Hello, greetings, and here we are with our last News Bites of the year!
I'm Trevor Tortomasi…
And I'm Nancy Sun.
In today's news:
Taiwan gets ready for 2023, North America fights a snowstorm, and we look back on history's first mobile phone text message.
Stay tuned for our last stories of 2022, coming up next.
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慶祝2023年的元旦
Celebrating the First Day of 2023
It's almost a new year!
快要跨年了！
On the night of December 31st, people all over the world will get together to celebrate (慶祝).
There will be fireworks (煙火) at the Taipei 101, and at Kaohsiung's Dream Mall (夢時代購物中心).
But for people who don't want to stay up late (不要熬夜), there are other ways to celebrate the arrival (到來) of a new year, on January 1st.
In Taipei City, there will be a flag-raising ceremony (升旗儀式), to celebrate the first sunrise (日出) of the new year.
There will be performances by a marching band and a percussion band, and then Taiwan's flag will be raised up with the sunrise.
總統府的儀式會有軍樂隊和打擊樂隊表演，接著國旗跟著日出冉冉升起。
If that's too early for some people, there will also be more performances in Kaohsiung, on the night of January 1st.
The Kaohsiung Music Center will hold a concert (舉辦演唱會) at 8 PM.
And there will be even more fireworks over the Kaohsiung Harbor (高雄港) on the night of January 1st!
But if you don't want to go outside, that's okay too.
No matter where you are (不論你在哪裡), it's important to enjoy the weekend (享受周末), and welcome 2023 in your own way!
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龐大暴風雪襲擊北美
Huge Snowstorm Hits North America
There are many stories and songs about people wanting a "White Christmas" (白色聖誕節).
A White Christmas is when you wake up on December 25th to see snow outside!
白色聖誕節就是12月25號醒來看到外面地上有白雪。
That might sound pretty nice, right?
聽起來很棒吧？
Especially since we rarely see snow in Taiwan!
尤其在台灣，我們很少看到下雪的天氣！
But for many people in North America (北美洲), this year's White Christmas has been very dangerous (很危險).
That's because a gigantic snowstorm (巨大的暴風雪) is moving across most of the United States (美國) and Canada (加拿大).
And more than 200 million people have been affected… that's about 60% of the U.S. population!
至少兩億人受到影響… 大約等於全美國人口的百分之六十！
And a lot of people have become trapped at home (困在家裡), because the weather is too cold, and their houses are covered in snow (房子外面累積了太多白雪).
Snow is beautiful, but it can be very dangerous, too.
If Taiwan ever sees snow in a big city, enjoy it… but be careful!
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歷史上首次手機簡訊 30周年
30-Year Anniversary of the First Text Message
If you have a mobile phone (手機), then you have probably sent many text messages (寄過很多簡訊).
It's a very easy thing to do nowadays, especially with smartphones (智慧型手機).
But a long time ago, before we had smartphones… mobile phones were much bigger and slower, and could only make phone calls (打電話).
Some mobile phones weighed more than 2 kilograms (重量兩公斤)… that's about as heavy than 10 iPhones!
But in 1992, one person finally used his mobile phone for something new.
He sent someone a text (簡訊)!
And can you guess what it said?
It said, "Merry Christmas"!
But the recipient (收到簡訊的人) was at a Christmas party, and he did not reply (並沒有回覆).
Now, that was 30 years ago, this month!
Over the years (這麼多年來), more and more people have started to send texts to each other.
And now, we have smartphone apps (手機應用軟體) that let us chat more easily.
But some of us can remember how different things used to be!
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So, in today's News Bites:
In Taipei City, the Presidential Office will hold a flag-raising ceremony on January 1st, to celebrate the first sunrise of the new year.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung City will hold a concert later in the evening, followed by more fireworks at midnight.
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And,
A gigantic snowstorm is moving across most of the United States and Canada.
More than 200 million people have been affected, or about 60% of the U.S. population.
Many people have become trapped at home, because the weather is too cold, and their houses are covered in snow.
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And,
30 years ago this month, in December of 1992, one person sent the first text message using a mobile phone.
It said "Merry Christmas", and he did not get a reply.
Phones were much bigger and slower back then!
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And that's all for our last News Bites of 2022…
Happy New Year!
