《美国之音》2006下半年新闻合辑MP3及文本-第3季度上

[angelonduty]

《美国之音》2006第3季度上b010

US Soldier's Radio Plea Saves Young Iraqi Girl

Doctors in Knoxville, Tennessee say a young Iraqi girl is steadily improving after surgery to repair her spine. Gufran Alayass was born with a serious deformity known as spina bifida. She lived with the condition for 10 years, unable to walk. But one day, her father took her to see an American soldier serving in Baghdad. And her life hasn't been the same since.
Spina bifida is a birth defect in which the spinal column doesn't close completely while the baby forms in the womb. In the United States, doctors can usually stabilize the spine within the first few months of a baby's life. But growing up in Iraq, Gufran Alayass didn't have that luxury. Somehow, though, she managed to survive with a piece of her spine sticking out of a 10- to 12-centimeter hole in her lower back. Knoxville pediatrician Rick Glover says it is amazing that she is still alive. “There’s no good explanation for why she is still alive. She had a defect on her back that's been there for 10 years and it's never gotten infected. [She] never got meningitis from that. Her spine is exposed to the world. How that's happened… her parents have provided tremendous care for her and I think God smiled on her."
If God smiles on Gufran, she's quick to smile back. Gufran loves to smile. It's one of the first things you notice about her. That, and brightly colored drawings that paper the wall around her bed. "This is the fish, and this Snow White, if you know her. This is the sun. And then beneath the sun is the flowers. Yeah."
Gufran's English is one part Iraq, one part East Tennessee. The fact that she speaks any English at all shows how much her life has changed in recent months. Last year, she spoke no English and Iraqi doctors were preparing her parents for her inevitable death. That's when her father took her to some American soldiers and asked if they could help his daughter. One of them sent his request over the air to a country music radio station in Knoxville.
Maj. Mark Sharber was serving in Iraq with the Tennessee national guard. During WIVK's Voices from the Front segment, Sharber passed up the chance to say 'hi' to his family and friends, and instead, made a plea to save Gufran's life. "I'd be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to try to plead with the people in your audience, any kind of charitable organizations, a church, anybody that would have any kind of influence or financial backing that would maybe help us to get some surgery that she desperately needs."
The response was immediate. Gunner recalls he got a phone call from his wife. "She said, 'Did you hear that?' and I said, 'Yeah, I was listening' and she said 'You've got to do something.' And I realized through it that the hope he was looking for and the person that could help him was me, on the other side of the microphone."
Gunner was able to enlist the help of military and government officials to clear the way for Gufran and her parents to come to the United States. The Faith Welch Fund, a Knoxville charity which helps foreign children in need of medical care, offered to pay for Gufran's hospital expenses. Local surgeons and doctors offered their own services for free. And in January, Gufran and her father were on an airplane headed to Tennessee.
The trip reminded Abdul Alayass of the promise he had made to climb the highest mountain to save his daughter. "I remember in the airplane between Jordan and New York when I see the mountains and I remember this, my promise, and I thank my God."
At East Tennessee Children's Hospital, doctors reinforced Gufran's spine and have been working to cover the hole in her back. Gufran's mother came to the United States after the surgery, and the three are staying with Dr. Rick Glover in Knoxville. But the family's other children are still in Iraq living with grandparents. And their father worries about their safety. As Dr. Glover explains, Abdul Alayass's dealings with American soldiers can easily be misinterpreted as some kind of collaboration. And in Iraq, that can be deadly. "He's here to try to help his child. Period. That's what he came for. He's not here to be an American, he's not here to help an American, he's here to receive medical care that we offered to help his child."
Abdul and Zeinab Alayass say they've been overwhelmed by the care, acceptance and love Gufran has found in America. But with her progress coming slowly, the only thing she now needs is something nobody can give her: patience.
For VOA news now, I’m Matt Shafer Powell in Knoxville, Tennessee.

¤注解¤:

1. deformity n. 残缺, 畸形, 畸形的人或物
2. meningitis n. [医]脑膜炎
3. misinterpret vt. 曲解
4. overwhelm vt. 覆没, 受打击, 制服, 压倒

 

[yangyang2005]

你以考试为第一出发点的话,可以每天花一小点时间听这个,不必精听,培养语速就可以了.
我听VOA和BBC当享受了,呵呵.

thanks

 

[Assaas]

谢谢楼主，在网上无聊时突然发现这个东东，觉得很好，花了时间把它下下来了， 谢谢啊

 

[angelonduty]

《美国之音》2006第3季度上b011

What Makes Reality TV so Popular?

