Hi, and welcome back to another episode of News Bites.

I'm Jacob Ingram.

And I'm Allie Highsmith.

Coming up today: Nuclear power, and polar oceans.

And for News Flash, more on the word 'review'.

Stay tuned to learn more!
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台灣考慮重啟核電
Taiwan Considers Restarting Nuclear Power

Taiwan is thinking about restarting (重啟) nuclear power plants.

This is mainly because of concerns about energy security (對能源安全的擔憂),
as well as rising global tensions (國際局勢緊張).

TaiPower has sent a plan to restart the Ma-an-shan Nuclear Power Plant in
Pingtung County to the Nuclear Safety Commission (核安會).

It's also known as the No. 3 Nuclear Power Plan (核三廠).

This plant stopped operating (停止運轉) last year.

Now, the plan will go through a review process (審查流程).

This process may take up to two years.

Experts will check the plant's safety (安全性).

政府做出決定之前，專家會先確認核電廠是否安全。

If everything is safe, the plant still needs approval (核准) from the Nuclear
Safety Commission.

The final decision will be made by the government.

Why is this important?

Well, Taiwan produces about 70% of the world's contract chips (晶片代工).

A stable electricity supply (穩定供電) is very important for AI (人工智慧).

It's also important for advanced manufacturing (先進製造).

President Lai Ching-te has not made a final decision yet.

Officials say they must consider safety, nuclear waste (核廢料), and public
opinion (民意).

They said the plant could restart as early as 2028.

But this depends on how smoothly (是否順利) the process goes.

Taiwan decided to phase out (逐步淘汰) nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima
disaster (福島核災) in Japan.

By 2016, the government began closing all nuclear reactors (核反應爐).

However, some lawmakers want to bring nuclear power back.

They have already passed laws to allow possible restarts.

Public opinion is also changing.

In a recent referendum (公投), more people voted yes than no.

But the vote failed because not enough people participated (投票率不足).

Energy risks are growing.

Taiwan gets about one-third of its natural gas from Qatar.
台灣約三分之一的天然氣來自卡達。

If problems happen in the Middle East, supply routes (運輸路線) could be
affected.

Natural gas is hard to store for a long time, so it has to be shipped
regularly.
天然氣不容易長時間保存，所以需要常常運送。

There are also concerns about military pressure (軍事壓力) from China.
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科學家探索極地海洋
Scientists Explore Polar Oceans

Time now to head over to the coldest places on Earth!

Did you know that under Arctic (北極地區) and Antarctic (南極地區) ice, there
are large oceans?

Some scientists are learning to dive (潛水) under thick ice to study sea life.

One diver went 8 meters under a frozen lake in Finland.

There, he saw fish, rocks, and sunlight shining through the ice.

It's a place very few people can visit.

These divers are part of a special training program (訓練計畫) called Polar
Scientific Diving.

The program teaches scientists how to safely explore underwater environments
in very cold conditions.
科學家學習如何在非常寒冷的環境中，安全地進行水下探索。

Why is this important?

Because climate change (氣候變遷) is warming the Arctic very quickly - about
four times faster than the rest of the world.

This affects animals like polar bears (北極熊), which depend on ice to hunt.

In Antarctica, melting ice (冰層融化) is causing sea levels (海平面) to rise.

It is also changing ocean ecosystems (海洋生態系統).

Scientists need to understand what is happening under the ice.

This helps them protect these environments.

However, this work is not easy.

Only a few hundred people in the world can dive in these extreme (極端的)
conditions.

Divers must deal with freezing water, strong winds, and thick ice.

Sometimes the ice is almost one meter thick!

Divers also need safety teams above the ice to help guide them.

That does sound difficult!

So why can't we just use robots (機器人)?

Well, robots cannot do everything.

Human divers are still important for tasks like collecting samples (搜集樣本)
without harming the environment.

Divers say the experience is amazing.

When they look up, sunlight shines through the ice like the Northern Lights
(類似極光的景象).

This program helps train more scientists for the future.

They hope to protect these fragile ecosystems (脆弱的生態系統) before it's
too late.
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So in today's News Bites,

Taiwan is thinking about restarting nuclear power plants.

This is because of energy concerns and global tensions.

Experts will check safety before the government makes a decision.

People in Taiwan have different opinions about nuclear power.
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And,

Scientists are diving under ice in very cold places.

They study ocean life beneath the Arctic and Antarctic ice.

Climate change is melting ice and changing ecosystems.

These studies help protect fragile environments.
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Time now for News Flash!

Let's talk about the word 'review'.

A review is a careful check or study of a plan, decision, or situation to
decide what to do next.

In the news, authorities often conduct a review before making important
decisions.

For example, authorities in Taiwan will conduct a review of TaiPower's plan
to restart the No. 3 Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County.
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We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!