Hi there, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!
I'm Nancy Sun…
And I'm Trevor Tortomasi.
In today's news:
Star Wars fans celebrated May the 4th, a violin may sell for millions, and a couple donates over 100 stuffed toys.
All that and more, coming up next.
粉絲慶祝星際大戰日 Fans Celebrate Star Wars Day
Do you like the Star Wars movies, TV shows, video games (電子遊戲), toys or comic books (漫畫)?
Then you probably know the famous line, "May the force be with you"! 那你可能知道那句名言【願原力與你同在】!
In the world of Star Wars there is a special power in the universe (宇宙) called "the force".
And there are special people who can control it.
The good guys (好人) who can use the force are called Jedi (絕地).
They often say "may the force be with you" to others to say hello, goodbye, or to encourage (鼓勵) each other.
The phrase "May the force be with you" sounds a lot like the date "May the 4th".
So, that day has become recognized as Star Wars Day! 因為英語的【願原力與你同在】這句話聽起來很像【5月4日】,所以它已被公認為星際大戰日!
This is known as a "pun" (雙關語).
A pun is when a joke uses two words or phrases that sound alike, but have very different meanings (意思).
So every May the 4th, Star Wars fans organize events all over the world.
In Taipei, several dozen cosplayers (角色扮演者) dressed up as their favorite Star Wars characters and gathered (集合) in the Xinyi shopping district.
The cosplayers wore face masks for safety.
And one of them even carried a spray gun that looked like one of the laser guns (鐳射槍) from Star Wars to disinfect the hands of the attendees.
This is the seventh year the event was held. 這是這個活動舉辦的第七年。
300年歷史的小提琴可以賣到1000萬美元 300-Year-Old Violin Could Sell for $10 Million U.S. Dollars
Some people in Taiwan learn to play the violin when they are young. 很多台灣年輕人從小學拉小提琴。
The instrument (樂器) is not very big, and is easy to carry.
And it's one way people can learn about music.
But some top violin players in the world use violins that cost a lot of money!
How much money?
How about $10 million U.S. dollars!
A rare 300 year-old violin is up for auction (拍賣) on June 3rd.
So, why is it so expensive?
Well, it was made by the famous Italian violin maker Giuseppe Guarneri in 1736.
Less than 200 Guarneri violins still exist (存在) in the world.
This violin is owned by Regis Pasquier.
He is one of the top violin players in the world.
And he has played his Guarneri violin at many concert halls in many countries.
But this Guarneri violin is not the most expensive violin in the world. 但是這把Guarneri小提琴並不是世界上最昂貴的小提琴。
The most expensive violin in the world is worth $20 million dollars.
And it can be seen at a museum (博物館) in Oxford, England.
夫婦捐贈100多個毛絨玩具 Couple Donates Over 100 Stuffed Toys
Claw machines are very popular in Taiwan. 夾娃娃機在台灣很流行。
You can see them all over town.
Some of them give fun prizes (獎品).
But they are very challenging (很有挑戰性) and some people spend a lot of money to win.
But one couple in England is really good at playing the claw machine.
Over the last 40 years, they have won around 250 toys from machines around their country. 在過去的 40 年裡,他們從全國各地的夾娃娃機中贏得了大約 250 件玩具。
They are now moving from a bigger home to a smaller apartment for their retirement (退休).
So, they are donating 100 toys they have won to a charity (慈善機構).
The charities will be able to use the toys as prizes for raffles (抽獎) .
Or maybe they can be given to a child in need.
Someone asked the couple if they had any tips for winning a toy from a claw machine. 有人問這對夫婦有沒有任何提示給想從夾娃娃機贏得獎品的人。
They said look for a machine which looks a little empty, because that means someone before has already won! 他們說找一台看起來有點空的機器,因為那表示之前有人成功夾到獎品!
But if you are going to play, make sure you play responsibly!
So, in today's News Bites:
Every May the 4th, Star Wars fans organize events all over the world.
In Taipei, several dozen cosplayers dressed up as their favorite Star Wars characters and gathered in the Xinyi shopping district.
The cosplayers wore face masks for safety.
This is the seventh year the event was held.
A rare, 300-year-old violin is up for auction on June 3rd.
It was made by the famous Italian violin maker, Giuseppe Guarneri, in 1736.
Less than 200 Guarneri violins still exist in the world.
And,
A couple in England won around 250 toys from machines over the past 40 years.
And they are donating 100 toys they have won to a charity.
The charities will be able to use the toys as prizes, or give them to children.
And that's today's episode of News Bites!