VOA慢速英语20060627b

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Protections Increased for Sea Life in Northwestern HawaiiBy Nancy Steinbach, Erin Schiavone and Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 16:00:00 UTC

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Pat Bodnar. This week: The world's largest protected marine² area ...

VOICE ONE:

And the search for some very old objects stolen in the American South ...

VOICE TWO:

But first a report on monster tumors.

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VOICE ONE:

Researchers are studying the qualities of an unusual kind of cancer called a teratoma. They hope to use teratomas for stem cell experiments, without the need for human embryos⁴. Scientists are experimenting with stem cells to try to develop medical treatments.

Embryonic⁵ stem cells are able to grow into the different kinds of cells and tissues in the body. But the stem cells can be collected only when an embryo³ is destroyed. Opponents of such research say it destroys human life.

VOICE TWO:

Teratoma cells form a large mass in the body. The cells develop like a fertilized⁶ egg. The name teratoma comes from a Greek word for monster. Like some frightening creature, teratomas can grow hair, teeth and skin. But they can also produce stem cells.

Some researchers think teratomas offer a better way to see how cancer drugs will act in humans than tests on mice. What works in humans does not always work in animals.

But mice could be a way to produce a supply of teratomas to use for testing medicines. A recent report in the New York Times described work by researchers in Israel. They injected stem cells from human embryos into the legs of the mice. The animals developed teratomas.

The researchers then put laboratory-grown cancer cells into the same areas. The cancer cells quickly spread through the teratomas, producing what the scientists think is a fertile place to test drugs.

Teratomas can produce many different kinds of human tissue, so drugs could be tested on different kinds of cells. But some researchers think they may be most valuable for their stem cells.

Teratomas that develop from egg cells lack the biological programming of embryos. So their stem cells could be used for research, but could not develop into human beings.

VOICE ONE:

Growths on the lower back, called sacrococcygeal teratomas, are common in children. Teratomas generally do not become malignant⁷, the most serious form of cancer. Still, they can be dangerous. In fetuses⁸, a teratoma can grow large enough to cause heart failure. But doctors may be able to remove it while the baby is still inside its mother.

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VOICE TWO:

You are listening to SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

The Pacific Ocean now has the world's largest protected area for sea life. Earlier this month, President Bush established the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. It extends for more than three hundred sixty thousand square meters.

The area is home to about seven thousand kinds of sea life. Many are found nowhere else. Ten islands, atolls and other landforms are in the newly protected area northwest of the main islands of Hawaii. The president noted⁹ that the area is larger than forty-six of the fifty states.

He said the waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands will now receive the nation's highest form of marine environmental protection. The action calls for an end to commercial fishing in those waters over a five-year period.

VOICE ONE:

The declaration will limit visitors in most areas, but will provide for educational and scientific activities. It will also provide for cultural activities by Native Hawaiians. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric¹⁰ Administration will enforce the rules.

Other presidents over the years have taken steps to protect the area. Almost one hundred years ago, Theodore Roosevelt declared much of Hawaii a national wildlife refuge. And, in recent times, Bill Clinton ordered additional protections.

President Bush used a law passed by Congress a century ago. The National Antiquities¹¹ Act lets the president take immediate¹² action to protect important cultural or natural resources.

VOICE TWO:

A plan to declare the area a national marine sanctuary¹³ could have taken a year. And sanctuaries¹⁴ do not ban fishing except in special areas.

Mister Bush signed the measure during a ceremony at the White House. The guests included Jean-Michel Cousteau. His father was the undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Mister Bush had seen a film that the son produced about the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and their environmental threats. He says it helped him decide to take the action he did.

Millions of seabirds live on the islands. So do the last of the severely¹⁵ endangered Hawaiian monk¹⁶ seals and most of the state's threatened green sea turtles.

