VOA慢速英语2016 诺亚方舟主题公园在肯塔基州开幕

AS IT IS 2016-07-08 Noah’s Ark Theme Park Opens in Kentucky 诺亚方舟主题公园在肯塔基州开幕

A large model of the boat that many people believe saved Noah, his family and animals from the Biblical flood officially opened Thursday.

许多人认为在圣经中救了诺亚、他的家人和动物的大型模型船，将在周四正式开放。

The boat, called an ark, is part of a religious theme park in the American state of Kentucky. The park is called Ark Encounter.

船，被称为方舟，是美国肯塔基州的宗教主题公园的一部分。公园被称为“方舟邂逅”。

The wooden boat is said to be built to the height and length described in the Bible. It measures 155 meters long and 15 meters tall.

木制的船是依据圣经中描述的高度和长度建造的。它长155米和15米高。

The ark is estimated to have cost more than $100 million to build.

方舟的建造成本估计超过1亿美元。

Thousands of people are expected to visit the Ark Encounter. It is between Lexington, Kentucky's second largest city, and Cincinnati, Ohio.

成千上万的人将参观“方舟邂逅”。它位于肯塔基州列克星敦之间的第二大城市和辛辛那提和俄亥俄州之间。

The new Noah's ark has restarted the debate between supporters of scientific explanations of life and those supporting divine² creation³.

新诺亚方舟的重启引起了用辩论科学解释生活的支持者和那些支持神的创造的人之间的争论。

Four years ago, one study found that 46 percent of Americans can be described as creationists. That means they believe God created humans in their present form at some point within the last 10,000 years.

四年前，一项研究发现46%的美国人可以被描述为创世论者。这意味着他们认为在某种程度上，上帝在过去的10000年前创造了人类目前的形式。

The 2012 Gallup public opinion survey was based on comments of 1,012 adults.

2012年的盖洛普民意调查是基于1012名成年人的评论。

Ken¹ Ham is the president of Answers in Genesis, the Christian⁴ group that built the ark. He believes the structure is going to be “one of the greatest Christian outreaches.”

肯汉姆是《创世纪》中的领导者，同时是组建方舟的基督教团体的人。他认为结构是“最伟大的基督教的外延”。

His group believes that God created the world about 6,000 years ago. It also believes humans and dinosaurs⁵ were on Earth at the same time.

他的研究小组相信在大约6000年前上帝创造了世界。它还认为人类和恐龙是在同一时间来到地球的。

Scientists say dinosaurs died out 65 million years before human beings appeared on Earth.

科学家说恐龙在人类在地球上出现的650万年以前就已经灭绝了。

Displays inside the ark include images of Noah's family and rows of cages containing replicas⁶ of animals, including dinosaurs.

在方舟里的展览包括诺亚家人的图像和副笼子里的动物，其中包括恐龙。

Critics say the ark will hurt science education. They say the ark should not have received state and local tax breaks. News reports set the value of the tax rebates⁸ at $18 million. Another report valued the rebates at $80 million over 20 years. However, Ham disputes this.

批评人士说方舟会损害科学教育。他们说方舟不应该得到州和地方税收的优惠。新闻报道称其退税高达1800万美元。另一份报告称过去20多年里其折扣达8000万美元。然而哈默反对这一说法。

His group hopes more than two million people will visit the ark each year. Answers in Genesis also built the nearby Creation Museum, which opened nine years ago.

他的团队预期每年将会有超过二百万人参观方舟。创世纪的答案还在其附近建造了创世博物馆，于九年前开业。

According to the park's website, arkencounter.com, an adult admission ticket costs $40.

根据公园的网站arkencounter.com显示，一个成人门票为40美元。

Words in This Story

ark – n. the ship in which Noah and his family were saved from a great flood that God sent down on the world in ancient times

Bible – n. Christianity's holy book

theme park – n. an amusement park where the rides and attractions are based on a particular theme

divine creation – n. a religious belief that God created the universe and all life

survey – n. a public opinion study; an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

dinosaurs – n. one of many reptiles⁹ that lived on earth millions of years ago

display – n. an arrangement of objects intended to decorate, advertise, entertain or inform people about something

rebate⁷ – n. an amount of money that is paid back to you because you have paid too much

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 divine   

adj.神的，上帝的，神圣的，如神的，非凡的

参考例句：

• Jesus is believed by Christians to have been divine.基督教徒们相信耶稣是神。
• The despot claimed to be the chosen instrument of divine providence.专制者声称自己是上天选定的统治工具。

3 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 replicas   

n.复制品( replica的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His hobby is building replicas of cars. 他的爱好是制作汽车的复制品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The replicas are made by using a thin film of fusible alloy on a stiffening platen. 复制是用附着在加强托板上的可熔合金薄膜实现的。 来自辞典例句

7 rebate   

v./n.折扣，回扣，退款；vt.给...回扣，给...打折扣

参考例句：

• You can claim a rebate on your tax.你可以要求退回部分税款。
• Customers are to benefit from a rebate on their electricity bills.顾客将从他们的电费退费中得到实惠。

8 rebates   

n.退还款( rebate的名词复数 )；回扣；返还（退还的部份货价）；折扣

参考例句：

• The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. 增值税有其优点，如对出口商品实行回扣。 来自辞典例句
• In more recent years rate rebates have been introduced for households. 近年地方税的减免已适用于家庭。 来自辞典例句

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》