Lesson 17
A man-made disease
人為的疾病
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音,然後回答以下問題。
What factor helped to spread the disease of myxomatosis?
In the early days of the settlement of Australia, enterprising settlers unwisely introduced the European rabbit. This rabbit had no natural enemies in the Antipodes, so that it multiplied with that promiscuous abandon characteristic of rabbits. It overran a whole continent. It caused devastation by burrowing and by devouring the herbage which might have maintained millions of sheep and cattle. Scientists discovered that this particular variety of rabbit (and apparently no other animal) was susceptible to a fatal virus disease, myxomatosis. By infecting animals and letting them loose in the burrows, local epidemics of this disease could be created. Later it was found that there was a type of mosquito which acted as the carrier of this disease and passed it on to the rabbits. So while the rest of the world was trying to get rid of mosquitoes, Australia was encouraging this one. It effectively spread the disease all over the continent and drastically reduced the rabbit population. It later became apparent that rabbits were developing a degree of resistance to this disease, so that the rabbit population was unlikely to be completely exterminated. There were hopes, however, that the problem of the rabbit would become manageable.
Ironically, Europe, which had bequeathed the rabbit as a pest to Australia, acquired this man-made disease as a pestilence. A French physician decided to get rid of the wild rabbits on his own estate and introduced myxomatosis. It did not, however, remain within the confines of his estate. It spread through France, Where wild rabbits are not generally regarded as a pest but as sport and a useful food supply, and it spread to Britain where wild rabbits are regarded as a pest but where domesticated rabbits, equally susceptible to the disease, are the basis of a profitable fur industry. The question became one of whether Man could control the disease he had invented.
RITCHIE CALDER Science Makes Sense
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
settlement
跟妖妖靈讀課文 A man-made disease
所有跟帖:
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上班路上聽了,讀得太清晰了,每個音節都清晰!7997一定是特別注意細節的人!榜樣榜樣!大家都讀!我聽NPR聽力明顯提高!
-妖妖靈-
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05/11/2022 postreply
08:50:49
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好棒。讚新朋友。
-chuntianle-
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05/11/2022 postreply
16:40:04
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謝謝分享。專業標準。照你的學。
-天邊一片白雲-
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05/11/2022 postreply
17:15:29
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謝謝鼓勵,我還記得小時候我爸在電視上看”Follow Me”, 非常好的節目
-7997-
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05/11/2022 postreply
18:35:52
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讀得真好!多謝分享。學習啦。請多來交流啊。
-盈盈一笑間-
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05/11/2022 postreply
19:29:14
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非常感謝真誠分享!CO“ 要先知道自己的不好,然後再知道什麽是好的,才會有機會進步。”。我是聽了自己的錄音,和自己想象
-妖妖靈-
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05/11/2022 postreply
19:52:16
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得差太遠,但事實就是我的發音,壇子裏聽了你們幾個高手的,更有了努力目標,更讓我有動力讀英語,非常感謝你們!
-妖妖靈-
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05/11/2022 postreply
19:55:27
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你這個可以參加【母愛似水父愛如山】的活動啊!用英文寫點參加活動吧:)
-妖妖靈-
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05/11/2022 postreply
20:16:31
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haha, bro, my name is Francis Matthews
-Marauders-
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05/11/2022 postreply
21:36:47
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Thanks for posting this episode, love the beat and music!
-7997-
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05/12/2022 postreply
11:40:37
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謝謝分享。
-天邊一片白雲-
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05/14/2022 postreply
06:26:58