Scooter Test, Italian Town, Car Paywall

News Bites

In today's news, with Nancy and Paz:

A tougher motorbike test, a pretty Italian town, and paywalls for faster speeds.

All that and more, coming up next!

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交通部計畫讓機車考照變難

MOTC Considers Tougher Motorbike Test.

Taiwan is one of the countries in the world that has the most motorcycles.

With a population (人口) around 24 million, the island has over 14 million motorcycles.

Many Taiwanese teens get their motorcycle license when they turn 18.

However, the license test might be getting harder next year.

Due to the high number of motorcycle accidents, the Ministry of Transportation (交通部) wants to include a road test.

Currently, riders must pass a written test and a driving test in a controlled setting to obtain a license.

They are not tested on the open road.

But before the road test is official, the ministry is planning to make it more difficult to pass the license test.

機車路考還沒正式上路之前，交通部打算增加機車考照的難度。

More questions testing riders' defensive driving skills (防衛駕駛技巧) would be added to the written test.

The test might be getting harder, but the number of motorcycles are not going to reduce anytime soon.

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義大利小鎮支付3萬美金讓你入住

Get Paid to Move to this Pretty Italian Town

Do you want to move to Italy?

If the answer's yes, now's the time to do so.

In recent years, towns across Italy have been launching programs to attract new residents.

Many cities and towns held competitions.

The competitions ranged from shabby (破舊) houses selling a little over $1 U.S. dollar to renovated houses at knockdown prices (低價).

The latest to enter the competition is Presicce (普雷西切), a town in southeastern Italy.

Town officials say they are paying about $30,000 euros, for people to move there.

The old historical houses cost around $25,000 euros.

The rest of the money would go into restoring them.

Presicce is in the region of Puglia (普利亞).

It is also known as the region's "city of green gold".

The town's history can be traced back to the Middle Ages.

Many people lived around a fortress built by monks (僧侶).

The monks also dug crypts (地窖) and underground olive mills (橄欖磨坊) as shelters from pirate raids.

The "green gold" refers to the lush (茂盛) olive groves that produces premium extra virgin olive oil (優質的初榨橄欖油).

All in all, it's a fantastic town with a rich culture.

Therefore, if you're looking for a change of view, Italy may be the right place for you.

還有什麼比當地政府出錢給你買房子更具吸引力呢？

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花錢解鎖電動車加速功能

Faster Acceleration Locked Behind a Paywall

Imagine you're planning to buy a new car.

You've done your research.

You've test driven every car on your list.

And finally decided on a car that matches all of your needs.

Then, you learn that in order to use every function your car is capable of, you have to pay a yearly subscription(訂閱費用).

This is what a German car manufacturer is doing recently.

It is locking some functions (功能) behind a subscription fee.

The company's cars have an "Acceleration Increase" function.

It makes engine power go up by 20%.

This is something that the vehicle is already capable of.

But the company uses software to lock this function.

This in an ongoing trend due to the fall of global sales in the auto-industry (汽車業).

Carmakers are selling software updates and features as subscriptions.

These companies want to have continuous income (持續性收入) after a car is purchased.

But some car owners say charging a fee for something that already comes factory-equipped is just loathsome (令人討厭的).

Some people say if we have to subscribe to every function for a car in the future, renting a car might be the best choice.

有些消費者覺得如果以後使用自己車子的每一項功能都需要付月費，那租車或許是最好的選擇。

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So, in today's News Bites:

Many Taiwanese teens get their motorcycle license when they turn 18.

However, the license test might be getting harder next year.

More questions testing riders' defensive driving skills would be added to the written test.

________________________________

Towns across Italy have been launching programs to attract new residents.

The latest to enter the competition is Presicce.

Town officials say they are paying about $30,000 euros, for people to move there.

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And…

A German car manufacturer is locking some functions on its cars behind a subscription fee.

The company's cars have an "Acceleration Increase" function.

But the company uses software to lock this function.

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