美国有线新闻 CNN 2013-10-23（在线收听） |
Today, the partial government shutdown over. The possible US debt ceiling crisis averted. For now, late Wednesday night, Congress voted on the deal and approved it. Early Thursday morning, President Obama signed it. As the day moved forward, things in Washington started returning to normal. Federal employees who were furloughed set home without pay were back at work yesterday. The deal says they'll get back pay to cover what they missed while they were furloughed. Most national parks and landmarks, like E. in Florida had been closed since the shutdown started. They are back open now and accepting visitors. Keep in mind, the deal passed this week is temporary. It funds the government until Jan. It raises the debt ceiling until Feb. So, after it was passed, leaders of the House and Senate budget committees got together to start the next run of negotiations. When you hear the word of slavery, you might think of it something from history. The US Civil War decided the issue here and today slavery is illegal in every single country. But right now, worldwide, there are more slaves than any other time in history. Modern day slavery isn't always the same as images you see in textbooks. It includes human trafficking, force labor, child exploitation, forced marriage. A new report used a decade of research to offer the latest information on slavery and its victims.
"Sadly, in 2013, that stories are far more prevalent than you expect: 29.8 million. That's staggering estimate of how many people around the world are living as modern day slaves. According to walk free foundation, the number is cited in the foundation's global slavery index which for the first time provides a map country by country of the depth and breadth of the scourge. These 10 countries account for 76% of the world's enslaved people. China, Russia, Nigeria, Pakistan are all in that but India, the world's 2nd most populous nation has by far the highest number of slaves, estimated up between 13 and 14.5 million people."
"A lot of experts would say that's a conservative number. India has a massive problem with forced labor, bonded labor. There are whole communities that are forced to work on brick ... or forced to work in stone quarries. Kids were working in ch... factory. So, it's a massive problem."
"But the index found that it's the M which is the latest country to outlaw slavery in 1961 where the problem is the most prevalent. With an estimation, one in five citizens bounded to a master. Tradition is pretty hard to break."
Teachers, for more information about the fight against the modern day slavery, check out the freedom project link on our home page. Next up today, shooting stars. They are meteors and when they hit the earth atmosphere, they can cause serious problems, like the one exploded over Russia earlier this year. After waiting for months, scientists are getting their hands on what they think is a piece of that one. You'll hear that weighs more than 570 kilograms. For reference, that's more than 1250 pounds.
"This was the scene back in Feb as a massive meteors streaked across the sky, turning the night into the day, the fireball and shock waves across Russia, shattering windows, injuring some 1200 people and causing millions of dollars in damage. Scientists said fragments of the space rock crashed landing here, beneath the ice of the frozen lake near the city of Ch. Now, 8 months later, the ice is gone and on Wednesday, in an operation covered live on Russian TV, divers entered the murky water. At the bottom of the lake, they found what is believed to be the largest single fragment of the meteorite. The 1.5 meter long bolder was dragged to shore then weighed where it literally tipped than broke the scales."
"If it weighs more than 500 kilograms, then the object is unique in itself and it's likely to be one of the biggest meteorites ever found."
"This expected space roll crumbled into several chuncks but still weighed more than 570 kilograms. Now, scientists want to confirm this is indeed the meteorite they've been searching for."
"The initial visual survey which we are talking about now doesn't give us 100% certainty. We still need to conduct more research, a structural analysis and other tests."
"When it entered the earth atmosphere, scientists estimate, the meteor weighed about 10,000 tons. It`s just a fraction of that size now, but scientists seem confident, they made an out of this world discovery.I., CNN." |
| 原文地址：http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/cnn2013/10/236419.html |