Flying tortoises

site: Flying tortoises

Forests of spiny cacti cover much of the uneven lava plains that separate the interior of the Galapagos island of Isabela from the Pacific Ocean.

spiny /ˈspaɪ.ni/ adjective. 多刺的

uneven /ʌnˈiː.vən/ adjective. 不平整的

This inhospitable environment is home to the giant Galapagos tortoise.

inhospitable /ˌɪn.hɑːˈspɪt̬.ə.bəl/ adjective. 不友好的

Some time after the Galapagos’s birth, around five million years ago, the islands were colonised by one or more tortoises from mainland South America.

colonize /ˈkɑː.lə.naɪz/ verb. 将…建成殖民地; 将…据为己有

From the 17th century onwards, pirates took a few on board for food, but the arrival of whaling ships in the 1790s saw this exploitation grow exponentially.

exploitation /ˌek.splɔɪˈteɪ.ʃən/ noun. 剥削; 利用

exponentially /ˌek.spoʊˈnen.ʃəl.i/ adverb. 呈几何级数地

Relatively immobile and capable of surviving for months without food or water, the tortoises were taken on board these ships to act as food supplies during long ocean passages.

immobile /ɪˈmoʊ.bəl/ adjective. 静止的

This historical exploitation was then exacerbated when settlers came to the islands.

exacerbated /ɪɡˈzæs.ɚ.beɪt/ verb. 恶化的

For years, repatriation efforts were carried out in small numbers, with the tortoises carried on the backs of men over weeks of long, treacherous hikes along narrow trails.

repatriation /rɪˌpeɪ.triˈeɪ.ʃən/ noun. 遣返

treacherous /ˈtretʃ.ɚ.əs/ adjective. 背叛的

But in November 2010, the environmentalist and Galapagos National Park liaison officer Godfrey Merlin, a visiting private motor yacht captain and a helicopter pilot gathered around a table in a small cafe in Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz to work out more ambitious reintroduction.

liaison /liˈeɪ.zɑːn/ noun. 组织内单位间的交流与合作

yacht /jɑːt/ noun. 游艇

This unprecedented effort was made possible by the owners of the 67-metre yacht White Cloud, who provided the Galapagos National Park with free use of their helicopter and its experienced pilot, as well as the logistical support of the yacht, its captain and crew.

logistical /ləˈdʒɪs.tɪkəl/ adjective. 物流的

Meanwhile, park wardens, dropped off ahead of time in remote locations, cleared landing sites within the thick brush, cacti and lava rocks.

cactus /ˈkæk.təs/ noun. 仙人掌 (plural: cacti)

Upon their release, the juvenile tortoises quickly spread out over their ancestral territory, investigating their new surroundings and feeding on the vegetation.

juvenile /ˈdʒuː.və.nəl/ adjective. 少年

The Intersection of Health Sciences and Geography

site: The Intersection of Health Sciences and Geography

While many diseases that affect humans have been eradicated due to improvements in vaccinations and the availability of healthcare, there are still areas around the world where certain health issues are more prevalent.

vaccination /ˌvæk.səˈneɪ.ʃən/ noun. 接种疫苗

As a result, super-viruses and other infections resistant to antibiotics are becoming more and more common.

antibiotic /ˌæn.t̬i.baɪˈɑː.t̬ɪk/ noun. 抗生素

In many large cities, the wind is not strong enough to clear the air of the massive amounts of smog and pollution that cause asthma, lung problems, eyesight issues and more in the people who live there.

asthma /ˈæz.mə/ noun. 哮喘

Health geography is the combination of, on the one hand, knowledge regarding geography and methods used to analyse and interpret geographical information, and on the other, the study of health, diseases and healthcare practices around the world.

interpret /ɪnˈtɝːprɪt/ verb. 解释

While people will always be prone to illness, the study of how geography affects our health could lead to the eradication of certain illnesses, and the prevention of others in the future.

prone /proʊn/ adjective. 俯卧的，容易的

• to be prone to sth.

The geography of disease and ill health analyses the frequency with which certain diseases appear in different parts of the world, and overlays the data with the geography of the region, to see if there could be a correlation between the two.

correlation /ˌkɔːr.əˈleɪ.ʃən/ noun. 相互关系

Health geographers in this field are usually trained as healthcare workers, and have an understanding of basic epidemiology as it relates to the spread of diseases among the population.

epidemiology /ˌep.ə.diːmiˈɑː.lə.dʒi/ noun. 流行病学

Music and the emotions

site: Music and the emotions

The pupils in our eyes dilate, our pulse and blood pressure rise, the electrical conductance of our skin is lowered, and the cerebellum, a brain region associated with bodily movement, becomes strangely active.

pupil /ˈpjuː.pəl/ noun. 瞳孔、学生

dilate /ˈdaɪ.leɪt/ verb. 扩大

A recent paper in Neuroscience by a research team in Montreal, Canada, marks an important step in repealing the precise underpinnings of ‘the potent pleasurable stimulus’ that is music.

repealing /rɪˈpiːl/ verb. 废除

underpinning /ˈʌn.dɚˌpɪn.ɪŋ/ noun. 基础

While music can often seem (at least to the outsider) like a labyrinth of intricate patterns, it turns out that the most important part of every song or symphony is when the patterns break down, when the sound becomes unpredictable.

labyrinth /ˈlæb.ə.rɪnθ/ noun. 迷宫

intricate /ˈɪn.trə.kət/ adjective. 错综复杂的

This is why composers often introduce a key note in the beginning of a song, spend most of the rest of the piece in the studious avoidance of the pattern, and then finally repeat it only at the end.

studious /ˈstuː.di.əs/ adjective. 勤奋的