VOA慢速英语--A Report on Cave Creatures and Ancient Villages

 

BARBARA KLEIN: I’m Barbara Klein.

STEVE EMBER: And I’m Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. This week, we learn about caves and their creatures, visit an archeological dig in Canada, and explore a house powered by the sun.

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BARBARA KLEIN: For human ancestors, caves were considered places of wonder and mystery. Caves may not be so mysterious today. But they are still filled with unusual creatures and environments that hold great interest for both scientists and visitors.

There are millions of caves around the world. They often can be found on the side of a mountain or hill. Caves are home to some of the strangest creatures on earth. These include hydrogen-eating bacteria and insects without eyes.

Fred Luiszer is a cave expert and works at the University of Colorado in Boulder¹. He says that even space scientists are interested in life underground.

FRED LUISZER: “If they find life on other moons and other planets, life will probably be very similar to what we’re finding in caves.”

Stalactites in the caves at Glenwood Caverns² in Colorado

STEVE EMBER: In dark passageways, scientists have discovered small organisms that show promise in fighting cancer. But other cave life can be deadly. A sulphur cave in Colorado is home to a rare form of poisonous bacteria. Their formations look like mucus, the sticky material that protects breathing passages in the body. Frank Luiszer says their scientific name comes from the common expression for what drips out of your nose -- snot.

FRED LUISZER: “They are called snottites. I mean, when you look at one of them in the cave, it looks just like snot. I’m not kidding you.”

STEVE EMBER: Snottites get their energy from sulfur³ in the air. They also produce a poisonous acid. This can make the cave dangerous for people who are not careful.

Snottite is a rare form of gooey, dangling⁴, toxic⁵ bacteria that looks like mucus.

FRED LUISZER: “You pass out immediately. And if you stayed in that environment for probably, I’m guessing more than an hour or two, it would kill you.”

BARBARA KLEIN: Not all things in caves are small organisms. Scientists in Colorado recently discovered a small, red scorpion-like creature that is blind. Bats also live in caves. Mark Maslyn is a geologist⁶ and caving expert. He says cavers must be careful not to harm bat colonies.

MARK MASLYN: “Bats are hibernating⁷ creatures. And if you wake them up during the wintertime, which is easy to do lights and noise and things like that, then they go outside and their food source, insects, is not available to them, and they die off.”

BARBARA KLEIN: Wearing protective clothing, Mister Maslyn walks past visitors in the Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs. He enters a hidden cave he helped discover.

MARK MASLYN: “This is not on the normal commercial tour.”

STEVE EMBER: Using a headlamp for light, he opens an environmental door that leads to what he calls an “easy” tunnel opening. It measures half a meter in width.

MARK MASLYN: “That’s the tightest we’re doing today.”

STEVE EMBER: On the other side of this tunnel is a rock formation that looks like a large crystal flower. Such formations are called anthodites. Mark Maslyn says cavers in the past would take anthodites home with them. He says he always follows this advice for cavers: “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.”

This is good advice to make sure that future generations will also enjoy visiting caves and their many natural wonders.

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BARBARA KLEIN: Many archeologists believe that early humans came to North America by crossing the Bering Strait about fifteen to eighteen thousand years ago. They moved from place to place, hunting and gathering⁸ food. Starting about two thousand years ago, some tribes¹⁰ settled in large, permanent villages. An archeology project in western Canada aims to find out why this change took place.

Archeologists from Washington State University and the University of British Colombia are studying an early settlement of the Coast Salish people. Colin Grier is head of a ten-member team studying what he says is one of this group’s best-protected villages.

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STEVE EMBER: The dig is taking place in Dionisio Point Provincial¹¹ Park on Galiano Island in British Colombia.

COLIN GRIER: “Why did the transformation¹² happen when it happened? That’s probably the most difficult question to answer. When do people start to settle down?”

Colin Grier (center) discusses a find with graduate students Chris Arnett (left) and Kelly Derr (right).

STEVE EMBER: Mister Grier’s team wants to understand what caused a tribe⁹ that moved from place to place to settle and develop a more complex society.

In many cultures, the rise of village life is linked with the start of farming.

COLIN GRIER: “But of course, here no one invented agriculture.”

STEVE EMBER: Instead, the Salish people depended on fish, clams¹³, wild animals and plants.

BARBARA KLEIN: The archeologists have identified the ruins of six large houses, which formed two neighboring villages. The largest house could shelter as many as ten families. Experts say the buildings were occupied about one thousand five hundred years ago.

Professor Grier and his team can study objects in and around the ruins to learn about economic changes in the tribe. They can also learn about how tribe members gathered wealth and established a social class system.

One possible theory about why ancient tribes settled down and formed villages is because of population pressures.

