VOA标准英语2012--New Movie Boosts Campaign to Save Polar Bears

New Movie Boosts Campaign to Save Polar Bears 

Polar bears are in trouble. Scientists say only 20,000 remain, and their long term survival could be at risk. The new IMAX movie, To the Arctic, is narrated¹ by actress Meryl Streep.

The movie tells the story of the Arctic's endangered ecosystem² - through a polar bear mother and her twin calves³.

Award-winning nature photographer Florian Schulz has done a companion book. He says the purpose of the book and the film is to educate people about what's happening to the region.

“The polar bears won't survive without the ice, and, right now, scientists are predicting that by 2040 or 2050, somewhere in between, the sea ice in the summer will completely go away,” Schulz stated.

He spent 18 months in the Arctic living in a tent and traveling in a snowmobile with solar panels. "You have to let your equipment completely freeze, and then it will stay frozen. You can’t take it inside your sleeping bag or inside your tent because the condensation⁴ will go on top of it, and then the ice will build, and then you will not get rid of the ice anymore,” he said. 

Handling equipment in below-zero temperatures and working with camera-shy wildlife were a serious challenge to the movie producers too. For example, an automated⁵ camera, camouflaged⁶ in white, caught a bear’s attention.

Schulz says one day a giant bear approached within seven meters of him. “We then shot a flair⁷ gun at the ground level so the bang was closer to the ground, and the bear understood that he should move on. That was definitely a scary moment,” he explained.

The movie and book are part of a larger project to protect the polar bears and the Arctic.

Suzanne Apple is with the World Wildlife Fund. "This area we are working on is called the last ice area in northern Canada, Greenland and Denmark. Our research shows this is the ice that will stay the longest" she said. "So we are hoping to protect and preserve that.”

But the growing interest in minerals and oil and gas exploration could present an added challenge to the Arctic - and the polar bears. 

1 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

3 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 condensation   

n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠

参考例句：

• A cloud is a condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere.云是由大气中的水蒸气凝结成的。
• He used his sleeve to wipe the condensation off the glass.他用袖子擦掉玻璃上凝结的水珠。

5 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

6 camouflaged   

v.隐蔽( camouflage的过去式和过去分词 )；掩盖；伪装，掩饰

参考例句：

• We camouflaged in the bushes and no one saw us. 我们隐藏在灌木丛中没有被人发现。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They camouflaged in bushes. 他们隐蔽在灌木丛中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 flair   

n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design.他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• He had a natural flair for business.他有做生意的天分。