BBC 6 Minute English | SHOULD TOURISTS GO TO ANTARTICA? | English CC | D...

source: Daily Listening    2016年10月7日
► SUBSCRIBE DAILY LISTENING: http://goo.gl/9sRkEB

0:07 And in this programme we're talking about tourism, but in a very special place: Antarctica.
0:12 It is considered the last great wilderness on Earth.
0:15 Wilderness means an area with no people and no agriculture because of the difficult living
0:21 conditions.
0:22 Yes, in Antarctica there are only research stations with scientists and a few tourists.
0:27 Not so few – about 37,000 tourists are expected there this season.
0:33 Many don't go ashore but there's no denying that it disturbs the environment.
0:37 That many?
0:38 Yes.
0:39 We're asking if it is fair for tourists to set foot – it means to go to - such a sensitive
0:43 environment.
0:44 We'll also use some vocabulary related to Antarctica.
0:48 By the way, Neil, do you know a lot about the South Pole?
0:52 I've been reading that the ice caps – these are the thick layers of ice permanently covering
0:56 a vast area of land in the Arctic and Antarctic - are melting due to global warming…
1:02 Yes, and global warming is the increase in world temperatures due to the presence of
1:06 carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
1:09 This gas and some others have been stopping heat from the Earth escaping into space.
1:14 You know what, Rob?
1:15 I would like to visit Antarctica before it melts too much.
1:18 I want to see the penguins.
1:19 They are very amusing animals!
1:21 They are, yes.
1:22 But penguins aside, what large resource can be found in Antarctica?
1:27 That's my question for you today.
1:28 Is Antarctica: a) The world's largest coal field
1:32 b) The world's largest gold source c) The world's largest diamond source
1:41 I'm gonna have a guess - because I don't know - that it's coal (a).
1:45 Coal.
1:46 Right.
1:47 Okay.
1:48 Well, as usual, we'll give you the right answer at the end of the programme.
1:51 Well, I love travelling but I wonder how that very sensitive environment in Antarctica is
1:57 going to be preserved.
1:59 That's why BBC reporter Juliet Rix's visit to Antarctica caught my attention.
2:03 I bet she is asking the same question as you, Rob.
2:06 Yes she is.
2:07 Listen to what she has to say about the need to have some level of tourism in the Antarctic.
2:13 What word does she use to describe people who defend a cause – in this case – the
2:17 preservation of the region?
2:20 I'm all too aware that this is not my habitat.
2:23 Like a scuba diver under the sea I'm an alien visitor in the penguins' world.
2:28 Which makes me wonder: should I be here at all?
2:31 Am I just by setting foot on this extraordinary continent polluting the last great wilderness
2:36 on Earth?
2:38 All visitors leave a footprint, admits my tour leader.
2:41 And we all go to the same places, the accessible coastline, which is also where the penguins
2:46 and seals go to breed.
2:48 Nonetheless, he argues, carefully controlled tourism is not just okay but useful.
2:54 Without a native population of its own, Antarctica needs advocates.
2:58 And tourism creates a global constituency of people ready to support and indeed fund
3:03 its preservation.
3:05 Not everyone is convinced that the benefits outweigh the risks, but most are pragmatic:
3:10 The reporter uses the word advocates – that's what we call people who defend a cause or
3:16 an idea.
3:17 Juliet Rix's tour guide told her it's good that some people go to Antarctica and then,
3:22 when they go back to their countries, they defend conservation and give money to organisations
3:28 which work for the preservation of the environment.
3:31 Some people might not agree because if there are some companies making profit, it might
3:35 be difficult to prevent an increase in tourism to Antarctica.
3:39 And what control do they have over the tourists?
3:43 Juliet Rix tells us about the instructions given to her group when they approached Antarctica.
3:48 She says that tourists must clean their clothes with a vacuum cleaner before they leave the
3:53 ship to go on land.
3:57 But why?
3:58 We're given a mandatory briefing before gathering for a “vacuum party”.
4:01 We bio secure ourselves hovering our clothes and kit and disinfecting our boots to ensure
4:07 we introduce no alien species to Antarctica.
4:10 There's no eating or smoking on land, and we're instructed to take nothing away, except
4:15 photographs, and leave nothing behind.
4:17 Not even a bit of yellow snow.
4:19 So, don't drink too much at breakfast.
4:23 The BBC reporter tells us that the group of tourists has to disinfect their boots.
4:29 Disinfect means to clean something using chemicals or, in this case, vacuum to kill or remove
4:34 bacteria.
4:36 This is to avoid the risk of contaminating the region.
4:39 And to go to the toilet before leaving the ship.
4:42 The ice is not your toilet!
4:44 No, it isn't.
4:45 The penguins have exclusive rights on that!
4:47 But what do you think about visiting Antarctica, Rob?
4:49 Are you keen on paying the penguins a visit?
4:52 Absolutely, I would love to go there.
4:54 What about you, Neil?
4:55 Yeah.
4:56 I'd like to go because as I said, it's all about the penguins.
4:58 Well, let's stop dreaming about exotic trips and go back to the question I asked you earlier
5:03 in the programme: what large resource can be found in Antarctica?
5:07 Is it the world's largest coal field; the world's largest gold source or the world's
5:12 largest diamond source?
5:13 And I said coal.
5:16 And you are indeed correct.
5:17 Well done!
5:18 And now no one is able to mine the coal because the Antarctic Treaty has banned the exploitation
5:24 of resources for 50 years.
5:26 What happens after that, who knows?
5:28 Anyway, we're running out of time so let's remember some of the words we said today,
5:33 Neil.
5:34The words were: wilderness
5:38 to set foot ice caps
5:43 global warming advocates
5:49 to disinfect Thank you.
5:52 Well, that's it for today.