No-Smoking Zones and a Women's Rock Band from Saudi Arabia

News Bites

B*News Bites 文字檔(國中) ________________________________ Hi there. It’s time for an all-new episode of News Bites. I’m Jacob Ingram. And I’m Brody Halverson. In today's news: more no-smoking zones for Taipei, and an all-women rock band from Saudi Arabia! And if you could have any pet, what would it be? Stay tuned for those stories, coming up next. ________________________________ 台北信義區計畫六月起將禁菸場所擴大 Taipei’s Xinyi District Planning to Expand Smoking-free Zones We’ve got some bad news for smokers (抽菸者) but good news for everyone else: Taipei health officials are planning to expand (擴大) smoking-free zones (禁菸區) in the city. Way back in April of this year, the Department of Health announced that people were no longer allowed to smoke under covered walkways (騎樓) outside of some convenience store and coffee shop chains. 台北市衛生局公告，有些連鎖便利商店和咖啡店一樓門市前面的騎樓中不許抽煙。 So customers of these places won’t have to worry about passive smoke (二手菸) wafting in (飄進來) from outside. In fact, that’s why we need these smoking bans. Passive smoking, also known as secondhand smoke, can be harmful to non-smokers, causing respiratory issues and other health problems. 被動吸菸（也稱為二手煙）對非吸菸者可能有害，會引起呼吸問題和其他健康問題。 Smoking bans create a safer and healthier environment for non-smokers. Taipei health officials started clamping down (取締) on outdoor smoking as far back as 2016. They banned smoking in some parts of Xiangti Avenue Plaza (香堤廣場), including Songshou Square Park (松壽廣場) and under some covered walkways (騎樓). Now, they’re planning to ban smoking in other areas! Woohoo! Starting from June this year, it will also be illegal to smoke on No. 20, Songgao Road (松高路２０巷人行道). If you’re caught smoking in banned areas, you could face a fine of up to 10 thousand NT. The Health Bureau says they're listening to what citizens want. If more folks want smoke-free spots, they'll make it happen. ________________________________ 沙烏地阿拉伯的女子搖滾樂團 An All-Women Rock Band from Saudi Arabia JAKE! Excuse me! What’s up? What on Earth are you doing? Sorry about that. I was just practicing my singing. 我剛才只是練習一下唱歌而已。 Is that what you call singing? I genuinely thought you were dying for a moment. Say, have you heard of Seera? Who’s that? It’s an all-women rock band from Saudi Arabia! This is what they sound like: Sounds cool. 酷斃了！ Seera blends traditional Arabic melodies (阿拉伯式旋律) with dreamy-sounding rock guitar riffs (搖滾吉他節奏). Seera 將傳統的阿拉伯式旋律與迷幻般的搖滾吉他節奏融合在一起。 This would unthinkable just years earlier in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia is traditionally very conservative. For example, women weren't allowed to drive until 2018 … … and they had to abide by strict dress codes. They also weren’t allowed to work in certain professions, such as retail, hospitality and engineering. But Saudi Arabia has been liberalizing some aspects of its society. 沙烏地阿拉伯傳統上非常保守，但近期開始解放一些社會中的面向。 The rock band Seera is one example of the way women are finding their voice and expressing themselves through the arts. 搖滾樂團 Seera 是女性通過藝術找到自己的聲音並表達自我的一個例子。 The band’s name, Seera, can mean “life” or “biography” in Arabic. Seera’s music style revolves around the life experiences of the band members. They sing in Arabic. 她們以阿拉伯語演唱。 They all have stage names (舞台名字). The drummer’s stage name is “Thing”, the guitarist “Haya”, the bassist “Meesh” and her sister’s “Nora”, who sings and plays keyboard. At a recent concert, youths in leather jackets and black rock T-shirts swayed and danced to the band’s music. Meesh said they didn’t know how people would react to their music. Nora said she wanted the band to be “an inspiration for the younger generation” to express themselves. She added that it’s OK to be yourself! 她又說道：「可以好好地做自己！」 Seera plans to release their debut album (首張專輯) later this year. They’ve also booked a gig in Dubai, which will mark their first time performing outside of Saudi Arabia. ________________________________ So in today’s News Bites, Taipei is making more places smoke-free. They started by banning smoking in covered walkways near some stores and cafes, then expanded it to No. 20, Songgao Road. If you smoke in these areas, you might get fined up to 10,000 NT. Authorities say they will listen to what people want and might make even more places smoke-free in the future. ________________________________ And, Seera is a rock band from Saudi Arabia with only women members. They mix rock music with traditional Arabic melodies. This is unusual in Saudi Arabia because it's usually very strict. Seera wants to inspire people to be themselves. They're planning to release their first album and perform in Dubai soon. _______________________________ 趣味小點 Tasty Tidbit If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be? Kai, from Puli Elementary School in Nantou, tells us his… A dinosaur, eh? You’d have to have a pretty big house for that! ________________________________ And that's it for today's episode of News Bites! *If you have a fun fact, a joke or interesting news story 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!