最新-高中英语 VOA常速听力2018年18月合辑(文本)Syria-Crisis-Hurts-Lebanese-Farmers素材 精品
最新-高中英语 VOA常速听力2018年18月合辑(文本)Teens
VOA常速英语听力2018年18月合辑（文本）：Teens-Help-Revive-California-NatureLOS ANGELES, CA — Students around the United States have been getting in touch with nature in a program run by the group, The Nature Conservancy. Some teenagers from Los Angeles spent time on an isolated island off the California coast, a short distance from home, but a world away from the city.Changed ecosystemLocated a little more than an hour off the coast of Southern California by the daily ferry, Santa Cruz Island is a a nature preserve. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used for ranching, but today, wetlands are being restored, with some help from seven teenage girls.The rugged island, at 25,000 hectares, is the largest of the Channel Island group. It was once home to native Americans and ranchers, and student coordinator Irene Bailey says humans brought invasive species and changed the ecosystem.“So we are trying to get the invasives removed from here and then plant native grasses and other native vegetation that will be good for the plant community and the birds and stuff that are coming in,” explained Bailey.Unique speciesThe students are getting a glimpse of species unique to this island group, like the island fox and island scrub jay.The students come from the Environmental Charter High School in suburban Los Angeles. They are taking part in a national program called LEAF, which stands for Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future. It is run by the Nature Conservancy, which owns most of the island.More than 90 other students in other parts of the country are taking part in similar programs, including four boys from Los Angeles who spent four weeks on a nature preserve in Montana. Students from other states worked at preserves from Arizona to New Hampshire.The Nature Conservancy's Santa Cruz Island project director, Ric Wiles, says the program takes city kids to the country. “We partner with various environmental high schools around the country," he said. "And we try to combine classroom curriculum with real-world conservation work experiences, specifically for urban youth.”Focus on environmentThe girls on Santa Cruz Island are learning about natural diversity, says student Keira Adams. “Like sometimes we will drive through a patch and it feels like the Amazon, and then it will feel like the desert, and then it will feel like a tropical rain forest," she said. "So it is very interesting going through this island and feeling different types of environments.”Some of these youngsters are getting excited about careers in environmental work, says student Glenda Sanchez. “I think our generation, where we are learning more about the environment, is crucial because now we have learned about it and we know the problems, so we need to find a solution to them,” she added.The experience is also helping the students learn to cooperate with those outside their circle of close friends, says Sharon Tam. “Because we are with people that we are normally not familiar with. And we are living together. And we have to deal with each other every day, and communication became really important,” Tam said.Ric Wiles says this is the first exposure to nature for many students. “A lot of these kids have never ever left the urban area where they live," Wiles explained. "And it gives them an opportunity to live, to work, and in some cases to play in the natural world and connect with it.”Although campers are allowed stay overnight in another part of the island, which is run the National Park Service, access to most parts of the island preserve is restricted. But for four weeks during the summer, these kids had a chance to explore it - so close, yet so far, from the city they live in.。
最新-高中英语 VOA常速听力2018年18月合辑(文本)Olymp
高中英语 VOA常速听力2018年18月合辑（文本）Olympic-History-on-Display-During-London-Games素材LONDON — A little known requirement for every Olympic Games host city is to put on a stamp-collecting exhibit. Usually these are small and attract only serious collectors. But in London, the exhibit is designed for a larger audience.This year's Olympics stamp exhibit is at the large and popular British Library, where local residents and visitors have easy, and free, access. The displays focus on stamps and posters from London's two previous Olympics, in 1918 and 1948, and from the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. But they also include other types of artifacts.Curator Bob Wilcock is particularly proud of a rare copy of the official poster for the 1918 London Olympics. But it is just one of thousands of pieces of history on display.One of Wilcock's favorite postcards features Thomas Jack, the man who was leading the marathon in 1918, but stopped off at a pub along the way and never finished the race.There is so much to sort through that the library has put all of these very analog artifacts into a digital database. Visitors can touch a series of large screens