Hey there, and welcome to News Bites!

I'm Trevor Tortomasi.

And I'm Paz Bueno.

In today's news:

The gadget that keeps Taipei 101 steady, something coral reefs and older people have in common, and why the name "Josh" caused a fight.

Stay tuned for those stories, coming up next!

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保持台北101穩固的關鍵裝置

The Gadget that Keeps Taipei 101 Steady

Now that typhoon season is just around the corner (即將到來), and earthquakes (地震) can come at any time, we want to talk to you about the gadget (裝置) that keeps Taipei 101 under control.

The gadget is called a "wind damper" (阻尼器), and it hangs inside the Taipei 101, very close to the top!

The damper is a giant golden ball, which helps to keep the building from swaying (搖晃) too much.

The giant ball is 5.5 meters in diameter (直徑5.5公尺), and weighs 660 tons (660公噸).

It can be found between the 92nd and the 87th floor of the very tall skyscraper.

The damper was made by welding (焊接) 41 steel plates (鋼板) together.

And it cost more than 100 million NT to build!

Most tall buildings don't need dampers, because they don't sway back and forth all the time.

But the Taipei 101 is different.

Because it is so tall, it sways more than a normal building does.

它太高了，所以搖晃得比一般的高樓建築更劇烈。

The damper helps Taipei 101 from swaying and moving in the wind, and it keeps the people working inside the building from getting hurt, or feeling sick.

The damper was put to good use (發揮效用) in 2013, when Typhoon Soulik hit Taiwan.

During the typhoon, the winds blew at 157 kilometers an hour, and the damper moved 70 centimeters back and forth.

That's the most the damper has ever moved from the wind.

And when an earthquake struck Hualien in 2019, the damper moved 20 centimeters.

Let's hope no records get broken this year (今年不要再創新高)!

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住在珊瑚礁的魚跟老人的相似之處

Animals Living in Coral Reefs and Older People Have This in Common

If you live with older relatives, you probably know that they don't like having too much noise around them.

Hearing experts say that's because when people get older, they become more sensitive (敏感) to very loud sounds.

It turns out that older relatives are not the only ones who don't like loud noises.

Marine scientists (海洋生物學家) say the animals who live in coral reefs (珊瑚礁) don't like them either.

The scientists studied one kind of fish to see how many eggs the fish laid, how many baby fish came from those eggs, and how the baby fish were growing.

科學家研究了一種魚的產卵數量、成功孵化的數量，以及幼魚的成長狀況。

Scientists said that in places where it was quiet, 65 percent of nests (巢穴) still had baby fish.

But in places where it was noisy, scientists said only 40 percent of nests had baby fish.

Scientists say noise can affect the amount of oxygen (氧氣) that a fish can get.

Noise can also make fish feel more stressed out (充滿壓力).

Coral reefs are not quiet places.

In fact, they can make a lot of noise.

If you put a snapping shrimp (槍蝦) next to your ear, its sound could be louder than the noises made by a jet plane.

But these are not the kind of noise we are talking about.

Most of the noise that can be heard in the water today is caused by boats with engines (引擎).

These engines sound much louder to fish in the water, so even boats which are far away will sound like they are closer than they really are.

Scientists are very happy to know that something like noise control can be important in helping areas rebuild damaged coral reefs (重建受損的珊瑚礁).

And scientists are hoping that quieter coral reefs will make it easier for fish to grow.

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Josh這個名字引發大戰

Why the Name "Josh" Caused a Fight

It seems there are many people in America who are named "Josh".

There are so many Joshes, in fact, that one person used social media (社群媒體) to send out a challenge (挑戰), to other people who are named Josh.

He asked them to join a fight, where the winner would be named (被命名) the real Josh.

Fighters wore costumes (造型服裝) and helmets (頭盔), and they had play fights using pool noodles (泡棉棒).

The winner of the Josh fight was a five year old boy… named Josh.

Josh大戰的贏家是一名五歲小男孩… 名叫Josh。

The Josh fight isn't just a day for people named Josh to have fun.

They also raised money (募款) for charity (慈善組織).

In the end, the Josh fight raised more than 600,000 NT for the Children's Hospital.

And the organizer (主辦者) hopes he can make a Josh fight every year.

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So, in today's episode of News Bites:

The Taipei 101 is a very tall building, that moves if there are strong winds or earthquakes.

That's why it has a damper in the middle of the building, to keep it steady.

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And,

Animals who live in coral reefs and older people have something in common.

Scientists who study animals in coral reefs say the fish there don't like noise.

The fish especially don't like the noise made by boat engines.

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And,

The name "Josh" is very popular in the United States.

So one man organized a day for everyone named Josh to get together and have fun.

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