英语听力—环球英语 624 The Return of the Great Bustard

　　Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Steve Myersco.
Voice 2
And I'm Christy Van Arragon. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
"A young boy walks along a country road in England. He is pulling a huge bird along the road. The leg of the bird is broken but the bird is still alive. The young boy walks a long way. He arrives home. His father is at home with some other men. They have been working in the fields all day. They take the bird from the boy. It will feed many people. It is huge. One of the men kills the bird by breaking its neck. But this bird is the last of its kind. The Great Bustard is dead."
Voice 2
Henry Blackmore wrote this story in 1856. It speaks of the death of one of the last Great British Bustards in England. The Great Bustard has a scientific name, Otis Tarda. It is not surprising that this bird disappeared. English people hunted this bird for its wonderful meat. They killed large numbers of them. But bird experts, ornithologists, are now helping² to bring the Great Bustard back to England.
Voice 1
The group of ornithologists we are talking about is The Great Bustard Group. They have established a new home for the birds. It is on the Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire England. They chose this area of England because it is a good environment for the birds - with a good supply of food.
Voice 2
The British army uses a large area of Salisbury Plain for training. Citizens are not permitted³ to use this area. This is good news for the birds. It means⁴ there are protected. Only soldiers training with the army can use the area. These soldiers try to stay away from the birds. This lack of people means less danger for wildlife. Other rare⁵ birds have survived well in this environment.
Voice 1
So what makes this bird so special? Well the Great Bustard is the world's heaviest flying bird. Male birds can weigh up to 20 kilograms⁶. They can measure over a metre long. The birds make a noise similar to that of a dog. They can also live for up to 25 years. This makes them one of nature's longest-lived birds. The Great Bustard is also very rare. Ornithologists estimate⁷ that less than fifty thousand Great Bustards exist in the world today.
Voice 2
The new English group - or colony⁸ - will help to protect the bird for the future. The new colony is the result of an international effort involving experts in Britain and Russia. So British and Russian ornithologists are working together. All the birds in the English colony come from Saratov, in southern Russia. Scientists send about 20 young birds from Saratov to England every year. The first birds came to England in 2004. More young birds have been brought to England every summer since then.
Voice 1
Life is also difficult for the Great Bustard in Russia. Farming⁹, and expanding human populations are pushing the Great Bustard out of its natural environment. Ornithologists estimate that only about eight thousand Great Bustards survive in Russia. The Russian ornithologists work with the farmers in Saratov. Eggs can easily be destroyed by farming equipment. So any farmer who finds eggs in his fields informs the ornithologists. The ornithologists then rescue the eggs.
Voice 2
So what happens to the birds after they arrive in England? Well first of all they need to be quarantined - that is, kept away from other creatures. This makes sure that they do not carry any diseases¹⁰ into the country. After this the job of teaching¹¹ the young birds begins.
Voice 1
The experts use a process called ‘isolation rearing¹²'. This means that the young birds do not have any links with humans. Young birds often form an attachment¹³ to anyone who feeds and looks after them. This is called ‘imprinting'. In the wild ‘imprinting' is very important. It means that a young bird will always follow its parents. But for the birds in England ‘imprinting' would mean becoming attached¹⁴ to humans. This would prevent them from learning¹⁵ to avoid humans later. It would prevent them from becoming truly wild.
Voice 2
When the birds are about four months old the project leaders release¹⁶ the birds into the wild. The area given to the birds is over 780 square kilometres. The Great Bustards are slowly making the area their home. But this is taking a long time. This is because the birds have not been able to produce their own young. A male Great Bustard is only able to reproduce¹⁷ when it reaches five years old.
Voice 1
Five years after the first Great Bustards came to England, the birds were finally ready to reproduce. In early June 2009 the ornithologists announced success. Two baby Great Bustards had hatched¹⁸ from their eggs. This was the first time that any Great Bustard had hatched in England since 1832. David Waters is the director¹⁹ of the Great Bustard Group. He said,
Voice 3
‘This is a great step forward for our project. It is also great news for wildlife in the UK, for the Great Bustards and for me. It has been a hard struggle to get this far. But to see Great Bustards born here for the first time in 177 years is wonderful.'
Voice 2
Wildlife experts estimate that the world loses about forty thousand different plants and animals every year. These creatures become extinct²⁰. They no longer exist anywhere in the world. This is a serious matter because nature depends on balance. When one animal disappears it has an effect on the whole environment.
Voice 1
Many experts believe that individual countries cannot solve this problem. They believe that the international community needs to act together. The Great Bustard project is an example of this sort of action. People who enjoy wildlife hope that more such projects will develop in the future. They hope that the world will become a safe environment for all creatures - great and small.
 

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 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。

3 permitted   

允许( permit的过去式和过去分词 )； 许可； 许用

参考例句：

• Radios are not permitted in the library. 图书馆内不许使用收音机。
• Entrance is permitted only on production of a ticket. 出示门票才可进入。

4 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

5 rare   

adj.稀罕的，罕有的，珍贵的，稀薄的，半熟的，非常的；adv.非常

参考例句：

• It is rare to see a man over 160 years old.很少见到一个人能活到160岁。
• The zoo has a lot of rare animals in it.这个动物园有许多珍奇的动物。

6 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》

7 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

8 colony   

n.殖民地；(同类人的)聚居地

参考例句：

• There lived a colony of bees on the tree.树上生活着一群蜜蜂。
• They live in an artists'colony.他们住在艺术家聚居区。

9 farming   

n.农事；耕作

参考例句：

• He lives by farming.他靠务农过活。
• He is farming in Africa.他在非洲经营农场。

10 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

11 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

12 rearing   

v.饲养( rear的现在分词 )；养育；抚养；抬起

参考例句：

• She spends a lot of time rearing animals. 她花费大量时间饲养动物。 来自辞典例句
• Soviet women carry the main burden of shopping, homemaking and child rearing. 苏联的妇女承担的主要义务就是采购，做家务及抚养孩子。 来自辞典例句

13 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

14 attached   

附加的

参考例句：

• The lease entitles the holder to use the buildings and any land attached thereto.本租约持有人有权使用此建筑物以及所附属的土地。

15 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

16 release   

vt.发布，发表，发行；释放，放开

参考例句：

• After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
• This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。

17 reproduce   

v.生育，繁殖，复制，重做

参考例句：

• The machine can reproduce a key in two minutes.这机器能在两分钟内复制一把钥匙。
• The picture will reproduce well.这照片会印得很清楚。

18 hatched   

孵化( hatch的过去式和过去分词 )； 孵出，破壳而出； 秘密策划，（尤指）密谋； 使（小鸟、小鱼、小虫等）孵出

参考例句：

• Silkworms are fed mulberry leaves after they have hatched. 蚕孵出后食桑叶。
• Ten out of the set of twelve were hatched. 一窝十二个蛋孵出了十个。

19 director   

n.主管，导演；主任；理事；董事；处长

参考例句：

• The director has taken the visitors off to his office.经理把客人带到他办公室去了。
• The new director is easy to get along with.新来的主任很好处。

20 extinct   

adj.灭绝的，不再活跃的，熄灭了的，已废弃的

参考例句：

• All hopes were extinct.所有希望都破灭了。
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years.恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。