2025.11.30 青少年新闻速递
(Sound effect: Bang! Pop! Wow!)
Hello everyone, and welcome to our weekly news express for young explorers! I’m your host, Alex. We have seen so many amazing things this week, and I can’t wait to share them with you. Let’s jump right in!
Our first story comes from the deep, dense rainforests of South America. Scientists have made a truly spectacular discovery! They have found a new species of squirrel that glows in the dark. Yes, you heard that right! They have named it the “Luminous Squirrel” (a squirrel that produces its own light). This animal’s fur contains special proteins that react with the air to create a soft, blue-green light. It’s a process called bioluminescence, which is the same magic we see in fireflies.
Imagine this: you are walking through the jungle at night. It’s completely dark, and you can only hear the sounds of insects. Suddenly, you see a gentle, beautiful light moving swiftly between the trees. It’s not a flashlight; it’s a busy, bright-tailed squirrel! Scientists have noticed that these squirrels use their glowing tails to communicate with each other in the dark. The light from one squirrel’s tail is not super bright, but a group of them together can illuminate (light up/brighten) a small area. The glow is equivalent to about 1,000 fireflies all lighting up at once. Isn’t that incredible? This discovery has helped scientists understand more about how animals adapt to their environment. Researchers have taken samples of the fur to study the glowing proteins, hoping it might lead to new, eco-friendly lighting technologies in the future. If you discovered a new animal, what special ability would you want it to have?
Now, for our second story, we are blasting off from the jungle into the world of technology. And the best part? The heroes of this story are students, just like us! A group of five middle school students from California has developed an award-winning mobile app called “Recycle Rangers.” The app helps families in their community sort their trash correctly and find the nearest recycling centers.
It all started as a school project. The students noticed that many people felt confused about what could and could not be recycled. So, they decided to create a solution. Using simple coding tools they learned in their computer club, they built the app. Here’s how it works: you take a picture of an item, like a plastic bottle or a cardboard box, and the app uses image recognition to tell you which bin it belongs in. It even has a game feature where you earn points for recycling correctly. The students have made recycling feel like a fun challenge rather than a chore.
The impact has been huge. In just six months, their app has been downloaded over 10,000 times. Their town has reported a 20% increase in the amount of recycled materials. That’s an extra 5,000 kilograms of waste that has been saved from landfills, which is roughly the weight of a large elephant! The “Recycle Rangers” team has presented their app at a national youth science fair and won the top prize for their innovative (new/creative) idea. They said they feel very happy to see their idea making a real difference. If you could design an app to solve a problem in our school, what would it do?
For our final piece of news, we are blending art with environmental action. In a small town in Australia, residents have completed a massive and magnificent mural. What’s so special about it? It is made entirely from recycled plastic bottle caps! The project, called “The Cap-tivating Wall,” was a collaborative (teamwork/joint) effort involving hundreds of people from local schools, families, and community groups.
Let’s set the scene: imagine you are standing in the town square, and in front of you is a giant, colorful artwork stretching across the side of a building. It shows a beautiful ocean scene with dolphins leaping through waves and colorful fish swimming below. As you walk closer, you feel the bumpy texture and see that the entire image is composed of thousands and thousands of plastic bottle caps of every color—blue, green, red, yellow. The project leader said they have collected over 300,000 bottle caps over the past year. The finished mural is 50 meters long and 3 meters high. If you laid it out on the ground, it would be half the length of a standard soccer field!
This project has not only beautified the town but has also become a powerful symbol of community and sustainability. Children who participated said it was amazing to see how something they used to throw away could become part of something so beautiful. It has inspired them to look for other creative ways to reuse waste. The town now plans to create a second mural next year, and they are already collecting more caps. This reminds us that art is everywhere, and even the smallest piece of trash can be turned into a treasure. What kind of giant picture would you create if you had thousands of recycled items?
That’s all the time we have for today’s News Discovery Time. We have heard about glowing squirrels, young tech geniuses, and a community of artists. I hope you feel inspired and curious. Keep exploring the world around you, and remember, you have the power to make it a better place. Until next time, stay curious!
