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Workers March on Labor Day

How much money have you spent today? It is more than you think!
你今天花了多少錢呢？可能比你想的多喔！

Think about brushing your teeth. You need a toothbrush and toothpaste. They
cost money. Want to rinse your mouth? That is also not free! Water costs
money.
就拿刷牙來說，你仔細想想，刷牙需要牙刷跟牙膏，這些都要錢吧?刷完牙要用水漱口，水也要錢！

Lots of things cost money. People need money to live. So… they get a job.
很多東西都要用錢買，人們有錢才能生活，所以要去工作賺錢！

People who work for money are workers. Another word for work is labor.
May 1st is Labor Day in Taiwan. That is today! It is a day for workers.
為了賺錢而工作的人叫做勞工，每年的5月1日是台灣的「勞動節」，也就是今天！這是勞工一起慶祝的節日。

The workers carry signs. The signs say what the workers want.

The signs may say things like "equal pay," "fewer working hours," or "save
our jobs."
勞工會拿著各式各樣的標語，上面寫著「同工同酬」啦、「縮短工時」啦，或是「我要工作」等等。

Workers everywhere are worried about AI now. AI may take their jobs. AI makes
jobs too. But many are low-paying jobs.
現在很多勞工擔心 AI 會搶走他們的工作。雖然 AI
也會創造新的工作機會，但是薪水並不高。

This year, workers' signs will be about AI. They will say things like "humans
first, not AI" or "make AI good for workers too."
所以，今年的勞動節遊行很多標語會跟AI有關！比如說: [人第一，AI第二]。

What will workers march for when you grow up?
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Vocabulary

五一勞動節，是全世界的工作人員會共同慶祝的節日。
1. grow up 長大。
I'm so tired. 我好累! I need a vacation!我需要休假! You know, when I was
growing up, 你知道嗎，我一路長大，I never thought I'd end up an office
worker.從來沒想到我會變成上班族。

2. how much 多少。
And yet…here you are.結果你到了這裡。
Yeah… here I am.對啊，我到了這裡。Tell me, how much money do we really need
to live?告訴我，我們究竟需要多少錢來生活?

3. everywhere 每個地方。
More than you think. 比你想的多。The cost of living is going up
everywhere.每個地方的生活費都在上漲。

4. pay 薪資。
That's the problem. 那就是問題所在。My pay never feels enough.
我覺得薪水從來就不夠。

請跟我複習單字。grow up長大 how much多少 everywhere每個地方 pay薪資

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Quiz

1. When is Labor Day in Taiwan?
a. March 1st
b. May 1st
c. September 1st

2. What do workers carry with them when they march?
a. Toothbrushes
b. Computers
c. Signs

3. What are workers worried about this year?
a. AI
b. Water
c. Growing up







Answers
1. b
2. c
3. a
 

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Hi everyone, welcome to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Kelly Kimura.

And I'm Nancy Sun.

Coming up next in today's news: Taiwan sends its last two Malayan sun bears
to Japan and a 17-year-old boy finds treasures in abandoned stuff.

And in today's News Flash: abandon!

Stay tuned for more on those stories!
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台灣將最後兩隻馬來熊送往日本
Taiwan Sends Its Last Two Malayan Sun Bears to Japan

If you've visited Taipei Zoo, maybe you've seen their Malayan sun bears
(馬來熊), siblings (兄弟姊妹) Missy Bear (小熊妹) and Xiong Ba (熊霸).

If you did, you're lucky.

They aren't there anymore!

What? Those bears were born 18 years ago at the zoo and raised there!

They're in Japan now.

The zoo sent its last two Malayan sun bears there at the end of March.

Malayan sun bears… oh, they're so cute and gentle!

I learned somewhere that they're the smallest bear species (物種) in the
world.

They're about the size of a big dog.

Adults are from 25 to 65 kilograms.

When they stand, they're about 1.5 meters tall.

That reminds me (這讓我想起來)… wasn't one in the news a few years ago?

Yes. Everyone was saying that a Malayan sun bear was not… a bear.

Oh, yeah! I remember seeing a video of that bear.

It was standing on its back legs and waving to tourists.

People online said it was really a person wearing a bear costume
(是真人穿著熊皮衣服)!

I can see why people thought it was really a person.

