Shownotes Transcript
Hi there, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!
I'm Nancy Sun…
And I'm Trevor Tortomasi.
In today's news:
What you need to know about voting, fans celebrate National Unicorn Day, and Spot, the Robot dog of Pompeii.
All that and more, coming up next.
投票須知大小事 What You Need to Know About Voting
The right to vote (投票權) is important in any democracy (民主社會) .
Citizens (公民) who are old enough can vote.
They decide who will be a part of the government.
In Taiwan, voters cast ballots (選票) to decide who gets to be the president, and the vice president.
They also vote for members of the Legislative Yuan, city mayors and county magistrates, and city council members.
In some countries around the world, people can vote starting from when they are 18 years old.
Right now, the voting age in Taiwan is 20 years old.
The Legislative Yuan (立法院) has voted to change that.
Lawmakers passed a constitutional amendment (憲法修正案) changing Taiwan's age of voting from 20 to 18.
Before the amendment was passed, many students went to the Legislative Yuan to show the lawmakers that they want this change.
And it passed with no opposition. 這項憲法修正案全票通過，無人反對。 When that change happens, that would make Taiwan like many other democracies around the world. But the amendment still has a long way to go. The change still has to be passed in a referendum (公投). No one has said when the referendum might be.
But many think that it will be held in November.
That's when local and regional elections (地方選舉) take place.
If that amendment is passed, that means that an 18-year-old will be able to vote.
It also means an 18-year-old can be elected (勝選) to hold public office.
慶祝獨角獸節 Fans Celebrate National Unicorn Day
April 9th is not just any day.
It is a magical day, especially for people who like unicorns (獨角獸).
It is National Unicorn Day (獨角獸節)!
Unicorns are beautiful horses with a horn (角) coming out of their forehead (額頭).
Unicorns are mythical (神話的) animals, which means they don't exist (不存在).
Yet, millions of years ago, scientists say there was a "Siberian unicorn".
It didn't really look like the unicorns we see in movies, or on clothes, bags, and toys today.
The Siberian unicorn was about 2.5 meters tall.
Scientists think the animals are the ancestors (祖先) of today's rhinoceros (犀牛).
In fact, they look like big rhinos, with long brown fur.
And they also have a big horn on their noses.
Scientists believe the Siberian unicorn ate grass, and went extinct (絕種) a long time ago. Back to modern day, National Unicorn Day is not a real public holiday. So that means people do not get time off from school or work. 獨角獸節不是國定假日，所以4月9號這天並沒有放假。
But people that celebrate (慶祝) National Unicorn Day like to make pancakes or cupcakes.
These pancakes or cupcakes often have lots of glitter and sparkles (亮粉和亮片). They also make cookies in the shape of unicorns. They even spend time watching movies with unicorns in them.
In case you're wondering, unicorns aren't the only magical creatures that have their own special day. January 16th is "Appreciate a Dragon Day". June 24th is "International Fairy Day". And December 5th is "Krampus Night" (聖誕妖怪之夜).
龐貝城的機器狗 Meet Spot, the Robot dog of Pompeii The ancient ruins (遺跡) of Pompeii (龐貝城) have a new dog. His name is Spot. But Spot is no ordinary dog.
Spot is a robot. Spot不是普通的狗，它是一隻機器狗。 Spot has an important job.
Tomb raiders (盜墓者) sometimes steal things from Pompeii. Spot checks tunnels built by tomb raiders, to keep them out.
The robot dog also helps find places in Pompeii that are falling apart (破裂，垮掉).
He lets officials know that these places have to be fixed.
Spot also helps collect data (資料) about Pompeii.
Experts (專家) worry that Pompeii is not well cared for. Officials hope Spot will change that.
So, in today's News Bites:
Democracies around the world get to choose the people they want to work in government.
Taiwan gets to do that too.
Now the government is hoping the people will allow the law to be changed, so that people can begin voting when they turn 18.
April 9th is a special day for unicorn lovers.
That's when the world gets to celebrate National Unicorn Day.
Unicorn fans mark the day by making cakes and cookies, with bright colors and sparkles.
And
Officials in Italy are using a robot dog to help them monitor the ancient site of Pompeii.
The robot dog named Spot helps archaeologists by identifying and recording data from places that might need fixing.
Researchers have complained that the ancient volcanic site is not well cared for.
And that's today's episode of News Bites!