中文版本 News Discovery Time! 今天我们要探索…
（音效：Bang! Pop! Wow!）
大家好，欢迎收听我们为小探险家们准备的每周新闻快报！我是你们的主持人，小艾。这周我们又看到了好多超棒的事情，我简直等不及要和你们分享啦。让我们马上开始吧！
我们的第一条新闻，来自南美洲那片又深又密的雨林。科学家们有了一个真正惊人的发现！他们找到了一种全新的、会在黑暗中发光的松鼠。是的，你没有听错！他们把它命名为“夜光松鼠”（一种能自己发光的松鼠）。这种动物的皮毛里含有一种特殊的蛋白质，能和空气发生反应，产生柔和的蓝绿色光芒。这个过程叫做“生物发光”，和我们在萤火虫身上看到的魔法是一回事儿。
想象一下：你在夜晚穿行于丛林之中。四周一片漆黑，只能听见虫儿的鸣叫。突然，你看到一束温柔又美丽的光在树木之间快速地移动。那不是手电筒，而是一只忙碌的、拖着明亮尾巴的松鼠！科学家们已经注意到，这些松鼠用它们会发光的尾巴在黑暗中互相交流。一只松鼠尾巴的光虽然不算特别亮，但如果一群松鼠聚集在一起，就能照亮一小片区域。它们发出的光芒，相当于大约1000只萤火虫同时点亮自己。简直不要太厉害！这个发现帮助科学家们更多地了解了动物是如何适应环境的。研究人员已经采集了皮毛样本来研究这种发光蛋白质，希望未来能启发我们开发出新型的环保照明技术。如果你发现了一种新动物，你希望它有什么特殊本领呢？
好了，第二条新闻，我们要从丛林飞速进入科技的世界。最棒的是什么？这个故事里的英雄，是和我们一样的学生！来自加州的一个五人中学生小组，开发了一款获奖的手机应用，名叫“回收小侠”。这款应用可以帮助社区里的家庭正确地给垃圾分类，并且找到最近的回收中心。
这一切都始于一个学校的课题。同学们注意到，很多人对于哪些东西能回收、哪些不能，总是感到很困惑。于是，他们决定自己动手创造一个解决方案。利用在电脑社团学到的简单编程工具，他们开发了这款应用。它是这样工作的：你给一个物品拍张照，比如一个塑料瓶或一个纸箱，应用就会通过图像识别告诉你它该进哪个垃圾桶。它甚至还有一个游戏功能，正确回收就能获得积分。同学们让垃圾分类这件事，从一件麻烦的家务活变成了一个有趣的挑战。
这个应用的影响力可不小。在短短六个月里，它的下载量就超过了1万次。他们所在小镇的回收物总量也报告增长了20%。这相当于额外有5000公斤的废品没有被送去垃圾填埋场，差不多和一头大象一样重！“回收小侠”团队已经在一个全国青少年科学博览会上展示了他们的应用，并凭借这个充满创意的点子赢得了一等奖。他们说，看到自己的想法能带来真正的改变，感到特别开心。如果你可以设计一个应用来解决我们学校里的某个问题，你会想做什么呢？
最后一条新闻，我们将艺术与环保行动融合在了一起。在澳大利亚的一个小镇上，居民们完成了一幅巨大而璀璨（cuǐ càn）的壁画。它有什么特别之处呢？这幅画完全是用回收的塑料瓶盖做成的！这个项目名为“迷人的瓶盖墙”，是由当地学校、家庭和社区团体的数百人共同努力完成的。
让我们来想象这个场景：你正站在小镇的广场上，面前是一幅巨大又多彩的艺术品，铺满了整整一栋楼的墙面。画上是美丽的海洋景象，有海豚在浪花中跳跃，还有五颜六色的鱼儿在下面游动。当你走近时，你能感觉到它凹凸不平的质感，然后你会发现，整幅画是由成千上万、各种颜色的塑料瓶盖——蓝色、绿色、红色、黄色——组成的。项目负责人说，他们在过去一年里收集了超过30万个瓶盖。完成后的壁画有50米长、3米高。如果你把它平铺在地上，它的长度差不多有半个标准足球场那么长！
这个项目不仅美化了小镇，也成为了社区团结和可持续发展的有力象征。参与其中的孩子们说，看到一个以前随手就扔掉的东西，能变成这么美丽的一部分，感觉太奇妙了。这件事激励他们去寻找更多变废为宝的创意方法。现在，小镇计划明年创作第二幅壁画，他们已经开始收集更多的瓶盖了。这提醒我们，艺术无处不在，即使是最小的垃圾也能变成宝藏。如果你有成千上万的回收物品，你会创作一幅什么样的巨型图画呢？
以上就是今天“News Discovery Time”的全部内容啦。我们听说了会发光的松鼠、年轻的科技天才，还有一个充满艺术细胞的社区。希望你因此感到充满启发和好奇。继续探索你周围的世界吧，并且记住，你拥有让世界变得更美好的力量。下次再见，保持好奇心！
听力问题（中英文）
- What is the special ability of the newly discovered squirrel in South America? (在南美洲新发现的松鼠有什么特殊本领？)
- What problem does the “Recycle Rangers” app help to solve? (“回收小侠”这款应用帮助解决了什么问题？)
- How much has the amount of recycled materials increased in the town since the app was launched? (自从那款应用发布后，镇上的回收物总量增加了多少？)
- What material was used to create the giant mural in the Australian town? (澳大利亚小镇上的巨型壁画是用什么材料创作的？)
参考答案（中英文)
- It can glow in the dark, using a process called bioluminescence. (它能在黑暗中发光，利用的是一种叫做“生物发光”的原理。)
- It helps people sort their trash correctly and find recycling centers. (它帮助人们正确地进行垃圾分类，并找到回收中心。)
- It has increased by 20%. (增加了20%。)
- It was made entirely from recycled plastic bottle caps. (它完全是用回收的塑料瓶盖制作的。)