VOA慢速英语 2008 0430b

VOICE ONE:

This is Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we visit the Indiana Dunes². These hills of sand are near Chicago, Illinois. They rise on the shores of Lake Michigan, one of America's five Great Lakes.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:
　

The Indiana Dunes

More than two million people visit the sand hills in the middle-western state of Indiana each year. The winds along Lake Michigan created some of these dunes in ancient times. Other dunes may be building right now. The winds create dunes when they drop loose sand onto land. Some dunes look partly round. Others take the form of long, narrow hills.

Visitors from all over the world explore the area near the Indiana Dunes. They swim and sail on the lake. They watch birds in the wetlands. They study plant life in the rich forests of oak³ and maple⁴ trees. The smooth sands of the dunes and lakeshore make a clear musical sound when people walk on them. Some of these sounds can be heard ten meters away. Visitors often say that the sand dunes "sing."

VOICE TWO:

The Indiana state government and the federal⁵ government control more than six thousand hectares of land along the lake. They operate parks with visitors' areas and scientific research stations. Supervision⁶ by these agencies⁷ guarantees that the land will always belong to the public. Laws protect the plants, animals, and natural and historical points of interest.

During the twentieth century, many people worked hard to save the dunes from development for industrial and port uses. This was not easy. The land along that area of Lake Michigan is extremely valuable. Some of the land provides important lake ports. Industries and Indiana's natural gas company also operate along the lake.

VOICE ONE:

In the early nineteen fifties, some companies were removing five tons of sand each day from the dunes. Scientists of the Indiana Geological⁸ Survey investigated the sand supply in nineteen fifty-two. They said that the dunes would be gone in fifty to one hundred years if companies continued to remove sand at that rate. The wind and waves of Lake Michigan created the dunes over thousands of years. Yet people could destroy the dunes in a lifetime.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:
　

Stephen Mather

The federal government established the National Park Service in nineteen sixteen. A Chicago businessman named Stephen Mather was its first director. Mister⁹ Mather created many national parks. He wanted the Indiana dunes to be a national park, too. However, the United States had entered World War One in nineteen seventeen. Congress¹⁰ was not thinking about creating parks. It was thinking about soldiers and military supplies.

Public support for a protected dunes park continued to grow, however. In nineteen twenty-three, Indiana passed a bill providing tax money to buy property along the lake from its private owners. In nineteen twenty-six, the Indiana Dunes State Park opened. It contained more than eight hundred hectares of land.

VOICE ONE:

Area citizens, scientists and visitors were pleased with the state park. But they did not feel satisfied. They wanted much more land along the lake protected from being used for more factories and industrial ports. Activist¹¹ Dorothy Buell led the campaign for a national park in the dunes. She formed the Save the Dunes Council¹² in nineteen fifty-two.

Indiana's representatives in the United States Senate¹³ opposed the proposed¹⁴ park. They said ports on the lake would provide more jobs for local workers than a national park. Yet the Save the Dunes Council found a powerful friend in United States Senator¹⁵ Paul Douglas. He represented the nearby state of Illinois. Senator Douglas loved the dunes. Every year he would introduce a bill to create an Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. But every year the bill failed to pass.

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen sixty-six, people who wanted more development finally reached a compromise¹⁶ with people who wanted a national park. Congress first passed a bill to develop more ports. It also created the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. More land was added to the park in later legislation¹⁷. Today more than six thousand hectares of the federal Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore also include the Indiana Dunes State Park.

VOICE ONE:

The Save the Dunes Council has been involved in many other battles. It has successfully fought a number of threats. These include the use of vehicles in the park. Sand mining. An airport on the lake. And a nuclear power center near the park.

The council has also pressed for stronger enforcement¹⁸ of air and water pollution control laws in the industrial areas near the park.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

A modern federal road follows a walking path in the dunes called the Beach Trail. Long ago, this trail was a path between two forts¹⁹. Settlers built the forts to provide protection against attacks by native Indian tribes²⁰. These forts became Chicago, Illinois, and Detroit, Michigan.

In eighteen twenty-two, a trader from the state of Michigan settled in the Indiana Dunes. This man, Joseph Bailly, opened a store and raised a family near Lake Michigan. He exchanged warm blankets and guns for the animal furs supplied by Indians and travelers.

At first, Mister Bailly and his family lived in a small wood home. The trader was building a bigger house when he died. The National Park Service has repaired the outside of this large white home.

VOICE ONE:

Later, a student from the University of Chicago brought scientific knowledge to the dunes. Henry Chandler Cowles received money from the university to study landforms and plant fossils²¹ from the time when ice covered much of the world. In eighteen ninety-six, Mister Cowles decided²² the Indiana dunes would be an excellent place for his research.

Mister Cowles' studies showed how plant communities could make important changes in land. His work demonstrated²³ how groups of plants could create conditions for a sand dune¹ to become a living forest. He became a well known professor and researcher. The work of Henry Chandler Cowles in the Indiana Dunes helped spread the science of ecology throughout the world.

VOICE TWO:

Other scientists have explained how the sand hills formed. They say a huge thick river of ice helped create the Indiana dunes. Thousands of years ago this glacier²⁴ moved over what is now central Indiana. As the glacier moved, heavy ice crushed²⁵ rocks into very small pieces. Over time, part of the glacier became a body of water called Lake Chicago, an early version²⁶ of Lake Michigan. The melting glacier dropped the sand it had created around the lake. The sands of the present-day Lake Michigan are always moving. The winds and waves of the lake carry sand to the surrounding land.

