In today's news, with Nancy and Paz:

Taiwan hotels need more workers, Italy tests Chinese travelers, and boredom can be a good thing.

Stay tuned and we'll tell you more about these stories, coming up next!

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台灣飯店人力短缺

Taiwan Hotels Need Workers

The COVID-19 pandemic has made life difficult for many.

The tourism industry (產業) has also been struggling.

Many people who work in tourism-related companies have lost their jobs.

But now, many countries are opening their borders again.

And more people are traveling again.

Now there is a new problem.

There is a major labor shortage (短缺).

This means there aren't enough workers to do all the work.

This shortage of manpower is so serious that even a manager of a luxury hotel has said he has to help with housekeeping (整理飯店房間).

Another hotel had to reject reservations for thousands of tables because they didn't have enough workers.

Industry analysts (產業分析師) believe that the job market has changed in big way.

Many look for jobs in the tech sector, because of its stability despite the pandemic.

A hotel manager even said young people are finding food delivery jobs or jobs as internet influencers (網紅).

They are afraid that if another wave of the pandemic strikes, they would lose their jobs.

Some hotels are raising pay, to try to attract workers.

This may not completely solve the problem.

但對於想找短期打工機會的人來說，這或許是個不錯的機會。

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義大利將篩檢大陸旅客

Italy Testing Travelers from China for COVID-19

China has changed its zero-COVID policy.

Since then, Chinese travelers have been taking trips to other countries.

Authorities in Milan, Italy said half of the passengers on two flights from China tested positive (陽性).

As a result, Italy will begin testing all arrivals from China for COVID-19.

And they hope that other European countries will do the same.

However, not all EU countries are responding to Italy's request.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention Control (ECDC) considered the test "unjustified" (不正當).

ECDC said that the BF.7 omicron variant (變種) that was hitting China hard was already in Europe.

Therefore, it is not a significant (重大) threat to the EU.

According to the World Health Organization, over 80% of the people in Western Europe have been vaccinated.

This might be one of the reasons that some European countries are not making the test mandatory (強制).

No matter what policies other countries are implementing…

Wearing a mask still seems to be a good way to protect yourself from COVID-19.

戴口罩還是一個很重要的保護措施。

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覺得無聊也可以是好事

Boredom Can Be a Good Thing

What do you do when you feel bored?

Most would take out their phones to play a game, watch a video or surf their social media.

This is an era when people hate to get bored.

But what if being bored is actually a good thing?

According to a new study, the distraction (分心) of social media could be stopping our minds from getting to a deeper, more complete feeling of boredom.

Researchers say that complete boredom can help us be more innovative (創新).

We sometimes get bored when we're waiting for something.

But this boredom is only superficial (淺層).

We stop being bored like this if we turn to our cell phone.

This means we never get into deep boredom.

Researchers studied the lives of people who were in lockdown during the pandemic.

Some of those who experienced deep boredom had feelings of restlessness (煩躁) and emptiness (空虛).

But many others discovered things they loved to do, like carpentry, baking, and so on.

The researchers came to the conclusion that not being deeply bored might be stopping us from finding more meaningful things.

Next time you feel bored, don't be so quick to pick up your phone.

下次無聊的時候，先不要馬上把手機拿出來。

Who knows? Maybe you can discover a new passion, or come up with a great idea.

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So, in today's News Bites:

There is a major labor shortage for hotels.

This means there aren't enough workers to do all the work.

Industry analysts believe COVID-19 has changed the job market in big way.

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Italy will begin testing all arrivals from China for COVID-19.

And they hope that other European countries will do the same.

But not all EU countries are responding to Italy's request.

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And,

Researchers say that complete boredom can help us be more innovative.

Not being deeply bored might be stopping us from finding more meaningful things.

Next time you feel bored, don't be so quick to pick up your phone.

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