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Dolphin Force

Intro:

Welcome to daily fun facts where we discuss fun facts about this crazy world. Use these newfound facts to break the ice and start an interesting conversation.  Happy learning everyone!

Dialogue:

Andrea:  It’s scorching hot outside, Brie.  I want to go swimming.

Brie:  Me too! Wouldn’t it be nice to get away for a while, and take a dip in a pool? How about we go to Florida? A tourist brochure I read said that for 50 bucks we can go swimming with dolphins. 

Andrea:  Swimming with dolphins sounds like so much fun!  Actually, I know a fact about dolphins that you might find interesting.

Brie:  What’s that?

Andrea: Dolphins are a highly trainable and very intelligent species.  So intelligent, in fact, that countries across the world have put their skills to work for their militaries, employing them to carry out a variety of tasks that are difficult and dangerous for humans. 

Brie:  Ahh, I see. 我也听说过海豚非常的聪明但是从没听说过海豚在军事方面的贡献。It’s because of their bio-sonar capabilities, am I right?

Andrea:  Bingo!  Dolphins have amazing acoustical abilities.  Using echolocation, a dolphin can detect the difference in density between a golf ball and a ping pong ball.  During the Vietnam War and Cold War eras,  the militaries of the former Soviet Union and the United States used dolphins to help them find sunken ships, locate underwater mines, bring equipment to divers, and even guard submarines.

Brie:  No way!! 早在美苏冷战和越南战争的时候，美国和前苏联就已经开始研究海豚的生物声纳能力并训练海豚来寻找失踪的船只，探测地雷，给潜水员运送装备，寻找丢失的装备和保护潜水艇。

Andrea:  Dolphins are also very talented mimics. They are self-aware, know how to problem-solve, and are empathetic.

Brie:  它们还很善于模仿，有一定的自我意识，知道如何解决问题，而且还很善解人意。Wow, they certainly are amazing animals.  However, I’m sure that their use in the military does not sit well with animal rights groups.

Andrea:  That’s true, but it may not be an issue in the future.  Scientists and engineers are currently working to create robots that have the same skills as dolphins.  Although the technology is not there yet, I can see a future in which we may no longer need to depend on Dolphins. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Brie:  如果机器人可以取代海豚来帮助人类做一些比较危险的活动就再好不过了！I’m looking forward to that day.  In the meantime, I want my trip to Florida.  Thanks for taking a deep dive into this fun fact!

Close:

So, everyone, there’s your fun fact of the day!  Let’s go over some of the vocabulary and phrases from this dialogue.

Vocabulary:

Scorching   / ˈskɔr tʃɪŋ /  灼热的

Bucks  / bʌks /  美元

Dolphins  / ˈdɒl fɪns /  海豚

Trainable  / ˈtreɪ nə bəl /  能被训练的

Military  / ˈmɪl ɪˌtɛr i /  军事/军用

Employing   / ɛmˈplɔɪŋ /  使用/雇佣

Bio-sonar  / ˈbaɪ oʊ ˈsoʊ nɑr /  生物声纳

Capabilities  / ˌkeɪ pəˈbɪl ɪ tiz /  能力

Bingo!   / ˈbɪŋ goʊ /  答对了！              

Acoustical  / əˈku stɪk /  声学的

Echolocation  / ˌɛk oʊ loʊˈkeɪ ʃən /  回声定位

Density  / ˈdɛn sɪ ti /  密度

Sunken  / ˈsʌŋ kən /  沉没的/下沉的

Underwater mines   / ˈʌn dərˈwɔ tər maɪnz /  水雷

Submarines  / ˌsʌb məˈrinz /  潜艇

Mimics  / ˈmɪm ɪks /  模仿

Self-aware   / sɛlf əˈwɛər /  自我意识

Empathetic  / ˌɛm pəˈθɛt ɪk /  善解人意的

Phrases:

Take a dip in a pool  在泳池里游一圈

Carry out  执行

Sit well with (someone)  能被某人接受的/同意的

Win-win  双赢

In the meantime  于此同时

Take a deep dive into  深入地阐述

Alright, join us next time for another fun fact to help break the ice! 好了，这就是我们今天的有趣常识分享，如果喜欢我们的话，请别忘了点击订阅支持我们！如果有什么疑问，想法，或者建议，请给我们多多留言，多多赐教，我们会在第一时间给你答复！拜拜，咱们下期再见！

Photo Credit: Silviu Georgescu on Unsplash

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