STEVE EMBER: The researchers have worked closely on this project with a local Indian tribe. Penelakut tribal¹⁴ member Robert Sam says he believes ancestors of his lived in the village. He says he supports the dig.

ROBERT SAM: “It is really interesting to me to see the work that is being done. It shows more of where we were, all the sites that need to be catalogued for our people, our younger generation.”

STEVE EMBER: Like other tribes, the Penelakut are concerned that archeological digs could harm human remains¹⁵. But Mister Sam says there is little risk of that since burial areas were outside the village.

Colin Grier has worked in this area off and on since nineteen ninety-seven. He has enough financial support for two more summer seasons. He hopes that is long enough to learn more about the Salish people.

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN: College students from all over the world are competing in the United States Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. Their goal is to design and build the most inventive, least costly¹⁶ and good looking solar-powered house. The Department of Energy says the event helps educate students and the public about clean-energy design and its cost-saving possibilities.

Teams competing for the top prize will be rebuilding their completed projects next month on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

STEVE EMBER: One of the teams is from Middlebury College in the state of Vermont. This is the first time that students from Middlebury have taken part in the Solar Decathlon since it was first held nine years ago.

(SOUND)

Students have been building the small house for months. Middlebury student Addison Godine says that during the summer he worked on the house about ten hours a day.

ADDISON GODINE: “Yeah, it’s been a lot of work, but it’s finally paying off. The house looks as good as we could have hoped just considering we’re the liberal arts team against Cal Tech and all sorts of engineering schools like that. We’re the underdogs, but we think we’ll do okay.”

BARBARA KLEIN: The Department of Energy chooses twenty teams for the Solar Decathlon. Each must design and build a house that is one hundred percent powered by the sun. This is the first year the houses will also be judged on their cost effectiveness. Team Germany won the competition in two thousand nine.

That year, Middlebury students traveled to Washington to see the winning house and the others. They decided¹⁷ they wanted to create a family home, not a single person home. The Middlebury solar-house is shaped like a traditional New England farmhouse¹⁸. It includes two bedrooms, one washroom and a large living space.

Student Melissa Segil helped create the design.

MELISSA SEGIL: “People are immediately taken by the amount of light in the house. I think people also really like the kitchen.”

STEVE EMBER: Students came up with ideas for the house, but had help from professional builders. The Department of Energy gave each team one hundred thousand dollars. But it will cost a lot more to build the house and travel to Washington. So students have raised money for the project.

The Middlebury College house is almost finished. Soon, students will have to take it apart, transport it to Washington, and rebuild it. Addison Godine says students at Middlebury learn a great deal about the world’s problems, especially environmental ones.

Professional builders worked with students to construct the solar-powered house.

ADDISON GODINE: “And this competition is our opportunity to create a solution to these problems. Which is really an amazing opportunity.”

BARBARA KLEIN: The Solar Decathlon houses will be open to the public from September twenty third to October second. Like the Olympic decathlon, this event is made up of ten events. Houses are judged in ten areas including engineering, building design, communications, and energy balance.

The awards ceremony will take place on October first. The Department of Energy has videos from all twenty teams on its website. For a link to that page, visit our website, voaspecialenglish.com.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: This program was written and produced by Dana Demange with reporting by Shelley Schlender, Nina Keck, and Tom Banse. I’m Barbara Klein.

BARBARA KLEIN: And I’m Steve Ember. You can find our programs online with transcripts¹⁹, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at voaspecialenglish.com Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

1 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

2 caverns   

大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Within were dark caverns; what was inside them, no one could see. 里面是一个黑洞，这里面有什么东西，谁也望不见。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• UNDERGROUND Under water grottos, caverns Filled with apes That eat figs. 在水帘洞里，挤满了猿争吃无花果。

3 sulfur   

n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur）

参考例句：

• Sulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.炼钢厂排放出的硫形成了酸雨。
• Burning may produce sulfur oxides.燃烧可能会产生硫氧化物。

4 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

5 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

6 geologist   

n.地质学家

参考例句：

• 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。
• He was a geologist,rated by his cronies as the best in the business.他是一位地质学家，被他的老朋友们看做是这门行当中最好的一位。

7 hibernating   

（某些动物）冬眠，蛰伏( hibernate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The hibernating animals reduce movement to far below the ordinary level. 冬眠的动物把活动量大大减少到低于一般的水平。
• People find hibernating animals asleep. 人们发现冬眠动物处于休眠状态。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

10 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》

11 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

12 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

13 clams   

n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The restaurant's specialities are fried clams. 这个餐厅的特色菜是炸蚌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We dug clams in the flats et low tide. 退潮时我们在浅滩挖蛤蜊。 来自辞典例句

14 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

15 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。

16 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。

17 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。

18 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

19 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句