VIP Class Notes (George)[R]

Demo StudentCathy C

Homework

write a paragraph about the amazon forest

Today we focused on:

we focused on reading and vocabularies

Reading

Electric Eels – Level 3

Scientists have discovered a new species of electric eel that is truly shocking. In fact, it is the most shocking creature in the world. The new eel was discovered in the Amazon. It is capable of giving someone an electric shock that is nearly eight times stronger than the electricity found in the wall socket of an American home. The eel is 2.4 meters long, weighs 45kgs, and can discharge a shock of 860 volts. Appliances in American homes need just 110 volts of electricity. The eel has enough power to give a human a severe electric shock. It is possible the shock could kill a human. The scientists wrote in the journal Nature Communications that the eel is “the strongest living bio-electricity generator”.

Scientists have named the new eel Electrophorus voltai. The team of researchers actually found two new species of electric eel, but Electrophorus voltai is grabbing the headlines because of its electrical power. Up until the two recent discoveries, scientists believed there was only one electric eel in existence. Lead researcher Dr David de Santana said he would not be surprised to find more new species. He wrote: “If you can discover a new 2.4m-long fish after 250 years of exploration, can you imagine what remains to be discovered in that region?” He added: “The discovery…in Amazonia, one of the planet’s biodiversity hot spots, is suggestive of the vast amount of species that remain to be discovered in nature.”

Vocabulary

in fact
actually

creatures 生物
anything living and moving

capable 有能力的
able to do things

shocking 令人震惊的
extremely surprising

electric shock 触电

socket 插座

discharge 排放
sending out something such as / electric / water / gas

appliance 家用电器
any device or machine that needs electricity

severe 非常严重的
very serious

generator 发电机
a machine that produce electricity

grab 攫取
to take something by hand suddenly and toughly

existence 存在
the fact of something or someone existing

exploration 探索
the activity of searching and finding out about something

biodiversity 生物多样性

vast 巨大的
extremely big

region 区域
area/ part of the world

hot spot 
popular place