Baiyang Trail, and One-Room School

News Bites

Hi everyone, welcome to a new episode of News Bites! I'm Kelly Kimura… And I'm Jacob Ingram. Coming up in today's news: A hiker in Hualien survives the earthquake and a one-room school is the heart of a community! And in today's Tasty Tidbit…one word in Japanese changes a woman's life! Stay tuned for more on those stories! ___________________________________________________________ 地震中的白楊步道 Baiyang Trail During the Earthquake Early in the morning on April 3rd, a young man from Germany (德國) chatted with the owner (老闆) of the hostel (青年旅館) where he was staying. He was going to go hiking in Hualien's Taroko Gorge. He was planning to take Shakadang Trail (砂卡噹步道), but the hostel owner thought Baiyang Trail (白楊步道) would be better. The young man rode his scooter (小型摩托車) to Taroko Gorge. He parked (停放) it at a store. Then he went hiking on Baiyang Trail. Three minutes later, his phone vibrated (震動). Then the earthquake (地震) happened. It was his first earthquake. He went down to the ground! Rocks and debris (碎片) fell onto the trail. Rocks hit his back (背部) and legs. A rock hit his head. His face was bleeding (正在流血) in several places. His right leg hurt. But he was afraid he would die slowly if he stayed on the trail, so he got up and ran. He stood against the side of a cliff (將身體壓在懸崖面上). He covered his head with his arms. And then he waited for the earthquake - or his life - to be over. Thick dust from the rocks (岩塵) blocked (遮蔽) the sun. He waited and waited in the dark. His phone didn't work. He screamed (尖叫) for help. Nobody came. He had a red jacket. He put it on. He hoped the red jacket would make it easier for rescuers (救援人員) to see him. Then he waited for help again. Four and a half hours passed. The earth stopped shaking as much. The young man started to worry about being on the trail at night. So he slowly limped (跛行) back to the store where his scooter was. Several other injured (受傷) people were there too. Rescuers came to the store that night. They took all the injured people to the hospital. The young man got back to the hostel at three in the morning. His friends and family were very, very happy! The man was very lucky he had listened to the hostel owner and taken Baiyang Trail. He survived (存活). Sadly, some hikers on the other trail did not survive. 不幸的是，有些去其他步道的登山者並沒有活下來 ___________________________________________________________ 社區中心的一所單室學校 The One-Room School at the Heart of a Community A small American town has a popular ski resort (滑雪勝地) The town is very high up in the mountains. The road to the town is narrow (狹窄的). But every year, half a million skiers visit! The snow is great. Last year, almost 23 meters of snow fell there! The town has about three hundred people. And it has a school. The town needs a school so that workers with kids don't leave. The students' parents work at the ski lodges (滑雪屋), restaurants, shops, and other businesses in the town. What's the school like? It's in an old storage room (舊儲藏室) in a ski lodge. The one-room school has students from kindergarten (幼稚園) to eighth grade! There are 14 students and one teacher. They start the day with a walk through the resort, making observations (進行觀察) and learning about weather science. They have a math quiz every morning. The students play in the snow at recess (課間休息). They enjoy being in nature (自然環境). They ski when they have P.E.! They're very good skiers. Parents help with P.E. classes. At this school, the teacher is very busy! For each subject, every student has a different lesson! So the students learn to work by themselves (獨立地) and find answers by themselves. They also work together. Every month, the students write a newspaper. They make newspaper ads (報紙廣告) for the town's businesses and then sell the ads to them! The students put the newspapers in ski lodges. Every year, the students also write and act in a play (表演戲劇). Their parents and many other people come to see it! This small one-room school and its students, teacher, and parents are the heart of the community (社群). ___________________________________________________________ So in today's News Bites: A young man went hiking on Baiyang Trail on April 3rd. Three minutes later, the earthquake happened. He was injured when the earthquake made rocks fall on the trail… and on him. He was very lucky that he survived. ___________________________________________________________ And… A popular ski resort town in America has a one-room school. It has 14 students from kindergarten to eighth grade and one very busy teacher! The students write monthly newsletters and every year, they act in a play. The school has become the heart of the town! ___________________________________________________________ 趣味小點 Tasty Tidbit When you go to another country, try to speak the language there, even if it's just one or two words. One woman makes short videos of herself, using a selfie stick (自拍桿). She posts them on social media (社群媒體). She went to Japan. She liked the sound of the Japanese word "kudasai." That means "please." In one video, she is walking and saying, "sushi kudasai, ocha kudasai, mizu kudasai, gohan kudasai, kudasai, kudasai." "Sushi please, tea please, water please, rice please, please, please." She wrote that these are the only Japanese words she knows. Over 14 million people have seen the video. Now she's the famous "kudasai girl" that fans want to meet! One word in Japanese changed the woman's life - kudasai…. please… please. _________________________________________________________ And that's it for today's episode of News Bites! If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with us, record your message and send your Tasty Tidbit to us at [e-mail]. You might hear it at the end of an episode! We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!