19 科技新闻摘要（八）
DATE=8-7-01
TITLE=SCIENCE IN THE NEWS #2136 - Digest
BYLINE=Staff
VOICE ONE:
This is Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with Science in the News, a VOA Special English program about recent developments in science. Today, we tell about a mysterious creature called the Loch Ness monster. We tell about an operation for childbirth. And we tell about a way for developing countries to get medical information from the Internet computer system.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
Many groups of people have ancient stories about huge frightening creatures called (1)monsters. However, the existence of such animals has never been proven scientifically. One of the most well-known mystery animals is the Loch Ness monster. It is said to live in a lake in (2)Scotland called Loch Ness. For years, people have searched and studied the lake. But they have never found any unusual creature.
Now, an Italian scientist may have finally discovered what makes the Loch Ness monster seem to appear. Luigi Piccardi says (3)earthquakes under the lake cause the waters to roll and shake strongly. This makes people believe there is a huge powerful animal in the water.
Mister Piccardi presented his study of the Loch Ness monster at a geology conference in Edinburgh, Scotland recently. He studies the (4)origin, history and (5)structure of the Earth. Mister Piccardi uses the science of geology to help explain (6)ancient traditional stories.
VOICE TWO:
The scientist says the first known writing about the Loch Ness monster was in the seventh century. The document (7)described a terrible animal that arrived "with a strong shaking" and left "shaking herself." Mister Piccardi explains that Loch Ness is directly over an active (8)fault line. This line is the (9)division between two pieces of the Earth.
An earthquake happens when these pieces move against each other. The quake happens along the fault line. These movements of the Earth cause loud noises. The quakes also cause the water to shake strongly. Mister Piccardi says this may be why ancient people said there was a monster under the water.
VOICE ONE:
An American scientist disagrees. Robert Rines is the head of the (10)Academy of (11)Applied Science in Concord, New Hampshire. He says Mister Piccardi's theory does not explain every (12)sighting of the Loch Ness monster. Mister Rines says that in Nineteen-Seventy-Two, he saw an animal in the Scottish lake that looked like the back of an elephant.
The scientist led a team to study the lake in Nineteen-Ninety-Seven. They used sound waves to search Loch Ness. Mister Rines says they recorded something in the water. He began another larger study of Loch Ness with expert underwater scientists last month. He says they are using the most modern underwater (13)equipment in the world.
Other scientists have used strong lights and underwater (14)cameras to search for the Loch Ness monster. But they have found no strong (15)evidence of the creature.
VOICE TWO:
Some scientists agreed that earthquakes are the most believable (16)explanation of the Loch Ness monster mystery. They say geology has been used to explain other ancient stories. For example, the Jewish and Christian holy book, the Bible, includes a story of a flood that covered the whole Earth. A man named Noah was one of the few people who survived. Scientists say there was a real (17)flood in the Black Sea area that explains that ancient story.
Mister Piccardi also has studied ancient religious places around the (18)Mediterranean Sea. He says (19)similar stories of monsters are linked to places where earthquakes and other earth movements have happened. This scientific explanation may end the mystery that has interested people for such a long time.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
You are listening to the Special English program SCIENCE IN THE NEWS on VOA. This is Bob Doughty with Steve Ember in Washington.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
A new study suggests that women who have given birth by a medical operation called a (20)cesarean section may want to use that method in later (21)pregnancies.
A cesarean section is also called a c-section. It is an operation to remove the baby through a cut in the woman's (22)abdomen. A doctor may (23)perform a c-section when the baby is not in the right position to come through the (24)vagina. A woman may also have a c-section if she is not (25)progressing fast enough in the childbirth process. Or a doctor may perform a c-section if there are signs that the health of the baby or mother is in danger.
VOICE TWO:
The New England (26)Journal of Medicine published the new study about cesarean sections. Scientists examined the hospital records of about twenty-thousand women in the state of Washington. The records were from Nineteen-Eighty-Seven to Nineteen-Ninety-Six. All the women had given birth to their first child by a cesarean section. The women also had a second child during the same time period.
