VOA慢速英语2013 北极冰融化的代价

 

AS IT IS 2013-08-09 The High Price of an Arctic Ice Melt 北极冰融化的代价

From VOA Learning English, welcome to As It Is.

I’m Caty Weaver¹. On today’s show we talk about the moon and sleep, as well as pesticides² in Pacific chorus frogs. But we first look at what could be the price of a melting Arctic.

Arctic Permafrost May Release Costly³ Methane⁴ 

Experts believe there are huge amounts of gas and oil in the Arctic. For some years, industries have looked at the ongoing⁵ Arctic ice melt as a source of possible profits from those natural resources. But researchers say methane gas will escape in amounts not seen before as the permafrost melts. And that, scientists say, could cost the world trillions of dollars. Kelly Jean Kelly reports.

Researchers from Britain’s University of Cambridge and the Netherlands’ Erasmus University Rotterdam looked at studies of methane gas releases in the East Siberian Sea. They estimated that the release of 50 billion tons of methane over ten years could result in a 60 trillion dollar economic loss. The size of the total world economy is currently about 70 trillion.

Chris Hope of the University of Cambridge is an expert in the economics of climate change. He co-wrote the report.

“The impacts will be felt about 80 percent in developing countries and only about 20 percent in the countries like the U.S. and the European Union which are rather better off.”

For example, he says, productive farming may become impossible in parts of sub-Saharan Africa where production is already low. And, he says, rising sea levels and increasing storms could cause destruction in places like Bangladesh.

The commentary calls for such costly possibilities to be considered when governments and industries explore Arctic development. Chris Hope says in the past people have expected good things to come from Arctic ice melt. This included increased shipping⁶ through the area and more exploration for resources. But Mr. Hope warns the bad will outweigh⁷ the good.

“People have said there might well be some billions of dollars’ worth of benefit from that. What we are saying is ‘yes, that may be true,’ but the negative effects, the extra economic impacts around the world, will not just be billions of dollars they are likely to be tens of trillions of dollars.”

Co-author Peter Wadhams is the leader of the polar ocean physics group at University of Cambridge. He says the release of methane could be disastrous⁸. He says the powerful greenhouse gas is responsible for 25 percent of global warming. Yet, he says, there is little that can be done right now to prevent the methane leaks.

Mr. Wadhams says government and international groups should be investing money and resources toward finding a solution. He says scientists are a long way from there.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Pesticides Climing Mountains?

Northern California’s national parks appear pure and clean, almost untouched. But scientists are finding that there is more to this wild area than one can see. Even in the deep forests and on the mountain tops, animals may be poisoned by pesticides used in valley farms far below. Mario Ritter has more.

Researchers with the United States Geological Survey are working late into the night. They are searching for and capturing frogs in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada.

“The Pacific chorus frog breeds in the high mountains just as the snow melts. The pools basically fill with snow melt water, and as soon as the ponds thaw⁹ out the chorus frogs begin breeding there.”

That is Gary Fellers, a researcher emeritus¹⁰ with the USGS. He and other team members are collecting the frogs to test them for agricultural poisons. No one farms in these forested national parks. However, winds carry chemicals from the Central Valley farming area into the mountains.

Kelly Smalling was the lead writer of the USGS study.

“The decline of amphibians¹¹ has been documented for decades and decades. Some populations have gone extinct. And why these populations are declining is still a mystery.”

Ms. Smalling says pesticides could be harming frogs, and other amphibians.

The researchers tested pond water and soil from the bottom of the ponds. They were clean or almost clean of pesticides. But tests on the bodies of the frogs showed the presence of 12 agricultural pesticides. Again, Gary Fellers.

“The concentration in the frog becomes greater than the concentration that is present in the water or the sediment¹², or some other part of the environment.”

Kelly Smalling says the next step is finding a way to deal with the contamination.

“The first thing we need to do is understand how these chemicals that we’re finding impact the frogs.

Ms. Smalling says we have to understand the problem before we can fix it.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Sleep Under a Full Moon

Finally, do you ever have trouble falling asleep? Next time it happens take a look at the night sky. Is the moon full? Some Swiss scientists say that may be the problem.

Researchers at the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel examined sleep measurements, including brain activity, taken at a sleep clinic. Thirty-three people took part in the study. The researchers found that the people slept more poorly when the moon was full.

Christian¹³ Cajochen was the lead investigator¹⁴.

“Around full moon, people had less deep sleep, about 30 percent less deep sleep. They slept in general 20 minutes shorter and it took them five minutes longer to fall asleep.”

The researcher says little is known about the effects of moon activity on humans. Sleep is influenced by a 24-hour body clock called a circadian rhythm. It is driven by the release of chemicals in the body called hormones¹⁶. The scientists found that the people who took part in the study had lower amounts of the sleep hormone¹⁵ melatonin during a full moon.

The scientists noted¹⁷ that full moons were also linked to an increase in howling.

Just kidding about that part.

I’m Caty Weaver.

And that’s AS IT IS for today. Thanks for joining us. Visit our website at learningenglish.voanews.com where you can find audio and pdf files for download. You can also leave a comment for us about this show or any of our programs.

1 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。

2 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

7 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

8 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

9 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

10 emeritus   

adj.名誉退休的

参考例句：

• "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
• He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。

11 amphibians   

两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器

参考例句：

• The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
• Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。

12 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

13 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。

14 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

15 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

16 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

17 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。