Would you eat worms? Live on a deserted island with a group of strangers who want you off the island? Sing - off-key - in front of the entire world? Tens of thousands of people would… all for a chance to be on reality TV. The drama of dealing with the real and unexpected challenges makes these shows appealing to the participants and increasingly popular with viewers.
Fifteen 21st century adventurers traveled back in time to post civil war Texas, where they spent a summer learning to rope, ride and ranch like the cowboys of 1867 - with no modern conveniences. "For me, it was a once in a lifetime experience to live probably every American man's dream, to go out and play cowboy for a summer." But Jared Ficklin the 30 year-old computer programmer soon realized it was going to be more work than play. "The typical day for a cowboy was wake up before the sun, with the rooster's crow. Go feed the cattle, which is uplifting about 250 pounds of hay, running about 50 gallons of water, saddling up and riding for 8 to 10 hours."

A typical day on the reality television serials--Texas Ranch House. Who would sign up for such a grueling experience? About 10,000 people applied. Program producer Luis Barreto chose 15. "I really tried to pick people that were relatable to a wide range of individuals watching the show. Of course the big challenge was to get the ranch running because it was an abandoned ranch. And just to survive the whole thing."
Survival is the ultimate goal of contestants on all reality TV shows, whether it's being the last comic standing, or the apprentice who gets hired, or the treasure hunter who ends up with all the treasure. There are hundreds of these shows, airing around the globe. For media researchers, like Jonathan Gray of Fordham University, the reality is - we're more alike than we think. "There have been different versions of shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the Pop Idol phenomenon which people here know is American idol, Survivor, Temptation Island, et cetera. But, they are nearly always localized, produced with contestants from the country where it's airing. There are a few exceptions, like American Idol. It's played relatively well in Australia. But largely, even when it's global, it's sort of global-slash-local."
For example, Texas Ranch House follows the same format as the BBC's 1800 House, but is set in the American past rather than 19th century London. England's Pop Idol has spawned similar contests in 30 other countries… including the wildly popular American Idol. There are versions of Big Brother, which originated in the Netherlands, in more than three-dozen countries, including Russia, Thailand and Ecuador. Japan's Iron Chef is still cooking on US television.
Professor Gray says while the highly produced competitions became popular only 5 or 6 years ago, the genre has existed in some forms since the early days of television. "If you go back to the long line of game shows, there's a large amount there, the sort of, strange set ups with rules, flashing lights when you get things right and so forth. I think reality TV added a much more physical element to this. If you think of things like Survivor, or the Amazing Race, there is something appealing to many people about the idea of taking part in a big game, a sort of large scale game."
Although it may seem odd to call programs from such unrealistic settings "reality" TV, the paradox apparently doesn't bother participants or viewers. Gray says participants feel like the center of attention, and viewers can see themselves in the ordinary people onscreen. And these shows are so popular, Jonathan Gray suggests, because they are so unrealistic.
"A lot of television seems to take itself so seriously, or deals with serious issues, even when it's something fictional and supposedly a break from everyday life. And the fantastical element of reality shows -- being in a house that's set 100 years in the past, or being on a desert island and having to vote people out, or racing around the world -- I think all of these fantastical premises make themselves very playful and so there can be something very fun about watching them."
Even if the viewers' interest in reality shows starts to wane, Gray says, TV production companies will still make them, because of a very compelling economic reason. "They are remarkably cheap to make. Once you got a bunch of no names, you didn't even deal with agents, you're getting not only very cheap labor, you're getting non-unionized labor. Reality TV has also become wonderful for product placement. When you look at Survivor, for instance, the prize this week is beer and Pringles. It's such blatant product placement that you know there is a lot of money funding this cultural trend."
And that bottom line is something that makes the reality game show a winner for the entertainment industry, anywhere in the world.
I’m Faith Lapitus.
¤注解¤:

1. participant n. 参与者, 共享者 adj. 参与的
2. apprentice n. 学徒 v. 当学徒
3. localize v. (使) 局部化, (使) 地方化
4. paradox n. 似非而是的论点, 自相矛盾的话

 

[angelonduty]

《美国之音》2006第3季度上b012

Youth Drawn to Social Networking Web Sites

Sitting in the offices of their college newspaper with their work, these students are engaged in another popular collegiate pastime, reading about each other on social networking Web sites, such as Facebook and MySpace.
"'Do you really work at the library?” asked Erie, as she looked at Ryan’s online profile.
“Yeah, I really do,” Ryan replied.
“What do you do there?” asked Erie.
“I work in periodicals,” said Ryan.

