Hi there, it's time for an all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Jeffrey Mo.

And I'm Jacob Ingram.

In this episode, we'll be talking about a man who is now able to walk again
after suffering from a stroke …

… and about a man who rowed all the way across the Pacific Ocean.

And in this episode's News Flash, off course.
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媽祖信徒中風後重新站起
A man walks again after a stroke, thanks to his faith in Matsu!

Last November, a man whose last name is Liu suffered from a stroke (中風).

That's when there's a problem with the flow of blood to the brain (腦部血流).

After his stroke, Mr Liu, who was 41 years old, couldn't get out of bed.

Eventually, he had to move into a nursing home (養老院) in Miaoli City.

This was, of course, very frustrating (令人灰心的) for someone who was used
to doing things on his own.

他中風以後生活無法自理，覺得很灰心。

Mr Liu is from Tunghsiau Township in Miaoli County, which is home to the
Gongtian Temple.

This temple is the starting point for the Baishatun Matsu Pilgrimage
(白沙屯媽祖進香).

Matsu is a sea goddess (海洋女神) in various religions practiced in Taiwan,
such as Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, or folk religion
(佛教、道教、儒教或民間信仰).

Many think that she protects sailors and fishermen.

A pilgrimage (朝聖) is a special journey - and one that is often long and
difficult - that is made by someone for religious reasons.

In this case, some 460 000 pilgrims took part in the eight-day pilgrimage.

大概四十六萬人參加了長達八天的朝聖。

A Matsu statue carried on a palanquin (轎子) set off from Gongtian Temple and
made its way (去往) to another temple devoted to Matsu (媽祖廟), this one in
Beigang in Yunlin County, before making its way back home.

It travelled 400 kilometres in total!

Before his stroke, Mr. Liu would take part every year in this pilgrimage.

So he asked his carers at the nursing home whether he would be able to offer
incense to Matsu (為媽祖進香) again.

His carers were so moved (感動的) that they started a "dream-fulfillment
project" (實現夢想的方案) to help him!

他的護理員覺得很感動，因此開始了一件實現夢想的方案！

Mr Liu started practicing every day with a walker (助行器).

He was very diligent (認真), not giving up (沒有放棄) in spite of the
physical pain (儘管身體很痛).

When he finally stood in front of the Matsu statue, he could lift his hands
from his walker and press his palms together in prayer (合掌祈福).

Some of you might not be religious, or you might not believe in Matsu, but Mr
Liu's faith in the goddess (信仰) has helped him make progress (進步) in his
life!
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從太平洋的一邊划船到另一邊
Man rows all the way across the Pacific Ocean!

Our second story is also about a long journey (旅行) - a much longer journey!

Tom Robinson comes from Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland in
Australia.

One day when he was 14, he woke up with a dream and decided that he would be
the youngest person ever to row (划船) across the Pacific Ocean.

Tom apprenticed (當學徒) as a boat builder.

Instead of studying in classrooms, he learned by working with someone who was
already a master boat builder.

他沒有在教室學習，而是成為造船大師的學徒，透過經驗學習。

After graduating, he built his own traditional boat that could withstand
(經得住) a 13,800-kilometre journey across the Pacific!

Nine years after he first had this dream, Tom set off from Lima, the capital
city of Peru.

He was 23 years old.

Tom's first 75 days were peaceful.

There were whales and sharks (鯨和鯊魚), and he had to climb overboard
(從船上落入水中) every week - in other words, go into the ocean! - to clear
barnacles from the bottom of the boat (移除附著在船下面的甲殼動物).

He thought he would hit his first pitstop (中途休息的地方) after another 25
days.

But then a huge storm blew him off course (迷航).

So instead of getting there after 25 days, it took him another 85 days to
reach dry land!

He finally arrived at the Cook Islands (庫克群島) and the locals gave Tom a
new name, "Mahuta-Hoehoe-Asanga", which means "the warrior who has paddled
from afar" (從遠划船來的武士).

The rest of his journey was smoother.

後來的旅行比較順利。

But at the end, a huge, unexpected wave (巨大又無法預測的海浪) hit, turning
his boat over (倒下) and forcing him to cling onto its bottom.

But Tom had started rowing without any clothes on to avoid chafing (擦傷), or
friction between the fabric and his skin.

So he was totally naked when he was finally rescued!

And who rescued him?

It was a passing cruise ship (大型遊輪), with all of its passengers standing
on deck (在甲板上), pointing their cameras at him!

He didn't make it all the way back home to Australia, but he'd still crossed
enough of the ocean to get the Guinness World Record for the youngest person
to row across the Pacific!
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RECAP

So in today's News Bites,

A man starts to walk again after a stroke and says that his faith in Matsu
helped him to do it.

And...

A 23-year-old Australian man became the youngest person to row across the
Pacific Ocean!
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News Flash

In today's News Flash, our vocabulary word is off course.

The word "course" has many meanings in English, but here, it means the way to
get from point A to point B.

Normally, you'd go along this path but if you go off course, you've left this
path … and you might not know how to get to point B any longer!

So if you go off course, you might not reach your destination.

In today's story, Tom went off course on his way to his first pitstop, and
had to find his way to another pitstop!

Don't confuse this with the phrase "of course" - "off" has two 'f's, "of"
only has one 'f'.

You say "of course" to mean "yes" or to show that what you're saying is not
surprising or something that everybody already knows.
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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 a future episode!

That was it for this episode of News Bites. We'll see you next time for
another exciting new episode of News Bites!