2001 1222 [原文]
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS.
On January first, many people in Europe will stop using the money they have known for a lifetime. More than three-hundred million Europeans will start using the new single European money, the euro. It will become the legal form of money in twelve European Union countries.
Fifteen nations belong to the E-U. Twelve countries will use new euro paper money and coins starting next month. They are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Three E-U members decided not to join the single money system at this time. They are Britain, Denmark and Sweden.
E-U leaders agreed on the use of the single money in the Maastricht Treaty of Nineteen-Ninety-One. They created the euro so that business deals among their nations would be easier and less costly. The euro is not expected to change greatly in value. This will keep interest rates low.
European leaders also believe the euro will unite Europe politically by forcing the nations to cooperate. For example, countries will have a reason to help another country if it becomes weak economically. If no help is offered, the value of their shared money could become weak.
ECB logo
The European Central Bank was established in Nineteen-Ninety-Eight. Two major goals of the Central Bank are to keep the euro strong and to control inflation. The Bank is responsible for supervising the development and public acceptance of the euro.
Three years ago, eleven E-U nations started using the euro for stock market trading, banking and business deals. However, most Europeans continued to use their national money. Since then, money production centers have been busy producing euro paper money and coins. There will be seven different euro banknotes and eight coins.
Some post offices, banks, and stores are now offering euro coin collections to the public. These coin collections are designed to show Europeans what the new money will look like.
Both the euro and old national money will be accepted in most countries for up to two months. European officials expect that most business activity will be completed in euros by the middle of January. The old money will stop being accepted at the end of February.
Europeans have talked about political and economic unity for fifty years. Until now, most of the important developments have been technical.
Some observers say the launch of the euro will make a real difference in the lives of Europeans. They say Europeans now will start to identify more with the E-U in ways they did not in the past. They say the euro will be a real, physical sign of European union.
This VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS, was written by George Grow. This is Steve Ember.
2001 1224 [原文]
Now, a Special English program for Christmas. Maurice Joyce tells about "White Christmas."
Christmas is almost here. Holiday music fills the air. Colorful lights shine brightly in windows. Stores are crowded with people buying last-minute gifts. All these are Christmas traditions.
Another tradition is snow. Christmas in the northern part of the world comes a few days after the start of winter. So, in many places, a blanket of clean white snow covers the ground on Christmas Day. This is what is meant by a "White Christmas. "
Of course, many places do not get snow in December. In fact, they may be very warm at that time
of year. People who like snow -- but live where it is warm -- dream of having a white Christmas.
American songwriter Irving Berlin captured these feelings in his song "White Christmas."
"White Christmas" is one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time. Hundreds of singers and
musicians have recorded it. Perhaps the most famous version was sung by Bing Crosby.
((TAPE: "White Christmas"))
Irving Berlin, 1944
Songwriter Irving Berlin was Jewish. He did not celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. But in his Christmas song, he shares a message of peace and happiness which all people can enjoy.
So, from all of us who work in Special English -- to all of you -- we wish the happiest and most joyful holiday. This is Maurice Joyce.
2001 1225 [原文]
Now, a VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH program for the Christmas holiday. Some Christmas traditions involve trees or plants. One of the most popular is the evergreen tree. Shirley Griffith tells us how the evergreen developed into the modern Christmas Tree.
Many Americans buy an evergreen tree for Christmas. They put the tree in their home and hang small lights and colorful objects on it. The evergreen is usually a pine or a fir tree. It remains green during the cold, dark months of winter in the northern part of the world. So, it is a sign of everlasting life.
The use of evergreens during winter holiday celebrations started in ancient times. Early Romans, for example, probably included evergreens with other plants during a celebration in honor of their god of agriculture.
The Christmas tree may have developed in part from a popular play performed hundreds of years ago in what is now Germany. Traditionally, the play was held on December twenty-fourth, the day before Christmas. The play was about the first people that God created -- Adam and Eve. People put apples on an evergreen to represent the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden.
By the year Sixteen-Hundred, some Germans began bringing evergreen trees into their homes. They put fruit, nuts and sweets on the trees. They shared the food among family members and friends after the holiday season.
Some people say the German religious reformer Martin Luther was the first person to add lighted candles to a tree. They say he did this to show how wonderful the stars had appeared to him as he traveled one night.
In the early Eighteen-Hundreds, German settlers in the state of Pennsylvania were the first to celebrate the holiday with Christmas trees in the United States.
The Christmas tree tradition spread to many parts of the world. Today, some form of Christmas tree is part of most Christmas celebrations. Some people put a star on top of their Christmas tree. It represents the star that led the three wise men to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
This is Shirley Griffith wishing you a joyous holiday season.
2001 1226 [原文]
This is the VOA Special English Science Report.
Christmas has many traditions. Singing songs. Cooking foods. Giving gifts. Some special trees and plants also are part of the Christmas tradition.
One of the most popular is the evergreen tree. It is usually a pine (松) or a fir (杉). It remains green during the cold, dark months of winter in the northern part of the world. Many people buy an evergreen tree for Christmas. They put it in their house and hang small lights and colorful objects on its branches. Some people buy living trees and plant them after the Christmas holiday. Others cut down a tree or buy a cut tree.
Another popular evergreen plant is mistletoe. It has small white berries and leaves that feel like leather. The traditional Christmas mistletoe is native to Europe. Mistletoe is a parasite plant. It grows by connecting itself to a tree and stealing the tree’s food and water. It can be found on apple trees, lindens, maples and poplars.
Priests of the Druid religion of ancient Britain and France believed mistletoe had magical powers. Today, some people hang mistletoe in a doorway at Christmas time. If you meet someone under the mistletoe, tradition gives you permission to kiss that person.
One of the most popular plants at Christmas is the poinsettia. These plants are valued for their colorful bracts, which look like leaves. Most poinsettias are bright red. But they also can be white or pink. Poinsettias are native to Mexico. They are named after America’s first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett. He liked the plant and sent some back to the United States. Many people believe that poinsettias are poisonous. But researchers say this is not true. They say the milky liquid in the plant’s stem can cause a person’s skin to become red. If children or animals eat the leaves they may become sick, but they will not die.
Two thick, sticky substances from trees have been part of Christmas from the beginning. They are frankincense and myrrh. Both have powerful, pleasant smells. Tradition says three wise men carried them as gifts to the Christ child in Bethlehem.
Finally, there are several herbs used in Christmas foods, drinks and decorations. One is sage. Its leaves are cooked with turkey or goose. And sweet-smelling rosemary plants are hung on doors or cut to look like little Christmas trees.
This VOA Special English Science Report was written by Christine Johnson.
2001 1227 [原文]
This is the VOA Special English Science Report.
People all over the world know the importance of giving blood to help people who have lost blood because of an accident or operation. There is also a(one) need for the part of the blood called platelets.
Platelets are cells in the blood that help stop bleeding by permitting the blood to become thick, or clot. Taking platelets from a person’s blood is done in a process called apheresis (a-fur-ee-sis).
Blood is taken from a blood vessel in a person’s arm through a tube. The blood is passed through a machine called a centrifuge. The machine separates the platelets from the other parts of the blood and collects them. The machine returns the other parts of the blood to the person’s arm.
This process takes a bout two hours. A person’s body replaces the donated platelets in about
forty-eight hours. One person can give platelets up to twenty-four times a year.
Almost all healthy people can donate their platelets. A person must be older than seventeen years of age and weigh at least fifty kilograms.
However, some people with medical conditions should not donate platelets. People should not donate platelets if they have ever suffered hepatitis or cancer or have heart problems. People should not donate platelets if they have had malaria or lived in an area where the disease is present in the past three years.
Women who have been pregnant in the past six months should not give platelets. Blood donation programs also will not accept blood products from people who may have been infected with the AIDS virus.
And the programs will not accept blood products from people who have visited countries where mad cow disease is present.
Blood centers always need platelets because donated platelets must be used within five days. People who are having treatments for cancer need blood platelets. Radiation and chemotherapy treatments lower the number of platelets in their blood. So they must get platelets to prevent bleeding.
Experts say the demand for platelets continues to increase as more people are getting cancer treatments. The strong government controls to guarantee the safety of blood products have also limited the supply of platelets in recent years.
This VOA Special English Science Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.
2001 1228 [原文]
This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.
Scientists expect this year to be the second warmest year ever recorded. They say average surface temperatures this year will be warmer than any other year except Nineteen-Ninety-Eight.
The World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland noted the findings in its yearly climate report.
The World Meteorological Organization says the higher surface temperatures are part of a continuing move toward warmer weather. W-M-O officials say average temperatures have risen more than six-tenths of one degree Celsius during the past one-hundred years. They also expect temperatures to continue rising.
W-M-O officials say the warming is a result of large amounts of carbon dioxide and other industrial pollutants being released in Earth’s atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the sun. This is commonly called the greenhouse effect.
Ken Davidson is director of the W-M-O World Climate Program. He says the greenhouse effect is responsible for unusual weather around the world in recent years.
For the report, W-M-O officials compared the current conditions with temperature records since Eighteen-Sixty. They found that nine of the ten warmest years ever recorded have been since Nineteen-Ninety.
Average temperatures this year are more than four-tenths of a degree higher than the average temperature from Nineteen-Sixty-One to Nineteen-Ninety. This was the twenty-third year that temperatures were above the average for that period.
The report noted higher than average temperatures in Australia, Japan and North America. It says October was the hottest month in England in more than three-hundred years. Denmark and Germany also set records for the warmest October in more than one-hundred years.
However, some areas reported colder than normal temperatures this year. For example, temperatures in the Siberia area of Russia dropped to sixty degrees below zero Celsius. Unseasonably cold weather also was reported in Bolivia and northern India.
Experts say many areas could experience extreme weather next year if the weather event known as El Nino returns. El Nino causes climate changes that affect Pacific Ocean waters near the coasts of Ecuador and Peru. In the past, El Nino has been blamed for flooding, dry weather and powerful storms.
This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by George Grow.
2001 1229[原文]
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS.
Argentina’s new president has announced measures to ease a severe economic crisis in the country. Adolfo Rodriguez Saa made the announcement after he replaced Fernando de la Rua as president last week. The former president resigned following violent street protests over how the government has dealt with the current economic crisis. More than twenty-five people were killed in the violence.
