2026-06-18 LunchBox內容
Hi and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!
I’m Jacob Ingram.
And I’m Jeffrey Mo.
In today’s episode: a new Taiwan pineapple enters a new market, and what would YOU pay for a REALLY GOOD melon?
Plus, what would you say when something costs a lot of money?
Well, in today’s News Flash, we’ll teach you a new phrase: "worth a mint".
Stay tuned for those stories!
________________________________
台灣特產芒果鳳梨首次亮相紐西蘭
Taiwan's special pineapples make their debut in New Zealand
Did you know Taiwan has over 90 different kinds of pineapples?
In fact, Taiwan has more pineapples than many other places in the world!
One of them stands out [脫穎而出], because it is even sweeter than other types of pineapple.
It smells like a mango... and even becomes a little bit orange when it is ripe.
Farmers call it the "mango pineapple".
The mango pineapple isn't the result of mixing mango and pineapple together.
芒果鳳梨並不是芒果和鳳梨混合在一起的農產品。
It actually comes from two different types of pineapple.
Those two pineapple parents are the Tainung Number 19 [台農19號] and the Tainung Number 21.
Together, they became parents to Tainung no. 23.
That's the mango pineapple, which was developed by the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute [台灣農業研究所] after 24 years of work.
The mango pineapple is special because it is much, much sweeter than most types of pineapple.
It also doesn't have any fiber [纖維].
Taiwan was introduced to the mango pineapple in 2020.
And now Taiwan has introduced the mango pineapple to New Zealand.
The fruit made its debut [首次亮相] in New Zealand in May – just a few weeks ago.
Sending fruit to a country so far away isn't very easy.
Farmers, importers, and shipping companies [農民、進口商和航運公司] have to work together to make sure the pineapples don't have any bugs [蟲蟲], and arrive in New Zealand the same way they left Taiwan.
That way they can be enjoyed by pineapple lovers on the other side of the world.
Mango pineapples aren't the only kind of pineapples which Taiwan farmers are sending to the other side of the world.
Farmers are exporting [出口] diamond pineapples.
These are known as the Tainung no. 17.
Hopefully, the mango pineapple will be as popular as its older cousin.
________________________________
非常昂貴的哈密瓜
A very expensive cantaloupe
Cantaloupes [哈密瓜] are a very popular summer time fruit.
Their orange-coloured flesh – or ‘pulp’ (果肉) – is sweet and juicy.
They are the perfect treat when it’s super hot outside.
And even though cantaloupes might look the same, you can find at least forty different kinds of cantaloupe around the world!
Cantaloupe in Taiwan can be an inexpensive fruit.
在台灣，有價格便宜的哈密瓜，也有比較貴的。
You can probably find cantaloupe for between 80 to 250 NT per kilogram.
But some cantaloupes might even cost 1,000 NT a piece.
When it comes to price, nothing here in Taiwan can compare with Japan’s Yubari melon [夕張哈密瓜].
The Yubari melon looks like a cantaloupe... but it isn't quite the same, because the Yubari can only be found in Hokkaido, Japan [日本北海道].
Melon fans describe the Yubari as being very sweet, fragrant and enticing [誘人的].
This Japanese melon is like no other [與眾不同], because the people that grow the Yubari get to say what makes the perfect fruit.
Yubari melons must weigh between 1.0 and 2.5 kg and be slightly oval in shape.
The Yubari King melon must also have a net-like pattern on its skin (外皮上要有網狀花紋).
Because they are highly prized by people who love them, Yubari melons are also very expensive.
Good melons can cost from 35 to 50 U.S. dollars per melon.
That’s about 1,100 NT to almost 1,600 NT.
The best melons can cost even more than 350 U.S. dollars!
But nothing can beat the Yubari melons that were sold at auction...
Someone paid 5.8 million Japanese Yen.
That's more than 36,000 U.S. dollars – or 1.1 million NT!
The melons went on display at a supermarket in western Tokyo, so fans could visit the fruit and taste samples.
No matter how yummy they are, 5.8 million yen sounds like a lot to pay for these melons.
How much would YOU pay for a melon?
________________________________
So in today’s News Bites…
Taiwan was introduced to the mango pineapple in 2020.
And now Taiwan has introduced the mango pineapple to New Zealand.
The fruit made its debut in New Zealand in May – just a few weeks ago.
That way they can be enjoyed by pineapple lovers on the other side of the world.
________________________________
And…
The Japanese Yubari melon is like no other, because the people that grow the Yubari get to say what makes the perfect fruit.
It’s so special, someone paid 5.8 million Japanese Yen for one.
That's more than 36,000 U.S. dollars or 1.1 million NT.
The melons went on display at a supermarket in western Tokyo, so fans could visit the fruit and taste samples.
________________________________
In today's News Flash...
The phrase of the day is "worth a mint".
What does that mean?
When something is super, super expensive ... you can say it’s "worth a mint!"
Why is that? Well, "mint" here isn't a kind of candy.
You might be thinking of mint candy – or “薄荷糖”!
But no! Mint is a place where money is literally printed or made.
In Taiwan, this place is called the Central Mint [中央造幣廠] and it is located in Taoyuan City.
Ah, that reminds me ...
The word "mint" also appears in the expression "mint condition".
If something is in mint condition, it is almost like new, with no flaws or damage (幾乎像新的一樣，沒有任何瑕疵).
