时间:2019-01-12 作者:英语课 分类:2013年VOA慢速英语(六)月


英语课

 



AS IT IS 2013-06-19 Citizen Scientists to Help Map CO2 Gas


Each red dot on this screen shot from the Ventus website represents a power plant


Welcome to As It Is, the daily magazine show from VOA Learning English.


I’m Mario Ritter.


A music video shot in space? That is now a reality. Today, we hear how Skylab led the way for astronauts living in a weightless environment for long periods.


But first, an American researcher is making an appeal to what he calls citizen scientists. Find out how anyone can help map carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere.


Scientists are seeking more information about gasses that traps heat in the atmosphere. Now, American researchers have launched a project in an effort to better understand how one such gas, carbon dioxide, affects climate change. The project will depend on citizen scientists providing information about all of the world’s power plants. June Simms has the story.


Kevin Gurney is an atmospheric 1 scientist at Arizona State University. He is making a map of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions 2. Power plants are major producers of those gases. They are believed to cause more than 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.


Kevin Gurney says there is good information about emissions in the United States, Canada, India and the European Union. But, he says, estimates for the rest of the world are not complete.


“And if fact, it’s so inaccurate 3 that is really insufficient 4 for the type of science that we’re trying to do.” 


Kevin Gurney’s project is called Ventus, a word that means ‘wind’ in Latin. He has set up a website where people around the world can provide information about power stations.


“We need two pieces of information. We need the amount of electricity generated at a power plant, which if you live near one or you know somebody that works there, that information is pretty readily available.  Most people will know that. We also just need to know the primary fuel. And with those two things we can actually create a better estimate of CO2 emissions than we do right now.” 


The Ventus project database currently lists about 25,000 power plants. Mr. Gurney says there are plants missing from the list. He is asking others to provide the missing information. One of the project’s goals is to create a regularly updated map of carbon dioxide emissions everywhere in the world.


“We will produce the emissions on a map, every hour, every year. We will use that within models of climate change to more accurately 5 characterize emissions, greenhouse gas concentration and the projections 6 of those concentrations into the future.” 


The first version of the map will be available on the Ventus website within the next several months. The map will be amended 7 as new information is received. Kevin Gurney hopes it will help better inform policy makers 8 and the public. He also expects citizens engaged with the project to become activists 9 for change. 


The Arizona researcher wants citizen scientists to register on the website. The person who provides the most usable information will be named Supreme 10 Power Plant Emissions Guru. That honor comes with an award and recognition as a co-author on a scientific paper about the project.


I’m June Simms.


Skylab’s Legacy 11


For more than 40 years, scientists have sought to learn how well human beings can adapt to long periods in space. The International Space Station continues to provide valuable knowledge about spaceflight. But an earlier space station, Skylab, helped make the current space project possible.  Kelly Jean Kelly has the story.


The music you are hearing came from space -- the International Space Station to be exact.


Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's music video has become extremely popular. The astronaut plays his own version of David Bowie's song "Space Oddity.” He performed while floating weightlessly, with images of planet earth and space appearing in the window behind him.


Chris Hadfield recently returned home after nearly five months on the space station. For him, the long flight produced a hit video on YouTube and no major physical problems. But 40 years ago, scientists did not know how humans would react to long-term spaceflight.


To find out, NASA, the American space agency, launched Skylab in May 1973. Over nearly a year, three teams of astronauts visited Skylab for stays of between 28 to 84 days. They learned how people react to extended periods in space.


Gerald Carr commanded Skylab 4. He spoke 12 at a NASA event marking the 40th anniversary of Skylab’s launch. He told VOA that the loss of the body’s muscle mass was a main concern.


"What we learned was that simple exercise takes care of the problem, and there's no reason why a person can't stay in a weightless environment for a long, long time."


Astronauts on Skylab used exercise equipment to stay strong. The astronauts spent their workdays carrying out experiments, including biomedical research. The early space station also served as an observatory 13 for the sun and the earth.