Poor economic decisions and continuing political crises have led to Argentina’s problems. The latest crisis was caused by overspending during an economic slowdown. Some money was used to pay w ages or to help the country’ s poorest people. However, many Argentines blame dishonest government officials for the country’s problems.
Argentina is in its fourth year of recession and is in danger of not being able to pay its debts. It owes one-hundred-thirty-two thousand-million dollars. Unemployment has risen to eighteen-percent. Industrial production has fallen. The South American nation has thirty-six million people.
One year ago, the International Monetary Fund agreed to lend Argentina almost
forty-thousand-million dollars. However, tax increases and government spending cuts called for by the I-M-F plan led to a political crisis in March. Three cabinet ministers resigned. The economic crisis worsened. Earlier this month, popular protests against the government’s economic measures pressured
President de la Rua to resign.
Argentina’s new leader, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, took office Sunday. He was chosen to serve as temporary president by the Peronist party, which controls parliament. He is to serve as president until a new election is held in early March. The Peronist Party is expected to win the election.
President Rodriguez Saa announced new measures to prevent Argentina’s economy from failing. The president suspended payments on the country’s foreign debt. He announced a public works program to create one-hundred-thousand jobs before the end of this year.
The government also established a new kind of money, called the argentino. It will be used along with the Argentine peso and American dollar. The argentino will be used to pay wages of government workers and payments to retired workers.The argentino will not be supported by other kinds of money. Some economic experts believe the new money will quickly lose value and produce more inflation.
Former Arg entine President Carlos Menem criticized his party’s economic plan. He says most of the Argentine economy is based on linking the Argentine peso with the American dollar. He says changing that plan will not be effective. Mister Menem was in power for most of the Nineteen-Nineties. Many people blame him for the country’s current crisis.
This VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.
2002 0101 [原文]
Now a VOA Special English program for the New Year's holiday. Here is Maurice Joyce.
NARRATOR:
January first. The beginning of a new year. As far back in history as we can tell, people have celebrated the start of a new year.
The people of ancient Egypt began their new year in summer. That is when the Nile River flooded its banks, bringing water and fertility to the land. The people of ancient Babylonia and Persia began their new year on March twenty-first, the first day of spring. And, some Native American Indians began their new year when the nuts of the oak tree became ripe. That was usually in late summer.
Now, almost everyone celebrates New Year's Day on January first. Today, as before, people observe(此处作"庆祝"讲) the New Year's holiday in many different ways.
The ancient Babylonians celebrated by forcing their king to give up his crown and royal clothing. They made him get down on his knees and admit all the mistakes he had made during the past year.
This idea of admitting wrongs and finishing the business of the old year is found in many societies at new year's. So is the idea of making resolutions. A resolution is a promise to change your ways. To stop smoking, for example. Or to get more physical exercise.
Noise-making is another ancient custom at the new year. The noise is considered necessary to chase away the evil spirits of the old year. People around the world do different things to make a lot of noise. They may hit sticks together. Or beat on drums. Or blow horns. Or explode fireworks.
Americans celebrate the New Year in many ways.
Most do not have to go to work or school. So they visit family and friends. Attend church services. Share a holiday meal. Or watch new year's parades on television. Two of the most famous parades are the Mummer's Parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. Both have existed for many years.
Americans also watch football on television on New Year's Day. Most years, university teams play in special holiday games.
For those who have been busy at work or school, New Year's may be a day of rest. They spend the time thinking about, and preparing for, the demands of the new year.
[生词摘录]
fertility : n. 肥沃, 丰产, 多产, 人口生产, 生产力
oak : / / n. [植]橡树, 橡木;adj. 橡木制的
ripe : / / adj. 熟的, 成熟的, 时机成熟的;v. 成熟
crown : / / n. 王冠, 花冠, 顶;vt. 加冕, 顶上有, 表彰, 使圆满完成
royal : / / adj. 王室的, 皇家的, 第一流的, 高贵的
resolution : / / n. 坚定, 决心, 决定, 决议
chase : / / n. 追赶, 追击;vt. 追赶, 追逐, 雕镂(chase away)
drum : / / n. 鼓, 鼓声, 鼓形圆桶, [解]鼓膜, 鼓室;vi. 击鼓, 作鼓声;vt. 打鼓奏
horn : / / n. (牛、羊等的)角, 喇叭, 触角;v. 装角
parade : / / n. 游行, 炫耀, 阅兵, 检阅, 阅兵场;v. 游行, 炫耀, 夸耀, (使)列队行进
mummer : / / n. 哑剧演员, 伶人
[要点摘录]
Signs of a cold include sore throat, discharge of fluids from the nose, sneezing, coughing and difficulty breathing.
2002 0102[原文]
This is the VOA Special English Science Report.
American researchers say they have developed the first drug that can effectively treat adults suffering a viral respiratory infection called the common cold.
A cold is an infection of the breathing system. About fifty percent of colds are caused by a group of viruses known as picornaviruses (pa-CORN-a-viruses). These small particles spread from person to person through the air. The virus first infects the tissues in the nose and throat. Signs of a cold include sore throat, discharge of fluids from the nose, sneezing, coughing and difficulty breathing. The sinuses, ears and lungs may also become infected. This can lead to serious conditions like bronchitis or pneumonia.
Medical experts say Americans suffer as many as one-thousand-million colds every year. The experts say colds result in fifty-one-million visits to doctors each year. Yet no treatments are effective against the picornavirus.
Researchers at the ViroPharma company in Exton, Pennsylvania say they have developed such a drug. It is called pleconaril (pla-CON-ah-rill). The researchers say the drug attacks the picornavirus. It interferes with the infection process and prevents the virus from reproducing.
Researchers at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville studied the drug. They reported the results at an infectious disease conference in Chicago, Illinois. They said pleconaril reduces the length and severity of a cold.
One study involved more than two-thousand people with colds who were divided into two groups. One group took four-hundred milligrams of pleconaril three times a day for five days. The other group took an inactive substance. Sixty-five percent of those in the study had a cold caused by a picornavirus.
The people infected with the picornavirus who took pleconaril suffered from the cold for six days. The others who took the inactive substance suffered for seven days. The researchers said the drug made people feel better sooner when the cold was caused by a picornavirus. They also said the drug began to ease the signs of the cold within one day. And it stopped the discharge of nasal fluids one day sooner than usual.
The United States Food and Drug Administration is examining the research on pleconaril. Officials at ViroPharma say they expect the drug to be approved later this year.
[生词摘录]
/ vt. [医] 传染, 感染
infect : /
/ adj. 呼吸的
respiratory : /
/ n. [微]小核糖核酸病毒
picornavirus : /
/ n. 粒子, 点, 极小量, 微粒, 质点, 小品词, 语气particle : /
/ n. 咽喉, 喉咙, 嗓音, 窄路, 口子;vt. 用喉音说, 开沟于throat : /
sore : / / adj. 疼痛的, 痛心的, 剧烈的;n. 痛的地方, 痛处
/ n. 喷嚏;vi. 打喷嚏
sneeze : /
/ n. [医]支气管炎
bronchitis : /
/ n. [医] 肺炎
pneumonia : /
/ n. 会议, 讨论会, 协商会
conference : /
/ n. 严肃, 严格, 严重, 激烈
severity : /
2002 0103[原文]
Some people feel sad or depressed during the winter months in northern areas of the world. They may have trouble eating or sleeping. They suffer from a condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, or S-A-D.
Victims of S-A-D suffer its effects during the short, dark days of winter. The problems are most severe in the months when there are fewer hours of daylight. When spring arrives, these signs disappear and S-A-D victims feel well again.
The National Mental Health Association reports that S-A-D can affect anyone. The group says young people and women are at the highest risk for the disorder. It says that an estimated twenty-five percent of the American population suffers from some form of S-A-D. About five percent suffer from a severe form of the disorder. Many people in other parts of the world also have the condition.
For example, some scientists who work in Antarctica suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. During the long, dark winter months there, workers have difficulty finding enough energy to do their jobs.
The idea of health problems linked to a lack of light is not new. Scientists have discussed the issue since the beginning of medicine. More than two-thousand years ago, the Greek doctor Hippocrates noted that the seasons affect human emotions.
Today, experts do not fully understand S-A-D. Yet they agree that it is a very real disorder. Many doctors think that a change in brain chemistry causes people to develop S-A-D. They say people with the condition have too much of the hormone melatonin in their bodies.
The pineal gland in the brain produces melatonin while we sleep. This hormone is believed to cause signs of depression. Melatonin is produced at increased levels in the dark. So, its production increases when the days are shorter and darker.
To treat the disorder, victims of S-A-D do not need to wait until spring. Experts know that placing affected individuals in bright light each day eases the condition. There are other things people can do to ease the problem. They can increase the sunlight in their homes and workplaces. They can spend more time outdoors in the fresh air during the day.
One study found that walking for an hour in winter sunlight was as effective as spending
two-and-one-half hours under bright light indoors.
[生词摘录]
depressed : /
/ adj. 沮丧的, 降低的
/ n. 南极洲[news:/s/02:30.9-02:31.9]
Antarctica : /
[news:/s/02:27.6-02:35.3]
/ adj. 松球状的, 松果腺的
pineal : /
解剖]腺, [机械]密封管[news:/s/03:37.6-03:44.0]
gland : / / n. [
2002 0104[
Scientists have discovered a strange new kind of squid deep in the world’s oceans.
Squid found in the Indian Ocean(Photo - NOAA/Science)
Scientists reported seeing the sea creatures in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans and in the Gulf of Mexico. They say they have never seen anything like the mystery squid before.
Evidence of the squid comes from pictures and video images taken by eight independent scientists in four countries. The scientists took the pictures from inside deep-water submarines. The deepest sighting was made almost five kilometers below the surface of the ocean, in the western Atlantic near the coast of Brazil.
The mystery squid is about seven meters long. Most squids have two long tentacles and eight shorter arms. The new squid, however, has ten arms that are extremely long, about six meters. Its arms are longer than those of any known squid species.
The squid’s arms are held in an unusual position. They spread out a short distance from the body, then bend down sharply. The rest of the arms flow behind the squid as it swims.
Scientists also say the squid’s arms are sticky. The scientists discovered this when a squid became stuck to the submarine while they were filming. Scientists believe the squid may use its long, sticky arms to trap food.
