In today's news, with Paz and Nancy:

Discover the meaning of Taipei Zoo's emblem, learn about a new U.S. law, and celebrate Artemis 1's success!

Stay tuned to learn more about these stories, coming up next!

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北市動物園解密 梅花鹿徽章

The Meaning Behind Taipei Zoo's Sika Deer Emblem

The Taipei Zoo is one of the largest zoos in Asia.

If you've visited the zoo in person, or checked out their website, you may have noticed their emblem (徽章，標誌).

It's the head of a Formosan sika deer (台灣梅花鹿).

But…why did they choose to use this animal as their emblem?

The Formosan sika deer is endemic (特有物種) to Taiwan.

During the European colonial period (歐洲殖民時期), the deer were hunted (獵殺).

In 1969, the last wild sika deer was killed.

Fortunately, there were many deer in captivity (圈養), including in the Taipei Zoo.

In 1984, Taiwan's government started the Sika Deer Reintroduction Project (社頂梅花鹿復育區).

The Taipei Zoo transferred (搬遷) 22 deer to Kenting National Park.

For ten years, the Taipei Zoo worked together with the government, taking care of the deer.

They have been released (放生) into the national park since 1994.

Now, there are around 1,000 wild deer!

Because the Taipei Zoo wants to protect all animals, they chose the Formosan sika deer as their emblem.

It's the symbol of successful conservation, and it marks the first time a zoo successfully restored an animal in Taiwan.

梅花鹿是保育成功的象徵，也是台灣第一次有動物園成功復育動物。

The zoo says it not only takes care of animals, but also works to help ecological conservation (生態保育) of species in nature.

Just like what they did for the Formosan sika deer!

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美國新法保護同性婚姻

New U.S. Law Protects Same-Sex Marriage

Equality means treating all people with respect, no matter their race, gender, or sexuality.

平等的意思是尊重所有人，無論他們的種族、性別或性取向。

It's a sign of social progress (社會進步).

This month, US President Joe Biden showed that the United States is making progress.

He signed a new law called the "Respect for Marriage Act".

The new law says the U.S. government must recognize (承認) all marriage.

That includes marriages between two men or two women, or between two people of different races (種族).

Ideas about homosexuality (同性戀) have changed a lot in recent decades.

Just 26 years ago, US law defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

26 年前，美國法律將婚姻定義為一男一女的結合。

More and more people started to support (支持) same-sex marriage.

But some states still had their own laws banning (禁止) same-sex marriage.

The old law from 26 years ago allowed them to refuse to recognize same-sex couples if they got married in another state.

26年前的舊法律允許一些州拒絕承認在另一個州結婚的同性伴侶。

So, the "Respect for Marriage Act" was passed (獲得通過).

Mr. Biden says the new law helps protect the right of Americans to marry the person they love.

It's a big step forward for equality!

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美國太空總署阿提米絲1號登月任務成功

NASA Artemis 1 Moon Mission a Success

You might remember we talked about Artemis 1 back on our November 21st News Bites episode.

NASA's Artemis mission goal is to bring people to the moon.

Last month, NASA's Artemis 1 spacecraft took off, using the world's most powerful rocket.

上個月，太空總署的阿提米絲1號太空船升空，使用了世界最強大的火箭。

The launch (發射) was a practice flight with no people on board.

And it successfully returned to Earth this month!

During the month-long mission, Artemis 1 flew around the moon twice.

It traveled the farthest distance a capsule designed to carry humans has ever traveled from our planet.

這艘太空船的飛行距離，是所有可以載人的太空船中 距離最遠的。

Even though there were no humans aboard, the spacecraft did have a few passengers.

雖然這次任務沒有真的載人，但確實有幾個乘客。

There were three mannequins made of materials that mimic human bodies.

他們是三個人體模型，用模仿人體的材料製成的。

That can help NASA design better spacesuits (太空裝).

And Snoopy (史努比) and Shaun the Sheep (小羊肖恩) toys were also part of the crew.

The toys would float around (漂浮) when the spacecraft reached microgravity (微重力).

Artemis 1's successful return means NASA can study the practice flight, and use the information for the next flight.

In 2024, Artemis 2 will carry six astronauts (太空人) on an eight-day trip around the moon.

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So, in today's News Bites:

The Taipei Zoo's emblem is the Formosan sika deer, because it's a symbol of successful conservation.

The zoo says it not only takes care of animals, but also works to help ecological conservation of species in nature.

Just like what they did for the Formosan sika deer!

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U.S. President Joe Biden signed a new law called the "Respect for Marriage Act".

The new law says the U.S. government must recognize all marriages, including same-sex marriages.

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And,

NASA's Artemis 1 successfully returned to Earth this month.

Artemis 1's return means NASA can study the practice flight, and use the information for the next flight.

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