VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-06-20 Crocodile Attacks Increase

 

AS IT IS 2013-06-20 Crocodile Attacks Increase

Crocodile feeds at Darwin's Crocodile Farm in Australia.

Hello.  I’m Jim Tedder¹ in Washington.  On today’s program, we hear about some children who are learning not only reading, writing, and arithmetic, but are also being told about real monsters that may live in their back yards.  Then we are off, once again, to the South China Sea.  It is fishing season, and tensions are rising.  We will tell you why.  The Voice of America, As It Is, and you.  What a nice combination!

Of all animals that live both on land and in water, the crocodile is among the most threatening to human beings. And in northern Australia, attacks have increased greatly since crocodile hunting was banned in the 1970s.

Today, wildlife officials in Australia’s Northern Territory are working to protect humans from the animals. Their efforts began after several deadly attacks in recent years. The new “Crocwise” campaign even involves school children. The message being presented to students is clear: One of nature’s most effective killers² lives among them.

Rachel Pearce works with the Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory. She recently met with school children in the city of Darwin.  Ranger Pearce spoke³ about the dangers of the world’s biggest reptile⁴. She showed them the remains⁵ of a crocodile’s head.

One little girl definitely understood Ms. Pearce’s message.  She said you must not swim near crocs.

“They are dangerous and they might bite you.”                                                              

Rachel Pearce said that as the numbers of crocodiles increase, so do threats to humans. She said crocodiles get on land near housing – and sometimes find their way inside people’s homes.

“Lots of people here live on creeks⁷. They have big, open houses. When the rivers rise, the crocs are able to go wherever they like, and quite often they’ll walk up into people’s backyards looking for their dogs or different things. So they are in very close proximity⁸ with people here.”

Crocodylus Park in Darwin is home to thousands of these extremely aggressive reptiles⁹. It is one of Australia’s leading crocodile research centers. Charlie Manolis is the park’s chief scientist. He says some animals have been reported to use their sharp teeth to break an aluminum¹⁰ boat.

Television advertising¹¹ warns of the dangers as northern Australians learn to live with crocodiles. Officials have set up a 50-kilometer crocodile-free exclusion¹² area around heavily populated areas in Darwin and its busy waterfront. Traps catch hundreds of the reptiles each year. The animals are sold to crocodile farms that produce meat and objects like belts made from reptile skins.

In northern Australia, about one person dies from a crocodile attack every year. Most victims are not foreigner tourists who disobey warnings. Instead, they are Australians. Many people have grown up swimming in a local waterway or creek⁶. But the spread of the crocodile has made those places too dangerous for humans to enter.

It’s fishing season in the South China Sea.  And clashes between Chinese fishermen and those of their seagoing neighbors are increasing.  They are all demanding what they say are their rights. Christopher Cruise has the details.

The Philippines recently officially protested to China about use of the South China Sea.  A fleet of 32 Chinese fishing boats sailed toward the Spratly islands. In May, the Philippines said China had vessels¹⁴ around a place called Second Thomas Shoal. It reported that the vessels included a military ship, two intelligence ships and some fishing boats.

Philippine official Raul Hernandez criticized the presence of the Chinese ships and boats as illegal.  The Philippines says those waters are within its 370-kilometer area of exclusion.

“The concern of the Philippines is that this area, this shoal, is really an integral part of our national territory.”

This is the second year that military vessels have sailed so far south with Chinese fishing boats at this time of year. To help its fish stocks recover, China bans fishing near its own shores from the middle of May through August. Then it moves into waters claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

The fishing ban causes special problems for Vietnam.  The country refuses to recognize limitation of use on waters it claims as its own. This has led to sometimes violent clashes. For example, Vietnam has protested officially to China because it says a Chinese vessel¹³ crashed into one of its ships on purpose late last month.

Li Mingjiang is a security expert at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.  He says the Chinese trips to the Spratlys have been going on for many years – but the situation is worse now.

Mr. Hernandez says this year’s Chinese fishing trip may appear to be normal and usual.  But he says in his words, it is meant to “aggressively claim the whole of the South China Sea.”

Still, China continually has said it has a right to the Spratlys, which it calls the Nansha Islands  And it says that its behavior is beyond criticism.

While it fights on the diplomatic level, the Philippines is also talking severely¹⁵.  President Benigno Aquino has announced one-point-eight billion dollars to improve the military.  He said his country will always stand up to anybody who threatens it.

Carl Thayer is a security expert wi8th the Australian Defense¹⁶ Force Academy.  He says Mr. Aquino will have a hard time supporting his words.

“Until their force modernization¹⁷ takes hold which is years away, there’s nothing much they can do except make public protests.”

I’m Christopher Cruise.

And I’m Jim Tedder in Washington.  Thank you for spending some time with us on this Thursday, the twentieth day of June.  It was exactly 38 years ago today that American movie goers were screaming with fear as Richard Dreyfus and Robert Shaw set out to destroy the great white shark known as “Jaws.”

Birthdays today include actor John Goodman, who is 61, actress Nicole Kidman turns 46, and Cyndi Lauper is 60. She is the one who taught us the important lesson that …

“Girls just want to have fun.”

We hope you had some fun today listening to As It Is.

1 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

2 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

5 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。

6 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

7 creeks   

n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪

参考例句：

• The prospect lies between two creeks. 矿区位于两条溪流之间。 来自辞典例句
• There was the excitement of fishing in country creeks with my grandpa on cloudy days. 有在阴雨天和姥爷一起到乡村河湾钓鱼的喜悦。 来自辞典例句

8 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

9 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

11 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

12 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

13 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。

14 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》

15 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

16 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

17 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。