Taipei Marching Band, France Food, Video Games

In today's news, with Paz and Trevor: Taipei First Girls' High School Marching Band dazzle at Rose Parade, France sets new rules for fast food restaurants, and playing video games might be good for your brain! Stick around and we'll tell you more about these stories, coming up next. _______________________________ 北一女樂儀旗隊 玫瑰花車遊行讓人驚豔 Taipei First Girls High School Marching Band Dazzle at Rose Parade How far can you walk, carrying a heavy instrument (樂器)? One kilometer? Maybe three? The Taipei First Girls High School marching band, honor guard, and color guard dazzled the audiences at the Rose Parade in California. 北一女樂隊、儀隊和旗隊在加州玫瑰花車遊行中讓觀眾眼花繚亂。 The marching band (遊行樂隊) was one of six international groups taking part in this year's parade. The girls walked for nearly two hours in the cold weather. It was only six degrees Celsius (攝氏六度)! They marched for nine kilometers while playing music. Local media praised (稱讚) the 135 students and teachers for their organized formation. The event's host addressed (稱呼) Taiwan both by its official name, the Republic of China (ROC), as well as Taiwan. This was the third time the Taipei First Girls High School Marching Band, Honor Guards and Color Guards was invited to perform at the Rose Parade after performances in 1996 and 2005. When the parade was over, the students enjoyed burgers at popular fast food chain (速食連鎖店), In N Out. After marching for two hours… I'd be super hungry too! ________________________________ 法國速食店新規定 France Sets New Rules for Fast Food Restaurants The New Year brings many new changes. In France, those changes include new rules about food packaging (包裝). Starting January 1st, fast food chains in France cannot give dine-in customers food in throwaway (一次性，用過就丟的) boxes. That means if you eat at a restaurant like McDonald's, the food would not be served in disposable (一次性) packaging. Under the new law, restaurants have to provide reusable (可重複使用的) plates, cups, and cutlery (刀叉), which will later be washed and used again. The law was published (發布) in 2020. The new system is trying to reduce (減少) plastic and other types of waste. Environmental groups are calling on the government to properly enforce (執行) the new law. They hope the government can fine restaurants that don't follow the rule. ________________________________ 打電動可能對大腦有益 Playing Video Games Might Be Good For Your Brain Do you like playing video games (電動遊戲)? Many adults, especially parents, worry that video games could be bad for us. But a new study says video games might be good for our brains! It's called the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (青少年大腦認知發展), or ABCD Study. It's one of many studies that looked at the effects (影響) of video games. They're looking at over 2,000 people between the ages of 10 and 20 in the United States. The test group (測試組) reported playing at least three hours a day. The researchers compare results with a control group (控制組) of kids who said they never play video games. All participants in the study answer questions every year. The researchers also perform an MRT scan on each kid's brain every other year (每隔一年). They tested the kids in two ways. The first task was to press an arrow key that matched the right or left arrow on a computer screen. 第一項任務是按下跟電腦螢幕上的右箭頭或左箭頭相配的箭頭鍵。 The second task asked the kids to remember the faces in pictures on the computer screen. 第二個任務要求孩子們記住電腦銀幕上圖片中的面孔。 The result? The gamer group was better at both tasks! A researcher says gamer's brains are better at working memory, attention, and problem-solving. 研究人員說愛打電動的玩家，大腦更擅長記憶、更專注，更能解決問題。 Gamers also have better hand-eye coordination (手眼協調). Researchers say we need to study the effects of gaming more before deciding that video games are good for children. The ABCD study is still ongoing. But for now… video games might be better for us. ________________________________ So, in today's News Bites: The Taipei First Girls High School marching band was one of six international groups taking part in this year's Rose Parade in California. The girls walked for nearly two hours in the cold weather. When the parade was over, the students enjoyed burgers at popular fast food chain, In N Out. ________________________________ Starting January 1st, fast food chains in France cannot give dine-in customers food in throwaway boxes. Under the new law, restaurants have to provide reusable plates, cups, and cutlery, which will later be washed and used again. The new system is trying to reduce plastic and other types of waste. ________________________________ And, A new study says video games might be good for our brains! A researcher says gamer's brains are better at working memory, attention, and problem-solving. Gamers also have better hand-eye coordination. Researchers say we need to study the effect of gaming more before deciding that video games are good for children. ________________________________ And that's all for today's episode of News Bites!