EXPLORATIONS - Unusual creatures live on the Galapagos Islan

EXPLORATIONS - Unusual creatures live on the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean
By Caty Weaver¹

Broadcast: Wednesday, May 11, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember with Explorations in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean and the unusual creatures that live there.

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VOICE ONE:

Love is not easy to find when you are the last male of your kind. At least that is how it

 
Lonesome George
seems for the Galapagos Islands tortoise that scientists call Lonesome George. He is just one of the many animals and plants that live on the famous group of Pacific Ocean islands.

The islands were named for the large land turtles that live on them. At one time, the islands were home to about fifteen different kinds of land turtles. The largest island, Isabela, has five different kinds of tortoises. But, Lonesome George is not one of them. He comes from a smaller island called Pinta.

Scientists found George in nineteen seventy-one. Humans and non-native animals had caused much damage to the environment on his island. Some animals and plants had disappeared. Lonesome George was the only tortoise found on Pinta.

VOICE TWO:

Scientists took the turtle to the Charles Darwin Research Center on Santa Cruz Island. They wanted to help him find a female tortoise for mating to produce baby tortoises. The scientists had been successful in similar efforts for thousands of other tortoises.

The researchers placed George in the same living area as females from the nearby island of Isabela. Scientists thought George would be more closely related to the females from Isabela than to other Galapagos tortoises. However, George has not been able to mate successfully with the female tortoises. No eggs have been produced. Scientists say this might be because of the genetic² differences between George and the tortoises on Isabela Island.

VOICE ONE:

Scientist Edward Lewis has studied the genetic material of tortoises around the world. But he has not found one with DNA³ like George's. Scientists are also investigating George's diet to make sure a lack of nutrients⁴ is not causing his failure to reproduce. He eats papaya fruit, grass and a special balanced diet. He weighs eighty-eight kilograms.

Scientists also say there is a possibility that other tortoises might exist on George's native island of Pinta. Scientists did not discover any other young tortoises when they removed George from the island more than thirty years ago. However, young tortoises are very small and like to hide.

Any other tortoises on the island would now be adults and might be easier to find. However, one major problem is that Pinta is thickly covered with plants. Scientists are planning to search the island for a possible mate for Lonesome George. If no babies are produced, the Pinta Island tortoises will disappear when George dies. He is between seventy and eighty years old. But some tortoises live longer than one hundred fifty years.

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VOICE TWO:

Mystery always has been part of the Galapagos. In fifteen thirty-five, a ship carrying the Roman Catholic Bishop⁵ of Panama came upon the Galapagos accidentally. Tomas de Berlanga named the Galapagos group the Enchanted⁶ Isles⁷. He was surprised to see land turtles that weighed more than two hundred kilograms and were more a meter long. He said they were so large each could carry a man on its back. Bishop Berlanga also noted⁸ the unusual soil of the islands. He suggested that one island was so stony⁹ it seemed like stones had rained from the sky.

VOICE ONE:

The British nature scientist Charles Darwin is mainly responsible for the fame of the Galapagos Islands. He visited the islands in eighteen thirty-five. He collected plants and animals from several islands. After many years of research, he wrote the book "The Origin of Species." He developed the theory of evolution that life on Earth developed through the process of natural selection. The book changed the way people think about how living things developed and became different over time. Darwin said the Galapagos brought people near "to that great fact -- that mystery of mysteries -- the first appearance of new beings on earth".

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VOICE TWO:

More than one hundred twenty-five landmasses make up the Galapagos. Only nineteen are large enough to be considered islands. The Galapagos are a province of Ecuador. The island group lies across the equator about one thousand kilometers west of the coast of South America.

Scientists have been wondering for years about the position of the Galapagos in the Pacific Ocean. Scientists used to think that the islands were connected to the South American mainland and floated out to sea slowly.

Today, most scientists think the islands were always where they are now. But they think the islands once were a single landmass under water. Volcanic¹⁰ activity broke the large island into pieces that came to the surface of the sea over time.

