节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-11-20
难易度:Medium
关键字:imaginable, peril, tragic, extinction, wingspan
OK, friends. I hope you had a great break.
Welcome back.
Here's a question: Why should we be concerned that butterfly populations are in
danger of dying out?
Well, because we can learn a lot from butterflies.
For example, the study of their unique wing structure has led to new designs for
kites and aircraft.
At the end of the program, I'll give you a few more reasons why it's important
that we don't lose any more butterflies.
Right now let's continue the reading at the top of the right-hand column.
(Music).
Endangered Butterflies.
Estimates indicate that between 15 and 20 thousand species of butterflies exist
worldwide.
A number of these species are endangered, over 20 in the U.S. alone.
Although that number may seem small, losing even one species would be tragic.
Since butterflies are sensitive to environmental changes, scientists look to
them as a measure of the environment's health.
Many environmentalists around the world are eager to protect the endangered
butterflies from extinction.
The American Museum of Natural History in New York, for example, has a special
butterfly exhibit.
This exhibit highlights the important role that butterflies play in our
environment.
Friends, today we're talking about Endangered Butterflies.
Now we've talked about endangered animals before.
You might remember talking about the endangered tiger.
Now I know it might seem a little strange to want to be saving lives of
butterflies, but let's take a look at why we think it might be important.
Well, now Kaylah, just a few days ago, actually, you and I were driving on the
back of a scooter through the jungles in Taiwan.
And suddenly a butterfly flew in front of us and got stuck in your helmet.
And of course at the time, it looked really dangerous for the butterfly.
But we pulled over.
We let it out and we saw it actually was a very beautiful butterfly.
And though it was, well, really funny that it got stuck in your helmet, it was
really cool to see that it was still alive; and we want to take care of them.
So it's actually important to take care of these creatures.
Yes. I can understand wanting to make sure beautiful things exist.
But you know, it's interesting because we... we have talked about other kinds of
animals,
and it's interesting to see how different kinds of people like to save different
kinds of things.
That's true.
Well, this is actually a dangerous situation for these butterflies.
Estimates indicate that between 15 and 20 thousand species of butterflies
actually exist in the world.
And a large number of those are endangered.
Oh, no. A large number, which means not actually written in very big font.
It means a very high number that a lot of them are endangered.
OK. So here we see that 15 to 20 thousand species of butterflies are around the
world.
And we know a species is a section or category of animals; and so there are
thousands and thousands of different kinds of butterflies.
That's right.
Now there are butterflies from all over the world.
I think that's something interesting about butterflies is they do come from all
different climates in all places.
There's not just... you know, we talked about tropical things being only in one
area.
These are actually from all over.
That's right.
And these are due to estimates, Kaylah.
And an estimate is simply a guess, an educated guess.
The people are trying to think, well, there are... be probably between 15 to 20
thousand different kinds of butterflies.
So there are species of butterflies all over the world.
And a number of these species are endangered.
Now a number of something means a large amount or a certain amount of them
without giving a specific.
So friends, if you are trying to tell someone maybe a statistic or a fact, and
you can't remember the exact amount, use this phrase,
"a number of," to help you not give false information but to give the idea of
having a lot of something.
Yeah. It's another way of saying some of these species are endangered.
And in fact, over 20 species are in the U.S. alone that are endangered.
OK. So over 20 species in just one country.
Now "although that number may seem small," and Ryan, that number does seem small
to me.
Yeah, it seems small to me too.
But here our author says... well, he thinks losing even one species would be
tragic.
OK. Let's look at this word - tragic.
Now "tragic" is a great word to use to show big expression.
Now "tragic" means something that is extremely or very sad, usually referring to
a lot of suffering or a lot pain or death.
So "tragedy" is a good word.
This word, it's so "tragic," would be a great word to use in your writing.
But make sure you don't overuse it in writing or in speech.
For example, Ryan, if I said "Oh, no! My pen broke. It's tragic!" would that be
a good use of the word?
No, not really, because if you break your pencil, yeah, OK, that's a little sad,
but it's not tragic because something that is tragic usually only involves
someone dying or if you lose a friend or a family member.
That's right.
Something that could be tragic would be natural disasters.
We talked about those earlier.
Now we know... these natural disasters, they happen; a lot of suffering, a lot
of death is caused.
And that makes it a tragic experience.
So would losing one species of butterfly be tragic?
Well, our author seems to think so.
Now since butterflies are sensitive to environmental changes, scientists look at
them as a measure of the environment's health.
This is an interesting statistic.
I did not know this.
I... I did know that butterflies were extremely sensitive.
Now to be sensitive means you are very aware or can be changed very easily by
things around you.
So if they're sensitive to environmental changes, that means their bodies are...
react very quickly to even the smallest things,
the difference in temperature or air quality or water quality.
They would react to it very quickly because they're... well, they're very small.
Exactly. That's true.
An even, Kaylah, when I was little, I was told don't touch a butterfly's wings
because if you touch their wings,
and that powder comes off of their wings, then they can die.
And so they're very sensitive even to environmental changes, changes in the
environment.
So scientists use them to measure the environment's health.
To measure, to keep track of, to look at how the pollution in the area is going.
Now many environmentalists around the world are eager to protect the endangered
butterflies from extinction.
Now a... what is this word here, environmentalist?
An environmentalist is someone who studies and tries to protect the environment.
And so they want to protect the butterflies from "extinction," which means they
completely die off.
That's right.
Extinction means there's no more of them.
Now the American Museum of Natural History in New York, for example, has a
special butterfly exhibit.
This exhibit highlights the important role of... that butterflies play in our
environment.
And we're going to look at that important role after we visit the Chat Room.
Excuse me, Bryan.
Do have time to answer a question?
Sure, Ken.
What is it?
Well, I'm reading this story, and it says that the main character's sister is
very sensitive.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
That is a great question.
So why don't we see what Studio Classroom Teacher Pam has to say about it.
OK.
The word "sensitive" has several different meanings.
One is positive.
It means being able to understand other people and pay attention to what they're
feeling.
But saying a person is sensitive can also mean that they get upset or angry
easily.
In this sense, it is a negative trait.
OK. So let's see, the book says the character's sister is sensitive, and that he
needs to be careful about what he says to her.
So that would be the negative meaning, right?
Yes. It means that if he isn't careful, he might say something that upsets her.
You can also say that someone is sensitive about a certain topic.
I'm assuming that means they get upset easily when you're talking about the
topic?
Yes, exactly, Ken.
For example, someone might be sensitive about their weight or about the amount
of money they make.
So how is that different from being sensitive to something?
Being sensitive to something means being easily affected by it.
So a plant might be sensitive to changes in temperature and die if the
temperature drops too quickly.
Could you also say that a person is sensitive to what other people say?
Yes. That's another good example, Ken.
Great. Thanks for your help.
The story is making a lot more sense to me now.
(Chinese).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And time really flies.
Make sure you come back tomorrow for more Language Tips.
Thank you, Michelle.
We appreciate that.
So what can butterflies teach us?
Studies of the reflective scales on butterfly wings have led to innovations in
the development of LEDs - or Light Emitting Diodes.
In addition, one species of butterfly was found to contain a chemical that
limits the spread of cancer.
Just two more reasons why we shouldn't let the butterflies fly away forever.
This leads us to wonder what other secrets are these amazing animals waiting for
us to discover.
OK, everyone.
Let's meet again tomorrow same time, same place, for day two of Endangered
Butterflies.
Take care.