________________________________
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!
I’m Jacob Ingram.
And I’m Jeffrey Mo.
In today’s episode: a new Taiwan pineapple enters a new market, and what would YOU pay for a REALLY GOOD melon?
Plus, what would you say when something costs a lot of money?
Well, in today’s News Flash, we’ll teach you a new phrase: "worth a mint".
Stay tuned for those stories!
________________________________
台灣特產芒果鳳梨首次亮相紐西蘭
Taiwan's special pineapples make their debut in New Zealand
Did you know Taiwan has over 90 different kinds of pineapples?
In fact, Taiwan has more pineapples than many other places in the world!
One of them stands out [脫穎而出], because it is even sweeter than other types of pineapple.
It smells like a mango... and even becomes a little bit orange when it is ripe.
Farmers call it the "mango pineapple".
The mango pineapple isn't the result of mixing mango and pineapple together.
芒果鳳梨並不是芒果和鳳梨混合在一起的農產品。
It actually comes from two different types of pineapple.
Those two pineapple parents are the Tainung Number 19 [台農19號] and the Tainung Number 21.
Together, they became parents to Tainung no. 23.
That's the mango pineapple, which was developed by the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute [台灣農業研究所] after 24 years of work.
The mango pineapple is special because it is much, much sweeter than most types of pineapple.
It also doesn't have any fiber [纖維].
Taiwan was introduced to the mango pineapple in 2020.
And now Taiwan has introduced the mango pineapple to New Zealand.
The fruit made its debut [首次亮相] in New Zealand in May – just a few weeks ago.
Sending fruit to a country so far away isn't very easy.
Farmers, importers, and shipping companies [農民、進口商和航運公司] have to work together to make sure the pineapples don't have any bugs [蟲蟲], and arrive in New Zealand the same way they left Taiwan.
That way they can be enjoyed by pineapple lovers on the other side of the world.
Mango pineapples aren't the only kind of pineapples which Taiwan farmers are sending to the other side of the world.
Farmers are exporting [出口] diamond pineapples.
These are known as the Tainung no. 17.
Hopefully, the mango pineapple will be as popular as its older cousin.
________________________________
非常昂貴的哈密瓜
A very expensive cantaloupe
Cantaloupes [哈密瓜] are a very popular summer time fruit.
Their orange-coloured flesh – or ‘pulp’ (果肉) – is sweet and juicy.
They are the perfect treat when it’s super hot outside.
And even though cantaloupes might look the same, you can find at least forty different kinds of cantaloupe around the world!
Cantaloupe in Taiwan can be an inexpensive fruit.
在台灣，有價格便宜的哈密瓜，也有比較貴的。
You can probably find cantaloupe for between 80 to 250 NT per kilogram.
But some cantaloupes might even cost 1,000 NT a piece.
When it comes to price, nothing here in Taiwan can compare with Japan’s Yubari melon [夕張哈密瓜].
The Yubari melon looks like a cantaloupe... but it isn't quite the same, because the Yubari can only be found in Hokkaido, Japan [日本北海道].
Melon fans describe the Yubari as being very sweet, fragrant and enticing [誘人的].
This Japanese melon is like no other [與眾不同], because the people that grow the Yubari get to say what makes the perfect fruit.
Yubari melons must weigh between 1.0 and 2.5 kg and be slightly oval in shape.
The Yubari King melon must also have a net-like pattern on its skin (外皮上要有網狀花紋).
Because they are highly prized by people who love them, Yubari melons are also very expensive.
Good melons can cost from 35 to 50 U.S. dollars per melon.
That’s about 1,100 NT to almost 1,600 NT.
The best melons can cost even more than 350 U.S. dollars!
But nothing can beat the Yubari melons that were sold at auction...
Someone paid 5.8 million Japanese Yen.
That's more than 36,000 U.S. dollars – or 1.1 million NT!
The melons went on display at a supermarket in western Tokyo, so fans could visit the fruit and taste samples.
No matter how yummy they are, 5.8 million yen sounds like a lot to pay for these melons.
How much would YOU pay for a melon?
________________________________
So in today’s News Bites…
Taiwan was introduced to the mango pineapple in 2020.
And now Taiwan has introduced the mango pineapple to New Zealand.
The fruit made its debut in New Zealand in May – just a few weeks ago.
That way they can be enjoyed by pineapple lovers on the other side of the world.
________________________________
And…
The Japanese Yubari melon is like no other, because the people that grow the Yubari get to say what makes the perfect fruit.
It’s so special, someone paid 5.8 million Japanese Yen for one.
That's more than 36,000 U.S. dollars or 1.1 million NT.
The melons went on display at a supermarket in western Tokyo, so fans could visit the fruit and taste samples.
________________________________
In today's News Flash...
The phrase of the day is "worth a mint".
What does that mean?
When something is super, super expensive ... you can say it’s "worth a mint!"
Why is that? Well, "mint" here isn't a kind of candy.
You might be thinking of mint candy – or “薄荷糖”!
But no! Mint is a place where money is literally printed or made.
In Taiwan, this place is called the Central Mint [中央造幣廠] and it is located in Taoyuan City.
Ah, that reminds me ...
The word "mint" also appears in the expression "mint condition".
If something is in mint condition, it is almost like new, with no flaws or damage (幾乎像新的一樣，沒有任何瑕疵).
________________________________
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!
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