Me too. When Malayan sun bears stand, the loose skin on their lower backs
becomes big folds (他們下背部的鬆弛皮膚會形成很大的皺褶).

It makes the bears' skin look like a costume!

That was in the middle of summer. It was as hot as 40 degrees Celsius (攝氏).

A zoo worker said that there was no way a person could wear a heavy bear
costume in that weather.

Who would want to do that?

Well, five years ago on May 3rd, we talked about a man who wore a bear
costume.

He walked more than 680 kilometers wearing it.

That must have been so hot!

His bear's name is Bearsun!

And that brings us back to the sun bears in the news now.

Why did the zoo send their sun bears to Japan?

Well, the number of Malayan sun bears is decreasing.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
(國際自然與自然資源保護聯盟), or IUCN, says these bears are "vulnerable"
(有滅絕風險).

That is one step away from "endangered" (瀕危).

台北動物園將馬來熊送往日本，是希望拯救這種動物。日本動物園會替這兩頭熊尋找配偶。

Maybe one day we'll hear about baby Malayan sun bears in Japan!
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17歲男孩在丟棄的物品中發現寶物
Seventeen-year-old boy finds treasures in abandoned stuff

Stuff (東西).

Do you have lots of stuff?

Some of us have too much.

But we have a hard time throwing it away.

Sometimes our stuff is valuable (有價值的).

Or we think we will use it again one day.

In the U.S., many people have way too much (太多了) stuff.

So there are many, many storage facilities (儲存設施) that will store
people's stuff in one or more storage units (儲存空間).

People rent (租) them and pay every month.

But if people do not pay for two months, storage facilities say those people
have abandoned (放棄) their stuff.

Storage facilities sell everything in one abandoned storage unit to one
person.

That person can do what they want with the stuff.

A 17-year-old boy thought he would find valuable stuff, sell it, and make
lots of money!

He had been making money by reselling (轉售) stuff for a long time.

When he was in junior high school, he bought many books at one time and then
resold them.

Then he resold toy sets (成套的玩具) that were not going to be made anymore.

Some people will pay high prices for them.

To make money reselling stuff, he had to do some research (研究).

The boy wrote an AI program.

It finds abandoned storage units that were rented by people who had been in
the news.

He thought these people might have valuable stuff (值錢的東西).

Looking for stuff this way was like a treasure hunt (尋寶遊戲)!

Now his mother's garage is filled with the stuff he buys.

Stuff is always moving in or out.

Every night, the boy packs stuff his customers have bought
(把顧客購買的物品打包).

He has an online store.

And he makes more than $220,000 NT… a month!

Wow! How does he know what price to charge (定價多少才合適) for something?

He takes pictures of the thing and uses AI to find a good price.

One time, he paid $14,000 NT for the stuff in an abandoned storage unit.

He resold some paintings for about $1.5 million NT!

That's the exciting part.

But he is learning valuable lessons from the abandoned stuff he has seen.

One storage unit had many expensive things.

But there were empty liquor bottles (空酒瓶) too.

In another storage unit, he found a military medal (軍功勳章) that is given
to soldiers (士兵) who are hurt or killed by the enemy (敵人).

He won't sell it.

He says that would not be respectful (尊重的).

這個男孩慢慢明瞭，人生不是只有金錢和物質。
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Recap

So in today's News Bites,

Taipei Zoo sent its last two Malayan sun bears to a zoo in Japan.

These bears are the smallest bear species.

The IUCN says these bears are vulnerable.

By sending its bears to Japan, Taipei Zoo is helping to save Malayan sun
bears.
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And...

A 17-year-old boy resells abandoned stuff in storage facilities.

He uses AI to help him find valuable stuff.

He makes a lot of money.

But he is learning there is more to life than money and stuff.
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News Flash

In today's News Flash, our vocabulary word is "abandon"!

"Abandon" means to leave something, somewhere, or someone, usually forever.

For example: Renters abandon their stuff in storage facilities for many
reasons.

Or: Will the boy abandon his business when he goes to university?

In Mandarin, this is 放棄.

So now you know!
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And that's it for today's episode of News Bites!

Do you have a fun fact or a joke you'd like to share with us?

Record your message and send your Bite-Sized Break to us at
newsbites@icrt.com.tw.

You might hear it in an episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!