The study said women who attempted a vaginal birth after a c-section were three times as likely to suffer a (27)tear in their (28)uterus as those who had a second c-section. The rate was fifteen times as high among women who were given (29)hormones to help ready the uterus for labor.
VOICE ONE:
For many years, doctors believed that women who had c-sections should always repeat the operation for later pregnancies. Doctors thought the healed cut from the first operation would weaken the uterus. They believed that the labor of childbirth could cause the uterus to tear. This condition is rare but extremely dangerous. It can kill the mother, the child, or both.
However, in the Nineteen-Eighties, support grew for (30)attempting a vaginal birth after a c-section. Studies then suggested that women could safely have a vaginal birth after having an earlier c-section.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
Six major publishers have announced an agreement to provide developing countries with medical publications on the Internet computer system. The agreement includes about one thousand of the top medical publications in the world. Some of the six publishers also plan to place medical books on the Internet in a similar way.
The World Health Organization asked the publishers to take the action so doctors and researchers in poor countries could (31)improve health care in their nations. The agreement is expected to help at least six-hundred institutions in one-hundred developing countries. These include (32)universities, medical schools, hospitals and research centers. The program also includes teaching people how to find the medical information using a computer. It will go into (33)effect in January.
VOICE ONE:
Scientific (34)magazines have published medical research for more than fifty years. But many medical schools in developing countries cannot get the publications. One W-H-O official says most American medical schools get one thousand or more publications. Most medical schools in developing countries get fewer than one hundred.
One reason is cost. Most scientific publications cost between two hundred and one-thousand-five-hundred dollars a year. Some cost even more. An extreme example is the magazine "(35)Brain Research." It costs seventeen-thousand dollars a year. It is among the publications included under the new agreement. More than sixty of the poorest countries will receive the publications on the Internet for free. More than thirty other countries will pay a reduced cost for the scientific magazines.
VOICE TWO:
The publications will be on the Internet in a special place being created by the W-H-O. It will (36)guarantee security and provide search tools. The W-H-O also is concerned that some countries still will not be able to get the information because they do not have computers.
(37)Officials say they are working on a plan to solve that problem. They plan to ask (38)technology companies for help in providing more computers for researchers in developing countries.
W-H-O director Gro Harlem Brundtland says the agreement is the biggest step ever taken to (39)equalize health information among rich and poor countries.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Doreen Baingana, Caty Weaver and Nancy Steinbach. It was produced by Cynthia Kirk. This is Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
(1) monster [??????] n. 怪物, 妖怪
(2) Scotland [????????] n. 苏格兰(英国的一部分,在不列颠北部)
(3) earthquake [?????????] n. 地震, [喻]在震荡, 在变动
(4) origin [??????] n. 起源, 由来, 起因, 出身, 血统, [数]原点
(5) structure [????????] n. 结构, 构造, 建筑物; vt. 建筑, 构成, 组织
(6) ancient [??????] adj. 远古的, 旧的
(7) describe [??'??????] vt. 描写, 记述, 形容, 形容; v. 描述
(8) fault [??:??] n. 过错, 缺点, 故障, 毛病; vt. 挑剔
(9) division [??'?????)?] n. 分开, 分割, 区分, 除法, 公司, (军事)师, 分配, 分界线
(10) academy [?'??????] n. (高等)专科院校, 研究院, 学会, 学术团体, 学院
