【667-670】Threatened Australian Animal Back in the Wild for。。。
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【667】
AS IT IS
Threatened Australian Animal Back in the Wild for the First Time in a Century
December 12, 2018
Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, and her husband, Britain's Prince William, watch as their son Prince George looks at an Australian animal called a bilby during a visit to Sydney's Taronga Zoo, April 20, 2014.
For the first time in more than a century, bilbies are running wild in Southeastern Australia.
The small animals were once widespread across much of Australia, but were last observed in the wild in New South Wales state in 1912.
Every year bilby populations continue to decrease. Wildlife experts are afraid that the bilby, a small marsupial, could eventually disappear forever, either because of land clearing or fires. Another reason is a threat from cats and foxes, which hunt down and kill bilbies.
In northern New South Wales state, environmentalists are celebrating what they are calling a historic moment.
Thirty bilbies from a captive breeding program have been released into a large predator-free enclosed area north of Sydney.
Without the protection of a 32-kilometer fence, experts say the animals probably would not survive.
Tim Allard heads the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, which is involved in the project.
He says the release of these beloved animals is a big deal.
“Bilbies only really survive behind fenced areas. There are some remaining wild bilby populations, but they get predated upon heavily by feral cats and foxes.”
Allard said the point of doing this project is to return the countryside to what it used to be before Europeans arrived.
“So in the not-too-distant future, you will be able to go inside the fenced area and it will be like stepping back before Europeans turned up,” he said.
Bilbies are known for their long ears and large back legs. They usually sleep during the day, and are awake at night. They look a lot like rabbits and grow to about 2.5 kilograms.
Australia has one of the world’s worst rates of mammal extinctions. The bilby project is seen as an important part in protecting the nation’s wildlife.
I’m Susan Shand.
Phil Mercer reported this story for VOANews.com. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. The editor was George Grow.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page
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Words in This Story
marsupial – n. a kind of animal that carries its young under a piece of skin on the mother's stomach
moment – n. a brief period of time
breeding – n. the act or process of producing plants or animals
predator – n. an animal that lives by killing and eating other animals
mammal – n. a kind of animal that feeds milk to its young and that usually has hair covering most of its skin
【668】
AS IT IS
Seoul Creates New Use for Waste
December 12, 2018
A patron holds an iced beverage at a Starbucks coffee store in Pasadena, Calif., July 25, 2013. Straws and stirrers are among the top 10 items found in coastal trash cleanups.
South Korea’s capital, Seoul, has a problem with waste.
In April, the city had too much waste from man-made products, such as plastic and vinyl. The reason: recycling companies refused to collect them because it is no longer profitable.
As a result, unrecycled goods began piling up in Seoul’s neighborhoods. Talks between the companies and city officials finally ensured removal after about two weeks. But the bigger problem remains: what to do with all of the unrecycled waste.
Seoul officials are turning to upcycling to fix the problem. The term "upcycling" means using old or unwanted goods and materials to create valuable new products. An example would be making a mailbox from an aging computer tower.
Limits to recycling
The Seoul Upcycling Plaza, or SUP building is home to the process of collecting, separating and breaking down disposed products into reusable materials and “upcycled” goods. Thirty-five upcycling businesses were chosen in a competition to be housed there and begin the process.
SUP director Yoon Dayyoung admits there are limits to recycling. Not everything can be broken down and made into reusable materials, she said. So, upcycling is needed to add value to old, unwanted goods.
Seoul plans to recycle more than 70 percent of its plastics by the year 2030. To this aim, Yoon said, SUP’s materials bank will supply the materials for people to produce upcycled goods. “People can find more than 400 [kinds] of materials and…purchase it for their purpose,” she added.
New businesses
Most companies moving into the upcycling business make specialty products with the materials they collect. These include things like origami supplies made from used milk containers and dinner plates made from flattened wine bottles. Visitors can buy products or, if they choose, help to produce the upcycled goods.
A service center at SUP also repairs broken electronic devices with parts taken from machines that no longer work.
Is it enough?
Yet many of the “upcyclers” and suppliers make their products by hand and do not yet have enough workers to increase production. And some people are unhappy that the upcycled products cost more than they had expected.
A business called Touch4Good upcycles signs into handbags, wallets and other things. The owner, Park Mi-hyeon, says it is important to think about the process in the right way. She says that upcycling is more about making specialized goods than making large amounts of one thing, like a factory would.
Park has operated many upcycling projects since 2008 and now operates the city’s material research center for upcycling. She says most upcycling material must be separated by hand and that new products are also made by hand.
