VOA慢速英语-EXPLORATIONS - Scuba Diving Is an Exciting Sport Tha

VOICE ONE:

I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:
　
Colorful fish at Danger Reef

And I'm Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we explore the clear blue waters around the islands of the Bahamas to learn about the exciting sport of scuba¹ diving. The word "scuba" stands for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus². Knowing how to dive opens up an entire underwater world of coral, fish, and other creatures. Join us as we learn the basics of diving, talk to an expert, and say hello to a shark.

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VOICE ONE:

Imagine swimming in clear blue waters as you look at small, brightly colored fish and the striking shapes of coral organisms. The underwater world is quiet except for the sound of your breathing. When you breathe out, you see many shining air bubbles floating upwards³ towards the surface of the water.

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VOICE TWO:

Since humans are not designed to see and breathe underwater, scuba diving requires several pieces of important equipment. Scuba divers⁴ must wear a mask in order to be able to see underwater. The mask creates an air space that protects the eyes and nose.

Scuba divers breathe with the help of a regulator, which brings air to the mouth when they inhale⁵. The regulator is attached to an air tank that is placed on the diver's back. There is an extra regulator called an octopus⁶, which is used in case of emergency situations.

VOICE ONE:

Divers also wear a BCD, or buoyancy control device, to control how much they float or sink. A pressure gauge⁷ device tells divers how much air is left in the air tank. Or, a dive computer can calculate how much air is left as well as a diver's depth and the length of time he or she can stay underwater.

Divers wear scuba fins⁹ on their feet to help them move easily and quickly through the water. Many divers also wear a wetsuit in order to stay warm underwater.

VOICE TWO:

To learn how to use all of this equipment, it helps to go to dive school. Becoming a certified¹⁰ diver requires taking three series of lessons. New divers must learn about the physics and safety of diving. And, they must practice diving skills first in a closed water area and then on actual beginner dives. Several organizations offer official diving certifications.

VOICE ONE:

Scuba diving for fun first became possible with the development of the Aqualung by Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan in the early nineteen forties. In the United States, articles in popular magazines about Cousteau and his underwater exploration methods helped bring attention to scuba diving. Because of the cost of the equipment, diving did not become a widely available sport until years later.

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VOICE TWO:

Taking diving classes and becoming certified are important for knowing how to dive safely. For example, you need to know how to put a regulator back in your mouth if it falls out underwater. And, you need to know how to clear your mask if it fills with water.

There are many other safety issues to consider when diving. For example, when going down deeper in the water, a diver must be careful to equalize the pressure in his or her ears. This is done by holding the nose and blowing very gently. Otherwise, the extreme pressure from the surrounding water can cause damage to the middle ear and sinuses.

VOICE ONE:

Decompression sickness is a major concern for divers. The deeper a diver goes, the more pressure the surrounding water puts on the volume of the air inside his or her lungs. And, the deeper a dive, the more nitrogen gas goes into the diver's blood.

For safety reasons, a diver must measure the length of his or her dive based on its depth so as not to exceed a safe amount of nitrogen absorption.

VOICE TWO:

When divers rise to return to the water's surface, they must continue to breathe and rise no faster than the air bubbles around them. For very deep dives, they must stop and decompress at certain levels. This way, the highly pressurized air in the diver's lungs has time to leave the body before it expands. If a diver rises to the surface too quickly, he or she can become extremely ill with decompression sickness, also known as "the bends."

Another important aspect to diving is having a "buddy¹¹" system. By having a diving partner, you can watch over one another and help each other if there is an accident.

VOICE ONE:
　
Coral formations at Danger Reef

One important diving rule is to never touch any of the sea life. This rule is both to protect the diver and to protect the underwater environment. For example, there is a reason fire coral received its name. This kind of coral causes a painful burning feeling if touched. A diver could also be cut by touching¹² a sharp piece of coral.

Coral may seem hard like stone, but it is actually a very fragile organism. It can be damaged if divers touch or stand on it. In order to protect the beautiful coral reef systems, divers must treat them with care.

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TITO BALDWIN: "I think everyone takes a different experience away from diving. I think what they love about diving could be the color of the ocean, could be the peacefulness, it could be a gamut¹³ of things. Everyone is different."

VOICE TWO:

That was Tito Baldwin, a rescue diver from the Bahamas who has been diving for almost thirty years. He has done everything from diving to explore underwater shipwrecks¹⁴ to dives eighty meters deep. It might not surprise you to know Tito Baldwin's favorite place in the world to dive.

TITO BALDWIN: "Anywhere in the Bahamas, because the Bahamas is probably the most beautiful water. The further south you get away from civilization, past Georgetown down to the Plana Cays, Hogsty, Little Inagua where it's untouched by humans. It's just vibrant¹⁶, alive, colorful, fish everywhere. You get some pretty good extreme diving. You've got good walls, you've got good tunnels and caverns¹⁷, there's wrecks¹⁵. Everything you could possibly imagine."

