In today's news, with Nancy and Paz:
A smew in Kaohsiung, a parastronaut in space, and the world's oldest cat.
All that and more, coming up next!
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茄萣濕地首次出現白秋沙
Smews Spotted in Cieding Wetlands
A smew has been seen in Taiwan.
No, no, not a smell.
A smew!
A smew (白秋沙又名斑頭秋沙鴨) is a type of duck.
Adult male smews are black and white.
And female smews are grey with a brown head.
They eat fish, insects, and insect larvae (幼蟲).
They live in the Eurasian arctic circle.
And they migrate to warmer places every winter.
Usually, they migrate to lands off the North Sea, the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago.
白秋沙繁殖於歐亞大陸寒帶地區,冬季飛到歐洲北海、韓國、日本等地度冬。
But recently, a smew was spotted in Kaohsiung's Cieding Wetlands (茄萣濕地) for the first time!
A birdwatcher saw the wild smew, and quickly took a photo.
Many other birds that migrate for the winter also spend time in Cieding.
These include black-faced spoonbills, bean geese, and egrets (白鷺).
The Kaohsiung city government says this shows that the wetland is becoming a good place for birds to stay over winter.
The city government says it will keep working to make the wetlands a safe and welcoming place for migrating birds.
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史上首位【身障太空人】
World's First "Parastronaut"
The European Space Agency has chosen a new astronaut.
His name is John McFall.
And John believes he's "uniquely suited" for the job (獨特地適合這份工作).
You see, John is a person with a physical disability.
When John was a teenager, he was a runner and a hockey player.
When he was 19 years old, John lost his right leg in a serious motorcycle accident.
But that didn't stop him from being active.
John went on to compete in the Paralympics (帕運) as a runner.
He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.
John 19歲時因為發生機車事故右腿遭到截肢,但他後來在2008年北京帕運贏得100公尺短跑銅牌。
John also studied medicine, and went through training for general surgery.
And now he is officially an astronaut at the European Space Agency.
John is part of an ESA program, to send someone with a physical disability into space.
ESA says John could be the world's first "parastronaut".
John says he has gone through challenges and hardships in life.
All this helped him understand himself emotionally and gain confidence and strength.
John says he believes he can do anything he puts his mind to.
Now, John will help ESA understand how a physical disability might affect space travel.
This will help the space agency understand if changes to spacesuits and spacecraft are needed.
ESA says it could be at least five years, before John actually goes into space.
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27歲貓咪打破世界紀錄
Flossie Crowned "World's Oldest Cat"
Flossie is a brown and black cat.
She lives in the U.K.
Her owner Vicki says Flossie is affectionate (熱情) and playful.
You would never guess that Flossie is the oldest living cat in the world!
Vicki says Flossie is almost 27 years old.
That's about the same as a person being 120 years old!
The Guinness World Records has officially recognized (正式認證) Flossie as the world's oldest living cat.
Vets say Flossie can't see very well, and can't hear.
But she is in good health.
Even at the ripe old age of 27, Flossie is not the oldest cat that ever lived.
The oldest cat ever is Creme Puff.
Creme Puff reached the age of 38 years and 3 days.
世界最長壽的貓是一隻名叫Creme Puff的虎斑貓,年齡是38歲零3天。
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So, in today's News Bites:
A smew was recently spotted in Kaohsiung's Cieding Wetlands for the first time!
The Kaohsiung city government says it will keep working to make the wetlands a safe and welcoming place for migrating birds.
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The European Space Agency has chosen John McFall as its first "parastronaut".
John McFall lost his right leg when he was 19, but went on to win a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.
Now, John will help ESA understand how a physical disability might affect space travel.
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And…
Flossie is the oldest living cat in the world.
Her owner says Flossie is almost 27 years old, about the same as a person being 120 years old!
The Guinness World Records has officially recognized Flossie as the world's oldest living cat.
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And that's today's episode of News Bites!