听力4新闻原文(5)

Scientists are warning that climate change could drive some species of migrating animals towards extinction. A report by European ornithologists and zoologists says that birds, mammals and reptiles are finding it increasingly difficult to follow their usual migration patterns.

This report by ornithologists and zoologists warns that global warming will cause increasing problems for many migrating species. For example, the spreading Sahara Desert could make it impossible for swallows to make their epic journey from Southern Africa, and rising sea levels will destroy many coastal habitats for turtles and wading birds. The study even suggests that warmer oceans could lead to some turtle species becoming entirely female. The selection of sex is closely linked to sea temperature.

Unit 6

News item 1

Several years ago Edgar and Nina Otto froze the DNA of their dog, Lancelot. When he died last year, the couple were devastated and they decided to get a clone produced by a South Korean laboratory.

The biotech firm Best Friends Again claim that Lancelot Encore, as the y’ve named the new puppy, is the world’s first commercially cloned dog, the laboratory in South Korea, BioArts, includes a scientist that lost his research professorship at Seoul University in 2004, after fraudulently claiming he’d cloned human embryos and stem cells.

The new owners here in Florida say they’re happy with their new dog and don’t plan to clone any others. It’s thought that between three and four million unwanted dogs are killed at shelters across the US every year.

News item 2

Five years ago President Bush set out his lofty vision of sending astronauts back to the Moon by the year 2020. it was meant to be the staging post for the next frontier – a manned landing on Mars. Now a panel of space experts says that’s pretty much pie in the sky.

Their report, commissioned by President Obama, says the current US human space flight programme appears to be on an unsustainable trajectory. It suggests the only way forward is to increase the funding of NASA by billions of dollars, or to cooperate with private companies now embarking on commercial space flights.

The panel says visits to Near-Earth Objects such as asteroids are far more realistic too. The experts also argue for keeping the International Space Station going till 2020, rather than pulling the plug in six year s’ time.

News item 3

The study looked at nearly 400 men who developed Alzheimer’s disease. It assessed the time they spent in full-time education, the type of work they did and the point at which they retired.

The researchers detected no link between the onset of dementia and education or occupation. But they found that every extra year at work was associated with a six-week delay in Alzheimer’s. They say this points to the value of keeping the brain active by working.

They also acknowledge that the nature of retirement is changing, and for some people it may be as intellectually stimulating as working. The Alzheimer’s Research Trust, which funded the study, says more people than ever retire later in life to avert financial hardship, but there may be a