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Latest U.S. Presidential Election Results; The Hearing Ability Of Certain Spiders; Two Towns With A Puzzling Fit.

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi. I`m Carl Azuz. Welcome to our show for Thursday, November 5th.

Votes are still being counted from the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The face-off between Republican incumbent, President Donald Trump, and

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden lets several states too close to call, and as of Wednesday evening, neither candidate had clenched that
 

clench [klɛntʃ] v. 捏紧，握紧；抓紧

magic number of 270 electoral votes to be declared the winner.

When we produced this show, CNN had not projected a winner for six states - - Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Without those predictions, it appeared that Democratic challenger Biden had

clinched 254 electoral votes, while Republican incumbent Trump had clinched 213 electoral votes. But these numbers were subject to change as vote

counting continued and results came in.

As far as the make up of the next Congress goes, analysts said Democrats were likely to remain in control of the House of the Representatives, while
 

make up 组成

it looked like Republicans will remain in control of the Senate. But again, that information is not final. There were still a number of significant

calls to be made.

Part of the reason for the delay is the coronavirus pandemic, one of the major issues of the election. Out of concerns about crowded polling places

on Election Day, many people choose to vote early or mail in their ballots. Researchers estimated that more than 100 million Americans voted early this

year. Contrast that with the 46 million who voted early in 2016.

The Trump campaign announced yesterday that it was launching legal challenges to vote counts in Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, as well as

requesting a recount in Wisconsin. These were strongly contested battleground states this year. So, that could delay final results as well.
 

contested [kənˋtɛstɪd] adj. 有争议

Modern elections have seen real time projections of the winner, sometimes within hours of nationwide polls closing. But the U.S. Constitution does

not say that winners must be declared on election night. Throughout the 1800s, it would take days and sometimes weeks for a winner to be announced.

But people in the United States and abroad want to know what to expect politically come 2021, and you can get the latest results updated day and

night at CNN.com.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

What is 16 Psyche?

Is it a grunge band, a game show, a Pavlovian theory, or an asteroid?
 

grunge [grʌndʒ] n.【美】【口】肮脏；蹩脚货

asteroid [ˋæstə͵rɔɪd] n.【天】小行星

It`s a bird, it`s a plane, it`s an asteroid that was discovered in 1852 and named for a figure in Greek mythology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Ten thousand quadrillion dollars. Now that I have your attention, we`re talking about the possible, estimated, hypothetical value of an
 

quadrillion [kwɑˋdrɪljən] n. 1000⁵

asteroid. But, Carl, you may be thinking, it`s a rock.

You`re right. A rock named Asteroid 16 Psyche is about the length of Massachusetts. Scientists have been studying it through pictures gathered

by the Hubble space telescope, and they published new findings in the Planetary Science Journal. They don`t know exactly what it`s made of, but

they think that Asteroid 16 Psyche could be iron and nickel.

If it is, they say a piece of iron that big would be worth more than all the economies on earth combined.

OK. So, let`s go get it. Well, not so fast, Han Solo.

The asteroid is three times farther from the sun than we are. NASA hopes to send a probe there in 2022. Researchers hope it gathers some secrets of the

universe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUBTITLE: These spiders are known for their big eyes, but now there`s more.

New research has found that ogre-faced spiders can hear.
 

ogre [ˋogɚ] n. 食人魔鬼；怪物

Using receptors on their legs, these spiders can detect sounds from at least 6.5 feet away.

A team of researchers monitored ogre-faced spiders` reaction to auditory stimuli.

The team inserted electrodes in spiders` brains and legs to capture neurons firing.

JAY STAFSTROM, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: You play these spiders low frequency tones that are about the known frequencies of insect

prey that they typically catch, they`re actually spring up and strike at these -- at these tones.

SUBTITLE: These spiders are found all over the world, including in southern U.S. states like Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Up next, a tale of two towns, or really one town with a whole lot of border.

Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau are fitted together like two complicated puzzle pieces. They`re both surrounded by the Netherlands, but Baarle-

Hertog is considered Belgian and part of Belgium, Baarle-Nassau is considered Dutch and part of the Netherlands. What`s going on here?