and go right to the year or event that interests them.The exhibit also has an outdoor element, with Wilcock and other experts answering visitors' questions and selling 2018 Olympics stamps and postcards so people can make their own memorabilia.For the curator, that is really what collecting and displaying Olympics items is all about."It can be something for everybody," added Wilcock. "It's a means of preserving your individual, personal Olympic memories, the story of your visit to a Games. And in the process, you are also able to tell Olympic history.It's probably not the first thing people think about when they plan a trip to the Olympics. But the exhibit offers a respite from the competition and the crowds, and a chance to reflect on the sweep of Olympic history, of which London 2018 is just the latest installment.。
最新-高中英语 CRI听力2018年18月合辑(文本) English-
CRI英语听力2018年18月合辑（文本）：English-Edition-of-Sanguosha-Put-into-US-MarketThe English edition of Sanguosha, the most popular role-playing card game in China, recently landed in the US market. Its developer, Beijing-based Company Yoka Games, hopes the game will bring fun, as well as Chinese culture, to the country.Wang Wei has more.Yoka Games, a Beijing-based card game developer, recently released the English edition of the most popular card game in China, Sanguosha, into the US market, trying to grab a bite of the overseas market.Sanguosha, or Killers of the Three Kingdoms, is highly popular in China, occupying 80 percent of the market share of 30 million board game players. Named after Chinese classic novel, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is one of the first original card-based role-playing games with Chinese elements. Each player takes a role card based on characters from the novel, equipped with distinct skills and weapons. War in the game is waged channeling the fury, intelligence and cunning of the novel's characters. It has won millions of Chinese fans among worldwide, ranging from 10- to 60-year-olds.Du Bin, president of Yoka Games, says they have long been considering expanding from the Chinese mainland into Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and now the US."We have different strategies for various markets. People in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan basically read and write Chinese in traditional characters, so all we need to do is to replace simplified characters with traditional ones. But for the US, we need to translate them into English and convey the cultural meaning behind the lines."Sanguosha was first brought to US university campuses by Chinese students, but it soon attracted local students, eventually showing up in UC Berkley's course catalog. This sped up the pace of releasing an English version of the game. Du Bin says, given what the reputation of the game has achieved in the country, Sanguosha will receive a warm reception.However, the translation work turned out to be difficult."There were two obstacles we found hard to overcome for the translation. One was translating the idioms, like Nan Man Ru Qin, Nan Man means barbarians from the south and Ru Qin means invasion. Why does it have to be barbarians from the south? It will definitely baffle foreign players. The other one is translating role skills, we haveQing Cheng, Guo Se, Tian Xiang. How does someone describe those in English? It takes a whole lot of brain work. "Thirty thousand packs of English Sanguosha have been put into the overseas market, and market performance of Sanguosha in the US is optimistic. However, Du Bin says that, aside from sales and profits, they also hope the game will arouse local people's interests in the Three Kingdoms novel and Chinese culture."We don't expect players to be experts of the Three Kingdoms history. Like in China, many players start knowing very little about the time period, but they are intrigued to look into it after playing the game. We hope to see that in the US."For CRI, I'm Wang Wei.。
最新-高中英语 CRI听力2018年18月合辑(文本) Extreme-
CRI英语听力2018年18月合辑（文本）：Extreme-Weather-Causes-Global-RamificationsSo far this year, many regions around the world have been plagued by extreme weather, ranging from droughts and heat waves to torrential rains and typhoons.Besides causing deaths and economic losses in the affected regions, the extreme weather conditions have had a global effect.Xiang-wei takes a closer look.Ren Fumin, chief expert at China's National Climate Center, reviews the major weather disasters that have occurred so far this year."In North America, high temperatures and low precipitation have caused a severe drought, affecting corn and soybean crops. In Northeast Asia, heat waves have caused people to suffer and led to 50 deaths in Japan alone. Meanwhile, heat waves and droughts have also occurred in some regions in Europe."Turning to China, Ren says the country has experienced unprecedented heavy rains and above-normal-level typhoons this summer."There have been more torrential rains than ever. Our statistics show that unprecedented