環(huán)球英語—958:Jellyfish

Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I'm Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I'm Ruby Jones. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
It is a beautiful, warm summer's day. You are walking along a stretch of golden sand by the sea. To one side of you, waves roll gently onto the land. Suddenly, near the water's edge, you see a strange object. It is a large, round, clear mass. You walk up to the thing and touch it with your foot. It shakes a little. You look closer and see areas of colour within the clear mass. You wonder what it is you have found. It looks like nothing you have seen before!
Voice 2
The object you found is a strange sea creature. It is a jellyfish! A jellyfish's body loses its shape when it is not in the water. This is because it has no skeleton. But in water, it looks graceful and mysterious. The main part of a jellyfish's body is shaped like a bell. Tentacles hang down from the edges of the bell. These organs wave like long pieces of hair as the jellyfish moves through the water. Each tentacle contains cells that the jellyfish use to catch small sea animals to eat. The cells sting - they release a poison into any organism that touches them. This effectively kills the sea creature. And the tentacle carries this food to the mouth of the jellyfish at the centre of the bell. The tentacles of a jellyfish can also sting humans, if they come too close.
Voice 1
Jellyfish live in all of the major oceans of the world. And there are many different species or kinds of jellyfish. There is the simple, harmless moon jellyfish with four coloured circles in its bell. Or, there is the very dangerous Box Jellyfish that lives in the waters of Australasia. Here are Nick Page and Ryan Geertsma with Spotlight's guide to the wonderful world of jellyfish!
Voice 3
The largest species of jellyfish is the Lion's Mane jellyfish. It lives in the colder water of the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Arctic oceans. The longest Lion's Mane jellyfish washed up on the coast of North America in 1870. Its bell was over two metres wide. And its tentacles were over thirty-six metres long!
Voice 4
The body of a jellyfish is 95 percent water. It has no heart. And it has no eyes. It reacts to food or danger through nerve signals from its tentacles - yet it has no brain to process those signals!
Voice 3
One species of jellyfish seems to be immortal - it does not die! A jellyfish normally develops to the point where it can produce young. Then, it dies. However, the turritopsis nutricula jellyfish is different. It produces young. Then, it rejuvenates itself. It returns to its pre-adult state. From there, it starts to grow until it once more becomes an adult. It then produces more young - and the whole process repeats itself again and again and again.
Voice 4
Some people like to eat jellyfish. But they must first prepare it for eating! Firstly, they dry the jellyfish. They do this mainly using salt. This prevents the jellyfish from decaying - becoming unsafe to eat. Drying can take some time. Then, they wash off the salt and soak the dried jellyfish in water. Next, they cut the jellyfish into pieces. They place the pieces in boiling water for a short time then move them immediately into freezing water. This removes any salty taste that may still be there. In fact, the jellyfish has no particular taste. When added to other food, it will take on the taste of that food.
Voice 2
In Japan, one species of jellyfish is a very unwelcome visitor. Every summer since 2005, the Nomura's jellyfish invades the water off Japan's west coast. These jellyfish can grow up to almost two metres long and can weigh just over 200 kilogrammes. People out fishing in this area were the first to notice these huge creatures. They caught many of these jellyfish in their nets as well as the fish they were aiming to reach. The larger jellyfish broke the nets. And the smaller creatures ruined the fish around them. The result was serious damage to Japan's fishing industry. Many fishermen stopped fishing completely. And others said that the money they earned from fishing had dropped by eighty percent.
Voice 1
The size and weight of Noumra's jellyfish also caused other problems. Some of them swam into some sea water pumps in that area. Water from these pumps cooled reactors in nuclear power stations along the coast. The jellyfish blocked the pumps and stopped them from working effectively.
Voice 2
The sting from a Nomura's jellyfish may not be the worst. But it can be very painful. And the jellyfish are stopping people from enjoying a swim during Japan's warm summer months. So what are the reasons behind this jellyfish invasion?
Voice 1
The Japanese government ordered a scientific study of these creatures. They wanted to know why they came to this stretch of water every year. Scientists presented a number of possible reasons for the increase in the number of Nomura's jellyfish. They suggested several reasons. For example, there is a lot of fishing in that stretch of sea. The sea had become polluted. And the water was now warmer. All this had helped to kill off the fish that normally ate baby Nomura's jellyfish. And so, the jellyfish were able to develop into adults. The scientists also suggested that warmer water may provide a better environment for the jellyfish to produce their young.
Voice 2
Whatever, the reason, the Japanese people are inventing ways to live with the jellyfish. Fishermen have added sharp wires to their nets to help kill the creatures. And one food company has even started to produce vanilla and jellyfish ice-cream. This version of the sweet, frozen food is a bit more like rubber than normal ice cream. But people still seem willing to try it!
Voice 1
So, if you are swimming and you see a jellyfish, you can now wonder at this strange, mysterious creature. You can look - but you had better not touch! Some jellyfish are a source of pain and danger to humans. The best defence is knowledge. Make sure you know if there are risks from jellyfish in the particular area where you plan to swim. Be wise, but have fun! And enjoy your swim!
Voice 2
The writer of this programme was Ruby Jones. The producer was Marina Santee. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can hear other Spotlight programmes on our website: www.radio.english.net. This programme is called "Jellyfish".
Voice 1
Spotlight is also on Facebook. Just search for Spotlight Radio. Thank you for listening today. Until next time, goodbye!