I am glad to see more and more friends join the reading of NCE4. Based on my personal experience, only by posting out the reading, I could read it at least 5 times to make it fluent without repeating.
By reading NCE4, not only I learned the knowledge, but also the English writing, let alone the grammer. In this lesson, I learned the past tense of the word "spread" is "spread".
Lesson 17 A man-made disease 人为的疾病 First listen and then answer the following question. 听录音,然后回答以下问题。 What factor helped to spread the disease of myxomatosis? In the early days of the settlement of Australia, enterprising settlers unwisely introduced the European rabbit. This rabbit had no natural enemies in the Antipodes, so that it multiplied with that promiscuous abandon characteristic of rabbits. It overran a whole continent. It caused devastation by burrowing and by devouring the herbage which might have maintained millions of sheep and cattle. Scientists discovered that this particular variety of rabbit (and apparently no other animal) was susceptible to a fatal virus disease, myxomatosis. By infecting animals and letting them loose in the burrows, local epidemics of this disease could be created. Later it was found that there was a type of mosquito which acted as the carrier of this disease and passed it on to the rabbits. So while the rest of the world was trying to get rid of mosquitoes, Australia was encouraging this one. It effectively spread the disease all over the continent and drastically reduced the rabbit population. It later became apparent that rabbits were developing a degree of resistance to this disease, so that the rabbit population was unlikely to be completely exterminated. There were hopes, however, that the problem of the rabbit would become manageable. Ironically, Europe, which had bequeathed the rabbit as a pest to Australia, acquired this man-made disease as a pestilence. A French physician decided to get rid of the wild rabbits on his own estate and introduced myxomatosis. It did not, however, remain within the confines of his estate. It spread through France, Where wild rabbits are not generally regarded as a pest but as sport and a useful food supply, and it spread to Britain where wild rabbits are regarded as a pest but where domesticated rabbits, equally susceptible to the disease, are the basis of a profitable fur industry. The question became one of whether Man could control the disease he had invented. RITCHIE CALDER Science Makes Sense New words and expressions 生词和短语 settlement n. 新拓居地 enterprising adj. 有事业心的 settler n. 移居者 Antipodes n. 新西兰和澳大利亚(英) promiscuous adj. 杂乱的 abandon n. 放任,纵情 overrun v. 蔓延,泛滥 devastation n. 破坏,劫掠 burrow v. 挖、掘 susceptible adj. 易受感染的 virus n. 病毒 myxomatosis n. 多发性粘液瘤 infect v. 传染 epidemic n. 流行病 mosquito n. 蚊虫 carrier n. 带菌者 exterminate v. 消灭 ironically adv. 具有讽刺意味地 bequeath v. 把...传给 pest n. 害虫,有害动物 pestilence n. 瘟疫 confine n. 范围 domesticate v. 驯养
In 1492, Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. Over the following decades, Europeans began colonising them. In the process, they fought with Indigenous Americans, often killing them. But even more lethally, they brought diseases. One of the worst was smallpox, which killed millions.
As well as being a genocide and a tragedy, this may have had an impact on the climate. Many Indigenous Americans were farmers who had cleared forests for their crops and when they died the trees grew back, drawing carbon dioxide out of the air and cooling the planet. This scenario was first outlined by climatologist William Ruddiman in 2003, as part of his “early Anthropocene” hypothesis that humans have been affecting Earth’s climate for millennia, albeit less than we are today.
The arrival of Europeans in the Americas caused the deaths of millions of Native people. The forests that grew on formerly cultivated land took carbon from the atmosphere. Photograph: John Mitchell/Alamy
The idea that mass deaths among Indigenous Americans led to climate cooling has received tentative support from modelling studies. Still, it has been controversial because there are so many uncertainties about the key numbers.
However, in 2019 Koch and his colleagues published an updated analysis. They went through the argument step by step and tried to quantify everything, from the number of people who died to the extent of reforestation. They concluded that the European arrival led to 56m deaths by 1600. This dreadful toll meant trees grew again on 56m hectares of land, removing 27.4bn bn kilograms of carbon dioxide from the air.
“It’s a really interesting theory,” says Degroot. However, he remains sceptical because we don’t know how land use was changing in other parts of the world, especially Africa.
I am glad to see more and more friends join the reading of NCE4. Based on my personal experience, only by posting out the reading, I could read it at least 5 times to make it fluent without repeating.
By reading NCE4, not only I learned the knowledge, but also the English writing, let alone the grammer. In this lesson, I learned the past tense of the word "spread" is "spread".
好处多多!不和别人比,只和自己比,每课进步多一点!:)
那谁,那谁谁,一起来读吧:)
美音原文朗读:
https://www.tingclass.net/show-5046-935-1.html
Lesson 17
A man-made disease
人为的疾病
First listen and then answer the following question.
听录音,然后回答以下问题。
What factor helped to spread the disease of myxomatosis?
In the early days of the settlement of Australia, enterprising settlers unwisely introduced the European rabbit. This rabbit had no natural enemies in the Antipodes, so that it multiplied with that promiscuous abandon characteristic of rabbits. It overran a whole continent. It caused devastation by burrowing and by devouring the herbage which might have maintained millions of sheep and cattle. Scientists discovered that this particular variety of rabbit (and apparently no other animal) was susceptible to a fatal virus disease, myxomatosis. By infecting animals and letting them loose in the burrows, local epidemics of this disease could be created. Later it was found that there was a type of mosquito which acted as the carrier of this disease and passed it on to the rabbits. So while the rest of the world was trying to get rid of mosquitoes, Australia was encouraging this one. It effectively spread the disease all over the continent and drastically reduced the rabbit population. It later became apparent that rabbits were developing a degree of resistance to this disease, so that the rabbit population was unlikely to be completely exterminated. There were hopes, however, that the problem of the rabbit would become manageable.