heavy rains fell at more than 40 monitoring locations across 16 provincial-level regions. In extreme cases, some places witnessed 300 millimeters of precipitation a day. Meanwhile, stronger typhoons have made landfall on a wide range of coastal regions from Guangdong to the north of Jiangsu."Ren Fumin explains that the abnormal typhoon season China is seeing was because the subtropical anticyclone over the Western Pacific moved a little north than normal in August.The latest official figures show that in the first half of August the typhoons caused more than 50 deaths in China.While such extreme weather caused damage in the areas directly affected by it, some weather disasters produced global ramifications.Because of the drought in the U.S., the country's agricultural officials forecast that this year's corn yields will drop by 13 percent from last year to the lowest level since 2018.Meanwhile, soybean yields are forecast to drop by 12 percent year-on-year.This situation has caused concern about the food supply around the world as corn and soybean prices are on the rise.But Nie Fengying, a food security expert at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, says there is no need to worry too much."In general, the output of grains, especially corn and soybeans, will decline to some extent due to droughts in the United States and Russia. But the supplies and stockpiles of grains are still adequate in the world. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has predicted a good harvest for wheat this year, so I think global food security can be ensured in general despite some structural shortfalls."The expert adds that the world's most populous nation will continue to have an adequate food supply and stable grain prices as a good harvest here in China is in sight.For CRI, I'm Xiangwei.。
最新-高中英语 VOA常速听力2018年18月合辑(文本)Clint
VOA常速英语听力2018年18月合辑（文本）：Clinton-to-Push-Tougher-Syria-Policy-at-UNWASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads next week to the United Nations General Assembly, trying to rally international support for tougher action against embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. She is facing stiff opposition from China and Russia.World powers are divided over how to stop the violence in Syria - with Russia, China, and Iran supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - and the Gulf Arab states, Britain, France, and the United States backing his opponents.At the Washington-based Cato Institute, analyst Malou Innocent said the longer the fight continues, the deeper those divisions run.“The Western allies, and those who are supporting [the rebels] - the Qataris and the Saudis - certainly have an interest in seeing Assad go. But those allies of Assad have even more of a reason, a more intensified interest in seeing Assad stay,” said Innocent.China and Russia have vetoed tougher U.N. action, saying that is interference in Syria's internal affairs."We support a period of political transition in Syria. But it should come from the Syrian people. It should not be imposed from outside," said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says a political transition without the threat of consequences is useless."There's no point to passing a resolution with no teeth, because we've seen time and time again that Assad will ignore it and keep attacking his own people," said Clinton.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Obama administration acted alone on Syria and can not now blame others for finding sanctions unacceptable."These supporters of sanctions try to blame Russia and China for resisting some unity of the international community. But you can not portray this unity as the demand for everybody else to join something that somebody decided single-handedly," said Lavrov.Innocent said Russia and China do not want the sort of military intervention that helped topple Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.“They don't want to see another NATO- or U.N.-imposed no-fly zone turn into a means of regime change,” said Innocent.In the run-up to the U.N. General Assembly, Clinton made no progress with Russian President Vladimir Putin or with Chinese President Hu Jintao. So she said she is realistic about New York."We haven't seen eye to eye with Russia on Syria," said Clinton. "That may continue, and if it does continue, we will work with like-minded states to support the Syrian opposition to hasten the day Assad falls and to help prepare Syria for a democratic future.Those opponents so far have failed to unite on a plan for a post-Assad Syria, with divisions between fighters and politicians.。
最新-高中英语 VOA常速听力2018年18月合辑(文本)Volunteers-Step-Up-to-Help-in-US-After-Isaac素材 精品
