本期4篇文章均选自VOA慢速新闻，有禽流感等话题。
第一篇
Bird Flu Spreads to More Countries
By John Russell
18 February 2023
Avian flu has reached new areas of the world and has become a year-round problem, animal and disease experts warn.
More than 20 experts and farmers on four continents spoke to the Reuters news agency about the problem. They suggested that recordoutbreaks will not stop soon on poultry farms. They also warned that farmers must view the disease as a serious risk all year, instead of doing prevention efforts during spring movement seasons for wild birds. The outbreaks of the virus have continued through the summer heat and winter cold in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Egg prices set records after the disease killed tens of millions of chickens last year. These record prices, at a time of worldwide economic problems, are especially damaging to people who use eggs as a main source of protein.
FILE - A person holds a test tube labelled "Bird Flu" next to eggs, in this picture illustration, January 14, 2023. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)
Wild birds are mainly responsible for spreading the virus, experts say. Waterfowl like ducks can carry the disease without dying and pass it to poultry throughcontaminated waste, saliva and other means.
Farmers' best efforts to protect their birds are falling short.
In the United States, Rose Acre Farms, the country's second-largest egg producer, lost about 1.5 million chickens at a Guthrie County, Iowa, production farm last year. These losses occurred even though anyone who enteredbarns was required to shower first to remove any sign of the virus, Chief Executive Marcus Rust said.
A company farm in Weld County, Colorado, was infected twice within about six months, killing more than 3 million chickens, Rust said. He thinks wind blew the virus in from nearby fields where geese left their waste.
The U.S., Britain, France and Japan are among the countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless.
"Avian flu is occurring even in a new poultry farm with modern equipment and no windows, so all we could do now is ask God to avoid an outbreak," said Shigeo Inaba, who raises chickens for meat in Ibaraki, near Tokyo.
Virus is here to stay
The virus is usually deadly to poultry, and entire groups of birds are killed when even one bird testspositive.
Vaccinations are not a simple solution: they may reduce but not eliminate the threat from the virus, making it harder to detect its presence among the birds. Still, Mexico and the European Union are among those vaccinating or considering shots.
Wild birds have spread the disease farther and wider around the world than ever before, likely carrying record amounts of the virus, said Gregorio Torres. Torres is the head of the science department at the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health, an intergovernmental group for animal diseases. The virus changed from previous outbreaks to a form that is probably more easily spread, he told Reuters.
"The disease is here to stay at least in the short term," Torres said.
While the virus can infect people, usually those who have contact with infected birds, the World Health Organization says the risk to humans remains low.
I'm John Russell.
Tom Polansek reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
outbreak-- n. a sudden start or increase of fighting or disease
poultry – n. birds (such as chickens) that are raised on farms for their eggs or meat
contaminated -- adj. to make (something) dangerous, dirty, or impure by adding something harmful or undesirable to it
saliva – n. the liquid produced in your mouth that keeps your mouth moist
barn – n. a building on a farm that is used for keeping farm animals or equipment
occur -- v. to happen; to appear or exist; to be found
positive-- adj. thinking about the good qualities of someone or something : thinking that a good result will happen : hopeful or optimistic
第2篇
Turkish Children Learn to Deal with Deadly Quake
By Hai Do
16 February 2023
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that struck Turkey and Syria last week killed more than 40,000 people. They also injured at least 100,000 others.
Millions now need humanitarian aid after being left homeless and without basic life needs.
Busra Civelek is a teacher in Turkey. She looks after 22 children on a passenger boat in the port of Iskenderun. The ship has been turned into a temporary classroom, shelter and health center.
People line up for food served amid the rubble following the deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 16, 2023. (REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez)
Civelek said the children have been learning to deal with what happened. Civelek explained that the children play 'earthquake' with building blocks.
"They talk about the earthquake. They build blocks and say... 'is this okay for earthquakes?' and 'is itstable?'," Civelek said. They also play with toy fire engines. "They say... 'We have to go to the earthquake (area) quickly'," she added.
Hasibe Ebru is apsychiatrist who is working on the passenger boat. She said survivors on the boat are crying a lot and are having trouble sleeping.
"I am telling (the quake survivors) that what they have been experiencing is normal and thesesymptoms will gradually decrease in a safe environment," she said.
"This really calms them down," she added.
The long-term mental health effects can only be understood with time as people deal withtrauma in different ways, Ebru said.
Some of the earthquake survivors were rescued from therubble only to learn that family members had died or are missing. Others found the busy neighborhoods they called home had been totally flattened.
Late Wednesday, two women were rescued from the rubble in Turkey's southern city of Kahramanmaras. And in the city of Antakya, a mother and two children were rescued.
