回顾2015年:科学和技术方面

AS IT IS 2015-12-28 A Look Back at 2015: The Year in Science and Technology 回顾2015年:科学和技术方面

Scientists and technology experts were busy in 2015.

From fighting climate change, to space exploration and developing drones, here is a look back at some of the science stories we covered at VOA Learning English.

Climate change agreement reached

Most recently, representatives from nearly 200 nations gathered in Paris to fight climate change.

Almost every country agreed to limit a rise in global temperatures. They agreed that the world should not get any warmer than 2 degrees Celsius¹ above what it was in the mid-1700s. The agreement says 1.5 degrees is an even better target.

This will require nations to reduce their greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide. Those gases are released from the burning of fossil fuels, like oil and gasoline, and they are blamed for raising the temperature of the planet. 

As the planet warms, ice melts at the north and south poles, the top and bottom of the planet. This can raise sea levels that flood low areas, like islands. Climate change also brings damaging storms, severe droughts and flooding, and widespread food and water shortages.

The agreement is supported by the United States and China, the two biggest greenhouse gases polluters in the world.

Self-driving cars

One of the biggest changes coming down the road: the ability of cars to drive themselves. Some day you may not need to drive a car. You will just program, or tell the car where you want to go, and it will drive itself.

Andrew Poliak, of automotive technology supplier QNX, says the technology is already here. “We expect self-driving cars to be a mainstream² thing between 2020 and 2025.”

Google, an American company, already has self-driving cars on the road, mostly in California. There is no steering³ wheel and no brake or gas pedals.

Water found on Mars, and other NASA stories

NASA scientists discovered water flows on the surface of Mars. The water is salty, and is only there part of the year. But it is an important discovery for the effort to send humans to live on Mars.

Michael Meyer is the lead scientist for the NASA Mars Exploration Program. He says water is one of the key things needed for sending humans to Mars.

Meyer explains: “Not only for the astronauts to drink, but also to make oxygen, to make fuel, and so having a ready resource there on the planet makes a big difference in terms of how much stuff you have to bring with you.”

NASA hopes to send humans to Mars in the 2030s. Now, the space agency is recruiting new astronauts. Both the U.S. government and private industry are developing rockets and spacecraft to take those astronauts to Mars.

Meanwhile, astronaut Scott Kelly is spending a year in space with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko. 

NASA is studying Kelly to see how humans survive long periods of time in the weightlessness of space. What they learn will help them plan human travel to Mars. Kelly and Kornienko are scheduled to return to earth in March 2016.

We got our first close up of one of the farthest away objects in our solar system last July. It took the New Horizons spacecraft nine years to travel nearly 5 billion kilometers to Pluto⁴. It sent back pictures, showing the dwarf⁵ planet’s detailed⁶ icy landscape— including mountains, glaciers⁷ and craters⁸.

Speaking of space … there was this good news: Not to worry-- researchers say do not fear an alien invasion. People have been searching and listening for life on other planets. They say we should not be concerned about alien beings any time soon.

Drones

Drones made their way to our website and Facebook pages quite a few times. They are small aircraft controlled by remote control. The FAA, the U.S. federal agency that governs drone use, came up with new rules recently. Drones used in the U.S. will have to be registered with the federal government. Earlier, the company Amazon received a patent for drones that deliver packages.

In France, drones are helping⁹ farmers examine their crops.

Animals in danger

These can be helpful machines. Drones are also being used to help animals in trouble of becoming extinct, or disappearing forever. In Africa, drones have been designed to help find poachers—people who illegally kill rhinoceros¹⁰ and elephant for their horns and tusks¹¹.

It has been a year of insects and animals in trouble of disappearing-- from rhinos¹² to bees and tigers.

At the North Pole, Arctic polar bears are threatened because climate change is melting ice there. It means they are losing their territory at the top of the world.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the Earth, scientists found fish and other sea creatures under the ice on the Ross Ice Sheet, off Antarctica. They were surprised to see organisms swimming and crawling in icy waters under the ice sheet. It is the farthest south that fish have ever been seen.

nfortunately, the same cannot be said for some warmer waters. Scientists studied coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin¹³ Islands in the Caribbean. They also studied reefs in Hawaii. And they found that sunscreen from people swimming around the reefs is killing¹⁴ the beautiful coral. Other things harming the coral include pollution, warmer seas and overfishing.

Human ancestors

In South Africa, scientists found bones in a cave they say are a new kind of early human ancestor. Those ancestors lived more than 2 million years ago. The people who found it named it Homo naledi, but it is not a direct ancestor of modern-day people.

This is also the 40th anniversary of the discovery of Lucy. At 3.2 million years old, Lucy was the oldest human ancestor found at the time. She was found in Ethiopia.

1 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

2 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

3 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

4 Pluto   

n.冥王星

参考例句：

• Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun.冥王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Pluto has an elliptic orbit.冥王星的轨道是椭圆形的。

5 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

7 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

8 craters   

n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等

参考例句：

• Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The battlefield was full of craters made by exploding shells. 战场上布满弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 rhinoceros   

n.犀牛

参考例句：

• The rhinoceros has one horn on its nose.犀牛鼻子上有一个角。
• The body of the rhinoceros likes a cattle and the head likes a triangle.犀牛的形体像牛，头呈三角形。

11 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

12 rhinos   

n.犀牛（rhino的复数形式）

参考例句：

• There are many reports of people taming and even training Indian rhinos. 有许多关于人们驯养甚至训练印度犀牛的记载。 来自辞典例句
• The rhinos had fed during the night in the rice fields of these villagers. 犀牛夜里在这些村民的庄稼地里也已吃饱了。 来自辞典例句

13 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

14 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。