(11) Applied Science n.应用科学
(12) sight [????] n. 视力, 视觉, 见, 瞥见, 视域, 眼界
(13) equipment [?'????????] n. 装备, 设备, 器材, 装置, 铁道车辆,
(14) camera [??????] n. 照相机
(15) evidence [?'??????] n. 明显, 显著, 明白, 迹象, 根据, [物]证据, 证物
(16) explanation [????l?'????????] n. 解释, 解说, 说明, 辩解, 互相讲明
(17) flood [????] n. 洪水, 水灾, (因雨)涨潮, [诗]水; vt. 淹没, 使泛滥, 注满,
(18) Mediterranean [??????'???????] n. 地中海,地中海沿岸的居民; adj. 地中海的,
(19) similar [??????] adj. 相似的, 类似的
(20) cesarean [??'???????] adj. 凯撒的, 皇帝的
(21) pregnancy [?????????] n. 怀孕
(22) abdomen [???????] n. 腹, 腹部
(23) perform [??:'???] vt. 履行, 执行, 表演, 演出; v. 完成任务
(24) vagina [v?'??????] [动]鞘, [解]阴道, [植]叶鞘
(25) progress [pr?????] n. 前进, 进步, 发展; vi. 前进, 进步, 进行
(26) journal [???????] n. 定期刊物, 杂志, 航海日记, 分类账
(27) tear [???] vi. 流泪, 撕破, 猛冲, 飞奔, 被撕破; vt. 扯, 撕, 撕破, 戳破,
(28) uterus [??:?????] n. [解]子宫
(29) hormone [??:????] n. 荷尔蒙, 激素
(30) attempt [?'?????] n. 努力, 尝试, 企图; vt. 尝试, 企图
(31) improve [im'?????] v. 改善, 改进
(32) universities [???i'?:siti] n. (综合)大学
(33) effect [?'????] n. 结果, 效果, 作用, 影响, (在视听方面给人流下的)印象;
(34) magazine [????'??:?] n. 杂志, 期刊, 军火库, 弹药库, (枪、炮的)弹仓, 胶卷盒
(35) brain [brein] n. 脑, 头脑
(36) guarantee [?????'??] n. 保证, 保证书, 担保, 抵押品; vt. 保证, 担保
(37) official [?'?????)?] n. 官员, 公务员; adj. 职务上的, 公务的, 官方的, 正式的
(38) technology [???'???????] n. 工艺, 科技, 技术
(39) equalize [?:???????] vt. 使相等, 补偿
20 科技新闻摘要（九）
DATE=8-21-01
TITLE=SCIENCE IN THE NEWS #2138 - Digest
BYLINE=Staff
VOICE ONE:
This is Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Sarah Long with Science in the News, a VOA Special English program about recent developments in science. Today, we tell about how doctors re-attached the arm of a boy after a (1)shark attack. We tell about ancient cave drawings in France. We tell about a product to treat wood. And we tell about a new project to fight (2)malaria.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
Last month, doctors at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Florida, re-attached the right arm of an eight-year-old boy named Jessie Arbogast. A bull shark attacked Jessie and (3)bit off his arm as he played in the ocean at the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida. The shark was more than two meters long and weighed about ninety kilograms. The sharp teeth of the shark made a clean cut in Jessie's arm between the (4)elbow and the shoulder. This made it easier for doctors to re-attach the arm. Doctors say the re-attached arm probably will not be fully normal. But it will be able to move.
VOICE TWO:
During the operation doctors treated the wound. They also slightly shortened the arm. This permitted them to place a (5)device to hold the arm where it (6)belongs. The doctors lined up the (7)muscles, blood (8)vessels and (9)nerves in the arm with those in Jessie's body. They reconnected the muscles that permit the arm to move. The doctors repaired nerves, (10)arteries and (11)veins. And, they placed metal (12)screws to hold the arm in place. The blood in the arm began to flow again. Finally, the doctors repaired Jessie's skin.
VOICE ONE:
Jessie was playing in the water near the shore late in the day when the shark bit him. A family member (13)seized the shark and pulled it out of the water. A park service officer shot the shark. Rescuers recovered the arm and sent it to the hospital. Jesse also suffered a severe bite on one leg, (14)kidney damage and (15)intestinal (16)bleeding. The shark attack had caused him to lose almost all his blood and stop breathing. Family members and other people worked for twenty minutes to re-start his breathing before a (17)helicopter flew him to the hospital.
Doctors say Jessie's general condition has improved. For a while, the boy was completely unable to react to his surroundings. In late July he began reacting to changes in sound and light. He returned home earlier this month.
