Chapter 6 of 10 · 2'52"
In the 1970s, fleets slaughter whales, and the blues number only a few thousand. Off Hawaii, someone records humpback songs and says to listen. Under that, the songs change opinion, and "The killing of whales turned from a harvest to a crime."
❝ Monologue · 10 lines The Songs That Shifted Opinion
❝ Monologue · 8 lines From a Harvest to a Crime
In the 1970s, industrial ships slaughter whales. Blue whales number only a few thousand. Off Hawaii, humpbacks are found by their calls, and an underwater microphone captures songs that are long and complex. Those mournful songs change how people see them: no longer little more than oil and meat, they become personalities, and killing them turns from a harvest into a crime.
Blue whales number only a few thousand and are virtually impossible to find. Humpbacks off Hawaii are found only by their calls. A recording just made in the Pacific shows songs that are long and complex, learned from other whales in the same area, with themes and variations that evolve. One line states the result in full: "Their mournful songs were the key to transforming people's opinions about them." Someone says "Hello, Boctok. We are Canadian" and then "Please stop killing the whales." Animals viewed as little more than a source of oil and meat become personalities. People have pursued animals to extinction many times, but once that killing is visible it is no longer acceptable. "The killing of whales turned from a harvest to a crime." A powerful shared conscience appears, and nobody wants animals to become extinct. People come to care as they are made aware, and there is now the means to make people across the world aware.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“Whales were being slaughtered by fleets of industrial whaling ships in the 1970s.”
The killing is presented as an industry still running, not as a single accident.
Formal
“Their mournful songs were the key to transforming people's opinions about them.”
The sad song is given the job of changing what people think.
Formal
“Animals that had been viewed as little more than a source of oil and meat became personalities.”
The line pins them down as raw material, then stands them up as individuals.
Formal
“The killing of whales turned from a harvest to a crime.”
Two plain nouns trade places, and a harvest becomes a crime.
literary
“A powerful shared conscience had suddenly appeared.”
A private sense of right and wrong arrives as a public event.
literary
Whales were being slaughtered by fleets of industrial whaling ships in the 1970s. The largest whales, the blues, numbered only a few thousand by then. They were virtually impossible to find. We found humpbacks off Hawaii only by listening out for their calls. A moment ago, we made this recording with an underwater microphone here in the Pacific near Hawaii. Just listen to this. Recordings like these revealed that the songs of the humpbacks are long and complex. Humpbacks living in the same area learn their songs from each other. And the songs have distinct themes and variations which evolve over time. Their mournful songs were the key to transforming people's opinions about them.
We have pursued animals to extinction many times in our history, but now that it was visible, it was no longer acceptable. The killing of whales turned from a harvest to a crime. A powerful shared conscience had suddenly appeared. Nobody wanted animals to become extinct. People were coming to care for the natural world... as they were made aware of the natural world. And we now had the means to make people across the world aware.
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet: your progress
Chapter 6 of 10 · about 12 min to go
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Up next · 07dizzying diversityThe scene: Oil Palms Behind the Green CurtainThe lines say recordings revealed songs that are long and complex, learned from other whales in the same area, with themes and variations that evolve. One line states their mournful songs were the key to transforming people's opinions about them.
They were virtually impossible to find. The account says they were found only by listening out for their calls, with an underwater microphone in the Pacific near Hawaii.
Animals that had been viewed as little more than a source of oil and meat became personalities. The mournful songs are named as the key to transforming people's opinions about them.
People have pursued animals to extinction many times, but once the killing was visible it was no longer acceptable. The killing of whales turned from a harvest to a crime, and a powerful shared conscience had suddenly appeared. Nobody wanted animals to become extinct.
The lines say people were coming to care for the natural world as they were made aware of it, and that there was now the means to make people across the world aware.
