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应广大小分队队员的要求，我们第二期的工作小组强势回归啦~~嘿嘿~~鉴于大家需要每天坚持练习的需要，在敲定第3期小队长这段时间里，pupu就继续带领大家发帖做阅读啦~~虽然G结束了，但是阅读不能放松~~新的一季里，希望大家继续努力哈~~PS：公布下这季的工作名单：糊糊，mahaofei001，lesliekeys ，balapupu，shelvey，铁板神猴，whitethelittle
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Blue Holes: Some of the Least Explored Areas on Earth
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BARBARA KLEIN: I'm Barbara Klein.
STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. A blue hole is a flooded sea cave with a hole that opens up at the land's surface. These cave systems form in carbonate rock, often on islands. Some blue holes have very special rock formations and water chemistry. Far below sea level, they contain some of the harshest environments on Earth, with no oxygen and no light. Yet these areas are filled with life forms that have adapted to the extreme conditions.
Information gathered from these blue holes is helping scientists to increase their understanding of biology, archaeology and geology. But exploring these blue hole environments brings danger as well as discovery.
(MUSIC)
BARBARA KLEIN: Blue holes get their name from the color some have when seen from the air. The color is usually a reflection of the sky on the water. But not all of these cave systems have blue surfaces. Some contain dark or muddy water.
Blue holes are the result of erosion in which water breaks down rock. Rain falling thousands of years ago contained chemicals which slowly wore away at the limestone landmass. These holes later filled with sea water as the sea level changed. The rising and falling of sea levels and the mixture of salt and fresh water further wore away at these cave formations. Blue holes are vertical caves. But they can also have horizontal cave formations that may be hundreds of meters long.
STEVE EMBER: These flooded cave systems can be found in the ocean, or they can be found inland. Ocean caves are affected by tides, so they always have water movement. But blue holes on land are very still. They have several layers of water, chemicals, and bacteria. The top layer of fresh water comes from rainfall. This layer acts like a cap on top of the layered mixture, and keeps out oxygen from the atmosphere. The fresh water floats on a denser layer of saltwater. Underneath this is a layer of poisonous hydrogen sulfide, produced by bacteria living in the water. Underneath this layer is anoxic seawater -- water that does not contain any oxygen.
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BARBARA KLEIN: Kenny Broad is an anthropologist at the University of Miami in Florida. He studies the effects of climate change and human understanding of its risks. He has spent several years exploring underwater caves in the Bahamas. Here Mr. Broad discusses his many cave explorations during a talk at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.
KENNY BROAD: "Underwater caves are probably, I would argue, one of the least understood ecosystems on the planet. One of the reasons they are one of the least understood, they are one of the least explored. And they are one of the last places where you still physically have to go there, you can't send in a submarine or a mode operated vehicle, some autonomous machine. You need to go there."
STEVE EMBER: Kenny Broad helped organize the Bahamas Blue Hole Expedition. In two thousand nine, a team of scientists spent two months researching blue holes on Bahamian islands including Andros and Abaco. The trip received financial support from the National Geographic Society.
(MUSIC)
BARBARA KLEIN: One reason blue holes have not been fully explored is that they can be extremely dangerous. There are many safety rules that divers must follow to help ensure their survival. First, divers must have training and experience to swim in these caves.
Divers who explore a cave for the first time must establish a thin rope called a guideline. This line helps them to safely enter and exit the cave without getting lost.
Divers must also bring several light sources in case one fails. They also must bring more than one set of breathing equipment in case one device fails. And, they must pay careful attention to their air supply. The rule they follow is to use a third of their air to enter the cave, a third to exit, and a third for emergencies.
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STEVE EMBER: There are many difficulties involved in diving in blue holes. In some blue holes divers must quickly swim through a layer of hydrogen sulfide to reach the horizontal caves further down. This gas causes itchy skin, dizziness, and in high enough quantities, death. Or, divers might face extremely strong currents that can suck them into an opening. If they are not careful with their movements they can disrupt an area of a cave, creating explosions of silt which makes it impossible to see clearly. Kenny Broad shows a video of a diver forcing his body through a very narrow rocky opening.
KENNY BROAD: "It's a mental game, it is not a physical game. This isn't macho, and it's not thrill-seeking. It's more about keeping your breath rate under control."
BARBARA KLEIN: For most explorers, though, the possibility of discovery in these cave environments makes the experience worth the risk.
KENNY BROAD: "You can jump into what looks like an insignificant little hole in the ground, and come out with information that's of value to many different disciplines, from a scientific-academic perspective."
Scientists are interested in these caves because oxygen-free conditions there are similar to those on Earth long ago, before oxygen existed on our planet.
KENNY BROAD: "What was life like? And when I say the ancient oceans, maybe a more dramatic way to phrase this question is ‘How did life form?' I'm talking about life three point five billion years ago."
He says the microbes that were present then did not leave a clear fossil record for scientists to study. So studying the organisms in these oxygen-free caves gives clues about the past.
