【699-701】Food Colors: Natural or NotJapan to Restart...
1): 邀你加入->【漂泊者乐园-英语学习群】
【每日一歌】
49 随风飘荡 Blowing In The Wind
歌曲选自《最适合学习英语的英文歌曲80首》
提示：关注漂泊者乐园微信公众号公众号后， 回复 d2 可收听查看所有《As It Is 》文章。
《As It Is 》栏目在本号自2018年4月初开始全马力运行，已经推文 690 篇，每日仍在不断增加中。
亲爱的朋友，如果您能能坚持跟着本号听读，相信不用多久，您的英语听力一定会有极大的提高！
漂泊者乐园微信公众号在线英语学习资料
美国之音特别英语节目：慢速英语听力
学英语的朋友，想提高听力的话，请听下面的音频。
有问题可在【漂泊者乐园-英语学习群】里一起交流，谢谢！
本音频包含不同内容的文章，对应的文本依次附在其后。
【699】AS IT IS
Japan to Restart Commercial Whale Hunts in 2019
December 26, 2018
FILE - A Japanese whaling ship sails in the Southern Ocean off Antarctica. Japan has withdrawn from the International Whaling Commission, but says it will no longer hunt whales near the Antarctic.
Japan says it plans to restart commercial hunts for whales in July of 2019.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, made the announcement on Wednesday. He also said that his country would withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The international agency, based in Britain, was set up to provide for the protection of whales and the orderly development of the whaling industry.
Suga said that Japan would restart commercial whaling in keeping with “Japan’s basic policy of promoting sustainable use” of sea life based on scientific evidence.
He added that Japan is unhappy with the commission. The IWC is based on a treaty designed to represent both environmental concerns and whaling nations. But, he said, environmentalists have the most influence.
The chief cabinet secretary also announced that Japanese crews would no longer go to the Antarctic and northern Pacific oceans to hunt whales as it did in the past.
Instead, he said, Japanese whale hunts would be limited to the country’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone. That area extends 323 kilometers from the coast of the island nation.
Japan’s Fisheries Agency said it planned to permit the catch of three kinds of whales: minke, sei whales and Bryde’s whales. It said that numbers of species have recovered enough to permit whaling.
The IWC ordered the ban on commercial whaling over 30 years ago. The move sought to increase the animals’ numbers in the world’s oceans.
Japan continued whaling for scientific research under the IWC rules. Environmentalists criticized the hunts, saying they were commercial because whale meat was sold in Japan.
Japanese officials say the country will remain as an observer to the IWC and will take part in the group’s scientific meetings and conferences.
The environmental group Greenpeace disputed Japan’s position that whale numbers had recovered. Sam Annesley, head of Greenpeace Japan, said the Japanese announcement was, in his words, “out of step with the international community.” He called on the country to preserve sea life.
The Australian government said it was “extremely disappointed” about Japan’s decision to withdraw from the IWC. However, Australia and New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters welcomed Japan’s halt to Antarctic whaling.
In 2014, Japan cut back on whale hunting after the International Court of Justice ruled against its Antarctic whale hunting program. Japan currently hunts about 600 whales each year in the Antarctic Ocean.
Suga said Japan would officially inform the IWC of its decision by the end of 2018.
I’m Anna Mateo.
Mario Ritter Jr. adapted this Associated Press story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
_______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
commercial – adv. related to buying or selling of goods for profit
promote – v. to help something to happen, develop or increase
exclusive – adj. limiting or limited use of something
sustainable – adj. relating to a method of harvesting so that the crop or product is not permanently damaged
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
AS IT IS
North, South Korean Officials Celebrate Joint Railway Project
December 26, 2018
South and North Korean officials unveil the sign of Seoul to Pyeongyang during a groundbreaking ceremony for the reconnection of railways and roads at the Panmun Station in Kaesong, North Korea, December 26, 2018.
North and South Korea have held a ceremony to mark the beginning of a project to improve North Korea’s railways and connect them with the South.
Each side sent representatives to the ceremony, in the border town of Kaesong.
Last month, the two Koreas carried out a joint inspection of parts of the North’s railway system, which they hope to connect someday with the South. The goal is to link the countries’ railroads and thereby increase economic ties.
The move is one of several efforts agreed to by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in.
Progress linked to nuclear talks
Any progress on the project, however, will require changes to United States-led economic actions against North Korea. They are designed to punish the North Korean government for its nuclear activities.
The railway inspection had been delayed for months because of concerns about United Nations sanctions on the North. The U.N. Security Council gave the two Koreas special permission for the study.
North Korea has voiced displeasure with the slow progress on projects aimed at building ties between the two sides. South Korea hopes to carry out additional inspections before further details of the project are released. Work depends on progress in nuclear talks with the North.
The United States and its allies have called for restrictions to remain in place until North Korea takes clear steps toward giving up its nuclear weapons and missiles.
For the ground-breaking ceremony on Wednesday, a South Korean train traveled to Kaesong. It was carrying about 100 people, including government officials and lawmakers. Members of families displaced by the Korean War in the early 1950s also were on the train.
South Korea’s unification ministry reported that officials from the United Nations, China, Russia and Mongolia joined the North Korean delegation.
