VOA慢速英语2009-SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Project Aims to Help S

VOICE ONE:

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

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty¹. On our show this week, we will tell about what is being called the world's largest tornado² experiment. We also will tell how a job loss can affect your health. And, we tell about a simple way to save lives.

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VOICE ONE:

Tornadoes³ are one of the most violent weather events on Earth. Each year, the severe winds of tornadoes kill many people. The storms have been known to carry homes, cars and trees from one plane to another. And they can also destroy anything in their path.

VOICE TWO:

A tornado is a violently turning tube of air suspended from a thick cloud. It extends from a thunderstorm in the sky down to the ground. The shape is like a funnel⁴: wide at the top, narrower at the bottom.

Tornadoes form when winds blowing in different directions meet in the cloud and begin to turn in circles. Warm air rising from below causes the wind tube to reach toward the ground. Because of their circular movement, these severe windstorms are also known as twisters.

VOICE ONE:

Tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica. But weather experts say they are most common is the United States. Each year, the United States has more than one thousand tornadoes.

These storms can happen any time of the year. But most happen from late winter to the middle of summer. There is a second high season in November.

During spring, warm air moves north and mixes with cold air remaining from winter. In November, the opposite happens. Cold weather moves south and combines with the last of the warm air from summer.

VOICE TWO:

Tornadoes can strike with little or no warning. Weather experts operate warning systems to tell people about possible tornadoes. But the storms often move too fast for people to flee. Last year, tornadoes killed more than one hundred people in the United States.

Most injuries happen when flying objects hit people. Experts say the best place to be is in a small room, without windows, in the middle of the lowest part of a building.

VOICE ONE:
　
Vortex2 equipment

Last month, American scientists began work on a project aimed at improving the ability to predict tornadoes. The project is said to be the largest tornado study in history. It is called Verification of the Origins of Rotation⁵ in Tornadoes Experiment Two. The shorter name is VORTEX2.

The project covers an area of nearly one thousand five hundred kilometers in the central United States. This area, from west Texas to southwest Minnesota, is where the most violent tornadoes usually happen. It is known as "Tornado Alley⁶."

VOICE TWO:

VORTEX2 involves a team of nearly one hundred people, many of them scientists. They are using radars⁷ and other equipment to learn more about how, why and where tornadoes form. The team is using forty cars and trucks to chase tornadoes, dropping measuring instruments in their paths. In addition, unmanned aircraft are collecting information from inside storms.

The project costs more than eleven million dollars. Most of the money is coming from America's National Science Foundation.

VOICE ONE:

The first Vortex project took place in nineteen ninety-four and nineteen ninety-five. The results helped scientists better understand supercells. They are the severe thunderstorms that produce the most deadly and destructive tornadoes. This time, scientists hope to learn more about the formation, wind speed and shape of tornadoes.

The study is to continue through June thirteenth. A second part of the study is planned for early next year. You can follow reports from scientists on the project at tornadoscientists.blogspot.com.

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VOICE TWO:

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

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Millions of Americans have lost their jobs as a result of the current recession. A new study shows that losing your job can increase your risk of developing health problems. These include heart disease, heart attack, stroke, diabetes⁸ and high blood pressure.

Earlier studies have shown a link between job loss and worsened health. However it was unclear to researchers whether unemployment caused poor health, or whether poor health led to job loss. The new study sought to discover the answer to this.

VOICE ONE:

Kate Strully carried out the study while she was at the Harvard School of Public Health. Currently, Miz Strully is a sociologist⁹ at State University of New York. She examined information from the United States Panel of Study of Income Dynamics¹⁰. This study asks people across the country each year about their health and employment.

Miz Strully examined information about more than eight thousand people. They were questioned in nineteen ninety-nine, two thousand one and two thousand three. Miz Strully noted¹¹ whether the subjects were employed and then looked at their health eighteen months later.

VOICE TWO:

The sociologist says she was looking for individuals who reported becoming jobless for reasons out of their control, such as a factory closing. She found that such individuals who did not have health problems were eighty percent more likely to report a new health problem after losing their job.

The most common problems were high blood pressure or other conditions linked to heart disease. Among all workers, the possibility of someone reporting fair or poor health rose forty-four percent after job loss and workplace closure.

The study's findings were reported in the publication Demography¹².

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VOICE ONE:
　
Hands-Only CPR

If a person's heart stops, would you know how to perform CPR? CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation¹³, can save a life and reduce the risk of brain damage from loss of oxygen. With traditional CPR, you give two breathes to force air into the lungs. Then you push hard on the chest thirty times. You repeat these two steps until the victim wakes up or medical help arrives.

But people may worry about getting sick from blowing into a stranger's mouth. Also, the training is easy to forget, especially during an emergency. And those without training may not do anything for fear that they will do something wrong.

VOICE TWO:

Last year, the American Heart Association reformed its guidelines for CPR. The group now calls for hands-only CPR for adults who suddenly collapse¹⁴. Here is how it works.

A person has collapsed¹⁵ unconscious on the ground. The victim has lost color in the face and does not appear to be breathing. These are signs of cardiac arrest. This is the time to begin CPR.

Place your hands, one on top of the other, on the center of the chest. Push hard and fast. Aim for a rate of about one hundred compressions each minute. Chest compressions keep the blood flowing to the brain, heart and other organs.

VOICE ONE:

Guidelines from two thousand five said only untrained people should use hands-only CPR. Those with training were told to use traditional CPR. But now the heart association says everyone should use hands-only CPR unless they feel strong about their ability to do rescue breathing.

The rules were reformed after three studies showed that the hands-only method was just as effective as traditional CPR. Scientists say enough oxygen remains¹⁶ in a person's system for several minutes after breathing stops.

VOICE TWO:

But the experts say you should still use traditional CPR with a combination of breaths and compressions on babies and children. Traditional CPR should also be used for adults found already unconscious and not breathing normally. And traditional CPR should be used for any victims of drowning or collapse from breathing problems.

These are all examples where CPR with mouth-to-mouth breathing may be more helpful that hands-only CPR. Because there are many of these cases, people should still learn CPR with mouth-to-mouth.

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VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Caty Weaver¹⁷ and Brianna Blake, who was also our producer. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty. Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Listen 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 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

3 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

4 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

5 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

6 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

7 radars   

n.雷达( radar的名词复数 )；雷达装置

参考例句：

• Servos for large radars and launchers are either electro-hydraulic or all-electric. 大型雷达和发射装置的伺服系统，不是电动-液压式的，就是全电动式的。 来自辞典例句
• Range-velocity simultaneous pull-off is one of effective measures for countering PD radars. 距离-速度同步拖引干扰是对抗PD雷达的有效方法。 来自互联网

8 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

9 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

10 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

11 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。

12 demography   

n.人口统计，人口学

参考例句：

• Demography is the analysis of population variables.人口学是对人口变量的分析。
• It was once a rule of demography that people have fewer children as their countries get richer.按人口统计学的一贯规律，一个国家里的人民越富有，他们所拥有的孩子就越少。

13 resuscitation   

n.复活

参考例句：

• Despite attempts at resuscitation,Mr Lynch died a week later in hospital.虽经全力抢救，但林奇先生一周以后还是在医院去世了。
• We gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage.我们对他进行了口对口复苏救治和心脏按摩。

14 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

15 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

16 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。

17 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。