VOICE TWO:
Jessie is one of about seventy people bitten by sharks in the United States and Puerto Rico in the past year. Last year, there were thirty-four such attacks in Florida. Experts say the bull shark is the most (18)aggressive and fearless of all sharks. The bull shark searches for food close to shore. Experts believe it attacks people when it mistakes them for fish. This often happens when it begins to get dark.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Experts say drawings found in caves in western France may have been made thirty-thousand years ago. The Cussac cave art has been called a major discovery. A man exploring the caves in the village of Cussac found the ancient drawings by accident last September. French officials did not make the news public until last month.
The Cussac cave drawings are of animals such as (19)bison, horses, (20)rhinoceroses and birds. The drawings also show people and include (21)sexual pictures. The drawings were cut into the rock walls of the caves. French ministry officials say these caves are special because the art is still in very good condition. And the drawings have a lot of (22)details.
VOICE TWO:
Dany Barraud works for the cultural agency of the French government. He told reporters that more than one-hundred drawings have been found so far in the Cussac caves. Officials think there are many more pictures. The ones found cover a cave nine-hundred meters long, about fifteen meters wide and more than ten meters high. One drawing of a bison is four meters long. It is the largest single prehistoric drawing cut in stone that has been discovered. Another picture includes forty animals.
VOICE ONE:
Experts are testing the drawings to find out their exact age. But they do not consider them to be the oldest drawings cut in stone that have been found. Drawings as old as thirty-four-thousand years were discovered in a cave in the Ardeche area of France in Nineteen-Ninety-Four. However, scientists believe the Cussac discoveries are older than the well-known cave paintings of Lascaux, also in western France. Researchers believe the Lascaux paintings are eighteen-thousand years old.
VOICE TWO:
Another difference with this discovery is that human （23）remains were found with the cave art. Seven burial places with human bones were found in the Cussac caves. Scientists are testing the human remains to find out their age. It is not known if the art is the same age as the remains.
Mister Barraud says the caves will not be open to the public. He says the cave floors are made of weak clay and the (24)limestone walls break easily. (25)Temperature changes would destroy the ancient art. However, the French scientist says a copy of the drawings may be made in a nearby cave for visitors to see.
An expert of prehistoric (26)rock art, Jean Clottes, says the Cussac drawings are special and different from any others. This art teaches us about the people who lived long before history was recorded. They too, like us, found value in art.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
American officials have (27)approved a plan to inform people about a (28)chemical (29)mixture added to some wood products that are used outdoors. The government will require that wood treated with (30)chromated (31)copper (32)arsenate carry warning signs. Chromated copper arsenate is a chemical mixture approved for protecting wood. It protects wood from insects, bacteria and other organisms that can cause damage.
Treated wood lasts at least five times longer than untreated wood. In the United States, the chemical mixture is most commonly added to wood used in playground equipment for children. It also is found in wood structures added to houses, fences and outdoor tables.
VOICE TWO:
Chromated copper arsenate is a product of the chemicals (33)arsenic, (34)chromium and copper. Arsenic is a substance found in nature and produced by industry. It is known to cause (35)cancer in humans.
During the Nineteen-Eighties, the Environmental Protection Agency studied the use of the chemicals to treat wood. At the time, E-P-A officials ruled that wood treated with the chemicals did not cause unreasonable risks to most people. However, they were concerned about the health effects on people who work daily with such products. The agency later required protective measures for workers who treated the wood. It also ordered (36)restrictions on the use of treated wood.
Recently, E-P-A officials asked the wood protection industry to strengthen the program to inform Americans about the dangers of the chemicals. The American Wood Preservers Institute developed the new plan. The program also will tell the public about safe ways to use the treated wood.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland has received one-hundred-million dollars to develop new medicines to prevent and treat the disease malaria. The identity of the person who gave the money to Johns Hopkins is a secret. The money will establish the Johns Hopkins Malaria Institute.
Alfred Sommer heads the Bloomberg School of Public Health at the university. Doctor Sommer says many experts in medicine, genetics and human populations will be working at the new Malaria Institute.There will be at least one-hundred people involved in the project.
VOICE TWO:
Mosquito insects (37)spread malaria to people by biting them. The disease attacks the (38)liver and destroys red blood cells. The World Health Organization says the disease infects as many as five-hundred-million people every year. It kills more than one-million people each year. The W-H-O says most cases are in developing countries in very warm areas of the world.
