(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.
Last year, a typhoon seriously damaged Leyte Island in the Philippines. More than 7,300 people died or are missing. Four million Filipinos lost their homes, and many of them lost their incomes.
Many fishermen were among them. They lost their wooden boats. Without them, they had no way to make money.
The fishermen used boats called "bancas." These boats were made from wood taken from the island's forests. But the forests were damaged by the powerful storm, making it difficult to quickly rebuild the boats.
So a large, non-governmental environmental protection group is helping the fishermen rebuild their boats using a material made of glass and plastic. The material is called fiberglass. The group says fiberglass lasts longer than the wood and plywood materials the fishermen have traditionally used to build their boats.
Patrick Vincent Co manages the bancas rebuilding project for the WWF. He and his employees are teaching fishermen how to build boats with fiberglass.
"We feel that this is simply the next step forward, both out of necessity and out of practicality to use fiberglass rather than wood and plywood, and also something that is essentially ecologically sound."
Ramon Binamira is a boat-building expert. He says many of the fishermen were worried about using fiberglass to build boats. He says they asked many questions.
"Is it strong enough? Will it be able to take the day-to-day abuse that the traditional boats have proven to be capable of taking?"
The fishermen tested the fiberglass bancas with a heavy tool called a "sledgehammer." The fisherman used it to hit the sides of the fiberglass boats to see if the new boats were as strong as their wooden boats.
Norberto dela Torre is a 78-year old fisherman. He says he was surprised by the strength of the fiberglass bancas.
Mr. dela Torre says the fiberglass boats are durable. He says they are stronger in water than wooden boats. And he notes wooden boats get dirty easily.
The new fiberglass bancas are now being used only for small-scale fishing. But the World Wildlife Fund hopes the new boat-building skills that fishermen are learning will help them design and create larger fiberglass boats. The WWF says the technology will help them better-prepare for climate change and reduce the need for wood from forests damaged by Typhoon Haiyan.
And that's the VOA Learning English Technology Report. For more technology stories, go to our website learningelish.voanews.com. I'm Jonathan Evans.
词汇解释
1.fiberglass n. 玻璃纤维；玻璃丝
The pool's fiberglass sides had cracked and the water had leaked out.
泳池四周的玻璃钢面开裂，水渗了出来。
2.plywood n. 夹板，胶合板
This plywood addition helps to strengthen the structure.
多层胶合板有助于加固结构。
3.sledgehammer adj. 手下不留情的；强力的 vt. 用大锤打；猛力打 n. 大锤；猛烈的打击
I used a sledgehammer to drive the pegs into the ground.
我用一把大锤子把短桩打进地里。
4.practicality n. 实用性，实际性；实际，实例
Decisions about your children should be based on the practicalities of everyday life.
有关你的孩子们的决定应以日常生活的现实为依据。
内容解析
1."Is it strong enough? Will it be able to take the day-to-day abuse that the traditional boats have proven to be capable of taking?"
prove to be 结果是，证明为
His lack of experience may prove to be his undoing.
他缺乏经验可能会最终导致他的失败。
Tonight could prove to be a watershed for the international career of Barnes.
今晚将可能成为巴恩斯国际职业生涯的转折点。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
去年，一场台风严重袭击了菲律宾的莱特岛，导致7300多人丧生或失踪，400万菲律宾人失去家园，很多还失去了收入。
其中包括很多渔民，他们失去了自己的木船，没有了木船，就没有挣钱的门路。
渔民们用的船叫班卡船，是用该岛森林出产的木材制成的，但强风暴破坏了森林，他们难以很快重新建造船只。
因此，一家大型非政府环保组织正在使用一种玻璃和塑料制成的材料帮助渔民们建造船只，这种材料叫做玻璃纤维，该组织称玻璃纤维比渔民们传统造船使用木材和胶合板材料更耐用。
帕特里克·文森特为世界自然基金会管理这个班卡船重建项目，他和雇员们在教渔民们如何使用玻璃纤维建造船只。
“我们认为无论是出于必要性还是出于实用性，使用玻璃纤维比木材和胶合板更是未来发展的方向，而且关键的是玻璃纤维对生态无害。”
拉蒙·本那米拉是一位造船专家，他说很多渔民对使用玻璃纤维造船表示担心，他说他们问了很多问题。
“这样造的船是否足够坚固？这种船能否经受传统船只日复一日经受的折腾？”
渔民们使用名为“长柄大锤”的重型工具来测试玻璃纤维班卡船，渔民们用这个工具来撞击玻璃纤维船的两侧，看新船是否像木船那样结实。
诺伯特·德拉托雷是一位78岁渔民，他说他对玻璃纤维船的结实程度感到吃惊。
德拉托雷说玻璃纤维船很耐用，这种船在水中比木船更坚固，他还说木船很容易弄脏。
这种新型玻璃纤维班卡船现在只用来进行小规模的捕鱼，但世界自然基金会希望渔民们学到的造船新技术能帮助他们设计和建造大型玻璃纤维船，世界自然基金会称这种技术将帮助他们更好地应对气候变化，减少对受台风海燕破坏的森林中木材的需求。
这就是美国之音慢速英语科技报道，登陆learningelish.voanews.com获得更多科技报道，我是乔纳森·伊万斯。