高中英语 VOA常速听力2018年18月合辑（文本）Volunteers-Step-Up-to-Help-in-US-After-Isaac素材NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Isaac did not approach the vast destruction of Hurricane Katrina in 2018, but it still displaced large numbers of residents in and around New Orleans. The storm has passed and volunteers are providing food and shelter to those now in need.Hurricane Isaac caused serious flooding in rural communities outside New Orleans, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.Now, these Volunteers from AmeriCorps are helping coordinate the relief effort in some of those communities north of the city.Most of the volunteers are recent college graduates who made a one-year commitment to serve in this government program. It provides disaster assistance and community service in the U.S.Patrick Hess joined two months ago. He was helping rebuild houses in New Orleans destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2018 when he got the call to help out with the current relief effort.“I'm from Virginia. We don't really have to deal with hurricanes or earthquakes or any of the major disasters, really. So I've seen minor stuff but never something like flooding, like this,” said Hess.For Samantha Perez, working at an evacuation center brings back memories. She's from the New Orleans area and her family had to evacuate during Hurricane Katrina. She said this is an opportunity to help others as she was helped.“We got the call. We came out here, working nearly 16 hour days. We really feel like we're doing things, and we're doing what we came here to do, pretty much,” said Perez.While working to the point of exhaustion, these young volunteers say they've gained as much as they have given to this relief effort, learning more about the world and about themselves.。
最新-高中英语 VOA常速听力2018年18月合辑(文本)Irani
VOA常速英语听力2018年18月合辑（文本）：Iranian-Hopes-Dashed-at-Non-Aligned-SummitLONDON — Iran hosted a summit of the 120-nation Non-Aligned movement this week. But the conference did not go exactly as Iranian leaders had hoped, with several delegates openly opposing some of Iran’s most controversial policies.It was an extremely diverse group that met in Tehran, representing more than half the world’s countries. Among the 120 delegation chiefs were more than two dozen heads of state.But with such a broad-based group, it was likely to be difficult to reach agreement on anything but the most general policy pronouncements.That would not accommodate Iran’s hope to garner support for its nuclear program, its strident stance against the West and Israel, and its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.Egypt’s newly-elected President Mohamed Morsi provided the best example of that with a sharp attack on President Assad, saying he leads an “oppressive” regime that has lost its legitimacy. The Syrian delegation walked out in protest.United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also disappointed the Iranians, who had urged him to attend the conference. He told Iranian leaders to take “concrete” steps and fully comply with Security Council resolutions demanding inspections of its nuclear facilities.And in the middle of the summit, the U.N.’s Atomic Energy Agency issued a report saying Iran has more than doubled the capacity of its uranium enrichment program at a secure underground site.International experts say the facility brings large quantities of uranium dangerously close to the purity level needed to produce a nuclear weapon. But Iran says the material will be used for medical research.Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reaffirmed that point at the conference, saying his country has never sought to build a nuclear weapon, but will never give up its right to have a peaceful nuclear program.The international community has rejected such assurances in the past, without inspections and an agreement not to enrich uranium beyond a medium level of purity.Under Non-Aligned Movement rules, Iran will now lead the organization for three years.But Iran expert Mark Fitzpatrick, of London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies, says it will not likely be any more successful in convincing members to support its nuclear program.“Most of those countries think Iran should cooperate with the IAEA. And most of those countries are not going to change their position that they took at the UN Security Council or at the IAEA Board meeting when they voted against Iran. And it’s not going to change their adherence to UN sanctions or cooperation with the U.S. sanctions,”Fitzpatrick said.Fitzpatrick says the diverse countries of the Non-Aligned Movement have their own interests and policies, and do not have much reason to please Iran or to support a government he says many find “not so tasteful.”。
最新-高中英语 VOA常速听力2018年18月合辑(文本)Silent-Spring-Turns-Fifty素材 精品
