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VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-12-03 Climate Change, Land Use, Human Actions to Blame for Mega-Fires

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AS IT IS 2013-12-03 Climate Change, Land Use, Human Actions to Blame for Mega-Fires

From VOA Learning English, welcome to As It Is.  I’m Steve Ember.

Today we’ll hear about the current threat of huge, very destructive1  wildfires. 

Then to Cambodia, where a university is providing the first formal training for badly needed social workers.

And finally, we celebrate the anniversary of the opening, in 1947, of the classic Tennessee Williams play, “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

But first, we hear from experts about that threatening increase in huge wildfires.

Climate Change, Land Use, Human Actions to Blame for Mega-Fires

Australia, Indonesia, Russia , Greece and the United States… Those are just a few places where huge wildfires have been a problem in recent years. In the American West, for example, three wildfires caused major damage earlier this year. Fire experts say most of these fires are a result of climate change, land use and human actions.

[TV News coverage2 of 2013 Colorado wildfires]

June 2013: The Black Forest Fire destroys more than 500 homes in Colorado. Weeks later in Arizona, the Yarnell Hill fire kills 19 members of the Granite3 Mountain Hotshots -- a group known for its firefighting expertise4. Then, in California, the Rim5 Fire becomes the third largest fire in state history. 

Bill Kaage directs wildland fire operations for the United States Park Service at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. He says huge, costly6 wildfires were once rare.

“In the western United States, we have larger fires that occur over a larger period of time…”

Mr. Kaage says this change is forcing fire officials to change their methods. 

United Nations officials and fire experts say long periods of dry weather are one reason for the fires. They suspect the lack of rainfall results from climate change.

[Helicopter sound and earth moving equipment]

Another suspected cause is land use, including years of protecting new communities in areas where fires were likely. The idea is to aggressively put out all wildfires. That policy is called suppression.

But Stephen Pyne of Arizona State University does not believe the suppression method is successful. He says it has failed in every country likely to have wildfires.

“(When) the smoke is on the horizon, and the TV cameras are out, it seems like an easy solution to call in the troops, bring in the airplanes and the helicopters, bomb it away, and then the problem is gone.  All we’ve done is put it off.” 

Firefighter: “Turn on your emergency lights…”

Stephen Pyne says suppression is a temporary measure that creates more dangerous fires later. It enables smaller trees and plants to build up. This vegetation7 acts as fuel that can carry fire to taller treetops. 

Firefighter: “We have a burn-out going on the south side…”

Oregon forester Marc Barnes says that when fires burned at low intensity8 in the past, it would clean the forest. Now, he says, fires are burning at high intensity and destroying all the trees and the forest.

He says money for fire-fighting should be spent on preventive measures like fuel reduction.

“Otherwise, we’re just going to keep having bigger and bigger fires.  We’re going to spend more and more and a lot less is going to get done by those agencies.” 

He adds that “so much of their budgets are getting eclipsed9 by the budgets for fire suppression.”

Bill Kaage says the federal deficit10 has forced agencies like his to cut their budgets for fuel reduction.

“There’s a choice we’ve had to make to make sure we have the engines and the crews available to us for a response.”  

The United States Congress has demanded a national plan of action to fight wildfires. Stephen Pyne says the move is, in his words “bold but underfunded.” 

It is meant to help government, landowners and others fight dangerous problems that seem to get worse year by year. 

As It Is is coming to you from VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember. 

Cambodian University Provides Training for Social Workers

Next, we visit Cambodia to hear about professional training for people learning to make life better for victims of troubling social problems.  Avi Arditti tells us more…

?Cambodia has about 3,000 recognized non-profit groups. Some work on issues such as violence against women and human trafficking. But few Cambodians are trained for such work. That is now changing with the country’s first university-level degree program for social workers.

Yoeung Kimheng grew up near the city of Phnom Penh. He saw troubling social problems, but few people were in a position to help.

Now, thanks to the university program, he himself may soon be equipped to help. He has finished a four-year program in the Department of Social Work at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. His class is set to graduate later this year. It will be the second graduating class for the department.

Social workers often work with people who have suffered emotional damage. Yet, until the university started the department in 2008, there was no degree-level program in Cambodia for training social workers. 

Outreach groups have traditionally depended on foreign experts, or largely untrained local staff who learned on the job.

Ung Kimkanika is a faculty11 member in the department.

“So I think to have the situation is Cambodian and only Cambodian or Khmer people would understand well about the situation.”

