VOA慢速英语2010年-Economics Report - China-Japan Dispute

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Few people had ever heard of the natural elements known as rare earth metals before a recent dispute between China and Japan. Yet these metals are used in devices like smartphones, flat screens, hybrid¹ car batteries, MP3 players and military equipment.

In September, Japan detained a Chinese ship captain near disputed islands in the East China Sea. China denied that it stopped exports of rare earth metals to Japan to force his release. But the incident raised concerns.

Japan is the world's biggest importer of rare earths. And China produces ninety-seven percent of the world supply.

China says it sold almost four billion dollars' worth in two thousand eight. But marketing² professor George Haley at the University of New Haven³ in Connecticut says China has always kept prices low.

GEORGE HALEY: "So unlike other minerals, the price of rare earth elements, after the nineteen eighties when they started production, has actually fallen."

Some countries with rare earth metals no longer mine them -- including the United States. One reason is the low-cost imports from China. Another reason is concerns about environmental damage .

Rare earth oxides, clockwise from top center: praseodymium, cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, samarium and gadolinium

So what are these rare earth metals? Well, most of them are not rare; that is just their name. Several are more common than copper⁴, lead or silver.

People who remember the periodic table of the elements from chemistry class might recognize them. Rare earths include the fifteen lanthanide metals along with yttrium and scandium.

Samuel Bader, a physicist⁵ at the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, says rare earths are often found together.

SAMUEL BADER: "They all have similar chemical properties. Once you do find them, they are very difficult to separate from each other.”

But Mr. Bader explains that the same properties that make them hard to refine also make them valuable.

SAMUEL BADER: "Rare earth metals provide the world’s strongest commercial magnets. This is why they're important. It's that simple."

Rare earth magnets are lightweight and unaffected by conditions like high temperatures. So they work well in places like electric motors in hybrid vehicles or generators⁶ for wind turbines. Physicists⁷ use super-powerful magnets to speed particles and control radiation like X-rays.

And the list goes on, says George Haley, who has studied the subject.

GEORGE HALEY: "Electronics, fiber⁸ optics, you could go down the list of products important not just for the economic success of the United States, but for our defense⁹ and for our job creation here at home.”

Next week, we'll talk more about rare earth metals, and an American company that plans to start mining them again. And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. And follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and iTunes at VOA Learning English. I'm Jim Tedder
 

1 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

2 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

3 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

4 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

5 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

6 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

8 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。