VOA慢速英语2010-SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Scientists Predict

BOB DOUGHTY¹: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I’m Bob Doughty.

STEVE EMBER: And I’m Steve Ember. This week, we will tell about North America’s monarch² butterfly. We will tell about a British investigation³ of information stolen from climate researchers. And, we will tell about an honor for the largest eye care provider in the world.

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Monarch Butterflies

BOB DOUGHTY: Millions of monarch butterflies escape cold weather in North America by flying to the mountains of Mexico every winter. Many people come to see the butterflies in the forests of Mexico’s Michoacan State. The beautiful orange and black insects return to the same area each year. They travel up to four thousand eight hundred kilometers, from as far away as Canada.

In the spring, the female monarchs⁴ leave Mexico and fly as far north as the American state of Kansas. There they leave their eggs on milkweed plants, with the next generation of monarchs appearing a short time later.

A monarch butterfly

But this year, experts say the butterfly population has dropped by as much as fifty percent. Chip Taylor is director of the monarch Watch program at the University of Kansas. He says fewer monarchs are returning this year than any other year he has witnessed.

STEVE EMBER: Severe winter weather, heavy rains and landslides⁵ are believed to have destroyed much of the butterfly population. Illegal destruction of the monarch’s winter home in Mexico is also blamed for the population drop. Adding to the problem, scientists say, was an already reduced population, resulting from poor conditions last summer.

Professor Taylor is urging people in the southern United States to help the monarchs by planting milkweed. The plant is favorite place for the butterflies. Many leave their eggs on milkweed at the end of their difficult trip.

BOB DOUGHTY: Researchers continue to make discoveries about how monarch butterflies travel to the same area each year. Without the help of guides or maps, the butterflies use sight, smell, touch and other senses to find their way. To learn how this is done, researchers first observe the normal flight paths of the insects. The researchers then purposely interfere⁶ with the monarchs and follow their movement again.

Professor Taylor says his team used this method to discover that butterflies depend on information about the Earth’s magnetic fields. He says that, when researchers changed the magnetic field, the butterflies were no longer able to find their way.

STEVE EMBER: Researchers have also found that sunlight is an important tool used by butterflies. By using unnatural⁷ light, the insects traveled in the wrong direction.

Steven Reppert also studies butterfly migration⁸. He is a neuroscientist at the University of Massachusetts.

Professor Reppert says scientists thought they understood the control system in the monarchs until they took a closer look at the insects’ antenna⁹. He says the antenna can identify odors, as well movement, sounds and changes in barometric¹⁰ pressure. It can also sense light. The antenna sends information to the brain of the butterfly, controlling its behavior.

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Climate Change E-Mails

BOB DOUGHTY: Earlier this year, we told about an incident that brought attention to disagreements about the cause of rising temperatures in Earth’s atmosphere. Private e-mails and documents were stolen from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in Britain. The information was placed on the Internet.

Recently, a British parliamentary committee finished its investigation of the incident. The committee released a mixed report about the leaked or hacked¹¹ e-mails.

The investigators¹² say they found no evidence that the university’s scientists cheated to prove the existence of human-caused climate change. The report said the director of the Climatic Research Unit did not attempt to hide evidence disputing the warming of Earth’s atmosphere. But it criticized the University of East Anglia for holding back information from other scientists. The investigators said the secrecy¹³ may have violated Britain’s public information laws.

STEVE EMBER: Parliament appointed a fourteen-member committee to investigate the case. The report said information requests by scientists not connected with the Climatic Research Unit, the C.R.U., were continually rejected. Those scientists included researchers who question the idea that human activity is causing temperatures in the atmosphere to rise.

The committee report was the first of three planned to deal with the release of the C.R.U.’s private e-mails on the Internet. C.R.U. director Phil Jones has temporarily left his position until the investigations¹⁴ are completed.

BOB DOUGHTY: The C.R.U. became the object of widespread attention shortly before an international climate conference opened in Denmark last December. In November, more than one-thousand e-mails and about three thousand documents were taken from the C.R.U. and placed on the Internet.

