Hi there, and welcome to today's episode of News Bites.
I'm Nancy Sun.
And I'm Brody Halverson.
In today's news,
Some people say "money talks", and that's definitely what we're talking about today, from Taiwan's riches, to a surprise left at a homeless shelter!
And in today's Tasty Tidbit:
These "out-of-this-world" numbers are right here on Earth. We'll tell you all about it, at the end of the episode.
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全球最富國 台灣排第14名
Taiwan Ranks 14th Richest Country in the World
Cha-ching!
Is Taiwan one of the richest countries in the world?
A magazine called "Global Finance" made a list.
It looked at how much a country made in a year.
This is the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
Imagine it like your family income (家庭收入).
Every time you do homework, wash the dishes, or walk your dog, you are adding to your family's income.
It's the same with a country.
When a baker bakes bread, or a scientist makes a new medicine, or a farmer grows crops, they are adding to the country's GDP.
A higher GDP usually means the country is making more, and the economy is strong.
Of course, GDP doesn't give us the whole picture of how well a country is doing, it's just one part.
But it can tell us about how well the country is doing in the "business of making stuff".
So how is Taiwan doing?
Well, Global Finance says Taiwan was the 14th richest country in the world this year.
The magazine's list says Taiwan's GDP is the 14th highest, out of 193 countries and territories.
美國「全球金融」雜誌公布2023年世界最富裕的國家排名，台灣名列14。
To calculate each country's GDP, the magazine took information from the International Monetary Fund (國際貨幣基金組織).
It also looked at things like inflation (通貨膨脹), and how many people live in the country.
Based on all that, who was at the top of the list?
Global Finance says the richest country in the world in 2023 was Ireland.
Luxembourg was second.
And Singapore was third.
Some big countries were further down on the list.
The United States was 9th, Japan was 38th, and China was 77th.
But the magazine also says many things can change these numbers.
It says its list is just one way to look at finance (財政) around the world.
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遊民收容所收到金光閃閃喬丹鞋款
Shiny Shoe Surprise! Rare Air Jordans Donated to Shelter
It's a mystery, a miracle, and a whole lot of moolah!
A homeless shelter (遊民收容所) in the US got a special donation.
The shelter has a donation bin.
It's a box where people can leave things that they would like to donate (捐).
One day, a shelter worker was taking things out of the bin.
He saw something shiny at the bottom.
It was a pair of gold-colored sneakers.
The sneakers looked a lot like a pair worn by a famous film maker.
But the worker thought the sneakers couldn't be "the real thing".
The shelter asked an expert.
And the expert said yes, these sneakers are real, and very valuable (值錢).
They are a pair of gold Air Jordans.
The sneakers were especially designed for American director (導演) Spike Lee.
He wore a pair of these shoes to the 2019 Academy Awards.
And the director won an Oscar that night.
設計師於2019年為史派克李設計了這雙鞋，史派克李穿著它們出席同年的奧斯卡頒獎典禮，並獲得最佳改編劇本獎。
And in total, Mr. Lee has four pairs of these gold Air Jordans.
But he says he did not donate his sneakers.
He says his shoes are all size 9.
But the gold sneakers given to the shelter were a size 12.
So the identity of the donor remains a mystery.
But the shoes are also a miracle (奇蹟) for the shelter.
The gold sneakers were sold at an auction for $50,800 US dollars.
That's about $1.6 million NT (160萬台幣)!
Workers at the shelter were so happy that they cried.
The money will help them buy clothes and food for people at the shelter.
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So, in today's News Bites:
A magazine called "Global FInance" says Taiwan was the 14th richest country in the world this year.
The magazine's list says Taiwan's GDP is the 14th highest, out of 193 countries and territories.
The richest country in the world in 2023 was Ireland.
But the magazine also says its list is just one way to look at finance around the world.
And,
A homeless shelter in the US got a special donation.
It was a pair of gold-colored Air Jordans.
The gold sneakers were sold at an auction for $50,800 US dollars.
The money will help them buy clothes and food for people at the shelter.
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趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit
And in today's Tasty Tidbit…
We've got more numbers for you.
Did you know that there are about 8 billion people on Earth…
But there's around 20 quadrillion ants alive on Earth right now?
That's 20,000,000,000,000,000 ants!
Think about it this way…
That's about 2.5 million ants for every one person on Earth!
If you have a fun fact or a joke 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!
