作者：(Mike)

配音，編輯：(Nancy)

第二配音員：(Paz)

Hi there, it's time for a new episode of News Bites…

I'm Nancy Sun…

And I'm Paz Bueno.

In today's episode…

Staying safe while camping, enjoying the sound of birds, and facial recognition for rats.

All that and more, coming up next!

________________________________

台灣90%的私人營地不合法

Going Camping? Taiwan Campsites and Safety

Do you like to go camping?

You can stay in a tent, and gather (聚集) around the campfire.

You can also enjoy dinner and play games.

Camping has always been a popular activity for people of all ages.

And camping gear is becoming more convenient (方便).

Tents and equipment are becoming more portable (方便攜帶) and easier to set up.

There are tents now that even open up like an umbrella!

There are thousands of campsites around Taiwan.

Most of them are private.

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (交通部) recorded 1,790 private campsites last December.

But only 191 are operating legally with a proper permit.

Last December, a landslide (土石流) at an unlicensed campsite in Malaysia claimed more than 20 lives.

After this, Taiwan officials checked the safety of all the campsites in Taiwan.

The MOTC is now helping local governments check campsites regularly.

They hope that all illegal campsites will be closed or brought up to the safety standards before the end of June 2023.

露營之前，記得檢查營地是否有主管單位的合格標識。

________________________________

英國調查發現鳥鳴聲能提升心理健康

Birdsong Helps Improve Mental Wellbeing

Do you ever sit in the park and watch the birds?

Or walk in nature listening to the birds singing?

Some people set up bird feeders (餵食器) or bird houses in their yards and balconies.

There are even people who take up bird watching (賞鳥) as a hobby.

Why are people attracted to birds?

There might be a scientific reason behind this.

Researchers have discovered that seeing or hearing birds improves mental wellbeing for most people.

A study recorded how participants (參與者) were feeling when they see or hear different things.

And their mental wellbeing (心理健康) scores went up when they saw or heard birds.

It also helped people who were diagnosed (診斷) with depression (憂鬱症).

Therefore, if you're feeling down, take a walk.

Open your eyes and ears to search for our little feathered friends.

他們或許能使你的心情愉快一點。

________________________________

害蟲防治專家使用臉部辨識軟體滅鼠

Facial Recognition Helps Control Pests

If you need to scan your face to unlock your smartphone, then you know about facial recognition.

It's also often seen in TV shows and movies.

In those stories, the CIA or FBI use it to identify villains (壞人) from video footage (片段).

Now, it has been used in a surprising way… for pest control.

A pest-control group has developed a software to help track rats.

The software is not only able to recognize the rats, but also record their behavior (行為).

According to the group, each rat is different.

They each have their own habits (習慣).

And they each act in different ways.

Facial recognition software can identify which rat came back, where they are eating, which path it took and much more.

The data is then sent back to the "Central Command Center" for analysis (分析).

The AI can then help decide where and how to hunt the rats.

The technology is now on trial in customers' houses to test the results.

The company hopes it will make pest control more effective.

應該很少人想得到臉部辨識軟體能用來消滅老鼠。

________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications recorded 1,790 private campsites last December.

But only 191 are operating legally with a proper permit.

The MOTC is now helping local governments check campsites regularly.

They hope that all illegal campsites will be closed or brought up to the safety standards before the end of June 2023.

________________________________

Researchers have discovered that seeing or hearing birds improves mental wellbeing for most people.

A study recorded how participants were feeling when they see or hear different things.

And their mental wellbeing scores went up when they saw or heard birds.

It also helped people who were diagnosed with depression.

________________________________

And,

A pest-control group developed a software to help track rats.

The software is not only able to recognize the rats, but also record their behavior.

The AI can then help decide where and how to hunt the rats.

________________________________

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