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 Taiwanese man with a very important
job working for the president of France …

… and about a song from Bulgaria that just won a competition.

And in this episode’s News Flash, honour.

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台灣人為法國總統準備法式蛋糕和甜點
Taiwanese man makes pastries for the president of France

Hsing Lun-yi (行倫邑) is a pastry chef (糕點師傅) from Tainan.

But he has spent the last eleven years working at the Élysée Palace (愛麗舍王宮),
which is the official residence (官邸) of the president of France.

Maybe you’ve seen a picture of the president of France?

His name is Emmanuel Macron and he was only 39 years old when he was elected
(被選) president in 2017.

He became the youngest president in French history!

Maybe you’ve also seen his wife?
你可能聽說過他的太太？

Her name is Brigitte – that’s the French version of “Bridget”.

It was actually a bit scandalous (有一點像緋聞) when they got married, because she
was actually his high school teacher!

In fact, Brigitte’s daughter was one of Emmanuel Macron’s classmates.

But let’s get back to Hsing Lun-yi.

He’s responsible for (負責) preparing the Macrons’ desserts.

And when other presidents visit France, he has to prepare desserts for them,
too!
別的國家元首來訪，行師傅也需要為他們準備甜點！

Hsing was born in 1986 and moved to France in 2012, when he was about 26
years old.

He first had to learn French.

Then, he enrolled in a culinary school (廚藝學校) and passed some exams
(通過了好幾項考試) to prove that he had the skills to work as a pastry chef.

He applied to the Élysée Palace and got an internship there.
他申請去愛麗舍王宮當實習生，並且被錄取。

And because he was such a good pastry chef, he eventually (終於) got a
full-time job (全職工作) there.

Now, he’s the head pastry chef (糕點部的主廚)!

He has to make a new dessert every day – no repeats (每天做新口味的甜點，不能重複)!

It makes his job very interesting but, at the same time, very challenging
(很有挑戰性).

Hsing says that some of his favourite ingredients (材料) are hazelnut (榛果) and
buckwheat (蕎麥).

And how does he relax?

He goes running!

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保加利亞贏了2026年的歐洲歌唱大賽
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026!

If you’re a regular listener, you will have already heard us talk about the
Eurovision Song Contest (歐洲歌唱大賽).

That’s a competition between different countries in Europe.

Each country sends a song, and people vote to see which song they like the
most.

This year’s competition took place in Vienna (維也納), the capital of Austria
(奧地利)!

Austria had the honour (光榮) – and the responsibility (責任) – of hosting (主辦)
this year’s event because they won last year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

This year, 27-year-old Dara won the competition for her home country,
Bulgaria.

You might not know much about Bulgaria, but if you’ve ever read Harry Potter,
Bulgaria is the country from which Viktor Krum comes.
保加利亞是哈利波特故事裡面，妙麗的舞伴，維克多克魯姆的故鄉。

Oh, I know Viktor Krum!

He’s the Quidditch player from Durmstrang in the fourth movie.

Anyway, back to the story.

Dara is a superstar (超級巨星) in Bulgaria, and she is even a judge (評判員) on a TV
singing competition there.

She won with a song called “Bangaranga”, which is the word for “uproar”
(喧嘩的聲音) in Jamaican patois (牙買加土話).

Jamaica is definitely not in Europe!
牙買加當然不在歐洲！

It’s a country in the Caribbean Sea (加勒比海), known for really fast runners
like Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man.

And Jamaican patois is the language people on the streets in Jamaica speak to
each other.

It blends together (融合) the official language, English, with a variety of
other influences (影響), primarily languages from West Africa (主要的是西非語言).

That’s because most Jamaicans are the descendants of slaves from West Africa
(來自西非的奴隸的後代).

But back to Eurovision!

Most people predicted (預測) that Finland (芬蘭) would win, but in the end,
Finland only came in sixth place.

The motto (座右銘) of the competition is “United by Music” (用音樂大團結).

And what represents uniting the world better than a Bulgarian girl singing a
song using Jamaican patois?

Bulgaria now has the task of organising next year’s competition.

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Recap

So in today’s News Bites,

- the man responsible for making the French president’s desserts comes from
Tainan; and
- a 27-year-old singer from Bulgaria named Dara wins the Eurovision Song
Contest!

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News Flash

In today’s News Flash, our vocabulary word is honour.

The word “honour” can be used in a variety of ways.

It can be an opportunity to do something that makes you feel proud of
yourself.

In this news story, Bulgaria has the honour of hosting Eurovision next year.

All of Europe will be watching what they do, and they want to do a good job
of it.

Someone’s honour can also be his good reputation.

If someone accuses you of stealing when you didn’t steal anything, you would
say something to defend your honour.

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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!