【慢速听力 3 篇 】Australians Help Koalas, Other Animals Survive Fires
No.1
AS IT IS
Australians Help Koalas, Other Animals Survive Fires
January 14, 2020
The Australian government said this week it will spend over 34 million dollars on helping wildlife recover from bushfires.
The bushfires crisis threatens several animal species, including koalas and rock wallabies.
Josh Frydenberg is the Treasurer of Australia. He told reporters on Monday, “This has been an ecological disaster, a disaster that is still unfolding.” He spoke during a visit to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, where workers are treating 45 koalas for burns.
Frydenberg added that Australia’s native trees and plants had been “very badly damaged.”
Huge wildfires have destroyed more than 11.2 million hectares - nearly half the area of Britain. The fires destroyed or severely damaged the areas where several native animals live.
Some estimates suggest as many as one billion creatures have died in the fires or are at risk now because of a lack of food and shelter. This number includes farm animals and family pets like cats and dogs.
People around the world are sharing images of animals that survived the fires and videos of people risking their lives to help Australian wildlife.
Food from the sky
In one program, national park employees used helicopters to air drop thousands of kilos of carrots and sweet potatoes to brush-tailed rock wallabies in New South Wales (NSW).
The state’s environment minister Matt Kean said giving them this food is one way Australians are trying to help endangered animals like the wallaby.
“The wallabies typically survive the fire itself,” he said, but they have no natural food left after the fire passes.
Australia's national symbol
The koala is a national symbol, so Frydenberg said it would be a focus of national government spending. He added that the full amount of the damage would not be known until the bushfires are out. Experts say the fires could continue burning for months.
Threatened Species Commissioner Sally Box said an estimated 30 percent of koala habitat in New South Wales state may have been lost. Koalas have heavy fur, and usually climb higher when they are in danger. That is not helpful in fast-moving bushfires.
“Everything that can be done to rescue and recover koala habitat will be done,” noted Sussan Ley, Australia’s Federal Environment Minister.
I’m Jill Robbins.
Sonali Paul reported on this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted the report for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
unfold – v. to happen as time passes
park – n. an enclosed piece of ground; a protected space or area
symbol – n. something that stands for or represents something
focus – n. a center of activity or attention
habitat – n. the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows
fur – n. hair
What do you think of the Australian bush fires? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
No.2
AS IT IS
Olympic Athletes in Tokyo to Sleep on Environment-Friendly Cardboard Beds
January 14, 2020
In an effort to be more environment friendly, organizers of this summer’s Tokyo Olympics have built cardboard beds for the athletes to sleep on.
Some observers have questioned whether such beds will be strong enough to hold some of the heavier Olympic competitors.
But Takashi Kitajima, who is in charge of the athletes’ housing for the event, told The Associated Press he is not worried about any beds breaking.
“Those beds can stand up to 200 kilograms,” he said. Kitajima added that the cardboard beds were made to be even stronger than wooden beds.
However, he did say there could be a problem if some athletes get too excited celebrating their gold-medal success. “Of course, wood and cardboard would each break if you jumped on them,” Kitajima said.
The Athletes Village housing center is expected to be completed in June. The Olympics are set to open in Tokyo on July 24.
Japanese officials say the cardboard bed parts will be recycled into paper products after the games. The mattresses are not made of cardboard. But, they can be recycled into plastic products.
The mattresses are made up of three separate parts. This will permit the athletes to change positions to create the best sleep experience possible.
Kitajima said, “The organizing committee was thinking about recyclable items, and the bed was one of the ideas.”
Organizers said it is the first time for Olympic bedding to be made out of renewable materials.
The Athletes Village is set along Tokyo Bay. It will include 18,000 beds for the Olympics in 21 separate buildings.
Local advertising has suggested that the units will be sold off after the Olympics. Starting prices for the housing were listed at about $500,000. Some locals fear the apartments will flood the market and reduce their property values.
