Shownotes Transcript
Hello everybody, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!
I'm Trevor Tortomasi…
And I'm Nancy Sun.
In today's news:
No more styrofoam cups for Taiwan, things get more expensive, and Marcel makes a movie.
All that and more, coming up next.
台灣禁止保麗龍杯 No More Styrofoam Cups for Taiwan If you forget your reusable (環保杯) cups at home, it may be time to change that. Starting from July 1st, Taiwan's Environmental Protection Agency will not allow stores to use single-use polystyrene, or "styrofoam" (保麗龍) cups anymore. This means you'll probably need a reusable cup, when you buy drinks from coffee shops and tea shops, from places like FamilyMart or 7-11, or even at fast food (速食) stores and supermarkets. Polystyrene, or "styrofoam", is one of the most popular plastics in the world. It is formed when its molecules (分子) connect together to become a long chain (鍊子). A German inventor discovered polystyrene during the 1930s, but it wasn't "officially" invented until 1941. Companies like using it for packaging because polystyrene is very flexible (有彈性的). But polystyrene is bad for the environment, because it is very, very difficult to recycle (回收). And companies like making polystyrene, more than they like reusing or recycling it. To recycle what is known as "food-grade" (食品級) polystyrene, the food from containers has to be washed off first, before it is dried. Then it is ground into something called "fluff". Fluff is melted, and then turned into threads made with polystyrene. That means only 12 percent of polystyrene gets recycled in the end. 這代表只有百分之十二的保麗龍最終被回收。 Because polystyrene cannot pollute our air or our water, some people think polystyrene is not so bad. But the bad part is, most of the polystyrene that people make ends up in the ocean. Fish and other animals could die if they eat the polystyrene. This means, like banning (禁止) the use of plastic straws, banning polystyrene could be the only way to keep this type of plastic out of our environment. And that will protect not only Taiwan's fish, but also other animals that might live near the water, too.
為什麼東西越來越貴？ Why Are Things More Expensive? If you go to the market with someone from your family, like your grandparents, parents, or uncle and aunt, you might hear them complaining. You might hear them say "Why is everything so expensive?" It's because of something called inflation (通貨膨脹). That's when the price of something goes up. And that means you can buy less with the money you have. For example, when your candy bar used to cost 30 NT, and it now costs 33 NT, that's inflation. When the price of your favorite snack goes from 20 NT to 25 NT, that's inflation too. Inflation is when things become so expensive that you cannot buy as many things with the money you earn. Inflation can happen for many, many reasons. Sometimes, the materials (原料) used to make something become more expensive. And sometimes, the cost of gasoline, which is used to bring things from one place to another, becomes more expensive. And sometimes rent (租金), which is the money a shopkeeper (店主人) needs to pay someone who owns the building, can get more expensive. If rent goes up, prices go up too. The problem with inflation is that when things become more expensive, you can buy fewer things with your money. 通貨膨脹的問題是，東西變貴了，所以錢能買到的東西就更少了。 Inflation might sound like a very bad thing. But that's not always the case. Sometimes it is a sign that many people are earning money, so they can buy more things. And if everyone is working, that can be a good thing.
馬塞爾有自己的電影了 Marcel Makes a Movie Marcel is the name of a shell with one eye, and a pair of sneakers. He isn't real of course - he was created using a special kind of moviemaking technique (製片技術) called "stop-motion animation". Marcel has always lived on YouTube, but he's getting his own real movie for the first time this year. The movie deals with Marcel's loneliness, as he looks for a way to reunite with family and friends. 這部電影談論的是馬賽爾的寂寞，他找辦法跟親戚好友再次團圓。 "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" will be in movie theaters in time for the summer vacation.
So in today's News Bites: If you forget your reusable cups at home, it may be time to change that. Starting from July 1st, Taiwan's Environmental Protection Agency will not allow stores to use single-use polystyrene or styrofoam cups anymore.
And… Have you heard your parents or grandparents complain that things are more expensive? That's because of inflation. Inflation means that you can now buy less with the money that you have.
And… "Marcel the Shell with No Shoes On" is a YouTube star, who is about to make his first movie. Marcel's movie is about a shell, who is looking for his lost family and friends. The movie is coming out this summer.
And that's today's episode of News Bites!