After the event, North and South Korea agreed to carry out additional railway inspections. Both Koreas said they would work closely with the United States and the U.N. to gain support for the project and deal with concerns over sanctions.
Lee Eugene, a spokeswoman for the unification ministry, spoke with reporters. “We plan to hold detailed negotiations with the North to coordinate the specific levels we want to achieve in the modernization of railways and roads and how to carry out the project,” she said.
However, experts say investment in the project could take time even with steps toward nuclear weapons removal and easing of restrictions.
Jung Dae-jin is a professor with the Ajou Institute of Unification in South Korea. He noted that the project would increase exchanges between the two governments.
But he said the future of Moon’s plans for connecting the railways rests with North Korea.
“We need to see the New Year’s address by Kim Jong Un,” Jung said. He added that the global community needs to see measures taken by the North toward removing nuclear weapons for progress on railways to go forward.
I’m Mario Ritter, Jr.
Mario Ritter Jr. adapted this story for VOA Learning English from AP and VOA News stories. George Grow was the editor.
_________________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
specific – adj. clearly and exactly presented or stated
achieve – v. to get or reach something by working hard
address – n. speech
thereby – adv. by that; connected with
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
AS IT IS
Could Half of Oklahoma End Up Under Native American Control?
December 26, 2018
Map of Muscogee (Creek) Nation within the state of Oklahoma. Three of the state's largest cities, including capital Tulsa, lie partially or wholly within those boundaries.
In 1999, Patrick Dwayne Murphy, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (MCN), attacked another member of the tribe on the MCN reservation in Oklahoma.
Murphy stabbed and cut the other man, causing severe wounds. The man later died.
A state court found Murphy guilty of murder and sentenced him to death in 2000.
Since then, he has attempted to appeal the ruling. He claims that because the crime took place on Indian land and the victim was Native American, the state of Oklahoma did not have the right to try him.
In the United States, the federal government has legal jurisdiction over murders carried out by Native Americans on lands in “Indian Country.”
The term “Indian Country” means land inside federally-recognized reservation borders, dependent Indian communities or areas historically given to tribe members which their families still hold.
In time, Murphy’s case landed in a federal appeals court. After examining historic documents and earlier rulings, judges overturned the guilty finding in August 2017.
This meant that Murphy could have a new trial in a federal court, with the tribal court sharing jurisdiction. In federal court, he would likely escape execution because federal law gives tribes the right to decide if they want to execute criminals. MCN rejected the death penalty.
Strange Case
But that was not the end of the case. In fact, it became stranger.
The MCN reservation covers nearly two million hectares of land and 11 Oklahoma counties, with a total population of about 950,000. Recognizing MCN’s jurisdiction meant all this land was legally “Indian Country.” And that, in turn, meant that MCN had civil and criminal jurisdiction over nearly half the state of Oklahoma.
Oklahoma has taken the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The state argues that MCN stopped existing in 1907 when Congress created the state. MCN says the land is theirs, as established by an 1866 treaty.
But there is a problem with Oklahoma’s argument. The law says only Congress has the power to change reservations and it must do so in very clear language. And in the case of the state of Oklahoma, Congress never did it.
Now, the Supreme Court will decide.
Economic, legal implications
In arguments at the court on November 27, Oklahoma’s lawyers said if the federal decision that overturned Murphy’s sentence is accepted, the results would be like an earthquake.
Tribe members would not have to pay state taxes and could demand tax money from non-Native business owners. MCN could also write its own land use and environmental laws.
Oklahoma also worries that hundreds of jailed Native Americans who were tried in the state system would have to be retried in federal courts.
Oklahoma is one of the nation’s biggest producers of oil and natural gas, and the energy industry is worried about the case. The Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association (OIPA) prepared a friend of the court briefing. It noted that if the federal decision is not overturned, the tribe could rightly take possession of oil and natural gas wells that sit on its land.
Considering consequences
Robert Miller says the association’s concerns are exaggerated. Miller is a member of the Eastern Shawnee tribe in Oklahoma and a professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
“The struggle between governments is over money and power, and power means jurisdiction,” he said. “Oklahoma can still control its non-Native citizens. It just doesn’t want to lose environmental control or civil and criminal jurisdiction over the Indians.”
During spoken arguments, justices questioned the state’s lawyers about their concerns and about the possible effects of letting the decision stand.
“Yes, there will be turmoil,” said Miller. He believes the Supreme Court should not consider the effects on real life.
“The Court is supposed to decide the case based only on the law,” he said. He talked about the important 1954 court case that ended racial separation in U.S. public schools. That decision led to riots, violence and even murders in the American south.
“Should the Supreme Court, then, knowing what would happen, not have (made) that ruling?” Miller asked.
I’m Susan Shand.
VOA’s Cecily Hilleary reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
________________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
reservation – n. a piece of land that is kept as a place for Native Americans to live
jurisdiction – n. the power or right to govern an area
briefing – n. the act of presenting important information
exaggerate – v. to think of or describe something as larger or greater than it really is
turmoil – n. a state of unrest or disorder
您好！既然漂到这里，就顺便把本文转到朋友圈吧！