The mystery squid also has two huge fins that stick out from its small head. The fins look like two giant elephant ears that appear to help the animal swim through the water.
Scientists have not captured the animal. So they could not tell how much the squid weighs. However, they say it has a very small body, unlike that of the giant squid.
Michael Vecchione [VECK-ee-own] is a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He wrote about the mystery squid in Science magazine. He said the discovery shows how little researchers know about life deep in the world’s oceans.
Areas of deep water make up more than ninety percent of the living space on Earth. However, scientists do not know much about deep sea areas. That is because these areas are difficult, dangerous and costly to explore. The mystery squids were discovered accidentally by scientists or oil company workers looking for something else at the bottom of the ocean.
[生词摘录]
squid : / / n. 鱿鱼,乌贼,钓乌贼的钓钩, 反潜艇发射装置
潜水艇, 潜艇;adj. 水下的, 海底的submarine : / / n.
tentacle : / / n. (
动物)触须、触角, (植物)腺毛
粘的, 粘性的
sticky : / / adj.
trap : / / n. 圈套, 陷阱, 诡计, 活板门, 存水弯, 汽水闸, (双轮)轻便马车;vi. 设圈套, 设陷阱;vt. 诱捕, 诱骗, 计捉, 设陷, 坑害, 使受限制
fin : / / n. 鳍, 鱼翅, 鳍状物, 五元纸币;vi. 猛挥鳍, 露鳍于水面的;vt. 装上翅, 切除鳍
捕获, 战利品;vt. 俘获, 捕获, 夺取
capture : / / n.
2002 0105 [
Michael Bloomberg was sworn in as mayor of New York City on Tuesday. Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani led a ceremony in Times Square a few moments(-- minutes) after the New Year began.
About five-hundred-thousand New Year’s Eve celebrants watched the event. It was the largest public gathering in the city since the terrorist attacks on September eleventh.
Rudolph Giuliani
Giving his farewell speech Dec. 27
A swearing-in ceremony had never been held in Times Square before. But, New York City has changed since the destruction of the World Trade Center. Both Mister Giuliani and Mister Bloomberg hoped that holding a ceremony in Times Square would help people feel safe in the city. An official ceremony took place at City Hall later in the day.
Mister Bloomberg, a Republican, is the one-hundred-eighth mayor of New York. He defeated Democrat Mark Green in the election in November. The new mayor spent a record seventy-million dollars of his own money on his campaign for the office.
This is the first political office Michael Bloomberg has held. He has been an extremely successful businessman. Mister Bloomberg began his professional life in Nineteen-Sixty-Six as a trader on Wall
Street. In the early Nineteen-Eighties, he started a company that developed and sold financial information technology. He made hundreds of millions of dollars in the business.
In Nineteen-Ninety, Michael Bloomberg opened a financial news service. Bloomberg News grew quickly. Today, it employs more than one-thousand people to provide news to media and companies around the world. The news service led to Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg Television and
Bloomberg-dot-com on the Internet.
Political experts say Mister Bloomberg’s business skills could help New York solve its current economic difficulties. The city has a four-thousand-million dollar budget deficit. One-hundred-thousand people in the city lost their jobs as a result of the terrorist attacks. And, a number of companies moved out of the city.
Mister Bloomberg also faces problems in the New York City public education system. The actions he takes during his term could affect more than one-million students in the city.
Michael Bloomberg will lead New York while it makes difficult decisions about the future of the area where the World Trade Center once stood. Some people feel the area should be made into a memorial for the thousands of people who died there. Others want to see the Trade Center re-built to show that New York is not defeated.
The new mayor has not yet said what he thinks about these and other issues. However, he did make one promise. He said Rudy Giuliani had asked him not to fail the people of New York. Michael Bloomberg answered, “Rudy, I will not.”
[生词摘录]
/ vi. 诅咒;v. 宣誓, 发誓
swear : /
(swore,sworn) swear in : 使宣誓就职
/ n. 典礼, 仪式, 礼节, 报幕员
ceremony : /
/ n. 司仪神父, 天主教主领弥撒的神父
celebrant : /
/ n. 破坏, 毁灭
destruction : /
trader : /
/ n. 商人, 商船
/ n. 预算;vi. 做预算, 编入预算
budget : /
/ n. 赤字, 不足额[news:/s/03:51.3-03:57.3]
deficit : /
2002 0122 [
People often experience stress as a result of events in their lives. Stress is a physical condition that results from real or expected problems. People may experience stress when they lose a job or feel threatened. Common signs include increased heart rate, higher blood pressure and muscle tension.
American agriculture experts say farm animals also may experience stress. Animals may experience stress after giving birth or for other reasons. They say stress may affect meat quality, milk production and the health of farm animals.
Experts say stress in animals is more difficult to identify. Farmers can look for signs such as lower than expected body weight and increased risk of disease.
Ted Elsasser is a scientist at the United States Agricultural Research Service. He is studying a possible sign of stress in animals. He says changed proteins called nitrated proteins may serve as an early warning system for the problem.
Currently, farmers use antibiotics to treat stress in animals. However, repeated use of use antibiotics can lead to bacteria that resist the drugs.
Mister Elsasser is studying another method. He found that Vitamin E may protect farm animals against the harmful effects of stress. In an experiment, he gave Vitamin E to six young cows. Then he injected the animals with a harmful substance taken from the cell walls of bacteria. This toxin causes the defense system of the animals to react as if an infection were present. The scientist injected six other calves with only the toxin. Four other cows did not receive the toxin or the Vitamin E.
Then Mister Elsasser studied the animals. All of the animals that received the toxin had lower levels of a natural growth substance in their liver and blood, compared with the untreated calves. However, the
calves that were given Vitamin E and the toxin had higher levels of the growth factor than those that received only the toxin. The calves given vitamin E also recovered more quickly from the effects of the harmful substance.
Mister Elsasser says using Vitamin E helps support growth rates and may prevent some infections. He says being able to prevent infections linked to stress could lead to lower medical costs and healthier farm animals.
[生词摘录]
antibiotics : n. 抗生素, 抗生学
/ n. pl. 细菌
bacteria : /
/ n. [生化][生]毒素
toxin : /
/ n. [医] 传染, 传染病, 影响, 感染
infection : /
/ n. 小牛, 小牛皮, 小腿[pl. calves]
calf : /
/ n. 肝脏，居住者，生活优裕的人
liver : /
2002 0123 [
A new study suggests that a protein that protects animals from cancer early in life may later cause extreme aging. The protein is called p-fifty-three.
Scientists say p-fifty-three also helps prevent cancer in humans. It probably does this by halting growth or killing damaged cells that might develop into tumors. However, recent research on mice also shows that increased activity by the protein ages the animals later in life. It stops the natural renewal of their tissue and organs. The study also showed that p-fifty-three caused other effects of aging.
Scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, reported their work in the publication “Nature.” Lawrence Donehower led a team that studied normal mice. The team also studied mice that were accidentally created with unusually large amounts of p-fifty-three in their cells.
The scientists observed that the mice with extra p-fifty-three aged sooner than normal. Their bones became weak. Their muscles and organs became smaller. They lost weight. They lost some of their hair. However, these mice did not develop cancerous tumors. By comparison, forty-five percent of the normal animals developed tumors. Still, the normal mice lived an average twenty percent longer than the ones with extra p-fifty-three.
“Nature” magazine published the comments of two independent experts about the results of the Baylor team research.
The experts said the study may mean that aging may be a product of the body’s natural protection against cancer. The study has special importance for scientists trying to develop medicines to treat the effects of aging. The research raises the question if such treatments that suppress the p-fifty-three gene could make a person more likely to get cancer.
The study results also may be important for young cancer patients treated with chemotherapy. These chemical treatments help suppress tumors. They do this by attacking some of the genetic material in the body’s cells. However, the process may increase the activity of the p-fifty-three protein. This might threaten recovered cancer patients with aging sooner than normal. These young people might develop age-related health problems before their time.
[生词摘录]
protein : /
/ n. [生化]蛋白质;adj. 蛋白质的
/ n. 停止, 暂停, 中断;vt. 使停止, 使立定;vi. 立定, 停止, 踌躇, 有halt : /
缺点
/ 瘤
tumor : /
/ n. 更新, 复兴, 恢复, 续借, 重申, 补充
renewal : /
/ vt. 镇压, 抑制, 查禁, 使止住
suppress : /
chemotherapy : /
/ n. 化学疗法
2002 0221 [
Two new American studies are adding to our understanding of women and their sense of smell.
The first study showed that women appear to like the smell of men whose genes are similar to the women's fathers. Scientists at the University of Chicago in Illinois described their experiment in Nature Genetics magazine.
The scientists asked a group of forty-nine women to smell several boxes. Each box had a different smell. The women were asked which box they would choose if they had to smell it all the time. They were not told what each box contained.
The ten boxes contained pieces of clothing called T-shirts. Some of the T-shirts contained a common smell of a substance found around the house. Each of the other six T-shirts had been worn by a man for two days. The six men who wore the T-shirts were told to avoid activities that produced strong smells.
The scientists tested the genes of the men and women in the study. They examined a special group of genes called M-H-C genes.
The scientists found that the women did not choose smells of men with genes totally similar to their own. However, women generally liked the smell of men whose M-H-C genes were similar to the genes that were passed to the women from their fathers. There was no such relationship between a woman and genes from her mother.
A second study found that women can improve their ability to recognize smells by smelling them repeatedly. Scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, organized this study. They reported the findings in Nature Neuroscience magazine.
The scientists found that men and women were equally good at identifying a number of smells at the start of testing. However, the women became better at recognizing smells the more they were tested. This was not true for men, boys, girls or older women. Scientists suggest that this ability may be linked to substances called hormones produced by women.
Scientists say their findings may explain why women are more likely than men to be troubled by smells in the environment.
2002 0222 [
A severe winter storm in central Mexico last month killed hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies. It is the largest number of monarch butterflies killed at one time. However, scientists say the loss is not expected to threaten the species. The butterflies froze to death in two of the largest protected areas for monarch butterflies in Mexico.
The Rosario and Sierra Chincua colonies are in the mountains in the state of Michoacan, west of Mexico City. Most of the butterflies in the two colonies were killed in the storm.
