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一.Scientists: Rising Sea Levels to ContinueScientists say sea levels are rising and will continue to do so into the future. Coastal communities around the world are already experiencing the impact of rising seas. Many cities and towns are taking steps to deal with this new reality.Photographers have taken pictures to document those efforts. Their photos are part of an exhibit called "Sink or Swim: Designing for a Sea Change." It can be seen at the Aquarium of the Pacific, in Long Beach, California. There, experts explain the causes of the rising seas and how people are trying to adapt to the changes.Disastrous storms and floods could be a new reality around the world. That is the opinion of oceanographer Jerry Schubel. He is president of the Aquarium of the Pacific.二.Robots Ready to Work in RestaurantsFor many years, machines have been doing work that people once did, including some difficult jobs. Search and rescue operations in dangerous environments are often seen as the first areas that will employ high technology robots. But there is another area that may soon take jobs traditionally held by human beings: the restaurant industry.Teams from around the world competed in early June at the DARPA Robotic Challenge Finals in California. A team from South Korea and its robot, called DRC-Hubo, won first place in the competition. The second and third place finishers were from the United States.The robots were required to drive a vehicle, climb up steps and do mechanical work. Such activities are easy for humans to perform, but more difficult for machines.Not all of the competitors were successful. The failures showed how difficult it is to design effective walking machines.三.Can Forests Help Feed the World?Experts predict nine billion people will live on our planet by 2050. They say by that time demand for food will be two times what it is now. Officials are worried about that prediction because many people already suffer from a lack of food. More than 800 million people go to bed hungry.A solution to the problem may be as close as our forests. A new report says forests could help reduce hunger and improve nutrition if they are properly managed.四.Experts: Climate Change Is a Medical EmergencyHealth and medical experts gathered in Washington this week for talks on climate change and public health. They met at the White House. The meeting was held a day after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a report on climate change. The report explores the health and economic reasons for lowering climate changing emissions. The findings are similar to those of an independent research group, the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate.The Lancet Commission report says the effects of climate change could threaten the past 50 years of gains in public health. Commission project leader Nicolas Watts says the changes in Earth’s climate have led to weather extremes. The extremes can create public health risks that he considers very dangerous and unacceptable.五.Jurassic World' Sells $1 Billion Worth of TicketsIn just two weeks, “Jurassic World”has earned more than one billion dollars in ticket sales around the world. It is already the second most popular movie of 2015. The huge hit is part of the dinosaur movie series that began in 1993 with the Academy Award-winning “Jurassic Park.”The latest film opened on June 10.“Jurassic World”is a movie about a dinosaur theme park, like “Jurassic Park." But this one is fully open to the public and successful. Researchers at the park create a bigger and better dinosaur to bring more business to the park. This dinosaur is genetically modified. The researchers use a secret mix of DNA from several other especially vicious dinosaurs and other animals. The result is a really big, really mean animal with no social skills. And, of course, it escapes its cage.。
VOA听力原文
VOA 听写原文(1)Harvad researcher David Rans said the most successful behavior proved to be cooperation. The groups that rewarded the most earned about twice as much in the game as the groups that rewarded the least. And the more a group punish themselves the lower it's earnings. The group with the most punishment earned 25 percent less than the group with the least punishment .The study appeared last month in the Journal Science. The other study involved children .It was presentd last month in California at a conference on violence and abuse. Reseachers used intelligent tests given to two groups, More than 800 children were ages 2-4 the first time they were tested. More than 700 children were ages 5 to 9.(2)Many people think the search for cleaner energy leads only to renewable resources like sun, wind and water. But it also leads to a fossil fuel(化石燃料). Natural gas is considered the cleanest of the fossil fuels, the fuels created by plant and animal remains over millions of years. Burning it releases fewer pollutants（污染物质）than oil or coal. The gas is mainly methane（沼气，甲烷）. It produces half the carbon dioxide （二氧化碳）of other fossil fuels. So it may help cut the production of carbongases linked to climate change. Russia is first in what are called "proved reserves" of natural gas. The United States is sixth. Over the years, big oil and gas companies recovered much of the easily reached supplies of gas in America. They drilled straight down into formations where gas collects. As these supplies were used up, big drillers looked for similar formations in other countries.(3)Two recent studies have found that punishment is not the best way to influence behavior. One shows that adults are much more cooperative if they work in a system based on rewards. Researchers at Harward University in the United States and Stockholm school of economics in Sweden did the study. They had about two hundred college students play a version of the game known as the prisoners dilemma. The game is based on the attention between the interests of individual and group. The students play in groups of four. Each player could win points for the group so they would all gain equally. But each player could also reward or punish each of the other three players and cost to the punisher.(4)But now the industry is taking a new look. Companies are developing gas supplies trapped in shale rock two to three thousand meters underground. They drill down to the shale, then go sideways and inject high-pressure water, sand or other material into the rock. This causes therock to break, or fracture, releasing the gas. Huge fields of gas shale are believed to lie under theAppalachian Mountains, Michigan and the south-central states. Gas shale exploration is being done mainly by small to medium sized companies. Eric Potter is a program director in the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin.I rememberdo u know that i'm okare there things you wanna saythinking of u night and dayhopping you'll come back and stayi remember when u told mei'll be all rightdon't worryi try and try to understandis all this just a sad goodbyethinking of u night and dayno matter if you'll come and stayi remember when u told mei'll be all rightjust hold mei don't wanna close my eyes tonightmissing u make me cryyour love will give me strengths to carry onyou'll always be my heart and mindso i don't wanna close my eyes tonighti know it's just a miss match in time...why..oh why... miss match in timei try and try to understandis all this just a sad goodbyethinking of u night and dayno matter if you'll come and stayi remember when u told mei'll be all rightjust hold meso i don't wanna close my eyes tonightmissing u make me cryyour love will give me strengths to carry onyou'll always be my heart and mindso i don't wanna close my eyes tonighti know it's just a miss match in time...why..oh why... don't wanna close my eyes tonight.。
普特英语每日听力VOA0905文档
普特英语每日听力VOA0905文档From Washington, this is VOA News.Cleaning up after a strong quake in New Zealand, no deaths but a state of emergency in effect; and in Pakistan, burials begin for victims in Friday’s bombings. I’m Marti Johnson reporting from Washington.New Zealand is recovering from a powerful earthquake that cut power and caused significant damage to infrastructure but no deaths. Officials say the 7.1-magnitude quake shook the city of Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island just before dawn, Saturday. The city’s second largest earthquake on record threw people out of bed and sent frightened residents running into the streets. The quake and its aftershocks ruptured underground lines for natural gas, water and sewage, as well as damaging bridges, power supplies and phone networks.Police in Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta have been on high alert as mass burials take place for some victims of a suicide bombing that targeted minority Shiites Friday, killing at least 65 people. Shiite leaders called for a general strike on Saturday to mourn the dead, shuttering schools and businesses and leaving streets deserted. More than 160 others were wounded in Friday’s explosion at a Sh iite rally called to express solidarity with Palestinians. The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility. These attacks take place as Pakistan is still reeling from the worst (con口误) flooding in that country in its history. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is urging theinternational community not to turn its attention away from the crisis which he says is far from over. Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.The UN refugee agency says despite the floodwaters in some parts of Pakistan receding, the overall humanitarian situation remains serious. Aid workers report conditions are worsening. UNHCR spokesman, Adrian Edwards, says floods still affect almost two million people in Balochistan province including 600,000 who fled from neighboring Sindh."We’re seeing a persistent threat of waterborne disease, shortages of shelter and very limited quantities of food for children."The agency says it is continuing the distribution of shelter supplies. Aid agencies report more than five million people, still, are in desperate need of shelter. Lisa Schlein for VOA News, Geneva.An explosion in Afghanistan’s northern province of Kunduz has killed four police officers and at least one civilian. Officials say several people were wounded in Saturday’s attack in the provincial capital. Authorities say the explosives were planted in a motorcycle.Meantime, the New York Times reports that the US security contractor, Blackwater, has now created thirty subsidiary companies to seek government contracts in the wake of accusations of misconduct against it in Iraq. In the article, theTimes reports at least three subsidiary businesses had deals with the US military and with the CIA. Blackwater has been under intense security since five of its employees were accused of killing unarmed civilians in Baghdad in September, 2007. There’s more on this story on our website at /doc/0c18122980.html,.A top US military officer in the United States says the US has asked Turkey to allow non-combat equipment to be withdrawn from Iraq through Turkish territory. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, speaking in Ankara Saturday, emphasized that there are no plans to transport weapons through Turkey.Three Pakistan cricket players accused of taking part in a betting scandal have been charged by the International Cricket Council under its anti-corruption code. Jennifer Glasse reports from London.The International Cricket Council charged Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir under Article II of its anti-corruption code. The council’s chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, expressed his extreme disappointment and sadness about the situation.“We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that we maintain integrity in the sport.”The players are suspected in a betting scam after a London newspaper showed video of a cricket agent allegedly acceptingmoney in exchange for information of what the players would do at certain points in the game. The head of the ICC’s anti-corruption unit, Ronnie Flanagan, said the charge is related to one game between England and Pakistan. The three players are suspended from playing until the case is concluded. Jennifer Glasse for VOA News, London.US president, Barack Obama, says building a strong middle class is key to helping the country heal its economic problems. In his weekly address on Saturday, Mr. Obama said this weekend’s Labor Day holiday in the US is a chance to reaffirm a commitment to American workers. The president touted some of his administration’s initiatives includ ing tax cuts for working families and investment in construction projects that he says will create jobs. In the weekly Republican Party address, the US Representative, Geoff Davis, called for greater scrutiny of federal rules and regulations that he said burden small business owners.I’m Marti Johnson, VOA News, Washington.。
voa慢速英语听力原文
美国劳动之歌Most of the world observes Labor Day on May 1. Butthe United States has its workers holiday on the firstMonday in September. Steve Ember and BarbaraKlein have a few songs from the history of theAmerican labor movement.Labor songs are traditionally stories of struggle and pride, of timeless demands for respect and the hopefor a better life.Sometimes they represent old songs with new words. One example is "We Shall Not Be Moved."It uses the music and many of the same words of an old religious song.Here is folksinger Pete Seeger with "We Shall Not Be Moved."Many classic American labor songs came from workers in the coal mines of the South. Mineowners bitterly opposed unions. In some cases, there was open war between labor activistsand coal mine operators.Once, in Harlan County, Kentucky, company police searched for union leaders. They went to oneman's home but could not find him there. So they wai ted outsi de for several days.The coal miner's wife, Florence Reece, remained inside with her children. She wrote this song, "Which Side Are Y ou On?"Again, here is Pete Seeger.Probably the most famous labor songwriter in America was Joe Hill. He was born in Sweden andcame to the United States in the early 1900s. H e worked as an unskilled lab orer.Joe Hill joined the Industrial Workers of the World, known as the Wobblies. More than any otherunion, they used music in their campaigns, urgi ng members to "si ng and fi ght."One of Joe Hill's best-known songs is "Casey Jones." It uses the music from a song about atrain engineer. In the old song, Casey Jones is a hero. He bravely keeps his train running in verydifficult conditions.In Joe Hill's version, Casey Jones is no hero. His train is unsafe. Y et he stays on the job afterother workers have called a strike against the railroad company.Pete Seeger and the Song Swappers sing "Casey Jones (The Union Scab)."Another American labor song is called "Bread and Roses." That term was connected with thewomen's labor movement.The song was based on a poem called "Bread and Roses" by James Oppenheim. The poem waspublished in The American Magazine in December of 1911.The following month there was a famous strike by textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts.They won higher pay and better working conditions. Oppenheim's poem gainedmore attention.At that time, conditions in factories were already a national issue. In 1911, a fire at a clothingfactory in New Y ork had taken the lives of 146 people. The victims were mostly immigrantwomen.Here is Pat Humphries with "Bread and Roses."Union activists know that labor songs can unite and help people feel strong. This can be trueeven when the music has nothing to do with unions."De Colores" is a popular Spanish folksong. It talks about fields in the spring, little birds,rainbows and the great loves of many colors.This song is popular with supporters of the United Farm Workers union. We listen as BaldemarV elasquez leads the band Aguila Negra in "De Colores."For many years, folksinger Joe Glazer was a union activist with a guitar. He was also a laborhistorian. Labor's Troubadour was the name of a book he about his life. He believed in organized labor and preserving the musical history of the American labor movement. JoeGlazer died in 2006 at the age of 88.Here is Joe Glazer with "Solidarity Forever," written by Ralph Chaplin.From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
VOA英语听力材料原文(passage31~40)
Canada was the only (6) non-Asian country in the top five. It rose two percent to fourth place. Almost thirty thousand Canadian students enrolled for the school year that began last (7) autumn.
