英语听力—环球英语 489 Island Stories

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Adam Navis. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Today's Spotlight is looking at two very different island populations. One lives on the island of Tristan Da Cunha. The other group of people live on the islands of The Maldives. Both populations have very interesting stories and histories. Both groups have also questioned the future of their islands. Here is Steve Myersco to tell us about the first island: Tristan Da Cunha.
Voice 2
Tristan Da Cunha is a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about ten kilometres wide and shaped like a circle. One thing makes Tristan Da Cunha particularly interesting. It is the loneliest island community on earth. The nearest people are over 2000 kilometres away.
Voice 1
The other island community is in the Indian Ocean. Marina Santee introduces us to The Maldives.
Voice 3
The Maldives is about 600 kilometres south west of India. This country is a group of over 1000 islands. These are naturally formed in to 26 groups. About 200 of the islands have people living on them.
Voice 1
Tristan Da Cunha and The Maldives are both island populations. But the communities are different in many ways.
Voice 2
Tristan Da Cunha has a population of less than 300 people. Everyone on the island has one of just seven family names. These names all have their origins in the 19th century. This was when British and American settlers came to the island. Also, sailors from Italy and the Netherlands crashed into the island by mistake. These settlers and sailors decided² to stay and start families. The island was first claimed by the British about 200 years ago. The British named the only town on the island after one of it major cities: ‘Edinburgh of the Seven Seas'.
Voice 3
The Maldives has a population of over 300,000 people. Settlers first arrived on the islands over 2000 years ago. These setters were from many different ethnic³ groups - Indians, Sri Lankans, North Africans, and Arabs⁴. People from these different ethnic groups married each other. This gave the population of The Maldives a rich ethnic mix.
Voice 2
Tristan Da Cunha is so far from other places that few people visit. The island has no airport so people arrive by boat. This trip can be difficult and takes several days. Because the community is so separated⁵ from the world, it is almost unique. To some people it could seem that life would be lonely and uninteresting. But the people living there do not seem to think so. Leon Green lives on the island. He is 23 years old. He told the American news group CNN:
Voice 4
‘Currently, there are not many young people on the island. But those of us that are here want to stay. Almost no one leaves Tristan for ever. The quality of life here is so high. It's so safe; you know everyone and there are no worries for money. I worked in the UK for a while. I am pleased to have seen life away from the island. But I am happiest here on the island.'
Voice 3
The Maldives welcomes thousands of visitors every year. These holiday-makers help the local economy⁶. The islands are popular thanks to their beautiful sandy coasts and nice weather.
Voice 1
However, the power of nature is now putting the Maldives at risk. The people of The Maldives may one day have to leave the islands. This is something the people of Tristan Da Cunha have already experienced⁷. Over 40 years ago the volcano⁸ at the centre of Tristan Da Cunha forced them to leave.
Voice 2
In 1961, the volcano on Tristan Da Cunha did what volcanoes⁹ do - it erupted¹⁰. So, the islanders¹¹ all moved to the UK. Life here was very different for them. Suddenly there were far more people and different ways of living. There was also the British weather! The people of Tristan Da Cunha did not like it. They just wanted to go home. Eventually it was safe for the islanders to return to Tristan Da Cunha. They could have stayed in Britain if they had wanted. However, almost all of them decided to return. So, after two years in the UK they travelled back to the South Atlantic - back to their own little island.
Voice 3
The people of the Maldives face a very different risk to their islands. The Maldive Islands are very flat. The average height of the islands is only one and a half metres above sea-level. This makes it the lowest country in the world. The problem is this: if the sea level rises any more, water could cover the islands. But the government is trying to provide a future for its nation. It is building a whole new island. The island is called Hulhulmale. This man-made¹² island is higher than other islands in The Maldives. It was created by digging¹³ up sand from the sea bed and putting it in one place. When this island is finished, there will be places to live, places to buy things, and spaces to rest in. The man in charge of the project is Mohamed Mauroof Jameel. He spoke¹⁴ to an Australian newspaper called ‘The Age'.
Voice 5
‘We need to build one metre higher than our main island, although this is much more costly¹⁵ for us. Hulhumale gives us an extra 50 years to survive. After that we will have to do something else.'
Voice 3
But the island is not a complete solution. It is not big enough for all the Maldivian people to live on. Also, climate change remains¹⁶ a problem for the whole world. So, the new island could also one day be at risk from the sea. This is why the Maldivian president has appealed to the world's richest countries. He wants them to do more to help stop climate change.
Voice 1
The islanders of Tristan Da Cunha know what it is like to have to leave their island. The people of the Maldives may one day also know how this feels. Sea levels may continue to rise. And if they do, the Maldivians could have to do more than the Tristan Da Cunha islanders. The population of the Maldives may have to say goodbye to their islands, forever.
 

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 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 Arabs   

n.阿拉伯人( Arab的名词复数 )；街头流浪儿

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Many Arabs still wear robes. 许多阿拉伯人仍穿长袍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 separated   

adj.分开的v.分开(separate的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• Her parents are separated but not divorced. 她父母分居但没离婚。
• No child should ever be separated from his mother by force. 绝不能强行使任何一个孩子与母亲分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 economy   

n.经济；节俭；秩序；机体

参考例句：

• We must do our best to develop the national economy.我们必须努力发展国民经济。
• The country's economy is not very healthy.国家的经济不很景气。

7 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

8 volcano   

n.火山

参考例句：

• The volcano unexpectedly blew up early in the morning.火山一早突然爆发了。
• It is most risky to go and examine an active volcano.去探察活火山是非常危险的。

9 volcanoes   

n.火山( volcano的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Volcanoes and geysers erupt. 火山和间歇喷泉均能喷发。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has been able to tell us more about active volcanoes than any man alive. 他现在比任何人都能更多地向我们讲述有关活火山的情况。 来自《用法词典》

10 erupted   

v.爆发( erupt的过去式和过去分词 )；喷发；突然发生；出疹

参考例句：

• A volcano erupted and propelled rocks high into the sky. 火山爆发，把无数的石块抛向天空。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Laughter erupted from the audience. 笑声从观众席上爆发出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 islanders   

岛民( islander的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The islanders could barely survive without an export crop. 没有出口作物，岛上的居民几乎无法生存。
• The islanders were on fire and determined to fight against the attackers. 岛上的人情绪激昂，决心与来犯者战斗一场。

12 man-made   

adj.人造的，合成的，人为的

参考例句：

• Nylon is a man-made fibre.尼龙是一种人造纤维。
• Many countries have sent up man-made satellites to circle the earth.许多国家已经发射人造卫星围绕地球运转。

13 digging   

n.挖掘v.挖，掘( dig的现在分词 )；（如用铲、锨或推土机等）挖掘；挖得；寻找

参考例句：

• They were digging up worms to use for bait. 他们正在挖蚯蚓作鱼饵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade. 在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 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。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。