world to successfully land a rover on the moon.
Chandrayaan-3’s lander Vikram and rover Pragyan touched down near the moon’s south pole.
It’s the first ever lunar mission to land there.
ISRO’s goal is to check out what the moon is made of to help plan for future trips.
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趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit
You’ve probably heard of Pluto, or 冥王星 in Chinese…
Pluto used to be one of our solar system’s NINE planets… But in the year 2006, scientists decided it’s not actually a planet…
So what’s wrong with Pluto?
Scientists say a body in space needs three things, to be a planet:
1. It needs to go around a star… check!
2. It needs to be a round shape… check!
3. It has to be big enough for its gravity to clean up all the space rocks around it… uh oh!
Even though Pluto is much bigger than the space rocks around it, its gravity is not strong enough, and there are still lots of space rocks around it.
Well… at least we still have eight planets… and Pluto’s still there!
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!