Erie Meyer
“See, I'm finding things out about you right now! Our relationship has more depth now,” exclaimed Erie.
“But people should communicate this to each other. They shouldn't go on the computer and go, 'Uh, I know about this person.'”
“See, that's the thing,” said Erie. “People think MySpace and Facebook are some sort of alien form of interaction. In reality, it's just another depth of the communication we already use."
For millions of young people in the United States, MySpace and Facebook offer a new way to communicate.
MySpace says about 230,000 new members join each day, and more than 80-million people have created free profiles.
Facebook has almost eight-million members who share information, pictures and interests.
The process is as simple as logging on, writing a bit about yourself and what you do, e-mailing your friends asking them to visit your profile, and before you know it, you're interacting with your friends, your friends' friends, and even people you've never met -- all by sitting solo at your computer.
John Hiler is the co-founder of a similar social Web site, called Xanga. He says young people today experience a different social reality.
"When I was a kid, we would sit on my front door stoop, and chat with our friends, and we'd go to the swimming pool and hang out. That's no longer the sole experience. What we're seeing now is that people are choosing to live online, and they're choosing to wake up an hour early, before they go to school and they sign on to instant messenger, and they chat with their friends and they come home from school and they get back on to the Internet, and check their e-mail and spend all their time in cyberspace."
Xanga allows people to publish online, otherwise known as blogging. That gives users a chance to have their thoughts read by anyone with Internet access.
Facebook was designed to connect people who attended college together, allowing them to post pictures and send short messages.
MySpace is a more open forum, designed to connect people of all ages, interests and backgrounds.
People visit sites to find new connections, to plan events and often to revisit old friends and past parties. Erie Meyer is a student at the American University in Washington D.C.
"Particularly on a Monday, after a weekend of taking pictures on Facebook, I like to have it up to see what pictures are being posted of me. In true college tradition, weekends are crazy and on Monday morning there are hundreds and hundreds, sometimes thousands of photos uploaded of that weekend."
Users such as Erie check-in on people they haven't physically seen in a day or even a year.
"I worked in Spain over the summer and I've been able to keep in touch with people I met there through this. It's less formal than sending an e-mail with an update about my life."
Babak Balakhanlou, who was born in Iran, knows that social Web sites are not just an American phenomenon.
In addition to keeping up with college friends on Facebook. He also has a profile on a site run by Google called Orkut.
Orkut says some 350,000 Iranians have profiles, and it is also wildly popular with Brazilians, Indians, and Pakistanis.
"Orkut, I use mostly for keeping in touch with my Persian friends. I have a lot of Persian friends on there, as a matter of fact. I may have two or three non-Persian friends on there."
The online connection helped Babak reconnect in reality.
"I was able to locate a bunch of my friends that I hadn't kept in touch with in 10 years, using Orkut. I pretty much looked up the last name, or they looked up my last name or my name, and they found me, or I found them and it was good. And I actually ended up visiting them, visiting a couple of friends in Canada, after such a long time and it's good."
Musician Will Smith uses MySpace to reach out to people he does not already know.
A jazz musician and professor of music at American University. He is one of almost two million artists who use MySpace profiles to build their fan bases and make industry connections.
"(It's) one of the perfect tools to use, because it's basically free promotion. (It) allows you to connect with people you wouldn't normally connect with, such as people in the industry, even outside the industry. People around the world that you normally wouldn't have contact with."
The professor emphasizes the networking aspect of the social networking sites.
"I remember spending a whole night looking for DJs -- anyone that had a name with DJ in it, I was going to their page because part of the deal is to get your music heard by the people."
Visitors can listen to Will's songs on his MySpace profiles. That's one way his music made it across the ocean.
"I was able to hook up with a DJ in the UK and I e-mailed him an mp3 of one of my tracks and he's spinning it in the clubs right now.” “And how did he find you? Through MySpace?” “Through MySpace. He found me, and said 'I like the music, please send an mp3,' and I said, 'OK,' so he gave me his off-MySpace e-mail and I e-mailed it to him."
In addition to The WES Group, Will plays in a band called Miles Long. Its lead singer is Malcolm Jamal Warner, an actor and musician.
Malcolm learned about MySpace from a 14-year-old relative who came for a visit -- and spent a lot of time visiting the site.
"I was like, 'Dude, what are you doing? What is this MySpace? Get off my computer.' And sure enough a bunch of artists were telling me how MySpace is a great networking tool for artists. A great promotional vehicle to get your stuff heard, and that's what impressed me most about MySpace “
Millions of new users each week are heeding the call of these sites -- showing that it is possible to meet, work, explore, connect and reconnect, while sitting alone in front of a computer monitor.
Suzanne Presto, VOA news.

¤注解¤:

1. collegiate adj. 学院的
2. periodical n. 期刊, 杂志
3. phenomenon n. 现象
4. vehicle n. 媒介物, 传达手段

 

[angelonduty]

休息一天,第3季度上还有一些课,稍候再传.