Aleyna Olmez is a 17-year-old girl who was rescued from a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras on Thursday – 10 days after the quake. She told reporters from her hospital bed that she was well. She said she tried to pass the time bydistracting herself until her rescue.
"I had nothing with me," she said.
I'm Ashley Thompson.
Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on reporting from Reuters and The Associated Press.
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Words in This Story
magnitude - n. the number that shows the power of an earthquake
stable - adj. not easily moved or collapsed
psychiatrist - n. a medical doctor that deals with mental or emotional disorders
symptom - n. a change in the body or mind
gradually - adv. happening in a slow way
trauma - n. a very difficult or unpleasant experience
rubble - n. broken pieces of stone, brick, ... from a collapsed building
distract - v. take attention away from something
第3篇
Are Very Small Nuclear Reactors the Future of Electricity Production?
By Hai Do
19 February 2023
New, very small nuclear reactors are changing the way people think about the complex form of renewable energy.
Such reactors produce one hundredth of the electricity produced by nuclear power plants. They are small enough to be moved on a truck.
However, very small nuclear reactors can produce enough electricity to run a small college, a hospital or a military base. Some universities are taking an interest.
A cross-section of a prototype reactor is shown inside Last Energy's microreactor demonstration unit, Jan. 17, 2023, in Brookshire, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
"What we see is theseadvanced reactor technologies having a real future in decarbonizing the energy landscape in the U.S. and around the world," said Caleb Brooks. He is a nuclear engineering professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The small reactors have some of the same problems as the large ones. These problems include how to deal with radioactive waste and how to make sure they are secure. Supporters say those problems can be solved and that thebenefits outweigh the risks.
Some universities are interested in the technology because it could replace coal and gas energy. They say those forms of energy cause climate change.
The University of Illinois aims to develop the technology as part of a clean energy future, Brooks said. The school plans to ask for government permission to build a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor developed by the Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation. The school aims to start operating it by early 2028. Brooks leads the project.
Jacopo Buongiorno is a professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He said these small reactors, called microreactors, will be "transformative" because they will change how power is provided. He said they can be built in factories and can easily be connected to a local power system.
"That's what we want to see, nuclear energy on demand as a product, not as a big,mega project," he said.
Marc Nichol is a director for new reactors at the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, D.C. He and Buongiorno consider the interest by universities as the start of a new movement.
Last year, Pennsylvania State University signed a document to work with Westinghouse on microreactor technology. Mike Shaqqo, the company's top vice president for advanced reactor programs, said universities are going to be "one of ourkey early adopters for this technology."
Professor Jean Paul Allain is head of Penn State's nuclear engineering department. He said the university wants to prove the technology so that industries, such as steel and cement manufacturers, can use it. Those two industries usually burn oil or gas and give off, or emit, a lot of carbon gasses. Using a microreactor also could be one of several ways to help the university use less natural gas to reach its long-term carbon emissions goals, he said.
About twenty U.S. universities have reactors for research. But using them for energy is new.
The University of Illinois's Brooks said the extra heat from burning coal and gas to make electricity is often wasted. But steam production from the nuclear microreactor is a carbon-free way to provide heat for large buildings in the Midwest and Northeast. A college usually has hundreds of buildings.
Microreactors are less costly
Washington, D.C.-based Last Energy has built a microreactor in Brookshire, Texas. The company is taking it apart and moving it to Austin for the South by Southwest conference and festival in March.
Last Energy's founder Bret Kugelmass said he is working with officials in Britain, Poland and Romania. He aims to get his first reactor running in Europe by 2025. He said the climate crisis is urgent so carbon-free energy is needed soon.
"It has to be a small, manufactured product as opposed to a large...construction project," he said.
Traditional nuclear power centers cost billions of dollars. For example, two additional reactors at a plant in Georgia will cost more than $30 billion.
The total cost of Last Energy's microreactor, including all the required work is under $100 million, the company said.
Westinghouse has been a major manufacturer in the nuclear industry for over 70 years. The company is developing its own microreactor called eVinci. The company plans to get the technology ready by 2027. Also, the U.S. Department of Defense is working on a microreactor project at the Idaho National Laboratory.
Possible problems ahead
Not everyone supports microreactors, however.
Edwin Lyman is the director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit group. He called the movement "completelyunjustified."
Lyman said microreactors would require much more uranium to be mined and enriched for eachunit of electricity than for normal reactors. He said fuel costs would be much higher, and microreactors would produce more uranium waste than full-sized reactors.
A 2022 study from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California found that smaller modular reactors produce more waste than normal, or conventional reactors. Modular reactors are larger than microreactors but smaller than conventional ones.
Lindsay Krall was the lead writer of the study. She said the design of microreactors would make them produce more waste. Lyman said she does not support microreactors.
