TED演讲:我在太平洋底为珊瑚之死哭泣(4)

We had a bleaching¹ event in 2010 in the Caribbean that took off big patches of skin on boulder² corals like these.

加勒比海在2010年也经历了白化事件，当时就像这样大片大片的珊瑚礁表面被剥离了。

This coral lost half of its skin. But if you look at the side of this coral a few years later, this coral is actually healthy again.

一般的珊瑚表面没有了。但是如果你在几年之后观察同一处珊瑚，珊瑚实际上重新恢复了健康。

It's doing what a healthy coral does. It's making copies of its polyps, it's fighting back the algae³ and it's reclaiming⁴ its territory.

它像正常的珊瑚礁一样。它复制自己的息肉，它向藻类回击，重新夺回自己的领地。

If a few polyps survive, a coral can regrow; it just needs time and protection and a reasonable temperature.

如果有少量息肉存活，一片珊瑚就可以再生；它仅仅需要时间、适当的保护以及合理的海水温度。

Some corals can regrow in 10 years -- others take a lot longer. But the more stresses we take off them locally,

有些珊瑚可以在10年内再生——其它的会稍微长一点。但是我们在珊瑚礁周边给珊瑚礁的压力，

things like overfishing, sewage pollution, fertilizer pollution, dredging, coastal⁵ construction,

像是过度捕捞、生活污水和农业肥料污染等，清淤工程、海岸建设，

the better they can hang on as we stabilize⁶ the climate, and the faster they can regrow.

当我们将气候稳定后这些问题处理的愈好，珊瑚的恢复速度就越快。

And as we go through the long, tough and necessary process of stabilizing⁷ the climate of planet Earth, some new corals will still be born.

在我们完成这个漫长、艰难而又必需的目标时也就是让地球的气候恢复稳定，一些新的珊瑚会继续诞生。

This is what I study in my research. We try to understand how corals make babies, and how those babies find their way to the reef,

这是我的研究内容。我们尝试理解珊瑚如何产生小珊瑚，以及这些小宝宝如何能够寻找到珊瑚礁，

and we invent new methods to help them survive those early, fragile life stages.

然后我们发明新的方法帮助他们存活，挺过生命初期的脆弱阶段。

1 bleaching   

漂白法，漂白

参考例句：

• Moderately weathered rock showed more intense bleaching and fissuring in the feldspars. 中等风化岩石则是指长石有更为强烈的变白现象和裂纹现象。
• Bleaching effects are very strong and show on air photos. 退色效应非常强烈，并且反映在航空象片上。

2 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

3 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

4 reclaiming   

v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢？ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

6 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

7 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句