Researchers say the butterflies froze to death after heavy rain fell in the area, followed by freezing temperatures. Monarch butterflies can easily freeze to death if they become wet and the temperature drops to freezing. Scientists say the temperatures following the storm were the lowest recorded in the area in the past twenty-five years.
During the year, monarch butterflies fly long distances, or migrate. They are one of the few kinds of insects to migrate. This has made the monarch popular among nature lovers.
The monarchs spend the winter in Mexico. Each spring, the butterflies fly north after they mate. The females stop to lay their eggs in the southern United States. The adults die soon after. The monarchs that develop from those eggs continue the flight. They return to the same areas in North America where their parents lived. By summer, the butterflies can reach as far north as Canada.
During the autumn, the monarchs return to the same forests in the mountains of Mexico. They like the oyamel tree the best. These tall trees are sometimes completely covered with butterflies.
Some scientists have suggested that the loss of forests in the mountains of Mexico led to the die-off of monarchs last month. They say the remaining forests may no longer provide enough protection to keep the butterflies warm and dry. Every winter, millions of monarchs die in the high mountain forests.
However, scientists note that the species is not in danger of disappearing. That is because there are other, smaller populations of monarchs in the United States that did not migrate to Mexico. Scientists say they will know after more study if the monarch populations in Mexico will be able to recover from the die-off.
[生词摘录]
/ n. 君主
monarch : /
/ n. [动]蝴蝶;蝶泳
butterfly : /
/ n. 殖民地, 侨民, (聚居的)一群同业, 一批同行, (生物)群体colony : /
/ vi. 移动, 移往, 移植, 随季节而移居, (鸟migrate : /
类的)迁徙;vt. 使移居, 使移植
mate : / / n. 配偶, 对手, 助手;vt. 使配对, 使一致, 结伴;vi. 成配偶, 紧密配合2002 0223[
The United States has made changes in its policy about American hostages. State Department official Richard Boucher announced the changes Wednesday.
Mister Boucher said the government will use every resource to gain the safe return of American citizens who are held hostage. However, he said the United States will continue its policy of not paying kidnappers or meeting any of their demands. For example, the United States will not release prisoners in exchange for the freedom of American hostages.
The new policy was announced the day before the State Department confirmed that an American reporter had been killed by his kidnappers in Pakistan. Daniel Pearl was a Wall Street Journal reporter. He was kidnapped last month in Karachi. Two American religious workers continue to be held hostage in the Philippines by the Abu Sayef group.
The new policy about American hostages is not very different from the one that has been in place the last seven years. But, it does make clear that the United States will take the kidnapping of private citizens just as seriously as that of government officials.
The United States government now will examine every overseas kidnapping of an American for possible action. This expands the earlier policy of considering only the cases in which American officials are held.
Mister Boucher warned terrorist groups, criminal organizations and foreign governments against kidnapping Americans. He said the kidnappers will not gain anything by taking hostages.
Mister Boucher said there were several ways the United States may answer kidnappings in foreign countries. The new policy permits the use of force to try to gain the release of hostages. Yet, Mister Boucher said he did not want to suggest that military action is in any way a first choice or a better choice. He said the main promise the government is making is to look at every kidnapping case to see what can be done.
The other major change in hostage policy concerns the actions of private individuals or businesses. The United States continues to strongly advise that people not pay kidnappers or meet their other demands. Yet, the new policy eases restrictions on American Foreign Service agencies in working on such kidnapping cases. In the past, the Foreign Service could offer assistance only to help private individuals and organizations communicate with foreign governments.
The National Security Council began re-examining the hostage policy toward the end of former President Clinton's administration. The White House, the Justice Department and the Central Intelligence Agency also were involved in developing the new policy.
[生词摘录]
/ n. 人质, 抵押品
hostage : /
kidnapper : n. 拐子, 绑匪
/ vt. 诱拐(小孩), 绑架, 勒赎
kidnap : /
/ n. 限制, 约束
restriction : /
/ n. 协助, 援助, 补助, <英>国家补助
assistance : /
/ n. 正义, 正当, 公平, 正确, 司法, 审判, 欣赏
justice : /
2002 0225 [
Five leading public health organizations have announced a campaign to reduce the number of deaths among children in Africa caused by measles. The American Red Cross is leading this effort. Its goal is to save the lives of more than one-million children over the next five years. Officials hope to give vaccine medicines to prevent measles to more than two-hundred-million children.
Measles attacks the skin surfaces and the body’s defense system against disease. It also can cause blindness and brain damage. Measles is the single leading cause of death among children in Africa. It kills more than four-hundred-fifty-thousand children in Africa each year. Yet it can be easily prevented with a simple vaccine medicine.
Danny Tarantola (tah-RAHN-to-lah) is the Director of Vaccines at the World Health Organization. He says measles is seen in many African communities as the one disease that tests the survival of children. Doctor Tarantola says in some communities children will not be given a name unless they have survived the disease.The American Red Cross has joined four other organizations in the campaign against measles. They are the United States Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Foundation, and the U-N Children’s Fund. The five groups have promised
two-hundred-million dollars for the campaign. That is about one-dollar for each child.
Officials say the campaign really began last year. More than twenty-million children received the measles vaccine in Tanzania, Uganda, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Cameroon. Officials say the campaign reached ninety-five percent of the children in those countries and saved more than
one-hundred-forty-thousand lives. Officials now plan to target fifty-three-million children in twelve more countries this year.
Health officials hope to follow a model used during a successful campaign against the disease polio. They say the polio operation helped build a support system in Africa that the measles campaign will use. Officials are carrying out the effort against measles in Africa first because the need is greatest. However, they hope to extend the campaign to other parts of the world.
[生词摘录]
医]麻疹, 风疹, 包虫病, 痧子
measles : / / n. [
疫苗的, 牛痘的;n. 疫苗
vaccine : / / adj.
polio : n. 脊髓灰质炎；小儿麻痹症（亦作：poliomyelitis）
2002 0226
American scientists are developing a new use for chicken fat. Scientists at the University of Georgia in Athens are burning fat from chickens and other animals to produce heat. They have successfully used the fat to produce hot water and heat for buildings at the university.
The scientists say their tests show that animal fats often are less costly than more traditional fuels. They also say that burning the fats is safe for people and the environment. They add that no one has reported smelling anything unusual from the local heat production center.
The University of Georgia uses large steam boilers to heat its buildings and produce hot water. Recently, the university spent thirty-thousand dollars to change some of the equipment so it could burn both animal fats and traditional fuels.
The United States Poultry and Egg Association and the Fats and Protein Research Foundation are providing money for the project.
Scientists with the University’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering have been supervising the tests. They have burned different mixes of fuel and animal fats. At times, the fuel mix was one-hundred percent chicken fat or other low-cost substances from food processing operations.
University of Georgia scientist Tom Adams says the animal fats produce about ninety percent of the heat that traditional fuel oils produce. He also says that substances released into the air by the burning fat are low in harmful pollutants, including sulfur.
University officials add that the burning does not increase carbon dioxide gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere. Increased production of the gas has been linked to rising temperatures on Earth.
Engineer Bob Synk is another member of the research team. He says an increasing number of Americans believe that the country’s dependence on foreign oil imports is a problem. He says the gover nment’s energy plan calls for non-traditional fuels to supply up to twenty percent of America’s energy needs within twenty years.
The scientists say chicken fat and other natural products could become important fuels in the future. Mister Adams notes that the United States already produces almost five-thousand-million kilograms of fat from chickens, cows and pigs each year.
[生词摘录]
/ n. 家禽
poultry : /
/ v. 监督, 管理, 指导
supervise : /
/ n. 污染物质
pollutant : /
/ n. [化] 硫磺, 硫黄;vt. 用硫磺处理
sulfur : /
2002 0227[
A new study examines drug use by young people in the United States.
The study found that cigarette smoking among American teenagers dropped during the past year. The drop continues a general decrease in teenage smoking rates that started in Nineteen-Ninety-Six.
American health officials praised the decrease as good news in the nation’s battle against smoking. They note that smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease. Smoking rates among American teenagers increased in the first half of the Nineteen-Nineties. However, teenage smoking rates have been decreasing in recent years.
The University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research supervised the latest study. The Department of Health and Human Services reported the findings.
The study involved more than forty-four-thousand students in more than four-hundred schools across the United States. They were asked about past and daily use of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs.
The youngest students questioned were thirteen years old. The study also involved fifteen-year-old students and seventeen-year-olds.
The most notable change in the study was a continuation of the decrease in cigarette use among thirteen and fifteen-year-olds.
For example, about twelve percent of thirteen-year-old students questioned reported smoking at least one cigarette during the past month. Six years ago, the rate was twenty-one percent. Among fifteen-year-olds, the rate dropped from thirty percent in Nineteen-Ninety-Six to twenty-one percent last year.
Tommy Thompson is the secretary of Health and Human Services. He praised the findings. He said more teenagers are making correct choices that will help them avoid health problems caused by tobacco.
The study found that use of alcoholic drinks and illegal drugs among American teenagers remained the same or dropped during the past year. However, the use of one illegal drug known as Ecstasy continued to increase. Yet the rate of increase was not as great as in recent years.
American health officials said they will continue to give teenagers scientific information about the serious health risks of Ecstasy and other illegal drugs. The goal is to further reduce the use of these drugs.
[生词摘录]
烟草, 烟草制品, 抽烟
tobacco : / / n.
酒精, 酒
alcohol : / / n.
含酒精的;n. 酗酒者, 酒鬼
alcoholic : / / adj.
入迷;摇头丸，爱它死（一种安非他明类毒品）ecstasy : / / n.
2002 0228 [
American medical researchers say they have developed a simple blood test that can tell if a woman has ovarian cancer. Cancer of the ovaries is one of the most difficult cancers to find and cure. That is because there has been no effective way to tell if a woman has the disease until it has spread throughout the body.
Researchers say about twenty-four-thousand American women are found to have ovarian cancer every year. About fourteen-thousand of them die each year. Cancer experts say that ninety percent of women with ovarian cancer could be cured if the cancer was found early.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute and the Food and Drug Administration developed the new test. It requires a very small amount of blood and gives results in thirty minutes. The test looks for a group of proteins that is present in the blood of women with ovarian cancer. The researchers reported their work in the British publication The Lancet.
