| 標題 | [英語日]ICRT Lunchbox |
|---|---|
| 訊息分類 | 處室公告 |
| 公告單位 | 設備組長 |
| 日期起迄 | 2025-04-15 00:00~2025-04-22 23:50 更新時間: 2025-04-15 11:35:05 |
| 訊息內容 |
Hi everyone, welcome back to another new episode of News Bites.
I'm Allie Highsmith.
And I'm Nancy Sun.
Coming up in today's news: Taiwan ranks 12th in 2024 Democracy Rankings...and 40% of British people haven't read a book in a year.
And in this episode's tasty tidbit: 30,000 butterflies cross a freeway, closing part of a road in Yunlin.
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台灣在2024年民主國家排名拿到第12名！
Taiwan Ranks 12th in 2024 Democracy Rankings
Alright so, we all know that Taiwan is a democratic （民主） country.
That's right. That means, the people decide the direction of the country, by doing things like voting （投票）.
Voting is one of the most important parts of democracy!
But, there are also other things, like participating in protests （抗議）and talking to your representatives （民意代表）.
So yes, it's true that Taiwan is a democratic country, but a new ranking says that Taiwan is one of the best democracies in the world!
Wait… what do you mean "best"?
Well, it's a bit complicated, but basically, the researchers look at 5 important things to decide how healthy a democracy is: election process, function of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.
基本上，研究員考慮了5個因素：選舉程序、政府運作、參政、政治文化及民權。
So Taiwan did pretty well on those things?
Yes! Taiwan was number 12 in the whole world, and first in Asia.
But... Taiwan's score actually went down from 2023 and 2022.
台灣從2022年和2023年下降了。
Taiwan got a full score in election process, but its worst score was in political participation.
台灣選舉程序獲得滿分，但最差的分數是在參政上。
The researchers from Economist Intelligence Unit also differentiate （分類） all the countries as "full democracy" （完全民主）, "flawed democracy" (有缺陷的民主),"hybrid regime" (混合制度), or "authoritarian regime" (威權政權).
Taiwan is a "full democracy."
The only other Asian country that is a "full democracy" is Japan.
Korea was a full democracy last year, but this year it was a flawed democracy because of the president instituting martial law (戒嚴).
Wait so Taiwan was number 12... what's number one?
Norway! Norway has been number one for 16 years.
New Zealand and Sweden are the next countries.
Although Taiwan's score is good, a lot of democracies around the world are actually becoming less healthy- like Korea and the US. 雖然台灣排第12名，但全球很多的民主國家有在退步；像韓國和美國。
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40%的英國人一年?一本書都沒有讀過
40% of British People Haven't Read a Book in the Past Year
Hey Nancy, have you read a book in the last year?
Well, yes, I read three books last year.
That's great! It means, you're reading more than at least 40% of British people!
A poll （民意調查） by YouGov for World Book Day found that 40% of British people have not read a book in a year.
Experts （專家） say, the findings aren't surprising.
Why's that?
Well, an organization （組織） called "School Readers" says that people work too much, so they don't have as much time to read.
Also, people may be spending more time on their phones and social media.
還有，有些人可能花更多時間在手機或社群媒體上。
Another study says that only one third （三分之一） of British 8 to 18 year olds enjoy reading in their free time -- that's the lowest in 19 years.
Experts say, it's important to read things that you like to read in order to become better at reading.
專家說，閱讀自己喜歡閱讀的東西對於提升閱讀能力很重要。
They say that kids who read for fun at the age of 11 are a lot more likely to do well in school and in life.
That way, you can make it a habit （習慣）, even if you just read for a few minutes every day.
Yeah, like if you want to read a 100-page-book, if you read just 10 pages a day, you can finish in 10 days!
若想要讀一本一百頁的書，每天讀十頁就可以十天?看完了！
So, in between your homework, instead of scrolling on Instagram, try picking up a book.
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So, in today's news bites:
Taiwan is ranked as the world's 12th most democratic country, and ranked number one in Asia.
The study looks at five different parts of democracy, like election process and political participation.
Norway, New Zealand, and Sweden are the top democratic countries.
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And…
40% of British people haven't read a book in the past year.
It's probably because people use screens more and have less free time.
But reading is really good for you, especially for kids.
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趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit
Hey Nancy, I have a fun joke for you today.
Alright, let's hear it.
Why did the butterfly cross the road?
I don't know... to get to the other side?
Not quite. Actually these butterflies crossed the road because of climate change （氣候變遷）.
Oh…
30,000 （三萬）butterflies crossed a freeway in Yunlin, and people had to close part of the road to keep the insects safe.
The butterflies travel north from Kaohsiung every year before the tomb sweeping festival （清明節）, but this year, they came early.
Why's that?
Well, the winter was extra cold and extra long, and then it suddenly got warmer.
Oh, I get it. Climate change.
At one point, there were almost 700 butterflies crossing the road each minute.
Officials want to protect the Purple Crow butterflies, so they set up a net so that people wouldn't hit the bugs.
Why do the butterflies need to fly north in the spring?
Well, they need to migrate （遷飛） twice a year when the weather changes.
Butterflies are very sensitive to cold weather because they have cold blood.
They also need to be close to locations with flowers so they can eat.
The butterfly migrations in Maolin, Kaohsiung are one of the biggest butterfly migrations in the world!
Maybe we can go see them in the fall when they head south!
也許南飛過冬時我們會有機會看到他們!
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That's all for today's episode!
If you have a fun fact or joke you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you might hear it at the end of an episode!
See you next time, for another new episode of News Bites!
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