China has the world's largest number of Internet users. But it also has what is often called the Great Firewall of China. (8) The government restricts political content and blocks some social networking and news Web sites. President Obama said he is a strong supporter of open Internet access.
Japan fell to fifth place. The number of Japanese students in the United States decreased for the fourth year, to just over twenty-nine thousand.
(8) Taiwan also sent fewer students, and the number from Mexico was nearly unchanged.
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In developing countries, attending school can be adaily struggle for some children.They may walk several kilometers to school becausetheir families do not have money to send them on buses or other forms of transportation.With schools far away, and little money to pay for transport costs, parents worry about the safety of their children walking to school.So, a number of parents keep their children at home. Or the child drops out of school: they leave without pleting their studies.These and other barriers to school attendance are the reality for many girls in poor countries.But now, programs in two developing countries are helping to change that. The programs are giving girls “pedal power” -- transportation in the form of bicycles.Power of the pedalRural areas of poor countries often have few secondary schools. So, it is mon for students there to travel great distances to attend classes.Bihar is the poorest state in India. Niy percent of the state’s population lives in rural areas.Until xx, too many teenage girls in Bihar were dropping out of school. For Nahid Farzana, her home was 6 kilometers from school. And, her father did not have money for bus fare, she told the Associated Press.But, that same year, the state government beganoffering bicycles to girls to help them get to school. The program has been so effective that three nearby states are now doing the same.And the results are measurable. A xx study found that giving bicycles to teenage girls in India increased their secondary school enrollment by 30 percent. It also helped many of them stay in school long enough to take their final exams.Western Kenya is experiencing suess with a similar program. Until recently, there was a high risk of localgirls dropping out of school and then being pregnant.Loise Luseno is a 16-year-old girl from Kakamega, Kenya. In the past, she had to walk about 10 kilometers to reach school. Last year, she dropped out temporarily because ofthe distance.Members of her family work as subsistence farmers. They earn just about $30 a month -- not nearly enough for food, school costs and transport.But, a few months ago, Luseno went back to school –this time on a bicycle. Her new form of transportation was provided by World Bicycle Relief, an American-based group.Hurdles for girlsChristina Kwauk is an expert on girls’ education atthe Brookings Institution, a research organization in Washington, D.C.Kwauk recently told VOA that, in many countries, girls face a long list of barriers to school attendance.Sometimes, the issue is that a society has firm ideas about what girls “can and shouldn’t do as they bee young women,” including whether they should receive an education.Luseno experienced this. When girls in her munitywalked to school, motorbike riders would stop them on the road. They would offer the girls rides to school. Then,they would try to persuade the girls to drop out.Kwuak says another reason girls may not attend schoolis their family. Parents might believe that losingchildren’s help at home can cause the family to lose money.For example, a poor farming family grows less food without the help of children. Girls are often expected todo this work. In many cases, those household duties include taking care of younger brothers and sisters.There are also direct financial barriers, says Kwauk, such as school fees, books, and meals. So, in places wherefamilies value boys more than girls, and parents havelittle money, the boys are sent to school.The ups and downsEven with the suess of the bicycles programs, there are still problems.Ainea Ambulwa teaches at the Bukhaywa secondary school in Kakamega, Kenya. He belongs to a bicycle supervisory mittee at the school. He makes sure that the riders are keeping their vehicles in good condition.Ambulwa says defeating poverty remains a difficult issue.He says that some families will put heavy things on the bicycles and then they break down. Because the family lacks the money to have the bike repaired, the girl can no longer get to school.World Bicycle Relief is based in Chicago, Illinois. It provides bicycles through another group: World Vision.In xx, the two groups launched a bicycle production factory in Kisumu, Kenya. The cost of the bicycle is around $180. That is too much money for most families in rural Kenya.But with the help of donors, the program has given away about 7,000 bicycles throughout the country. Most of the people receiving the bikes are girls.Bicycles decrease the safety risks for girls because the girls get to school quicker, Kwauk explains. It also helps parents not to lose work time taking their girls to school.Peter Wechuli, the head of the program in Kenya, says the bikes have improved children's lives. But, he says, the factory was built around 100 kilometers from Kakamega. So, getting the bicycles to needy families can be a problem.Yet Kwauk calls the bicycle programs “very promising” and a low-cost solution. She says many organizations in wealthier countries would be happy to provide this kind of resource.。
英语听力原文
英语听力原文：This is the VOA Special English Health Report.When we think of threats to public health, we often think of communicable diseases. But experts say non-communicable diseases -- those that do not spread from person to person -- are the leading killer today. These are often the result of poor diet, environmental influences including tobacco and alcohol use, or genetics.Now, the World Health Organization has released its first Global Status Report on Non-Communicable Diseases. In two thousand eight, they caused sixty-three percent of all deaths. And eighty percent of those deaths were reported in developing countries.These countries are spending billions to treat conditions like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. The WHO says the costs of treating non-infectious diseases are pushing millions of people into poverty. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan says: "For some countries it is no exaggeration to describe the situation as an impending disaster ... a disaster for health, society and national economies."Conditions that last for years are also known as chronic diseases. Population changes are driving the increase in cases. Populations in many developing countries are growing quickly and living more in cities. Aging populations also play a part. Chronic diseases become more common as people get older.Dr. James Hospedales is a chronic disease expert at the WHO. He says chronic diseases are a major problem in big countries like the United States, India and China and across Latin America and the Mediterranean. And they are expected to become the leading cause of death in many African nations by twenty-twenty.JAMES HOSPEDALES: "We cannot wait until we have dealt with HIV, dealt with malaria. No, it's upon us. As a matter of fact, one of the major contributors to tuberculosis going up in several countries is because diabetes is going up -- and obesity. So there is a link between diabetes and TB."Dr. Hospedales says some middle- and low-income countries are beginning to recognize that their health policies must deal more with prevention.JAMES HOSPEDALES: "We estimate in WHO that over thirty million lives can be saved in the next ten years by simple measures -- reducing the level of salt by fifteen to twenty percent, reducing the amount of tobacco, and increasing the number of people who are at risk of a heart attack and stroke to be on simple preventive treatment."The WHO is the United Nations' health agency. The General Assembly plans to hold its first high-level meeting on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. The meeting will take place in New York this September.And that's the VOA Special English [url=/Health_Report_1.html]Health Report[/url]. To read and listen to more health news and for English teaching activities, go to . I'm Steve Ember.___Contributing: Vidushi Sinha英语听力原文：This is the VOA Special English Health Report.For people infected with HIV, the earlier they start treatment, the better -- and better not just for them. A new study shows that early treatment greatly reduces the risk that the partner of an infected person will also get infected. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.Dr. Anthony Fauci is with the United States National Institutes of Health which paid for the study.ANTHONY FAUCI: "Many studies have been showing that the earlier you start, the better it is for the person who is infected. This study shows that not only is it better for the person who is infected, but it helps that person from transmitting to the person that's their sexual partner, heterosexual partner."Researchers cannot say if the results would be the same in men who have sex with men. Most of the couples in the study were heterosexual.The study took place in Botswana, Brazil, India, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Thailand, the United States and Zimbabwe. It involved almost two thousand couples divided into two groups.In one group, the infected man or woman began to take a combination of three antiretroviral drugs immediately after being found to have HIV. In the other group, the infected partners began drug treatment only when they started to show signs of getting AIDS.The researchers say both groups received equal amounts of HIV-related care and counseling. That included information about safe sex practices, free condoms and regular HIV testing.The study began in two thousand five. It was supposed to last until twenty-fifteen. But researchers stopped it early because the results were so clear. Only one case of infection was reported in couples where the infected partner began immediate treatment.Dr. Fauci says earlier treatment led to a ninety-six percent reduction in the spread of HIV to uninfected partners.ANTHONY FAUCI: "This is a powerful bit of evidence that will go into the thinking and formulation of guidelines and of global policy, policy by WHO, by UNAIDS, by the international organizations that help to provide drugs in the developing world."The study shows the value in testing and treating HIV before a person even feels sick enough to see a doctor. But in many countries, public health budgets are already stretched thin. In sub-Saharan Africa, the area hardest hit by AIDS, for every person who gets treated, two others go untreated.Antiretroviral drugs suppress the virus. Once people start treatment, they have to continue it daily for the rest of their life.And that's the VOA Special English [url=/Health_Report_1.html]Health Report[/url]. To read and listen to our reports, go to . I'm Jim Tedder.