The listings suggested that many of the units will be a bit larger than a usual living space in Tokyo, which is about 60 to 70 square meters.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
athlete – n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength
mattress – n. the soft, comfortable part of a bed to sleep on
renewable – adj. not completely depleted when used
unit – n. a single apartment in a larger building
No.3
AS IT IS
EU Criticizes Iran Over Nuclear Violations
January 14, 2020
Britain, France and Germany are increasing pressure on Iran to end its violations of an international nuclear deal.
The Europeans say they want to settle differences through negotiations. But they admit the process could lead to a return of United Nations sanctions against Iran.
The European Union (EU) members and Iran signed the nuclear agreement in 2015. Also signing were China, Russia and the United States.
Britain, France and Germany wrote a letter to the EU’s foreign policy chief. The letter stated that they had no choice but to use the deal’s “dispute mechanism” because of Iranian violations of the agreement.
The three said they rejected Iran’s argument that Iran was justified to violate the deal because the United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
“We have therefore been left with no choice, given Iran’s actions, but to register today our concerns that Iran is not meeting its commitments,” the EU members said in a statement.
Iran’s government reacts
Hours later, Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned of a “serious and strong” reaction to the European move.
However, a foreign ministry spokesman official said Iran was “fully ready to answer any good will and constructive effort” that keeps the nuclear deal in place. Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported his comments.
EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell said the pressure from Europe does not mean Iran will face new international sanctions.
The aim of the move by France, Germany and Britain is “to return (Iran) to full compliance…of this agreement, he said.
The three countries said that they want to arrive at a solution using “diplomatic dialogue” and made no threat of sanctions in their statement.
They also tried to distance themselves from the sanctions declared by the United States. U.S. officials have said those measures are part of a “pressure” campaign against Iran.
“Our three countries are not joining a campaign to (put) maximum pressure against Iran,” the Europeans said. “Our hope is to bring Iran back into full compliance with its commitments.”
The nuclear deal’s dispute resolution mechanism
The 2015 nuclear deal is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as JCPOA. It seeks to prevent Iran from making a nuclear weapon by setting limits on its nuclear program in exchange for economic actions, such as easing sanctions. Iran’s government has said it does not want a nuclear weapon.
Under its dispute resolution mechanism, countries have 30 days to settle their dispute; however, the time limit can be extended. If the problem cannot be solved, the issue could be brought to the United Nations Security Council. The council’s members could decide to re-establish the sanctions that had been removed under the terms of the deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. government out of the nuclear agreement in May 2018. He said the deal should be re-negotiated because it did not set limitations on Iran’s ballistic missile program or its involvement in conflicts in other countries. Since then he has put back American sanctions, which have hurt Iran’s economy.
To answer the U.S. decision, Iran has slowly pulled back from the agreement. Iran wants to pressure the other countries involved to provide economic incentives to answer the American sanctions.
China and Russia had been against using the dispute mechanism. However, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement that the three European countries “could no longer leave the growing Iranian violations of the nuclear agreement unanswered.”
“Our goal is clear: we want to…come to a diplomatic solution within the agreement,” Maas said.
With the growing worries that the deal cannot be saved, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is suggesting the agreement could be somehow re-negotiated to answer some of Trump’s worries.
“Let’s work together to replace the JCPOA with the Trump deal,” he told the BBC.
I’m Dorothy Gundy.
And I'm Susan Shand.
The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
sanctions – n. an action that is taken to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country,
mechanism – n. a process or system that is used to produce a result
commitment – n. an agreement or promise to do something
constructive – adj. helping to develop or improve something
compliance – n. the act or process of doing what you have been asked or ordered to do
dialogue – n. a discussion or series of discussions that two groups or countries have in order to end a disagreement
ballistic missile – n. a weapon that is shot through the sky over a great distance and then falls to the ground and explodes
incentives – n. something that encourages a person to do something or to work harder