Well, it`s been going on since the 1100s. That`s when one official who controlled the area went to another who lived nearby and asked for

protection. They made a deal in which they`ve each controlled parts of the town. It wasn`t until 1995 for some reason that the complex borders were

drawn and they still exist 25 years later.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE 1: Welcome to Baarle-Hertog in Belgium.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE 2: No, welcome to Baarle-Nassau in the Netherlands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE 1: No, Belgium.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE 2: It`s the Netherlands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE 1: Belgium.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE 2: Netherlands.

NARRATOR: OK, everyone, please calm down. It`s both.

Welcome to the town with one of the most intricate borders in the whole world.
 

intricate [ˋɪntrəkɪt] adj. 错综复杂的；复杂精细的

SUBTITLE: One town, infinite border.

NARRATOR: Baarle is a quiet, small-town with not much going on, until you look at these crosses. Yeah, that`s an international border. And so it

that, and so is that.

Baarle is home to a living border puzzle. Instead of one border crossing, there are dozens of them, and that`s because the town consists of 30 enclaves.
 

enclave [ˋɛnklev] n. 飛地（指在一國境內卻隸屬另一國的一塊領土）

There are 22 pieces of Belgium surrounded by the Netherlands and 10 Dutch areas in Belgium.

The border goes through houses, and this means that there are two of almost everything for a population of under 10,000. Two postal services, two

churches, two bus companies, there are even two mayo toppings at this chicken shop. Yup, this one`s Dutch, and this one`s

Belgian.

And there`s two town halls. And, of course, a meeting room with a borderline in it, and two separate representatives.

So head of tourism, Willem, how do you know where your house is if the border goes through it?

WILLEM VAN GOOL, CHAIRMAN, BAARLE TOURISM OFFICE: We have a front door rule. And the front door rule says there, where your front door is, that is

the place where you have your domicile -- where you are living -- Belgium or Holland.
 

domicile [ˈdɑməsaɪl] n. 住处

NARRATOR: But, what about front doors that get chopped off by the border? Like this one.

VAN GOOL: That`s an exception. Living there, you can choose both ways, of coure.

NARRATOR: Like gallery owner Sylvia.

SYLVIA REIJBROEK, OWNER, GALERIE KUNST VOL LEVEN: This is Belgium, this is Netherlands, and this is my gallery.

I have chosen from Belgium because I was living in Belgium. My company was Belgian, so I took the easiest way.

NARRATOR: All right, but the international commute, it must be tiring, right, cafe manager, Willem?

WILLEM BAULUSSEN, MANAGER, DEN ENGEL: Of course. My cafe is at the Dutch side. I`m Belgian, so I cross the border every day, but I live 200 meters

from here, so it`s not that far.

NARRATOR: OK, so my last question, it has to be this which town is best?

Baarle-Hertog, or Baarle-Nassau?

BAULUESSEN: I prefer both.

VAN GOOL: I`m Dutch, and to be honest, I like the way of living more on the Belgian side

(LAUGHTER)

MARJON DE HOON-VEELENTURF, BAARLE-NASSAU: Baarle.

FRANS DE BONT, BAARLE-HERTOG: Baarle-Hertog, of course.

NARRATOR: In the end, it doesn`t matter which side of the border you choose. all in all, this is just a great love story between two countries.

DE BONT: We also want to be an example for other regions where borders are a major problem.

VAN GOOL: We have learned to deal with each other, we have learned to live with each other, and I could say, we are an example for the rest of Europe,

maybe the rest of the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Architects have to have a vision. But the one who designed a sculpture in the Netherlands would have never envisioned this -- on Monday,

a subway train broke through its barriers and landed on top of the whale tale sculpture. The only person aboard the train was the driver and he wasn`t

hurt.

But the architect of the sculpture says if it weren`t so strong and built at the height it was, the driver might not have survived the accident.

And now, when he tells of the tall tales, he`s not telling tall tales. He`s got a whale of a tail to tell about the time he took the underground

overground and wound up grounded to an undersea creature. People might ask, are you for whale? They might ask if he`s feeling whale, but he`ll be able

to say, hey, it`s no fluke.
 

fluke [fluk] n.【口】侥幸; （鱼叉等的）倒钩

I`m Carl Azuz.

We got some Spartans watching today. Shoutout to the Students of Schurr School. Are you sure? I`m sure. It`s in Montebello, California. Sure is

good to have you watching CNN 10.

END