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:
Pingtung burns a boat, bacteria make silk, and the movie Dune is getting a sequel.
All that and more, coming up next.
屏東燒王船儀式 Pingtung Festival Burns King Boat
How do YOU like to party?
Do you hang out with friends, play games, or eat cake?
Well, people in Pingtung had a big festival (節日) recently, but it wasn't for cake…
For this festival, they celebrated by burning a big wooden boat (把木頭做的大船燒掉)!
It was called the King Boat, and it cost about 10 million NT (一千萬台幣) to build it.
The King Boat was covered with colorful paintings of dragons (龍), phoenixes (鳳凰), and characters from traditional stories.
And burning it was part of the Wang Ye Worshipping Ceremony, a festival that happens in Pingtung once every three years. 燒王船是迎王平安祭典的一部份，屏東每三年舉辦一次這個重要的祭典。
The festival lasts for eight days.
And the boat was burned on the final day, in order to help the deity (神) Wang Ye return to heaven.
For many years, people have prayed to this deity for protection from plagues. 自古以來民眾就祈求這位王爺保護他們，不要受瘟疫的侵襲。
Of course, if we have to be honest… the whole world has already been living through a plague.
But that's why it was so good of everyone to wear face masks, and to practice social distancing (社交距離)…
Especially (尤其是) because around 10,000 people at the festival came from outside of Pingtung.
So, any way you want to party is great, as long as you're careful.
But if you want to burn a 10 million NT boat… you should probably ask your parents first!
細菌製作絲線 比鋼絲還要堅韌 Bacteria Make 'Spider Silk' Stronger Than Steel
We already know that spiders use webs (蜘蛛網) to catch their food.
And when we look at their silk (蜘蛛絲) up close, they may look tiny and weak…
But because we are so much bigger, we may forget (忘記) how strong their webs are.
If we were to make a rope from spider silk, it would be as strong as steel, and still be even lighter! 如果我們用蜘蛛絲來做繩子，這條繩子不但跟鋼絲一樣強，而且更輕！
There is one problem, though.
Even though silk is easy for spiders to make, it is much more difficult for people to make.
Usually, each spider's body uses proteins (蛋白質) from its food to create the silk.
These strings of silk have lots of "nanocrystals" (奈米晶體) inside them, which is what makes them so strong.
So, scientists are making a new kind of spider silk, but it's not coming directly (直接) from the spiders…
It's coming from bacteria (細菌)!
First, scientists put some special spider DNA into the bacteria, which lets them make lots of the spider protein with nanocrystals. 首先，科學家把蜘蛛的DNA放進細菌裡，讓細菌製造很多蜘蛛蛋白質。
Then, people can take that and make it into a very powerful fiber (纖維).
Scientists say it's faster and easier to make the fiber this way… and it's even stronger than many spiders can make it!
In the future, we can use this fiber for special clothes and medical procedures (醫療手術).
And in the meantime… more spiders can keep their silk to themselves!
沙丘續集獲批 Dune Sequel Approved
A recently-released movie is getting a follow-up.
The first Dune (沙丘) movie hit theaters in October.
It was the box office leader in the United States for the weekend of its release.
It made 41 million U.S. dollars in its debut weekend.
第一部沙丘電影十月上映，票房成績很好。
Following the success of the first film, the studio has given the green light (批準) to the second one.
The sequel film should hit theaters in October of 2023.
The main (主要) cast members and director from Dune are all expected to return for the sequel.
The Dune movies are based off a book first published in 1965.
第二部沙丘現在獲批了，應該2023年十月上映。
So, in today's News Bites:
People in Pingtung recently burned an expensive boat, for the Wang Ye Worshipping Ceremony.
They burned the boat to help the deity Wang Ye return to heaven.
For many years, people have prayed to this deity for protection from plagues.
And,
Scientists are using bacteria to make a new kind of spider silk.
First, they put some special spider DNA into the bacteria, which lets them make protein with nanocrystals.
Then, people can take that and make it into a very powerful fiber.
And,
After the success of the first "Dune" movie, its film studio is planning to make a second one.
The main cast members and director from Dune are all expected to return for the sequel.
The sequel film should hit theaters in October of 2023.
And that's today's episode of News Bites!