本集内容

Scientists in Germany create world's largest artificial sun 德国科学家建造世界最大的人造太阳

English village saves hedgehogs 英国村庄帮助伤病刺猬恢复健康

文字稿

A cloudy day in rural North Rhine-Westphalia – OK for the coal mines and wind turbines, less so for the solar tower, which is why scientists at the German Aerospace Centre have taken their research indoors. This is the world's largest artificial sun, composed of 149 film projection lights that together emit a beam that is 1,000 times the strength of a regular household bulb and 10,000 times the strength of the sun's rays here on earth – and scientists here can use it to test the solar power instruments of the future.

这是德国北莱茵威斯特法伦乡村地区多云的一天。虽然这种天气不会过多影响当地的煤矿和风力发电设备，但少有的晴天却不利于太阳能塔发电。这正是在德国航空航天中心的科学家们选择在室内开展研究工作的原因。这是世界上最大的人造太阳，它由149只投影灯组成，这些灯光聚集在一起可以发出一道巨大光束，所产生的能量是日常家用灯泡的一千倍，相当于照射到地球表面太阳光的一万倍，这里的科学家们可以利用该人造太阳来测试未来的太阳能设备。

Residents of Burton Fleming await new arrivals. They are a bit prickly apparently, but in desperate need of a fresh start. From an animal sanctuary 40 miles away, they finally arrived – 52 hedgehogs, all found sick or injured across the north of England. Veronica and her husband Frank from the charity Andrews Hedgehog Hospital. They believe the village of Burton Fleming, now considered 'hedgehog friendly', will give the animals the best chance. Assessing hedgehog numbers is tricky but in the 1950s it's thought there were around 30 million in Britain, but now conservationists believe numbers have plummeted to under one million.  

居住在英格兰伯顿·弗莱明村的人们在等待新客人的到来。这些看起来浑身带刺的“新村民们”急需开始全新的生活。这52只刺猬终于抵达这座村庄，它们来自位于40英里（约64公里）以外的动物收容所，此前，这些刺猬在英格兰北部各地被人发现时，每一只都带有伤病。这两个人是来自慈善机构安德鲁斯刺猬医院的维罗尼卡和她的丈夫弗兰克。他们觉得伯顿·弗莱明这座“刺猬友好村”能给小动物们提供最佳的康复条件。评估刺猬总数不是件容易的事，人们认为在1950年代，生活在英国的刺猬总数约有三千万只，但自然环境保护者们认为，现在该数量已经急剧下降到了一百万只以下。

词汇

solar power
太阳能

sanctuary
收容所，庇护所

练习

请从以下词汇中选择适当的答案来完成句子。注意：你可能需要改变单词的时态来完成句子。

solar power / sanctuary

1. As gas and renewable energy sources such as wind and ______ have become more popular, the use of coal has decreased.

2. The first elephant ______ in Latin America has opened in Brazil to provide a home for an estimated 50 circus animals from across the region.

答案

1. As gas and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power have become more popular, the use of coal has decreased. 

2. The first elephant sanctuary in Latin America has opened in Brazil to provide a home for an estimated 50 circus animals from across the region.