Invisible island

 Alice:            Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English: we’ll be talking about a story in the news and learning some vocabulary along the way. I’m Alice and joining me today is Neil. Welcome, Neil. 

Neil:              Hi there Alice.  

Alice:             Now, Neil are you good with maps?                                          

Neil:              Good with maps? You mean - am I good at reading maps?  

Alice:            Yes. Can you find your way to a place you want to go to just by looking at               a map. 

Neil:              Well, actually I need a map. Because I used to think I had a great sense of direction but now I have to admit I have a terrible sense of direction. I almost always walk in the wrong direction automatically¹, so I need a map.  

Alice:            You need a map. Well I like to think I’m a fairly good navigator - that’s someone who finds or plots the way. But what if the map is wrong? I once walked around a town for a whole hour using a map I’d downloaded from the internet, and then I realised the map I was using was completely wrong. 

Neil:             Oh dear, it does happen. 

Alice:           Yes it does. And in 6 Minute English today, we’ll be hearing about an island that has appeared on maps for several years, but which people now realise has never existed at all! 

Neil:             Aha, this is the famous Sandy Island near Australia.  

Alice:           Yes, it’s all very suspicious²! And, Neil, as we’re talking about islands, my question for you today is about a legendary³ island which is supposed to have sunk into the ocean thousands of years ago. Was it called: 

a) Pacifica 

b) Atlantis, or 

c) Oceana 

Neil:             Well, I will have a think about that and tell you at the end of the programme. 

Alice:            OK, as usual we’ll find out what the answer is at the end. Now let’s hear more about Sandy Island - the island that never was! Maria Seton from the University of Sydney in Australia was on an expedition in the sea between Australia and New Caledonia. 

Scientist Maria Seton:   

We were actually out in the Eastern Coral Sea conducting a scientific research expedition and  

when we were approaching the area of this supposed island, we saw that our scientific maps  

showed there was an island there, and yet the navigation charts on board the vessel⁴ showed  

that we had a water depth of 1,400 metres. So that’s where we started getting suspicious.  

Alice:           Maria Seton and her research team were looking at their scientific maps which  

 showed an island. But they became suspicious - they questioned what they saw. Why? 

Neil:             Because when they got to the area where the island was supposed to be, the navigation charts on board the vessel - the ship - showed that all that was there was 1,400 metres of water. 

Alice:            So, the island wasn’t there. Could it have sunk? Here’s BBC Correspondent⁵ Duncan Kennedy in Australia: 

BBC Correspondent, Duncan Kennedy 

It hasn’t sunk - no it was never there. The Australian Naval⁶ Maps department - the  

department that makes naval maps - said it could simply be human error repeated down 

through the years.  

Neil:              Did you hear what did the department that makes naval maps in Australia said about Sandy Island appearing on its maps? 

Alice:            They said it could be human error repeated through the years. That means one person made a mistake and put the island on the map and then other people just copied their map over and over again.   

Neil:             Interesting. But how could all maps make the same mistake? The island appeared on standard maps, nautical⁷ maps - that’s maps of the ocean - and even Google Earth, which is largely made up of photos from space? 

Alice:           Well, people who make maps use a variety of sources they say - lots of different reference⁸ materials - so maybe it wasn’t worth taking thousands of photos of the sea, but easier to copy someone else’s map. Here’s what the BBC’s Duncan Kennedy says about the mistake: 

BBC Correspondent Duncan Kennedy: 

Sandy Island appears on standard maps, nautical maps and it even appears on Google 

Earth and a spokesman⁹ for Google Earth Maps Australia said they use a variety of sources to 

compile¹⁰ their maps but that things change. They’re advising people to tell them if they spot 

similar mistakes could they let them know.  

Alice:            The BBC’s Duncan Kennedy, who says map makers¹¹ like Google Earth have advised people to tell them if they spot similar mistakes on any of their maps.  

Neil:             Yes, things change! Even islands disappear sometimes - which brings me to the answer to your question at the beginning of 6 Minute English Alice. I think I know the name of that legendary island you were talking about.  

Alice:           Ah yes, I asked you if it was called: a. Pacifica, b. Atlantis or c. Oceana.  

Neil:             And I thought it was a trick question but I’m going to go with what I first thought, which is Atlantis. 

Alice:           And you’re right. Atlantis was the name given to a legendary island which was supposed to have been somewhere between Africa and Europe before it sunk. It was talked about by Plato in the fourth century BC.  

And, Neil, I hope you’ll share some of the words we’ve heard in today’s programme:  

Neil:              Yes, of course. Here they are:  

                   Reading maps, navigator, expedition, suspicious, human error, nautical, variety of sources 

Alice:            Thanks so much, Neil. And please join us again soon for more 6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.  

Neil:             And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter. We really do exist there.  Honestly. 

Alice:           Bye for now. 

Neil:             Bye. 

1 automatically   

adv.不加思索地，无意识地，自动地

参考例句：

• The machine cycles automatically.这台机器自动循环运转。
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers.她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。

2 suspicious   

adj.可疑的，容易引起怀疑的，猜疑的，疑心的

参考例句：

• A man was hanging about the house in a suspicious manner.一个男人在房子周围可疑地荡来荡去。
• He's so suspicious he would distrust his own mother.他这个人疑心太重，连自己的母亲也不相信。

3 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

4 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

5 correspondent   

n.记者，通信者；adj.符合的，一致的，相当的

参考例句：

• He volunteered as a correspondent for the war.他自愿担任作报道这次战争的记者。
• The result was correspondent with my wishes.结果与我的愿望是一致的。

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

8 reference   

n.提到，说到，暗示，查看，查阅

参考例句：

• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。
• I like to have my reference books within my reach.我喜欢把参考书放到伸手可取的地方。

9 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

10 compile   

vt.编辑，编制，搜集

参考例句：

• It takes years of hard work to compile a good dictionary.编辑一部好词典需要数年的艰苦工作。
• In order to compile the military history,he has read many materials.他为了编写军史而查阅了很多材料。

11 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》