节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-09-21
难易度:Low
关键字:equipment, wreck, steep, enormous, plankton, snorkel
Welcome back from the break.
Here's a question.
Why do divers from around the world love going to the Philippines?
Maybe it's because 488 out of the 500 known coral species are found there.
Add to that the thousands of different species of marine life, the consistently
comfortable water temperatures and you've got a can't-miss underwater adventure.
Now let's take a short boat trip to Pescador Island and see what we can see on
line 12.
Moalboal: A Diving Paradise.
One popular dive site is Pescador Island.
Underwater, divers can explore a steep wall covered in coral.
And don't miss diving with whale sharks!
These sharks are enormous at 12 meters or more in length.
Don't worry - they're very gentle and only feed on plankton and small fish.
If you can't dive, that's OK.
You can see the sharks from a boat, or you can try snorkeling with them instead.
Friends, one of the biggest reasons that you go scuba diving is to see the
marine life there.
And there's a lot that you can see in Moalboal.
Now many of the best dive sites found there have a lot of fish.
A lot of turtles you can find there.
But one popular dive site is called the Pescador Island dive site.
That's right.
Now we said that there coral reefs that you can visit and see all kinds of
different kinds of marine life.
There's a wide variety to experience.
But there's a very popular site that has a very special part of marine life.
And that is Pescador Island.
Now why is it so special?
OK. Well, you can go here and join a lot of underwater divers, which means they
are below the top of the water.
And you can see and explore a steep wall covered in coral.
Now this word "steep" means to rise or to fall at a very sharp angle.
Now we're not meaning actually dropping something but the distance of something
that is going down.
So a cliff is a steep edge.
It's very sharp, but it goes very far down very, very quickly.
Yeah, so it's the angle, how far something goes down.
And it drops very fast or very quickly.
Now here we even see it called "a wall." And of course, a wall just goes
straight up and down.
That's right.
So it's like a wall, it goes straight up and down.
And it's covered in coral.
Now we do know a coral is a living animal that grows on the older generations of
itself.
So it is connected to this wall.
And Ryan, can you just imagine, I... this has to be beautiful, all the different
colors and designs that coral creates on a wall.
Yeah. Usually when you're diving, you go down to the bottom and just look at
everything beneath you.
But here you get to follow it as you are diving down and see all of the layers
of coral on this wall.
Well, that sounds fascinating and absolutely beautiful.
But there's something else that makes this specific dive site very popular.
And what is that?
Well, friends, if you dive here, you might get a chance to dive with whale
sharks.
OK. Wait, wait, wait. Whale sharks?
That sounds probably a little dangerous, Ryan.
Sharks? Do we really want to dive with a shark?
Well, that's a good question here.
We're not just talking about sharks and whales.
This is one fish that is called a whale shark.
Now yes, it is a shark. You're right, Kaylah.
But they're not dangerous.
Oh. OK.
Well, here "whale" is probably then referring to the size of these sharks.
These sharks are enormous, at 12 meters or more in length.
Oh, wow! Now that is enormous.
And something that is "enormous" is very or extremely large.
That's right.
Now usually we think of whales as being extremely large, as being enormous.
So we can refer to something that is very big as being like a whale - it's
whale-size.
So it's a whale shark.
That's how it gets its name because of how large this animal is.
Yes. Did you know the whale shark is actually the biggest fish in the world, at
twelve meters long?
Wow! That is a... that's an impressive fact.
And here in Moalboal, you have the chance to swim with them.
And the reason is because of the way they... where they live, they come through
this part of the ocean on their... on their path.
All right.
Now don't worry, friends, they're very large, and yes, they're called sharks,
but they are gentle and they only feed on plankton and very small fish.
So we think about like small sharks, they eat bigger... bigger fish.
But this is the biggest shark fish in the world, and they only eat little tiny
fish and something even smaller called plankton.
Yes. "Plankton" is smaller than fish.
It is tiny little plants and animals that live in the ocean, and usually they're
all together in one large group.
And a lot of whales eat... plankton as well as the whale shark.
OK. Now friends, if you want to imagine what a whale shark looks like, you might
have seen them before on maybe the Discovery Channel.
The whale shark is that very large fish that we see a picture with a huge,
enormous mouth.
And they just swim through the water with their mouth wide open.
And that's how they get enough fish and plankton to make them feel full because,
Ryan, they would have to eat a lot for that large of a body.
Yeah, it's true.
You think they would eat larger things.
And it might be a little scary when you're right next to it.
You see its big mouth open.
But you'll notice something, they don't have really big teeth like most sharks.
And they will not eat you.
OK. So it's safe to dive with.
They're very gentle, very kind and calm animal even though they are so large.
Now friends, if you cannot dive, don't worry.
That's OK.
You can still see these fish from the boat, or you can try snorkeling with them
instead.
That's right.
Maybe you're uncomfortable with diving or maybe for some medical reason, it's
not wise for you to go that deep into the ocean, that's OK.
These fish are huge.
And the water is really clear, so you can see them from a boat or by snorkeling.
Yes. "Snorkeling" is similar to diving except you're not diving.
You're not going below the water.
It's when you float on top of the water and you wear a mask and a tube so you
can breathe, and you just float and look down into the water.
Now I have... gone snorkeling, and it is extremely fun and it's very safe.
Friends, you should definitely try this.
And if you get the chance to go to Moalboal, make sure go check out these whale
sharks.
It's very unique experience.
Friends, join us tomorrow for some more fun experiences in Moalboal.
But first, let's watch this video.
(Music).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And that's it for today.
I'll see you tomorrow. Bye-bye.
Pescador Island is every diver's dream.
It's easy to get to.
Its clean waters offer high visibility.
And its variety of marine life is hard to match.
OK. Before I go, let me remind you to visit our Studio Classroom website and
download this lesson's worksheet,
just a simple activity to help reinforce the words and concepts of this TRAVEL
lesson in your brain.
Friends, our tropical adventure in the Philippines continues tomorrow.
I look forward to seeing you then.
Take care.