VOA慢速英语 2008 0513b

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Museum Aims to Keep African Archeological Treasures in Africa
Also: A vaccine¹ against meningitis proves successful in Uganda. And a study suggests genetic³ reasons for living longer. Transcript⁴ of radio broadcast:
12 May 2008

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty⁵. This week, we will tell about an effort to keep African archeological treasures in Africa. We will report on progress against a bacterial⁶ form of the disease meningitis. We will also tell about a study that suggests genetic reasons for living longer.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:
　

Museu Local

An archeologist from Canada is working to establish a museum in Mozambique. The museum will have the traditional purpose of showing valuable objects from the past. But another purpose is to keep ancient African objects in Africa. That goal goes against a long history of foreign archeologists digging up such objects and taking them home for permanent showing.

The new museum in Mozambique will open officially in August. It is called Museu Local. The name means local museum in the Portuguese⁷ language.

VOICE TWO:

The creator of this unusual project is Julio Mercader of the University of Calgary in Canada's Alberta Province. He has been leading archeological digs in Mozambique for about five years.

Museu Local will be only the second museum in Mozambique’s Niassa Province. Julio Mercader decided⁸ to build it after finding a cave overlooking Lake Niassa in two thousand three. He recognized the area’s richness for ancient objects when he found one-thousand-year-old ceremonial containers in the area.

Mister Mercader chose an historic building for the museum’s home. The building had been the first schoolhouse in the area of Lago. As such, it already held special meaning for the local population.

VOICE ONE:

Last year, Mister Mercader led his team in collecting stories from twenty-five nearby villages. Team members recorded the spoken tradition and personal histories of more than two hundred people. They also recorded the people’s memories of their travels, stories and songs. Sixty-five hours of sound and video recordings⁹ already are available for museum visitors.

One member of the team is Arianna Fogelman, a graduate student at Boston University in the United States. She has spent three summers collecting the spoken histories. She worked along a one hundred-fifty-kilometer long area on the coast of Lake Niassa.

Miz Fogelman says she is satisfied to see the looks on people’s faces when they hear recordings of their stories and songs. She plans to return soon for another summer.

VOICE TWO:

In addition to building the museum, Julio Mercader has provided chances for local people to help with his project. The archeologist teaches as he works on excavations¹⁰, or digs. He also offers classes and training in laboratory methods.

Mussa Raja is an aide to Mister Mercader. Mister Raja has been taking archeology courses in a school in Mozambique and at the University of Calgary. He says Mozambique needs more experts in the archeology of Stone Age times, when stone tools were first used.

Mister Mercader worked with two universities in Mozambique to help establish Museu Local. The museum employs local workers. The United States has given thirty-five thousand dollars to support the project.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

You are listening to the VOA Special English program SCIENCE IN THE NEWS. With Bob Doughty, I'm Barbara Klein in Washington.

(MUSIC)

Meningitis is an infection of the tissue that covers the brain and spinal¹¹ cord. Both bacteria and viruses can cause it. Viral meningitis is the more common form. But bacterial meningitis is more dangerous. It results from a bacterium¹² known as Hib, or Haemophilus influenzae type b.

Each year, almost four hundred thousand young children die from bacterial meningitis. Millions more suffer hearing loss, brain damage or other disabilities as a result of the disease.

VOICE TWO:

Hib requires intensive treatment with antibiotic¹³ drugs. But most of the children are poor and live in developing countries. Hib vaccines¹⁴ for babies have been available since nineteen ninety-one. For most of that time, their use was limited to industrial countries, mostly because of cost.

Uganda began a vaccination¹⁵ campaign to protect children against Hib in two thousand two. Now, a study has found that in areas where cases were counted, the disease rate fell by eighty-five percent in the first four years. Then it fell to zero in two thousand six.

VOICE ONE:

Scientists from the government, the World Health Organization, a French agency and others have been studying the campaign. They estimate that the program now prevents thirty thousand severe infections and five thousand deaths in children under five each year.

The GAVI Alliance paid for the vaccines. GAVI was formerly¹⁶ the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. This alliance of private and public interests was created in two thousand to widen the availability of immunizations.

With GAVI support, Uganda provided sixteen million five hundred thousand doses of Hib vaccine nationwide from two thousand two to two thousand six.

VOICE TWO:

Other studies have found similar results with Hib vaccines in countries such as Bangladesh, Gambia and Kenya. But the executive secretary of the alliance, Julian Lob-Levyt, says this is the first time the group has seen rates drop to zero.

Uganda chose to use an injection that contains vaccines against five diseases. They are Hib, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and hepatitis B.

In November, the GAVI board approved additional financing to pay for Hib vaccine in a total of forty-four countries.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Scientists are moving closer to understanding genetic reasons why some people live longer than others. A recent study suggests a gene² mutation¹⁷ may be one of the secrets to living one hundred or more years. Scientists found that genetic orders linked to both long life and small size in animals may produce a similar effect in human beings. The findings were published in the Proceedings¹⁸ of the National Academy of Sciences.

The orders affect genetic material involved in the actions of a hormone¹⁹ called insulin-like growth factor. Hormones²⁰ are chemicals produced by the body. They control the activity of cells and organs. The scientists say the genetic orders reduce the activity of the growth hormone IGF-One. But the exact reasons why they may lengthen²¹ a person’s life are still not known.

VOICE TWO:

Nir Barzilai is director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. His team of researchers looked for the gene mutation among a population of Ashkenazi Jews. The team studied members of the population who were at least ninety-five years old, and their children.

The researchers compared their findings to other Ashkenazi Jews whose family members did not live as long. They found that the genetic orders were more common among those who lived longer, and their children. They also discovered that this gene mutation is found mostly among women.

Daughters of the people who lived to be one hundred had higher levels of the growth hormone than people in the control group. The daughters also were, on average, two centimeters shorter than those in the control group.

VOICE ONE:

Neither the older adults nor their family members had evidence of anything unusual in the growth hormone gene itself. Instead, the difference was observed in the growth hormone receptor, which is responsible for telling the cells to grow. The researchers believe the higher levels of growth hormone present may be the bodies’ way of dealing²² with the slowed receptors.

Doctor Barzilai says the new findings show that it might be possible to develop drugs to prevent aging and age-related disease. However, scientists still do not know how long growth hormones need to be restricted to delay the effects of aging.

For those born with the gene mutation, it may help them to live longer by avoiding cancer. However, the mutation is very rare. Only two percent of those one hundred years or older in the study had it.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake, Jerilyn Watson and Caty Weaver²³. Brianna Blake was also our producer. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Barbara Klein. Internet users can read our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

7 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

8 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。

9 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

10 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

11 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

12 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

13 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

14 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

15 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

16 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

17 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

18 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

19 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

20 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

21 lengthen   

vt.使伸长，延长

参考例句：

• He asked the tailor to lengthen his coat.他请裁缝把他的外衣放长些。
• The teacher told her to lengthen her paper out.老师让她把论文加长。

22 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

23 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。