KENNY BROAD: "So what happens here is we have a modern day analogy for what the oceans were like in terms of both the chemistry and the biology."
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STEVE EMBER: Experts are not only interested in life on our planet. Astrobiologists can compare information about these organisms and their environment to other oxygen-free environments, like those in space. They study these extreme conditions to understand how and where life might exist on other planets.
Larger organisms are equally interesting to scientists. Most are colorless and cannot see. For example, the Agostocaris cave shrimp is only about two and a half centimeters long. It has no color except an area of its digestive system. Then there is the remipede. Some scientists describe it as a living fossil. It has changed very little over the past three hundred million years. Remipedes are less than five centimeters long, but they are fierce. They use their poisonous teeth-like fangs to kill shrimp and other creatures.
BARBARA KLEIN: Blue holes also permit scientists to study climate change over thousands of years. They want to understand what those changes could mean in the future.
Some of the horizontal caves have calcite formations called stalagmites and stalactites. They formed little by little tens of thousands of years ago when sea levels dropped. Scientists can study these formations and map out the climate conditions present during every year of their growth.
(MUSIC)
STEVE EMBER: Because blue holes contain no oxygen, they also protect ancient objects from the destruction of time. For example, divers in Sanctuary Blue Hole on the island of Andros in the Bahamas found the ancient bones of native Lucayan tribe members. Experts are not sure whether this tribe placed bodies in caves as part of burial ceremonies or for other reasons.
Animal remains are also preserved in excellent condition. Divers in Sawmill Sink on Abaco Island found the three-thousand-year-old remains of a Cuban crocodile. This kind of crocodile has long disappeared from the Bahamas. They also found some ancient turtle skeletons. They were so well preserved they still had pieces of soft tissue.
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BARBARA KLEIN: The Bahamas may have more than a thousand blue holes. But only about two hundred have been discovered. This includes the world's deepest known blue hole, called Dean's Blue Hole on Long Island. It measures two hundred two meters in depth.
Kenny Broad and his team spent time talking with native Bahamians to ask them if they knew where the team could find other blue holes. He says younger generations are generally not aware of such caves. But their parents know about them and once used them.
KENNY BROAD: "What's interesting, though, is that when you talk to these folks' parents, they were keenly aware of these holes because they used them as their source for drinking water. They used them for all sorts of medicinal reasons. And now they are ignored, and in fact in lots of places we can't even drink the water because of what goes into these holes."
STEVE EMBER: Many blue holes have become areas where people throw away waste. But these actions are polluting an important source of fresh water. Part of Kenny Broad's goal is to raise awareness about these underground areas so local communities will take better care in protecting them.
He says these caves and fresh water sources are not given much attention because they are hard to see.
Another threat these cave systems face is rising sea levels. As sea levels rise, the careful balance of chemistry and nature in these caves could be destroyed.
BARBARA KLEIN: Kenny Broad says these blue holes must be protected for several reasons. They are important for environmental and scientific discoveries. These caves also give a few explorers an extraordinary chance to see life in a beautiful and strange environment that is like no other on Earth.
STEVE EMBER: This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Steve Ember.
BARBARA KLEIN: And I'm Barbara Klein. You can see pictures of blue holes at 51voa.com. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.
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【越障】
 icking Apart the Timeless Appeal of 'The Nutcracker'
DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson.
FAITH LAPIDUS: And I'm Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we enter a world of Christmas magic, snowflakes, sweets and sugar plum fairies. "The Nutcracker" is one of the most popular ballets in the world. It is also an important part of the winter holiday season in America. This week, we tell about the history of this ballet and several versions being performed throughout the United States.
(MUSIC: "March")
DOUG JOHNSON: Our story begins at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December eighteenth, eighteen ninety-two. People have come to see the first performance of "The Nutcracker." Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the music and Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov created the ballet's dance movements.
The ballet was based on a story called "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by the German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann. The French writer Alexandre Dumas later rewrote Hoffman's story. The ballet is based on this version by Dumas.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Tchaikovsky did not much like the ballet or story of "The Nutcracker." He reportedly wrote to a friend that the music he was writing was far worse than the music for his earlier ballet, "The Sleeping Beauty." Many of the people watching "The Nutcracker" that night did not like the ballet either and criticized it. But others praised the ballet for its music.
DOUG JOHNSON: Tchaikovsky was one of the first major composers to use a new musical instrument called a celesta. He discovered the instrument during a visit to Paris. You can hear it in "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy." It gives a special magic to this dance.
(MUSIC: "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy")
FAITH LAPIDUS: Tchaikovsky probably would not have believed that his ballet would one day become an international success. He did not live long enough to find out. He died in eighteen ninety-three at the age of fifty-three.
DOUG JOHNSON: In time, "The Nutcracker" was performed throughout Russia and the rest of Europe. The first performance in the United States was in nineteen forty. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo performed a shorter version of it in New York City. The first full-length performance was in nineteen forty-four by the San Francisco Ballet.
