环球英语 — 250：Caring for Whales

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹ program. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Whales are the largest animals in the world. You may have seen pictures of whales, swimming in the ocean. But their size is still surprising! Some whales can grow up to thirty metres long and weigh several thousand kilograms². And they can eat more food in a day than a person will eat in five years!
Voice 2
It is difficult to imagine that anything could harm such a large animal. But today, many kinds of whales are in danger of disappearing. They are not in danger from other animals in the ocean. No, they are in danger from a living thing that lives only on land - humans!
Voice 1
Many people have never even seen a whale, because whales live deep in the ocean. So how can people cause so much harm to whales?
Voice 2
For many years, the largest danger to whales was whale hunting - whaling. Whaling is a part of many cultures, including ancient cultures. But in the 19th century, whaling greatly increased. Many more people chased³ and killed whales for their skin, fat, meat, and teeth. All the parts of a whale were worth a lot of money.
Voice 1
At first, whaling seemed like a good way for people to earn money and find food. But soon, too many people started hunting whales for money. Many different kinds of whales began to greatly decrease.
Voice 2
Blue whales are the largest kind of whales. Because of this, people often chose to hunt them. But by the 1960’s, Blue whales had almost disappeared completely⁴. People had killed so many Blue whales that scientists feared that there would not be any left in the world.
Voice 1
So in 1966, Blue whales became a protected animal. A new law made it illegal⁵ to kill a Blue whale. Today, scientists think that there are around twelve thousand [12,000] Blue whales. The population is still small, but many people are hopeful⁶ that the Blue whale will survive.
Voice 2
But in 2007, many Blue whales started acting⁷ strangely. During the month of August, the whales are supposed to swim north. One large group of whales travels up the coast of the Americas to Northern California⁸. But this time they did not. Instead, they stopped near southern California, in the southwest corner of the United⁹ States.
Voice 1
One boat owner, Dan Salas, now takes people out to see the blue whales. He said,
Voice 3
“Something has changed in the ocean. These blue whales should not be here anymore, feeding off the coast of southern California.”
Voice 2
For many people, it has been a chance to see a blue whale for the first time. After seeing a whale, one woman said,
Voice 4
“I think this may be the best day of my life!”
Voice 1
But Salas is surprised that there are still so many whales to see.
Voice 3
“On many trips, we saw more than five or six whales at one time. We have never seen that before.”
Voice 2
Many experts worry that something is wrong. These whales have been swimming to the same places for many years. So if they are staying in a new place, something must have changed their behaviour.
Voice 1
Some scientists believe that the problem may be caused by global¹⁰ warming. The temperature of the earth’s oceans is rising. This is affecting the krill, a small sea animal. Krill are an important food supply for many ocean animals. And they are the main food for Blue whales. But, because of the changing temperatures, krill are living further south. And many krill have died. So many whales do not have enough food to eat.
Voice 2
So what does this mean for the whales? Are they in danger again? Some experts think they are. Grey whales are almost as large as Blue whales. And many years ago, they, too, almost disappeared because of whaling. But in recent years, many scientists thought that their numbers were growing. They said that the Grey whales were saved.
Voice 1
However, in 2007, a new study showed that in many areas, Grey whales were dying¹¹. They were once again in danger.
Voice 2
How could something like this happen? People almost never hunt these whales. So what could possibly cause them to die off so quickly?
Voice 1
The BBC¹² asked Liz Alter¹³, an environmental¹⁴ expert, why she thinks this is happening.
Voice 5
“I think that when we see large problems in the whale population ... we should be looking to long term climate changes in the whales’ feeding grounds.”
Voice 2
Scientists, once again, think that the problem may be global warming - the same reason that Blue whales are acting strangely. Warming ocean temperatures make it difficult for Grey whales to find food. Some experts think that the warm temperatures even make it more difficult for the whales to have babies.
Voice 1
We do not know the exact cause of global warming. But most experts agree that humans are one of the largest causes. So even without hunting whales, humans may be putting them in danger.
Voice 2
Christians¹⁶ believe that it is peoples’ job to take care of the earth. God created all living creatures, including the whales. They are a special part of his creation¹⁷. The book of Psalms¹⁹, in the Christian¹⁵ Bible²⁰, is a book of beautiful poetry. Many of the poems speak about God’s great works²¹ - the amazing things that God has done and made. Psalm¹⁸ 104 says:
Voice 1
“How many are your works, O Lord²²! In your wisdom²³ you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, filled with animals-too many to number. Living things both large and small. There, ships travel, as does the whale, which you created to live there.”
Voice 2
And Psalm 8 says:
Voice 1
“You made people the rulers over the works of your hands, you put everything under their feet. All sheep and cows, and beasts of the field. The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all creatures that swim the paths of the sea!”
Voice 2
The earth is a wonderful gift from God. And, God has asked us to care for the earth. Caring for the whales is just one more part of that idea.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 kilograms   

