2023學(xué)年完整公開課版CouldTyphoonsHelptoPreventSevereQuakes

VOICEONE:

ThisisSCIENCEINTHENEWSinVOASpecialEnglish.I'mBobDoughty.

VOICETWO:

AndI'mFaithLapidus.Thisweek,wewilltellhowsomestormsmighthelptopreventlargeearthquakes.WewilltellaboutthewinnerofthetwothousandnineWorldFoodPrize.Wewillalsotellaboutastudyofoneoftheworld'smostunusual-lookinganimals.

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Newresearchsuggeststhatoceanstormscouldbehelpingtopreventpowerfulearthquakes--atleastontheislandofTaiwan.Typhoonsoftenstriketheislandduringthesecondhalfoftheyear.TyphoonisthenameusedformajorstormsinthewesternPacificOcean.ScientistscallthemcycloneswhentheydevelopovertheIndianOcean.

Recently,scientistsreportedthattyphoonsstrikingTaiwancancauseslowearthquakes.Slowearthquakesaredifferentfromviolentearthquakes,whichhappensuddenlyandcanbeextremelydestructive.Instead,slowearthquakesreleasetheirenergyoveraperiodofhoursorevendays.

Peoplecannotfeelslowearthquakesontheground,andinstrumentslikeseismometerscannotmeasurethem.However,scientistssayaslowearthquakecouldbehelpingtoreleasepressure,andpossiblypreventingmorepowerfulquakes.

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Inthestudy,scientistsplacedhighlysensitivemeasuringequipmenttwohundredtotwohundredseventymetersundertheocean'ssurface.ThesedeviceswereplacedinholesneareasternTaiwan.

Thissameareaisalsowheretwomajortectonicplatesmeet.AsmanyastwentytectonicplatescovertheEarth'ssurface.Theplatescancauseearthquakesastheymove.

Thescientistscollectedmeasurementsfromtwothousandtwountiltwothousandseven.TheinformationtheygatheredsuggeststyphoonsandslowearthquakesnearTaiwanarelinked.Theequipmentmeasuredtwentyslowearthquakesduringthefive-yearobservationperiod.Ofthosetwenty,eleventookplaceatthesametimeastyphoons.

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Typhoonscauseatmosphericpressuretodrop.Thescientistssuggestthatthiscausesareductioninpressureonthelandwheretheplatesmeet.Asaresult,onesideofthefaultarealifts,causingthepressurethathasbeenbuildingupinsidetobereleased.ThiscouldexplainwhyTaiwanhasalargenumberofsmallearthquakes,butrarelyamajorone.

ThefindingswerepublishedlastmonthintheBritishjournalNature.TheleadresearcherwasChichingLiuoftheInstituteforEarthSciencesatAcademiaSinicainTaipei.Thefindingshelptoshowhowandwhydifferentkindsofearthquakestakeplace.This,scientistsbelieve,couldleadtobetterearthquakepredictions.

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VOICETWO:

YouarelisteningtotheVOASpecialEnglishprogramSCIENCEINTHENEWS.WithBobDoughty,I'mFaithLapidusinWashington.

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SorghumisanimportantgrainforAfrica.MillionsofAfricanshavemoretoeatbecauseofGebisaEjeta.TheEthiopianscientistdevelopedsorghumseedsthatcanresistlongdryperiods.TheseedscanalsoresisttheStrigaweed,abigcauseofcropfailuresinAfrica.

NowhisworkhasearnedhimtheWorldFoodPrizefromtheWorldFoodPrizeFoundationinDesMoines,Iowa.SecretaryofStateHillaryClintonmadetheannouncementlastmonthinWashington,D.C.ShesaidProfessorEjetadidnotjustdeveloptheseeds.Healsoworkedtogetthemtofarmers.

HewillreceivethetwohundredfiftythousanddollarawardataceremonyinOctober.HeisonlythesecondAfricantowintheprizesinceitwasestablishedinnineteeneighty-six.MontyJones,ariceexpertfromSierraLeone,wasthewinnerintwothousandfour.

