Hi there. Welcome to an all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Nancy Sun.

And I'm Hope Ngo.

In today's news,

Facing an earthquake, waiting in Paris, and the fluffy stuff.

Stay tuned for those stories, coming up next.

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台灣努力從重大地震中恢復

Taiwan Working to Recover from Major Earthquake

What were you doing on April 3rd, at 7:58am?

Were you on your way to school?

Or were you still in bed?

Whatever you were doing, wherever you were, it's now one of those moments that we will remember for a long time.

That day, at that moment, a major earthquake struck.

The magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook the ground for some time.

The Central Weather Administration (中央氣象署) says the center of the quake was in Hualien County.

So that's where the shaking probably felt the strongest.

Two buildings in Hualien were very badly damaged (受損).

And the rest of the island felt a lot of strong shaking too.

Many people were on their way to work or school.

Trains and cars stopped.

Everyone tried to hold on and stay safe.

It was the biggest earthquake in Taiwan since 1999.

There were people hurt or killed, and many were missing.

Hundreds of people also needed to be rescued.

And through all that, the island continued to shake with aftershocks (餘震).

The CWA has recorded hundreds of aftershocks since the first magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit last week.

The CWA says the number of daily aftershocks is going down.

氣象署說目前還是有餘震，不過頻率會慢慢減少，但無法預測什麼時候會完全停止。

And Taiwan is now working hard to recover (復原).

After the quake, people started trying to help.

The government opened an account for donations (捐款).

The account has over $300 million NT (3億) in donated funds.

A rescue team from Turkey (土耳其) is in Taiwan to help look for missing people.

There are still many challenges up ahead.

But everyone is working together and trying to help.

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巴黎舉辦服務生賽跑

Get Ready, Get Set, Wait! Paris Holds Race for Waiters

Most of the time, a race is all about being fast.

But to win this race…

You need to wait!

Paris recently held a very special race.

It's the "Course des Cafes", or the Paris Waiters Race.

It's a race for Paris' waiters (服務生)!

More than 200 waiters took part in the race through the center of the French city.

These servers wore their uniforms, with white shirts, and black pants.

They also wore aprons (圍裙), and some wore bow ties.

They all carried a tray with a croissant, a full glass of water, and an empty coffee cup.

The race is almost 2 kilometers long.

It starts and ends at Paris City Hall.

And all these expert waiters had to get to the finish line as quickly as possible.

But they couldn't run, couldn't spill any water, and they couldn't use two hands to carry their tray!

法國巴黎舉辦「咖啡廳賽跑」，服務生端著放有水、咖啡杯和可頌的托盤在市中心競走2公里。

Judges stood at the finish line.

They checked each server's tray.

And the servers lost points for water outside the glass, and for broken dishes.

So how fast can these waiters go?

The men's winner finished the race in 13 minutes and 30 seconds.

The women's winner finished in 14 minutes and 12 seconds.

They each got a medal, and got to stay one night in a luxurious hotel (豪華的飯店).

They also got two tickets to the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics this summer.

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So in today's News Bites,

On April 3rd, at 7:58am, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook Taiwan.

It was the biggest earthquake in Taiwan since 1999.

There were people hurt or killed, and many were missing.

There are still many challenges up ahead.

But everyone is working together and trying to help.

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And,

Paris recently held the Paris Waiters Race.

More than 200 waiters raced through the center of the French city, wearing uniforms and balancing trays.

The winners each got a medal and a one-night stay at a luxurious hotel.

They also got two tickets to the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics this summer.

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趣味小點

Tasty Tidbit

And in today's Tasty Tidbit,

Have you ever looked up at a fluffy white cloud and imagined bouncing on it?

Well, clouds are actually made up of tiny drops of water or ice crystals, floating high up in the sky.

They bump together and stick, making those big puffy shapes we see.

But don't really try to jump on one, this fluffy stuff won't hold your weight!

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

If you have a fun fact or joke you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [email protected], and you might hear it at the end of an episode.

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!