In the study, the researchers took blood from fifty women known to have ovarian cancer and fifty women without the disease. They examined the blood samples using a computer program developed by the Correlogic Systems Company of Bethesda, Maryland. The computer program found a group of five proteins in the blood samples of all the cancer victims.
The researchers then looked for that protein group in one-hundred-sixteen other blood samples. Fifty of the blood samples were from women with ovarian cancer. Sixty-six were from women without the disease. The researchers did not know which samples came from which women. The test correctly identified all fifty cases of ovarian cancer, including eighteen that were in the earliest forms of the disease. However, the test falsely identified three healthy women as having ovarian cancer.
The researchers now plan to do more tests involving larger numbers of women. They say it will be several years before the test could be used for all women. They say it will most likely be used first for women who have a greater than normal chance of developing ovarian cancer.
The researchers say their testing method could be used to find other cancers, too. They are working to develop similar tests to find cancers of the pancreas, breast and prostate.
[生词摘录]
ovarian : /
/ adj. [植]子房的, [解]卵巢的
/ n. (生物)卵巢, (植物)子房
ovary : /
/ n. [医]（外科用）柳叶刀, 小刀
lancet : /
/ n. [解]胰腺
pancreas : /
/ adj. 前列腺的;n. 前列腺
prostate : /
2002 0301 [
There has been a severe lack of rain and snow on the East Coast of the United States. The amount of rain and snow that has fallen in the states from Maine to Florida has been far below normal.
The lack rain or snow is called a drought. The East Coast states are suffering an unusual drought this winter. Some areas received only a small percentage of the rain they normally receive. And the drought has continued into the winter.
Normally, drought conditions happen during hot summer weather. Ground water supplies usually increase in the winter and decrease in the spring and summer. Some officials worry that a dry winter could cause serious water supply problems later in the year.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration studies and reports on weather and ocean conditions in the United States. The agency says that the East Coast drought is a continuing event. It began in November Nineteen-Ninety-Nine. NOAA says the drought is affecting eighteen percent of the United States, not including Alaska and Hawaii.
The drought reached its highest level in August Two-Thousand, when thirty-six percent of the states were affected. NOAA says the current drought is as severe as any in the last forty years.
Weather experts say they do not know if there will be more rain or snow in the near future. Their concerns have increased because the recent period from October to January was the second driest ever recorded for the Northeastern United States.
The Delaware River Basin Commission controls the water supply used by about twenty-million people in the New York City area and nearby states. That agency has already begun placing limits on the use of water. Drought warnings are in effect in many places on the East Coast.
The lack of water has caused some officials to consider ways to store water more effectively. Western states, like Nevada, store huge amounts of water underground. Now, some officials in New York are considering the same kind of system. The state of New Jersey already has built some underground storage structures and plans to build more.
Experts say that measures once necessary only for dry desert areas may be needed for the heavily populated East Coast.
2002 0302 [
Next Saturday is International Women's Day. The United Nations says it will observe the day with a meeting to honor the women of Afghanistan.
U-N officials say the event will celebrate the spirit, heroism and survival power of Afghan women who were severely oppressed under the Taleban rulers. Organizers say the event will also be used to make known the needs of Afghan women. And, they say delegates will discuss ways in which Afghan females can take part in re-building peace, security and Afghan society.
The opening ceremony will include a short movie about Afghan women. U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan and the current President of the U-N Security Council, Ole Peter Kolby of Norway will speak. Delegates also will hear from Laura Bush, the wife of President Bush.
The idea for an international day to honor women reportedly began in the United States. The United Nations says one of the first organized actions by working women anywhere took place in New York City March Eighth, Eighteen-Fifty-Seven. Women who worked in clothing factories demonstrated against poor working conditions. The Socialist Party of America declared the first National Women's Day in Nineteen-Oh-Nine. One year later at a meeting in Denmark, the Socialist International established an International Women's Day. It honored the movement for women’s rights, including the right to vote.
In Nineteen-Seventy-Five, the U-N began celebrating March Eighth as International Women's Day. The U-N says the day is a time to examine progress made, to call for change, and to celebrate acts of bravery by women important in the history of women's rights.
This year, a number of experts will discuss Afghan women's issues at the observance at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Sima Wali is one of them. She is president of Refugee Women in Development.
Mizz Wali was a delegate to the U-N peace talks on Afghanistan. She also helped lead a conference of Afghan women last December in Brussels. The U-N Development Fund for Women and the government of Belgium organized the conference. The final statement of the meeting called on the international community to support Afghan women in seeking rights and leadership positions in the efforts to re-build Afghanistan. The delegates also agreed to declare on International Women's Day that for women “Afghanistan is Everywhere.”
Many countries are planning events to celebrate International Women's Day this year. There will be music, speeches, marches and demonstrations to observe the continuing struggle by women for equality, justice, peace and development.
[生词摘录]
/ n. 阿富汗(西南亚国家)
Afghanistan : /
/ adj. 阿富汗的, 阿富汗人的;n. 阿富汗人, 阿富汗语, 一种毛毯Afghan : /
/ n. 代表;vt. 委派...为代表
delegate : /
/ n. 遵守, 惯例, 仪式, 庆祝
observance : /
/ n. 司令部, 指挥部, 总部
headquarters : /
/ n. 难民, 流亡者
refugee : /
2002 0304 [
an in the world is an American, Bill Gates. He started Microsoft, the company that makes computer programs and operating systems. Two years ago, Mister Gates and his wife Melinda decided to use some of their money to improve the lives of people in developing countries.
They started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, Washington. The foundation has twenty-four-thousand-million dollars. It is the biggest not-for-profit organization in the world. Bill and Melinda Gates started the foundation because they believed progress in medical science and information technology was not reaching people in developing countries. Their foundation finances programs aimed at improving health and education in poor countries.
One of the foundation's major goals is the development of new medicines to prevent and treat tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS. The World Health Organization reports that these three diseases kill more than five-million people a year.
Another leading foundation project is an effort to reduce death rates for babies in poor countries. The foundation also supports efforts to provide necessary medicines to prevent diseases among children in seventy-four developing countries. It also supports training programs for health workers.
Bill and Melinda Gates are also concerned about connecting people to the Internet computer system. The foundation believes men and women of all ages and races should be able to use the Internet as a tool for lifelong learning. For example, the foundation gave nine-million dollars to more than
three-hundred-fifty public libraries in Chile for computers and technology training.
The Gates Foundation usually provides money to developing countries in the form of a gift or grant. However, there are conditions for receiving grants. Governments or other not-for-profit organizations working in a country must promise to provide an equal amount of money. The receiver must also meet performance goals or risk losing the money.
For more information, write to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, P-O Box
two-three-three-five-zero, Seattle, Washington, nine-eight-one-zero-two, U-S-A. Or, e-mail the organization at info-at-gatesfoundation-dot-org.
财政, 金融, 财政学;vt. 供给...经费, 负担经费;vi. 筹措资金finance : / / n.
肺结核
tuberculosis : / / n.
疟疾, 瘴气
malaria : / / n.
补助金,助学金,赠款,津贴; vt. 同意, 准予, 承认(某事为真) grant : / / n:
2002 0305 [
Small plants called herbs have many uses. Some herbs are used in cooking to make foods taste better. Others are used as medicines.
Now, a new study shows that many herbs used in cooking contain helpful chemicals called
anti-oxidants. Our bodies naturally produce oxidizing compounds. An anti-oxidant is one of many chemicals that reduce or prevent oxidation. This prevents damage to cells and tissues caused by atoms or molecules in the body called free radicals. Experts agree that oxidative damage causes many of the health problems common to older adults.
The new study found that herbs have more anti-oxidant power than some common fruits and vegetables. However, the strength of these anti-oxidants can depend on the kind of herb and growing conditions.
In the new study, scientists from the United States and China tested herbs that were grown in the same area under similar conditions. The scientists did their work at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. The United States Department of Agriculture reported the findings.
The scientists measured the ability of different kinds of herbs to fight oxidizing chemicals. They tested twenty-seven herbs used in cooking. They also studied twelve herbs that are used as medicines.
The highest level of anti-oxidant activity was found in three kinds of oregano used in cooking. They are Mexican, Italian and Greek mountain oregano. Their activity was stronger than the anti-oxidant Vitamin E. It was as strong as a chemical called B-H-A, which is added to food to protect against fat oxidation.
Several other herbs also showed strong antioxidant activity. They include bay and dill. However, their strength was about one-half to one-third as strong as that of the three kinds of oregano. Generally, the herbs used as medicines were low in antioxidant activity. The scientists say this suggests that any health effects from such herbs resulted mostly from other actions in the body.
The scientists say the antioxidant power of these herbs may be different, depending on where the plants are grown. Yet they suspect that their findings would have been similar had the study been done in another area. That is because of the substances found naturally in each kind of herb.
[生词摘录]
药草, 香草
herb : / / n.
anti-oxidant : n. 抗氧化剂
/ n. 氧化剂
oxidant : /
使)氧化
oxidize : / / v. (
化]氧化
oxidation : / / n. [
oxidative : / / adj. [
化]氧化的;具有氧化特性的
混合物, [化]化合物;adj. 复合的;v. 混合, 配合compound : / / n.
树园, 植物园
arboretum : / / n.
oregano : n. 〈植〉牛至
2002 0306 [
American scientists have found that some birds are more intelligent than experts had believed. The scientists say birds have abilities that involve communication and different kinds of memory. In some unusual cases, their abilities seem better than those of humans.
The findings were presented at the yearly meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The scientists met for six days last month in Boston, Massachusetts.
Irene Pepperberg with Alex, Griffin and Arthur
Irene Pepperberg presented her research about a Grey parrot named Griffin. He lives in her laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
Mizz Pepperberg says Griffin can arrange objects in order of size. She says the talking bird also can combine words in the right order. For example, he will combine words when asking for a piece of food.
The researcher says experts had thought that only humans and other mammals with large brains have the ability to combine objects and words. She believes that bird brains have the ability to understand that complex tasks must be done in the correct order.
Some birds have other memory skills. For example, they collect and store thousands of seeds in autumn, and find them later in winter.
