Hello everybody, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!
I'm Nancy Sun…
And I'm Ryan Drillsma.
In today's news:
Changing climate, a cat's point of view, and a scary spinoff in the works.
All that and more, coming up next.
暖化加劇 台灣面臨消失的冬天 A Future with Long Summers and No Winter?
Does an extra long summer sound like a good thing?
How about having no winter?
The Ministry of Science and Technology (科技部) says this could really happen.
The ministry published a new report about climate change in Taiwan.
The report says from 1911 to 2020, the average temperature in Taiwan rose 1.6 degrees Celsius.
And the ministry says the temperature is rising more and more quickly.
The report says if Taiwan takes steps to fight climate change, these rising temperatures may slow down a bit.
But if nothing is done, temperatures could rise by up to 3.4 degrees Celsius by the end of century (世紀)!
And summer could be as long as 7 months!
A few degrees hotter, or a longer summer may not seem so bad.
We can just turn up the air conditioning, right?
But think about how hot it has been this summer.
Many cities saw high temperatures up to 37 or 38 degrees.
And last year in July, Taipei was up to 39.7 degrees!
When it is that hot, it's very easy for people to get heatstroke (中暑), or get sick.
And the super hot weather also affects all animals and plants, including the things we grow to eat.
這種高溫度的天氣不只影響我們人類,也會影響到所有動物和植物。
And that's not all.
The government report also shows that there are now more years where we get less rain.
Do you remember earlier this year, when most parts of Taiwan did not have enough water?
Did you have days when you got no water service at home?
If climate change continues, we might see more of that in the coming years.
The report says Taiwan must take steps to fight global warming if we do not want to see this happen.
專家說台灣也需要同步強化應對氣候變遷的能力,才能緩解地球暖化的衝擊。
美國貓咪帶頭示範戴眼鏡樂趣 Truffles the Kitty Makes Glasses Fun
Many of us spend a lot of time looking at computer and cell phone screens each day.
This means more and more people have eye problems.
But for younger children, going to see the eye doctor can be scary.
And if they have to wear glasses (眼鏡) or something else special on their eyes, they might get even more scared.
So one cat in the U.S. is putting on glasses to help!
Truffles was found as a stray cat in 2016.
Her human mom Danielle is an optician (配鏡師), a person who helps people who need glasses.
One day, Danielle brought Truffles to work with her.
And she found that the black and white cat with big green eyes really helped kids relax.
So Danielle started having Truffles wear glasses.
Danielle says sometimes, a young child comes to the shop to get glasses, but is very scared.
Truffles will come out, and Danielle will help the cat put on glasses.
And Danielle says children always start to smile and laugh when they see Truffles wearing glasses.
當警張的小朋友看到貓咪淡定的戴上眼鏡,他們都會笑開懷,漸漸覺得眼鏡沒有那麼可怕。
Truffles also has an eye patch (眼罩).
Some kids need to wear an eye patch to help make their eyes stronger.
But wearing the eye patch might make them feel nervous (緊張、不安).
When they see Truffles wearing an eye patch too, it makes them happy and more comfortable.
Danielle says Truffles likes to wear the glasses, and sometimes won't let Danielle take them off.
Danielle says she is glad that Truffles has helped so many kids feel happy and confident.
She hopes more people who want pets will choose to adopt (領養), because she says adopted animals are special!
新的大法師恐怖片外傳 Exorcist Spin-off In Production
A classic horror movie is getting a follow-up.
A spin-off movie to The Exorcist is currently in the works (正在進行).
The original movie came out in 1973.
One of the actors from the original will co-star in the new project.
一位1973年大法師電影演員將加入新的外傳。
Ellen Burstyn got an Oscar nomination (提名) for her role in The Exorcist.
In this new film, her character will help another parent whose child is possessed.
The movie will be directed by horror movie veteran David Gordon Green.
This film will start off a new trilogy, and should hit theaters in 2023.
新電影2023年上映,是新三部曲的第一部電影。
So, in today's News Bites:
A government report says Taiwan could see long summers and no winters in the future.
The Ministry of Science and Technology report says this could happen if we do nothing to fight global warming.
Summers could last as long as 7 months, and winters may disappear.
A cat in the U.S. wears glasses to help kids.
Truffles works at a shop that sells glasses.
And she often puts on glasses to help kids feel less nervous, and to make them smile.
And,
A spin-off movie to The Exorcist is currently in the works.
One of the actors from the original will co-star in the new project.
In this new film, Ellen Burstyn's character will help another parent whose child is possessed.
And that's today's episode of News Bites!