时间:2019-01-03 作者:英语课 分类:2018年VOA慢速英语(十)月


英语课

25 Years Later: Biosphere 1 2 Lives On


An unusual scientific experiment ended 25 years ago when eight people walked out of a miniature Earth called Biosphere 2.


Biosphere 2 is a collection of large, connected buildings in the American state of Arizona. The buildings are made mainly of steel and glass.


The experiment began in September 1991 when the eight individuals entered Biosphere 2. A crowd watched as the four men and four women were secured inside. The event received a lot of media attention in the United States and across the world.


Biosphere 2 was designed to test whether human beings could survive in a closed environment, one that aimed to create conditions similar to those found in nature. The miniature Earth had a man-made rain forest, desert, grasslands 2 and even a small ocean.


Technology provided air flow, water and temperature controls. Water supplies and air were cleaned and reused. The eight people grew vegetables, rice and other foods they needed to survive. Farm animals were used to provide meat, eggs and milk.


The eight test subjects, called “Biospherians,” faced a few unexpected problems during the experiment. Low oxygen levels were discovered and began to affect the group’s health. A decision was made to pump in additional oxygen. The group was also not able to produce as much food as expected.


But all of them were able to complete the survivability test, which ended in September 1993. By then, the Biospherians had divided into two opposing groups. They had split under the pressures of sharing a small space and disagreements over the direction of the project.


The decision to provide oxygen from the outside world led to criticism of the $150 million project. Some members of the scientific community called the experiment a failure because the closed environment was supposed to be self-sustaining.


In 1994, another experiment was launched with a new group of subjects after improvements were made to Biosphere 2. But it had to be stopped six months later because of disputes over administration and financing issues. The ownership of Biosphere 2 then changed several times over the years.


Today, the University of Arizona operates the buildings as a scientific research center for controlled studies. Researchers from around the world can now use the facility to carry out experiments.


Joaquin Ruiz is a geologist 3 with the University of Arizona and director of Biosphere 2. He told the Associated Press the controlled settings can help researchers to complete experiments in a more predictable environment.


Among the users of Biosphere 2 have been researchers from the Global Institute for Water Security at Canada’s University of Saskatchewan. They studied how plants in the small rainforest deal with water intake 4 without risking harm to the environment.


Scientists from the University of Hawaii have carried out experiments on a miniature coral reef without hurting real corals in the Pacific Ocean.


Christopher Field is the director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. He told the AP he thinks Biosphere 2 has developed into a valuable, modern scientific tool.


“You have to separate it from what it was originally to see its worth today,” Field said. He added that Biosphere 2’s controlled environment provides “a powerful way to help us understand the way the world works.”


Jane Poynter was a member of the first Biosphere 2 group. She told the AP she thinks the current operators of the project “have been doing a really great job” at developing “strong foundations” for science. She added: “Twenty-five years after we came out, it’s still very forward-looking.”


I’m Bryan Lynn.


Words in This Story


miniature – adj. very small


self-sustaining – adj. able to survive without outside help


reef – n. a line of rocks or sand at or near the surface of the sea


originally – adv. in the beginning; when something first existed


foundation – n. an underlying basis or principle for something



n.生命层,生物圈
  • The entire biosphere was becoming more transparent.整个生物圈越来越透明。
  • The impact of modern technology on the biosphere is evident worldwide.现代技术对生物圈的影响在全世界是明显的。
n.草原,牧场( grassland的名词复数 )
  • Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来,种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.地质学家
  • The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley.在那山谷里,地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。
  • He was a geologist,rated by his cronies as the best in the business.他是一位地质学家,被他的老朋友们看做是这门行当中最好的一位。
n.吸入,纳入;进气口,入口
  • Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
  • There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。
学英语单词
acerbi
adrenoxidase
afore-
all-victorious
amphidiploidies
amynthas meishanensis
antimonous
articulus incudostapedius
Asian Industrial Development Council
askarels
attacked by pestilent factors
bathymetric line
be taken back
Better late than never
bivalent heat pump heating system
bradydiastolia
cacheline
capacititor vane
carlis
chondrodysplasia fetalis
comma bacillus
coordinates method
cora pavonia e. fries
Coulomb law of friction
cryogenic film
deck plan
delay mechanisms
dh-
dog-fancier
East Orchard
ensina sonchi
excess stabilizer reflux
executive statement
fair weathers
firing brick
germyls
ground to air radio station
Gujarati-language
gynacantha hyalina
halovic
horizion
in everyone's mouth
incapablenesses
interzoecial
invest with
Johniinae
joseph conrads
junior bond
lath and plaster partition
leant
Liprevil
marchfield
marless
Masteril
maximum limit of speed dsetting
micromechanics
mitsukurina owstoni
mompe
multi-male troop
nervi cutancus surae lateralis
normal network traffic
ones-of-a-kind
open breakwater
open mould
out of someone's hands
pars propria (fasc. dors. medull. spin.)
pbenethium
plain paper
pointing accuracy
pollitz
post-ferment safe pressure stabilization valve
potassium xanthogenate
psi
Puglia
quinuclidinyls
rectifier feed electric drive
rhythmica
rock falling
sequence of time
series connected type
sinneth
slag build up
solute hardening
stamelman
staminody spikelet
structure of industry
tartar emetics
temperature changes
thermal chemical gas analyzer
thousand-fold
tibial flexor muscle
tonation
transmigrant
triphones
turn-draw device
unstillable
urgers
usage ratio
wantonize
watered cup
wurst
yellow banded water snake