 

[angelonduty]

第3季度上--c001

16 Million New Cancer Cases Expected by 2020 Worldwide

Cancer will kill more people in the world this year than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Details about this epidemic are described in The Cancer Atlas which was released, along with its companion book, The Tobacco Atlas, at the International Union Against Cancer's World Congress, held recently in Washington.
The twin atlases are comprehensive guides stuffed with statistics, maps and graphics that illustrate the global problem of cancer and tobacco use. Lead author Judith Mackay says the numbers tell an alarming story of cancer's threat. "We are looking at about 1 billion [cancer] deaths this century if present trends continue. We have 1.3 billion smokers today. By 2030 that 1.3 will be 1.64 billion and that is principally because of population expansion. The prevalence may come down a bit, but the numbers will actually increase."
Currently one billion men and 250 million women smoke cigarettes. According to The Tobacco Atlas, tobacco is the only consumer product that kills more than half of its regular users. American Cancer Society President John Seffrin says smoking-related cancers can be largely avoided. "Literally one-third of all human cancer could be prevented if we could just solve the tobacco addiction problem. Other kinds of cancers can also be avoided. If people get more exercise and eat properly, avoid tobacco, don't have excess exposure to sun, we can prevent most lethal cancers during a normal human lifespan."
The global burden of cancer is shifting from developed to developing countries. By 2030, The Tobacco Atlas reports, 85 percent of all smokers will live in the developing world. Judith Mackay says the trend threatens to further impoverish poor countries. "The Third World is singularly unable and unprepared to cope with that both in financial terms -- the cost to the government, the cost to the smoker -- as well as in health terms for the smoker and indeed their family. We also think that families are spending less money on food, on clothing, and on education, because they are spending money to buy cigarettes. So it has a huge impact on poverty worldwide."
But many nations are taking a stand against tobacco; 131 countries have ratified the United Nations Treaty on Tobacco Control, a public health agreement that would ban tobacco promotion, require health warnings on cigarette packets and offer smoke-free public places. The United States has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty. But Mackay says that even with the treaty's principles widely in force, many nations still pursue policies based on what she calls faulty economic thinking. "Many governments think that if they put up a tax, or a health warning on [a pack of cigarettes] or whatever they do, their revenue will drop and people will be out of work. What we need in the world today in developing countries [are] health economists to show the government that yes, this amount of money is coming in, but this huge amount of money is going out. And ministers of finance often look at the tax revenue, but don't look at the enormous costs of medical and health costs, social costs, costs to the environment."
This is the first edition of The Cancer Atlas and the second of The Tobacco Atlas. Mackay hopes these reference books help to raise awareness among both policy makers and laymen about cancer and the steps needed to reduce its deadly impact.
I’m Rosanne Skirble.


¤注解¤:

1. tuberculosis n. 肺结核
2. atlas n. 地图, 地图集
3. prevalence n. 流行，疾病的流行程度
4. ratify vt. 批准, 认可
5. enormous adj. 巨大的, 庞大的,

 

[midoculiao]

你以考试为第一出发点的话,可以每天花一小点时间听这个,不必精听,培养语速就可以了.
我听VOA和BBC当享受了,呵呵.

 

[angelonduty]

VOA第3季度上-c002

Brain-Damaged Victim Regains Speech After Almost 20 Years

Terry Wallis was 16 years old in 1984 when his car veered across the road and dropped 15 meters [50 feet] into a riverbed. He defied the odds by coming out alive. But he had significant brain damage and was unable to speak or move. He lived in a nursing home for years.
Terry Wallis began speaking again in 2003. His mother, Angilee Wallis, says she was amazed when he spoke. "He just said 'Mom.' His eyes opened wide, you know, and then said it again. That was just marvelous."
Neurologist Nicholas Schiff says there has been improvement since then. "He was able to grunt, but only inconsistently. Now he can talk to you. He can joke. He can tell you how to fix a Chevy engine."
Medical experts say the odds of Terry Wallis' recovery were one in 300 million. Brain images show that most of his normal nerve connections were destroyed in the accident. But Terry Wallis' brain has grown new connections in a less damaged area. There has recently been new growth in the part of the brain that controls movement.
Doctors hope they have learned things from this case that will help others.
Dr. Michael Williams of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine says patients must be at least minimally conscious. Those in a permanent vegetative condition are not likely to see change. "We would hope that we could develop ways to help the brain recover along those lines. All we know now is that it can happen."
The Wallis family says Terry has continued to get better. And while no one knows how much more improvement he will show, he has already beaten incredible odds.
Melinda Smith, VOA news.