VOICEONE:

GebisaEjetaisaprofessoratPurdueUniversityinIndiana.Overtheyears,hehasworkedwithfarmersandseedcompaniesanddevelopedmorethaneightyseedtypesforAfrica.

Intheearlynineteeneighties,ProfessorEjetadevelopedthefirstsorghumhybridseeds.Theseresisteddroughtandledtoamajorincreaseinproduction.

Droughtisnottheonlyenemy.StrigaisaparasiticplantthatAfricanscommonlycallwitchweed.Theweedattackssorghumandothercropsandstealswaterandnutrientsfromtheroots.

Inthenineteennineties,GebisaEjetaandanotherPurdueresearcheridentifiedthecomplexrelationshipsbetweenStrigaandsorghumplants.ThatfindingledtothedevelopmentofseedsresistanttobothStrigaanddrought.

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GebisaEjetawasraisedinaone-roomhutinaruralvillageinwest-centralEthiopia.Hismotherwantedhimtogetaneducation.Hewalkedtwentykilometerstoschoolinaneighboringtown.HelefthomeonSundaynightsandreturnedonFridays.

Forsecondaryschool,heattendedanagriculturalandtechnicalschool.ItwasestablishedbyOklahomaStateUniversityunderanAmericangovernmentprogram.FromtherehereceivedaninvitationtostudyatPurdue,wherehecontinuedhiseducation.

ButProfessorEjetahasneverforgottenhisAfricanroots.TodayheurgesotherscientiststoturntheirattentiontoAfrica'sneeds.

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Thelong-beakedechidnaisoneoftheoldestandrarestmammalsonEarth.Itisalsooneofthemostunusual-lookinganimals.Aboutthesizeofasmalldog,echidnaslooklikeamixtureofaporcupine,ananteater,apigandamole.

Echidnasarepartofagroupofegg-layingmammalscalledmonotremes.Theonlyotherkindofmonotremealivetodayistheplatypus.Therearefourkindsofechidnas:threespeciesarelong-nosed,whileanotherhasashortnose.

Echidnasarelikebirdsandreptilesbecausetheylayeggs.And,likebirdstheyhaveasingleopeningwithwhichtheyproduceeggs,havesexandexpelwaste.Butechidnasaremammals,sotheyfeedtheiryoung,calledpuggles,withmilk.

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Thelong-beakedechidnaisanendangeredanimalthatonlylivesnorthofAustralia,onNewGuineaandnearbyislands.Untilrecently,almostnothinghadbeenwrittenaboutechidnaslivinginthewild.Thisispartlybecausetheyareveryprivate,liveinareaswithouthumanbeings,andonlycomeouttofeedatnight.Ittakesgreatpatiencetostudythissecretivecreature.

BiologistMuseOpiangbecameinterestedintheechidnawhileworkingasaresearcherintherainforestsofNewGuinea.TheJournalofMammologyrecentlypublishedhisreportabouttheechidna.Itwasoneofthefirstreportspublishedonthebiologyoftheanimal.

MisterOpiangspentyearssearchingforechidnas.Overtwentymonths,hespentalmostsixthousandhourssearchinginaprotectedareaintheSimbuProvinceofPapuaNewGuinea.Hisresearchwascarriedoutbetweentwothousandandtwothousandthree.Duringthisperiod,heonlyfoundtwelveechidnas,fiveofwhichhecapturedtwice.Intotal,hefoundtwenty-twoechidnasoverfiveyears.

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MuseOpiangstudiedhowechidnaseat,bydiggingintheearthwiththeirlongnosestofindworms.And,hecapturedthemtemporarilytorecordtheirmass,lengthandestimatedage.Hestudiedmorethantwohundredechidnashelterstounderstandwheretheyliketohideandhowoftentheychangehomes.

MisterOpiangalsoplacedacomputerchipintotheskinoftheanimalsforidentificationpurposes.Someechidnasreceivedaradiotransmittersohecouldfollowtheirmovement.Thesedeviceswerenotalwayshelpfulsincetheyeasilybecamedisconnected.

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MisterOpiang'sstudygivesnewinformationabouttheechi