SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Digest

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - April 16, 2002: Digest

VOICE ONE:
This is Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Bob Doughty¹ with Science in the News, a VOA Special English program about recent developments

in science. Today, we tell about the discovery of an ancient Inca city in Peru. We also tell about the discovery of
an ancient Maya wall painting in Guatemala. And we tell about the intelligence of birds.
((THEME)
)

VOICE ONE:
Explorers working in Peru have found extensive² ruins of an ancient city built by the Inca people. The explorers
say it is about thirty-five kilometers southwest of the famous ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu. The newly³
discovered city is almost four-thousand meters up the side of a mountain named Cerro Victoria.

Peter Frost is a British explorer who lives in Cuzco, Peru. He has been studying archeology of the Inca for thirty
years. Mister⁴ Frost led the group that found the ancient city. He says it is complete with roads, burial places, and
more than one-hundred buildings.

VOICE TWO:

Mister Frost says some of the buildings were used to store food. He says his team also found specially⁵ built
farming areas that the Incas cut into the side of the mountains.
The scientists also found stone instruments and some human remains⁶. The city covers an area of about six square

kilometers.

Mister Frost says the new discovery may contain a record of the Inca civilization from its beginning to its end.
However, it is not clear exactly when the city was built.
VOICE ONE:
The Inca once ruled large areas of South America from Colombia to Chile. But invading⁷ Spanish explorers

defeated them.
The researchers reported finding⁸ pottery⁹ from two different periods of time in Inca history. Some of the pots are
an early kind that were made when the Inca first became powerful. This would have been about the year Twelve-

Hundred. Other pieces of pottery are thought to be from the time of the last Inca rebellion¹⁰ against Spanish rule, in
about Fifteen-Thirty.
Researchers say the ancient city may have been used by the Inca to hide from the Spanish explorers. They say the

city may have been used until the Inca finally surrendered¹¹ to the Spanish about forty years later.
VOICE TWO:
The scientists say local farmers have used one or two of the buildings in recent years. However, most of the city

has not been touched in more than four-hundred years.
The explorers first saw the city in the far distance in Nineteen-Ninety-Nine. They traveled there last June. They
left the nearest road and walked and climbed for four days before arriving at the city.


Mister Frost said they knew immediately that they had found something special. He plans to return in June to
make maps of the area and to carry out more investigations¹².

VOICE ONE:

Mister Frost says the Inca people probably lived in such an area for two reasons. He says there is a silver mine
not far from the city. And he says the area is surrounded by mountains, which were holy to the Inca. Mister Frost
says they may have held religious ceremonies and prayed to the mountains. He also says the Inca were very
interested in the stars and may have used the mountains to observe the sun and stars.

The National Geographic¹³ Society announced the discovery of the city. The Society helped pay the cost of
exploring this area of Peru.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

Archeologists have made another important discovery. This one is in the rain forest of northeastern Guatemala.
They discovered what experts think may be the oldest and most complete Maya wall art ever found. The wall
painting is believed to be about one-thousand-nine-hundred years old. It is said to be in better condition than
other Maya art from that period.

The National Geographic Society announced the discovery. The group provided¹⁴ financial support for the study.

VOICE ONE:

The Maya culture existed for hundreds of years in what is now Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and parts of
Honduras and Mexico. The Maya established many great cities. They built huge three-sided structures called
pyramids. And they studied the planets¹⁵ and stars. The Maya culture ended more than one -thousand years ago. No
one is sure why.

William Saturno, an archeologist at the University of New Hampshire, led the team that discovered the wall art.
He also works¹⁶ for the Peabody Museum of Harvard University in Massachusetts.

VOICE TWO:

Mister Saturno traveled to Guatemala last year to explore Maya ruins. He says he found the wall painting by
accident. The archeologist arrived at the ruins of a Maya ceremonial area called San Bartolo after a three-day trip.
To escape from the heat, he went into a dark, underground walkway near a large pyramid. He believes that people
who stole objects from the pyramid dug the walkway.

Mister Saturno used a flashlight to find his way as he entered the darkened area. The light helped him to see a
painting on the wall of the passageway. He says the painting is about two meters long and is in very good
condition.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Saturno says he knew immediately that he had found something important. He says it has been more than
fifty years since anyone found such a large Maya painting.

Only part of the wall art can be seen. But experts believe the painting extends¹⁷ at least eighteen meters around the
top of the whole room. The painting was protected because it was covered with earth and then the room was
closed.

