VOA慢速英语-SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Scientists Discover New Gorill

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Shirley Griffith. This week, we tell about a discovery of gorillas³ in the Republic of Congo and the loss of Bengal tigers in Nepal. We also tell about a famous heart surgeon and what you need to know about your heart.

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VOICE ONE:
　
A female western lowland gorilla² at Washington's National Zoo

Deep in the forests in the northern part of the Republic of Congo, scientists have made a surprising discovery. Researchers discovered more than one hundred twenty-five thousand critically endangered western lowland gorillas.

In the nineteen eighties, scientists estimated that the total population of western lowland gorillas in Central Africa was fewer than one hundred thousand. Since then however, the scientists believed this number had been reduced by at least half. They thought the animals were being killed off by hunters and disease, especially the deadly Ebola virus.

VOICE TWO:

The new population count was the result of intensive work by the Wildlife Conservation Society, based in New York City, and scientists of the Republic of Congo. They searched rainforests and swamps, looking for gorilla nests.

Gorillas build beds, or nests, for sleeping each night. They use leaves and other parts of trees. The researchers use the number of nests they find to help estimate the local gorilla population. They found some forests had population densities⁴ that were among the highest ever recorded. The researchers studied an area of forty-seven thousand square kilometers. They announced the results of their population count at a meeting of the International Primatological Society Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland.

VOICE ONE:

The scientists say the higher number of gorillas is the result of efforts by the Republic of Congo to take care of its protected areas. The gorillas have also done well because they live in areas far away from people. And they have plenty to eat. Wildlife Conservation Society President Steven Sanderson said the success of the gorillas is proof that humans can help protect animal species in danger of disappearing.

Western lowland gorillas are one of four recognized gorilla subspecies. Other subspecies include mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas, and Cross River gorillas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers all of the subspecies to be critically endangered, except for the eastern lowland gorillas. That subspecies is considered endangered.

Researchers at the meeting in Scotland warned about the dangers that continue to threaten gorillas. They say almost fifty percent of the world's species of primates⁵ are in danger of disappearing, especially in Asia. This is because the areas in which they live are being destroyed. And many animals are illegally hunted as food.

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VOICE TWO:
　
Bengal tiger cub⁶

That was some good news about gorillas. But we have some bad news about tigers. Three years ago, between twenty and fifty Bengal tigers lived in the Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve in Nepal. But this year, researchers reported evidence of only six to fourteen tigers. The Nepalese government announced the decrease of the tiger population last month. The wildlife reserve measures about thirty thousand hectares. It is the world's third largest living area for the big cats.

VOICE ONE:

Nepalese national parks and conservation officials called the situation very serious. They said illegal hunting is the major cause of tigers disappearing from this protected area.

The World Wildlife Fund did most of the study about the tigers. The findings were based on pictures taken by camera traps from January to April. The camera traps contain devices that take a picture when they sense movement in the forest. Researchers used two cameras to take pictures of the tigers from both sides. But the cameras also photographed the hunters who killed the tigers and removed their remains⁷.

VOICE TWO:

The Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve is on the border with India. World Wildlife Fund officials say this makes it easy to illegally transport protected wildlife. Very little of the tigers' remains are found because all of the animal's parts are valuable in the illegal wildlife trade.

Jon Miceler heads the World Wildlife Fund's Eastern Himalayas Program. Mister Miceler said that in May, two tiger skins were seized from the Nepalese border town of Dhangadi. So were thirty-two kilograms of tiger bones.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Miceler says the loss of tigers is linked to a powerful international criminal group that controls the illegal wildlife trade. Only about two thousand to four thousand Bengal tigers survive in the wild.

Most live in forests in central and south India, Bhutan, and the Himalayan foothills of India and Nepal. Bengal tigers also live in China, Bangladesh and Burma. The World Wildlife Fund says populations of all kinds of tigers have decreased by ninety-five percent over the past one hundred years. And three kinds of tigers have disappeared.

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VOICE TWO:
　
President Bush talks with Michael DeBakey in April during a ceremony honoring him with the Congressional Gold Medal

Famous American heart surgeon Michael DeBakey died last month. He was ninety-nine years old. He performed more than sixty thousand operations during his long career. As a medical student in nineteen thirty-one, he invented the roller pump. Years later doctors used it for blood transfusions⁸ during heart operations. The roller pump became a major part of the heart-lung machine. The machine pumps oxygen-rich blood to the brain and other organs so doctors can operate on the heart.

