节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-11-15
难易度:Medium
关键字:wetland, mammal, basin, swamp, savanna
Hi, friends.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for joining us today.
This month we're traveling to the heart of South America to visit the largest
freshwater wetland system in the world.
Now if you think we're going to the Amazon River Basin, that would be a good
guess but you'd be too far north.
Where we're going is called the Pantanal, a region that's not as big or as
famous as its giant Amazon neighbor, but it is, in many ways, a cut above it.
Let's find out why as we get started with today's reading on page 30, The
Pantanal: A Wetland Adventure.
The Pantanal: A Wetland Adventure.
Don't miss a chance to see some of the world's most interesting tropical plants
and animals - all in one place!
In the heart of South America lies a paradise for birds, fish, mammals, reptiles
and exotic plant life - the Pantanal.
Covering as much as 210,000 square kilometers, the Pantanal is the world's
largest freshwater wetland.
It stretches over central and western Brazil and west into Bolivia and Paraguay.
Although it's less famous than its neighbor the Amazon basin, the Pantanal
offers a better chance to see wildlife.
And because it's not as well-known, the area isn't crowded or damaged by too
much tourist activity.
It's the perfect place to have an adventure and see wildlife in its natural
habitat.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us right here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
My name is Ryan.
Friends, we love TRAVEL articles at Studio Classroom.
And we do enjoy traveling to major cities where there's a lot of entertainment
and activities.
But this time we are traveling somewhere a bit different.
That's right.
We're traveling to the Pantanal.
Now this is a wetland adventure that you can look forward to.
Well, you need to know what a wetland is if you're going to go.
Ryan, what is a wetland?
Well, a "wetland" is a certain area of land that contains a lot more water than
other places.
And usually, large trees don't grow there.
There's usually a lot of rivers there.
OK. So there's a lot of water, a lot of trees, a lot of rivers.
It's kind of that jungle-like feel to it.
But this is special because it's freshwater.
Exactly. So here you will have a chance to see some of the world's most
interesting tropical plants and animals.
That's right. And they're all in one place!
Now you don't want to miss the chance.
Now you don't want to miss the opportunity to visit a place where all of these
tropical plants and animals are.
Now "tropical" meaning it is from a very hot and wet climate.
Yeah. Something that is tropical is near the center of the Earth that is closest
to the sun, so it's very hot and very wet.
OK Let's head south.
In the heart of South America lies a paradise for birds, fish, mammals, reptiles
and exotic plant life.
This is, of course, the Pantanal.
OK. So this is in the heart of South America, so it's in the very center.
And this is a place that is a paradise.
That means it's perfect, it has everything that these things need such as fish
and mammals.
Well, a "mammal" is a kind of animal.
Now this animal is warm-blooded.
And they give birth to their young when the young are actually alive.
They do not lay eggs.
Now humans would be considered mammals as well as most of the pets that we keep
- would be like dogs and cats.
These are also mammals.
Yeah. You can also tell when an animal is a mammal if they feed milk to their
young.
Those are mammals.
That's right.
So you will find these as well as reptiles, birds and all kinds of fish.
Absolutely. So this is a paradise for all these kinds of animals and even plant
life in the Pantanal.
Now the Pantanal is very large.
It covers as much as 210,000 square kilometers.
But the Pantanal is the world's largest freshwater wetland.
OK. Now friends, you might remember from a couple days ago, we were talking
about the Amazon Rain Forest.
Now the Amazon Rain Forest is 5.5 million kilometers squared.
This is only 210,000 square kilometers.
So it's not nearly as big as the Amazon, but it is the world's largest
freshwater wetland.
That's right, because the Amazon is not a wetland.
The Amazon is a rain forest and river.
This is a wetland.
There's so much water.
I guess another word for this could be like a swamp.
Absolutely. And the Amazon Rain Forest is not a wetland; it's a rain forest.
Now the Pantanal stretches over central and western Brazil and west into most of
Bolivia and Paraguay.
Now these are all countries in South America.
And you can see a picture of this on page 30 in your Studio Classroom magazine.
OK. So you can see, friends, it is quite big.
It's not as huge as the Amazon Rain Forest, but it's still the largest
freshwater wetland in the world.
That's right.
It crosses over a couple of different countries.
Brazil is very large, so there's a lot of different kinds of land in Brazil.
In fact, the Pantanal and the Amazon are neighbors.
Though the Pantanal is less famous than its neighbor the Amazon basin, the
Pantanal still offers a better chance to see wildlife.
OK. So here we see the Amazon is called a basin.
So it's... it is a rain forest, but it is also a basin.
Can you explain what that is?
OK. A "basin" is an area of land that forms where streams and rivers will run in
towards each other where there's going to be lake.
So if it's surrounded by mountains, it's that low area between the mountains
where the water would run into it off of streams and rivers into lakes.
And then that would flow out into the ocean.
So it's kind of like the bottom of the bowl between sets of mountains.
Right. And of course we know at the bottom of the Amazon basin is the Amazon
River.
So with that obviously flows into the ocean.
Now Amazon River and the Amazon Rain Forest are famous, but there's a lot more
wildlife that you can see here in Pantanal.
Which is interesting - most people think going to the Amazon would be a chance
to see this.
But if you actually attend the Pantanal, you'll have a better chance of running
into them.
Right.
It isn't as well-known as the Amazon, so the area isn't crowded or damaged by
too much tourist activity.
That's right.
That's a great reason.
It's more natural.
The animals are going to stay around more because it's not as famous.
Now it's the perfect place to have an adventure and to see wildlife in its
natural habitat.
In the Amazon, you're less likely to see these kinds of animals just because of
the amount of human activity in the area.
Right.
There are a lot of people there.
And they are also kind of destroying the area that they are in a lot of the
time.
And so you don't get as great of a chance to see the... the actual wildlife.
Here, you do get to see wildlife in their natural habitat.
That's right.
You get to have an adventure.
Get out there and see them.
And hey, I'm going to guess if you're in a wetland, you get the chance to go out
in lots of different boats.
Well, we're going to look at how you can adventure and enjoy the Pantanal after
we visit the Chat Room.
Say, Bryan, that's an interesting-looking hippo you've got there.
Oh, this here.
This is a souvenir I bought on my trip to South America.
A souvenir?
What's that?
Well, souvenir is a French word meaning memory.
So a souvenir is simply something that reminds you of a place.
If you buy a souvenir when you're on vacation, it will remind you of your
vacation every time you look at it.
So where do people buy souvenirs?
You can buy souvenirs in souvenir stands or gift shops.
But you need to be careful, Ken.
Many of those places are tourist traps.
Tourist traps?
That's right.
A tourist trap is a place that's designed to attract tourists.
It offers products that tourists can buy for souvenirs.
Hmm. It sounds kind of negative.
Oh, yes, it does have a negative connotation.
Products sold at tourist traps are generally more expensive than products sold
at other places.
That's why it's considered a trap for tourists.
You might end up spending more money on things than you really needed to.
You could probably find it cheaper somewhere else.
I've also heard places being described as touristy.
What does that mean?
A touristy place is one that's designed to attract tourists, especially in an
inauthentic way.
So it also has a negative connotation.
Oh, it sure does.
I usually avoid touristy places when I visit a city.
Instead I like to discover the real deals.
You know, those places that only the locals go?
Yeah. I'm with you there.
But I do like your souvenir.
Thanks, Ken.
This is one souvenir I'm glad I bought.