VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-05-10 NASA Looks at Earth

 

AS IT IS 2013-05-10 NASA Looks at Earth

Hello. I'm Jim Tedder¹ in Washington. On our program today, fuel prices are about to take a big increase in Indonesia. We'll hear about a mixture of politics and economics. Then diplomacy² of a musical kind in Moscow. But first, new scientific details about how the Earth is changing.

Under normal conditions, NASA, the United States Space Agency, looks out there for new information about our universe. But lately researchers have been aiming complex devices at Earth. They hope to find out how healthy, or unhealthy, our planet is.

These scientific tools were designed to learn about water on the moon, and rocks on Mars. Now they can help us understand how volcanoes, wildfires, and even the severe lack of rain affect our home. The instruments gather information called a "spectral⁴ fingerprint⁵" about how light interacts with the land. Robert Green is the NASA scientist in charge of the project.

"We can see the interaction of the molecules⁶ that are present in the earth's atmosphere, such as water vapor⁷ and carbon dioxide, and on the earth's surface in plants such as cellulous and leaf water and the other constituents⁸ of plants."

The scientific instruments were tested in high flying airplanes over the state of California. NASA plans to put them in a permanent Earth orbit, about 700 kilometers high, after the testing is complete. Mr. Green says the devices help scientists discover a great amount of information that the human eye cannot see.

"We can map the species type. We can look at the biogeochemistry of the plants. What is the state of the chemicals in the leaves of the plant to tell us about their health and productivity? We can look at the different mineral signatures, which tell us the molecules in the rocks to know exactly what those minerals are."

Mr. Green's program is called the "Hyperspectral Infrared⁹ Imager Airborne Campaign." The testing will continue through next year. After the instruments are put into orbit around Earth, scientists will compare information from the last year to learn how the Earth is changing. This could allow policy makers¹⁰ to make better decisions, so we humans can learn how to adjust to new environmental conditions. 

Indonesian officials are expected to cut fuel subsidies¹¹ soon by 44 percent. If that happens, fuel prices will increase. Economists¹³ say the payments are a costly¹⁴ expense that adds to Indonesia's dependence¹⁵ on foreign oil imports. But these assistance payments by the government remain politically popular, and politicians are worried about the public's reaction. June Simms tells us more.

Rising gasoline costs are disliked around the world and especially in Indonesia, a nation that has been heavily dependent on subsidized fuel. Last year, the government planned to cut the fuel subsidy¹⁶. But public anger caused it not to act.

This year, the proposed cuts no longer depend on a Parliament vote. On his official Twitter account, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono admits that it will be the toughest decision of his presidency¹⁷. Political commentator¹⁸ Aleksius Jemadu says the president's decision is both political and economic.

"They want to achieve two goals at the same time. They want to achieve their economic goals to decrease the deficit¹⁹ of the state budget. "But at the same time they also (want to) take care of their popularity,"

In a nation where more than one million people live on less than two dollars a day, cheap fuel is good politics. But critics say the fuel subsidy is poorly targeted. They say it unfairly aids the middle class. And some economists say the subsidies place too much demand on the state budget and create dependence on foreign oil imports.

Officials have provided about 20 billion dollars for fuel subsidies this year. That is 15 percent of the total budget. But that is not expected to be enough to cover the cost. Fuel subsidies are a strong issue. But a top economist¹² at Standard Chartered says Indonesia is still doing well compared to financial deficits²⁰ in the United States, Europe and Japan. Fauzi Ichsan says that economically, it is good to raise fuel prices. He says Indonesian fuel prices are lower than international prices by about 30 to 40 percent.

But he says that has created a lot of unwanted activities like smuggling²¹ and hoarding²². Yet Mr. Fauzi also says there is no financial crisis.The change in fuel subsidies is expected to save Indonesia more than an estimated 2 billion dollars yearly. I'm June Simms.

In recent months, United States and Russian relations have reached what some people think is their lowest level since the end of the Soviet²³ Union. But now, some Americans and Russians are attempting to build better relations through music. Christopher Cruise tells us more.

In the early 1960s, during the Cold War, a singing group from Yale University traveled to Moscow to improve relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Fifty years later, Americans and Russians are, once again, using music to improve conditions between the two countries. Here is ILLStyle and Peace Productions. The American hip²⁴ hop³ group tests their instruments as they prepare to make music in Moscow.

Mikhail Prokhorov brought the group to play in Moscow and Siberia in April. The Russian businessman and opposition²⁵ politician also owns an American basketball team, the Brooklyn Nets. He wants to build bridges between the two countries.

He says culture, art, and sports can help build mutual²⁶ trust and good relations between the two peoples. He has organized and is supporting a cultural exchange between Russia and the United States called Transcultural Express. Karen Hopkins is president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She helped to organize the musicians' visit to Russia.

"I think the IllStyle troupe²⁷ is going to be a huge success in Russia. They're so talented. They're so young. They're so athletic²⁸. They're so urban. They're so American."

A few days earlier, Irvin Mayfield and his New Orleans Jazz Orchestra played to a crowd in the house of the United States ambassador to Russia. The band played in the same room at the American embassy where the Yale Russian Chorus sang to Soviet guests half a century ago. I'm Christopher Cruise.

And I'm Jim Tedder in Washington, reminding you that world news follows at the beginning of each hour on VOA.

1 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

2 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

3 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

4 spectral   

adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的

参考例句：

• At times he seems rather ordinary.At other times ethereal,perhaps even spectral.有时他好像很正常，有时又难以捉摸，甚至像个幽灵。
• She is compelling,spectral fascinating,an unforgettably unique performer.她极具吸引力，清幽如鬼魅，令人着迷，令人难忘，是个独具特色的演员。

5 fingerprint   

n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹

参考例句：

• The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
• The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。

6 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

7 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

8 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。

10 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

13 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

16 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

17 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

18 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

19 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

20 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

21 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

22 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

23 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

24 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

25 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

26 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

27 troupe   

n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团

参考例句：

• The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
• The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

28 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。