___Contributing: Carol Pearson英语听力原文：This is the VOA Special English Health Report.Today we answer a question. Vu Quang Hien from Vietnam wants to know more about hepatitis B. Hepatitis is the name for a group of viral infections that attack the liver. These are called A, B, C and so on.An estimated two billion people are infected with hepatitis B. The rates are highest in China and other parts of Asia. The World Health Organization says most of these infections happen during childhood.Hepatitis B is spread through contact with infected blood or other body fluids. Mothers can infect babies at birth. Unsafe injections and sexual contact can also spread the virus. Experts say it can survive outside the body for at least a week.There are two forms of hepatitis B -- acute and chronic. Acute cases last for several weeks, although recovery can take months. Chronic cases can lead to death from cirrhosis or scarring of the liver and liver cancer.Yet people with long-term liver infections can live for years and not even know they are infected. The ones most likely to develop chronic hepatitis B are young children.In the United States, experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urge medical providers to test Asian-American patients.DR. JOHN WARD: "The bottom line -- since most people of Asian heritage came to the US from endemic countries or were born to parents from these countries, they should be screened for chronic hepatitis B."For acute hepatitis B, patients may receive care to replace lost fluids, but there are no treatments. Doctors can treat chronic cases with interferon and antiviral drugs. But these medicines cost too much for most of the world's poor.A vaccine to prevent hepatitis B has been available for thirty years. The researcher who discovered this vaccine -- and hepatitis B itself -- was an American named Baruch Blumberg. Dr. Blumberg also showed that the virus could cause liver cancer.NASADr. Baruch BlumbergHe and another researcher at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Irving Millman, invented the vaccine in nineteen sixty-nine. But Dr. Blumberg said it took some time to find a drug company willing to produce it.He first became interested in studying infectious disease when he volunteered in Surinam during his medical training.His discoveries with hepatitis B saved many lives and earned him a Nobel Prize in medicine. But he also had other interests -- including the search for life in outer space.In the late nineties, he helped launch the Astrobiology Institute at NASA. He was at a space agency conference in California in April when he died, apparently of a heart attack. Baruch Blumberg was eighty-five years old.And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I'm Steve Ember.英语听力原文：This is the VOA Special English Health Report.Rob Summers of Portland, Oregon, is twenty-five years old and a former college athlete. In July of two thousand six he was hit by a car. Doctors told him he would never walk again.ROB SUMMERS: "I turned to the doctor and said 'Obviously, you don't know me very well. I am going to walk again.'"Mr. Summers learned about experimental research at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Doctors placed small electrodes in his lower back. These send electrical signals to his damaged spinal cord to move his hips, legs and feet. The signals act like the signals that the brain normally sends to produce movement.ROB SUMMERS: "I was unable to move a toe or anything for four years, and on the third day of turning the simulator on, I was able to stand independently."Video from the university shows him even taking steps on a treadmill while supported by a harness. The work is described in a study in the Lancet medical journal. The lead author, Susan Harkema, is a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the university.SUSAN HARKEMA: "Within that week with support, of the body weight support, we were able to get him to stand without any help at the legs so he was generating enough force to bear his body weight."Mr. Summers can stand for up to four minutes at a time, or up to an hour with assistance. He received extensive physical training. His spinal cord had to be retrained to produce the muscle movements needed to stand and take assisted steps on the treadmill.The treatment has also helped him regain some control over his bladder.Researchers are calling his progress a medical breakthrough. Professor Harkema says there could be a day when Rob Summers and other paraplegics like him will be able to walk again.But there is still a lot more work to do to reach that day.Mr. Summers was completely paralyzed below the chest, but he did still have some feeling. The scientists say they do not know how the treatment would work with patients who have no sensation at all below the injury.Also, the researchers point out that they have studied only one person so far. And Mr. Summers was in extraordinary physical condition before his injury.Money for the research came from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Professor Harkema is director of the Reeve Foundation's NeuroRecovery Network.The eleven-member team also included scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, and the California Institute of Technology.And that's the VOA Special English [url=/Health_Report_1.html]Health Report[/url]. You can watch a video report about Rob Summers and his treatment at . I'm Steve Ember.___Contributing: Carol Pearson英语听力原文：This is the VOA Special English Health Report.Thirty years ago this week, public health officials in the United States reported on the first cases of what came to be known as AIDS. There is growing progress against the epidemic of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.But today an estimated sixteen and a half million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Most of them live in sub-Saharan Africa. Millions more live with adults who are sick from AIDS.Lucie Cluver from Oxford University in England has studied AIDS orphans and children living with sick adults in South Africa. She says children can be deeply affected by their experiences.LUCIE CLUVER: "And one of the biggest impacts we see is mental health, their psychological health. So, for example, we see that AIDS orphaned children have very much higher levels of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder than children who have a live parent or children whose parents have died of other causes, including homicide or suicide."Lucie Cluver has just written about this problem in the journal Nature. She says children have to live with the stigma, the sense of shame connected to AIDS. Many are bullied at school or excluded from the community.At home, children living with a sick adult are more likely to live in poverty and face physical and emotional abuse. Also, Lucie Cluver says the children often become the caregivers.LUCIE CLUVER: "They're missing school to go and get medication. They're washing the sick person. They're often taking them to the toilet, cleaning their wounds or washing their bedclothes. So these kids find it very stressful and upsetting. They're very worried about the health and feel responsible for the health of the sick person."Close contact with sick adults can sometimes spread tuberculosis or other diseases. And, as Lucie Cluver told reporter Art Chimes, even when the children are in school, paying attention can be difficult.LUCIE CLUVER: "It's constantly on their minds and really making it difficult for them to do well at school."REPORTER: "And the children are telling you this?"LUCIE CLUVER: "Absolutely, it's one of the things that they tell us first. It's one of their greatest concerns."Her research suggests that psychological problems increase as AIDS orphans get older.Writing in Nature, she calls for testing more children for tuberculosis. She also calls for giving more parents the drugs needed to keep them healthy longer with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.There are programs to help children, but Lucie Cluver says there is "far more to be done." She says interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy and support groups are "urgently needed" for those orphaned by AIDS or living with sick adults. But the evidence for which interventions are effective "is still thin," she says.And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I'm Barbara Klein.英语听力原文：This is the VOA Special English Health Report.International donors have promised more than four billion dollars to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. That group, known as the GAVI Alliance, held a pledging conference Monday in London.GA VI raised six hundred million dollars more than its target goal. Britain led the donations with 1.3 billion dollars in new pledges through twenty-fifteen. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also promised one billion more over the next five years.Norway promised more than six hundred seventy million dollars. The United States made four hundred fifty million dollars in new pledges.GAVI says a record fifty countries requested money for vaccines during its latest application st week, the group announced an agreement by vaccine makers to cut prices for developing countries. These lower prices, combined with the money raised this week, could protect an extra two hundred fifty million children.Jeffrey Rowland is a GAVI spokesman.JEFFREY ROWLAND: "GA VI's goal over the next five years, by twenty-fifteen, is to immunize millions more children and save an additional four million children's lives, purely by providing basic vaccines against diseases that are basically almost non-existent in rich countries, as well as providing new vaccines against pneumonia, diarrheal diseases and then hopefully HPV and some other vaccine-preventable diseases."HPV is the human papillomavirus, which can lead to cervical cancer. The disease kills two hundred thousand women a year, mostly in developing countries. The Merck company has agreed to offer GA VI the HPV vaccine at five dollars a dose. This is two-thirds less than the current price.Other companies including GlaxoSmithKline and Merck will lower prices for rotavirus vaccines. That virus causes diarrhea that kills about half a million children a year.JEFFREY ROWLAND: "Almost all children in the world get rotavirus. The thing is that in the United States or in Europe children usually have good access to medical care -- so rehydration, antibiotics, hospitalization. Children in poor countries, on the other hand, usually do not. So, by the time a mother brings her child to a clinic after having diarrhea, that child is near death. And oftentimes the antibiotics and the services are not available to save the child's life."A rotavirus vaccine in the United States can cost as much as fifty dollars. Under the new plan, this same vaccine could cost about two and a half dollars in a developing country.The GA VI Alliance says almost two million children a year die from diseases that vaccines can prevent.And that's the VOA Special English [url=/Health_Report_1.html]Health Report[/url]. You can read, listen and learn with our programs, and share them with others, at . I'm Jim Tedder.___Contributing: Vidushi Sinha and Lisa Schlein英语听力原文：This is the VOA Special English Health Report.Americans spend more on health care than most other people. Yet a new study shows that life expectancy in the United States is falling behind other developed countries.In two thousand seven an American man could expect to live about seventy-five and a half years. That was less than in thirty-six other countries. Life expectancy for American women was almost eighty-one years. They were also in thirty-seventh place among almost two hundred countries and territories.The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington studied the numbers. Professor Ali Mokdad says increases in life expectancy have slowed in the United States compared to other countries.ALI MOKDAD: "We've seen an improvement almost everywhere in the world. And in countries that are developed, we're seeing a higher improvement, a faster improvement rate, than we are seeing in the United States."Professor Mokdad says the reason is Americans have made less progress in reducing problems like obesity and high blood pressure.The report also identifies wide differences in life expectancy rates within the United States. The researchers created maps of life expectancy in each of the more than three thousand counties.Areas with the shortest expected life spans are largely in the South. Ali Mokdad says researchers know some of the reasons.ALI MOKDAD: "Less education, less income in some of these rural counties, more likely to be smokers, more likely to be obese. They don't have health insurance, or they don't have adequate access to health care, and the quality of medical care is not as good as well."In the United States, many public health matters are local responsibilities. Restrictions on public smoking, for example, differ from community to community. Some communities have more bicycle paths and other chances for physical activity, or more places to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.ALI MOKDAD: "A long-term investment in their community to increase physical activity and improve diet are needed in this country."The study appears in the journal Population Health Metrics. Journal editor Chris Murray says at least one finding was unexpected.CHRIS MURRAY: "It's a real surprise to us in the study that women are faring so much worse than men."Around the country, American women still live longer than men by five to eight years. But their international ranking has been falling since the nineteen nineties. Dr. Murray says women are increasingly taking risks with their health.CHRIS MURRAY: "Women are now smoking more. The obesity epidemic in women is greater than in men. Progress in tackling blood pressure is much worse in women."In other news, the first report on the number of American births in twenty-ten shows another decrease. Births have been decreasing since an all-time high of more than 4.3 million in two thousand seven. Federal officials say state health departments reported just over four million births last year.And that's the VOA Special English [url=/Health_Report_1.html]Health Report[/url], written by Caty Weaver. I'm Steve Ember.