VOA标准英语2011--Oregon Advertising Studio Tracks Fukushi

Oregon Advertising¹ Studio Tracks Fukushima Radiation

If you were to picture the sort of person who might take the lead in gathering² radiation data from the Fukushima nuclear accident, Marcelino Alvarez probably wouldn't come to mind.
"My background is actually not in physics or nuclear physics or science or radiation data," he says. "It's actually in advertising, so, building websites and doing product development."
But Alvarez also follows what's happening in the world. During the early days of the Fukushima crisis, he watched the news coverage³ nonstop. And he was surprised that even the experts were having a hard time finding accurate up-to-date information.
"So I said, 'There's got to be a better way.' And I drew a really crude sketch⁵ and I sent it to our creative director, and I said, 'What do you think about this? What if we made a site that just invited people to contribute their own data?' And so we designed it and, two days after that, basically launched the first version of the site."
That website became what's now called Safecast. The home page has a constantly-updating map of Japan with little pins charting the latest radiation data. Safecast aggregates⁶ data from official public sources and allows volunteers to upload their own Geiger counter readings.
Alvarez drew on his background in web design and location-based mobile apps to pull it together. He's also working with scientists in the United States and Japan as well as individual programmers in Tokyo.
"So we've got official Japanese ministry⁷ data. We have volunteers in Japan data. We have Greenpeace and other organizations that are driving around creating data," says Alvarez. "So it's a mix, and we hope that mix will help create a more accurate picture of what's actually going on."
Many people in Japan are hungry for that picture, given what Pieter Franken says are the frustrations⁸ with official government data. The Dutch Internet researcher at Tokyo's Keio University is a member of Safecast's Japanese team.
"What we have been seeing is that information that has been given has either been given too late, weeks after the measurements were done," says Franken, "or may not have been done in a consistent manner."
Safecast's instant uploads mean its data is always timely. It's also established standards for consistency⁹ for its volunteers. For instance, they're asked to note where they took their measurements. Since fallout settles on the ground, a reading from a roof can be different from a reading at ground level.
Franken says knowing this is especially important when you're trying to determine a possible risk to children.
"Kids love to touch soil, play with it, small babies stick it in their mouth and stuff like that. So when we're measuring, it makes sense to measure at a height of one meter, actually a little bit lower than that, to understand what a child is exposed to in daily life."
But even with established standards, relying on citizen-scientists means there are always questions about accuracy.
"So we make it very clear on the site that yes, there could most definitely be inaccuracies in crowd-sourced data," says Alvarez. "And yes, there could be contamination of a particular Geiger counter so the readings could be off. But our hope is that with more centers and more data being reported that those points that are outliers can be eliminated, and that trends can be discerned from the data that's being reported."
American scientist Stephen Frantz, of Reed College in Portland, sees value in this open-source model.
"If we get enough databases, enough information, we might see trends that nobody had ever measured." he says. "And we say, ‘Oh, look at that, the radiation levels here are doing this.'"
Frantz also says having so much data in a user-friendly format⁴ can serve another purpose: help people understand that not all radiation is due to leaks from nuclear power plants, that background radiation is a natural part of life.
"We live in a sea of radiation," says Frantz. "We've evolved in it and, since we can't sense it with our five senses, we didn't even know about it until 100 years ago. But we've been living in it all of time."
The situation at the Fukushima reactor¹⁰ site remains¹¹ volatile¹². That's why Alvarez continually adjusts the website in response to suggestions from citizens and scientists. Safecast recently completed a fundraising campaign to send 600 Geiger counters to volunteers in Japan.
Alvarez hopes the non-profit Safecast model can grow, eventually creating a resource for collecting and sharing all kinds of environmental data, from pollen¹³ counts and seismic¹⁴ activity to pollution levels.

1 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。

2 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。

3 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

4 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

5 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

6 aggregates   

数( aggregate的名词复数 )； 总计； 骨料； 集料（可成混凝土或修路等用的）

参考例句：

• Snowflakes are loose aggregates of ice crystals. 雪花是冰晶的松散凝结。
• Our airplanes based in Europe should be included in the aggregates. 我们驻欧飞机应包括在总数内。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

9 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

10 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

11 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。

12 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

13 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

14 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。