作者，配音，編輯：(Paz)
第二配音員：(Trevor)
Hello there! You're listening to another episode of News Bites… all the news you need, without having to chew!
I'm Paz Bueno…
And I'm Trevor Tortomasi…
In today's news:
A new National Forest, Michael Jordan is very generous, and a space mission to a metal asteroid!
Keep on listening to learn more about these stories, coming up next.
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拉拉山將升格成國家森林遊樂區
Lalashan Set to Become a National Forest Recreation Area
Taiwan is famous for its mountainous geography (多山的地理).
There are mountains to the east, and gently sloping plains in the west.
東部有山脈，西部有平緩的平原。
It has five mountain ranges (山脈), with over 300 mountains that are over 2,000 meters high!
One of those mountains is Lalashan (拉拉山).
It's a beautiful mountain with a special nature reserve (特殊的自然保護區).
And now, Lalashan is going to become a national forest recreation area (國家森林遊樂區)!
The mountain's amazing ecosystem (生態系統) has giant cypress trees (巨型柏樹) that are over 2,000 years old.
There's the Lalashan Giant Tree cluster (拉拉山巨木區), where you can see 23 ancient cypress trees that tower into the sky (高聳入雲).
Lalashan is also home to many protected wild animals like black bears, wild goats, mongooses, martens, and salamanders.
拉拉山還棲息著黑熊、野山羊、貓鼬、貂、火蜥蜴等保護野生動物。
People can hike on the trails running through the mountain and enjoy stunning views.
可以在穿山而過的小徑上徒步，欣賞壯麗的景色。
Once (一旦) Lalashan becomes a national forest recreation area, there will be even more ways for people to learn about the mountain's landscapes (山水), ecology (生態), and culture (文化).
A new tourist center will be set up, and Indigenous Atayal people (泰雅族人) will be trained as guides to show visitors around.
And the Forestry Bureau (林務局) has been improving transportation (交通) and environmentally friendly hotels (環保酒店) in the area.
It will be a great place to visit!
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邁克爾·喬丹 60 歲生日巨額捐款
Michael Jordan Makes Huge Donation on his 60th Birthday
Everyone knows the name Michael Jordan.
He is a six-time NBA champion (總冠軍), and he even has a sneaker and clothing line (運動鞋和服裝系列) named "Air Jordan" after him by Nike.
He has been not only one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but also a great guy overall.
他不僅是有史以來最偉大的籃球運動員之一，而且還是一個偉大的人。
In the last 34 years, Jordan has worked with the Make-A-Wish Foundation (許願基金會).
It's a non-profit organization (非營利組織) that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness (危重疾病).
Jordan says it's been an honor (榮幸) for him to partner with the group to help bring a smile to so many kids.
In fact, he was named Make-A-Wish Chief Wish Ambassador (大使) in 2008!
The group says he has had life-changing impacts (改變生活的影響) on wish kids and their families.
And on February 17th, on his 60th birthday, he made the largest donation ever (捐贈了有史以來最大的一筆捐款) given by one person to Make-A-Wish.
He donated 10 million US dollars (1000萬美元)!
Jordan says by donating this money, he hopes he can inspire (激勵) other people to help Make-A-Wish, too.
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NASA 探索小行星普賽克的任務
NASA's Mission to Explore Asteroid Psyche
For the first time ever, NASA is exploring a world made not of rock or ice, but of metal (金屬)!
In October this year, NASA is sending a spaceship to explore an asteroid (小行星) called Psyche.
The asteroid is named after the Greek goddess of the soul (以希臘靈魂女神的名字命名), and is orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter (在火星和木星之間繞太陽公轉).
It's a unique (獨特的) space rock that's made of a lot of metal.
So much, in fact, that the mission's lead scientist says it could be worth $10 Quintillion US dollars (一千兆加三個零).
That's a 10 followed by 18 zeros!
那是一個 10 後面跟著 18 個零！
Psyche is a special asteroid because it could be the exposed core of an early planet.
它可能是早期行星的裸露核心。
Scientists think it could help us learn more about how planets are formed (形成).
They want to study the asteroid's surface to find out if it is really a core (行星核心) and what it is made of.
The spaceship will be built by a company called Maxar.
It will carry tools like cameras, sensors (傳感器) and more to help the scientists learn about Psyche.
This mission will be the first time people have ever visited an object made of metal in space.
The trip to Psyche will take 3.5 years.
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So, in today's News Bites:
Lalashan is going to become a national forest recreation area!
The mountain's amazing ecosystem has giant cypress trees that are over 2,000 years old.
And it's also home to many protected wild animals.
________________________________
Six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan made a large donation on his 60th birthday.
He donated 10 million US dollars to Make-A-Wish!
Jordan says by donating this money, he hopes he can inspire other people to help Make-A-Wish, too.
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And,
For the first time ever, NASA is exploring a world made not of rock or ice, but of metal!
In October this year, NASA is sending a spaceship to explore an asteroid called Psyche.
It's a unique space rock that's made of a lot of metal.
Scientists think it could help us learn more about how planets are formed.
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And that's all for today's episode of News Bites!