国际交流英语视听说B2U

Listening 1,Professor: All right, today were going to continue our discussion on ethics. Well discuss the question, “Should the Inuit people of North America be allowed to hunt seals?” Its an important question, and in recent years, the European Union made it illegal to trade seal products. So in Europe, you cant buy or sell seal skins, or seal oil, or anything made from seals. Now, you probably dont wear seal-skin clothing or use a lot of seal oil, right? And the law is popular with most people in Europe. Why? Because they see pictures of cute baby seals, and then they see pictures of the seal hunt. People kill the seals with a gun, or in the more old-fashioned way, by hitting them on the head.,To be continued ,Listening 1,Professor: The pictures show the red blood on the ice, and for many people, its disgusting. They think its their responsibility to stop the seal hunt. Yes? You have a question? Student 1: Yes, I have seen those picturesand videos, too. Theyre really difficult to watch! Im not surprised that Europeans want to stop seal hunting! Its awful! Professor: It does look bad, but the Inuit people have a different opinion. They depend on animals for food. After all, not many plants can grow in such a cold climate, so people there cant raise crops such as rice or wheat. Therefore, the Inuit people have a special relationship with animals. They say they value the animals and have a lot of respect for them, and with seals, they know how to kill the animals quickly.,To be continued ,Listening 1,Professor: They compare it to Europeans and other people killing animals such as chickens or cattle for food. Of course, a lot of us dont see those animals being killed, so maybe thats why it doesnt upset us. Anyway, how does the law in the European Union affect hunters in North America? Well, it doesnt affect a lot of the hunters. Many of the people in those pictures and videos are not Inuit people. They hunt seals for their own reasons. But within the Inuit community, seal skins are a source of income. The seal meat is usually eaten at home, and in the past, they sold the skinsmostly to Europe. So for the Inuit people, the law has serious results. Are there any questions?,To be continued ,Listening 1,Student 2: Im wondering whats ahead for the Inuit peopleyou know, what will their future be like? I mean, they cant control the laws in Europe, right? Professor: Thats true. However, the Inuit people are trying to change the law. They think that they should be able to sell seal products in Europe because they were some of the first people in North America. To them, the Inuit seal hunt is different from the rest of Canadas seal hunt. Other questions?,To be continued ,Listening 1,Student 3: Well, were talking about ethics, and the Inuit people say its fine for them to kill animals because people in other parts of the world kill animals, too. Personally, I dont agree. Im a vegan, so I dont eat meat or any other animal products. I think all of us share the responsibility for taking care of animalsmaking sure nobody treats animals badly. Professor: And thats a very important idea. If people really care about animals, should they use animals for food and clothing? Lets see . how many people in this class eat animal products like meat or eggs? Raise your hands. OK, it looks like most of you ,Listening 2,Jack: Its been a long time, Dakarai! Tell ushow is life in Kariba Town? Dakarai: Life is pretty good, Jack! The town is growing fast. Jack: I suppose people go there because theres interesting wildlife and beautiful scenery. Dakarai: Yes, and there are jobs theremostly in tourism and fishing. Jasmine: Surethere must be a lot of fish in Lake Kariba. Dakarai: Thats right, Jasminea lot of fish, and its a great place to go boating, so tourists love that. And of course tourists want to see the wildlifeelephants, leopards, baboonsa lot of different animals live there. Of course, thats also one of the problems in Kariba.,To be continued ,Listening 2,Jasmine: Why is it a problem? Dakarai: Its the same problem as everywhere else, especially other places in Africa. Theres a conflict between people and nature, right? People want to grow cropsanimals want to eat the crops. People want to move onto the animals landthe animals sometimes attack people. Jack: Does that happen in Kariba? Are the animals aggressive? Dakarai: Actually, animal attacks are not common. Most people in Kariba dont walk around at night, so they avoid any problems. Jasmine: You dont go out at night? Dakarai: Most of the time, no. In Kariba, daytime is for people, and at night, animals do anything they want. Elephants walk around outside your house, and leopards walk down the street.,To be continued ,Listening 2,Jasmine: Really? I cant imagine an elephant outside my housenot here in Athens! Jack: Shes right. There arent a lot of wild animals in this part of Greece. Dakarai: Well, Athens is a very old city, but there was no Kariba Town before the 1950s. The land around Kariba belonged to the animals. Jasmine: And then they built the dam. Dakarai: Yes, thats right. Then they built the dam. You know, when the water behind the dam began to rise, people had to save a lot of the animals. They went in boats to get them. Can you imagine? Its not easy to get wild baboons and zebras into a boat!,To be continued ,Listening 2,Jack: Wow! Its amazing that people did that! Jasmine: So, how are the animals doing now? Dakarai: Not very well, Im afraid. Theres a wildlife reserve near the lake, but its a limited area, and a lot of people are hunting the animals. Jasmine: Thats awful! Why are they doing that? Dakarai: Well, sometimes theyre afraid. They think the animals might attack them. Most of the time, though, the people are hunting for food. A lot of people in Kariba Town are poor, and hunting is a way to feed their families. Jack: I can see the problem, then. Dakarai: It is a problem, but these wild animals are worth a lot to Zimbabwe. Theyre an important part of nature and of Africa, and they bring tourists into the country as well.,To be continued ,Listening 2,Jasmine: Tourists . and money from tourism. Dakarai: Thats right. Well, I should get going. Im giving a talk in 20 minutes. Jack: OK. It was great to see you again, Dakarai! Jasmine: Yes, it really