VOA慢速英语2009年-SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Arctic Sea Ice Shrin

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 the latest about sea ice in the Arctic² Ocean. We will also tell about an international competition involving solar-powered houses. And, we will tell about a new public observatory³ in Washington, DC.

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VOICE ONE:
　
Arctic sea ice on the Chukchi Sea

The warmest season in the Arctic Ocean could never be described as warm. Yet some sea ice in the Arctic melts each year during summer in the Northern Hemisphere⁴. Then it freezes again in the winter. The total of sea ice is known as the sea ice extent. The ice is important because it helps keep the Arctic cold and reduces extremes in the Earth's climate.

Experts say the Arctic sea ice extent is under threat. But there is some good news about the extent, at least for now. Scientists say a little more ice covered the Arctic in September than in September of two thousand eight. The scientists work for the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder⁵.

September is the month when the sea ice extent is at its lowest. The scientists say the average Arctic sea ice extent last month was about five million square kilometers. This was more than one million square kilometers more than the record low for September. The record low was set in two thousand seven.

VOICE TWO:

Mike Steele is an ocean expert at the University of Washington in Seattle. He says sea surface temperatures in the Arctic were higher than normal last month. But skies were cloudy during the summer. That caused lower temperatures, which slowed loss of ice. Atmospheric⁶ conditions in August and September also helped to spread the ice. They kept the sea ice extent higher.

Still, the National Snow and Ice Data Center says the most recent September measurement was the third lowest since nineteen seventy-nine. The center says September Arctic sea ice is decreasing at a rate of more than eleven percent every ten years. In the winter months, it is falling by about three percent every ten years.

VOICE ONE:

The center's director, Mark Serreze, says it is good to see what he calls, a little recovery. But he says there is no reason to think that the ice levels will return to the levels of thirty years ago. He warns that the Arctic Ocean could be free of ice during future Northern Hemisphere summers.

The report also says the two thousand nine ice cover was thin. This means it might melt in future summers. The scientists say that ice formed less than one year earlier covered almost half of the extent.

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VOICE TWO:

On a cold weekend this month, thousands of people waited in the rain to visit twenty unusual buildings set up in the heart of Washington, DC. They gathered to see buildings that get all the power they need from the sun. But these structures were not just about solar power. They offered visitors a chance to step into the future of home design and household technology.

The houses were entered in the Two Thousand Nine Solar Decathlon. The United States Department of Energy organized the event. It brought together teams representing twenty universities from Canada, Germany, Spain and the United States. The main goal was to create beautiful homes that can meaningfully cut energy use.

VOICE ONE:

The competition was first held in two thousand two and has taken place every two years since two thousand five. Teams sent proposals to the Department of Energy, which accepted twenty for the Decathlon. The Department gave one hundred thousand dollars to each of the accepted teams to start their projects. But there was no spending limit. The final houses cost from about two hundred thousand dollars to over eight hundred thousand dollars to make.

Each house had about two hundred forty square meters of floor space. The idea was to design great places to live. Architecture students developed designs that were imaginative⁷ and effective. Some used natural materials like wood on the outside of the house for a pleasing appearance. Others created strikingly⁸ modern buildings like Spain's entry. It was covered with a moving roof that kept its solar panels⁹ pointed¹⁰ toward the sun.

VOICE TWO:
　
The winning entry from Germany

The winning entry came from the Technical University of Darmstadt, in Germany. The design of its house stood out from all the others. It looked like a black cube. Tabea Huth helped design the German entry. She shared its secret with us.

TABEA HUTH: "Most of the people who come along here didn't notice that we have solar panels around the fa?ade. They thought it's just glass."

VOICE TWO:

In fact, the outer surface of the German entry was covered with solar panels. Because of this, the house was able to create more electricity than any other design.

VOICE ONE:

Judges rated ten areas of design and use. Entries were judged on their architectural qualities. They were also judged on their marketability, engineering and lighting¹¹ design. Other areas included how well the teams communicated their ideas.

Each team had to create a design that could keep the inside of the house at a temperature of between twenty-two and twenty-four degrees Celsius¹². Hot water had to be available throughout the day. Teams were also required to operate appliances like washing machines and dishwashers during the competition.

