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VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-01-30 Business in the Final Frontier is Booming

时间:2014-02-01 14:47:12

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AS IT IS 2014-01-30 Business in the Final Frontier is Booming 

Hello, my friends, and welcome back.  I’m Jim Tedder1 in Washington. On today’s program, we dream of traveling to other worlds as we gaze at the starry2 night sky.  What was once just science fiction is becoming more real every day.

And after we look upward, we’ll come back down to earth and visit Uganda.  The country’s lion population is dropping, and tourism is suffering as a result.  We’ll have the details in about five minutes.

You are listening to “As It Is,” a radio and Internet program designed to help you learn and improve your American English.

The television program Star Trek3 called space “the final frontier.”   It appears that the last great unknown is about to become more crowded.

The demand for communication satellites and imaging services based in space is growing. Launching rockets into space has become increasingly common.  The space industry is worth an estimated 200 billion dollars a year, and growing. 

The future of space business looks bright — booming, in fact. Orbital Sciences Corporation, based in the U.S., is one of two American firms hired by the space agency NASA to take supplies to the International Space Center.  The center is orbiting 400 kilometers above earth.

Commercial rocket pioneer Arianespace launched its first satellite three decades ago.  It says 2014 has all the makings of a record year. Clayton Mowry heads the U.S. arm of the private European space group. 

“Last year we launched eight times, and we’re looking to actually break our record of 10 launches this year.  We’re hoping, right now, our planning is to conduct 13 launches this year."

Mr. Mowry says the increase in rocket launches is partly caused by rising demand for space-based technologies. He says these can go from ultra-high definition broadcasts to satellite broadband.

Experts say more commercial satellites are needed.  But the end of NASA’s space shuttle program in 2011 has had discouraging effect on the space community.  Janice Starzyk at International Launch Services leads educational efforts at the Washington Space Business Roundtable.  She notes major losses of jobs.

“The shuttle program shutting down was a huge, huge set of layoffs4 in the industry.”

Even as NASA services have decreased, other countries are rushing to fill the demands.  In December, China became the third country to land a spacecraft on the moon.  And India launched its first communications satellite in early January.

Kristian Von Bengtson helped establish Copenhagen Suborbitals in Denmark.  He said “Suborbitals” is trying to prove that space flight can be done at costs that are not so expensive.  He hopes to achieve a childhood dream of launching a homemade rocket 100 kilometers into space using open design sources and private donations. 

"Everybody believes that space flight, manned space flight, can only be done with billions of dollars and it has to be government financed. I hope we can show that you can do it on a shoestring5 budget. You can pretty much do it yourself."

Mr. Von Bengtson's goal is to launch a manned rocket into space by 2020.

Experts agree that more space scientists will help the industry. Ms Starzyk says Space Business Roundtable's goal in 2014 is to encourage more students to consider careers in space.

"Actually, it's a major problem in most countries of getting young people interested in studying engineering, specifically aerospace6 engineering," she said.

Janice Starzyk says as demand for rocket launches grows, so will demand for fresh talent.

Participation7 in the organization's space academy program has increased greatly over the last three years.  Perhaps this proves that, once again, when it comes to space, the sky is the limit.

Now Let’s Come back Down to Earth 

Uganda’s lion population has fallen by 30 percent in the last ten years. Experts are warning that the big cats could soon disappear from the country. As Caty Weaver8 reports, that could hurt Uganda’s important and profitable tourism industry.

We are in one of Uganda’s national parks. There are grasslands9 as far as the eye can see. And there are many travelers from around the world. They have woken up early -- before the sun rises -- and their camps are now empty.

They are hunting, not with guns but with cameras.

 

Jossy Muhangi works for the Uganda Wildlife Authority. He knows what the tourists seek.

“For most of our game drives, people want to wake up at 6 a.m., in the wee hours, and they really look. Their first choice or the favorite animals for the tourists -- be it local or international -- would be a lion. For every tourist who comes to Uganda, the dream would be to at least spot a lion.”

Lions are growing harder to find throughout Uganda. Last month, the non-profit organization Wildlife Conservation Society said now only a little more than 400 lions remain in Uganda. That is one third less than ten years ago.

Tutilo Mudumba is a researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Society, or WCS. He says lions face many threats.

“You may find illegal poaching using, for example, air snares10, taking place in Murchison Falls National Park. You may have a problem of competition for grazing land between lion prey11 and cattle, and then you have sometimes poisoning, we suspect to clear the area of predators12 so that they can use it for grazing.”

Mr. Mudumba says if no action is taken to reduce these threats, lions could one day disappear from Uganda.

“If nothing is done and the population keeps going down, then it will not be likely that we will have them. If they reduce by 30 percent every 10 years, then of course those are the number of years left for you to have zero.”

The disappearance13 of lions from Uganda could hurt the country’s economy. In 2006, the WCS studied the expectations and spending of visitors to Uganda. It found that each lion was worth $13,500 a year to the economy. The study also found that only 60 percent of tourists would still visit Uganda’s national parks if there were no lions left. The World Bank estimates tourism brought 1 billion dollars to Uganda’s economy last year. I’m Caty Weaver.

And I’m Jim Tedder in Washington.  Thank you for spending some time with us as we near the end of the first month of the new year.  On this date in 1882, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York.  He went on to become the 32nd President of the United States, and the only President to serve more than two terms in office.  Many still remember the words of encouragement he spoke14 when he first took office, as the country was suffering from the great economic depression.

“Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

My firm belief is that our time is gone, at least for today.  But more Learning English programs are just seconds away.  And world news follows at the beginning of the hour.


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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 starry VhWzfP     
adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的
参考例句:
  • He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
  • I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。
3 trek 9m8wi     
vi.作长途艰辛的旅行;n.长途艰苦的旅行
参考例句:
  • We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
  • It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。
4 layoffs ce61a640e39c61e757a47e52d4154974     
临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 ); 停工,停止活动
参考例句:
  • Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
  • Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时,股票价格便大跌
5 shoestring nizzcE     
n.小额资本;adj.小本经营的
参考例句:
  • In the early years,the business was run on a shoestring.早年,这家店铺曾是小本经营。
  • How can I take the best possible digital pictures on a shoestring budget?怎样用很小投资拍摄最好的数码照片?
6 aerospace CK2yf     
adj.航空的,宇宙航行的
参考例句:
  • The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
  • Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。
7 participation KS9zu     
n.参与,参加,分享
参考例句:
  • Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
  • The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。
8 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
9 grasslands 72179cad53224d2f605476ff67a1d94c     
n.草原,牧场( grassland的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来,种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 snares ebae1da97d1c49a32d8b910a856fed37     
n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 );圈套;诱人遭受失败(丢脸、损失等)的东西;诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉,诱陷,陷害( snare的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • He shoots rabbits and he sets snares for them. 他射杀兔子,也安放陷阱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death. 我自己不知不觉跌进了死神的陷阱。 来自辞典例句
11 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
12 predators 48b965855934a5395e409c1112d94f63     
n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 );奴役他人者(尤指在财务或性关系方面)
参考例句:
  • birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
  • The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 disappearance ouEx5     
n.消失,消散,失踪
参考例句:
  • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
  • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
14 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

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