was, and good luck with your talk! Dakarai: Thanks, it was good to see both of you, too.,Narrator: Speed . strength . and power. Thousands of years before humans invented cars and airplanes, it was the horse who allowed us to go faster, go farther, and explore the world. Horses belong to the family of mammals called Equidae, along with zebras and donkeys. Like their close relatives, horses adapted to live in open country, eating grass, and using sheer speed to escape predators. Theyre highly social and live in herds, which also helps protect against enemies. At first, humans were just one of the many hunters that preyed on the horse. But some 4,000 years ago, in central Asia, everything changed.,To be continued ,Whether it was inspiration . or an experiment . or a teen-aged game, someone jumped onto a horses back. From then on, human history was set to the pounding sound of horses hooves. Whether they were conquistadors or cowboysthey owe their adventures to the same animal. Horses first lived in the forests of North America. About a million years ago, some crossed land bridges, spreading to Asia and Europe. These pioneers saved their species. About 8,000 years ago, either climate change or overhunting by early humans did its damageand the last horses in America died out. Horses sailed back to their native land in the 1500s, carried in the ships of Spanish explorers. Soon Native Americans were trading with the Spanish, eager to own these amazing new animals.,To be continued ,The descendants of their horses live on, in wild herds of mustangs, which live in the American West today. As horses became valuable workers, people began to breed them for different jobs. Over a hundred different breeds of domestic horses are now recognized, but they all belong to the same species, Equus caballus. Horses are classified based on their height, which is measured in handsa unit of four inches, or literally the width of a human hand. Ponies are simply small horsesstanding less than 14.2 hands, or just under five feet, at the shoulder. Draft horses are heavily built, with enough strength to pull weighty loads, and can stand over 19 hands, or six and a half feet high. Light horses such as racehorses fall in between.,To be continued ,Over the last century, machines have taken over most of the work that horses used to do. Yet there are more horses alive today than during the 1800ssome 62 million. Horses still offer us an important connection to the natural worldpartners to work and play withand the touch of something wild.,The Maasai people of East Africa have a special relationship with one kind of animal. They depend on cattle for meat and milk, which make up most of the Maasai diet. In order to raise cattle in a dry climate, the Maasai people share land. Each family has its own animals, but they move the cattle over long distances and onto different families land in order to find enough grass for the cattle to eat. Like the Maasai, the Sami people of northern Europe value one animal more than any other. In this difficult climate, reindeer give the Sami people food, clothing, and other useful items. Nowadays, some Sami people raise reindeer on farms, but many Sami people still travel long distances with their animals. This gives them a detailed knowledge of the land and a great respect for nature.,To be continued ,Listening 1,No one knows exactly what is ahead for the Sami people because climate change makes the future of the Arctic uncertain. Unlike the Maasai and Sami people, the Aborigines of Australia have a different kind of relationship with animals. Australia has many kinds of animals, and all of them are part of the Aborigines traditional culture. In the past, they hunted some of the animals for food. Other animals appeared in stories or in very old paintings on rocks. For the Aborigines, everything in nature is connected, and human beings have a special role within the natural world. One group of Aborigines believes it is their responsibility to make sure Australias kangaroos are doing well.,Listening 1,North American black bears are shy animals. They are fearful by nature, and will usually run away if they see or hear people. Because of this, it can be difficult for scientists to learn about these animals. In order to study black bears, researchers in the state of New Jersey in the United States, catch bears in traps. Then they sedate the bears with drugs, so they go to sleep and cannot move for a short time. Researchers then measure and weigh the bear, remove a tooth to find out the bears age, and take blood to test for diseases. From these studies, researchers want to find out how many bears live in New Jersey, how long they live, and how many babies, or cubs, they produce.,Listening 2,To be continued ,Several hundred miles to the west, another black bear study is taking place in Minnesota in the United States. There, Dr. Lynn Rogers and his team study bears that are completely awake. The bears know the researchers voices and they are not afraid of the team. They still run away from other people, but with the help of a few grapes or nuts to keep the bears busy, Dr. Rogers can touch the animals to check their hearts, look at their teeth, and change the radio or GPS equipment that the bears wear around their necks. He and his team can also walk or sit with the bears for hours and make videos to learn about the bears everyday lives.,Listening 2,To be continued ,In both places, the goal is the sameto make sure there is a healthy population of wild black bears. In contrast, the research methods and the kinds of information researchers are able to collect are quite different.,Listening 2,There are fewer than 800 mountain gorillas in the world. They live in four national parks in Africa. Mountain gorillas live in family groups with as many as 40 gorillas. Adult male gorillas can weigh over 400 pounds (180 kilograms). Female gorillas become mothers at around 10 years old, and have one baby every three or four years. Mountain gorillas are mainly vegetarians. They eat so many plants that they rarely need to drink water. Mountain gorillas are shy. Most of the time, they avoid human beings. The gorillas only predators are humans and leopards. Losing the land where they live is a much larger problem for them.,Listening 3,