Blue jay
(A first-class stamp now costs 34 cents)
Alan Kamil (pronounced camel) and Alan Bond of the University of Nebraska are studying the memories of birds called jays and nutcrackers. Their experiments suggest that these birds use natural objects to find the seeds they have stored. They found the birds use at least three objects, such as rocks or trees, to find the stored seeds.
Mister Kamil also was able to train a jay to choose one object instead of another. The bird used this skill to receive a prize, such as food. Scientists also say some birds can learn as many as two-thousand different songs. They say songs may have developed as a way for birds to communicate with other birds.
Verner Bingman of Bowling Green State University in Ohio also presented research at the science meeting in Boston. Mister Bingman believes that birds must have a special guidance system in their
brain. He says that understanding how a bird's brain operates may help us better understand how a human brain processes information.
[生词摘录]
mammals : 哺乳动物
jay : / / n. 鸟, 碎嘴唠叨的人, 傻瓜; 松鸦
胡桃钳, [鸟]星鸦
nutcracker : / / n.
2002 0309 [
Last Sunday, Switzerland voted to join the United Nations. If approved by the U-N, Switzerland would become the one-hundred ninetieth member of the world organization.
More than fifty-four percent of the Swiss voters supported the proposal. Forty-five percent voted against it. The proposal also had to be approved by a majority of Swiss states, called cantons. The result of that vote was much closer. It passed twelve cantons to eleven.
This was not the first time Swiss voters had considered U-N membership. In Nineteen-Eighty-Six, seventy-five percent of voters rejected a proposal that Switzerland join the organization.
However, the Swiss government campaigned intensely for U-N membership this time. Industries and trade unions also fought for the proposal's approval. They argued that Switzerland could not have an influential voice in world issues unless it became a U-N member.
Political experts say the terrorist attacks in the United States September eleventh probably increased support for the proposal. Experts say the attacks may have changed the way the Swiss felt about their country and how world events might affect it.
Switzerland has a long history of being strongly independent and neutral in world issues. Opponents to U-N membership noted that tradition often in their campaign.
Wealthy businessman Christopher Blocher directed the campaign against joining the U-N. He is a leader of the nationalist Swiss People's Party. Mister Blocher argued that Switzerland would lose neutrality and freedom in joining the U-N membership. His campaign warned that Swiss soldiers would be forced to take part in peacekeeping operations. He also said Switzerland could be forced to join in economic restrictions and similar actions against other countries.
Swiss government officials are celebrating the vote. Foreign Minister Joseph Deiss called Switzerland the winner of the election. He said the time has come for Switzerland to have responsibilities within the U-N system and to be able to defend its interests in the international community.
Switzerland now is an observer to the U-N. It is a member of several U-N agencies such as the World Health Organization. It already gives about three-hundred-million dollars yearly to U-N agencies. And Switzerland is the home of the U-N headquarters in Europe.
Now, Switzerland will officially ask U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan if it may join as a full member. The request will go before the U-N Security Council and then to the General Assembly. If the request is approved, as expected, Vatican City will become the only state that is not a member of the world organization.
[生词摘录]
/ n. 提议, 建议
proposal : /
influential : /
/ adj. 有影响的, 有势力的
/ n. 中立者, 中立国, 非彩色, 齿轮的空档;adj. 中立的, 中立国的, neutral : /
中性的, 无确定性质的, (颜色等)不确定的
/ n. 中立, 中性
neutrality : /
nationalist : /
/ n. 国家主义者, 民族主义者
2002 0311[
Doctors recently treated more than twenty-thousand people at a special medical camp in the
western Indian state of Gujarat. The medical camp takes place during the month of January in a hospital that is supported by the organization in the village of Bidada. A non-profit organization called the Bidada Sarvodaya Trust organizes it each year.
Doctors from India and the United States treat the patients. The patients are from more than
one-thousand poor villages in the area of Kutch. Vijay Chheda is one of the organizers of the medical camp. He says the patients receive the best medical care at the camp for free.
Mister Chheda says that this year doctors treated the patients for more than twenty diseases and medical problems. Doctors performed more than seven-hundred operations during the camp. Almost two-hundred patients with the most serious problems were sent to hospitals in the city of Bombay, also known as Mumbai
Many patients at the medical camp were suffering from physical or mental problems caused by a severe earthquake that shook the area in January, Two-Thousand-One. This year, the hospital started a center for people who were seriously injured in the earthquake. For example, the center provides
man-made legs for people whose legs were destroyed. The government of Gujarat is providing money and training for this center.
The Bidada medical camp began twenty-eight years ago. At first, doctors treated only patients with eye diseases. Then the organizers expanded the camp to help people with other diseases. Organizers say the medical camp has treated more than two-million people since it began.
People in India, the United States and other countries provide the money to operate the medical camp. More than fifty doctors from the United States were part of the program this year. The doctors and other people provide their services without being paid.
Many doctors who serve in the camp were born in Kutch and now are living in the United States. Some of them have been returning to volunteer at the camp each year for many years. The doctors from the United States also teach local Indian doctors the most modern medical techniques.
2002 0312 [
Increasing levels of carbon dioxide gas in Earth's atmosphere have been linked to warming of the Earth. Now, American scientists say the rising carbon dioxide levels can interfere with the ability of plants to use some forms of the important element nitrogen. They say the higher levels of carbon dioxide have affected plants everywhere and are forcing changes in the use of agricultural fertilizer.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported the findings.
Carbon dioxide levels in Earth's atmosphere have increased more than thirty percent during the past two centuries. For years, scientists believed that rising levels of the industrial gas would help plants. Carbon dioxide is necessary for photosynthesis, the process in which green plants use sunlight to make energy.
However, recent studies found that plants cannot support the increased amounts of carbon dioxide. In experiments, scientists increased carbon dioxide levels by as much as two-hundred percent. At first, the plants used thirty percent more carbon. Yet a short time later, the rate of carbon processing dropped to just twelve percent greater than normal.
Scientists at the University of California at Davis are studying how plants react to fertilizer products made with nitrate and ammonium. Nitrate and ammonium are different forms of nitrogen. Nitrogen is necessary for production of proteins and nucleic acids in plants. Many farmers add nitrogen-rich fertilizers to their crops.
The plants on the right received nitrate under increased carbon dioxide levels; scientists say that, up close, the leaves are not as green as the ammonium-fed seedlings at left.
In the new study, the scientists found that ammonium fertilizer is more effective than nitrate fertilizer when carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are unusually high. The scientists grew wheat seedlings with either nitrate or ammonium under different levels of carbon dioxide. They found that increased carbon dioxide levels limited the processing of nitrate in the plants.
The scientists also found that the kind of nitrogen did not affect wheat growth when carbon dioxide
一.Scientists: Rising Sea Levels to Continue Scientists say sea levels are rising and will continue to do so into the future. Coastal communities around the world are already experiencing the impact of rising seas. Many cities and towns are taking steps to deal with this new reality. Photographers have taken pictures to document those efforts. Their photos are part of an exhibit called "Sink or Swim: Designing for a Sea Change." It can be seen at the Aquarium of the Pacific, in Long Beach, California. There, experts explain the causes of the rising seas and how people are trying to adapt to the changes. Disastrous storms and floods could be a new reality around the world. That is the opinion of oceanographer Jerry Schubel. He is president of the Aquarium of the Pacific. 二.Robots Ready to Work in Restaurants For many years, machines have been doing work that people once did, including some difficult jobs. Search and rescue operations in dangerous environments are often seen as the first areas that will employ high technology robots. But there is another area that may soon take jobs traditionally held by human beings: the restaurant industry. Teams from around the world competed in early June at the DARPA Robotic Challenge Finals in California. A team from South Korea and its robot, called DRC-Hubo, won first place in the competition. The second and third place finishers were from the United States. The robots were required to drive a vehicle, climb up steps and do mechanical work. Such activities are easy for humans to perform, but more difficult for machines. Not all of the competitors were successful. The failures showed how difficult it is to design effective walking machines.
