作者：(Mike)
配音，編輯：(Nancy)
第二配音員：(Hope)
Hi there, it's time for a new episode of News Bites…
I'm Nancy Sun…
And I'm Hope Ngo.
In today's episode…
A safe place to walk, dry Venetian canals, and ancient flush toilets.
All that and more, coming up next!
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Teacher Makes Map for Pedestrians
教師製作【台灣行人地獄地圖】
Being out on the road can be hard in Taiwan.
There have been some news stories about roads being not safe for pedestrians (行人).
A high school teacher wanted to help.
Han Chung-mei made a special map.
She did this with help from engineers (工程師), and hundreds of volunteers (志工).
The map is called "commusidewalk".
Over 700 volunteers took photos of streets all around Taiwan.
They took thousands of photos.
They upload the photo and add the time and location.
The photos show if there is a place on that street for people to walk safely.
A green spot means the place to walk is very safe.
A red spot means the street is very dangerous, and there is no safe place to walk.
Right now, there is more information on roads in major cities than small towns.
Han Chung-mei encourages users to add more photos and information.
She hopes that this map can urge (催促) the government to improve road safety conditions, and bring changes to pedestrian safety in the country
高中老師韓中梅和團隊做了一個「平安走路許願帳戶」，請大家拍下和上傳台灣各地人行道的照片，希望透過大家的行動帶動改革。
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Venice Canals Run Dry
威尼斯水道乾枯
The romantic city of Venice has always been a tourist attraction.
Millions of tourists flock to the famous "City of Water" to experience the famous canals and gondolas (貢多拉船).
However, tourists who visit Venice this winter might be disappointed.
Italy is facing another drought.
The country has had weeks of dry winter weather.
The lack (缺少) of water is drying up the famous canals in Venice.
The water level is so low in some places that the boats can't even float.
This winter, the Alps (阿爾卑斯山) got less than half of its normal snowfall.
Other parts of the country also haven't had much rain.
This caused the "Po", Italy's longest river, to have 61% less water than normal at this time of the year.
The river runs from the Alps to the Adriatic.
It brings water for a third of Italy's agricultural production (農業).
An Italian expert said that the country is in a water deficit (缺乏).
He says the deficit has been building up since the winter of 2020.
He thinks Italy needs 50 days of rain to solve the problem.
氣象專家們擔心這樣的天氣形式在未來會變成常態。
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2,400-year-old Flush Toilet Discovered in China
2400年前的沖水馬桶
Many people say the flush toilet (沖水馬桶) is the greatest invention of all time.
Otherwise, we would still be using a bucket (水桶).
No one knows who first used water to flush toilets.
But old drainage systems (排水系統) have been found in many ancient civilizations around the world.
Last summer, archeologists (考古學家) in China found what may be the world's oldest flush toilet.
The research team was digging among the ancient palace ruins in the city of Xi'an.
The palace was used from the Qin dynasty to the Han dynasty.
The researcher described the toilet as a "luxury object" (奢侈品).
It was located inside the palace.
It had a pipe leading to an outdoor pit (戶外的坑).
It doesn't have a water tank like modern toilets.
So servants (僕人) probably poured water into the toilet bowl every time it was used.
It may have been used by high-ranking officials or royals.
Most people thought a man named John Harington invented the flush toilet in the 16th century.
But now, that may change.
Who knows, ancient civilizations might be more advanced than we think.
中國考古界的這項發現讓這個議題有更多討論的空間。
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So, in today's News Bites:
High school teacher Han Chung-mei made a special map.
She did this with help from engineers, and hundreds of volunteers.
The map shows if there is a place on streets around Taiwan for people to walk safely.
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Italy is facing another drought, with weeks of dry winter weather.
The lack of water is drying up the famous canals in Venice.
The water level is so low in some places that the boats can't even float.
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And,
Last summer, archeologists in China found what may be the world's oldest flush toilet.
It was located inside an ancient palace.
It had a pipe leading to an outdoor pit.
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And that's today's episode of News Bites!