Hi there! You're listening to an all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Nancy Sun.

And I'm Hope Ngo.

In today's news:

More help for homeless animals, and the whole bean goes in the bar!

Keep on listening to find out more about these stories.
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北市動物之家補助寵物保險
Taipei Offering Subsidies for Adopting Pets

Animal lovers listen up!

Now may be the purrrfect time to find a furry friend.

Taipei is offering a little extra something to people who adopt pets
(領養寵物).

If you've adopted a cat or dog from the Taipei City Animal Protection Office
this year...

The city will help you with pet insurance (寵物保險).

The city says it can give up to $3,000 NT for each pet to cover insurance.

It says it has enough money to help at least 200 cats and dogs.

The city will take applications (申請) until December 20th, or until it runs
out of money.

今年補助金額可補助至少200名已完成絕育及狂犬病疫苗注射的毛孩。

People who want to apply have to make sure their pets are neutered (絕育).

The pets must also have rabies vaccinations (接種過狂犬病疫苗), and pet
insurance.

The city says more than 30 applications have already come in.

Officials say pet insurance is very important.

If a pet is hurt or sick, owners may have to spend a lot of money.

Pet insurance can help cover the cost of medicine or surgery (手術).

The city is encouraging owners to get pet insurance when their pets are young.

北市府推動認養犬貓寵物保險補助， 希望可以提升動物福利同時減輕飼主醫療負擔。
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整顆可可果可做巧克力
From Bean to Bar: The Sweet Secret of the Whole Cacao Revolution!

Hey there, how about a delicious apple?

But what if we keep the seeds...

And throw away the juicy fruit?

Well, that's what we do to make chocolate.

We take a cacao pod...

We take out the beans...

We use these beans to make chocolate.

And we throw away the rest!

Each cacao pod is about the size of a big bitter melon.

And chocolate is eaten by people all around the world.

So all that added together makes A LOT of waste!

But now scientists have an idea that could help.

The scientists in Switzerland have come up with a new way to make chocolate.

They use the whole cacao pod.

That's the beans, the pulp (果肉), the juice, and even the husk (可可豆殼)!

And what's more, this new chocolate doesn't need any extra sugar!

The key is in the cacao pod's sweet juice, which is 14 percent sugar.

Scientists say this juice is "very fruity, a bit like pineapple".

The juice is made into a thick syrup (漿).

Then they add the pulp...

Mix in the husk...

And it makes a sweet cocoa gel.

This gel is mixed with the cacao beans, to make delicious chocolate.

And the chocolate is already sweet, because of the gel.

So no extra sugar is needed!

瑞士科學家研發出用整顆可可果製作巧克力的方法，而且還不需要額外添加糖分。

And they believe that using the whole cacao pod helps solve other problems
too.

Right now, cacao farmers sell their beans to big companies.

They only get a little money for their beans.

Many cacao farmers don't make enough money to help their families.

Then the big companies ship (運送) the beans to another country, to turn it
into chocolate.

But with this new way to make chocolate...

Farmers get more money, because they can sell the whole pod.

And the chocolate can be made in their country, which means more jobs for
people.

This is also better for the environment.

Using the whole pod means you can grow less cacao.

This means less forests are cut down to make space for cacao farms.

So next time you enjoy a piece of chocolate, remember...

There's a sweet new future ahead, where every bit of the cacao pod gets used,
and everyone benefits (受惠)!
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So, in today's News Bites...

Taipei is offering a little something extra to people who adopt pets.

If you've adopted a cat or dog from the Taipei City Animal Protection Office
this year...

The city says it can give up to $3,000 NT for each pet to cover insurance.

It says it has enough money to help at least 200 cats and dogs.
________________________________

And,

Scientists in Switzerland have come up with a new way to make chocolate,
using the whole cacao pod.

And what's more, this new chocolate doesn't need any extra sugar!

With this new way to make chocolate, farmers get more money, because they can
sell the whole pod.

And using the whole pod means less forests are cut down to make space for
cacao farms.
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趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

Today's Tasty Tidbit has gone to the dogs!

You ready?

How can you tell if you have a lazy dog?

It only chases parked cars!

And

Where did the cat go after losing its tail?

The retail store!

And that does it for today's episode of News Bites.

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