¤注解¤:

1. defy vt. 不服从, 公然反抗, 挑衅, 违抗
2. neurologist n. 神经学者, 神经科专门医师
3. conscious adj. 有意识的, 有知觉的
4. vegetative adj. 植物的, 生活呆板单调
5. odds n. 可能的机会, 几率

 

[angelonduty]

VOA第3季度上-c003

Chinese-Thai-Burmese Dam Projects Raise Humanitarian, Environmental Concerns

The Salween forms one of the last free-flowing river systems in Asia, traveling 2,800 kilometers from the mountains of Tibet to the Gulf of Martaban, which lies between Burma and Thailand.
Sinohydro Corporation, China's largest hydropower company, agreed last month to partner with Thailand's Electricity Generating Authority, or EGAT, in building a $1 billion hydroelectric plant at Hutgyi in Burma.
The Hutgyi plant, about 30 kilometers from the Thai border, is the first of five to be built along the lower Salween by the partnership, which also includes Burma. The dams will generate 10,000 megawatts of power.
Thailand's energy minister has said the projects are necessary to cut his country's dependence on fossil fuels and lower energy costs.
Jean-Pierre Verbiest, Thailand country director for the Asian Development Bank, or A.D.B., describes Thailand's energy needs.
"There is no doubt that if you look at Thailand's energy production and consumption - first the margin between peak production and peak consumption is narrowing - so there is additional investment needed in energy production."
Burma also is desperate for electricity. Power cuts are common, and businesses rely on small diesel generators, which are noisy and dirty.
And China needs energy to fuel its fast-growing economy. Beijing is planning 13 dams or diversions along the river in its territory, in addition to the joint projects with Thailand and Burma.
However, the hydropower projects have generated fierce criticism from environmentalists, who warn the dams will destroy the unique environment of the Salween - home to a wide variety of rare or endangered plants and animals.
In China, where it is known as the Nu River, the Salween forms part of the United Nations's Three Parallel Rivers World Heritage Site because of its contribution to the area's biodiversity.
Pianporn Deetes is a spokeswoman for the Salween Watch Coalition, an environmental umbrella group. She says some communities in Burma will suffer because the dams will flood their land, affect fish supplies and disrupt the river's flow.
"Those affected the most are the ethnic minorities along the Salween River - especially from Shan State, Karenni and Karen state."
The A.D.B.'s Verbiest says such environmental and social issues need to be taken into account.
"This production from the Salween power plants would (be) one of the ways of diversifying. The other aspect - the environment, the impact on the people - would all be very important. Probably more important than the commercial aspect."
The A.D.B., which is a non-profit development lender based in Manila, is not involved in financing the Salween projects, although it has helped finance the construction of other dams.
According to the Karenni Development Research Group, one of the dams in Karenni state is expected to flood 640 kilometers of land, inundate 28 towns and villages including the historical Karenni capital of Bawlake, and displace 30,000 people.
Moe Moe Aung of the Karenni Development Research Group, which studies regional social issues, says the damage to communities forced off their land will not only be economic.
"The Karenni people, they have lived for a long time in the land; so we like to keep our land. This is our home, already our home, so we don't want to move to the other place."
Environmentalist Pianporn says a lack of information makes it difficult to assess the dams' effects. She accuses the Thai electricity authority, EGAT, of withholding details of its deals with the reclusive Burmese government.
"It is obvious that the degree of transparency for the project along the Salween River is extremely low. EGAT always refuses to disclose the relevant project documents."
EGAT and the construction company working on the dams declined to be interviewed about the project and its possible environmental and social ramifications. The Thai government has made few comments about the projects. In one report carried by the French news agency AFP, construction company officials said that some villagers had to be relocated but the company would push for their resettlement "under international standards."
Rights groups are concerned that Burma's military is using the dams as an excuse to move minority groups living around the Salween in a bid to end their fights for independence.
Some of Burma's ethnic minorities have resisted government rule for 50 years. As a result, more than 140,000 people have been forced to refugee camps along the Thai border.
The United States, the European Union and others have imposed sanctions on Burma for human rights violations. But the sanctions have been undermined by deals Burma has signed with neighboring countries eager to tap its energy resources.
Debbie Stothardt, spokeswoman for the rights group Alternative ASEAN Network, says such projects could backfire on Thailand.
"The Salween projects involves displacing tens of thousands of people out of that area just to generate electricity that can be sold to Thailand. Thailand is the biggest beneficiary of the Salween dam project and Thailand will suffer the worst consequences as more and more displaced people flee to Thailand because they are oppressed by the military regime."
If all the projects go ahead, the Salween will become one of the world's most heavily dammed river systems, with all the dislocation to people and wildlife that entails.
Ron Corben for VOA news, Bangkok.