Each house had an operating home entertainment system. The designs had to show that the sun could power the electronic equipment people depend on for both work and play.

VOICE TWO:
　
The entry by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The second place winner came from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This house required less energy and limited waste better than any other design. The walls were built extra thick to save heat and energy-efficient appliances kept energy use low.

Britta Monson is a student at the University of Illinois.

BRITTA MONSON: "I think the most important thing about the house is just how much energy it really does conserve¹³. And how the systems that we have designed for the house and we've used for the house how efficient they are and how little energy they use."

VOICE TWO:

The Illinois team led for much of the competition. But with fewer solar panels, they fell behind the German team on the most important requirement: energy production. Both teams, however, were able to provide more than enough energy to meet the requirements of the competition. They even produced surplus¹⁴ electricity.

Next year, the solar decathlon will be held in Madrid, Spain. Then, in two thousand eleven, the Solar Decathlon will return to Washington.

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VOICE ONE:

Finally, there is a new activity on the National Mall in Washington. An observatory opened recently at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. About two thousand people visited the Public Observatory Project in the first two weeks after it opened.

The project honors two thousand nine as the International Year of Astronomy¹⁵. This year also marks the four hundredth anniversary of the first recorded astronomical¹⁶ observations with a telescope by Galileo.

Historians¹⁷ say the Italian scientist and mathematician¹⁸ may not have been the first to get a good look at the moon and planets. But he probably was the first to let the world know about it.

VOICE TWO:
　
The Smithsonian's Public Observatory

The new observatory is the home of a forty-centimeter telescope. The telescope weighs about one thousand three hundred sixty kilograms. It is on loan from the Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory for two years.

Some visitors are surprised that the Public Observatory Project operates only during daytime hours. They are even more surprised when they learn how much they can see during the day.

David DeVorkin works for the National Air and Space Museum. He says visitors using the telescope have seen bright stars.

DAVID DEVORKIN: "The nicest thing is you can still see their colors. There's enough contrast so that you can tell the difference between a red star and a blue star and show people that stars have colors. All of that you can do during the day."

VOICE TWO:

Mister DeVorkin says the observatory is meant to appeal to visitors who have not been interested in astronomy before. He says one way of doing so was to provide a fully-equipped telescope. He says he dreamed of placing just such an instrument on the National Mall.

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VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Mario Ritter and Jerilyn Watson. Our producer was Brianna Blake. I'm Bob Doughty.

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 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

3 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

4 hemisphere   

n.半球，半球地图

参考例句：

• This animal is to be found only in the Southern Hemisphere.这种动物只有在南半球才能找到。
• In most people,the left hemisphere is bigger than the right.多数人的左脑比右脑大。

5 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。

6 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

7 imaginative   

adj.富有想象力的，爱想象的

参考例句：

• The imaginative child made up fairy stories.这个想像力丰富的孩子自己编神话故事。
• Scott was an imaginative writer.司格特是位富于想象力的作家。

8 strikingly   

adv.显著地

参考例句：

• The quagga was a strikingly beautiful variant of the zebra. 斑驴是一种极美丽的斑马变种。
• The model strikingly confirms the potent effect of Himalaya-Tibet on the circulation. 该模式惊人的证明了喜马拉雅西藏高原对环流的重要影响。

9 panels   

镶板( panel的名词复数 )； 面； （门、墙等上面的）嵌板； 控制板

参考例句：

• One of the glass panels in the front door was cracked. 前门的一块方玻璃破裂了。
• Make sure the panels are treated with a wood preservative. 确保镶板用木材防腐剂处理过。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

12 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

13 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

14 surplus   

adj.过剩的，多余的；n.过剩，剩余额

参考例句：

• The manufacturers in some countries dumped their surplus commodities abroad.一些国家的制造商向国外倾销过剩产品。
• The surplus steam was blown off through the pipes.多余的蒸气通过管道放掉了。

15 astronomy   

n.天文学

参考例句：

• Mathematics is connected with astronomy.数学与天文学有联系。
• Astronomy is an abstract subject.天文学是一门深奥的学科。

16 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

17 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

18 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。