Shownotes Transcript
Hello everybody, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!
I'm Nancy Sun…
And I'm Ryan Drillsma.
In today's news:
Hippos get bitter, Venice for everyone, and someone's Home Alone again.
All that and more, coming up next.
動物園河馬受訓練「吃苦」 Taipei Zoo Trains Hippos with Bitter Melon
Do you have a hard time taking medicine?
A lot of times, medicine is bitter (苦), or may have a strange taste.
But if the doctor gives you medicine, you need to take it to get better.
Even though in Chinese, we say "吃藥", we do not say "eat medicine" in English.
To "eat" something usually means you chew and taste the food.
"Eat"這個單字有咀嚼和品嘗的意思，可是吃藥不是這樣的，所以吃藥的英文要用 "take"這個動詞。
And usually, we don't chew and enjoy the taste of medicine!
This is also true for animals.
The Taipei Zoo is also facing this problem.
They are trying to find a way to get their hippos (河馬) to take medicine.
The hippopotamuses at the zoo really do not like anything bitter.
Hippos can weigh up to 1,500 kilograms, and they have very strong teeth.
So it's very, very hard to make a hippo take medicine!
Keepers have tried hiding the medicine in food that the hippos like.
But the big animals easily smell the medicine, and won't eat the food.
So the zoo is now trying a new idea.
They give the hippos bitter melon (苦瓜).
Bitter melon has lots of vitamin C and vitamin A.
But some people don't like to eat it, because it is bitter.
The zookeepers hope that eating some bitter melon will help the hippos get used to a bitter taste.
What an interesting idea!
How do you usually take your medicine?
我們生病的時候，可以打針或吃藥，可是要治療像河馬這種大型草食動物，真是一個相當艱難的任務!
意大利威尼斯建越過運河的坡道 Venice Plans Wheelchair Accessible Route
Have you seen the city of Venice?
The city in Italy is famous for its canals (運河) and beautiful bridges.
But for a person in a wheelchair, it's very hard to get anywhere.
There are actually 403 bridges in the city.
Most of them have steps (台階) to get on and off the bridge.
So someone in a wheelchair would not be able to get around the city.
But that's all going to change.
The city government says it will build 6 ramps (坡道) on bridges in the city.
A ramp is a way to get up or down a higher place.
Ramps are usually smooth, making it easy for something with wheels to go up or down.
And Venice officials say the 6 ramps will go to some of the most famous places in the city, like St. Mark's Square (聖馬可廣場).
The work will cost around $1.6 million U.S. dollars.
When all the work is done, it will be the first time that someone in a wheelchair can easily see parts of Venice.
And the city says the ramps will be made wide (寬敞) too.
So a blind person (盲人) can also use the ramp easily.
This is all good for people visiting the beautiful city.
And it's also good for people who live in Venice too.
威尼斯雖有"水上都市"的美名，但對身障朋友卻困難重重，地方政府希望過河的坡道建起以後，來玩的遊客和當地居民都可以更輕鬆的欣賞這個古老又美麗的城市。
新版小鬼當家將上映 New Home Alone Movie Coming
A classic Hollywood film is getting a new version.
The new Home Alone movie will premiere in November.
It will be released on the Disney Plus streaming service.
The movie will star Max Mercer as the kid left behind (遺落) by his parents.
The new film will be called Home Sweet Home Alone.
新的小鬼當家電影今年十一月在DISNEY PLUS平台開始串流。
The original Home Alone movie came out in 1990.
It starred Macaulay Culkin, who returned for both the second and fourth movies in the franchise (系列).
There were two other movies in the series that had different stars.
The first movie had two Oscar nominations, both for its music.
第一部小鬼當家電影1990年上映，新電影是這系列的第六部。
So, in today's News Bites:
The Taipei Zoo is trying out bitter melon for their hippos.
The zookeepers hope that eating some bitter melon will help the hippos get use to a bitter taste.
And this will make it easier to give the hippos medicine when they are sick.
Venice is building 6 ramps on bridges in the city.
The 6 ramps will go to some of the most famous places in the city, like St. Mark's Square.
When all the work is done, it will be the first time that someone in a wheelchair can easily see parts of Venice.
And,
A new Home Alone movie will premiere in November.
The movie will star Max Mercer as the kid left behind by his parents.
The new film will be called Home Sweet Home Alone.
And that's today's episode of News Bites!