VOA慢速英语 2007 0327b

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty¹. This week, scientists report finding millions of genes² and thousands of protein families in seawater. We will also tell about chimpanzees using tools to hunt other animals. And, we will tell about a combination medicine to fight the disease malaria⁴.

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VOICE ONE:

A group of scientists recently announced the discovery of new genes and proteins in the world's oceans. American Craig Venter is leading the study. He and other scientists have been using a boat called Sorcerer Two to collect the genetic⁵ information.

The findings are the first published results of a two-year project. They were reported in the Public Library of Science Biology, a web site that publishes research papers.

The crew of Sorcerer Two began collecting seawater in the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda in two thousand three. Since then, the boat has sailed more than nine thousand six hundred kilometers. The new study is based on testing of ocean water from eastern Canada to the islands of Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean.

To capture the genes, crewmembers collected two hundred liters of ocean water every three hundred twenty kilometers. They put the water through equipment that separates viruses and other kinds of cells by their size.

VOICE TWO:

A supercomputer designed by the California Institute for Telecommunications and Technology found genetic evidence of microbes in the water. Microbes are life forms that cannot be seen by the human eye. They make up most of the living things on Earth. Scientists say microbes also are responsible for helping⁶ to create Earth's atmosphere. They say that understanding these small organisms will guarantee the survival of the planet and human life.

The computer study found millions of new genes and thousands of new proteins in the ocean microbes. The report discusses only the viruses and the smallest cells. The tests showed the genes of more than six million new proteins. That increases by two times the number of proteins already known.

Craig Venter says these findings show that human beings have not yet even begun to understand our planet and its environment. He says we do not know ninety-nine percent of what is living in the world. And he says this work is just the start of many new discoveries, including the development of new antibiotics⁷ and ways to fight climate change.

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VOICE ONE:

Research scientists say they have seen chimpanzees making and using weapons to hunt other animals. The researchers say they saw more than twenty cases of chimpanzees in Senegal hunting with sharp tools. Their observations were made between March of two thousand five and last July.

A report on the chimpanzee study was published in Current Biology magazine.

Jill Pruetz of Iowa State University led the researchers. She says it is not uncommon⁸ for chimpanzees to use simple tools. Chimps⁹ often use such tools to open nuts or to find small insects within trees. However, until now, no one has ever reported seeing the animals using tools for hunting.

VOICE TWO:

Miz Pruetz says the chimps made the tools from tree branches. She says they removed leaves from the sticks and sharpened the ends with their teeth. Then the chimps used their tools in a stabbing motion like a person would.

The researchers say they saw chimps stabbing the sharp tools into open holes in tree trunks. In one case, they saw a West African chimp³ kill a tree creature called a bush baby. Chimpanzees eat fruit more often than meat. But they also eat insects, monkeys and other small mammals for protein.

VOICE ONE:

During their time in Africa, the researchers saw at least ten chimps making sharp tools for hunting. They witnessed the activity mostly among young female chimps, ages ten to thirteen years old.

Adult male chimps are considered hunters. But only one adult male was observed in the tool-assisted hunting. Miz Pruetz notes that the adult males are stronger and larger than the females. As a result, she says, they are able to kill smaller animals easily without the use of weapon-like tools. She says the young females must compete with the stronger males for food.

Chimpanzees are genetically¹⁰ the closest living relatives to human beings. Because of these ties, the researchers suggest the study may also provide clues into early humans and their use of tools for hunting.

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VOICE TWO:

Malaria infects as many as five hundred million people worldwide each year and kills more than one million of them. The ones who die are mostly children in southern Africa.

Malaria drugs have been available for many years. Until now, however, they have been costly¹¹ for the poor and not very easy to give to children.

This month, a big drug company and an international campaign announced a new anti-malarial that is low cost and easy to take. The drug maker¹² Sanofi-Aventis of France is working in partnership¹³ with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative.

VOICE ONE:

The new product is called ASAQ [said as A-S-A-Q]. It combines what experts say are two of the best drugs for malaria: artesunate and amodiaquine. Officials say ASAQ will soon be available throughout Africa south of the Sahara.

Combinations of drugs are used to treat diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis¹⁴. This is because it is easier for organisms to develop resistance to a single drug.

Current malaria treatments require adults to take as many as eight pills a day. And they often have to divide pills to give a smaller amount to children.

VOICE TWO:

ASAQ combines the medicines into one daily pill for children and two pills for adults. The medicine is taken for three days. Doctors say the simpler the treatment, the more likely people are to take their medicine.

Sanofi-Aventis has promised to sell ASAQ on a "no profit-no loss" basis to the poorest patients. The full treatment cost for older children and adults will be less than a dollar. The cost for a child under the age of five will be less than half a dollar.

VOICE ONE:

Sanofi-Aventis has also decided¹⁵ against seeking patent protections for ASAQ. That means other companies are free to make their own versions to sell at even lower prices.

Five groups including Doctors Without Borders established the international campaign four years ago. The aim is to work with major drug companies to create low-cost drugs for diseases that are common in poor countries. ASAQ is the first product to be launched.

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VOICE TWO:

Workers who lose their jobs often feel tense and worried. As a result, they may develop mental health problems. A recent report says those who remain at work after job cuts may be at risk of suffering similar problems.

The report was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Mika Kivimaki works for University College in London. He and Finnish researchers examined the effect of job cuts on those dismissed and workers who kept their jobs. They studied information on the use of drugs to treat depression and other mental sicknesses.

VOICE ONE:

The study involved almost twenty-seven thousand city government employees in Finland. More than seventeen thousand employees worked in offices where the size of the work force never changed.

Almost four thousand three hundred other employees lost their jobs. And, about four thousand eight hundred others worked in offices affected¹⁶ by job cuts. Yet they continued to work.

VOICE TWO:

The study found that men who had lost their jobs were most at risk of mental health problems. They were sixty-four percent more likely to be given a prescription¹⁷ drug for such a problem. Prescription medicines can only be bought with a doctor's order. Men who kept working in offices affected by job cuts were fifty percent more likely to take a prescription medicine. The study found that women were twelve percent more likely to use such a medicine after reductions in the work force.

Professor Kivimaki says the report shows that mental health in the work place is a serious issue. He said policy-makers, office supervisors¹⁸ and health experts should recognize that job losses can seriously affect the mental health of all workers.

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VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake, Lawan Davis, Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver¹⁹. Brianna Blake was our producer. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And, I'm Bob Doughty.  Listen again next week at this time 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 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

3 chimp   

n.黑猩猩

参考例句：

• In fact,the color of gorilla and chimp are light-color.其实大猩猩和黑猩猩的肤色是较为浅的。
• The chimp is the champ.猩猩是冠军。

4 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

5 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

8 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

9 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少，也太接近于人类，不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

10 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

12 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

13 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

14 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

17 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

18 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

19 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。