Fake Money, and Smartphone Kids

News Bites

Hi everyone, it's time for a new episode of News Bites… I'm Paz Bueno. And I'm Brody Halverson. Today's stories… Kaohsiung police find a man making fake money, and how young is too young to have a smartphone? And in today's Tasty Tidbit…the reason dogs spin in circles before pooping. Let's check it out. ________________________________ 高雄警方逮捕假鈔犯 Fake Money Maker Caught in Kaohsiung What can I do if I have no money? You could get a job. That will let you earn some money (賺錢) for yourself. That sounds boring. Okay… why don't you ask your family or friends for some money? They won't give it to me. I know… maybe I can create money. I'll use my printer (影印機) to print it out. Then I'll have unlimited cash. That's a bad idea. Making fake money is called counterfeiting (偽造), and it's against the law. Did you hear about the counterfeiter that showed up in the south of Taiwan recently? Yes! It started when the Kaohsiung police found some fake money. They found 30 fake bills (假鈔) in stores and night markets around the city. There were all kinds, 100 NT, 500 NT, even 1000 NT bills. Police didn't know where the counterfeit money was coming from. It could be one criminal, or it could be a whole gang of them. They decided to use security cameras (監視器) to find out. They found video of a man using the fake money, and they traced him back to an apartment. When cops went to check the place out, they found a 48-year-old man with no job. They also found lots of evidence (證據). There were a bunch of counterfeit bills, a paper cutter, five color printers… and 22 bottles of nail polish (指甲油). Nail polish? What did he need that for? He used it to make the money look more real. He would print it off the printer, cut it out, and then paint some parts with the nail polish. Oh! You mean the shiny (閃亮的) parts of the bill? Exactly. But even then, the money didn't look very real. Police were surprised (驚訝) that shop owners took the money from him, because it looked so bad. Now they are trying to find out if the man was alone, or part of a group. Wow. Actually, it sounds like a lot of work to counterfeit money. Yep. It's simpler to just get a normal job. 找一份正常的工作比較簡單。 ________________________________ 報告顯示兒童13歲之前 不應該使用智慧型手機 Report Shows Kids Shouldn't Use Smartphones Before 13 Are you too young to have a smartphone (智慧型手機)? Ummm… I don't think so. I'm 31 years old. Then how young is too young to have a smartphone? Some elementary school students have phones… …and I even saw a baby playing with one. A new report (報告) says kids shouldn't have a smartphone before they are 13 years old. The report comes from France. The President of France (法國總統) was worried about kids spending too much time using a screen. So, he asked a team of scientists to look into it. The result was pretty surprising. First, they said children younger than three years old should not look at any screens (螢幕). Not even a TV screen! For kids 11 to 13 years old, the report says they can have a "dumb" phone (傻瓜手機). It's a simple phone that can't connect to the internet. At 13 years old, they can get a web-connected phone. But they shouldn't use social media (社群媒體) until they are 18 years old. Does that make sense? Teenagers use social media all the time. Right. But the report says this is harming young people's emotional development. 這些科技會傷害年輕人的情感發展。 Young people get addicted (上癮), and then they find it hard to look away. Plus, it distracts them from other things they should be learning. Not just schoolwork, but also learning how to live in the real world (現實世界) and interact with real people. Is this fair? Parents are using phones all the time, even when they are with their kids! That's a good point. The report also says that adults should spend less time on their phones when they are with their kids. In the end, the report blames the tech industry (科技業). It says tech and social media companies try to capture children's attention, so it can control them. 科技和社群媒體公司要吸引兒童的注意力，好控制他們。 That's scary… and what does the President of France say? He is also worried about the report. He says there will be new bans and restrictions (限制) to help protect children. ________________________________ So, in today's News Bites… Police in Kaohsiung caught a man making fake money. He used a color printer and nail polish to counterfeit the money. ________________________________ And, Scientists in France say kids shouldn't have a smartphone before the age of 13. They say smartphones and social media can harm your emotional development. ________________________________ 趣味小點 Tasty Tidbit If you own a pet dog, you might have noticed that dogs spin in circles before they poop. Scientists have discovered that's because dogs use Earth's magnetic field when they poop! Researchers observed 70 dogs from 37 breeds over two years. They found that dogs like to poop in a north-south direction. This means they avoid facing east or west. The reason why dogs do this is still unknown. Scientists are not sure if dogs can sense the magnetic field or if they just feel more comfortable this way. If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [e-mail], and you might hear it at the end of an episode! We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!