¤注解¤:

1. hydropower n. 水力发出的电力
2. hydroelectric adj. 水力电气的
3. megawatt n. 兆瓦特
4. transparency n. 透明, 透明度
5. relocate v. 重新部署
6. beneficiary n. 受惠者, 受益人

 

[midoculiao]

I just want to sleep when I hear these news.

 

[angelonduty]

VOA第3季度上-c004

Crews of Shuttle Discovery, International Space Station Link Up

With broad smiles, the crews exchanged greetings and then set about connecting cables and other equipment between Discovery and the space station, so that the two vessels can operate as one. Much work lies ahead, including the unloading of several tons of supplies and equipment brought by the shuttle, perhaps most importantly a new oxygen generator. At least two space walks are planned. One Discovery crewmember, Mission Specialist Thomas Reiter of Germany, will stay behind when the shuttle departs.
Earlier, having "chased" the space station for two days at speeds exceeding 28,000 kilometers per hour, Discovery performed a 360-degree "backflip" rotation before docking with the space station. It was a carefully choreographed maneuver that NASA officials described as "perfect" in execution.
At a press briefing, Shuttle Flight Director Tony Ceccacci was asked how he feels about the mission so far.
"Extremely pleased. I am very happy with how things are going. Today, talking to the crew, you can see them on TV. They are all pumped up [energized] and ready to go. And I think they are going to be on an adrenaline rush until touchdown on [re]entry day."
The summersault executed by Discovery prior to docking allowed space station crewmembers to take pictures of the orbiter's underbelly, to check for possible damage to heat-resistant tiles. The procedure is part of an exhaustive in-mission safety review process implemented after the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Columbia broke up upon re-entry to Earth's atmosphere, and heat-shielding tiles damaged during lift-off were blamed for the tragedy.
Wednesday, Discovery's crew used the orbiter's robotic arm to take photographs of the shuttle's wings and nose cap. NASA officials say nothing of major concern has been detected.
Among the primary goals for Discovery's mission is to demonstrate that major safety concerns stemming from the Columbia disaster have been addressed, and that the shuttle program can go forward with a series of missions in support of the completion of the International Space Station by a target date of 2010. At that point, the shuttle fleet is to be retired.

Michael Bowman, VOA news, Washington.


¤注解¤:

1. maneuver n. 操纵
2. execution n. 实行, 完成, 执行
3. underbelly n. 物体的下方, 易受攻击的地带
4. exhaustive adj. 无遗漏的, 彻底的, 详尽的
5. stemming n. 填塞物, 堵塞物

 

[yangyang2005]

good job

 

[angelonduty]

VOA第3季度上-c005

Developing Robots that can Perform Dangerous Military Tasks

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of casualties among the US and its allies is mounting: thousands of coalition troops, and as many as 30,000 Iraqi forces, have been killed since 2003 as insurgents develop new methods, such as improvised explosive devices.
"We're trying to keep the American troops out of harm's way.” Emmanuel Collins is leading a project at Florida State University, which is developing robots that can perform some tasks currently carried out by humans on the battlefield.
“They do reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition, so what we're trying to do is develop the technology to replace the soldier in those particular tasks".
And it is hoped the technology could reduce the carnage. One robot has taken years to develop. It is able to make its way through complicated terrains -- without being accompanied by a human -- using cameras, lasers and acoustic sensors.
"So we're replacing a soldier driving a vehicle with a robotic vehicle. They're performing very similar tasks but now, of course, the soldier is no longer directly in the line-of-fire for the enemy."
With the toll on U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the pressure is on to develop this technology quickly. But scientists say it could be 10 years before unmanned ground robots are used in actual war situations, because complex technology takes time to perfect.
"We start with simulation, just computer simulation. But the problem with computer simulation is it's difficult to take into account a lot of the factors that actually occur when you actually implement things in hardware. Then our next step is to implement them in our own lab in our own robots, which are simpler, smaller robots than the Army is using for these tasks. Then once we have it mastered in our own lab then we transfer it to an Army vehicle that's used specifically for that purpose and then they put it through a gamut of tests."
The military is spending half a million dollars a year at this university developing an unmanned ground vehicle that uses similar technology to aircraft drones already in use. In 2004, the U.S. government spent more than $60 billion on this kind of research and development.
"In my view, sitting where I'm sitting, the military has some of the most developed technology in our society, certainly our world. I would say the military is very high-tech and very reliant on its technology for its success".
But for the time-being, the most dangerous jobs in war zones continue to be performed by troops.
Steve Mort for VOA news, Tallahassee, Florida.


