Hey y'all, this is News Bites, we're here, you're here, let's get into it!
I'm Trevor Tortomasi…
And I'm Brody Halverson.
Today's stories:
Taiwan's shores are getting cleaner, a man finds a gold rock, and doctors tell people to go outside.
Let's check it out!
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台灣海岸的垃圾量大幅減少
Much Less Waste on Taiwan's Shores
Have you ever gone to the ocean?
Maybe when you were there, you saw some trash (垃圾) on the coast (海岸).
It's gross (噁心), and there is lots of it.
But there is good news!
Taiwan's coasts have less and less trash each year.
The amount of trash on Taiwan's coasts has gone down by 60% over the past three years.
過去三年，台灣海岸的垃圾量減少了 60%。
How do we know there is less trash?
The problem was studied by Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration, or EPA (行政院環境保護署).
The EPA looked at shores in different parts of Taiwan, and they measured (測量了) the amount of trash there.
Three years ago, they found more than 2,200 tons of trash (兩千兩百多噸的垃圾) in these places.
But last year, they found less than 1,000 tons of trash (少於一千噸的垃圾).
That's still a lot of trash… but it's much less than there was a few years ago.
So, where does all this trash come from?
Actually, most of it comes from fishing equipment (捕魚設備).
That means fishing boats make most of the trash, which includes fishing lines (釣魚線) and fishing nets (漁網).
Even though there is now 60% less trash on Taiwan's shores, this is still a problem.
We need to keep working to reduce (減少) the trash we put into the ocean.
Maybe one day, Taiwan's shores will be completely clean!
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澳洲男人發現巨大的金礦石頭
Australian Man Finds Huge Gold Rock
Where does gold (黃金) come from?
Everybody loves gold.
Gold is expensive (昂貴的), and it can be used to make beautiful jewelry, like rings and necklaces (首飾，例如戒指和項鍊).
But actually, gold comes from rocks in the ground (地下的岩石).
Recently, one man in Australia found a huge gold rock.
The rock is worth more than 250,000 Australian dollars (價值大約二十五萬多元澳幣，相當於五百一十萬台幣).
How did the man find such a valuable (珍貴的) rock?
He says he has been searching for gold for his entire life.
The man uses a metal detector (金屬探測器) to search the ground.
He searches for gold in places where people have found gold in the past.
But in his many years of searching, he has never before found a gold rock as huge as this one.
但是在他多年來的尋找過程中，還從來沒有發現過那麼大的一塊黃金礦石。
The rock was not very deep in the ground.
The man was able to dig it up with a shovel (鏟子).
As soon as he saw the gold nugget, he knew he was rich.
But what is the man's name? He won't say!
He doesn't want anyone to steal his gold rock.
But lots of people have heard the news of his big find.
Now there are many more people searching for gold in that place.
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醫生建議多花點時間 親近大自然
Doctors Recommend Spending Time in Nature
When we have a health problem, we see a doctor.
Sometimes the doctor will prescribe something (開處方) to help us.
Usually, the doctor prescribes medicine (藥物) or rest (休息).
But recently, some doctors are also prescribing time in nature.
最近有些醫生也開處方，叫病人挪出時間跟大自然相處。
These doctors tell people with health problems to spend more time in nature.
If people have a problem with stress (壓力) or anxiety (焦慮), the doctor might tell them to spend more time in green spaces (綠地) such as parks and gardens.
Or, they might tell the person to spend time near water, which means going to the beach or the riverside.
According to new research, spending time in nature has real health benefits (對健康有益).
The research says time in nature can help people get more exercise.
It can help them control their blood pressure (控制血壓).
And it can even help them feel less anxious or depressed.
甚至可以幫助他們減輕焦慮或憂鬱。
What's more, time in nature can help to reduce loneliness (減少寂寞的感覺) and improve sleep.
These are all great health benefits!
If you feel stressed, lonely, or sad, spending more time in nature might help you.
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So, in today's News Bites…
Taiwan's shores have much less trash than they did three years ago.
The EPA says the amount of trash has gone down by 60%.
Most of that trash comes from fishing equipment.
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And,
An Australian man found a huge gold rock on the ground.
He had been searching for gold his whole life.
The gold in that rock is worth more than 250,000 dollars.
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And,
Doctors are telling people to spend more time in nature.
There are health benefits to spending time in green spaces or near the water.
Being in nature can help people feel less stressed, less lonely, and less sad.
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And that's today's episode of News Bites!