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The robots piecing together Pompeii's past    December 9, 2025

 

What's up, sunshine? Welcome to the show. I'm Coy Wire, here with your news for Tuesday, December 9th. A brain teaser Tuesday for you.

 

brain teaser 脑力激荡; 有趣的难题

 

What two coins add up to 30 cents, but one of them is not a nickel? Ten seconds, go. What two coins add up to 30 cents? One of them is not a nickel. Alright, time's up.

 

nickel [ˋnɪk!] n.【美】五分镍币

 

If you said a quarter and a nickel, you're correct. Two coins that add up to 30 cents, a quarter and a nickel. The quarter is not a nickel.

 

quarter [ˋkwɔrtɚ] n.（美国，加拿大的）25分硬币

 

Now, let's get to your news. We begin in Syria, which just marked the one-year anniversary of the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

 

Assad ruled the country for more than 24 years and was overthrown by rebel forces last December following a brutal 13-year civil war.

 

rebel [ˋrɛb!] adj. 反叛（者）的，造反（者）的；反抗（者）的

 

Crowds poured into the streets this week for the milestone anniversary, a moment marked by both celebration and uncertainty.

 

The country is continuing to rebuild and recover under President Ahmed al-Sharaa's transitional government, but they've also struggled with continued regional instability and ongoing tensions with Israel. Millions of Syrians who were forced to flee during the war have finally been able to return home this year.

 

And across the country, the remains of the Assad regime are being transformed into inspiring community spaces. That includes a cafe that once served as a jail. And one of the cafe's regular customers took journalists inside the basement of that very building where he says he was imprisoned several times during Assad's rule.

 

When you go downwards, it's as if you're heading toward a grave. There are no windows, nothing at all. These solitary cells, they used to imprison people here alone, without light, without windows and without food.

 

cell [sɛl] n. 单人牢房，小囚房

 

They would lock people up here without anyone knowing their fate. But now we come here and see that the place is beautiful. It has become a cafe and a place for culture and knowledge, and there is calm and safety.

 

It is wonderful that this place has transformed from a place of oppression into a place of comfort and security.

 

Now to a story taking usback in time with help from a very modern technology. In Italy, archaeologists are teaming up with robots to piece together ancient Roman frescoes or wall paintings from Pompeii.

 

fresco [ˋfrɛsko] n. 壁画

 

They were destroyed during World War II. The European Union-funded project called Repair uses artificial intelligence and twin robotic arms to sort, match and gently reassemble the tiny fragments. Think of it like solving several jigsaw puzzles at the same time, but without help from the picture on the box.

 

jigsaw [ˋdʒɪg͵sɔ] n. 拼图玩具

 

Some question whether these robots might someday replace archaeologists. The director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii had this to say.

 

The answer is obviously no, but what's going to happen is I think that the work of archaeologists will dramatically change, and in some way I think we will get back to our origins, to the interpretation of artworks, of daily life, of social structures, architecture.

 

Blending ancient art with cutting-edge technology, that's one way to bring the past into the future.

 

Pop quiz, hot shot.

 

Who were the first K-pop artists to get a Grammy nomination?

 

Stray Kids, BTS, TWICE or Girls' Generation? If you said BTS, you are bulletproof.

 

They made history as the first K-pop act ever nominated at the Grammys, and now years later it's K-pop Demon Hunters, the animated musical action film scoring a nomination for Song of the Year.

 

score [skor] v. 得胜

 

As Hollywood awards season ramps up, the year's biggest animated trio is putting the golden in Golden Globes. Rumi, Zoey and Mira, the K-pop Demon Hunters trio, has been nominated for three Golden Globes awards, including Best Song and Best Animated Picture.

 

The movie is Netflix's most watched title ever, and Google's second most searched term this year. It had five Grammy nominations and four top ten hits on the Billboard Top 100.

 

The mind behind it all, the co-creator and co-director Maggie Kang, sat down with our Alex Michaelson to talk music, representation and more.

 

representation [͵rɛprɪzɛnˋteʃən] n. 演出，扮演

 

In terms of representation, in terms of being seen, in terms of the Korean culture being exposed to the world in ways it never has before?

 

It's, I mean, it's wild. I made a movie because I wanted to see all the things in this movie, and I didn't really realize that so many other people wanted to see this too. And so many other Asian people wanted to see Asian characters on screen.

 

I think, you know, we've all wanted that, and we've all wanted to see our culture represented correctly and in the modern world, because a lot of times in animation we do, we do see Asian cultures, but it's like a fantasy version or, you know, more of a hodgepodge.

 

hodgepodge [ˋhɑdʒ͵pɑdʒ] n. 杂烩菜；混杂物；大杂烩；一团糟

 

And so I really wanted to show Korean culture on its own.