¤注解¤:

1. coalition n. 合并, 联合, 联盟
2. explosive adj. 爆炸(性)的, 爆发(性)的
3. surveillance n. 监视, 监督
4. simulation n. 模拟
5. gamut n. 整个范围，全部

 

[angelonduty]

VOA第3季度上-c006

Emotional Stress Linked to Childhood Stuttering

There is no cure for stuttering and no one really knows what causes it, even though it's believed heredity, and now emotional temperament, play a part. The International Stuttering Foundation estimates that as many as 60 million people around the world have this speech disorder.
These children shown in a video provided by the Stuttering Foundation of America talk about their difficulty communicating with others.
The inability to interact leads to frustration and anger and sometimes withdrawal, says Professor Edward Conture of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. "You simply can't communicate when you want, what you want, to who you want, and how you want. And that can be -- anyone can relate to that -- because that's frustrating."
Dr. Conture studied 111 children aged two to five. That's the age group when stuttering becomes most apparent. While this study was done in the United States, children experience the same routine of play, school and hard work elsewhere in the world. Boys are three times more likely to stutter than girls.
While there is a genetic link in families, Dr. Conture also found that many of these young stutterers typically became more excitable in the give-and-take of what seems like a normal playtime situation. They often took more time to settle back down once they were upset. Their emotional reactions then triggered the stuttering.
Dr. Conture says parents and teachers can help by providing a relaxed environment, which gives the child plenty of chance to speak. Refrain from criticizing or getting angry when he or she can't get the words out, and seek the help of a speech therapist who can work with the child. By doing this, hopefully, the child will grow out of it.
Melinda Smith, VOA news.


¤注解¤:

1. stutter n. 口吃, 结结巴巴 v. 口吃着说
2. frustration n. 挫败, 挫折, 受挫
3. excitable adj. 能被激动的, 易兴奋的, 易激动的
4. trigger vt. 引发, 引起, 触发

 

[angelonduty]

VOA第3季度上-c007

Heat, Pollution Trigger Health Problems

It is so hot in many parts of the U.S. that officials are cautioning people to stay indoors. Even short exposure to high temperatures can cause serious health problems.
Professor Larry Kalkstein from the Center for Climatic Research at the University of Delaware, "Many more people die of the heat in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago than they do in Phoenix, New Orleans or Miami, because they are not used to the heat up there."
Heat is not the only danger factor. Hot weather with little or no wind can lead to high levels of air pollution, especially ozone. The elderly and people with respiratory or pulmonary disorders are especially at risk.
Last year researchers in Boston analyzed pollution rates in nine major U.S. cities. They found the risk of stroke was one percent higher on days with relatively higher air pollution. Scientists say while this increase may seem small, it has a huge effect, since the number of people living in pollution-prone cities is so great.
It is not known exactly how pollution affects our bodies or how it enters the brain. Researchers say pollution particles in the air may enter the body through the lungs and irritate the walls of blood vessels, encouraging clots that travel to the brain.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have recently shown a direct relationship between fine particle air pollution and risk for hospitalization from heart attack and respiratory diseases. The Hopkins scientists found these fine particles can reach the small airways and the air sacks in the lungs.
A study from the Harvard School of Public Health found a link between fine particles in air pollution and risk of death. It also found that reducing exposure to air pollution decreased the number of deaths associated with pollution.
The next step for scientists -- finding out which specific components of air pollution are the most toxic.
Carol Pearson, VOA news.


¤注解¤:

1. exposure n. 暴露, 揭露, 暴光
2. climatic adj. 气候上的
3. respiratory adj. 呼吸的
4. pulmonary adj. 肺部的
5. vessel n. 脉管

 

[angelonduty]

C008

Minimally Invasive Surgery is New Trend

When tests showed Brenda Voulgarides had a lump on her thyroid, she went to her doctor, who decided it needed to be removed. Doctor Glenn Peters, a head and neck surgeon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, recommended a minimally invasive surgery rather than a traditional surgical procedure.
"The minimally invasive [surgery] involves an incision that is about an inch long in the lower neck and it’s usually oriented within natural skin lines of the neck, so that it blends in with the creases that go across the neck."
Minimally invasive procedures were first done a half-century ago for head and neck surgery. The technique has been expanded for almost everything from an appendectomy to gall bladder surgery, ligament repair, even some areas of the heart.
Surgeons insert thin tubes, called trocars, into small incisions. Then carbon dioxide gas is pumped to inflate the abdomen and create a working space between the organs and skin. Surgeons use a tiny camera to see what needs to be done. Minimally invasive procedures have some advantages over conventional surgery -- less recovery time and less pain for the patient, plus a shorter hospitalization and less small scarring.
Tests showed the nodule on Brenda Voulgarides's thyroid was not cancerous. She went home the same day as the surgery. The scar is barely visible a few weeks after surgery.
"I have peace of mind now that that nodule's gone."
Minimally invasive procedures are not for everyone. Patients who are obese are not good candidates. Neither are those with previous abdominal surgery, or people who suffer abnormal bleeding in the operating room.
The majority of minimally invasive procedures are done in American medical centers. But it has become increasingly popular elsewhere in the world.
Melinda Smith, VOA news.