如何用voa学习 最佳实践一：用VOA Special English 练听力 网站上提供的VOA Special English 节目文本是配有MP3声音的，声音文件由美国本土资深专业播音员录制，如果想有效提高自己的英语听力，VOA Special English 节目资料将是非常好的听力练习素材。而最快最有效的提高英语听力的方法就是做听写，怎么听呢？下面分几个层次介绍听写的方法。 （一）初级英语水平学生（相当于高中英语水平）做听写的方法 1、下载一个5 分钟的report 到电脑里（包括下载report的MP3录音和文本），准备好一本英汉词典或电子词典 2、认真阅读report文本一至两遍，遇到不懂的单词请立即查词典。 3、将文本放在一边，开始听report的MP3录音，并将听到的写下来，就是做听写练习。一直循环播放，尽可能的将自己能听写出来的，全部写出来。 4、将自己的听写稿和原稿对照，找出没有听写出来的词句，并标上记号，这些没有听出来的词句可能很简单，但事实是你没有听写出来，这些就是你听力的盲点，所以要特别留意。
5、再反复地听report的MP3录音，这次不用纸笔听写，而是在脑袋里做听写，就是指当你听到一句的时候，脑袋里把这一句给拼出来，确保听清每一个词句，并留意你在听写时没有写出来的词句的发音。 6、第二天再听上面的report的MP3录音，并采用上面第5点所用的听法。第四天再听上面的report的MP3录音，等到第七天再听几篇，仍采用上面第5点所用的听法。为什么要反复地听？因为我们之所以听不懂，是因为听的太少了。反复听的目的在于强化，让你形成一种听力条件反射，就是让你拥有一听到某些词句就能立即条件反射式地在脑袋里写出来你所听到的词句。 练习听力有点像练习电脑打字里的盲打，花时间多做练习自然就会盲打，如果只是想着如何学习盲打而不加以练习，那你永远也学不会盲打。 （二）中级英语水平学生（相当于低年级英语专业，非英语专业大学本科，硕士水平）做听写的方法 基本方法与初级英语水平学生采用的方法类似，选择听写材料时先初听一遍，如果已经真真正正能完全听懂，说明这篇对你来讲太容易了，请换一遍难点的，采用上述方法的1、3、4、5、6条的顺序做听写练习。 最佳实践二：用VOA Special English 训练出纯正英语发音和表达 当你在听中文学得还不错的外国人讲中文时，经常觉得听上去很别扭，因为他的
VOA等英语广播听力心得范文 许多学英语的人都希望收听VOA，BBC等英语新闻广播，想以此来提高听力和口语水平，但不少人认为听英语新闻广播比较困难。从这几年的中等以上英语听力考试来看，都涉及到测试英语新闻广播的内容。从教学上来说，许多大专院校的英语系的听力课都增加了听英语新闻报道的内容。那么怎样才能基本上听懂外台的英语新闻报道呢?我们认为，除了多听以外，还必须掌握英语新闻报道的特点和一些收听技巧。 (1)掌握新闻报道的结构新闻报道往往采用“倒金字塔体”。 所谓“倒金字塔体”，也称为倒途法，即按新闻事实重要性的程度由要点到细节逐步扩展，安排全文。把最重要的事实置于全文的第一个句子中，这个句子被称为新闻导语(the news lead)。它告知听众最关心最重要的事实，如事件(what)、时间(when)、地点(where)、人物(who)，以及原因和方式(why，how，即新闻导语包含了我们常说的五个WH和一个H构成的“新闻六大要素”。新闻导语是整条新闻的高度浓缩形式，听懂了导语，也就听懂了新闻的主要内容。当然，由于新闻报道的侧重点不同，有时新闻导语也可能只包含其中几个要素。 例如： Oil ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will bold an emergency meeting Friday to discuss. 这一新闻导语包含了以下几个要素： What：An emergency meeting vail be held When：Friday Who：Oil Ministers Of the Organization of Petroleum Ex—poring Countries (2)扩大词汇量，熟记新闻报道中的常用词汇 ①普通词汇。尽管新闻报道所使用的词汇量很大，但是语言的基本词汇是稳定的。如VOA广播中的special English(特别节目)的新闻报告中常用词汇约1 500个，这的重复率在报道中是很高的，如cease-fire，presidential eleation等政治性词汇，financebankinggroup等经济词汇以aceshuttle，robot等科技词汇。而新闻英语中的特有用语就更具稳定性。若能掌握这些词汇，再加上一些听力技巧，基本听懂新闻报道就不是件难事了。 ②专有词汇。新闻报道是有关世界范围的最新消息，因在报道中常涉及许多人名、地名、国名。除此之外，新闻报道中还常常出现一些河流、山脉及名胜古迹等专有名词熟悉这些专有名词可使听者更快更准确地了解所听的新闻。 (3)掌握一定数量的缩略语(acronym) 由于新闻报道时间的限制，不少机构的名称常采用其缩略形式，即由该名称中数个词的首字母的大写形式组成，如：PLO是thePalestineLiberationOrganization的缩写形式。需要注意的是，听者不仅要了解这些缩略语的确切含义，而且还应知道它们的正确读音。 (4)掌握数字的不同读法 在新闻报道中经常出现许多数字，大到几十亿，上百亿，小到分数或小数。尤其对一些多位数的数字，要想立刻听准这些数字的确不容易，其主要难点在于位数过多。因此在听多位数的数字时，应对billion(十亿)、million(百万)、thousand(千)、hundred(百)等词尤为重视。同时，要注意一个数字的多种读法，如播音员把两个足球队比赛结果2：0读作two to nothing 而不是读成two to nought或two to zero． (5)掌握循序渐进，从慢到快的原则 目前，许多外台(如BBC，VOA)的新闻英语报道有特别英语(Special English)和标准英语(Standard English)两种。所谓Special English也可称为慢速英语，即新闻播放的语速较慢。就VOA而言，慢速英语每分钟不超过90个单词，而且新闻报道均是由简单易懂的英语缩写的，因此较适合初级阶段的新闻英语训练。然而它毕竟有其局限性，只能作为听力训练的一种手
VOA等英语广播的听力技巧有哪些 VOA等英语广播的听力技巧有哪些 例如： OilministersoftheOrganizationofPetroleumExportingCountri eswillboldanemergencymeetingFridaytodiscuss What：Anemergencymeetingvailbeheld When：Friday Who：OilMinistersOftheOrganizationofPetroleumEx—poringCountries (2)扩大词汇量，熟记新闻报道中的常用词汇 ①普通词汇。尽管新闻报道所使用的词汇量很大，但是语言的基本词汇是稳定的。如VOA广播中的specialEnglish(特别节目)的新 闻报告中常用词汇约1500个，这的重复率在报道中是很高的，如cease-fire，presidentialeleation等政治性词汇，financebankinggroup等经济词汇以aceshuttle，robot等科技词汇。而新闻英语中的特有用语就更具稳定性。若能掌握这些词汇， 再加上一些听力技巧，基本听懂新闻报道就不是件难事了。 ②专有词汇。新闻报道是有关世界范围的最新消息，因在报道中常涉及许多人名、地名、国名。除此之外，新闻报道中还常常出现 一些河流、山脉及名胜古迹等专有名词熟悉这些专有名词可使听者 更快更准确地了解所听的新 (3)掌握一定数量的缩略语(acronym) 由于新闻报道时间的限制，不少机构的名称常采用其缩略形式，即由该名称中数个词的首字母的大写形式组成，如：PLO是thePalestineLiberationOrganization的缩写形式。需要注意的是，
1. Foods and Health This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Experts say the food people eat greatly affects their health. They say that some foods are especially good for preventing disease. Many foods contain substances that protect against tissue damage. One of these is tomatoes. The substance lycopene is released when tomatoes are cooked. Lycopene helps reduce the risk of developing cancer in the digestive system, which processes food. The dark green vegetable spinach contains folic acid that prevents problems in developing fetuses. It also lowers blood levels of homocysteine. High homocysteine levels have been linked to heart attacks and strokes. Another vegetable, broccoli, can help protect against cancers of the breast, colon and stomach. Oats help lower blood pressure and protect against heart disease. They also may improve the levels of sugar in the blood. This reduces the chance of developing the disease, diabetes. Fish that contain omega three fatty acids help prevent blockages in the arteries. Omega three also lowers bad cholesterol and may protect brain cells from diseases like Alzheimer's. Fish that provide a lot of omega three acids are salmon, herring, mackerel and bluefish. Garlic may help protect the heart by reducing cholesterol and making the blood less sticky. Health experts also suggest cooking with olive oil because it also has been shown to help prevent cancer and heart disease. Studies show that drinking green tea may help prevent cancer of the liver and stomach. Green tea also slows the growth of bacteria in the mouth. Blueberries have been shown to help protect against heart disease and cancer. They can also help prevent some infections by preventing the bacteria from attacking the bladder. Experts say the skins of red grapes contain substances that increase the good kind of cholesterol in the blood. To get this protection, you can drink red wine... but not more than a few glasses a week. Drinking too much alcohol can be dangerous! Eating too much chocolate can increase weight. But recent studies have shown that substances in chocolate can help prevent heart attacks and cancer. They have also shown that chocolate is not as bad for the teeth as had been thought. The experts say the best chocolate to eat is the dark kind because it contains the most healthful substances. This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. 2. Study of Cousins Who Marry This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Sometimes people who are first cousins get married. Two people are first cousins if their mothers are sisters, or their fathers are brothers, or one's mother and the other's father are brother and sister. American researchers now say it is
2016年6月大学英语四级听力VOA慢速英语练习题（第二十二套） 2016年6月大学英语四级听力VOA慢速英语练习题（第二十二套） Apps to Help Students Do Their Best Work Evernote Application software for computers or mobile devices can do a lot of things for students of all ages. Apps?can help students get better organized, study for tests and prepare research papers. In other words, they can help the user do his or her very best work. Apps can help any users, even those who are not students, get more organized and improve their work. Whether or not you are a student, here are some apps worth considering. Quizlet Quizlet is a study aid app. It is filled with?flash cards?on many subjects to study. Use the cards that come with the app or create your own. Quizlet has links to subjects like: Arts & Literature Languages & Vocabulary Math & Science History & Geography Standardized Tests Professional & Careers The app has a mix of text, images and audio recordings, includingpronunciation?of words in different languages. Quizlet has games to play and tests to take. Cards are available on the app even when you are not connected to the Internet. Quizlet is available as a free app from Apple’s iTunes store. Quizlet for iPhone and iPad Quizlet for Android devices You can learn more at the Quizlet website. EasyBib Sometimes the most difficult part of writing a research paper is creating thebibliography. A bibliography lists all of the publications and other sources used in your research. Getting just the right?citations?to appear in the correct?format?can be difficult and take a lot of time. The EasyBib app can make creating a bibliography easier. The app can help organize the information and find citations for books, websites and more. EasyBib users can simply?scan?the barcode on a book with a mobile phone camera to get the information they need. You can also search for documentation in the app if the book is unavailable at the time. The app offers over 7,000 different citation formats, including the commonly used Modern Language Association, or MLA, style. Users can change the way in which the information is organized and stored within the app. Users can email information from EasyBib to others or to send it to a home
VOA News The study compared the mental health of college students to that of non-students the same age. About half of Americans age eighteen to twenty-four attend college. The information used in the study came from five thousand college-age men and women. They were questioned for a national survey between two thousand one and two thousand two. About two thousand of them were college students. The questioners were not doctors but trained interviewers. The questions were based on symptoms listed in a book widely used by doctors to identify mental disorders. The researchers found that twenty percent of college students abused alcohol -- the most common disorder in that group. Personality disorders, like obsessive compulsive disorder, came next. The study says almost eighteen percent of college students appeared to have a personality disorder. That was true of about twenty-two percent of those not in college. The college students were also less likely to have a drug-use disorder, nicotine dependence or bipolar disorder. And they were less likely to have used tobacco. But their risk of alcohol disorders was greater. The National Institutes of Health and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention helped pay for the study. Over all, the study found that almost half of all the college-age individuals showed signs of at least one psychiatric disorder. The researchers say this age group may be especially sensitive to disorders because of the great pressures of entering adulthood. Yet they say only one–fourth sought treatment. Joseph Glenmullen is a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School who believes that psychiatric medications are overused. He told the Bloomberg news agency that the finding of a psychiatric disorder in about half of those studied "seems extraordinarily high." He says it may represent what he called "a watering down of the diagnostic criteria such that they capture more people with milder symptoms.'' What he is saying is that more people may be told they have a mental disorder because the definitions have been widened. And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. I'm Steve Ember.