VOICE ONE:

But scientists wonder how animals arrived on Galapagos if the islands were always so far from the mainland. Scientists think most Galapagos plants and animals floated to the islands. When rivers flood in South America, small pieces of land flow into the ocean. These rafts can hold trees and bushes. The rafts also can hold small mammals and reptiles¹². The adult Galapagos tortoise clearly is too big for a trip hundreds of kilometers across the ocean. But, turtle eggs or baby turtles would be small enough to float to the islands.

VOICE TWO:

The islands are home to many unusual birds, reptiles and small mammals. Some of the animals live nowhere else on Earth. The tortoise is the most famous Galapagos reptile¹¹. But the marine¹³ iguana¹⁴ is also unusual. It is the only iguana in the world that

 
The Marine Iguana is found only in the Galapagos.
goes into the ocean. The marine iguana eats seaweed. It can dive at least fifteen meters below the ocean surface. And it can stay down there for more than thirty minutes.

Several strange birds also live on the Galapagos. One of them is the only penguin¹⁵ that lives on the equator. Another is the frigate¹⁶ bird. It has loose skin on its throat that it can blow up into a huge red balloon-like structure. It does this to attract females who make observation flights over large groups of males.

VOICE ONE:

The Galapagos also are noted for a bird that likes water better than land or air. The cormorant¹⁷ is able to fly in all the other places it lives around the world. But the Galapagos cormorant has extremely short wings. They cannot support flight. But they work well for swimming.

The Galapagos Islands also have a large collection of small birds called Darwin's finches. Charles Darwin studied the finches carefully when he visited the Galapagos in eighteen thirty-five. He separated the birds by the shapes of their beaks¹⁸. Finches that lived in different places and ate different foods had different shaped beaks.

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VOICE TWO:

Scientists continue to study life on the Galapagos Islands. They have also studied the deepest parts of the ocean that surrounds the islands. A few years ago, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. sent marine biologist Carole Baldwin to the Galapagos. Miz Baldwin traveled nine hundred meters down to the bottom of the ocean near the islands. She did so in a clear plastic bubble watercraft called the Johnson Sea-Link Two.

The Sea-Link had powerful lights to battle the extreme darkness of the deep. The watercraft also had several long robotic arms. They collected sealife. The trips to the bottom of the sea resulted in the discovery of more than ten new kinds of sea life. Some of the discoveries were captured on film. A movie called "Galapagos: The Enchanted Voyage " was made in nineteen ninety-nine.

VOICE ONE:

The movie was filmed using the Imax Three-D technique. It was shown on a huge screen at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington for several years. Later, the movie was released on DVD for people to buy and watch in their own homes. The movie provides an experience similar to a forty-minute visit to the interesting and unusual Galapagos Islands.

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VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Caty Weaver. It was produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.

1 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。

2 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

3 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

4 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

6 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

7 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。

8 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。

9 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

10 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

11 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

12 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 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。

14 iguana   

n.美洲大蜥蜴，鬣鳞蜥

参考例句：

• With an iguana,you really don't have to say surprise.惊喜两字已经不足以形容这只鬣鳞蜥了。
• I'm going to turn on my computer and make a movie starring my pet iguanadj.打开计算机准备制作一部关于我的宠物蜥蜴的电影。

15 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

16 frigate   

n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰

参考例句：

• An enemy frigate bore down on the sloop.一艘敌驱逐舰向这只护航舰逼过来。
• I declare we could fight frigate.我敢说我们简直可以和一艘战舰交战。

17 cormorant   

n.鸬鹚，贪婪的人

参考例句：

• The cormorant is a large,long-necked,dark-colored bird which lives near sea coasts and eats fish.鸬鹚是一种长脖子黑颜色的大鸟，生活在海滨而且以吃鱼为生。
• The exciting cormorant fishing performance is over there.那边有令人刺激的鱼鹰捕鱼表演。

18 beaks   

n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者

参考例句：

• Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
• Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网