We're sunsetting PodQuest on 2025-07-28. Thank you for your support!
Export Podcast Subscriptions
cover of episode Penghu Fireworks, Turtle Acupuncture, Rooster Courage

Penghu Fireworks, Turtle Acupuncture, Rooster Courage

2022/4/20
logo of podcast News Bites

News Bites

Shownotes Transcript

Hello everybody, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Trevor Tortomasi…

And I'm Paz Bueno.

In today's news:

Penghu lights up the skies, acupuncture works on turtles, and a rooster is a symbol of courage in Ukraine.

All that and more, coming up next.


澎湖花火節點亮夜空 Penghu Lights Up the Skies with its Fireworks Festival

If you love the beach, and you love fireworks, there is one place you might want to go, between April and June.

That's when the International Fireworks Festival happens in Penghu!

In many parts of the world, fireworks (煙火) are used to celebrate (慶祝) an important day.

And in Chinese culture, fireworks are often used to scare evil spirits away.

They are also used to pray for happiness and wealth.

Because of this, fireworks can often be seen and heard during important festivals, like the different New Year celebrations, and during National Day (國慶日).

But fireworks don't just happen during the New Year and Lunar New Year in Taiwan.

They are also an important part of the summer season in Penghu, too. 夏天的澎湖也少不了煙火。

This year, the Penghu County government says it is planning to have a total of 24 shows, from April through June.

It will even include light shows (燈光秀) that will be carried out by 500 remote-controlled drones (遙控無人機).

That's more than double the number of drones the festival used in 2019!

The main event of the Penghu International Fireworks Festival happens in the port city of Magong (馬公).

And the fireworks show happens with the Xiying Rainbow Bridge in the background (背景).

The fireworks festival first began (開始舉辦) in 2003, as a way of bringing visitors to the archipelago (群島).

When people travel to Penghu to attend the fireworks festival, they also get the chance to visit the islands to see how beautiful they are.

The Penghu International Fireworks Festival is very popular with both domestic tourists (國內旅客) and international tourists (國際旅客).

Today, the festival is one of the most important events on Penghu's calendar!


針灸對烏龜也有用 Acupuncture Works on Turtles, Too Acupuncture (針灸) is an ancient Chinese way to practice medicine. It involves inserting (插入) very thin needles through the skin, at different points on the body. And while there is plenty of proof (證據) to show it works on humans, we now have proof it works on turtles too! In the United States, one aquarium (水族館) discovered "Bassoon" the turtle, with a group of 29 other turtles, in the state of Massachusetts. Bassoon and his fellow sea turtles (海龜) were very sick, and very weak, because they had been exposed to very cold temperatures for a long time. When that happens to turtles, doctors say the turtles are "cold-stunned", which happens when the water temperature hits about 10 degrees Celsius. After they were rescued, the staff named all 29 turtles after different musical instruments, like tuba, trombone, and trumpet. 當這29隻烏龜被救治後,員工們用不同的樂器幫牠們命名,像是低音號、長號,跟小號。

But of all the sick turtles, the vets (獸醫) soon realized that Bassoon was sickest of them all, because his jaw was injured (下顎受傷).

He couldn't move on his own, he was weak, and Bassoon was not able to eat or drink properly.

To help Bassoon get better, the Aquarium put Bassoon on an IV (靜脈注射).

They also gave Bassoon physical therapy (物理治療), injections, and acupuncture treatments.

The acupuncture worked so well, that Bassoon was able to use his jaw again after a few weeks!

When Bassoon is fully recovered (康復), he and his other sea turtle friends will be returned back to the ocean, where they all belong.


公雞在烏克蘭是勇氣的象徵 This Rooster is a Symbol of Courage in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine has made it dangerous to walk around Ukraine's capital city, Kyiv (烏克蘭的首都,基輔).

So people in Kyiv were surprised to see British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (英國首相強森) and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (烏克蘭總統澤倫斯基) go for a walk.

As they were walking, one woman gave them two ceramic roosters (公雞形狀的陶瓷壺) as presents.

That rooster is important to the Ukrainians, because after the Russians tried to destroy one building in a city, a photographer found a kitchen in that same building, which remained intact.

He took a picture of the kitchen, and then he saw a statue of the rooster, which was intact, too. 這隻公雞對烏克蘭意義重大,因為在某一座建築物被俄軍摧毀後,有個攝影師發現裡面的一隻公雞陶瓷壺完好無缺。

But the statue isn't just one of a random (隨隨便便的) rooster.

The design was made by a famous Ukrainian artist, who was born in 1895.

His work is so famous, that some of his art now sits in a museum.


So in today's News Bites:

Penghu is getting ready to celebrate its annual fireworks festival.

The Penghu fireworks show lasts from April until the end of June.

This year, organizers are also planning a light show with 500 drones.


And…

We know acupuncture works on humans, but now we know it works on turtles too!

A turtle named Bassoon received acupuncture for his injured jaw, because he couldn't eat.

Once he recovers, he'll be returned to his ocean home.


And…

A ceramic rooster has become the new symbol of courage in Ukraine.

This is because the ceramic rooster survived an attack on a building in the city.

A photographer found the rooster intact and took a picture of it, making the rooster famous.


And that's today's episode of News Bites!