Firefighting Robots, and a Nature Documentary Series

Hi everybody, it's time for a new episode of News Bites… I'm Paz Bueno. And I'm Jake Ingram. In today's stories… Firefighters use a new robot, and a popular series tells the story of life on our planet. And in today's Tasty Tidbit…the world's longest-lasting rainbow ever recorded! Let's get into it. ________________________________ 台灣推出消防機器人 Taiwan Rolls Out Firefighting Robots Do you know any firefighters (消防員)? They do a dangerous job. If a fire gets out of control, these brave men and women come to put out the flames. They also help save people from fires. What they do is important, but it's also risky (有風險). In September, four firefighters lost their lives fighting a big fire in Pingtung. That was so terrible, and it made people think… How can we make the firefighters' jobs safer? 如何才能讓消防員的工作更安全？ Now, some fire departments are using robots. The Taipei City Fire Department has started using one. It's called the "LUF60 Firefighting Robot." The robot is the size of a small car, and it runs on a diesel engine (柴油引擎). It's painted red and white, like a fire truck. On the bottom, it doesn't have wheels. Instead, it has treads, like a tank. 機器人有一輛小汽車那麼大，底部有像坦克車一樣的履帶. This is so the robot doesn't get stuck. On the top it has a huge water cannon. 頂部有一個巨大的高壓水槍。 Firefighters plug a hose into the back of the robot, and it can move forward and spray water from the cannon onto a fire. The robot is even strong enough to push obstacles out of the way. How do firefighters control it? They use a remote control. 消防員用遙控器來控制它。 That means firefighters don't need to get too close to a fire. They can stand back and control the robot while it enters dangerous areas. Recently, firefighters held a demonstration (示範) of the robot. They wanted to show the public how useful this machine is. In this demonstration, the robot put out a car fire with its water cannon. Everyone who saw it was impressed. Now, the LUF60 robot will start working in the Shezidao area of Taipei. 現在這個消防機器人會在台北社子島地區開始工作。 There are many factories in this area, so it's easy for big fires to start. Firefighters hope the robot can prove itself there. If it is successful, there might be firefighting robots all over Taiwan soon. ________________________________ 《地球脈動 第三部》首映 Planet Earth III Premieres Do you like nature documentaries (自然類紀錄片)? That's my favorite thing to watch on TV. You can see real footage (真實畫面) of nature, and watch animals, birds, fish and plants living their natural lives. There are many nature documentaries to choose from. I like the series "Planet Earth". It's a British series, produced by the BBC. 《地球脈動》是一部由英國廣播公司製作紀錄片系列。 Planet Earth I and II were both amazing. And recently, the latest series premiered. It's called "Planet Earth III". The BBC put a lot of work into making this series. They spent 5 years filming in 43 countries around the world. They wanted to tell the story of nature in several different areas. That's why each episode has a different topic (主題). The first episode was about "coasts". 第一集是關於「海岸」的。 You can see some seals near the coast of South Africa. The seal pups are playing in the water, but they also need to watch out for nearby sharks. The footage is so beautiful, it looks like a painting. 影片就像一幅油畫一樣美麗。 You can also see lion sisters in Namibia. These desert lions come to the coast to hunt seabirds. What a great chance for us to see lions in their natural habitat (自然棲息地)! It's so amazing, it almost looks like a different world. So while we are watching these animals, who is telling the story? That would be Sir David Attenborough. He is a British scientist. Not only is he an expert on nature… …but he also has a very nice voice to listen to! 解說員是英國自然專家David Attenborough，他的聲音非常好聽！ When you hear him talking about life on Earth, you will really feel a fresh connection to our planet. If you liked episode 1, then go watch episode 2, which is all about "oceans" (海洋). That tells the story of the fish and other animals in Earth's oceans. The newest one is episode 3, about "deserts and grassland" (沙漠和草原). Episode 4 comes out next week, and will talk about "freshwater" (淡水), meaning life in our lakes and rivers. There will be 8 episodes in total, and each is an hour long. So check out Planet Earth III, if you want to learn more about the place where we all live. ________________________________ So, in today's newsbites… Firefighters in Taipei are using a new robot to help them fight fires. They use a remote control to steer the robot, which can shoot water from a big cannon. Everybody hopes this new machine can make firefighters' jobs safer. ________________________________ And, "Planet Earth III" premiered on TV recently. This nature documentary series tells the story of life on our planet. Three episodes are out already, and the fourth episode comes out next week. ________________________________ 趣味小點 Tasty Tidbit Sometimes, after it rains, we can see… a rainbow! But usually, we only see the rainbow for a little while. That's because rainbows come out when light goes through lots of tiny water droplets in the air, usually around wet or rainy weather. So how long can a rainbow last? Well, so far, Taiwan holds the world record for the longest-lasting rainbow ever recorded! The rainbow was seen over Taipei's Chinese Culture University, 台北的文化大學, on November 30th, 2017. Professors and students all over the university took thousands of pictures, to prove the rainbow stayed in the sky, and didn't disappear. It lasted 8 hours and 58 minutes! That's crazy. I wonder if a rainbow could last even longer than that? If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [email protected], and you might hear it at the end of an episode! We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!