英语听力文摘 English Digest 501、那片珊瑚HOLD不住了！

 　　Aah, snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef–blue, clear water, magnificent coral, beautiful fish.

 

　　How about cloudy water and dying coral and you have to look pretty hard to spot a fish anywhere?

 

　　Nobody would want to go snorkeling in waters like you just described!

 

　　Well, we may face more problems than disappointing snorkeling vacations if we keep harming the coral reefs of the world.

 

　　Like the loss of one quarter of all marine¹ animals and plants?

 

　　That adds more! One example of a way we’re destroying coral reefs around the world is farming near reef coastlines. In the Great Barrier Reef, far off Australia, for instance, scientists studied changes in the composition of coral over time and compared that to logs recording² the local flood history. Barium, a metal rich in terrestrial soil, but usually low in seawater, began to rise soon after Europeans settled the area in 1862.

 

　　You mean that after the settlers moved in and tilled land for farming, from then on, when a nearby river flooded, it washed loose soil into the reefs?

 

　　Exactly! These sediments³ cloud the water, blocking out sunlight that is necessary to the corals’ growth. In fact, when sedimentation⁴ run-off is extremely bad, it can smother⁵ the coral and kill it.

 

　　Sedimentation can also introduce nutrients⁶ that lead to excess growth of green algae⁷, which can compete with the corals for space, impeding⁸ their growth and survival.

 

　　And sedimentation is just one way we’re harming coral. If we don’t take action, marine scientists predict that the majority of the coral reefs of the world will be destroyed in just 40 years.

 

　　假想潜水于大堡礁——那片蔚蓝清澈的海里，美丽的鱼儿游曳在一望无际的珊瑚里。

 

　　再想象另一番景象：污浊的水域，岌岌可危的珊瑚，连鱼儿的影子都看不到。

 

　　绝不会有人会在刚才你描述的海里潜水的。

 

　　要是我们不停止“迫害”地球上的珊瑚，就不只是度假不能潜水的扫兴了，我们面临的问题重重。

 

　　比如，1/4海洋动植物灭绝？

 

　　不仅如此。比如，人类在珊瑚礁海岸线开垦种地，这样会破坏全球珊瑚的生长。科学家曾研究澳大利亚大堡礁珊瑚成分的变化，比对当地历史上洪灾的记录。发现自1862年，欧洲人移民澳大利亚起，仅在陆地土壤中富含的金属钡的数量开始在海里上升。

 

　　你的意思是移民者定居后，垦地务农，附近的涨潮将疏松的土壤冲进了大堡礁？

 

　　没错！这些沉淀物使水变污浊，遮盖了珊瑚生长必需的阳光。事实上，沉淀量很多的话，珊瑚可能会窒息而死。

 

　　此外，沉淀物还可能供给绿藻疯长的养分，绿藻会和珊瑚竞争生存空间，抑制珊瑚的生长，甚至是存亡。

 

　　这仅仅是众多人类活动破坏珊瑚其中的一种。如果我们还不采取措施，海洋科学家预计世界上大部分珊瑚礁在40年内会灭绝。

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 sediments   

沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 )； 沉积物

参考例句：

• When deposited, 70-80% of the volume of muddy sediments may be water. 泥质沉积物沉积后，体积的70-80％是水。
• Oligocene erosion had truncated the sediments draped over the dome. 覆盖于穹丘上的沉积岩为渐新世侵蚀所截削。

4 sedimentation   

n.沉淀，沉积

参考例句：

• Sedimentation, the damage of a breach are problems, too. 而且沉积和决口的问题，也是存在的。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）
• Sedimentation and denudation play a role in exceptional cases. 沉积和剥蚀作用的影响只在特殊情况下起作用。

5 smother   

vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息

参考例句：

• They tried to smother the flames with a damp blanket.他们试图用一条湿毯子去灭火。
• We tried to smother our laughter.我们强忍住笑。

6 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 impeding   

a.(尤指坏事)即将发生的，临近的

参考例句：

• Fallen rock is impeding the progress of rescue workers. 坠落的石头阻滞了救援人员的救援进程。
• Is there sufficient room for the kiosk and kiosk traffic without impeding other user traffic? 该环境下是否有足够的空间来摆放信息亭？信息亭是否会妨碍交通或者行走？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