n.千克( kilogram的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 2 kilograms of rice 2公斤大米
• Every tonne of coal contains,on average,30 kilograms of nitrogen. 每吨煤平均含30公斤氮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 chased   

vt.追捕（chase的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The boy chased his sister in and out among the bushes. 那个男孩在灌木丛里跟着他姐姐追过来追过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy chased the decoys down to the place of ambush. 敌人将诱骗者一直追到伏兵所在地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 completely   

adv.完全地，十分地，全然

参考例句：

• She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
• I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。

5 illegal   

adj.不合法的，非法的，犯法的

参考例句：

• I don't want to get mixed up with any illegal organization.我不想与任何非法组织有牵连。
• It's illegal for people under 17 to drive a car in Britain.在英国，不满17岁的人驾驶车辆是违法的。

6 hopeful   

adj.有希望的，怀抱希望的，保持乐观的；n.有希望之人，有前途之人

参考例句：

• This is a hopeful news.这是个鼓舞人心的消息。
• We are hopeful about the future.我们对未来抱乐观态度。

7 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。

8 California   

n.加利福尼亚(美国)

参考例句：

• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。
• We were driving on a California freeway.我们正沿着加利福尼亚的一条快车道驾车行驶。

9 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

10 global   

adj.全球的；球形的；世界的

参考例句：

• A global environmental meeting is going to be held here.一个全球环境会议将在这里举行。
• The report takes a global view of the company's problems.这份报告对公司的问题作了综合性的论述。

11 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

12 BBC   

abbr.（=British Broadcasting Corporation）英国广播公司

参考例句：

• She works for the BBC.她为英国广播公司工作。
• The BBC was founded in 1922.英国广播公司建于1922年。

13 alter   

vt.改变，变更；vi.改变，变样

参考例句：

• We have to alter the house into a barn.我们不得不把房子改建成谷仓。
• She is trying to alter the coat.她正设法改那件衣服。

14 environmental   

adj.环境的

参考例句：

• A global environmental meeting is going to be held here.一个全球环境会议将在这里举行。
• We need to cure our environmental problems.我们需要解决环境问题。

15 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

16 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

17 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

18 psalm   

n.赞美诗，圣诗

参考例句：

• The clergyman began droning the psalm.牧师开始以单调而低沈的语调吟诵赞美诗。
• The minister droned out the psalm.牧师喃喃地念赞美诗。

19 psalms   

n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的)

参考例句：

• the Book of Psalms 《〈圣经〉诗篇》
• A verse from Psalms knifed into Pug's mind: "put not your trust in princes." 《诗篇》里有一句话闪过帕格的脑海：“不要相信王侯。” 来自辞典例句

20 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

21 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

22 lord   

n.上帝，主；主人，长官；君主，贵族

参考例句：

• I know the Lord will look after him.我知道上帝会眷顾他的。
• How good of the Lord not to level it beyond repair!上帝多么仁慈啊，竟没有让这所房子损毁得不可收拾！

23 wisdom   

n.智慧，明智的行为，学识，名言，贤人

参考例句：

• Experience is the mother of wisdom.经验为智慧之母。
• Ancient Greece was a fountain of wisdom and philosophy.古希腊是智慧和哲学的发源地。