Hello everybody, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!
I'm Nancy Sun…
And I'm John Seaward.
In today's news:
An Indian artist, getting paid to stay in bed, and whales return to California.
All that and more, coming up next.
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印度藝術家展示傳統的花鳥畫
Indian Artist Showcases Traditional Huaniaohua Paintings
Our first story is about an Indian artist who has found inspiration (靈感) in traditional Chinese art (藝術).
The huaniaohua (花鳥畫), also known as bird and flower painting.
Harsha Dass moved to Taiwan in 2020.
During her stay, she fell in love with the painting style (繪畫風格) and learned it from a Taiwanese artist.
Next month, she will proudly exhibit her creations (展示她的作品) at the National Central Library.
Her show is called 'From Strokes to Shapes: My Three-year Brush with Taiwan.'
These paintings mean a lot to Harsha.
She expresses her love and gratitude to Taiwan and its people through her artwork.
她以藝術作品，表達她對台灣和台灣人民的愛與感激之情。
In addition to painting, Harsha has also learned Chinese.
Her special exhibition (展覽) will be open for visitors at the library in Taipei from July 7th to July 14th.
With her art, Harsha aims to reciprocate (回報) the love she received from Taiwan and its people.
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歐洲太空總署付錢讓志願者躺在床上
ESA Pays Volunteers to Stay in Bed
The European Space Agency, or ESA, is paying volunteers (志願者) for an interesting study.
They are giving 12 volunteers $18,000 US dollars each…to lay in bed for two months!
他們給12位志願者每人$18,000美元…讓他們躺在床上兩個月！
This might sound like a dream come true (夢想成真), but it's actually important science work!
You see, when astronauts go into space, the lack of gravity (重力) can cause problems for their bodies.
The ESA wants to learn how to lessen these effects (影響), especially for longer journeys to places like the Moon or Mars.
So, they've started a special study that began in April this year.
It's being held at a laboratory in France, where the volunteers are spending 60 days lying in bed.
But they're not just lying around doing nothing.
They have to do everything - like eating, showering, and even using the toilet - while keeping one shoulder touching the bed.
The beds are tilted a bit to mimic what happens to astronauts' blood flow in space.
床有點傾斜，好模仿太空人血液流動的情況。
The cool part is, this isn't just helpful for astronauts.
The results can also help design better treatments for older people and patients with bone and muscle conditions here on Earth.
研究結果還可以替老年人和骨骼肌肉病患者，設計更佳的治療方法。
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太平洋藍鯨返回加州
Pacific Blue Whales Return to California
We have a heartwarming (令人心暖) story from the US State of California.
The Pacific blue whale, the biggest creature in the world, is making a strong comeback (強勢反彈).
These huge animals were almost gone due to hunting (狩獵).
But now, they're returning!
Blue whales are really big.
They can be 33 meters long and weigh as much as 200 tons!
他們可以長達33公尺，重達200噸！
In summer, they travel north to find food.
Now, people in California are seeing them more and more.
Since the 1970s, it has been illegal (非法) to hunt for whales.
Since then, people have been working together to protect the whales.
They changed fishing rules so that whales didn't get trapped in nets.
Big ships also started going slower and changed their routes (航線) to avoid hitting the whales.
Not just blue whales, but other big sea animals are also increasing in number.
The humpback whales and elephant seals are also growing in numbers.
座頭鯨和海象的數量也在增加。
The new rules that help blue whales are also helping these animals.
There is still work to do to help make the ocean safer for them.
But the return of the blue whales is very good news.
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So, in today's News Bites:
Indian artist Harsha Dass moved to Taiwan in 2020.
During her stay, she fell in love with the huaniaohua painting style and learned it from a Taiwanese artist.
Next month, she will proudly exhibit her creations at the National Central Library.
________________________________
And,
The European Space Agency is paying volunteers for an interesting study.
They are giving 12 volunteers over $18,000 US dollars each…to lay in bed for two months!
This important science work can help both astronauts and patients with bone and muscle conditions.
________________________________
And,
The Pacific blue whale is making a strong comeback in California.
These huge animals were almost gone due to hunting.
But now, they're returning!
________________________________
And that's today's episode of News Bites!