Artificial sun and hedgehogs saved 人造太陽，英國村莊幫刺蝟恢復健康

本集內容

Scientists in Germany create world’s largest artificial sun 德國科學傢建造世界最大的人造太陽

English village saves hedgehogs 英國村莊幫助傷病刺蝟恢復健康

文字稿

A cloudy day in rural North Rhine-Westphalia – OK for the coal mines and wind turbines, less so for the solar tower, which is why scientists at the German Aerospace Centre have taken their research indoors. This is the world’s largest artificial sun, composed of 149 film projection lights that together emit a beam that is 1,000 times the strength of a regular household bulb and 10,000 times the strength of the sun’s rays here on earth – and scientists here can use it to test the solar power instruments of the future.

這是德國北萊茵威斯特法倫鄉村地區多雲的一天。雖然這種天氣不會過多影響當地的煤礦和風力發電設備，但少有的晴天卻不利於太陽能塔發電。這正是在德國航空航天中心的科學傢們選擇在室內開展研究工作的原因。這是世界上最大的人造太陽，它由149隻投影燈組成，這些燈光聚集在一起可以發出一道巨大光束，所產生的能量是日常傢用燈泡的一千倍，相當於照射到地球表面太陽光的一萬倍，這裡的科學傢們可以利用該人造太陽來測試未來的太陽能設備。

Residents of Burton Fleming await new arrivals. They are a bit prickly apparently, but in desperate need of a fresh start. From an animal sanctuary 40 miles away, they finally arrived – 52 hedgehogs, all found sick or injured across the north of England. Veronica and her husband Frank from the charity Andrews Hedgehog Hospital. They believe the village of Burton Fleming, now considered ‘hedgehog friendly’, will give the animals the best chance. Assessing hedgehog numbers is tricky but in the 1950s it’s thought there were around 30 million in Britain, but now conservationists believe numbers have plummeted to under one million.

居住在英格蘭伯頓·弗萊明村的人們在等待新客人的到來。這些看起來渾身帶刺的“新村民們”急需開始全新的生活。這52隻刺蝟終於抵達這座村莊，它們來自位於40英裡（約64公裡）以外的動物收容所，此前，這些刺蝟在英格蘭北部各地被人發現時，每一隻都帶有傷病。這兩個人是來自慈善機構安德魯斯刺蝟醫院的維羅尼卡和她的丈夫弗蘭克。他們覺得伯頓·弗萊明這座“刺蝟友好村”能給小動物們提供最佳的康復條件。評估刺蝟總數不是件容易的事，人們認為在1950年代，生活在英國的刺蝟總數約有三千萬隻，但自然環境保護者們認為，現在該數量已經急劇下降到瞭一百萬隻以下。

詞匯

solar power
太陽能

sanctuary
收容所，庇護所

練習

請從以下詞匯中選擇適當的答案來完成句子。註意：你可能需要改變單詞的時態來完成句子。

solar power / sanctuary

1. As gas and renewable energy sources such as wind and ______ have become more popular, the use of coal has decreased.

2. The first elephant ______ in Latin America has opened in Brazil to provide a home for an estimated 50 circus animals from across the region.

答案

1. As gas and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power have become more popular, the use of coal has decreased.

2. The first elephant sanctuary in Latin America has opened in Brazil to provide a home for an estimated 50 circus animals from across the region.