Hello everybody, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Ryan Drillsma…

And I'm Nancy Sun.

In today's news:

Batik Day in Taiwan, a clown shortage in Northern Ireland, and record-breaking music sales in the UK.

All that and more, coming up next.

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印尼在台的蠟防染布日

Batik Day Celebrated in Taiwan

Colorful costumes, happy music, dancing, and art… it must be Batik Day!

Well, Batik Day was on October 2nd, and it was celebrated (慶祝) in Taipei on October 3rd.

If you are Indonesian (印尼人), you will know what Batik is.

If not, don't worry, we'll tell you!

Batik (蠟染) is a special technique (技術) used to dye cloth.

People put hot wax on cloth in lines, dots and patterns. The wax dries and it covers parts of the cloth to make a pattern.

The cloth is then dyed - or colored with ink - and made into clothing, art, or other things.

蠟防印花是印尼傳統染布的技術。 先把熱蠟滴到布上，再放入彩色水墨。

Batik is a very important, traditional technique in Indonesia, and people believe it has been used for hundreds of years.

And there are many Indonesian people living in Taiwan.

The Batik Day celebrations in Taipei featured a runway (伸展台), where models (模特兒) walked up and down to show off shirts, dresses, and other pieces of clothing with Batik designs.

And as well as Batik clothing, dancers wore gold jewelry and head pieces to put on a show to traditional Indonesian music.

And there were choirs!

Choirs are groups of people singing together.

A manager of the event said she thinks it is important to raise awareness (提高意識) about Indonesian Batik, and share the culture with everyone.

And an Indonesian representative encouraged people everywhere to wear Batik clothing.

Perhaps you can find some and try it on!

印尼在台灣的代表鼓勵大家試穿傳統蠟防染布的衣服，也許你可以找幾件來試試看!

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北愛爾蘭缺乏小丑

Irish Circus Holds Online Auditions among Clown Shortage

There's a clown shortage (短缺) in Northern Ireland.

That's no joke!

A circus (馬戲團) owner in the UK territory said his circus does not have enough clowns.

That's because many were from foreign countries and went home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, Duffy's Circus needs more people to fill their big shoes.

Duffy's Circus has been closed for over 500 days because of the pandemic.

But rules in Northern Ireland are changing. And the circus will be able to open again.

However, many of its clowns and other performers (表演者) went to other countries.

They were able to get work in other countries because the COVID situation has been less serious.

Duffy's Circus原本的表演者因為疫情的關係去別的國家找工作機會。

So now Duffy's Circus is trying to recruit (招募) people at home who think they might make a good clown!

But what does make a good clown?

Of course, you have to wear white face paint, colorful clothes, and a big red nose.

But more importantly you have to laugh… at yourself!

One clown said in an interview (採訪) that being a clown isn't about making jokes about other people.

It's about making fun of - or laughing at - yourself.

So you can't be embarrassed (不好意思) about people laughing at you.

And the owner of Duffy's Circus said you have to be ready to give a great show, no matter what mood you are in.

Plus, you have to think on your feet - that means things might happen by surprise, and you have to think in the moment about how you will respond (反應).

Duffy's Circus is holding auditions (面試、試鏡) for new clowns online.

Do you think you might have what it takes?

要當個好的小丑需要能夠笑自己，而且需要思維靈敏、反應快速。Duffy's Circus已經開始透過網路招募新的小丑，你覺得你能勝任嗎？

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ABBA樂團新專輯破英國預購紀錄

ABBA Breaks UK Preorder Record

A classic pop group is coming back with a bang.

ABBA is getting ready to release their first new album in nearly four decades.

Called Voyage, it will come out in early November.

The album has already broken preorder (預購) records in the United Kingdom.

過了將近四十年，ABBA樂團將發行新的轉機。

Over 80 thousand British customers pre-ordered Voyage in the first three days it was available.

That's the highest number ever for their record label (唱片公司) in the country.

Aside from the new album, ABBA is also working on a new concert.

They will perform virtually in London next May.

新專輯在英國三天內被預購八萬次，破了紀錄。

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So, in today's News Bites:

There were celebrations for Batik Day in Taiwan.

Batik is a special Indonesian technique used to dye cloth.

The event featured colorful costumes, happy music, dancing and art.

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And,

There's a clown shortage in Northern Ireland.

Duffy's Circus is trying to recruit people at home who think they might make a good clown!

A good clown has to think on their feet.

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And,

A classic pop group is coming back with a bang.

ABBA is getting ready to release their first new album in nearly four decades.

The album has already broken preorder records in the United Kingdom.

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And that's today's episode of News Bites!