___Contributing: Art Chimes and Carol Pearson英语听力原文：This is the VOA Special English Health Report.Everyone knows life for refugees and migrant workers can be difficult, dangerous and even deadly. But what happens when they return home? One of the biggest problems for migrants is getting health care as they travel and live in a new place. As a result, they often bring their medical problems home with them.A new report looks at this situation. The report is from specialists at the International Organization for Migration in Geneva, Switzerland.One of those authors was Haley West. She says migrant workers who get injured on the job may not be able to get treatment in the country where they are working. That lack of access to medical care means they have to deal with medical problems when they rejoin their family.HALEY WEST: "So when they return back home, they've got an occupational health issue that wasn't addressed in the country where they were working. And now, the diagnosis has probably been delayed. So that delay in diagnosis oftentimes leads to worse health issues that could have potentially been preventable if they had been given the access in the country in which they were working."Not all migrants travel for economic reasons. Many are forced from home by natural disaster, war or civil unrest. And not all health care needs are physical. Another author of the report, Rosilyne Borland, says people who have lived through that kind of situation may have psychological injuries.ROSILYNE BORLAND: "There's been some very interesting studies done on people who have been granted refugee status and the sorts of mental health challenges they face years down the road. So someone returning from mass displacement, even though I'm sure [they] are thrilled to be going home, they bring with them all sorts of challenges upon their return."Another problem for returning migrants is that they may not have much to return to.ROSILYNE BORLAND: "If the community was destroyed by the natural disaster or the war, then the health system has also been damaged, and the ability of that community to continue to keep people healthy is also challenged when they get back."Rosilyne Borland, Haley West and the other authors of the article have some suggestions. They call for policies to consider the needs of returning migrants and to make sure they can receive health testing.The report appeared in a six-part series on migration and health in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine. The journal editors say, "If internal and international migrants comprised a nation, it would be the third most populous country in the world, just after China and India."The editors say population mobility is among the leading policy issues of the twenty-first century. They say officials have not given enough attention to policies to protect migrants and global health. And the efforts have been made more difficult by a lack of coordination between countries.And that's the VOA Special English [url=/Health_Report_1.html]Health Report[/url]. For more health news, visit our website, . I'm Christopher Cruise.___Contributing: Art Chimes英语听力原文：This is the VOA Special English Health Report.A study says more people are killing themselves in Greece and other countries affected by economic troubles in Europe. David Stuckler, a sociologist at Britain's University of Cambridge, co-wrote the report.DA VID STUCKLER: "For the most part, the countries that have been more severely affected have experienced greater rises in suicides -- Ireland, Spain, the Baltics -- reaching up to sixteen percent in some of the worst affected countries, like Greece."Suicide rates in Europe had been decreasing. But then the international banking crisis hit in two thousand eight.The study looked at reports from ten European countries from two thousand seven and two thousand nine. Nine of the ten countries had a five percent increase in suicide rates between two thousand seven and two thousand nine. In Ireland the increase was thirteen percent.The study found that suicide rates have not increased in countries where governments have helped get people back to work. Examples include Sweden and Finland.DAVUD STUCKLER: "We found that just giving money to people who have lost jobs to replace their income did not appear to help. Instead, giving people a reason to get out of bed in the morning, a hope in terms of searching for a good, meaningful job seemed to be the most beneficial to helping people cope."The findings appeared last week in the Lancet medical journal.Greece is suffering the costs of a huge public deficit. For over a year, the government has cut spending and increased taxes in an effort to improve its finances.Pavlos Tsimas is a journalist based in Greece. He recently made a documentary about the increase in suicides.PAVLOS TSIMAS: "We investigated the case of a small businessman from Herakleion in Crete, who took his car, loaded it with tins of petrol, and first shot himself and then put fire to the whole car."Pavlos Tsimas says some people commit suicide in a public way, like the businessman in Crete.PA VLOS TSIMAS: "We found out that people killed themselves in a very dramatic and sometimes a very violent way, which maybe means that they are trying to make their suicide a statement, want the whole world to understand how badly they feel, how hopeless they have felt."He says Greeks who kill themselves are mostly men. And he says the number has gone up most on the island of Crete.PAVLOS TSIMAS: " ... where social and family life is more traditional, more patriarchic. The father of the family has to be respected as a figure of great strength. And when the economic problems arise, when jobs are lost and businesses are closed down, it is this despair because of the loss of respect, the loss of self-esteem, and the fact that the person feels that his life no longer has meaning, that drives them to this kind of act."And that's the VOA Special English [url=/Health_Report_1.html]Health Report[/url]. For more health news, go to . I'm Jim Tedder.___Contributing: Selah Hennessy英语听力原文：This is the VOA Special English Health Report.Scientists say a study in Africa shows that AIDS drugs can increase life expectancy in patients to nearly normal levels.One of the authors was Dr. Jean Nachega of South Africa's Stellenbosch University and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.JEAN NACHEGA: The overall key finding of our study is that the patient in Africa receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV can expect to live a near-normal lifespan."The study was released in Rome this week at a conference of the International AIDS Society. The findings appear in the Annals of Internal Medicine.Over the last thirty years, the HIV/AIDS epidemic cut fifteen to twenty years or more from life expectancy rates in Africa. Dr. Nachega says in many countries these rates had risen sharply.JEAN NACHEGA: "All what we've been able to gain in the past with the access to clean water, expanded immunization programs were totally reversed with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. So now we are seeing some good news that investing in antiretroviral programs, those investments are now paying off."The study took place in Uganda. There, life expectancy at birth is an average of about fifty-five years.The study involved twenty-two thousand patients being treated for HIV. The results were promising but were different for men and women.At age twenty, life expectancy for men was another nineteen years. Women could expect to live thirty more years. At age thirty-five, men could expect to live to fifty-seven. Women could expect to live to sixty-seven.Dr. Nachega says men generally start treatment later than women. By then the disease is less treatable.JEAN NACHEGA: "Men spend more time looking for a job and spending more time away from their family to try to find a way to survive, I think may be one of the [reasons]. The second reason is obviously the issue about stigma, which is still quite affecting a majority of people in the community."Also, programs for pregnant women mean that women have more chances to get tested for HIV and to receive treatment.Dr. Nachega says health officials need to deal with this "gender imbalance." He supports the idea of considering treatment for HIV/AIDS as a form of prevention.JEAN NACHEGA: "We should no longer see treatment and prevention totally separately. Treatment, by itself, it is also part of prevention. Because by treating people, and hopefully treating them earlier, they are less likely to transmit the virus to their sexual partner."Studies also show that giving antiretroviral drugs to uninfected people can help protect them from HIV. Two studies released last week found that taking medication daily reduced the risk of infection in heterosexuals. An earlier study showed that it reduced the risk among gay men.And that's the VOA Special English [url=/Health_Report_1.html]Health Report[/url]. I'm Steve Ember.___Contributing: Joe de Capua。
VOA听力原稿翻译
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.现在是VOA特别英语——健康报道The World Health Organization says it has reached a limit in its fight against diseases and disasters.世界卫生组织表示该组织在与疾病和灾难抗争方面已经达到了承受极限。
Director-General Margaret Chan says the agency is "overextended" and faces "serious funding shortfalls."首席执行干事陈女士表示该组织应经超负荷运行，面临严重的资金短缺。
Dr. Chan says the WHO is no longer operating "at the level of top performance that is increasingly needed, and expected.陈女士说WHO不能再以日益期望不断增长的模式进行高负荷运作了。
" She told the agency's Executive Board on Monday that the level of action should not be governed by the size of a problem.她对董事会说，这种行动大小的程度不能再由问题的大小所决定了。
Instead, it should be governed by the extent to which the WHO can have an effect on the problem.相反，应该有WHO在这个问题上所能产生的影响决定。
Dr. Chan said one of the most exciting developments recently is a new vaccine that could end Africa's deadly meningitis epidemics.陈女士最近感到最激动的发展是一种能结束非洲致命传染病的疫苗的生产。
VOA的慢速英语听力文摘 Mystery at The Ice Castle Inn
VOA的慢速英语听力文摘 Mystery at The Ice Castle Inn VOA的慢速英语听力文摘：Mystery at The Ice Castle Inn VOA慢速是公认的比较适合大部分英语学习者的英语听力材料。
下面是一篇VOA的慢速英语听力文摘，供大家练习。
Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.On this program we explain how to use mon words and expressions in American English. Today, we are going to celebrate the ing of winter with expressions related tocold and ice. And we will do that with a story … a mystery story.This is part one of a three-part series.Our story begins on a distant mountain-top. It is the dead of winter. Outside the wind is howling.Snow mixed with freezing rain has made the roads unsafe for travel. Even walking outside is dangerous. So, the four characters of our story are stuck indoors at The Ice Castle Inn. Like the name suggests, the inn is an old castle thatis now a vacation spot for bird-watchers.These four people are strangers. The only thing they have in mon is a shared interest in snow birds. But for now, they all have put their bird watching plans on ice. That is to say, they must postpone their plans until the winter storm passes.What they don’t know is the violent storm outside is just the tip of the iceberg. In other words, more danger exists, but they cannot see it.Let’s meet the c haractersBut now, let’s get in out of the cold. As we enter the Ice Castle Inn we meet our group of travelers. They are all having a hot drink as they gather by the fireplace.The TeacherFirst there is the teacher, Madeline. She is in herlate 20s and teaches skiing and cold weather survivalskills at a private school for girls.Her neat, dark hair frames her round, healthy face. Her appearance is plain but she is in great physical shape. She is a quiet woman. When she speaks, her voice is low and uncertain.You may think she is shy. But think again.Underneath her shy exterior, she is calm, cool and collected. If she stares at you with her clear green eyes, you can sense her powerful, extreme calm. Her ability to control her reactions makes people feel afraid: it sends shivers down their spines.The AthleteThen there is the athlete, Vincent. He is in his early 30s. Handsome and active, he talks to anyone and everyone. He has an easy manner and people like him instantly. He’sthe type of man who could sell ice to an Eskimo, meaning he could talk you into anything.At first, he seems to be a very cool, easy-going sportsman. But talk to him more and you realize that something is missing: namely, feelings. Those who know him best say he has ice water running through his veins. Nothing seems to upset or emotionally move him.The ActressNext is the actress, Sylvia. She is in her mid-40s and is extremely attractive. With her ice-blue eyes, pale white skin and fine clothing, she do esn’t seem like the outdoorsy, bird-watching type.Her personality runs hot and cold -- friendly one minute, unfriendly the next. You never know what to expect. The one thing that is constant about her is the gold locket she wears around her long, thin neck. She never takes itoff and often holds it tightly to her chest.The MajorFinally, there is Major Jack, an ex-military man. His age is hard to guess -- perhaps 50-something? He has a strong jaw and thick black hair. The lines on his face make him look older but even more handsome.Some men are just lucky that way. He seems like most military men; strong and silent. William Shakespeare might even call him a cold fish -- unfeeling and unfriendly. Butat the same time every day, as the sun goes down, he stares out the window into the storm with great sadness in his eyes. It is at these times, he seems like a man left out in the cold, ignored and alone.That is our small group of traveling bird-watchers. As the days pass, the snow only falls harder on The Ice Castle Inn. The land line phones no longer work. Neither do cell phones. No rescue vehicles have e to clear the roads.They are truly snowed in.With each passing day, they each bee more and more suspicious of each other. They all wonder the same thing –why are the others really here?Answers will have to wait.I’m Anna Matteo.Join us next week for part 2 of The Mystery at The Ice Castle Inn.Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.。
VOA慢速英语听力：热可能是自然界的头号杀手
LAPIDUS: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.BOB DOUGHTY: And I'm Bob Doughty. This week, we tell about health problems linked to extreme heat. We tell what experts suggest to prevent and treat these problems.(MUSIC)FAITH LAPIDUS: Extremely hot weather is common in many parts of the world. Although hot weather just makes most people feel hot, it can cause serious medical problems -- even death.Indian villagers sleep in the shade of a tree on a hot summer day in Allahabad, IndiaFloods, storms and other natural events kill thousands of people every year. So does extreme heat. Experts say heat may be nature's deadliest killer.Last month, for example, intense heat was blamed for about eighty deaths in India. About one-fourth of those deaths were said to be in the eastern state of Odisha. One day, temperatures in the Odisha town of Titlagarh reached forty-five degrees Celsius.BOB DOUGHTY: Several hot days that follow each other are considered a heat wave. Experts say heat waves often become dangerous when the nighttime temperature does not drop much from the highest daytime temperature. This causes great stress on the human body.Doctors say people can do many things to protect themselves from the dangers of extreme heat. Stay out of the sun, if possible.Drink lots of cool water. Wear light colored clothing made of natural materials. Make sure the clothing is loose, permitting freedom of movement. Also, learn the danger signs of the medical problems linked to heat.(MUSIC)FAITH LAPIDUS: The most common health problem linked to hot weather is heat stress. Usually, it is also the least severe. The causes of heat stress include wearing heavy clothing, physical work or exercise, hot weather and high humidity. Humidity is the amount of water in the air.If several of these conditions are present at the same time, a person's body temperature may rise above safe levels. The person loses large amounts of body water and salt in perspiration. Perspiration is one of the body's defenses against heat. It is how the body releases water to cool the skin.Most people suffer only muscle pain because of heat stress. The pain is a warning that the body is becoming too hot. Doctors say those suffering muscle pain should stop all activity and rest in a cool place. They should also drink cool liquids. Doctors say not to return to physical activity for a few hours because serious conditions could develop.BOB DOUGHTY: Some people face an increased danger from heat stress. They may have a weak or damaged heart, high blood pressure or other problems of the blood system. Severe heat increases problems for small children, older adults and those who have the disease diabetes.It is also dangerous for people who weigh too much and have too much body fat, and for people who drink alcohol. Hot weather also increases dangers for people who must take medicine for high blood pressure, poor blood flow, nervousness or depression.FAITH LAPIDUS: Untreated heat stress can lead to a more serious problem called heat exhaustion. A person suffering from heat exhaustion loses too much water through perspiration. The person becomes dehydrated.A person suffering heat exhaustion feels weak and extremely tired. He or she may have trouble walking normally. Heat exhaustion may also produce a feeling of sickness, a fast heartbeat, breathing problems and pain in the head, chest or stomach. Doctors say people with such problems should rest quietly in a cool place and drink plenty of water. They also say it may help to wash with cool water.BOB DOUGHTY: Heat exhaustion can develop quickly. It also can develop slowly, over a period of days. Doctors call this dehydration exhaustion. Each day, the body loses only a little more water than is taken in. The person may not even know this problem is developing. If the problem continues for several days, the effects will be the same as the usual kind of heatexhaustion.Experts say even a two percent drop in the body's water supply can cause signs of dehydration. These signs include problems with memory and even simple mathematics.FAITH LAPIDUS: Dehydration limits a person's ability to work and think. Experts say a reduction of only four or five percent in body water leads to a drop of twenty to thirty percent in work ability. The loss of salt through perspiration also reduces the amount of work that muscles can do.The treatment for dehydration exhaustion is the same as for heat exhaustion. Drink plenty of water and rest in a cool place. Even better, doctors say, drink about two liters of water a day so problems with dehydration will not have a chance to develop.(MUSIC)BOB DOUGHTY: Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke if it is not treated. Heat stroke is the most serious disorder linked to hot weather. It results when the body is not able to control its temperature. The body's temperature increases and perspiration fails.Generally, the body temperature rises to more than forty degrees Celsius. The body stops perspiring. The skin becomes dry and very hot. A person may become unconscious, not knowing what is happening.Doctors say tissues and organs begin to cook when the body's temperature is higher than forty-two degrees Celsius. Permanent brain damage and death may result. Someone suffering heat stroke requires immediate medical attention. Doctors say such treatment is necessary or the person could die before help arrives.FAITH LAPIDUS: The purpose of immediate treatment is to cool the victim as quickly as possible to stop the body temperature from increasing. Begin by moving the victim out of the sun. Raise the person's feet up about thirty centimeters. Take off the victim's clothing. Put cool water on the body. Place pieces of ice in areas where blood passageways are close to the skin. These include the back of the neck and under the arms.Experts say it is important to know the danger signs of the medical disorders linked to hot weather. It is also important to know what to do if the signs appear...in yourself or in someone else.(MUSIC)BOB DOUGHTY: Experts say water is important for many reasons. Between fifty-five and seventy-five percent of the body is water.Water in blood carries hormones and antibodies through the body. Water in urine carries away waste materials. Water is needed for cooling the body on hot days, and when we are working or exercising. Water carries body heat to the surface of the skin. There, the heat is lost through perspiration.Health experts say adults should drink about two liters of water a day to replace all the water lost in liquid wastes and perspiration.They say people should drink more than that in hot weather.Experts say it is important to drink before, during and after exercise. They say we should drink water even before we start to feel like we need something to drink. During hot weather, cool liquids are best. Also, avoid sweet drinks and alcohol.FAITH LAPIDUS: We need to add that doctors also say it is possible to drink too much water. Some people, for example, do this if they exercise hard during a heat wave. Experts with the Mayo Clinic say drinking too much water can cause hyponatremia. In this condition, the level of sodium in the blood falls too low.The result is that the amount of water in the body increases. This causes cells to become larger. Mayo Clinic experts say the enlarged cells can cause a person to become sick or restless. They also can interfere with mental ability, make muscles weak and cause pain in the head. In a mild case, simply reducing fluids may be all that the person needs. But medical help is necessary if the condition is more severe.Experts have suggestions for runners and others exercising or working hard in hot weather. They say drinking a sports drink with sodium in it can help prevent the condition.BOB DOUGHTY: Doctors say actions other than drinking water can protect against the health dangers of heat. Stay out of thesun, if possible. Wear loose, lightweight and light colored clothes. Wear a hat or other head covering when in the sun. Eat fewer hot and heavy foods. If possible, cook foods during cooler times of the day. Also, rest more often. Physical activity produces body heat.Experts say these simple steps can prevent the health problems linked to heat. They will prevent sickness, help you feel better and may even save your life.(MUSIC)FAITH LAPIDUS: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jerilyn Watson. Our producer was June Simms. I'm Faith Lapidus.BOB DOUGHTY: And I'm Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English.。
VOA英语听力原文(passage41~50)
Light-emitting diodes are small glass lamps that use much less electricity than traditional bulbs and last much longer.
Professor Irvine-Halliday used a one-watt bright white L.E.D. made in Japan. He found it on the Internet and connected it to a bicycle-powered (7) generator. He remembers thinking it was so bright, a child could read by the light of a single diode.
In New York, the United Nations secretary-general reacted to a dispute over e-mails stolen from the University of East Anglia in England. Critics say the messages show (9) climate change scientists discussing ways to discredit other theories about global warming. But Ban Ki-Moon said Tuesday that the evidence is "quite clear" that humans are the main cause of temperatures rising faster than expected.