The famous Russian-born ballet director George Balanchine created his own version of "The Nutcracker" for the New York City Ballet. This group has been performing the ballet every year since nineteen fifty-four.
Other dance companies around the United States soon followed this ballet tradition. For many dance companies "The "Nutcracker" is an important part of their financial operation. Some big cities have several different productions of the popular ballet.
(MUSIC: "Grandfather's Dance")
FAITH LAPIDUS: More than any other ballet, "The Nutcracker" is about children and the wonder of childhood. For many young Americans, "The Nutcracker" is the first professional dance performance they will experience. Performances are generally filled with parents and children of all ages. Many of the dancers in the ballet are also children. And, the story is about a child.
The story of "The Nutcracker" differs with every production. But we will tell a traditional version to give you an idea of the story.
DOUG JOHNSON: The ballet begins the night before Christmas at the large house of a German couple and their two children, Clara and Fritz. The family is having a Christmas party with many guests.
(MUSIC: "Herr Drosselmeier's Gifts")
The godfather of Clara and Fritz arrives and gives them wonderful gifts. Clara receives a nutcracker, shaped like a toy soldier. But her brother breaks the nutcracker while playing with it. Clara is very sad that her beloved toy has been damaged. Later, the guests leave and everyone goes to bed.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Clara wakes up in the night to check on her injured nutcracker. The clock strikes midnight. Suddenly the room fills with large mice. The Christmas tree starts to grow and grow. Clara's nutcracker also increases in size, becoming the size of a human. He fights a battle with the mice. The toys in the room also come to life and fight as soldiers alongside the nutcracker.
(MUSIC: "Battle")
With Clara's help, the Nutcracker defeats the mouse army and kills the Mouse King. The Nutcracker then turns into a prince.
(MUSIC: "In the Pine Forest")
DOUG JOHNSON: The Nutcracker Prince leads Clara through a pine forest where snowflakes dance around them. Then, they travel to the beautiful Land of Sweets. This land is ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy.
The Prince tells her about Clara's bravery in helping him defeat the Mouse King. The Sugar Plum Fairy rewards Clara by presenting a series of dances. These include a Spanish, Arabian, Chinese and Russian dance.
(MUSIC: "Russian Dance")
After the celebration, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince do a beautiful dance for two, or a pas de deux.
(MUSIC: "as de Deux")
Clara falls asleep. When she wakes up, she is in her house by the Christmas tree with the toy nutcracker in her arms.
FAITH LAPIDUS: People can see many versions of "The Nutcracker" this time of year. Some are very different from the story we have described. These include a Jewish klezmer music version, a gay dance-along version and a sexy version for adults only.
New York Times reporter Alastair Macaulay has spent weeks travelling around the United States to see many different "Nutcracker" performances.
These include performances in New York City; Memphis, Tennessee; Houston, Texas, and Newport, Rhode Island. His "Nutcracker Chronicles" tell about his travels and the many versions of the ballet.
DOUG JOHNSON: For example, the New York-based Mark Morris Dance Group has redefined this ballet in its production called "The Hard Nut." It takes place in the nineteen seventies. This modernized version is dark, funny and very imaginative.
British dance director Matthew Bourne begins his ballet "Nutcracker!" in a center for children without parents. Clara later sees her beloved Nutcracker Prince fall in love with someone else in a strange world of sugar called Sweetieland.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Many performances of "The Nutcracker" are created with the local area in mind. For example, the Tucson Regional Ballet in Arizona puts on "A Southwest Nutcracker." The production includes coyotes, chili peppers and a Mama Pinata.
Septime Webre is the artistic director of the Washington Ballet in Washington, D.C. His "Nutcracker" takes place in historical Washington. It begins in the Georgetown area of the city in eighteen eighty-two.
SEPTIME WEBRE: "So I thought it would be wonderful for the ballet to reflect the people who are watching the production. I always think art is most powerful when people can see themselves in the work somehow."
DOUG JOHNSON: Septime Webre says that in his version Clara dreams through time. For example, the battle scene in Act One is influenced by the American Revolution. The Nutcracker's role is based on George Washington. His opponent, the Mouse King, is British King George the Third. Act Two takes place amid Washington's famous cherry blossoms.
We asked Mr. Webre what he thinks has made "The Nutcracker" ballet such a beloved production over the years.
SEPTIME WEBRE: "Well, the music absolutely is the key to its success. It's so familiar, but it is also so beautifully rendered. And, despite it being played over and over at every shopping mall in the country, it doesn't become commercial."
FAITH LAPIDUS: Septime Webre says that seeing a beautiful ballet dancer skillfully dancing to Tchaikovsky's music is to see a joy and faith in the harmony of the world. And, he says this is a message that people seek during the holiday season.
(MUSIC)
DOUG JOHNSON: This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Doug Johnson.
FAITH LAPIDUS: And I'm Faith Lapidus. Our programs are online with transcripts and MP3 files at 51voa.com. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONSin VOA Special English. And Happy Holidays to everyone.
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发表于 2011-12-22 22:30:37
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