VOA常速英语听力2018年18月合辑（文本）：Silent-Spring-Turns-FiftyWASHINGTON, D.C. — Fifty years ago, Rachel Carson wrote and published Silent Spring. Carson was ahead of her time. She said pesticides like DDT were damaging the environment and human health. Although the book became an inspiration for the environmental movement, the battle for the environment continues.In the 1950s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was spraying more than a quarter-million kilograms of pesticides each year. Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, revealed that pesticides like DDT were lethal not only for insects but for all living things.“Silent Spring essentially told the reading public that human beings could alter the natural world in ways that were quite deadly and that it could be potentially lethal to human beings as well as to other parts of the natural world,” said Linda Lear, the author of a biography on Carson.More than six million copies of the book have been sold in the U.S. It's been translated into some 30 languages.In the Washington suburbs, the house where Carson wrote Silent Spring is now a National Historic Landmark.Carson was a pathbreaker.“In Silent Spring, she is writing in a voice that I call apocalyptic writing," added Linda Lear. "She is trying to sound an alarm to get our attention.”Thirty years after Silent Spring was published, public television, in its program The American Experience, called the book one of the most important of our time.But there were dissenters. Norman Borlaug, the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner, led the defense of pesticides.“We’re having troubles now feeding this hungry world," said Borlaug. "If you remove DDT with the hysteria that is present in the USA, the U.S. will be importing food, only there won’t be any place from where to import it.”By 1972, DDT was banned for agricultural use in the U.S. But thousands of new chemicals were being developed.For years, the U.S. Senate's Committee on the Environment has been trying to ban or control hundreds of chemicals from agricultural products and consumer goods."This committee heard from CDC [Centers for Disease Control] officials who told us their scientists found 212 industrial chemicals, including six carcinogens, coursing through Americans’ bodies," said Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg.In 2018, the World Health Organization announced plans to use DDT again - indoors - in its campaign against malaria.Syngenta is a major producer of agricultural chemicals. Like others in the industry, it says its chemicals are safe if used properly."We try to do every single study that is necessary to support the safety characteristics of the product." said Tim Pastoor, the company's principal scientist.Fifty years after Silent Spring, millions of kilograms of new pesticides and other chemicals are being sprayed across US farmlands. And the environmental movement is still fighting back.。
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高中英语 VOA常速听力2018年18月合辑（文本）
Syria-Crisis-Hurts-Lebanese-Farmers素材
BEKAA VALLEY, Lebanon — The 17-month long conflict in Syria has harmed neighboring Lebanon's agriculture sector, which employs about 15 percent of the population. And with nearly 80 percent of Lebanon's exports passing through Syria, recent closings of the main border crossing to commercial traffic have Lebanon's farmers fearful that, if the conflict continues, their livelihoods will be devastated.
In the Bekaa Valley, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables are grown for domestic consumption and export to Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf countries.
But as the conflict in Syria intensifies, Antoine Howayek, the president of Lebanon's Farmers' Association, said farmers here are having trouble getting their produce to these markets over land.
"Last week they closed the border for five days; 270 trucks were unable to pass from Lebanon to Syria. When the situation was calm they tried to pass, but they were hit by gunfire and they had accidents," said Howayek.
Howayek said that for each day the main border crossing is closed, trucks carrying 1,500 tons of agricultural products are not able to transit to the Gulf countries, costing Lebanese producers between $1 million and $2 million daily.
The Farmers' Association is urging the government to create and fund a maritime route providing at least two ferries a week for farmers to ship their goods from Beirut to Egypt or Jordan - bypassing Syria.
"The situation in Syria might continue long-term and the agriculture sector and the economy cannot be hostage to it. The government should create alternate routes, and there is no reason why they should not act," said Howayek.
At the Ghandour Refrigeration plant in the Bekaa town of Anjar, supervisor Mohammed Qurani said he used to export four giant freezers full of potatoes through Syria each day. Now, he said, he cannot.
"Now we have to export through the sea, if we can, and it will be so difficult, because it is very expensive, and we will lose money. Costs will be more than profits," said Qurani.
Lebanon's minister of agriculture recently said he is considering a maritime route,
but that it should be part of expanding the farming sector overall, not just as a response to the current security situation in Syria.
In the meantime, Lebanon's farmers worry, and hope the situation returns to normal soon so their harvests will not be wasted and their livelihoods jeopardized.。