The Department of Social Work at the Royal University of Phnom Penh has a partnership12 with the School of Social Work at the University of Washington in Seattle. Through that partnership, Ung Kimkanika and other Cambodian students went to the United States to study and earn master’s degrees. Now, they have come back and are teaching other students. 

The social work program at the Royal University of Phnom Penh will likely become even more important in the coming months. A war crimes court is nearing the end of one part of a case against former Khmer Rouge13 leaders. Faculty member Ung Kimkanika says the decision of the court could bring back bad memories among survivors14 of the communist rulers.     I'm Avi Arditti.

“Hey, Stella!” – Remembering “A Streetcar Named Desire”

[Music by Alex North from “A Streetcar Named Desire”]

I’m Steve Ember with As It Is, coming to you from VOA Learning English. 

And now, we remember the opening of Tennessee Williams’ play, “A Streetcar Named Desire” on Broadway in New York on December 3rd, 1947. The story tells of a violent clash15 between Stanley Kowalski, played by Marlon Brando, and Blanche DuBois, played by Jessica Tandy. Kim Hunter played the role of Stella, Stanley’s wife.  

The play’s sexual16 violence shocked the audience.  When the drama was finished, people sat in silence for a minute.  Then they applauded17 for half an hour. 

Marlon Brando (from the film version of “Streetcar”): “Hey, Stella!”

The young Brando immediately became a star. He went on to play Stanley Kowalski in the movie version. Jessica Tandy won a Tony Award for her performance. Tennessee Williams won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

And that’s our show for today.  As It Is is a production of  VOA Learning English.  I’m Steve Ember. See you next time.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 destructive cvaxr     
adj.破坏(性)的,毁灭(性)的
参考例句:
  • In the end,it will be destructive of our whole society.它最终会毁灭我们整个社会。
  • It is the most destructive storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的一次风暴。
2 coverage nvwz7v     
n.报导,保险范围,保险额,范围,覆盖
参考例句:
  • There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
  • This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。
3 granite Kyqyu     
adj.花岗岩,花岗石
参考例句:
  • They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
  • The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。
4 expertise fmTx0     
n.专门知识(或技能等),专长
参考例句:
  • We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
  • You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。
5 rim RXSxl     
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界
参考例句:
  • The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
  • She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。
6 costly 7zXxh     
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。
7 vegetation cLxzz     
n.植物,草木,(植物)生长
参考例句:
  • As we drove towards the desert,the vegetation became sparse.我们驱车前往沙漠,沿途的草木渐渐变得稀疏。
  • The earth bore a thick green mantle of vegetation.大地覆盖着一层厚厚的绿色植物。
8 intensity 45Ixd     
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度
参考例句:
  • I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
  • The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。
9 eclipsed 1a0a99de3ad872b51a234d16055d14df     
[物]遮掩[键]位形
参考例句:
  • Our happiness was soon eclipsed by the terrible news. 我们的快乐很快就被可怕的消息蒙上一层阴影。
  • The moon is partly eclipsed. 月偏食了。
10 deficit tmAzu     
n.亏空,亏损;赤字,逆差
参考例句:
  • The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
  • We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。
11 faculty HhkzK     
n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员
参考例句:
  • He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
  • He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。
12 partnership NmfzPy     
n.合作关系,伙伴关系
参考例句:
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
13 rouge nX7xI     
n.胭脂,口红唇膏;v.(在…上)擦口红
参考例句:
  • Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂,使脸更漂亮。
  • She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮,不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。
14 survivors 02ddbdca4c6dba0b46d9d823ed2b4b62     
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
  • survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者
15 clash hOfzg     
vi.冲突,不协调,砰地相撞;n.冲突,不协调
参考例句:
  • There is a clash between two classes at 2 p.m. on Thursday.星期四下午两点有两堂课是冲突的。
  • The pot came down on the stone floor with a clash.锅“当”地一声掉到石地上。
16 sexual YiLzlw     
adj.性的,两性的,性别的
参考例句:
  • He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
  • It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。
17 applauded 365e039ade9174d17e315a014bdf57b2     
v.鼓掌( applaud的过去式和过去分词 );称赞,赞许
参考例句:
  • The audience warmly applauded when the performance came to the end. 当演出接近尾声时,观众热烈鼓掌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The audience applauded after the soprano sang the aria so beautifully. 女高音将咏叹调唱得十分优美,观众爆发出热烈的掌声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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