Strong winds lift the sand and drop it on the land below. This process starts building new dunes.

VOICE ONE:

Over time, plant life develops on these sand hills. For example, the cottonwood tree is usually first to grow on a new dune. Then the winds dig a hole in the sand. The winds use loose sand from the hole to create a large dune that moves. Such a dune can damage or destroy anything in its way. But cottonwood trees can help. The trees grow roots along their trunks as sand buries them. The cottonwood roots help hold the dune in place.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

A dune called Mount²⁷ Baldy guards the northern end of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Beautiful trees encircle its lower parts. Thousands of people climb the thirty-eight meters to the top of Mount Baldy each year. But getting there can be difficult. Climbers discover that their footsteps²⁸ up the tall hill of sand often cause them to fall back again.

Local people tell about a mysterious woman who once lived in a small house not far from Mount Baldy. Alice Marble Gray moved to the Dunes from Chicago at age thirty-five. Alice shocked people by swimming in Lake Michigan without a swimming suit. Fishermen compared her to the Roman goddess Diana. So began the traditional story of Diana of the Dunes.

VOICE ONE:

This legend says Diana fell in love with a man who treated her badly. She died in nineteen twenty-five. Health officials said her body showed evidence of beatings. As the years passed, people have claimed that they sometimes see her swimming in the lake. They say that in the moonlight, you can still see Diana running along the sands of the Indiana Dunes.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

1 dune   

n.(由风吹积而成的)沙丘

参考例句：

• The sand massed to form a dune.沙积集起来成了沙丘。
• Cute Jim sat on the dune eating a prune in June.可爱的吉姆在六月天坐在沙丘上吃着话梅。

2 dunes   

沙丘( dune的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The boy galloped over the dunes barefoot. 那男孩光着脚在沙丘间飞跑。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat. 将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

3 oak   

n.栎树，橡树，栎木，橡木

参考例句：

• The chair is of solid oak.这把椅子是纯橡木的。
• The carpenter will floor this room with oak.木匠将用橡木铺设这个房间的地板。

4 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

5 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

6 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

7 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 geological   

adj.地质（学）的

参考例句：

• aeons of geological history 数以亿万年计的地质史
• The workers skirted the edge of the cliff on a geological survey. 工人们沿着崖壁作了一次地质勘察。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

10 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

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

12 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

13 senate   

n.参议院，上院

参考例句：

• They feel deeply the honour of belonging to the Senate.他们为作为参议院的成员而深感荣幸。
• His unsuccessful senate run was his last hurrah.这次失败的参议员竞选是他最后的尝试。

14 proposed   

被提议的

参考例句：

• There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
• an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议

15 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

16 compromise   

n.妥协；妥协方案；vt.损害；vi.妥协，让步

参考例句：

• The spokesman made it clear that no compromise was yet in sight.发言人表明，目前还不会妥协。
• The probable outcome of the talks is a compromise.会谈的结果很可能是妥协。

17 legislation   

n.立法，法律的制定；法规，法律

参考例句：

• They began to draft legislation.他们开始起草法规。
• The liberals band together against the new legislation.自由党员联合一致反对新的立法。

18 enforcement   

n.实施, 执行

参考例句：

• MPs called for tougher enforcement of the existing laws on drugs. 下院议员呼籲加强现行毒品法律的执行力度。
• The court is ineffective because it lacks the necessary enforcement machinery. 法院效率低是因为缺乏必要的执行机制。

19 forts   

fortsaettelse (Dano-Norwegian=continuation or sequel) （丹麦-挪威语）继续或结局

参考例句：

• A line of forts was built along the border to protect the country against attack. 在边界沿线修筑了堡垒以保护国家免受攻击。
• Forts and churches almost always go together, and yet they're downright contradictions. 有要塞的地方，就一定有教堂，然而，这两者显然是水火不相容的。

20 tribes   

n.部落( tribe的名词复数 )；（动、植物的）族；（一）帮；大群

参考例句：

• tribes living in remote areas of the Amazonian rainforest 居住在亚马孙河雨林偏远地区的部落
• In Africa the snake is still sacred with many tribes. 非洲许多部落仍认为蛇是不可冒犯的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 fossils   

n.化石( fossil的名词复数 )；老顽固；食古不化的人；老古董（老人）

参考例句：

• fossils over two million years old 两百多万年的化石
• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley. 在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

23 demonstrated   

举行示威游行（或集会）( demonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )； 示范。展示； 显示； 论证

参考例句：

• All of those demonstrated the correctness of his analysis. 这一切都证明了他分析的正确性。
• The fireman demonstrated great courage in saving the child. 那位消防队员在抢救孩子的过程中，表现了极大的勇气。

24 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

25 crushed   

a.压碎的，倒碎的

参考例句：

• The car was completely crushed under the truck. 小轿车被卡车压得完全变形了。
• The box was crushed when the car ran over it. 汽车辗过箱子时把它给压碎了。

26 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

27 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

28 footsteps   

n.脚步（声），一步的距离，足迹；脚步（声）( footstep的名词复数 )；一步的距离；足迹

参考例句：

• the sound of footsteps on the stairs 楼梯上的脚步声
• Their footsteps echoed in the silence. 他们的脚步声在一片寂静中回荡着。