Hello and welcome back to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Allie Highsmith.

And I'm Nancy Sun.

In this episode of News Bites: Taiwan ranked 17th in world talent rankings

And, schoolkids in the US face phone restrictions.

And in this episode's news flash: ranking!

Plus, stay tuned for a special bite-sized break.
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全球人才排名 台灣排第17名
Taiwan ranked 17th in world talent rankings

Taiwan is now the 17th most talented country in the world, according to the
2025 World Talent Ranking!

And that makes Taiwan number 3 in Asia.

That list is made by the International Institute for Management Development.

They're from Switzerland 瑞士.

Taiwan rose one spot from last year, when it was ranked 18th worldwide.

In Asia, Taiwan was behind Hong Kong and Singapore.

Hong Kong ranked number 4 in the world, and Singapore was number 7.

There are also other categories 項目 in the ranking, like "appeal" 吸引力 and
"readiness."

Taiwan did very well in both of those categories.

That means, Taiwan is good at attracting 吸引 talent from Taiwan and abroad
國外.

The list considers almost 70 places around the world.

It says that some reasons 原因 for moving in recent years are financial
security 財務穩定 and benefits 福利.

But people might want to leave where they live for reasons like being too
expensive.

Well, what ranked first?

Switzerland was number one for the talent rankings.

Next was Luxembourg 盧森堡, and third was Iceland 冰島.

Fourth is Hong Kong, and number five is the Netherlands 荷蘭.

The report points out 指出 that countries that invest 投資 more in education
rank higher on the list.

Also, it says that countries that get foreign students to stay in the country
do better on this list.

That makes sense. 那很有道理。

In Taiwan, we have many international students.
But the report says that what matters is whether those students stay in
Taiwan after they graduate, or after they do their exchange.
重要的是，那些來台灣讀書的學生畢業之後，是不是願意繼續留下來。
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Bite-Sized Break

In this episode's Bite-Sized Break, 10 year old Julie from Changchun
Elementary tells us about people who don't like to eat hamburgers.

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美國各個地限制學生用手機
Students in the US face phone restrictions

*phone sounds*

Shh! Put your phone away, class is about to start!

Sorry, sorry, I forgot.

Students across the US this year have new rules in place for when they can
use their phones.

35 states have rules to limit 限制 student phone use in schools.

That's 70% of the states in the country!

But states in the US only started doing this 2 years ago.

The idea is supported by both parties 政黨 in the US, because some people are
worried that phones might affect 影響到 students' mental health 心理健康 and
learning.

In some states, there will be bans for the whole school day, but other states
only restrict it for class
time.有些州整天都禁止學生用手機，可是還有一些只有上課時才禁止。

In 18 states, phones are banned for the whole school day.

7 states ban them during class time, but not between classes or during lunch.

Some students think it's good that there are fewer distractions.
有些學生認?，減少分心是好事。

They say that some students in the past would be on their phones while the
teacher was talking, so it's harder for the teacher to do their job.

Other students say that they did not want to put their phones away at first,
but now, in states where this rule is older, students are okay with putting
their phones away to focus on learning.

There are some disadvantages 缺點 though; when you're working in class, it's
nice to have some music on sometimes.

But how does the rule work?

Well, some students put their phones in a special bag or locker 櫃子 during
the day.

But some parents worry that the rules will make it harder to communicate 溝通
with their kids.

Parents want to know that their kids are safe at school, and sometimes, if
there is a problem, the school leaders 校方 might take a long time to tell
parents.

But, most parents do support 支持 some restrictions, they just want lawmakers
立委 to consider their opinions.
Researchers 研究人員 think that it's not clear what kinds of social media
社群媒體 can hurt kids, and if restrictions have advantages 優點 or not.

But they say that teachers really like the new policy 政策, because they can
teach kids better, and not waste time on getting kids to pay attention.

Another advantage is that there are more students making friends with each
other.

Even though this is a big trend 趨勢 in the US, some states don't like it.

So, what do you think? Should phones be banned in school?
你覺得呢？學校應不應該禁止學生用手機？

Let us know what you think by sending your message to newsbites@icrt.com.tw,
to be featured in a Bite-Sized break, like Julie.
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So, in today's News Bites:

Taiwan is ranked as the number 17th most talented country in the world.

That makes Taiwan number 3 in Asia.

Hong Kong and Singapore were numbers 1 and 2 in Asia.
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And,

Kids in the US can't have their phones in class in some states.

Some students like the policy, and others don't.

Most parents support the idea, but they want lawmakers to consider their
opinions too.
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News Flash

In today's News Flash, our vocab word is "ranking."

That's a noun, but "to rank" is a verb.

It's spelled R-A-N-K-I-N-G.

A ranking is a list of things from best to worst.

For example, Taiwan is ranked 17th for talent.

Ranking is called 排名 in Mandarin.

And now you know!
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If you have a fun fact or a joke you'd like to share with us, record your
message and send us your Bite-Sized Break to newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you
might hear it in an episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!