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…

New high speed trains, the stuff that powers our batteries, and making life-saving organs.

All that and more, coming up next!

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台灣購買日本高鐵N700S型列車

Taiwan to Buy Japanese High Speed Trains

The Taiwan High Speed Rail started running in 2007.

And the HSR has changed the way people travel.

Now, after 15 years of operation, the Taiwan High Speed Rail says it is getting new trains.

The company has signed a contract with an alliance (聯盟) that is formed by Hitachi and Toshiba.

The company is buying 12 N700S bullet trains from Japan.

台灣高鐵準備採購12組台灣高鐵新世代列車。

The N700S have 12 carriages (車廂) for each train.

It has a top speed of 365 kilometers per hour.

They are lighter, and use less energy.

台灣高鐵新世代列車具有輕量化、高性能、節能、舒適等優點。

The new trains will be ready to run as early as 2027.

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鈷礦工作環境急需改善

"Modern-day Slavery" and the Rechargeable Battery

Batteries are very important in the modern world.

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (鋰電池) are especially important.

They power many electronics that we use every day.

Most smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles use these batteries.

But making lithium-ion batteries is not easy.

Cobalt (鈷) is used to make these batteries.

Cobalt is collected through mining.

The country with the most cobalt is the Democratic Republic of Congo (剛果民主共和國, DRC).

In fact, the DRC has more cobalt than the rest of the world combined (合併).

Last year, 70 percent of the world's cobalt came from the DRC.

And cobalt is in demand (有高度需求) all over the world.

鈷是鋰電池的重要原料。

In the DRC, a lot of cobalt mining is done by "artisanal (手工)" miners.

These miners use their hands and simple tools to get the cobalt.

And they do this for very little money.

These miners do this work because they don't have other work opportunities (工作機會).

For many, this is the only way to make money.

Many people have been pushing the DRC government to make this work better and safer.

The government has started to assign (分配) pieces of land for cobalt mining.

And many companies are starting to use better tools and equipment.

They are also training their miners.

Due to huge demand for lithium-ion batteries, cobalt mining will be important for a long time yet.

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進入不需要器官移植的時代

A Future without Organ Transplants

Organ transplants help save lives.

科學的進步也幫助了許多的病人。

A lot of people around the world need organ transplants.

But there are usually less people willing to donate (捐贈).

And some organs can only be donated after a person has died.

Now, we may be close to no longer needing organ transplants.

Scientists may be able to MAKE organs soon.

They say stem cell technology has proven to be promising (有希望的).

Studies show it is possible to grow organs in a lab with stem cells.

Another technique, called 3D bioprinting (生物列印), can also be used to make artificial organs.

So far, scientists have successfully printed several organs.

They have made a thyroid gland (甲狀腺) and tibia (脛骨) replacement.

They are not sure when they will be able to make an organ that fully works.

But the scientists believe they can do it in the next decade.

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So, in today's News Bites:

The Taiwan High Speed Rail says it is getting new trains.

The company has signed a contract with an alliance that is formed by Hitachi and Toshiba.

The company is buying 12 N700S bullet trains from Japan.

________________________________

Cobalt is used to make lithium-ion batteries.

Most of the cobalt we use is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Many people have been pushing the DRC government to make this work better and safer.

________________________________

And,

Scientists may be able to MAKE organs soon.

They say stem cell technology have proven to be promising.

Another technique, called 3D bioprinting can also be used to make artificial organs.

________________________________

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