The picture is painted in black, red and yellow. There are at least nine images. All the human images stand or are
on their knees above a complex design. The Maya god of corn is in the center of the painting.Most of the room is
still filled with dirt and stones. Mister Saturno says he plans to return to San Bartolo next month. He and his team
will protect the Maya artwork and carry out more work in the area.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))


VOICE TWO:

American scientists have found that some birds are more intelligent than experts had
believed. The scientists say birds have abilities that involve communication and
different kinds of memory. In some unusual cases, their abilities seem better than
those of humans.

The findings¹⁸ were presented at the yearly¹⁹ meeting of the American Association²⁰ for
the Advancement²¹ of Science in Boston, Massachusetts.Irene Pepperberg presented
her research about a Grey parrot named Griffin. He lives in her laboratory²² at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

VOICE ONE:

Mizz Pepperberg says Griffin can arrange objects in order of size. She says the talking bird also can combine
words in the right order. For example, he will combine words when asking for a piece of food.

The researcher says experts had thought that only humans and other mammals with large brains have the ability
to combine objects and words. She believes that bird brains have the ability to understand that complex tasks
must be done in the correct order.

VOICE TWO:

Some birds have other memory skills. For example, they collect and store thousands of seeds in autumn, and find
them later in winter.

Alan Kamil (CAMEL) and Alan Bond²³ of the University of Nebraska are studying the memories of birds called
jays and nutcrackers. Their experiments suggest that these birds use natural objects to find the seeds they have
stored. The researchers say the birds use at least three objects, such as rocks or trees, to find the stored seeds.

Mister Kamil also was able to train a jay to choose one object instead of another. The bird used this skill to
receive a prize, such as food. Scientists also say some birds can learn as many as two-thousand different songs.
They say songs may have developed as a way for birds to communicate with other birds.

Verner Bingman of Bowling²⁴ Green State University in Ohio also presented research at the science meeting in
Boston. Mister Bingman believes that birds must have a special guidance system in their brain. He says that
understanding how a bird’s brain operates may help us better understand how a human brain processes
information.

((THEME))

VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Paul Thompson and George Grow. It was produced by
Cynthia Kirk. This is Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice
of America.

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1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 extensive   

adj.广泛的，广阔的，广大的

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• The museum offers extensive facilities for study.这个博物馆提供了许多供研究的设备。

3 newly   

adv.新近，最近；重新，再度；以新的方式

参考例句：

• Have you reviewed for this newly published novel?你给这本新出版的小说写书评了吗？
• It is a newly planted tree and it has not established yet.这是一颗新栽的树，还没有扎下根来。

4 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

5 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 invading   

v.侵入，侵略( invade的现在分词 )；涌入；侵袭；侵犯

参考例句：

• The invading troops were guilty of rape and pillage. 侵略军犯了抢劫和强奸的罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The invading army desecrated this holy place when they camped here. 侵略军在这块圣地上扎营就是对这块圣地的亵渎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

9 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

10 rebellion   

n.造反，叛乱，反抗

参考例句：

• The next year they rose up in rebellion.第二年他们就揭竿起义了。
• The new government quickly suppressed the rebellion.新政府迅速把叛乱镇压下去。

11 surrendered   

n.电子放单；Telex releasedv.投降( surrender的过去式和过去分词 )；放弃，抛弃

参考例句：

• The bandit chief surrendered himself to despair and took his own life. 匪首在绝望中自杀了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She gradually surrendered her dream of becoming an actress. 她渐渐放弃了当演员的梦想。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

13 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

14 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

15 planets   

行星( planet的名词复数 )； 地球（尤指环境）

参考例句：

• Does life exist on other planets? 其他行星上有生命吗？
• the planets of our solar system 太阳系的行星

16 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

17 extends   

v.（空间、时间等）延伸，延续( extend的第三人称单数 )；伸展；给予；延长

参考例句：

• This country extends its power and influence into neighbouring countries. 这个国家将其势力与影响扩大至邻国。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His domain extends for 20 miles in every direction. 方圆20英里之内都是他的地产。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

19 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

20 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

21 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

22 laboratory   

n.实验室，化验室

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a laboratory.她捐款成立了一个实验室。
• Our laboratory equipment isn't perfect,but we must make do.实验室设备是不够理想，但我们只好因陋就简。

23 bond   

n.结合，债券，契约，粘合剂，保证人，键，关栈保留；vt.存入关栈，粘着；vi.结合

参考例句：

• This glue makes a good firm bond.这种胶水粘得很结实。
• His word is his bond.他是讲信用的。

24 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？