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
Did you have a great break?
Welcome back, everyone.
When people are discussing things found in nature, there's a good chance they'll
use the two English words: flora, F-L-O-R-A, and fauna, F-A-U-N-A.
"Flora" refers to the plant life of a region while "fauna," the region's animal
life.
OK.
When's the best season to visit the Pantanal?
It all depends on what kinds of flora and fauna you want to see.
Let's get back to the reading now and look at some of the changes the different
seasons bring to the Pantanal at the top of the right-hand column.
(Music).
The Pantanal: A Wetland Adventure.
Pantanal means "swamp" in Spanish and Portuguese, but the Pantanal isn't a real
swamp at all.
It's actually a low-lying plain that floods during the rainy season.
From November until March, rain falls and the waters rise, making travel
difficult.
So if you're planning a visit, go during the dry season, from April until
October.
Then the land dries out, grass grows, and the Pantanal becomes a mixture of
savanna, forest and meadow.
Friends, now we know the Pantanal is actually a better place to go to see
wildlife than the Amazon basin.
Who knew?
But when should you actually go?
That's what we want to learn next.
When to go?
Well, Pantanal means "swamp" in Spanish and Portuguese, but the Pantanal isn't a
real swamp at all.
So it's kind of like it but not quite.
We said "swamp" earlier.
And friends, what is a swamp?
OK. A "swamp" is an area of land that is very wet and very soft.
That's right.
So probably some of the most famous swamps in the world are going to be in
Florida.
That's right.
Florida has a lot of swampland.
And you'll see it even just looks like water.
It's very, very shallow water.
And so people usually can walk there.
There're usually only small animals there.
But the Pantanal isn't a real swamp, is it?
No. That's right.
Now even thought it's the word for "swamp" in Spanish and Portuguese...
And that's interesting because in most of the South America, they would be
speaking Spanish - so in Paraguay and Bolivia.
But in Brazil, they actually speak Portuguese.
So it's the crossover between the two, the name stays the same.
Exactly. So people saw this, they thought, well, let's call it the swamps, so
they call it Pantanal.
But we, of course, know it isn't a swamp.
It's actually a low-lying plain that floods during the rainy season.
OK. Low-lying means it's at a very low altitude.
High altitude would be mountains.
Low altitude would be near the sea level.
But this is a plain, so that's probably falling between mountain ranges.
It's going be a large area.
But it's so low-lying that it floods during a rainy season.
OK, Kaylah, I want to talk about this word "plain." That means it's just normal,
right?
The word "plains" means normal.
No. In this case, this is talking about geography.
And in geography, the word "plain" refers to this large, flat area between two
sets of mountains.
Exactly. A plain is flat land.
And so this flat land actually "floods." That means water rises above the land.
So it forms almost like a lake during the rainy season when there is a lot of
rain.
That's right.
Now remember, from November until March rain falls and the waters rise, kind of
making it difficult to travel, so.
Rainy season and wet season are... rainy... are the same thing.
You got this wet versus dry, rainy versus sunny, seasons in the tropics.
Remember, this is tropical.
So this is more... instead of having really winter and summer, it's kind of
always hot.
So it's wet or dry.
Exactly. And so here during the winter, even though it's still hot, it does rain
a lot.
And so it can be difficult to travel around during the winter there.
So if you're planning a visit, go during the dry season - from April until
October - which is actually more of the time you want to travel anyways.
So if you'd like to visit South America's Pantanal, make sure you book it from
April to October because that's when the rains are less.
It's a lot drier.
But I promise you, this wetland won't be dry.
Absolutely.
Even though they call it dry season, that simply means there's not as much rain
there.
But this is, of course, still a wetland.
Now the land will dry out and grass will grow and the Pantanal becomes a mixture
of savanna, forest and meadow.
So in the... more in the winter or the wet season months, it gets... it's like a
lake.
It becomes very wet, and waters rise, and it floods.
But during the summer, for our summer or their dry season, it... it gets
beautiful to travel.
Yeah, it does.
And so you can go there during this summer, like Kaylah said.
And you see the ground actually dries out and grass grows and trees grow, and it
becomes what is called a savanna.
Now a "savanna" is a large area of land, usually flat, most often covered in
grass with only a few trees, and is mostly found in very hot countries.
You might think savanna... I know I, for a long time, thought that savanna only
meant areas in Africa,
the large parts in Africa where you see where the giraffes and the tiger... you
know, all the lions and all of them are living.
That is a savanna.
But savanna refers, once again, like plain to a type of geography.
Yes. In fact, usually like you said, a hot geography.
It's a lot of plains and some... a lot of grass but a few trees.
And actually I was lucky enough when I was younger to travel to Hawaii.
And I didn't realize that many of the places in Hawaii are actually more of a
savanna than they are a rain forest.
Interesting.
Now so we know what a forest is, we know what a savanna is.
What's a meadow?
Well, a meadow is similar to what you might call a plain.
It's a smaller plain, though.
It's very flat with a lot of grass, and you can usually find some small animals
there.
So what do you think would separate a savanna, which is a large, flat, grassy
area, from a meadow that's a large, flat, grassy area?
Meadows are usually smaller.
And they are usually surrounded by thicker trees where as a savanna, the grass
is shorter and the trees are farther apart.
OK. And meadows are found in all climates.
A savanna is only in hot countries.
So friends, you can imagine that visiting this diverse land, this different kind
of geography would be very interesting and extremely beautiful.
Well, you can go here to see the animals, of course.
But what else is there to do in the Pantanal?
After all, it's really not all that popular, and so there aren't a whole lot of
tour groups.
Well, we'll give you a lot of options of interesting and fun things you can do
in Pantanal after we watch the skit.
(Music).
Welcome to the Pantanal in the heart of South America.
It's a paradise for birds, fish, mammals and reptiles.
And exotic plant life too.
This is the world's largest freshwater wetland.
Of course, it's not as famous as the Amazon basin.
No, it's not as famous because it's less famous.
It offers a better chance to see wildlife.
Yes. It's not as crowded, and it hasn't been damaged by too many tourists.
If you like wildlife, this is the perfect place for a perfect adventure.
The word Pantanal means swamp.
But don't worry, it's not a real swamp.
It's a low-lying plain.
It only floods during the rainy season.
The rain falls and the waters rise.
And traveling becomes very difficult.
Yes. That happens from November until March.
Wait! This is November.
The rainy season has already begun.
Oh, so that's why it's wet and traveling is difficult.
Yeah. Oops.
Oh, well. Soon the land will dry out and the grass will grow again.
Yes. Soon it will be a lovely mixture of savanna, forest and meadow.
And when exactly is that?
Well, the dry season begins in April.
That's in five months.
Yes. But don't worry, it will be here before you know it.
(Music).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And time really flies.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Bye-bye.
Friends, before we go, let me share with you a letter we received from a Studio
Classroom friend who lives all the way over in Iran.
Her name is Cherrera. And she writes:
Hello, Studio Classroom.
I enjoy watching your program whenever I can.
It helps correct my accent and keeps the English I've learned in my memory.
Keep up the good work.
Well, thank you, Cherrera.
We appreciate those encouraging words.
And you, keep up the good work as well.
Friends, we'd love to hear from you too.
Please write us at letters@StudioClassroom.com.
Then join us tomorrow for more adventures in the Pantanal.
Have a great day.