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

I'm Nancy Sun.

And I'm Jake Ingram.

Today's stories…

Furever homes for senior pets, and cancer-fighting soap.

And…

Knowing your numbers and spelling is important, especially if you want to test out today's Tasty Tidbit! Make sure to stay tuned!

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新北助年長動物找到永遠的家

New Taipei Helps Senior Pets Find Homes

New Taipei is helping older animals find their forever homes.

The city will give special care to senior animals after they are adopted.

The special care is available when someone adopts a dog or cat over 10 years old.

Their new senior pet will get free health checks (健康檢查).

They will also get free vaccinations and heartworm medicine every year.

And they will also get enough pet food to last a year!

在新北市認養10歲以上的高齡犬貓或需要長期照護犬貓，就有終身免費醫療諮詢、健康檢查、每年免費疫苗及心絲蟲藥，還有加碼提供1年份的飼料。

The city says it can be hard for older animals to find a home.

Some of the older animals in shelters wait for years to find a family.

Some people like younger pets because they may have them for a longer time.

動保處說很多人喜歡認養可愛活潑的小狗小貓，而年邁的貓犬被認養的機會非常少。

And some people worry that older pets can have more health problems.

Those health problems could also cost a lot of money.

So New Taipei wants to take care of some of those problems.

Older animals may actually be a better choice for some families.

Many older dogs and cats are calmer.

They are more mature, and a bit less energetic than puppies or kittens.

Some might even be trained (受過訓練), because they've been part of other families before.

And older animals still have lots of love to give!

They can bring a lot of joy into a home.

New Taipei officials say people who are interested in adopting a senior furry friend can visit one of eight public shelters in the city.

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美國少年發明抗癌肥皂

Student Invents Cancer-Fighting Soap

Cancer is a serious disease that affects people around the world.

In fact, cancer has been the top cause of death in Taiwan for more than 40 years.

Scientists around the world are working hard to find ways to stop the disease.

But now, one teenager may have a solution (解決方案).

Heman Bekele is 14 years old.

He now lives in the U.S.

But when he was young, he lived in Ethiopia.

He remembers seeing people working all day under the hot sun.

And after he moved to the United States, and became a high school student, he learned about the dangers of skin cancer.

Heman wanted to invent something to help the body fight off cancer.

小時候，Heman生活在非洲的衣索比亞，他看到人們整天在烈日下工作，長大後決定將研究重點放在皮膚癌上。

He started working in his family kitchen and basement.

He came up with a special soap.

The soap has chemicals that help white blood cells (白血球) in the body fight infection.

It helps the white blood cells attack cancer cells.

Tests on mice showed that using the soap helps kill cancer cells.

The soap also made tumors (腫瘤) smaller, helping the mice live longer.

Heman also wanted to make sure everyone could use this soap.

He knew that getting medical care for skin cancer can be very expensive.

When he heard that treating skin cancer can cost around $40,000 US dollars, he was shocked.

Heman's soap costs around $10 US dollars each.

The soap also comes in a box that is biodegradable.

The young scientist says some of the people who use this soap may not have access to recycling.

The soap still has to go through more testing.

But Heman hopes that soon, the soap can help as many people as possible.

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So, in today's News Bites…

New Taipei is helping older animals find their forever homes.

Newly adopted senior pets will get free health checks.

They will also get free vaccinations and heartworm medicine every year.

And they will also get enough pet food to last a year!

New Taipei officials say people who are interested in adopting a senior furry friend can visit one of eight public shelters in the city.

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And,

A teen scientist has come up with a special soap that fights cancer.

Heman Bekele's soap has chemicals that help white blood cells attack cancer cells.

Tests on mice showed that using the soap helps kill cancer cells.

The soap also made tumors smaller, helping the mice live longer.

Heman's soap costs around $10 US dollars each.

The young scientist hopes that soon, the soap can help as many people as possible.

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趣味小點

Tasty Tidbit

Here's a Tasty Tidbit to test your spelling skills. Did you know that no number in English before "one thousand" contains the letter "A"?

There's lots of E's, I's, O's, U's, and Y's, but NO A's!

Go ahead, start spelling. We'll wait…

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…

If you have a fun fact or a 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!

Tune in again next time for an all new episode of News Bites!