Other scientists and observers say they found both mistakes and questionable¹⁵ findings. An example was the statement that the Himalayan glaciers¹⁶ would melt by twenty thirty-five. The prediction was soon disproved.

STEVE EMBER: The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had included that prediction in a report three years ago. Recognition of such mistakes forced I.P.C.C. chairman Rajendra Pachauri to resign. That same year Mister Pachauri won a Nobel Prize for his work on climate change. He shared the award with America’s former vice¹⁷ president, Al Gore¹⁸. Mister Gore has been a strong activist¹⁹ for limiting Earth’s temperatures.

Professor Jones had used the words “trick” and “hide the decline” in relation to a graph showing temperature decreases. The image has appeared in several publications. But the Parliamentary committee said the professor was not guilty of wrongdoing in the incident.

BOB DOUGHTY: The e-mails included personal insults to dissenters²⁰ of C.R.U. studies. Professor Jones admitted to the committee that some of the messages were what he called awful.

Two other reports will study the C.R.U. itself and explore possible violation²¹ of Britain’s freedom of information laws. At the same time, the Norfolk Police Constabulary is investigating the possibility of criminal activity. Detective Superintendent²² Julian Gregory will say only that the case is complex and will take more time to finish.

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Aravind Eye Care System

STEVE EMBER: An eye care organization in India was honored this month for its efforts. Aravind Eye Care System received the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian²³ Prize. The award was presented in California, during a conference of the Global Philanthropy Forum²⁴.

Conrad Hilton established the humanitarian prize in nineteen ninety-six. Each year the award is given to a charitable or non-governmental organization working to end human suffering. The prize includes one million five hundred thousand dollars.

Aravind Eye Care System is the world's largest eye care provider

BOB DOUGHTY: Aravind Eye Care System was recognized for its work with millions of people in India.

Govindappa Venkataswamy, a retired²⁵ eye surgeon, established the organization in nineteen seventy-six. He wanted to make high quality eye care available to all, especially India's poor. He wanted to prevent needless cases of blindness.

Eight out of ten people with vision problems live in developing countries. The World Health Organization says eighty-five percent of all vision problems could be prevented or cured. That includes seventy-five percent of all blindness.

An estimated forty-five million people are blind, and India is home to ten million of them.

STEVE EMBER: Doctor Venkataswamy established the first Aravind Eye Hospital in Tamil Nadu state with only eleven beds. Today, Aravind Eye Care System is the largest eye care provider in the world. It operates five hospitals and more than thirty eye care centers across India.

About seventy percent of the patients receive free care. The money comes from the thirty percent of patients who can pay for their services.

In nineteen ninety-two, Aravind established what was described as Asia's first training center for the prevention of blindness. Also, the Aravind Medical Research Foundation investigates the causes and treatment of eye disease.

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BOB DOUGHTY: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by June Simms, Jerilyn Watson and Brianna Blake, who also was our producer. I’m Bob Doughty.

STEVE EMBER: And I’m Steve Ember. Listen again next week for more news about science, in Special English, on the Voice of America.
 

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 monarchs   

君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Monarchs ruled England for centuries. 世袭君主统治英格兰有许多世纪。
• Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and dignity. 他在大不列颠本国为六位君王服务，也为全人类的自由和尊严服务。 来自演讲部分

5 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

6 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

7 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

8 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

9 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

10 barometric   

大气压力

参考例句：

• Electricity compensates for barometric pressure as well as system pressure variations. 用电补偿大气压和系统压力的变化。
• A barometric altimeter indicates height above sea level or some other selected elevation. 气压高度表用以指示海平面或另外某个被选定高度以上的高度。

11 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

12 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

14 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

15 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

16 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

17 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

18 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

19 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

20 dissenters   

n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He attacked the indulgence shown to religious dissenters. 他抨击对宗教上持不同政见者表现出的宽容。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• (The dissenters would have allowed even more leeway to the Secretary.) （持异议者还会给行政长官留有更多的余地。） 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

21 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

22 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

23 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

24 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

25 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。