【自己整理的四六级听力】VOA 英语听力原文(1)【标注版】(内含听力下载地址)
world-bank-president-says-ending-extreme-poverty-within-reach听力下载地址：/s/1pJqQB5h【绿色单词为六级词汇，橙色单词为四级词汇】简介：The head of the World Bank says slowing economic growth around the world is hurting the institution’s goal of ending extreme poverty by the year 2030. While the challenges may be great, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said the goal remains within reach - but only if world leaders and emerging financial and development institutions do their part.听力原文：What is extreme poverty? According to the United Nations it’s a condition characterized by a lack of basic human needs, like clean drinking water, food, sanitation（公共卫生）and education.The good news, says World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, is that the world has made some progress.“Over 25 years, we’ve gone from nearly two billion people living in extreme poverty to fewer than one billion," said Kim.Despite inroads, nearly a billion people still live on less than a $1.25 per day.Further complicating the goal of eradicating（eradicate 根除）poverty is the economic slowdown in developed and emerging（新兴的）economies.One solution is to partner with new financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank - led by China - and the New Development Bank founded by the so-called BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.“We at the World Bank Group see these development banks as potentially very strong allies in tackling（tackle 处理，解决）the enormous challenge of bringing much needed infrastructure （基础设施）to the developing world," said Kim.Such banking coalition s（联盟，联合政府）could help address the infrastructure spending gap that the World Bank alone can't fill. Amy Studdart is deputy director in Political Economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.“There’s a huge infrastructure gap in Asia. The World Bank itself estimates that it was $2.5 trillion（万亿）worth of investment that needs to happen in South Asia and South East Asia alone," said Studdart.Despite the perceived need for such lending groups, some - including the United States - fear such institutions could further diminish（使减少，使变小）Western influence in Asia.But Jim Yong Kim says influence is not the issue.“The fundamental issue for us is, your enemy cannot be other institutions. Your enemy has to be poverty," he said.The World Bank is expected to address those issues when world leaders come together at the United Nations later this year to establish global priorities. Among them - ending poverty.四六级词汇注释：sanitation/ˌsænɪˌteɪʃən/ CET6+∙ 1.N-UNCOUNT Sanitation is the process of keeping places clean and healthy, especially by providing a sewage system and a clean water supply. (尤指通过提供排污系统和洁净水源的) 公共卫生例：...the hazards of contaminated water and poor sanitation.…污水和不良公共卫生的危害。
VOA 英语听力原稿六篇
AMERICAN STORIES - A Story for Halloween: 'The Boy on Graves-End Road'PAT BODNAR: Now, the VOA Special English program AMERICAN STORIES.I'm Pat Bodnar. October thirty-first is Halloween. In the spirit of this ancient holiday, we present a story written by Special English reporter and producer Caty Weaver. It's called "The Boy on Graves-End Road.NARRATOR: Kelly Ryan was making dinner. Her ten-year-old son Benjamin was watching television in the living room. Or at least she thought he was.KELLY: "Benny-boy, do you want black beans or red beans?"BEN: "Red beans, Mama."Kelly: "Don't do that, Ben. You scared me half to death! You're going to get it now ... "NARRATOR: Ben had come up quietly right behind her.(SOUND)KELLY: "I'll get back to you, stinker!"NARRATOR: Kelly goes to the phone, but as soon as she lays her hand on it, the ringing stops.KELLY: "How strange. Oh, the beans!"NARRATOR: Kelly turns her attention back to cooking. As soon as she does, the phone rings again.KELLY: "Honey, can you get that?"BEN: "Hello? Oh, hi. Yes, I remember. Sure, it sounds fun. Let me ask my mom. Can you hold? She might wanna talk to your mom. Oh, um, OK. See you tomorrow."KELLY: "Ben, your rice and beans are on the table. Let's eat."(SOUND)KELLY: "So, what was that call about?"BEN: "That was Wallace Gray. You know him, from class. He wants to play tomorrow. Can I go home with him after school? Please, Mom? I get bored around here waiting for you after work."KELLY: "But, Ben, I don't even know his parents. Maybe I should talk to them."BEN: "You can't, Mom. He was with his babysitter. He said his parents wouldn't be home until late tonight and they would leave before he went to school in the morning. Please Mom, Wallace lives right over on Graves-End Road. It's afive-minute walk from here. PLEASE,?"KELLY: "Well, OK. What's so great about this guy, anyway? You've got a ton of friends to play with."BEN: "I know. But Wallace is just different. He's got a lot of imagination."NARRATOR: The school week passes, and Ben starts to go home almost every day with Wallace. Kelly notices a change in her son. He seems tired and withdrawn. His eyes do not seem to really look at her. They seem ... lifeless. On Friday night she decides they need to have a talk.KELLY: "Sweetie, what's going on with you? You seem so tired and far away. Is something wrong? Did you and your new friend have a fight?"BEN:"No, Mom. We've been having a great time. There's nothing wrong with us. Why don't you like Wallace? You don't even know him, but you don't trust him."KELLY: "Benjamin, what are you talking about? I don't dislike Wallace. You're right, I don't know him. You just don't seem like yourself. You've been very quiet the past few nights."BEN: "I'm sorry, Mom. I guess I'm just tired. I have a great time with Wallace. We play games like cops and robbers, but they seem so real that half of the time I feel like I'm in another world. It's hard to explain. It's like, it's like ... "KELLY: "I think the word you're looking for is intense."BEN: "Yeah, that's it -- it's intense."KELLY: "Well, tell me about today. What kind of game did you play?"(SOUND)BEN: "We were train robbers. Or Wallace was. I was a station manager. Wallace was running through a long train, from car to car. He had stolen a lot of money and gold from the passengers. I was chasing right behind him, moving as fast as I could. Finally he jumps out of the train into the station to make his escape. But I block his path. He grabs a woman on the station platform. She screams 'No, no!' But he yells 'Let me through, or she dies.' So I let him go."KELLY: "What happened then?"BEN: "Well, that's what was weird and, like you said, intense. Wallace threw the lady onto the tracks. And laughed. He said that's what evil characters do in games. They always do the worst."NARRATOR: Later, after Ben went to bed, Kelly turned on the eleven o'clock news. She was only half-listening as she prepared a list of things to do the next day, on Halloween.KELLY: "Let's see, grocery shopping, Halloween decorating, dog to the groomer, hardware store, clean up the garden ...(SOUND)NEWS ANNOUNCER: "... the victim, who has not been identified, was killed instantly. Reports say it appears she was pushed off the station platform into the path of the oncoming train. It happened during rush hour today. Some witnesses reported seeing two boys running and playing near the woman. But police say they did not see any images like that on security cameras at the station. In other news, there was more trouble today as workers protested outside the Hammond ... "KELLY: "No! It can't be. The station is an hour away. They couldn't have gotten there. How could they? It's just a coincidence."NARRATOR: The wind blew low and lonely that night. Kelly slept little. She dreamed she was waiting for Ben at a train station. Then, she saw him on the other side, running with another little boy.It must be Wallace she thought. The little boy went in and out of view. Then, all of a sudden, he stopped and looked across the tracks -- directly at her.He had no face.NARRATOR: Saturday morning was bright and sunny, a cool October day. Kelly made Ben eggs and toast and watched him eat happily.KELLY: "You know, Benny-boy, a woman DID get hurt at the train station yesterday. She actually got hit by a train. Isn't that strange?"NARRATOR: She looked at Ben.BEN: "What do you mean, Mom?"KELLY: "Well, you and Wallace were playing that game yesterday. About being at a train station. You said he threw a woman off the platform, and she was killed by a train."NARRATOR: Kelly felt like a fool even saying the words. She was speaking to a ten-year-old who had been playing an imaginary game with anotherten-year-old. What was she thinking?BEN: "I said we played that yesterday? I did? Hmmm. No, we played that a few days ago, I think. It was just a really good game, really intense. Yesterday we played pirates. I got to be Captain Frank on the pirate ship, the Argh."Wallace was Davey, the first mate. But he tried to rebel and take over the ship so I made him walk the plank. Davey walked off into the sea and drowned. Wallace told me I had to order him to walk the plank. He said that's what evil pirates do."KELLY: "I guess he's right. I don't know any pirates, but I do hear they're pretty evil!"BEN: "So can I play with Wallace today when you are doing your errands? Please, Mom? I don't want to go shopping and putting up Halloween decorations."KELLY: "Oh, whatever. I guess so. I'll pick you up at Wallace's house at about five-thirty, so you can get ready for trick or treating. Where does he live again?BEN: "Graves-End Road. I don't know the street number but there are only two houses on each side. His is the second one on the left."KELLY: "OK. I can find that easy enough. Do you still want me to pick up a ghost costume for you?"BEN: "Yep. Oh, and guess what, Mom: Wallace says he's a ghost, too! I suppose we'll haunt the neighborhood together."NARRATOR: Everywhere Kelly went that day was crowded. She spent an hour and a half just at the market. When she got home, decorating the house for Halloween was difficult.But finally she had it all up the way she wanted.KELLY: "Oh, gosh, five already. I don't even have Ben's costume."NARRATOR: She jumped into her car and drove to Wilson Boulevard. The party store was just a few blocks away.Kelly finally found a space for her car. The store was crowded with excited kids and hurried parents. But Kelly soon found the ghost costume that Ben wanted. She bought it and walked out of the store.EILEEN: "Hey, Kelly! Long time no see. How's Benjamin doing?"KELLY: "Eileen! Wow, it's great to see you. How's Matt? We've been so busy since the school year started, we haven't seen anyone!"EILEEN: "Matt's good. Well, he broke his arm last month so no sports for him. It is driving him crazy, but at least he's got a lot of time for school now!"EILEEN: "Anyway, Matt was wondering why Benny-boy never comes by anymore. We saw him running around the neighborhood after school last week. It looks like he's having fun, but he's always alone. We don't need to set up a play date. Ben should know that. You just tell him to come by anytime -- "KELLY: "Wait, wait a minute. Alone? What do mean alone? He started playing with a new friend, Wallace somebody, after school, like everyday this past week. Ben hasn't been alone. Wallace Gray, that's it. Do you know him? Does Matt?"EILEEN: "Oh, Kell. Kelly, I'm sure he's a fine kid. I don't know him but don't worry, Ben's got great taste in friends, we know that! I'm sure he wasn't really alone, he was probably just playing hide and seek or something. I didn't mean to worry you. I guess everybody's on edge because of what happened to the Godwin boy this morning."NARRATOR: Kelly suddenly felt cold and scared. What Godwin boy? And what happened to him? She was not sure she wanted to know, but she had to ask.EILEEN: "Frank Godwin's youngest boy, Davey, the five-year-old. You know Frank, we call him Captain. He used to be a ship captain. Well, this morning the rescue squad found Davey in Blackhart Lake. They also found a little toy boatthat his dad made for him. Davey and his dad named it the Argh. Davey must have been trying to sail it. It's so sad."KELLY: "Wait, he's dead?EILEEN: "Yes. Davey drowned."KELLY: "Where's Blackhart Lake?"EILEEN: "It's right off Graves-End Road, right behind that little cemetery. That's why they call it Graves-End. Kelly, where are you going?"Kelly: "I've got to get Benjamin."(MUSIC)NARRATOR: Kelly raced down Main Street. She had no idea who Wallace Gray was or how he was involved in any of this. But she did not trust him and she knew her child was in danger.Finally she was at Graves-End Road.BEN: "Only two houses on each side."NARRATOR: She remembered what Ben had told her.EILEEN: "Right behind that little cemetery."NARRATOR: And what Eileen had told her. Kelly got out of the car and walked down the street. She looked around.BEN: "It's the second one on the left."NARRATOR: She could see the lake. Some fog was coming up as the sky darkened on this Halloween night. But there was no second house. Instead, what lay before her was grass and large white stones. The cemetery. Kelly walked through the gate into the yard of graves.Kelly: "Ben?"NARRATOR: No answer. She kept walking.KELLY: "Ben? Answer me. I know you're here."NARRATOR: Again no answer. But the wind blew and some leaves began to dance around a headstone. Kelly walked slowly toward the grave. Suddenly the sky blackened -- so dark, she could not see anything. She felt a force pushing at her. It tried to push her away from the grave. But she knew she had to stay.KELLY: "Benjamin Owen Orr, this is your mother. Come out this second!"NARRATOR: No one answered, except for the sound of the blowing wind. The darkness lifted. Silvery moonlight shone down directly onto the old gravestone in front of her. But Kelly already knew whose name she would see.KELLY: "'Wallace Gray. October thirty-first, nineteen hundred, to October thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ten. Some are best when laid to rest.'"NARRATOR: Kelly took a deep breath. Then ...KELLY: "Wallace Gray this play date is OVER! Give me back my son. Wallace, you are in TIME-OUT."NARRATOR: Suddenly, the ground shoots upward like a small volcano. Soil, sticks and worms fly over Kelly's head and rain down again -- followed by her son, who lands beside her.BEN: (COUGHING, CHOKING)KELLY: "Ben! Ben!"BEN: (COUGHING, CHOKING) "Mom, Mom! Are you there? I can't see. All this dirt in my eyes."KELLY: "Ben, I'm here, I'm here baby, right here. Oh, sweet Benny-boy. Can you breathe? Are you really ok? What happened? How long were you in there?"BEN: "I don't know, Mom. But I didn't like it. I didn't like where Wallace lives. I want to go home."KELLY: "Oh, me too, Sweetie. C'mon, Ben, put your arm around me. C'mon.