Michael DeBakey was a pioneer of open-heart surgery. The name means that doctors open the chest and perform surgery on the heart. Doctors may or may not open the heart as well.

VOICE ONE:

Doctor DeBakey developed a way to replace or repair blood vessels⁹ with Dacron, a stretchy manmade material. He continued to improve on the process. Today the DeBakey artificial graft¹⁰ is used around the world. He was also a pioneer in artificial hearts, heart transplants and recording¹¹ surgeries on film. During World War Two in the nineteen forties, he helped develop the Mobile Army Surgical¹² Hospital, or MASH¹³.

Michael DeBakey saved many lives during his long career as a heart surgeon. One life he helped save was his own. Two years ago he had a damaged aorta¹⁴, which carries blood from the heart to the body. Surgeons repaired it with an operation he developed long ago.

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VOICE TWO:

Speaking of hearts, here is some information about that complex organ and how to keep it healthy. The heart has four parts. As the heart beats, it pumps blood through these chambers¹⁵ and the blood vessels in the body. The body is estimated to have at least ninety-six thousand kilometers of blood vessels. That is about the same as two and a half times around the Earth. But blood goes the distance in about twenty seconds on its way back to the heart. Each day the heart pumps about eight thousand liters of blood.

The blood feeds the brain and other organs with oxygen and nutrients¹⁶. It also carries away carbon dioxide and other waste. The heart pumps by expanding and contracting of muscle. In a healthy adult, the heart beats an average of seventy-two times a minute -- about one hundred thousand times a day.

VOICE ONE:

Rates of heart disease started growing sharply in the second half of the twentieth century. As machines did more and more work, people did less and less. Not only did physical activity decrease, but people started eating more processed foods.

Experts say a diet low in fats and high in fruits, vegetables, proteins and whole grains may help reduce the risk of heart disease. At least thirty minutes a day of physical activity, enough to work up a sweat, can also help. A good night's sleep is also important for good health.

Cardiovascular disease is caused by disorders¹⁷ of the heart and blood vessels. It includes heart attacks, strokes and high blood pressure. The World Health Organization says there are three major causes of cardiovascular disease: tobacco use, physical inactivity and an unhealthy diet. The W.H.O. says cardiovascular disease is the world's leading cause of death.

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VOICE TWO:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Jerilyn Watson, Caty Weaver¹⁸ and Brianna Blake, who also was our producer. I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Bob Doughty. You can read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us next week for more news about science in VOA Special English.

 

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

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

2 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

3 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 densities   

密集( density的名词复数 )； 稠密； 密度（固体、液体或气体单位体积的质量）； 密度（磁盘存贮数据的可用空间）

参考例句：

• The range of densities of interest is about 3.5. 有用的密度范围为3．5左右。
• Densities presumably can be probed by radar. 利用雷达也许还能探测出气体的密度。

5 primates   

primate的复数

参考例句：

• Primates are alert, inquisitive animals. 灵长目动物是机灵、好奇的动物。
• Consciousness or cerebration has been said to have emerged in the evolution of higher primates. 据说意识或思考在较高级灵长类的进化中已出现。

6 cub   

n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人

参考例句：

• The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
• The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 transfusions   

n.输血( transfusion的名词复数 )；输液；倾注；渗透

参考例句：

• Still, transfusions have apparently never spread the disease, even among hemophiliacs. 还有，输血很明显从未传播过这种病，即使在血友病人之间也是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 口蹄疫疯牛病
• Blood transfusions are a special, limited example of tissue transplantation. 输血是一个特殊的、有限制的组织移植的例子。 来自辞典例句

9 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

11 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

12 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

13 mash   

n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情

参考例句：

• He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
• Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰，是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。

14 aorta   

n.主动脉

参考例句：

• The abdominal aorta is normally smaller than the thoracic aorta.腹主动脉一般比胸主动脉小。
• Put down that jelly doughnut and look carefully at this aorta.放下手头上的东西，认真观察这张大动脉图片。

15 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

16 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。