She said that the upcycling market in South Korea has a good chance of growing because there are more than 200 companies in business.
Stop the waste
But environmental experts suggest it is more important to reduce the amount of plastic being used than to develop upcycling. Around the world, only nine percent of plastic is actually recycled. One reason is that making new plastic costs less than recycling used plastic. And single-stream recycling has made the separation and cleaning of recyclable goods even more costly and difficult.
In Seoul, the American coffeehouse company Starbucks has replaced plastic strawswith paper ones. Other restaurants have also stopped using plastic straws and are asking people to bring their own straws. Still others have moved to such materials as metal straws.
Other eateries are asking people to bring reusable drink cups. And in supermarkets in Seoul, single-use plastic bags are banned.
In addition, the South Korean capital plans to decrease use of single-use products in the city government beginning in 2020.
I’m Alice Bryant.
Lee Ju-hyun and Steve Miller reported this story for VOA News. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
pile up – v. to increase in amount or number to a total that is difficult to manage
tower – n. the plastic container that holds the electronic elements of a computer and often sits on the floor
disposed – adj. describing something that has been thrown in the garbage
origami – n. the Japanese art of folding paper into shapes that look like birds, animals and other things
wallet – n. a small folding case that holds paper money and credit cards
single-stream recycling – adj. a system of recycling in which paper, plastic, metal and other materials are all mixed in a collection truck
straw – n. a thin tube used for sucking up a drink
【669】
AS IT IS
In Rural Brazil, Termites Built Millions of Dirt Mounds
December 12, 2018
American botanist Roy Funch sits on top of a giant termite mound near Palmeiras, Brazil, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
American Roy Funch has lived and worked in northeastern Brazil for many years.
Around his home are large mounds of dirt in the shape of a volcano. Funch often wondered what built them, how many there were and how long they had been there.
But a chance meeting with Stephen Martin, an expert on social insects, led to some interesting discoveries: Northeastern Brazil has over 200 million mounds of dirt, and they cover about 230,000 square kilometers -- an area about the size of Britain.
Some of the dirt mounds are almost 4,000 years old. Who or what made these small hills? Insects – termites, to be exact!
Funch told the Associated Press (AP), “While the Romans were building their columns, their buildings, these termites were building their mounds.” He added that the dirt columns represent the largest natural construction of any species other than humans.
The mounds are found in a large desert-like area called the Caatinga. They stand between 2 to 4 meters high and are spaced almost equally apart -- between 16 to 22 meters.
Funch told the AP he wrote two stories about the dirt mounds in Brazilian publications. But they received little, if any, attention. Funch said he was not sure how to further his research because he is not an expert in the world of insects or scientific publishing.
But then he met Stephen Martin, an entomologist with the University of Salford in England. A few years ago, Martin was studying honey bees and ants in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. He was also interested in the dirt mounds.
Martin and Funch met by chance next to a river in a small town about 50 kilometers west of the edge of the mound area.
Martin spoke to Funch about seeing the volcano-like piles while he was driving. Funch told him, “You just met the only guy in Brazil who is working on these mounds.”
Soon after, Funch and Martin began to study them together. A report with their findings was published last month in the journal Current Biology.
The two men found that the mounds were built by a large termite group that eats leaves and lives underground. But they did not find the termites actively working in the larger mounds. Instead, the insects were found along the edges of the mound areas.
Funch and Martin found only a small tube-like hole going to the top of each pile. They did not find an extensive system of tunnels throughout. That suggested the termites were simply finding a place to leave earth from underground, where they build their passageways.
Martin noted, “These are just waste heaps. Under normal circumstances we wouldn’t see them because they wouldn’t persist for such a long time.”
The mounds are also very old. Scientific testing showed they were built from 690 to 3,820 years ago.
Funch and Martin say there is much they still need to investigate. They both wonder why the mounds do not appear to have active termite colonies underneath them, as well as how long it took termites to make the biggest mounds.
I’m Jonathan Evans.
Victor Caivano and Peter Prengaman wrote this story for the Associated Press news agency. Jonathan Evans adapted the report for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
_______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
mound – n. a small hill or pile of dirt or stones
species – n. a class or grouping of living things
construction – n. the act of building something
column – n. something designed to support an object and built in the shape of a straight line
circumstance – n. an event or incident
【670】
AS IT IS
Red, Yellow, Blue, Green: the Colors of Protests
December 12, 2018
FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2018, file photo, demonstrators, wearing "yellow vests," march on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, as they protest the rising of the fuel prices. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu, File)
How can you command attention with so many colorful images around the world?
