Blue Algae, Walking Again, Netflix Sharing

News Bites

Hellooo, and welcome to News Bites… I'm Trevor… And I'm Paz Bueno. Let's look at today's stories: Blue algae glow in the dark, a brain implant does something amazing, and Netflix stops sharing. Here we go… Dun dun dun dun dunalanadun! ________________________________ 藍眼淚照片引發環境辯論 Blue Algae Photo Starts Environmental Discussion Let's start this story with a really hard English word: "Bioluminescence" (生物發光). "Bio" is a word for living things (生物), and when something is "luminescent" (會發光), that means it can glow in the dark (能在黑暗中發光)! And in the water around Taiwan's Mazu islands (馬祖), one kind of living thing is VERY bioluminescent… It's called algae (海藻). When this algae glows (發光), it glows a beautiful bright blue (會發又漂亮又閃亮的藍光)… and there is a LOT of it. So when you look out at the water, you might see a bright blue ocean… at night! The algae usually glows around Mazu from March to July every year. Some people in Mazu call it "blue tears" (藍眼淚). But one picture of the algae has recently become very popular (流行). It's a picture of a person with glowing blue algae all over their body! 最近有一張照片變得很紅，就是一個人全身佈滿這個藍色的海藻。 Scientists (科學家) say the algae is not poisonous (沒有毒性). They say it turns blue when it is disturbed (被打擾的時候發光). Some people worry this could hurt the environment (有人害怕會傷害海藻的環境). But scientists say as long as the algae stays in the water, it should be okay. The ocean is beautiful, and taking pictures is fun… Just remember to leave living things where you find them! ________________________________ 癱瘓的男人再次行走 Paralyzed Man Walks Again Most people learn to walk when they are about one year old. So, a lot of people take walking for granted. 很多人認為走路這個能力是理所當然的。 Life is much harder, if you can't walk… And recently, it was especially hard for one man in the Netherlands, who was paralyzed from an accident. 有一個荷蘭人生活很辛苦，因為他發生了意外之後變成癱瘓。 Usually, when a person is paralyzed, that means they can't move their legs anymore. But there is hope! Thanks to some amazing technology (因為很棒的科技), the man can now walk again. Scientists put special implants into the man's body. 科學家把特別的植入物放進這個人的身體裡。 The implants went into his spine (脊柱) and his legs. They helped his brain (大腦) to move his legs again, so he could stand up and walk. The man says he feels like a little kid (自己感覺像一個小孩), because he has to learn to walk again. But he says he's happy he can walk with his friends again. Scientists say these implants are still in development (還在發展中). But so far, these are great results (很棒的結果). Don't take walking for granted! ________________________________ 網飛停止帳戶分享 Netflix Stops Sharing Okay, for this next story, no people were hurt… But… it might hurt your wallet (傷害你的錢包). The streaming company Netflix has announced that people in many countries can no longer share their accounts for free. 串流媒體公司【網飛】，英文叫 Netflix，最近宣布很多國家的訂閱戶不能再免費地分享帳戶。 Before this (在這之前), if your friends had a Netflix account in their home, then you could be in a different place, and still watch it too. This let a lot of people save money (省錢). But now, if you're not at your friend's home, and you want to use their Netflix account… Too bad! You have to pay for it, too! Netflix says too many people were sharing accounts, and it was losing money (虧錢). So it sent an email (電子郵件) to 103 different countries around the world, including Taiwan, saying it's time for more people to pay for themselves. Now, millions of subscribers (數幾百萬的訂戶)… have unsubscribed (退訂了). But Netflix says it thinks more people will come back in the future. Many people say other companies may do this soon, too. They say it can be nice to share for free, but businesses want to make more money. What do you think? ________________________________ So, in today's News Bites: Every year from March to July, algae in the water around Taiwan's Mazu islands glows bright blue. And recently, a picture of a person with blue algae all over their body became very popular. Some people worry this could hurt the environment, but scientists say as long as the algae stays in the water, it should be okay. ________________________________ And, A paralyzed man in the Netherlands is now able to walk again. Scientists put special implants into the man's spine and legs. The implants help his brain to move his legs, so he can stand up and walk. Scientists say these implants are still in development, but so far, these are great results! ________________________________ And, The streaming company Netflix has announced that people in many countries can no longer share their accounts for free. Netflix says too many people were sharing accounts, and it was losing money. Now, millions of subscribers have unsubscribed, but Netflix says more people will come back in the future. ________________________________ And that's today's episode of News Bites!