(SOUNDS)BEN: "And Mom, one more thing ... "KELLY: "What is it, Ben?"BEN "I don't want to be a ghost for Halloween."(MUSIC)PAT BODNAR: Our story "The Boy on Graves-End Road" was written and produced by Caty Weaver. The voices were Andrew Bracken, Faith Lapidus, Katherine Cole, Shirley Griffith and Jim Tedder. I'm Pat Bodnar.Join us again next week for another American story in VOA Coming to Terms With Academic Titles at US CollegesThis is the VOA Special English Education Report.Not everyone who teaches in a college or university is a professor. Many are instructors or lecturers. In fact, not even all professors are full professors. Many of them are assistant or associate professors or adjunct professors.So what do all of these different academic titles mean at American colleges and universities? Get ready for a short lecture, especially if you are thinking of a career in higher education.Professors usually need a doctoral degree. But sometimes a school will offer positions to people who have not yet received their doctorate.This person would be called an instructor until the degree has been completed. After that, the instructor could become an assistant professor. Assistant professors do not have tenure.Tenure means a permanent appointment. This goal of greater job security is harder to reach these days. Fewer teaching positions offer the chance for tenure.Teachers and researchers who are hired into positions that do offer it are said to be "on the tenure track." Assistant professor is the first job on this path.Assistant professors generally have five to seven years to gain tenure. During this time, other faculty members study the person's work. If tenure is denied, then the assistant professor usually has a year to find another job.Candidates for tenure may feel great pressure to get research published. "Publish or perish" is the traditional saying.An assistant professor who receives tenure becomes an associate professor. An associate professor may later be appointed a full professor.Assistant, associate and full professors perform many duties. They teach classes. They advise students. And they carry out research. They also serve on committees and take part in other activities.Other faculty members are not expected to do all these jobs. They are not on a tenure track. Instead, they might be in adjunct or visiting positions.A visiting professor has a job at one school but works at another for a period of time. An adjunct professor is also a limited or part-time position, to do research or teach classes. Adjunct professors have a doctorate.Another position is that of lecturer. Lecturers teach classes, but they may or may not have a doctorate.And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. You and read and listen to our reports, and get information on how to study in the United States, at . I'm Barbara Klein.EDUCATION REPORT - Early Classes = Sleepy Teens(Duh!)This is the VOA Special English Education Report.Surveys of American teenagers find that about half of them do not get enough sleep on school nights. They get an average of sixty to ninety minutes less than experts say they need.One reason for this deficit is biology. Experts say teens are biologically programmed to go to sleep later and wake up later than other age groups. Yet many schools start classes as early as seven in the morning.As a result, many students go to class feeling like sixteen-year-old Danny. He plays two sports, lacrosse(曲棍球) and football. He is an active teen -- except in the morning.DANNY: "Getting up in the morning is pretty terrible. I'm just very out of it and tired. And then going to school I'm out of it, and through first and second period I can barely stay awake."Michael Breus is a clinical psychologist with a specialty in sleep disorders.MICHAEL BREUS: "These aren't a bunch of lazy kids -- although, you know, teenagers can of course be lazy. These are children whose biological rhythms, more times than not, are off."Teens, he says, need to sleep eight to nine hours or even nine to ten hours a night. He says sleepy teens can experience a form of depression that couldhave big effects on their general well-being. It can affect not just their ability in the classroom but also on the sports field and on the road.Michael Breus says any tired driver is dangerous, but especially a teenager with a lack of experience.So what can schools do about sleepy students? The psychologist says one thing they can do is start classes later in the morning. He points to studies showing that students can improve by a full letter grade in their first- and second-period classes.Eric Peterson is the head of St. George's School in the northeastern state of Rhode Island. He wanted to see if a thirty-minute delay would make a difference. It did.He says visits to the health center by tired students decreased by half. Late arrivals to first period fell by a third. And students reported that they were less sleepy during the day.Eric Peterson knows that changing start times is easier at a small, private boarding school like his. But he is hopeful that other schools will find a way.ERIC PETERSON: "In the end, schools ought to do what's the right thing for their students, first and foremost."Patricia Moss, an assistant dean at St. George's School, says students were not the only ones reporting better results.PATRICIA MOSS: "I can say that, anecdotally, virtually all the teachers noticed immediately much more alertness in class, definitely more positive mood. Kids were happier to be there at eight-thirty than they were at eight."And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. You can read, listen and comment on our programs at . We're also on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Bob Doughty.___Reporting by Julie Taboh, adapted by Lawan DavisSpecial English.WORDS AND THEIR STORIES - Words and Their Stories: Nicknames forChicagoBroadcast date: 1-10-2010 / Written by Carl SandburgFrom /voanews/specialenglish/Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.A nickname is a shortened version of a person's name. A nickname also can describe a person, place or thing. Many American cities have interesting nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity. (MUSIC: "Chicago")Chicago, Illinois was once the second largest city in the United States. So, one of its nicknames is The Second City. Over the years, the population of Chicago has decreased. Today it is the third largest American city.However, another nickname for Chicago is still true today. It is The Windy City. Chicago sits next to Lake Michigan, one of North America's Great Lakes. Language expert Barry Popick says on his website that Chicago was called a "windy city" because of the wind that blows off of Lake Michigan. In the eighteen sixties and seventies, Chicago was advertised as an ideal place to visit in the summer because of this cool wind.But anyone who has ever lived in Chicago knows how cold that wind can be in winter. The wind travels down the streets between tall buildings in the center of the city.Barry Popick says other cities in the central United States called Chicago a "windy city." This meant that people in Chicago liked to brag or talk about how great their city was. They were full of wind or full of hot air. He says newspapers in Cincinnati, Ohio used this expression in the eighteen seventies.Chicago was an important agricultural, industrial and transportation center for the country.In nineteen sixteen, the city gained two more nicknames from a poem called "Chicago," written by Carl Sandburg. Here is the first part of the poem:Hog Butcher for the World,Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;Stormy, husky, brawling,City of the Big Shoulders.Chicago was called Hog Butcher for the World because of its huge meat-processing industry. And, it was called The City of the Big Shoulders or City of Broad Shoulders because of its importance to the nation.There are several songs about Chicago. "My Kind of Town" was made popular by Frank Sinatra in nineteen sixty-four.(MUSIC)This program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Faith Lapidus.Qs: How many nicknames does Chicago have?The Second city, windy city, hog butcher and the city of the big shoulder. Contrary to popular belief, Sam Walton (the founder of Wal-Mart) was not from Arkansas. He was actually born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma on March 29, 1918. He was raised in Missouri where he worked in his father's store while attending school. This was his first retailing experience and he really enjoyed it. After graduating from the University of Missouri in 1940, he began his own career as a retail merchant when he opened the first of several franchises of the Ben Franklin five-and-dime franchises in Arkansas.This would lead to bigger and better things and he soon opened his first Wal-Mart store in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. Wal-Mart specialized in name-brands at low prices and Sam Walton was surprised at the success. Soon a chain of Wal-Mart stores sprang up across rural America.Walton's management style was popular with employees and he founded some of the basic concepts of management that are still in use today. After taking the company public in 1970, Walton introduced his "profit sharing plan". The profit sharing plan was a plan for Wal-Mart employees to improve their income dependent on the profitability of the store. Sam Walton believed that "individuals don't win, teams do". Employees at Wal-Mart stores were offered stock options and store discounts. These benefits are commonplace today, but Walton was among the first to implement them. Walton believed that a happy employee meant happy customers and more sales. Walton believed that by giving employees a part of the company and making their success dependent on the company's success, they would care about the company.By the 1980s, Wal-Mart had sales of over one billion dollars and over three hundred stores across North America. Wal-Mart's unique decentralized distribution system, also Walton's idea, created the edge needed to further spur growth in the 1980s amidst growing complaints that the "superstore" was squelching smaller, traditional Mom and Pop stores. By 1991, Wal-Mart was the largest U.S. retailer with 1,700 stores. Walton remained active in managing the company, as president and CEO until 1988 and chairman until his death. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom shortly before his death.Walton died in 1992, being the world's second richest man, behind Bill Gates. He passed his company down to his three sons, daughter and wife. Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated (locatedin Bentonville, Arkansas) is also in charge of "Sams Club". Wal-Mart stores now operate in Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, China and Puerto Rico. Sam Walton's visions were indeed successful.Will Computers Replace Human Beings?We are in the computer age today. The computers are working all kinds of wonders now. They are very useful in automatic control and data processing. At the same time, computers are finding their way into the home. They seem to be so clever and can solve such complicated problems that some people think sooner or later they will replace us.But I do not think that there is such a possibility. My reason is very simple: computers are machines, not humans. And our tasks are far too various and complicated for any one single kind of machine to perform.Probably the greatest difference between man and computer is that the former can do things of his own while the latter can do nothing without being programmed. In my opinion, computers will remain nothing but an extension of our human brains, no matter how clever and complicated they may become.Դ: /exam/22608.shtml。
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Hello, I'm Jerry Smit with the BBC News.杰⾥·斯密特为您播报BBC新闻The Greek government has submitted new proposals to secure a third bailout from its international creditors. The Head of the Eurozone's Group of Finance Ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said the plans would now be assessed in detail. The proposals include tax rises, pension reforms, spending cuts and promises of privatisation. Tim Willcox in Athens says this may cause problems for the Greek government希腊政府提交了⼀份新的改⾰⽅案以确保能从其债权国得到第三次财政援助，欧元区⾦融主席杰洛恩称该项⽅案将会详细讨论。
这项⽅案包括提⾼税收，退休⾦改⾰，减少⽀出和私有化。
下⾯是威克斯在雅典发回的报道：.“They think, the source I've been speaking to, that the E.U. will take this, but it's going to be very difficult for Alexis Tsipras, the Greek Prime Minister, internally here in Greece, following that referendum last weekend with that massive vote, a NO vote against any more austerity measures.”威克斯称这项⽅案有可能对希腊政府造成问题。
VOA英语听力原文(passage1~10)
International students can also attend the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, and the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. The Coast Guard Academy can have thirty-five international students at any one time; the Merchant Marine Academy,thirty.
