Hi there.
You're listening to an all-new episode of News Bites.
I'm Jacob Ingram.
And I'm Paz Bueno.
In today's news: Taiwan is working with NASA to monitor air pollution, and a runaway train travels over 64 kilometers without a driver.
And in today's tasty tidbit: One of the oldest professions in the world, and it has to do with teeth!
Stay tuned for those stories, coming up next.
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台灣與美國太空總署合作 監控空氣品質
Taiwan Working With NASA on Asia Air Quality Project
NASA sent a special airplane to Taiwan to help make the air cleaner.
The Ministry of the Environment (環境部) told us all about it.
Wait, hang on a minute.
What's NASA?
NASA stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
It's a government agency in the United States.
It's responsible for researching space.
So if there's aliens out there, NASA will be the first to know about them.
And the Ministry of the Environment?
They're the government folks in Taiwan who are responsible for protecting and conserving the environment.
環境部負責環境和生態保護。
I see.
Anyhow, NASA originally planned to send two airplanes, but one had a problem with its engine.
So only one airplane went to Taiwan.
It's called the Gulfstream G-III.
The G-III flew high in the sky, taking pictures and collecting data.
G-III 飛上高空，拍攝照片並收集資料。
The data and images it collects will help scientists understand pollution better,
它蒐集的資料和圖像會讓科學家更瞭解空氣汙染。
The Ministry of Environment and NASA watched the air in Taiwan for hours.
They looked at central, southern and eastern Taiwan to see if the air is clean.
他們查看了台灣中部、南部和東部，看看空氣是否乾淨。
In addition to the air, they examined the weather and the land as well.
除了空氣外，他們還檢查了天氣和土地。
It was a big project!
The Ministry of the Environment says it will use the information to find ways to keep the air healthy.
It will keep working with NASA.
But it might take a bit of time for the next flight to happen.
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失控列車 自己行駛了64公里
Runaway train travels 64 kilometers Without Driver
Now, let's head over to India for the next story.
It's about a runaway train that travelled 64 miles without a driver.
A train going by itself without a driver?
Sounds like a ghost story.
聽起來像是鬼故事
I know, right?
But I can assure you no ghosts were involved in this one.
Phew, okay.
真是鬆一口氣。
I can't stomach scary stories.
我不敢聽恐怖故事。
So the train was on its way from Jammu to Punjab in the northwest.
It stopped in Kathua to change crew.
But the driver and his helper alighted (下車), and forgot to apply the handbrake.
他們忘了拉手煞車。
Oh dear.
You might have seen handbrakes in cars.
Handbrakes are normally between the driver's and front passenger's seats.
手煞車通常位於駕駛座和前排的乘客座位之間。
They're often a lever that can be pulled up or pushed down.
Handbrakes stop cars moving when parked.
Now, because the train was parked on a sloping track (火車停在斜坡上) and the handbrake wasn't engaged, you can imagine what happened next.
The train went by itself down the sloping track!
It reached a speed of nearly 100 kilometers per hour.
It moved through around five stations, and travelled over 64 kilometers.
Lots of videos were shared on social media that showed the train zooming past at speed (很快開過去).
Thankfully, railway officials put wood blocks on the tracks, and this helped slow the train down.
Local reporters say the train came to halt in the village of Uchi Bassi.
Officials say no casualties were reported in the incident.
Phew! Talk about good luck.
Now, people are investigating what happened to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Trains are exciting, but we must make sure they are safe too.
India has one of the biggest railway networks in the world.
印度擁有世界上最大的鐵路網絡之一。
It has thousands of kilometers of tracks.
Every day, over 13 million people travel on trains in India, and tons and tons of goods are moved from place to place.
So it's a big responsibility to keep it running smoothly and safely for everyone.
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So in today's News Bites,
Taiwan partnered with NASA on an air quality project in Asia.
NASA sent a special airplane to Taiwan to help monitor and improve air quality.
The G-III analyzed air, weather and land to find ways to keep air clean and healthy.
Taiwan says it will keep working with NASA.
And,
A train in India traveled over 64 kilometers without a driver.
The driver and his helper forgot to engage the handbrake during a crew change in Kathua.
Because of this and because the train was parked on a sloping track, it took off by itself.
Fortunately, railway officials managed to slow down the train using wood blocks, and no one was hurt.
Investigations are underway to prevent similar incidents in the future.
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趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit
And in today's Tasty Tidbit,
Did you know that one of the oldest professions in the word is dentistry?
Humans have been performing dentistry for over 10 thousand years!
How do we know?
Well, it's all thanks to archaeology!
Archaeologists believe that dental procedures have been practiced since ancient times.
This includes drilling teeth to remove decay or applying substances to soothe toothaches.
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And that's it for today's episode of News Bites!
If you have a fun fact, a joke or interesting news story you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty tidbit to newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you might hear it at the end of an episode.
We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!