Lyman added that he worries terrorists would target microreactors. He said some designs would use fuels that terrorists might want for simple nuclear weapons. Lyman's group does not oppose using nuclear power but wants to make sure it is safe.
The United States does not have a national storage center for nuclear fuel waste. More microreactors, Lyman said, would only make the problem worse.
But Kugelmass of Last Energy sees only promise. Nuclear, he said, will be important to the world's "energy transformation moving forward."
I'm Mario Ritter Jr. And I'm Dorothy Gundy.
Jennifer McDermott reported this story for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
advanced –adj. having new or higher-level technology
benefits –n. (often pl.) the good results of doing something
mega–adj. extremely large
key–adj. a very important part of something
early adopter –n. a person or group that starts using a new product or service as soon as it becomes available and does not worry about cost or problems
unjustified–adj. unnecessary or not supported by facts
unit–n. a standard amount of something used for measurement or comparison
第4篇
The Great Backyard Bird Count Makes Everyone a Scientist
By Hai Do
17 February 2023
TheGreat Backyard Bird Count begins today.
About 385,000 people from 192 countries take part in the yearly project to count birds. The event was first held 25 years ago.
Steve and Janet Kistler from the American state of Kentucky are among those taking part. They have done so every year since the now-international tradition started in 1998.
FILE - This image provided by Macaulay Library/Cornell Lab of Ornithology shows a winter wren. (James Davis/Macaulay Library/Cornell Lab of Ornithology via AP)
For Moira Dalibor, a schoolteacher from nearby Lexington, this is her first event. She is leading a group of students and parents to a garden to collect data.
Becca Rodomsky-Bish is the project's leader at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in Ithaca, New York. The laboratory organizes the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) along with the National Audubon Society and Birds Canada.
"Every year we see increasedparticipation," and 2022 was a big jump, Rodomsky-Bish said.
In India, which had the highest participation outside the U.S. last year, tens of thousands of people submitted bird checklists. That was a 28 percent increase from 2021.
The worldwide data goes into the eBird database used by scientists for research on bird populations. The GBBC is part of a rise in "citizen science" projects in which volunteers collect data about the natural world for use by researchers.
Rodomsky-Bish said many birdwatchers use eBird year-round, and it has collected huge amounts of data — often between 1 million and 2 million bird checklists a month from around the world in the past couple of years. The information helps researchers track the numbers of different kinds of birds, which then helps withconservation efforts.
Overall, "The net number of birds around the world — we're losing them," said Rodomsky-Bish.
A 2019 study by Cornell researchers found there were 3 billion fewer birds in North America than in 1970.
"The bad news is that the declines are coming out strong and hard in the data," Rodomsky-Bish added. "The good news is if we didn't have that data, we wouldn't know. And that helps a lot of areas take direct action."
The pandemic helped to increase interest in the GBBC and birds in general, Rodomsky-Bish said. "Birds were company during this period ofisolation... Birds are everywhere. You don't have to leave your house. They will come."
Compared to other counts — including Audubon's 123-year-old Christmas Bird Count and the Cornell Lab's Project FeederWatch — the GBBC is the best one for beginners.
Participants watch and record birds in easy ways. They can look out the window for 15 minutes or take a longer trip to a nature area. Organizers suggest using the Merlin bird IDapp to identify birds by size, shape, song or other qualities. Many participants also carry field guidebooks and binoculars along with their smart phones. They then enter the findings into the eBird app.
"Anyone can say, ‘I cancontribute to science — it's easy. I can identify one bird over a four-day period and I've done my part,'" Rodomsky-Bish said.
Counting in February, she said, provides a record right before many birds start their yearly spring migrations.
Dalibor, the schoolteacher, has provided her students with information about local birds and practiced with the Merlin ID app. The students will record bird sightings and parent volunteers will enter those numbers on phones.
"It'll beauthentic data that we collected ourselves that real scientists are going to use. There's purpose and action behind it, which is special for them, being connected to the wider world," Dalibor said.
Ganeshwar SV is director of the Salem Ornithological Foundation in India. He helps get schools in India involved in conservation programs, including the GBBC. He said the goal "is not to count but to just enjoy birds."
"In rural areas, it's not unusual for children to wander around and use (slingshots) ... and kill birds," he said. Now, "the hands that used (slingshots) to hit birds are the same hands that are building nest boxes and taking notes about birds and their behavior."
The GBBC also urges participants to share pictures of birds, themselves, and other birdwatchers. The count will end on February 20.
I'm Dan Novak.
Julia Rubin reported this story for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
participation–n. the act of being involved in doing something
conservation–n. the activity of preserving natural areas and resources for future generations.
isolation –n. being alone or separated from other people
app (application)–n. a computer program that does one job or task
contribute–v. to give something of value
slingshot–n. a simple device shaped like a "Y" and with a stretching band that can be used to shoot small stones
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