 

What was the process of putting that music together with sort of an atypical band?

 

atypical [eˋtɪpɪk!] adj. 非典型的；不合规则的；不定形的；破格的；反常的

 

I mean, that was kind of my vision from the very beginning.

 

Growing up, I used to do a lot of karaoke, and I thought that I could maybe pursue a career in K-pop. I always thought it was a silly dream. But when I got into animation, I saw it as an opportunity to create a band of my own and kind of live vicariously through the performers, which I am doing now.

 

vicariously [vaɪˋkɛrɪəslɪ] adv. 间接地; 代理地；担任代理者地

 

But yeah, it's been amazing. Creating the music was very challenging because it's not just music, it's not just pop songs. They had to tell narrative, carry story, and develop characters.

 

And all of that took a lot of time to craft. So it was very challenging, but, you know, really worth the effort.

 

Next up,a story showing the profound impact that high school sports can have on and off the field.

 

Longtime Northern California sportscaster Del Rogers retired earlier this month after a prolific career spanning three decades.

 

sportscaster [ˋsports͵kæstɚ] n. 担任比赛实况转播或说明的广播员

prolific [prəˋlɪfɪk] adj. 富于创造力的；丰富的

 

During his final broadcast, the former NFL running back and Super Bowl champion says the highlight of his career is covering high school sports.

 

I covered professional sports because I had to, but I also covered high school sports because I needed to.

 

You see, high school sports is a backbone to our community, teaches our future adults teamwork, bouncing back from failure, and how to appreciate success with honor.

 

As I say goodbye, I ask that you continue to support high school sports. That's why teenagers transition to the real world.

 

Thank you for letting me be a part of your fields, your courts, and your kids' lives. Northern California love you, and good night.

 

Powerful stuff. And get this, following that emotional sign off, Del was surprised in studio by not only his family, but the local high school marching band as well. Rise up.

 

sign off 停止广播; 结束广播(如放一小段音乐); 结束工作

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10, a teacher from Texas turning to social media to save Christmas for hundreds of students.

 

Our Leigh Waldman has more on a heartwarming feat that took TikTok by storm.

 

400 kids were about to lose their Christmas gifts until a teacher with about 100 TikTok followers tried something desperate.

 

Hi, my name is Kyle and I have 54 days to save Christmas.

 

Kyle Murphy is a data analyst and testing coordinator at an elementary school in Fort Worth, Texas, where roughly 90% of students come from low income households.

 

For nearly 50 years, the school's parent teacher organization has bought gifts for every child before winter break. But this year, the money was gone.

 

So she turned to TikTok and posted despite having almost no followers. 48 hours later, she had a toy for every student. And as the money kept pouring in, they were able to add a stuffed animal to.

 

I have a donation for a dollar and 80 cents with a note that said, I'm just a high school student.

 

This is all that I can afford, but I want to step up.

 

Now she's using the extra support to fill a stocking for every child with toys and hygiene supplies.

 

Everybody gets a hat, a toothbrush, some gloves and a hairbrush.

 

She says many families at the school don't typically do stocking. So for a lot of kids, this will be their first one ever.

 

stocking [ˋstɑkɪŋ] n. 长筒袜

 

So being able to give some of those students a stocking for the first time is going to be very magical.

 

Santa is coming to the school on December 16th for the kids, but Kyle isn't stopping there. A donor purchased a cooler for every teacher. And now Kyle is trying to fill up each with goodies before they leave for break on the 19th.

 

cooler [ˋkulɚ]n. 冷藏箱

goody [ˋgʊdɪ] n.【口】好吃的东西，糖果

 

Our students come from rough backgrounds and our teachers don't just show up and teach our kids. They really are that consistency, that love, that warmth.

 

consistency [kənˋsɪstənsɪ] n. 一贯；一致

 

I would just love to kind of have that Oprah moment where they open it up and they see that people around the country are thinking about them too.

 

There's still time to help. Links are on her TikTok page and at kylesaveschristmas.com.

 

We are all more powerful than we know, especially all of you. Shout out to Mrs. Walker and friends at Ann Arbor, Michigan at Bach Elementary.

 

I see you, Elena. Rise up. Thank you for making us a part of your day.

 

And this shout out goes to Mrs. Andrade at Somerset College Preparatory Academy in Miami. Thank you for sending this very special Labubu to my office. I don't know how you do this, but I do love it.

 

My team has dubbed this the Coy bubu. So thank you, you, my boo boos. You make me smile.

 

Tomorrow is Your Word Wednesday, so put your unique vocabulary word and definition in the comments section of the most recent posts on Instagram @CNN 10 and @Coy Wire. And we're going to choose one winning school to help make us smarter. Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone.

 

Be someone's Labubu today. I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.