Hi there, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Nancy Sun…

And I'm Paz Bueno.

In today's news:

Numbers worth a lot of money, meat NOT from a farm, and a Swift with hundreds of legs.

All that and more, coming up next.

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車牌號碼也可以有特殊意義?

Special License Plates Sell for Top Dollar

Sometimes, some numbers together can have a special meaning.

And sometimes, that's worth a lot of money.

Last month, some special license plate numbers (車牌號碼) sold for a lot of money.

License plates are the signs on the back of cars.

In Taiwan, license plates have three letters, and four numbers.

Usually, people cannot choose license plate numbers.

But the government lets people try to buy some special license plate numbers.

Some people think these numbers are fun, or will give them good luck.

"8888" is the most popular, because it sounds like "get rich" (發) in Mandarin.

In fact, the government says BQQ-8888 was sold for $300,000 NT last month.

Some people also like "6" because it sounds like "things going smoothly".

And "520" is popular too, because it sounds like "I love you" in Mandarin.

The license plate number BMW-0520 was sold for $110,000 NT in February.

And the three letters on the license place are important too.

"VVV" is one of the most popular combinations (組合).

In some countries around the world "V" can mean victory.

有些人也覺得前面的英文字母可以有特殊意義，像是用三個V開頭，象徵「勝利」。

Back in 2019, the license plate number "VVV-8888" sold for $881,000 NT.

But another license plate sold for even more money.

In 2011, "88-8888" sold for $3,589,000 NT!

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去外太空種肉

Growing Meat in Space

Scientists have been growing plants in space for many years.

And now, they want to try to "grow" meat!

New tests to try to grow meat in space started last month.

Astronauts flew up to the International Space Station.

They took a small box with them.

Inside the box, were animal cells (動物細胞).

The plan is to give those cells nutrients (養分) they need to grow.

Then, these cells grow and make more cells, until they become muscle (肌肉).

And this becomes meat that we can eat.

動物的細胞得到需要的養分後開始繁殖增加，形成肌肉組織，最終成為可以吃的肉。

Some people are excited about this way of "growing" meat.

They think it means we won't have to hurt animals to get meat anymore.

And they think we won't have to use so much water and electricity to raise (養) these animals.

Some scientists also think "growing" meat will help people live on other planets (星球) in the future.

But for now, they will first try to grow the meat on the International Space Station.

The scientists aren't sure if the meat will grow the same way in space.

Many things like light, air and gravity (地心引力) are different from on Earth.

And some other problems have to be worked out (解決) too.

But if these problems can be solved, "growing" meat might lead to a big change for everyone!

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名為泰勒絲的馬陸

Millipede Named After Taylor Swift

American singer Taylor Swift has won many awards.

But she's never had an honor (榮譽) like this.

A scientist has found a new species of millipede (馬陸).

And he's named it after Taylor.

The Nannaria swiftae, or Swift twisted-claw millipede was found in the U.S. state of Tennessee.

It is brown, with reddish spots on the sides.

The scientist that found this millipede says he is a Swiftie.

That's what some Taylor Swift fans call themselves.

Taylor's music helped him get through hard times.

And he wants to thank her, by naming the millipede after her.

這位科學家說泰勒絲的音樂幫助他度過了生活中的低谷，想感謝她。

The scientist says he hopes she is happy about this.

He also points out that millipedes are very important for the environment.

They eat dead plants, and help make the soil better for living plants.

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So, in today's News Bites:

Last month, some special license plate numbers sold for a lot of money.

"BQQ-8888" was sold for $300,000 NT last month.

And in 2011, the license plate number "88-8888" sold for $3,589,000 NT!

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Scientists are trying to "grow" meat in space.

They will try to grow the meat from animal cells on the International Space Station.

Some scientists think "growing" meat will help people live on other planets in the future.

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And,

A scientist found a new species of millipede, and named it after American singer Taylor Swift.

The Nannaria swiftae, or Swift twisted-claw millipede was found in the U.S. state of Tennessee.

The scientist that found this millipede says he is a Swiftie.

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