¤注解¤:

1. invasive adj. 入侵的
2. incision [ n. 切割, 切开, 切口
3. appendectomy n. 阑尾切除术
4. ligament n. 系带, 韧带
5. hospitalization n. 医院收容, 住院治疗

 

[ABCGROUP]

谢谢前辈,谢谢.

 

[angelonduty]

VOA第3季度上-c009

NASA Technology Aids Water Purification Efforts in Iraq

Concern for Kids is a non-profit organization that has been operating in and around northern Iraq since 1992. President Todd Harrison learned of an urgent need for clean water in the village of Kendala, and he had an idea.
"The water situation was pretty desperate. The population of the village had dwindled. The well that they were drawing water from was right near where the sheep would come to get water as well. They would have to take the water from the well and we were told that they would have to take it back to their homes and actually filter it or strain it."
Harrison turned to his sister, NASA engineer Robyn Carrasquillo. "NASA's water purification technology developed for the shuttle and the international space station has been adapted by a commercial company, Water Security Corporation, out of Reno, Nevada, and with the aid of a non-profit organization called Concern for Kids, out of Atlanta, and the U.S. Army; [it] has been deployed in northern Iraq in the Kurdish area to help the Kurdish people get clean water."
Volunteers from NASA went to Kendala. With help from citizens and U.S. Army personnel, they installed an adapted water pumping system, bringing safe drinking water to villagers for the first time in years.
U.S. space engineers have been designing and improving a water and recycling system for shuttle astronauts and the international space station for decades.
"The water recovery system developed for the international space system is a combination of a urine processor and a potable water processor which takes the astronauts urine, and all the other waste waters that condensates from the atmosphere and recycles it to clean water.”
NASA is completing an air and water recycling system for the space station that is about the size of two refrigerators. It is planned for installation in 2008. Developers say it will dramatically reduce the need for re-supply missions from Earth.
Paul Sisco, VOA news.


¤注解¤:

1. dwindle v. 缩小
2. purification n. 净化
3. astronaut n. 太空人, 宇航员
4. processor n. 处理机, 处理器
5. installation n. 安装, 装置

 

[angelonduty]

VOA第3季度上-c010

New Forest Fire-Fighting Technology

It is hot and dry in the western United States and that means wildfires. In North America, the season has begun with unusual intensity. Max Fratus battled a recent wildfire here in the Sierra Mountains of California that destroyed a thousand homes.
"I talk to people that have been in the fire service their entire career, and not only this fire, but fires in preceding years -- because of the drought, because of the fuel conditions -- they've produced fire behavior, flame links, intensities that we had never really experienced before. Everything that we had to throw at it we did, and it just seems to burn right through it. I've never seen a fire come through here of anything of that magnitude."
The first defense against forest fires is early detection. In Northern California computerized cameras are replacing traditional lookouts and fire towers. The camera system is called Fire Hawk. Dale McGill of the California Forest Service said, “On the very first day it was activated we found a fire and about 30 seconds later the phone rang."
It has been the first alert on several fires, according to McGill. "Right away we can tell whether it's going to be a very active fire or it’s going to be a fire that perhaps is not anything at all."
The camera detects smoke by day and heat at night, spinning 360 degrees every four minutes. When it spots something the computer instantly maps the exact location. The system is proving effective and efficient, and more are being installed. Also in California, the U.S. space agency, NASA, is working with Forest Service researchers to convert drones, officially called "UAS", or unmanned aerial systems, into fire-fighting tools.
NASA, Vince Ambrosia, "A fire manager on a wildfire condition, who doesn't know where his fire is going, could launch an unmanned aerial vehicle and with the imaging capabilities on-board the platform can ascertain where the fire is, how fast it's moving; does he have any resources or personnel that might be in danger."
They'll relay thermal images and data to portable communication stations on the ground. None too soon. More than one million hectares have already burned this year in the hot dry western United States, and firefighters are currently battling a major wildfire in North Central Arizona.
Paul Sisco, VOA news.


¤注解¤:

1. intensity n. 强烈, 剧烈, 强度
2. magnitude [] n. 大小, 数量, 巨大, 广大, 量级
3. activated adj. 有活性的
4. drone n. 雄蜂, 嗡嗡的声音, 懒惰者, 靶标
5. hectare n. 公顷