20221202NB

What's happening around the world? It's time for another serving of News Bites! Hi there, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites. I'm Nancy Sun. And I'm Paz Bueno. In today's news, a SMU in Kaohsiung, a para-astronaut in space, All that and more coming up next. A SMU has been seen in Taiwan. No, no, not a smell. A SMU. Adult male SMUs are black and white. And female SMUs are gray with a brown head. They eat fish, insects, and insect larvae, youchong. They live in the Eurasian Arctic Circle. And they migrate to warmer places every winter. Usually they migrate to lands off the North Sea, the Korean Peninsula, and the Japanese archipelago. A SMU migrates from the Eurasian Arctic Circle to the North Sea of Europe, South Korea, and Japan. But recently, a SMU was spotted in Kaohsiung's Tieting wetlands for the first time. A bird watcher saw the wild SMU and quickly took a photo. Many other birds that migrate for the winter also spend time in Tieting. These include black-faced spoonbills, bean geese, and egrets, bai lu. The Kaohsiung city government says this shows that the wetland is becoming a good place for birds to stay over winter. The city government says it will keep working to make the wetlands a safe and welcoming place for migrating birds. World's first para-astronaut. The European Space Agency has chosen a new astronaut. His name is John McFaul. My name is John McFaul, and I'm from the United Kingdom. And John believes he's uniquely suited for the job. You see, John is a person with a physical disability. When John was a teenager, he was a runner and a hockey player. When he was 19 years old, John lost his right leg in a serious motorcycle accident. But that didn't stop him from being active. John went on to compete in the Paralympics, as a runner. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. John also studied medicine and went through training for general surgery. And now he is officially an astronaut. John is part of an ESA program to send someone with a physical disability into space. ESA says John could be the world's first para-astronaut. John says he has gone through challenges and hardships in life. All this helped him understand himself emotionally and gain confidence and strength. John says he believes he can do anything he puts his mind to. Now, John will help ESA understand how a physical disability might affect space travel. This will help the space agency understand if changes to spacesuits and spacecraft are needed. ESA says it could be at least 5 years before John actually goes into space. 二十七岁猫咪打破世界纪录 Flossie crowned world's oldest cat. Her owner Vicky says Flossie is affectionate, 热情 and playful. You would never guess that Flossie is the oldest living cat in the world. Vicky says Flossie is almost 27 years old. That's about the same as a person being 120 years old. The Guinness World Records has officially recognized 正式认证 Flossie as the world's oldest living cat. Vets say Flossie can't see very well and can't hear, but she is in good health. Even at the ripe old age of 27, Flossie is not the oldest cat that ever lived. The oldest cat ever is Cream Puff. Cream Puff reached the age of 38 years and 3 days. The Recap So, in today's News Bytes, a smew was recently spotted in Kaohsiung's Chieding Wetlands for the first time. The Kaohsiung City Government says it will keep working to make the wetlands a safe and welcoming place for migrating birds. The European Space Agency has chosen John McFaul as its first para-astronaut. John McFaul lost his right leg when he was 19, but went on to win a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. Now John will help ESA understand how a physical disability might affect space travel. And Flossie is the oldest living cat in the world. Her owner says Flossie is almost 27 years old, about the same as a person being 120 years old. The Guinness World Records has officially recognized Flossie as the world's oldest living cat. And that's today's episode of News Bytes. This week we want you to have your say about the weather. As we get to the end of 2022, Taiwan's weather is getting a little colder, but some places in the world are getting hotter, and depending on where you go, it can be cloudy, rainy, windy, or even snowy. So what's your favorite kind of weather? Record your message and send it to newsbytes at icrt.com.tw with your name and age, and if you'd like, the name of your school. Make sure to send us your recording by Thursday at noon, and you might hear your message on our show on Friday. ICRT and the Ministry of Education's National Pre-Education Education Office will continue to chat with you next time. More local and international news next time on News Bytes. Brought to you by the K-12 Education Administration. Find past episodes available on the ICRT website and app.