VOICE ONE:

We went on a shark dive with Tito Baldwin in an area of the Bahamas called the Exumas.

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The dive site known as Danger Reef is just south of Indigo¹⁸ Island. The water there was very rough. But, once you flip¹⁹ backwards²⁰ off the boat and enter the water, you enter a calm and colorful world.

VOICE TWO:
　
A scuba diver observes a Caribbean reef shark

The main purpose of this dive was to see the many Caribbean reef sharks that gather in this area. These sharks have a rounded and short snout and big round eyes. They eat mainly bony fish. A fully²¹ grown female Caribbean reef shark measures about two to three meters, while a grown male measures one and a half meters or more in length.

It is very exciting and a little bit strange diving among the sharks. You feel as though you should be afraid, even though the sharks are not aggressive at all. The sharks just swim around, watching what is going on around them.

VOICE ONE:

At Danger Reef, there were also many large Nassau grouper and yellow fin⁸ grouper fish. If you float above the large coral formations you can examine the smaller creatures swimming in the reef. The bright yellow and purple fish called the fairy basslet look like small swimming jewels. Many kinds of fish swim in and out of the brain coral, elkhorn coral and sea fans, which wave gently with the current.

Back on the boat, we asked Tito Baldwin more about the safety of diving with sharks.
　
A Caribbean reef shark

TITO BALDWIN: "When you get in the water with sharks, people are automatically scared because they've seen 'Jaws,' they've seen all these crazy movies. But sharks are just like every other animal in the water, they are petrified²² of human beings. We were two feet away from five foot sharks and they were just kind of circling around us like everything else in the water. The groupers were close to us, the sharks were close to us, the yellow tail were close to us. They're kind of curious, and they are more afraid of us than we are of them."

VOICE TWO:

There are many other beautiful places around the world to dive. Scuba Diving Magazine recently listed several of the "must see" diving sites. These include Bonaire, one of the Netherlands Antilles Islands off the coast of Venezuela. Here, divers can explore many reefs within a protected marine²³ park. Divers can even explore the sea creatures that live in and around the ship, Hilma Hooker. This seventy meter long cargo²⁴ ship sank over twenty years ago.

VOICE ONE:

Off the coast of Baja California in Mexico, divers can see large sea creatures like sharks, giant manta rays and dolphins. Scuba Diving Magazine also recommends the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Many divers go here to see grey reef sharks or hammerhead sharks.

In Australia, divers can explore many interesting areas, including the Great Barrier Reef. It is the largest coral reef system in the world. Measuring over two thousand kilometers in length, this extraordinary natural formation offers many exciting dive possibilities. Also in Australia, the Cod²⁵ Hole diving area off the Ribbon Reefs is famous for its large potato codfish. And at the Lighthouse Bommie site, divers can swim with minke whales.

VOICE TWO:

Scuba diving in any of these places is an extraordinary experience. This popular activity allows people to see an expansive and exciting underwater world in a new way.

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VOICE ONE:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. To see pictures of a dive in the Bahamas, visit our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.

 

1 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

2 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

3 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

4 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

5 inhale   

v.吸入(气体等)，吸(烟)

参考例句：

• Don't inhale dust into your lung.别把灰尘吸进肺里。
• They are pleased to not inhale second hand smoke.他们很高兴他们再也不会吸到二手烟了。

6 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

7 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

8 fin   

n.鳍；(飞机的)安定翼

参考例句：

• They swim using a small fin on their back.它们用背上的小鳍游动。
• The aircraft has a long tail fin.那架飞机有一个长长的尾翼。

9 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

10 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

11 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

12 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

13 gamut   

n.全音阶，(一领域的)全部知识

参考例句：

• The exhibition runs the whole gamut of artistic styles.这次展览包括了所有艺术风格的作品。
• This poem runs the gamut of emotions from despair to joy.这首诗展现了从绝望到喜悦的感情历程。

14 shipwrecks   

海难，船只失事( shipwreck的名词复数 )； 沉船

参考例句：

• Shipwrecks are apropos of nothing. 船只失事总是来得出人意料。
• There are many shipwrecks in these waters. 在这些海域多海难事件。

15 wrecks   

n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉

参考例句：

• The shores are strewn with wrecks. 海岸上满布失事船只的残骸。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My next care was to get together the wrecks of my fortune. 第二件我所关心的事就是集聚破产后的余财。 来自辞典例句

16 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

17 caverns   

大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Within were dark caverns; what was inside them, no one could see. 里面是一个黑洞，这里面有什么东西，谁也望不见。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• UNDERGROUND Under water grottos, caverns Filled with apes That eat figs. 在水帘洞里，挤满了猿争吃无花果。

18 indigo   

n.靛青，靛蓝

参考例句：

• The sky was indigo blue,and a great many stars were shining.天空一片深蓝，闪烁着点点繁星。
• He slipped into an indigo tank.他滑落到蓝靛桶中。

19 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

20 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

21 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

22 petrified   

adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
• The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 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。

24 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

25 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。