VOA慢速英语 2008 1111b

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. This week, we will tell about a fat cell gene² linked to colon³ cancer. We will also tell about new developments in the fight against the disease tuberculosis⁴. And, we will tell about something new at America's Smithsonian Institution.

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VOICE ONE:

A new study has found that a fat cell gene may reduce the risk of colon cancer in some people. The study provides what scientists say is the first evidence of a genetic⁵ link between a fat cell gene and colon cancer. The finding could lead to better tests for the disease and measures to help prevent it.

Current evidence suggests a relationship between obesity⁶, insulin resistance and colon cancer risk. The scientists say what they have found now is an area of a gene that is connected with the cancer risk. They say this area is most likely not the cause of the disease. But they think it is where the connection comes from.

VOICE TWO:

The gene is involved in the formation of a hormone⁷ called adiponectin. Some people have higher levels of this hormone in their blood. Others have lower levels. Higher levels have been linked with lower rates of obesity and insulin resistance. Lower levels have been linked with higher rates.

The Journal of the American Medical Association published the findings last month.

Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths. Every year it kills almost six hundred eighty thousand people around the world. And, doctors find more than one million new cases each year. The disease is highly treatable if discovered early.

VOICE ONE:

The research involved two studies with a total of about one thousand five hundred people. The larger of the two studies involved New Yorkers of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry⁸. Colon cancer is more common in Jews of eastern European ancestry than in the general population. The other study involved people of different ethnicities from Chicago, Illinois.

Currently, American medical experts advise colonoscopy tests for colon cancer to begin at the age of fifty. A colonoscopy can find and remove growths before they become cancerous. But the test is invasive and can be uncomfortable.

An earlier study expressed support for a test called a virtual colonoscopy. It uses X-ray and computer technology to search for growths, but cannot remove them.

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VOICE TWO:

An estimated one-third of all people are infected with tuberculosis. Most have latent, or inactive, cases. They do not suffer coughing, increased body temperature or other signs of active TB.

But each year, about nine million people develop active cases and two million die. The victims are mostly poor and live in developing countries. TB is an ancient bacterial⁹ disease. It can be cured with antibiotics¹⁰, if patients take all their medicine.

VOICE ONE:

For the past century, a skin test has been used to identify latent TB. When cases are found, treatment can prevent many from becoming active. But the preventive drugs have a risk of side effects.

The skin test depends on the body's reaction to an injection of specially¹¹ prepared TB protein. But the test often falsely identifies people as having latent TB if they have been vaccinated¹² against the disease.

VOICE TWO:

To avoid needless treatment, scientists have developed a blood test. This test is designed to identify patients with a high risk of developing the active form of TB.

An international team developed the blood test, called ELISpot. A study showed that the ELISpot blood test identifies latent TB while giving fewer false positive results.

The researchers say the ELISpot test has been suggested for use in about twenty countries worldwide. A report on the test appeared last month in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

VOICE ONE:

In another development, scientists have reported a step toward a better vaccine¹³ against TB. One currently used is seventy-five years old. The new, experimental vaccine contains a weakened TB bacterium¹⁴ from a strain of the current vaccine. The scientists say their study showed that the experimental vaccine created stronger reactions against TB than the traditional one.

But the new vaccine contains an antibiotic-resistant gene that the scientists do not want released into the environment. So future tests of the vaccine are not planned. But research will continue on a similar one that does not contain the gene.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

From space, our planet looks blue. Earth, after all, is mostly covered with water -- an ocean planet. In September, an exhibit about the oceans opened at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

The exhibit explores the beauty and mystery hidden under the sea. It uses the Smithsonian's huge collection of underwater life to show that all life on our planet is in some way connected to its oceans.

The first thing that a visitor sees is a huge reproduction of a North American Right Whale. It is a model of Phoenix¹⁵, a whale that scientists have studied since she was born near the coast of Georgia in nineteen eighty-seven. There are only four hundred of these right whales left. They were once considered the "right whale" to hunt because they are big and slow. Phoenix is the biggest of ninety-seven models in the exhibit.

VOICE ONE:

Near the top of the museum's Sant Ocean Hall are eight huge video screens showing images of underwater life. The video images give the sensation that visitors are surrounded with marine¹⁶ life. The room is also alive with technology. Twenty-four computer stations show videos and educational programs.

Among the rarest sights at the exhibit are two giant squids. These secretive creatures live hundreds of meters beneath the sea. No one had even seen a living giant squid before scientists captured one on video in two thousand four. But the Hall has two, both preserved in a special, clear liquid. The largest one is more than seven meters long. It was caught near Spain three years ago and loaned to the Smithsonian.

VOICE TWO:

For all the big creatures at the exhibit, there are hundreds of smaller ones of interest. Many glass containers hold preserved animal remains¹⁷ that were taken from the museum's collection. With eighty million objects, the Smithsonian's marine collection is the largest in the world.

Visitors can also look back in time. There is an example of a coelacanth. The coelacanth swam the ocean sixty-five million years ago. Scientists thought it had disappeared from the Earth. But this ancient-looking fish was discovered living near the coast of South Africa in nineteen thirty-eight. Scientists consider it a living fossil.

VOICE ONE:

Sharks are of interest to many visitors. They create feelings of both fear and wonder. Visitors can see the huge jaws¹⁸ of sharks lined with sharp teeth. There are also examples of sharks gathered from the deep ocean. They caught the attention of Elim Babylon. He visited the Sant Ocean Hall with his grandmother, Sally Babylon.

ELIM BABYLON: "I really like the one back there, like the deep sea, sea one. It's really cool because it has all these sharp teeth."

SALLY BABYLON: "We want to share this kind of thing with him and we want to make him a better steward¹⁹. I just want to pass on to him both my appreciation²⁰ of the beauty of it and also the care that it takes."

Not everything in the exhibit is preserved. There is a four-hundred-liter tank that contains over fifty kinds of brightly colored fish and other sea life. The tank is designed to look like a coral reef in the Indian or Pacific Ocean.

VOICE TWO:

It is difficult to believe that some of the creatures shown at the exhibit come from our own planet. A video, for example, shows organisms that live near the ocean bottom where volcanic²¹ activity heats the water to hundreds of degrees. Even at these hot volcanic vents²², bacteria survive using the poisonous chemical hydrogen sulfide to create food.

However, human beings are connected to the ocean in more ways than we know. Very small ocean plants called phytoplankton create more than half of the world's oxygen. And it is the ocean that powers the Earth's weather. The exhibit also examines the human connection to the oceans. It explores issues such as over-fishing, pollution and climate change. Each is designed to bring visitors a deeper knowledge of a largely unexplored territory -- our oceans.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Mario Ritter, Jerilyn Watson and Caty Weaver²³. Our producer was Dana Demange. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. Listen again next week for more news about science, in Special English, on the Voice of America.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

3 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

4 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

5 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

6 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

7 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。

8 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

9 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

10 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

11 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

12 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

13 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

14 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

15 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

16 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

17 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。

18 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

19 steward   

n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员

参考例句：

• He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
• He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

20 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

21 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

22 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

23 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。