Owen Garriott was the science pilot of Skylab 3. He is happy with what NASA did with the early space station.


"Forty years out, I think we're still impressed with the amount of work that was accomplished 14 and the foresight 15 of the investigators 16 in planning the experiments."


Marshall Porterfield is the director of NASA's Space Life and Physical Sciences Division. He says the Skylab astronauts' understanding of their own ability to deal with long-term spaceflight continues to help current astronauts.


"Now we've built on that, and what they found in terms of bone and muscle health changes that occur in space, and those are still significant areas in our research portfolio 17 now." 


NASA says the next step for life away from Earth is a year-long space station mission, set for 2015. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.


Lou Gehrig was born on this date. The baseball great and Yankee player made one of the most memorable 18 speeches in American history when he said farewell to the game he loved.


“I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. And I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for.”


Thank you for listening today. You can read and download our programs at learningenglish.voanews.com. And join us at the beginning of the hour Universal Time for the latest news.




adj.大气的,空气的;大气层的;大气所引起的
  • 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。
排放物( emission的名词复数 ); 散发物(尤指气体)
  • Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
  • Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。
adj.错误的,不正确的,不准确的
  • The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确,而且夸大其词。
  • She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。
adj.(for,of)不足的,不够的
  • There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
  • In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代,科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。
adv.准确地,精确地
  • It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
  • Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。
预测( projection的名词复数 ); 投影; 投掷; 突起物
  • Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
  • The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
n.天文台,气象台,瞭望台,观测台
  • 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。
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的
  • Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
  • Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
n.先见之明,深谋远虑
  • The failure is the result of our lack of foresight.这次失败是由于我们缺乏远虑而造成的。
  • It required a statesman's foresight and sagacity to make the decision.作出这个决定需要政治家的远见卓识。
n.调查者,审查者( investigator的名词复数 )
  • This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
  • The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.公事包;文件夹;大臣及部长职位
  • He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
  • He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的
  • This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
  • The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。
标签: VOA慢速英语 Gas
学英语单词
abdominal part
absolutely stable
absorbing state
adrenochromes
aluminium foils
asymmetric transformation
banded stilts
basivertebral vein
battologized
be let in on the ground floor
body feed
Buridan's ass
cash invoice
Chorzelów
chronographer
clip off
combined vibrating roller
compensating feedback loop
conus planorbis
cost objective
cotton production
cylinder by-pass valve
D-frame
data over voice
days of rest
deglamorization
derestrict
dextrotorsion
dispersion-equalization
ditching attitude
Dohans
electrical characteristics
externally-braced monoplane
fall-out of synchronism
forecaddies
golden eagle
Goldstein-Scheerer tests
graduated string
half-hunter
Haplopappus spinulosus
have analogy to
heating system
heliotridylamine
hildebrand
hotlines
hyuck
indirect type central air-conditioning unit
Internet suffix
Izena-jima
Kurdistani
lampyridaes
leukoplania
liquid waste receiver tank
local acceptance
lsi-cml circuit technology
magnetoresistance magnetometer
merions
metal surface plasmon and second harmonic generator
minimum graph
mohs scales
natural environment management
nervi ampullaris lateralis
neverless
occasional light
once and a way
ordinary life assurance
oscillator padding
Osipa
photocell matrix
piston curl
pivot hinge
pontes
prequalified tenderer
puffest
queueing system structure
reflux column
repair of side ditch
Revere, Paul
sample-reset loop filter
Scirpus rosthornii
scornliche
separation of spinal cord and arachnoid adhesions
silicon diode array
sope
speed through the water
stellite-faced valve
Subprime Meltdown
tee-times
toll free number
toroidal discharge
transitive law
trichomonal urethro-cystitis
under constraint
undistributed score
virus diarrhea
waltz through
white cypresses
wide anode
win ... over
Yak-141
yellow-necked mice
zygomorphic pea flower