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VOA慢速英语2013 大西洋飓风季节到来

时间:2013-09-30 15:11:13

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AS IT IS 2013-09-26 Storm Season Arrives in the Atlantic 大西洋飓风季节到来

Hello, again, and welcome.  I’m Jim Tedder1 in Washington.  Today we are watching for them.  And they most certainly are coming.  People sometimes call them monsters.  But they are not from a horror movie, or from outer space.  They are huge storms that form over the Atlantic Ocean this time of year.  We will have the latest information about the scientists who will be studying them.

And then, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!”  We will visit some ice cream makers2 to hear how they do it, and what unusual flavors they have discovered.

It’s time for more Learning English with As It Is on VOA.

The height of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season has arrived. More hurricanes are reported at this time of year than during any other period.

The American space agency, NASA, recently announced plans to investigate the storms that form over that Atlantic. So today, we take you to the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center near Washington. To learn about a campaign called the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel mission -- HS3 for short.

Tropical storms and hurricanes can mean a mixture of high winds, huge waves, flooding and destruction. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric3 Administration says this Atlantic hurricane season probably will be more active than usual. And the memories of Hurricane Sandy are still strong. Last year, that storm killed many people in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean Sea.

NASA is studying storms by taking to the skies above the Atlantic Ocean – in fact, above the storms themselves. Two pilotless Global Hawk4 aircraft will collect measurements so scientists can learn how hurricanes come into existence.

Scott Braun is a research scientist, a meteorologist, at NASA. He describes the goals of HS3.

“What we’re really after, scientifically, is to better understand the relative roles of the environment and those inner-core processes in the formation and intensification5 of hurricanes in the Atlantic.”

Global Hawks6 can reach a height of almost 20 kilometers. That is about two times as high as a passenger airplane can fly. Special instruments let scientists gather details about storms from high above. The instruments include a device with a long name -- the High Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Profiler.

The Global Hawks will study the environment near the storms to see how surrounding conditions affect intensity7. The airplanes also will collect information about the storms themselves. One plane will deploy8 dropsounds. These instruments measure temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed and wind direction from above the storm down to the surface.

NASA says the Global Hawks are loaded with state-of-the-art equipment. Scott Braun notes that there are good points about using aircraft without pilots in this research.

“With the Global Hawks, we can fly for up to about 28 hours, and because all the crew and the scientists are on the ground rather than on the plane, we can swap9 out (exchange) shifts.  And that just means that you can go much farther or stay out over a storm much longer than you can with a manned aircraft.”

Researchers will study the information in depth after the project ends. But Mr. Braun says they also plan to do a quick examination and share that information.

The HS3 mission also is investigating something else that researchers have yet to understand. Mr. Braun says in addition to wind speed and wind direction, the researchers want to know more about temperature in the environment. He says that is especially true of something they call the Saharan Air Layer. It is a very hot, dry, dusty air mass that comes from Africa. Scientists are debating whether Sarahan dust provides material for tropical storms – or even suppresses the development of storms.

Doesn’t Everyone Love Ice Cream?  

Ice cream is a frozen treat usually eaten after a meal.  It can be found around the world.  In Los Angeles, California, some business owners are preparing ice cream that is similar to the desserts of other countries. Onka Dekker spoons out the sweet story for us.

At the Ice Cream Lab in Beverly hills, the frozen dessert is made to order.  People watch as the ice cream makers pour a liquid ice cream base into a bowl.  The an odorless smoke appears from the mixture.  Tommy Ngan and his business partner Joseph Lifschutz make ice cream with liquid nitrogen.  Mr. Lifschutz explains.

“It’s used as an instant freezer.  It kind of touches everything in the bowl and evaporates, which is why you see the whole smoke show.” 

Mr. Ngan is from Hong Kong, where he learned this method of making the dessert.

At Blockheads Shavery Company, people do not see smoke.  But they do hear the sound of ice cream being made.  A block of ice is placed on a machine and then shaved.  Supervisor Brian Liang says there are different kinds, or flavors, that include green tea and black sesame.

“We call is snow cream.  It’s a cross between shaved ice, so it has the light airy texture10, and the creamy taste of ice cream.  The dessert is actually pretty popular in Taiwan.  Basically the owners kind of grew up eating it.”

People looking for ice cream with flavors from the Middle East can find it at Mashti Malone’s Ice Cream Shop.  Iranian American Mashti Shirvani has been making Persian-style ice cream at his store for 34 years. 

“I do the old fashioned way when I make any food.  I don’t measure it.  Just my eyes and my hand.”

His ice cream creations include ingredients such as ginger11, saffron, lavender, orange blossom, and rose water.  While many of the flavors are Persian, Mr. Shirvani says his ice cream is not Persian.  He explains that in Iran they make ice milk.  But he uses cream, which has a higher level of fat.

Even with the differences in what goes into making ice cream, Mr. Shirvani’s brother, Mehdi, says ice cream appeals to everyone.

“Ice cream is the most affordable12 antidepressant.  I mean, come on, you’re not happy, you eat ice cream …you become happy.  If you’re happy, you want to be more happy …you eat ice cream.”

No matter how many flavors of ice cream exist in the world, it seems that people will always create some new version of this popular dessert.  I’m Onka Dekker.

I’m Jim Tedder in Washington. There are more Learning English programs straight ahead, and world news at the beginning of the hour on VOA. 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 tedder 2833afc4f8252d8dc9f8cd73b24db55d     
n.(干草)翻晒者,翻晒机
参考例句:
  • Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆?特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
  • Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆?泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网
2 makers 22a4efff03ac42c1785d09a48313d352     
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 atmospheric 6eayR     
adj.大气的,空气的;大气层的;大气所引起的
参考例句:
  • Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
  • Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。
4 hawk NeKxY     
n.鹰,骗子;鹰派成员
参考例句:
  • The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
  • The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。
5 intensification 5fb4d5b75a27bb246c651ce88694cc97     
n.激烈化,增强明暗度;加厚
参考例句:
  • The intensification of the immunological response represents the body's natural defense. 增强免疫反应代表身体的自然保卫。 来自辞典例句
  • Agriculture in the developing nations is not irreversibly committed, to a particular pattern of intensification. 发展中国家的农业并没有完全为某种集约化形式所束缚。 来自辞典例句
6 hawks c8b4f3ba2fd1208293962d95608dd1f1     
鹰( hawk的名词复数 ); 鹰派人物,主战派人物
参考例句:
  • Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
  • Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。
7 intensity 45Ixd     
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度
参考例句:
  • I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
  • The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。
8 deploy Yw8x7     
v.(军)散开成战斗队形,布置,展开
参考例句:
  • The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
  • The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。
9 swap crnwE     
n.交换;vt.交换,用...作交易
参考例句:
  • I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
  • This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。
10 texture kpmwQ     
n.(织物)质地;(材料)构造;结构;肌理
参考例句:
  • We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
  • Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。
11 ginger bzryX     
n.姜,精力,淡赤黄色;adj.淡赤黄色的;vt.使活泼,使有生气
参考例句:
  • There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
  • Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。
12 affordable kz6zfq     
adj.支付得起的,不太昂贵的
参考例句:
  • The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
  • There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

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