Some activists have learned that they can gain popularity by connecting their movements to a color like yellow, red, blue or green.
This month, French demonstrators wore “yellow vests” to block highways from Provence to Normandy. They rioted in Paris and left French President Emmanuel Macron struggling to meet their demands.
Why do they wear yellow vests?
All French drivers must carry a yellow vest in their cars in case they have car trouble. The drivers launched their protest against a proposed increase in fuel taxes wearing the vests.
To the protesters, the vests represent a troublesome government demand. So they used the vests to express their anger over high taxes and other financial difficulties.
The vests can be seen easily at night and at roadblocks around France. But they also made protesters easy targets for police during the riots.
Green abortion rights movement in Argentina
Across the Atlantic, demonstrators wore green handkerchiefs in the streets of some Argentine cities last August. They were calling for women to have the right to end their pregnancies as they choose.
The protests in the homeland of Pope Francis started as lawmakers in the Senate voted against a bill that would have permitted abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. If approved, the bill would have made Argentina only the fourth Latin American country to legalize abortion, after Cuba, Uruguay and Guyana.
Women’s groups across Latin America have said they will keep fighting for a right to abortion.
Umbrella movement in Hong Kong
In 2014, the yellow color was connected with pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. They became known as the Umbrella Movement.
The protesters used umbrellas as protection from pepper spray and tear gas. They wore yellow pieces of cloth and hung a yellow banner overlooking the city from Lion Rock to demand full voting rights.
The yellow color was borrowed from another of Asia’s pro-democracy protests in the 1980s. At that time, Filipinos wore yellow in an effort to drive out the country’s dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Green movement in Iran
In Iran, supporters of reformer Mir-Hossein Mousavi wore green to support his campaign against then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country’s clergy in 2009.
Green is a good color in Islamic tradition. Some link it to nature. Iranian poet Eqbal Mansourian told a crowd at a demonstration, “Make our lives green again, make it rain again, make us hope again.”
Security forces finally crushed the demonstrations. The violence ended with at least 80 people killed and 2,500 arrested. Many others were tortured in prison.
The saffron revolution in Myanmar
Buddhist clergy led protests against Myanmar’s military government in 2007. The dark brown color of their clothes gave the movement its name, the Saffron Revolution.
The protests started as the government raised fuel prices. They soon turned into a call for democracy. The Buddhist monks even visited the home of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi who was under house arrest at the time.
On September 24, over 100,000 Buddhist monks marched in Rangoon as demonstrations took place throughout Myanmar, also known as Burma. The military’s violent response led to worldwide condemnation.
Under international pressure, the military slowly approved a new constitution and held democratic elections. In 2015, Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party won the majority of seats in national elections to take control of the government.
FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2006, file photo, Thai protesters wave flags and cheer during a rally opposing Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
Yellow shirts vs. red shirts in Thailand
In neighboring Thailand, activists wore red shirts or yellow shirts to signal which of two opposing political groups they supported.
Yellow is the color connected with the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. On the 60th anniversary of the king’s rule, opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wore yellow calling for his removal from office.
In September 2006, Thailand’s military ousted Thaksin from office saying he had abused his power. Thaksin’s supporters reacted by wearing red shirts. In Thailand, red is one of the colors of the national flag representing the nation. The other colors are white for religion and blue for the monarchy.
Orange revolution in Ukraine
Orange was the campaign color of Ukraine’s pro-Western presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko in 2004.
His supporters protested the victory of his pro-Russia opponent and took to the streets in what was called the Orange Revolution. After huge street demonstrations, officials ordered a new election that Yushchenko won. Russia blamed Western countries for supporting the protests.
Political disputes ended Yushchenko’s presidency in 2010 and led to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
FILE - In this Nov. 7, 2016, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waves to students standing behind her before speaking at a rally in front of the Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh campus. (AP Photo)
Blue states and red states in the Untied States
The words “blue states” and “red states” gained new attention during the disputed 2000 U.S. presidential election.
American television networks used the colors of red and blue from the U.S. flag to identify the states voting for Texas Governor George W. Bush or Vice President Al Gore.
The color red came to represent Republicans and blue, Democrats. The division between “red states” and “blue states” has expanded to clothing. Politicians and supporters from the two parties often avoid wearing colors connected to their opponents.
I’m Mario Ritter. I'm Caty Weaver.
Hai Do adapted this AP story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
handkerchief –n. a small cloth used for wiping one’s face, nose, or eyes
abortion –n. a medical operation used to end a pregnancy causing the death of the fetus
banner –n. a large strip of cloth with a design, picture or writing on it
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