For example, the next class at the Naval Academy will include eighteen foreign students, four of them female. (9) This will bring the total number of foreign students at the Naval Academy to fifty- three.
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VOA NewsThe study compared the mental health of college students to that of non-students the same age. About half of Americans age eighteen to twenty-four attend college.The information used in the study came from five thousand college-age men and women. They were questioned for a national survey between two thousand one and two thousand two. About two thousand of them were college students.The questioners were not doctors but trained interviewers. The questions were based on symptoms listed in a book widely used by doctors to identify mental disorders.The researchers found that twenty percent of college students abused alcohol -- the most common disorder in that group. Personality disorders, like obsessive compulsive disorder, came next. The study says almost eighteen percent of college students appeared to have a personality disorder. That was true of about twenty-two percent of those not in college.The college students were also less likely to have a drug-use disorder, nicotine dependence or bipolar disorder. And they were less likely to have used tobacco. But their risk of alcohol disorders was greater.The National Institutes of Health and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention helped pay for the study.Over all, the study found that almost half of all the college-age individuals showed signs of at least one psychiatric disorder. The researchers say this age group may be especially sensitive to disorders because of the great pressures of entering adulthood. Yet they say only one–fourth sought treatment.Joseph Glenmullen is a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School who believes that psychiatric medications are overused. He told the Bloomberg news agency that the finding of a psychiatric disorder in about half of those studied "seems extraordinarily high."He says it may represent what he called "a watering down of the diagnostic criteria such that they capture more people with milder symptoms.'' What he is saying is that more people may be told they have a mental disorder because the definitions have been widened.And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. I'm Steve Ember.。
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The United States is marking the 14th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. U.S. officials and many other Americans attended observances Friday to remember those killed and their loved ones.Nearly 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001 when hijackers used four passenger airplanes to carry out suicide attacks in the United States. In addition to the victims, the 19 hijackers also were killed. Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his group claimed responsibility for the attacks. U.S. forces killed him in a surprise raid on his hiding place in Pakistan four years ago.Friday morning, President Barack Obama, his wife and White House workers observed a public moment of silence in Washington. They gathered on the White House grounds at 8:46. That was the exact time when a hijacked airplane struck the World Trade Center.US Marks 14th Anniversary of 9/11 AttacksIn New York, families of the victims gathered for a ringing of bells and reading of the names of those killed in the terrorist attacks. Moments of silence were held at 8:46 and 9:03 in the morning, when a second hijacked plane also hit the World Trade Center.Near Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other officials attended an observance at the Pentagon, the home of the Defense Department. They joined in remembering those killed when a hijacked airplane hit the Pentagon, killing 184 people.Earlier Friday, a large American flag was hung down the side of the Pentagon, where the passenger jet hit.There also was a moment of silence at 10:03 a.m. That was the time when a fourth hijacked plane crashed in western Pennsylvania. All 44 people on the plane were killed. Many Americans believe the hijackers had planne d to attack a target in the nation’s capital.The fourth plane came down in a field in the rural community of Shanksville. Today, a new visitors center there tells the story of the 9/11 attacks. The Flight 93 National Memorial was set up to recognize the passengers and crewmembers who attacked the hijackers.Stephen Clark is with the U.S. National Park Service. It operates the visitors center and surrounding grounds.“It just amazes me that this aircraft was but 18 minutes away from hitting Washington, D.C.”The field was quiet on Friday, very different from the situation 14 years ago.Gordon Felt’s brother Edward was one of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.“It is surreal at times. Early on, it became very evident to us very quickly that our loved ones, the events surrounding their deaths, had historical significance to our country.”The last 35 minutes of Edward Felt’s life, and others on the plane, are explained at the new visitors center. Relatives hope visitors to the memorial will understand the full effect of the actions of their loved ones.“They’ll get a sense of who those 40 heroes were, as well as what their collective actions did to help save the Capitol building that morning.”I’m George Grow.This repor t was based on information from VOA’s News Division. George Grow adapted this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.From:/englishlistening/voaenglish/voaspecialenglish/2015-09-12/401739.html surreal – adj. very strange or unusualsignificance – adj. importance; being worthy of attentioncollective – adj. shared or done by a group of people1. remember vt.记着; 纪念例句：For example, it can easily remember such things as:例如，它可以轻易地记住下面这些信息。
VOA慢速英语听力文章
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Protests over the English language in Cameroon have grown violent.A strike, called to increase the use of English, has spread to schools and universities in English-speaking areas.Lawyers and teachers, supported by young people, refused to call off the strike as protesters clashed with members of the military.The governor of Cameroon’s No rth-West Region says at least one person has been killed in the clashes. “Investigations are ongoing to establish the responsibilities,” said governor Adolphe Lele L’Afrique Deben Tchoffo.But media reports suggest that as many as four people were killed.The protesters are demanding greater rights for English speakers in a country that has both English and French as official languages.The roots of the strikeThe current strike has created more debate –and caused more concern – among government officials and local rulers than any other issue in recent years.The roots of this strike go deep.English speakers make up about 20 percent of Cameroon's population. The constitution says that English and French –languages that come from the colonial period –should beequally important. However, many official documents are written only in French. Some government ministers give speeches in French, even in English-speaking areas.No English speaker has held an important position, such as minister of defense, finance, or territorial administration, in Cameroon's nearly 60-year history as an independent country.Lawyers and the GovernmentLawyers have been at the front of the strike. Harmony Bogda, spokesperson for the striking lawyers, says that after discussions lasting 72 hours, lawyers left with the idea that the government does not want to listen to them. As such, Bogda says, the strike will continue.Ben Muna is a lawyer and a member of the Cameroon Bar Council Association. He says his colleagues are angry because security forces increased tensions and beat them for demonstrating peacefully.Communication minister and government spokesperson Issa Tchiroma says the government is unable to approve some of the requests. He says the lawyers are responsible for the recent violence in English-speaking areas."Those who are responsible for such abuses must know that nowhere in the world, disorder has ever led to anything constructive. We therefore call on all our compatriots to show proof of reserve, self-control, high sense of responsibility and citizenship in a spirit of dialogue."Schools have remained closed since the clashes started last Monday.。
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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.Americans are considering national education standards recently developed by teachers and other education experts. The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers led the effort.The United States, unlike other nations, has never had the same school standards across the country. The reason? Education is not discussed in the Constitution. That document limits the responsibilities of the federal government. Other responsibilities, like education, fall to the individual states.Local control of education probably was a good idea two hundred years ago. People stayed in the same place and schools knew what students needed to learn. But today, people move to different cities. And some people work at jobs that did not exist even twenty years ago.Many American educators say that getting a good education should not depend on where you live. They say that some states have lowered their standards in order to increase student scores on tests required by the No Child Left Behind Act.Kara Schlosser is communications director for the Council of Chief State School Officers. She says the new standards clearly state what a student should be able to do to be successful in college and work.The standards deal with language and mathematics in every grade from kindergarten through high school. For example, in first grade, students should be asking and answering questions about something they read.In mathematics, students should be working with shapes in kindergarten and angles in fourth grade.Forty-eight states have already shown approval for the standards. Two states reject the idea. Critics say that working toward the same standards in every state will not guarantee excellence for all. Some educators in Massachusetts say adopting the proposal will hurt their students because the state standards are even higher. Others say the change will be too costly, requiring new textbooks and different kinds of training for teachers. Still others fear federal interference or control.Supporters say the standards are goals and do not tell states or teachers how to teach. They also say the federal government is not forcing acceptance. However, approving the standards will help states qualify for some federal grant money.And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember。
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A Tax on Sugar? 对糖征税？ \ FILE - Sugar-sweetened drinks in a store's refrigerator, Feb. 20, 2013 The World Health Organization says people around the world are eating more sugar. As a result, it says, health problems related to weight gain and tooth damage are increasing. Sugary foods and drinks cause tooth decay, weakening the bone. 世界卫⽣组织称世界各国的⼈们摄⼊越来越多的糖分。
结果，与肥胖以及⽛病相关的疾病在增长。
含糖份的⾷物和饮料会腐蚀⽛齿、导致⾻骼脆弱。
The WHO finds that, on average, the amount of sugar in the foods we eat has risen about 10 percent over the past 10 years. But it has risen at a faster rate in some areas. In the Middle East and North Africa, sugar intake has risen about 15 percent over the past 10 years. In some Asian and Pacific countries, sugar intake is 20 percent higher. 世界卫⽣组织发现，过去10年，我们饮⾷中的含糖量增加了10%。
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We usually think of pollution as a harmful waste substance that threatens the air and water.But some people have become concerned about another kind of pollution.It can be everywhere,depending on the time of day.And it is not thought of as a substance.It is light.
The idea of light pollution has developed with the increase of lights in cities.In many areas,this light makes it difficult or impossible to observe stars and planets in the night sky.In Nineteen-Eighty-Eight,the International Dark-Sky Association formed.This organization wants to reduce light pollution in the night sky.It also urges the effective use of electric lighting.
There are a number of reasons why light pollution is important.One has become clear at the Mount Wilson Observatory near Los Angeles,California.Mount Wilson Observatory was home to the largest telescopes in the world during the first half of the Nineteen-Hundreds.
During that period,Los Angeles grew to become one of America's biggest cities. Today,light from Los Angeles makes the night sky above Mount Wilson very bright.It is no longer an important research center because of light pollution.
Light pollution threatens to reduce the scientific value of research telescopes in other important observatories.They include Lick Observatory near San Jose,California and Yerkes Observatory near Chicago,Illinois. Light pollution is the result of wasted energy.Bright light that shines into the sky is not being used to provide light where it is needed on Earth.Poorly designed lighting causes a great deal of light pollution.Lights that are brighter than necessary also cause light pollution.
Recently,two Italian astronomers and an American environmental scientist created a world map of the night sky.The map shows that North America,Western Europe and Japan have the greatest amount of light pollution.
Most people in America are surprised to find out that they are able to see our own galaxy,The Milky Way,with their own eyes.But about three-fourths of Americans cannot see the Milky Way because of man-made light.
Objects in the night sky are resources that provide everyone with wonder.But light pollution threatens to prevent those wonderful sights from being seen.。