说到雅思听力能力的提高，想必很多考生就会说到听BBC或是VOA。那么，雅思听力水平提高用BBC还是VOA呢?其实，不管是哪一种，并不一定适合所有水平的考生，也不是所有考生都能准确使用，效果显著。本文前程百利小编就和大家一起聊一聊，希望对考生有所帮助。 一、BBC、VOA的选择 不管是BBC 还是VOA，任何一种，只要考生付出了时间与努力的话都会有所进步，但是考生在使用时要注意的是是否适合自己，是否高效。因为，雅思听力水平的提高并非一蹴而就的，也并不简单。 考生也要明白听力训练中的一个原则，就是最多只能听懂自己能读得懂的东西。也就是说听力提高最关键的地方并不在于听了多少东西，而是在于考生的阅读基础，比如词汇量，语法基础等。阅读基础越好，看得懂的东西就越多，那么，听力过程也会越顺畅。 另外，听力训练的目标的是努力听懂能读得懂的东西，听懂该听懂的，对于读不懂的东西，只能通过提高词汇量来解决。 所以，考生要根据自己的实际水平来选择合适的听力材料。 BBC和VOA之间有明显的区别，考生要先搞清楚再做选择。 VOA是一种慢速英语，美式发音，适合练发音;BBC的语速快,纯英语发音，适合练高水平听力。VOA的内容侧重生活,BBC侧重新闻。 二、BBC、VOA使用时的注意事项 考生在使用这两类资料时，要注意四点，即1)某些英语单词的弱读。如介词of，音标是[ov]，但它通常被弱化成[ev]，有时甚至被弱化成[v]或[f]。所以考生一定要把一条新闻中所有的弱读单词听出来。2)某些英语单词的连读。有时，听听力时总感觉有的单词听不懂，其实，是有一些连读的地方误导了考生，比如not at all经常被连读。 3)某些单音节的英语单词。多音节的单词，比如foreign、minister等，由于音节多，很容易听出来，比较麻烦的是那些单音节单词，比如did、was、him等，只有一个音节，发音时间短促，很容易被忽略，因此在听一条新闻时，一定要重点识别这些单音节单词。4)单词与头脑的同步。也就是每听到一个单词，头脑中必须马上想到这个单词的中文意思，比如听到Russia，马上想到“俄国”，听到president，马上想到“总统”，等等。 一条新闻中的每个单词，都能准确听出来之后，就可以复制下一条新闻，继续进行听力训练。当然，每个人的具体情况不同，第一条新闻，能全部听懂，可能需要三天，第二条新闻可能缩短到一天，第三条新闻可能缩短到半天。不管怎么样，考生还是要多加注意并勤加练习，定会有所成效。 三、BBC、VOA使用的方法 BBC、VOA使用方法主要有三点，第一步是全段的听，这时考生要全段的听录音，即使期间有的单词没听懂，也不要停下来。在听的时候把自己能够听到的或是听懂的记录下来，这里指的是记下关键词。如果水平较高的考生都
VOA英语听力练习 慢速VOA对于英语初学者来说是很好的听力演习材料，较慢的语速可许可进修者有较多的时光反响所听单词的含义；并且还可以用来演习白话，模仿其发音，对于完美美式发音的声调语调等，有很大年夜益处。 常速VOA则是英语国度人日常平凡措辞的语速，多听些这类材料可以使本身怀孕临其境，固然不在外国，却似身在国外的宝贵语境。 若何应用这些听力资本也是有必定讲究的： 我简单的说说小我的一些实践与领会： 第一步，我会下载VOA常速的MP3，然后遴选一些有翻译，词语解释，语法分析的篇章，进行精听。所谓精听，就是针对一篇较短的听力材料进行反复听力演习，直到能大年夜部分听懂。 第二步，这也是至关重要的一部，也是很多英语进修者忽视或是并不看重的一步。讲本身所听的内容写下来，可以边听边写，没听清楚或没明白的处所，可以倒归去，再听过。固然这有些逝世板，然则在反复的听力过程中，我们不只加深了对很多单词的懂得，语法的实际应用，语篇的融合，并且培养语感。 看着本身写下的听力材料然后再和原文比较，发来岁夜部分甚至全部都是一样的，那种骄傲感，知足感真是满满的，信赖只有实践，亲自领会的人才能明白。 第三步，温故而知新。在开端今天的听力前，再回想一下昨天的内容，会有很多不测的收成哦~ 听力演习过程中，存在如许的问题，边听边写的时刻，写得不敷快，老是让一段听力过了我才写完，中心就忽视很多没听到。针对这个问题，我建议下载一个复读软件，应用后果和日常平凡复读机一样。可以在听了一句话，或是8到9个单词的时刻就让它复读，如许就可以在复读时安闲的把听到的单词写下来，心里就不会认为很急促，不知所措了。 O(∩_∩)O~英语进修没有捷径，也没有独一的门路。贵在不懈尽力。欲望本身一点浅见能与大年夜家分享，合营进步！加油，加油！！！！ 若何听懂VOA等英语广播 很多学英语的人都欲望收听VOA，BBC等英语消息广播，想以此来进步听力和白话程度，但不少人认为听英语消息广播比较艰苦。从这几年的中等以上英语听力测验来看，都涉及到测试英语消息广播的内容。从教授教化上来说，很多大年夜专院校的英语系的听力课都增长
We usually think of pollution as a harmful waste substance that threatens the air and water.But some people have become concerned about another kind of pollution.It can be everywhere,depending on the time of day.And it is not thought of as a substance.It is light. The idea of light pollution has developed with the increase of lights in cities.In many areas,this light makes it difficult or impossible to observe stars and planets in the night sky.In Nineteen-Eighty-Eight,the International Dark-Sky Association formed.This organization wants to reduce light pollution in the night sky.It also urges the effective use of electric lighting. There are a number of reasons why light pollution is important.One has become clear at the Mount Wilson Observatory near Los Angeles,California.Mount Wilson Observatory was home to the largest telescopes in the world during the first half of the Nineteen-Hundreds. During that period,Los Angeles grew to become one of America's biggest cities. Today,light from Los Angeles makes the night sky above Mount Wilson very bright.It is no longer an important research center because of light pollution. Light pollution threatens to reduce the scientific value of research telescopes in other important observatories.They include Lick Observatory near San Jose,California and Yerkes Observatory near Chicago,Illinois. Light pollution is the result of wasted energy.Bright light that shines into the sky is not being used to provide light where it is needed on Earth.Poorly designed lighting causes a great deal of light pollution.Lights that are brighter than necessary also cause light pollution. Recently,two Italian astronomers and an American environmental scientist created a world map of the night sky.The map shows that North America,Western Europe and Japan have the greatest amount of light pollution. Most people in America are surprised to find out that they are able to see our own galaxy,The Milky Way,with their own eyes.But about three-fourths of Americans cannot see the Milky Way because of man-made light. Objects in the night sky are resources that provide everyone with wonder.But light pollution threatens to prevent those wonderful sights from being seen.
很多学英语的同学都喜欢收听VOA、BBC、CNN等英语新闻广播，想以此来提高听力和口语水平，于是每天早上都能看到一些同学拿着收音机在校园里边走边听，有的怕信号不好，还用手把收音机举起来，像个自由女神一样。其刻苦学习英语的态度令人敬佩，但很多同学都说基本上听不懂，也不知道该怎么听。这是个非常普遍的问题，也是个比较棘手的问题，有的同学甚至由此产生了对学英语的恐惧。但大可不必这样，其实这些新闻广播是有一些特点的，我们只要掌握这些特点和一些收听技巧，还是能够听懂这些新闻的。下面就来具体的谈谈这些特点和技巧。 一、采用主动的、积极的听力方法。 听力分两种方法。一种是消极的、被动的（passive）听力，这是很多同学都采用的方法，就是试图去听懂每一个单词，采用这种听法最后只有两种可能：要不就是每个单词都听懂了，但是不明白句子的意思，要不就是在一个生词上耽搁太长的时间，导致后面的几句都没有听清楚。这实际上是一种效果很差的听力方法。而我给大家推荐的是另一种听力方法，就是主动的、积极的（positive）听力。这种方法就是要注意把握句子的结构，听懂关键词。我们来看这样一个句子：Part of the pressure on lawmakers to put stronger protections in defined-contribution and savings plans comes from retiree-advocacy groups such as the American Association of Retired Persons. 这个句子没有什么生僻的单词，但是如果我们试图去听懂每一个单词，而不去把握句子的结构的话，就不能听懂这句话的意思的。而如果我们找到这个句子的主干：pressure comes from retiree-advocacy groups, 就很容易明白这句话的意思了，因为其他的部分都是修饰成分。关于积极的听力方法我会在以后专门著文来描述的，这里就不多展开了。 二、要特别注重新闻报道的第一句话 新闻报道的开头第一句话一般是对整个报道的一个概括，这个句子被称为新闻导语(the news lead)。它告诉听众最关心最重要的事实，如事件(what)、时间(when)、地点(where)、人物(who)，原因（why）和方式(how)，即新闻导语包含了我们常说的五个WH和一个H构成的"新闻六大要素"。新闻导语是整条新闻的高度浓缩形式，听懂了导语，也就知道了新闻的主要内容。当然，由于新闻报道的侧重点不同，有时新闻导语也可能只包含其中几个要素。 例如： BENWEDEMAN: The gates of Guantanamo were open to the media today.这一新闻导语包含了以下几个要素： When：Today Who：Guantanamo What：Open to the media 短短的一句话，10个单词就把这篇新闻报道的时间、主角和事件告诉了听众。后面的报道都是围绕这这一事件展开的。 三、扩大词汇量 1、普通词汇。尽管新闻报道所使用的词汇量很大，但是语言的基本词汇是稳定的。如VOA广播中的special English(特别节目)的新闻报告中常用词汇约1 500个，这些词汇的重复率在报道中是很高的，如Foreign Aid, Terroris, Nuclear Energy, Nationa Election等政治性词汇，WTO, finance, share-list等经济类词汇，Space Station, robot, Mars, Clinical等科技词汇，Super Bowl, Olympics, World Cup等体育类词汇。而新闻英语中的特有用语就更具稳定性。若能掌握这些词汇，再加上一些听力技巧，基本听懂新闻报道就不是件难事了。 2、专有词汇。新闻报道是有关世界范围的最新消息，因在报道中常涉及许多人名、地