Ironically, Europe, which had bequeathed the rabbit as a pest to Australia, acquired this man-made disease as a pestilence. A French physician decided to get rid of the wild rabbits on his own estate and introduced myxomatosis. It did not, however, remain within the confines of his estate. It spread through France, Where wild rabbits are not generally regarded as a pest but as sport and a useful food supply, and it spread to Britain where wild rabbits are regarded as a pest but where domesticated rabbits, equally susceptible to the disease, are the basis of a profitable fur industry. The question became one of whether Man could control the disease he had invented.
RITCHIE CALDER Science Makes Sense
New words and expressions 生词和短语
settlement
n. 新拓居地
enterprising
adj. 有事业心的
settler
n. 移居者
Antipodes
n. 新西兰和澳大利亚(英)
promiscuous
adj. 杂乱的
abandon
n. 放任,纵情
overrun
v. 蔓延,泛滥
devastation
n. 破坏,劫掠
burrow
v. 挖、掘
susceptible
adj. 易受感染的
virus
n. 病毒
myxomatosis
n. 多发性粘液瘤
infect
v. 传染
epidemic
n. 流行病
mosquito
n. 蚊虫
carrier
n. 带菌者
exterminate
v. 消灭
ironically
adv. 具有讽刺意味地
bequeath
v. 把...传给
pest
n. 害虫,有害动物
pestilence
n. 瘟疫
confine
n. 范围
domesticate
v. 驯养
在澳大利亚移民初期,一些有创业精神的移民不明智地把欧洲兔子引进了澳大利亚。这种兔子在澳大利亚及新西兰没有天敌,因此便以兔子所特有的杂乱交配迅猛繁殖起来。整个澳洲兔子成灾。它们在地下打洞,吃掉本可以饲养数百万头牛羊的牧草,给澳洲大陆造成了毁灭性的破坏。科学家们发现,这种特殊品种的兔子(显然不包括别的动物)易患一种叫“多发性粘液瘤”的致命毒性疾病。通过让染上此病的动物在洞内乱跑,就可以使这种疾病在一个地区蔓延起来。后来又发现,有一种蚊子是传播这种疾病的媒介,能把此病传染给兔子。因此,世界上其他地方在设法消灭蚊子的时候,澳大利亚却在促使这种蚊子大量繁殖。蚊子把这种疾病扩散到整个澳洲大陆,效果甚佳,结果兔子的数目在为减少。后来,明显看出,兔子对这种疾病已产生了一定程度的免疫力,所以兔子不可能被完全消灭。但是,已有希望解决兔子所带来的问题。 具有讽刺意味的是,欧洲把这种兔子作为有害动物传给澳洲,而欧洲自己却染上了这种人为的瘟疫般的疾病。一位法国内科医生决定除掉自己庄园内的野兔子,于是引进了这种多发性粘液瘤疾病。然而,这种疾病并未被局限在他的庄园内,结果在整个法国蔓延开来。野兔在法国一般不被当作有害动物,而被视为打猎取乐的玩物和有用的食物来源。这种疾病又蔓延到了英国。在英国,野兔被当作有害的动物,可是家兔是赚钱的毛皮工业的基础,然而家兔同样易感染这种疾病。现在的问题是,人类能否控制住这种人为的疾病。
The great dying
In 1492, Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. Over the following decades, Europeans began colonising them. In the process, they fought with Indigenous Americans, often killing them. But even more lethally, they brought diseases. One of the worst was smallpox, which killed millions.
As well as being a genocide and a tragedy, this may have had an impact on the climate. Many Indigenous Americans were farmers who had cleared forests for their crops and when they died the trees grew back, drawing carbon dioxide out of the air and cooling the planet. This scenario was first outlined by climatologist William Ruddiman in 2003, as part of his “early Anthropocene” hypothesis that humans have been affecting Earth’s climate for millennia, albeit less than we are today.
The arrival of Europeans in the Americas caused the deaths of millions of Native people. The forests that grew on formerly cultivated land took carbon from the atmosphere. Photograph: John Mitchell/Alamy
The idea that mass deaths among Indigenous Americans led to climate cooling has received tentative support from modelling studies. Still, it has been controversial because there are so many uncertainties about the key numbers.
However, in 2019 Koch and his colleagues published an updated analysis. They went through the argument step by step and tried to quantify everything, from the number of people who died to the extent of reforestation. They concluded that the European arrival led to 56m deaths by 1600. This dreadful toll meant trees grew again on 56m hectares of land, removing 27.4bn bn kilograms of carbon dioxide from the air.
“It’s a really interesting theory,” says Degroot. However, he remains sceptical because we don’t know how land use was changing in other parts of the world, especially Africa.
myxomatosis的y的发音是 i 的音?
estate 重音是不是在 state的音节?
你是不是没听原读就直接读了?不然怎么这么快?!佩服佩服,太厉害了!
我得熟悉课文之后才能读下来,不然肯定读不顺的:)
疫苗的崇拜和商业推广和疫苗最终的颓败和公共卫生的信誉扫地.
背后都是病毒的自然规律的无情, 和拒绝自然规律的人类的傲慢和偏见的对照.
Starting from 1hr 24 min of the episode to 1hr 28min