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VOICE ONE:

Has anyone seen a large collection of very old earthen containers? They were stolen from the Moundville Archeological Park in Alabama in nineteen eighty. Two hundred sixty-four bowls, bottles and broken pieces of pottery¹⁸ are missing. Some objects date back to prehistoric¹⁹ times.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation²⁰ has tried to find the artifacts. Not one piece of the collection is known to have been offered for sale. That leads some experts to believe all the objects are still together. Some people believe the artifacts have been taken out of the country.

VOICE TWO:

The Moundville archeological area is along the Black Warrior²¹ River in central Alabama. The Native Americans who lived there made their pottery of earth hardened by fire. Some of the containers have handles. Some have artwork. Animals are shown on some of the artifacts. The animals are thought to have had religious meaning.

The stolen pottery represented twenty percent of the complete Moundville collection. The Alabama Museum of Natural History kept the artifacts in the Erskine Ramsay Archeological Repository. Experts say the best artifacts were stolen.

VOICE ONE:

The area is called Moundville because people built twenty-six small hills of earth around a large public square. One mound¹⁷, known as Mound A, may have supported the home of the chief. The chief ruled the city-state apparently²² with total control.

Experts say the settlement was occupied from one thousand years ago to five hundred fifty years ago. Archeologists discovered public buildings and many small houses. People were buried under some of the floors.

The community was a political and religious center overlooking the river and protected by huge wooden walls. About ten thousand people are believed to have lived in the settlement and nearby areas.

VOICE TWO:

The warm climate and spring flooding in the lowlands of the Black Warrior River made the land fertile for growing maize²³.

The first archeology at Moundville did not result from work by a trained scientist. Instead, the first investigator²⁴ was a wealthy man from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

For twenty years, Clarence Moore explored the southeastern United States in his steamboat. He explored the Black Warrior River area in nineteen-oh-five. A year later, he returned with a crew and began to dig.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen thirty-eight, the Civilian²⁵ Conservation Corps²⁶ unearthed²⁷ the major discovery of the Moundville community. The Corps was one of the New Deal programs created by President Franklin Roosevelt.

Many people had no jobs during the Great Depression. President Roosevelt put some to work on projects like saving historic places.

From the findings at Moundville, scientists learned that the people did artistic²⁸ work in pottery, stonework and copper²⁹.

VOICE TWO:

Vernon Knight³⁰ works for the Alabama Museum of Natural History. He says the Moundville society seemed to do well until about six hundred fifty years ago. At that time, Mister Knight says, Moundville stopped looking like a community. But it still was used as a political and ceremonial center. After that, however, the society seemingly lost importance.

Moundville was largely unoccupied by the fifteen hundreds. No one knows why. So two mysteries remain. What happened to the people? And where are their stolen artifacts?

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VOICE ONE:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Nancy Steinbach, Erin Schiavone and Jerilyn Watson. If you missed any of our show, you can read a transcript³¹ and download audio at www.unsv.com. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Pat Bodnar. To send us e-mail, write to [email protected]. We hope you can join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

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 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

4 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

5 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

6 Fertilized   

v.施肥( fertilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of psychology has recently been widely cross-fertilized by new discoveries in genetics. 心理学研究最近从遗传学的新发现中受益匪浅。
• Flowers are often fertilized by bees as they gather nectar. 花常在蜜蜂采蜜时受粉。

7 malignant   

adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Alexander got a malignant slander.亚历山大受到恶意的诽谤。
• He started to his feet with a malignant glance at Winston.他爬了起来，不高兴地看了温斯顿一眼。

8 fetuses   

n.胎，胎儿( fetus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• DNA was extracted from fetuses at mid-gestation, about 10 days past conception. DNA从受孕大约10天后的中期妊娠胚胎中提取。 来自互联网
• Brucellosis is a disease that causes fetuses to abort in cattle. 普鲁士菌病是一种可以导致牲畜胎儿夭折的疾病。 来自互联网

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

11 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

14 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

15 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

16 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

17 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

18 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。

19 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

20 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

21 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

22 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

23 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

24 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

25 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

26 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

27 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

28 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

29 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

30 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

31 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。