VOA慢速英语2011--Mother Bears May Be More Bark Than Bite

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Mother Bears May Be More Bark Than Bite

FAITH LAPIDUS: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I’m Faith Lapidus.
BOB DOUGHTY¹: And I’m Bob Doughty. This week, we tell about the robot collection at the world famous Smithsonian Institution here in Washington, DC. We also tell about North American black bears and a new study of their attacks.
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FAITH LAPIDUS: The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History recently added several robotic technologies to its collection. The Smithsonian currently has about one hundred robotic artifacts, including some of the world’s smallest robots.
The collection also includes C-3PO and R2-D2 from the "Star Wars" movie series.
Carlene Stephens works for the museum. She says that while the "Star Wars" robots were just movie props², they represent something more.
CARLENE STEPHENS: "Robots have a very long history. And, because we are a history museum, they fit directly into our interest in things relating to industry and things relating to invention and innovation."
FAITH LAPIDUS: One of Carlene Stephens’ favorite artifacts is a four hundred fifty-year old carved figure from Germany. This piece of wood is less then forty centimeters tall. It is a kind of model robot from the mechanical age.
CARLENE STEPHENS: "It looks like a figure of a monk³ and it rolls across the floor, simulating walking. All the while, he’s rolling across the floor his eyes are moving side to side."
BOB DOUGHTY: Worldwide, more than six million robots work in factories and perform military service. Among the robots in the Smithsonian’s collection is PackBot. It helps the United States military find and disarm⁴ mines in Afghanistan. Packbot can also gather intelligence.
The Smithsonian also has a driverless car named Stanley. It raced more than two hundred kilometers across southern California’s Mojave Desert to win the two million dollar DARPA Grand Challenge. The Department of Defense⁵ provided financial support for the competition.
CARLENE STEPHENS: "I had to take a chance that Stanley is going to represent a key moment in the history of American technology that indicates the future of driving. And already we have cars that park themselves, collision avoidance systems that the car tells you that you’re about to hit something or back into something. Stanley is in this stream of inventive outpouring."
FAITH LAPIDUS: Barry Spletzer formerly⁶ worked as a top scientist at the Sandia National Laboratories Intelligent Systems and Robotics Center in New Mexico. He was excited to have his robots in the Smithsonian.
BARRY SPLETZER: "It was just a project to see how small we could make robots."
FAITH LAPIDUS: Mr. Spletzer came to the museum with a gift box of mini-robots that include the Miniature Autonomous⁷ Robotic Vehicle or MARV.
BARRY SPLETZER:"They’re historically significant in that we have the world’s smallest robot. We have what was the world’s largest swarm⁸. We have the world’s highest-hopping robot. These have all been significant advances in technology in the last ten to fifteen years."
FAITH LAPIDUS: MARV was developed in the nineteen nineties at the Sandia National Lab. Mr. Spletzer says these robotic technologies are finding uses in space exploration, medicine, and security systems. Museum Curator Carlene Stephens hopes the donated robots and others that follow will show the important part science and technology play in everyday life.
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BOB DOUGHTY: The traditional warning to people who hunt, fish or walk in the wild is not to surprise a mother bear protecting her cubs⁹. Female bears with their young are often thought to be a threat to human beings.
But a new report says lone¹⁰ male bears are more dangerous than the females. And the report has suggested that the males may have developed behaviors different from the females.
Stephen Herrero is a retired¹¹ professor at the University of Calgary in Canada. He led the study of bear behavior. Results of the study were published in the Journal of Wildlife Management.
Mr. Herrero and his team studied records of human deaths from black bear attacks in the wilds of North America. They examined records between nineteen hundred and two thousand nine. They found that sixty-three people died in fifty-nine incidents during that time. The attacks took place in the United States and Canada.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Black bears are more common in North America than brown bears or the brown bear known as a grizzly¹². Many experts also say black bears are by far the least aggressive.
Published reports say up to nine hundred thousand black bears live in North America. Mr. Herrero says the animals are safer to be around than dogs, snakes or bees.
Black bears have killed about two people a year over the past ten years. The researchers blamed most of the deadly attacks on bears searching for food. The report says eighty-eight percent of bears in those attacks acted like a predator¹³. In other words, they captured and fed on other animals. And ninety-two percent of the bears that showed predatory behavior were male.
Each of the deadly attacks considered predatory was made by a single bear acting¹⁴ alone.
BOB DOUGHTY: Mr. Herrero says people who have training can learn to recognize a predatory bear. He says a demonstration¹⁵ of strength does not mean that the bear means to kill a person.
Mother bears with cubs are a good example. When they see people, he says, they often run at them and make a lot of noise. The professor says, "They want you to think they will eat you alive. But they almost always stop." He advises people to back off quietly.
By comparison, he says the predatory male follows people. The bear senses that the people are targets, perhaps for food. Then it silently attacks its target. Mr. Herrero advises aggressive action. "Fight back," he says.
The study found that a killer¹⁶ male may be starving. But he also may not be hungry.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Other findings from the report confirm some commonly accepted beliefs about bears. For example, one or two people are more likely to be targets than a group. And bears that have killed a human are more likely to kill again.
The study also confirms other widely held beliefs about bears. For example, the report says people’s food and containers for waste attract bears. And it says bears that live around humans do not usually carry out deadly attacks.
Eighty-five percent of deadly attacks in the wild were recorded since nineteen sixty. Mr. Herrero says he and other researchers are often asked if this means that bears are changing their behavior. Or, they are asked if people are changing their behavior, or both.
To those questions, he notes that the human population has grown greatly in the past half century. He says there are more people in the woods for both recreational and business activities. This means increased chances for attacks.
(MUSIC)
BOB DOUGHTY: How can you recognize a black bear? It may not be easy. Surprisingly, not all black bears are completely or even partly black. Some have large areas of black fur. But they may have brown noses and white areas on their chests. Other kinds of black bears appear silver or have other colors.
The group Defenders¹⁷ of Wildlife describes black bears as between a half-meter and three fourths of a meter at the shoulders. It says males weigh an average of sixty eight to one hundred fifty-eight kilograms. But some males can weigh up to two hundred thirty kilograms. Females may weigh anywhere from about thirty kilograms to one hundred forty kilograms. Black bears eat plants, fruits, nuts, insects, fish and small animals.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Sometimes bears, both male and female, can be victims. Vehicles and logging operations can harm them. And killing¹⁸ bears is popular in some parts of North America. But many places on the continent ban it. Or they limit the period when these animals may be hunted.
Several American states list black bears as threatened. Mexican officials call them endangered. But Defenders of Wildlife says populations in the United States and Canada are staying the same or growing.
BOB DOUGHTY: Some areas are taking steps to protect black bears. For example, many black bears have been in the path of recent floodwaters in the American south.
During recent flooding in Louisiana, officials considered wildlife as well as humans when they delayed opening the Morganza flood barriers. The officials said they hoped black bears would have time to escape to safer ground.
The officials also warned people that they may catch sight of displaced black bears. They said the water may cause the bears to go where they have never been before.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake and Jerilyn Watson. I’m Faith Lapidus.
BOB DOUGHTY: And I’m Bob Doughty. You can find transcripts¹⁹, MP3s and podcasts of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. 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 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

3 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。

4 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 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。

7 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

8 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

9 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

13 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

14 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

15 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

16 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

17 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

19 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句