Doctor Sommer says he does not expect the Johns Hopkins Malaria Institute to completely end the disease in the next ten years. But he says the goal is to develop a (39)vaccine or drug to prevent or treat the disease. He says this would be a huge step forward in the (40)struggle against malaria.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Jerilyn Watson, Doreen Baingana, George Grow and Jill Moss. It was produced by Cynthia Kirk. This is Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Sarah Long. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
(1) shark[ ?????]n.[鱼]鲨鱼, 骗子<俚>内行, 专家v.敲诈
(2) malaria[ ????????? ]n.疟疾, 瘴气
(3) bit[ ????]n.少量, 片刻, 马嚼子, 辅币vt.上马嚼子, 控制vbl.咬
(4) elbow[?????J]n.肘
(5) device[???????? ]n.装置, 设计, 图案, 策略, 发明物, 设备
(6) belong[ ?????? ]vi.属于, 住
(7) muscle[?????? ]n.肌肉, 臂力, (可供食用的)瘦肉, [解]肌
(8) vessel[???????]n.船, 容器, 器皿, 脉管, 导管
(9) nerve[ ???? ]n.神经, 胆量, 勇气, 叶脉vt.鼓起勇气
(10) artery[???????? ]n.动脉, 要道
(11) vein[ ???? ]n.血管, 静脉, 叶脉, 翅脉, 矿脉, 纹理, 性情, 心绪vt.使成脉络, 象脉络般分布于
(12) screw[?????? ]n.螺丝钉, 螺旋, 螺杆, 螺孔, 螺旋桨, 吝啬鬼vt.调节, 旋, 加强, 压榨, 强迫, 鼓舞vi.转动, 旋, 拧
(13) seize[ ???? ]v.抓住, 逮住, 夺取vt.没收, 查封
(14) kidney[??????? ]n.肾, (动物可食用的)腰子, 个性, 性格
(15) intestinal[??????????? ]adj.肠的, 肠内的, (疾病)侵袭肠的
(16) bleed[?????? ]v.使出血, 放血
(17) helicopter[??????????? ]n.直升(飞)机, 直升机
(18) aggressive[????????? ]adj.好斗的, 敢作敢为的, 有闯劲的, 侵略性的
(19) bison[??????? ]n.美洲或欧洲的野牛
(20) rhinoceros[???????????? ]n.[动]犀牛
(21) sexual[?????????? ]adj.性的, 性别的, [生]有性的
(22) detail[?????????????????? ]n.细节, 详情vt.详述, 细说
(23) remain[ ??????? ]vi.保持, 逗留, 剩余, 残存
(24) limestone[ ?????????? ]n.石灰石
(25) temperature??????????????]n.温度
(26) rock[???? ]n.岩石, 暗礁, 石头, 摇动vt.摇摆, 使动摇vi.摇, 摇动
(27) approve[ ??????? ]vi.赞成, 满意vt.批准, 通过v.批准
(28) chemical[????????? ]adj.化学的n.化学制品, 化学药品 n.化学药品
(29) mixture[????????? ]n.混合, 混合物, 混合剂
(30) chromate[ ????????? ]n.铬酸盐
(31) copper[ ??????]n.铜, 警察
(32) arsenate[????????? ]n.[化]砒酸盐, 砷酸盐
(33) arsenic[????????? ]n.[化]砷, 砒霜
(34) chromium[?????????? ]n.铬
(35) cancer[??????? ]n.癌, 毒瘤
(36) restriction[???????????? ]n.限制, 约束
(37) spread[???????]n.伸展, 展开, 传播, 蔓延, 酒席, 宴会, 桌布v.伸展, 展开, 铺, 涂, 敷, 摆, 传播, 散布
(38) liver[?????? ]n.居住者，生活优裕的人，肝脏
(39) vaccine[ ???????? ]adj.疫苗的, 牛痘的n.疫苗
(40) struggle[?????????]n.竞争, 努力, 奋斗vi.努力, 奋斗, 挣扎vt.尽力使得, 使劲移动
