英语听力文摘 English Digest 681 气候变暖可能有助于企鹅生存

 

Climate Change May Actually Help Penguins¹

It’s time to go again to the A Moment of Science mailbag. A listener writes:

Dear A Moment of Science,

I know that climate change is making life difficult for polar bears and other cold climate creatures. But is it possible that some animals actually benefit from climate change?

Penguins And Climate Change

Actually, yes. In fact, one study found that for a colony of Adélie penguins on Beaufort Island south of New Zealand, climate change has been a boon². Over the past sixty years, as temperatures have risen and glaciers³ retreated on the island, the bird colony increased by eighty-four percent, from 35,000 breeding pairs to 64,000 breeding pairs. Why? Because the glaciers’ retreat has revealed more bare ground where the penguins like to nest.

Now, it’s important to note that this may be an isolated⁴ and relatively⁵ rare case. Some studies have shown that other colonies of Adélie penguins have shrunk over the past few decades. And other animals, most famously polar bears, are definitely in decline due to a loss of sea ice in the Arctic.

Studying Species

But the study does suggest that the effects of climate change vary depending on geography and the species in question. What causes one species to fade may help another thrive. Overall, though, many scientists believe that the many negatives of climate change outweigh⁶ the few potential benefits.

又到了“科学一刻”的信箱时间。一位听众来信写到：亲爱的“科学一刻”栏目，我了解气候变化正给北极熊及其他寒带生物的生活造成困难。但是有没有可能，有些动物事实上正从中受益呢?

企鹅与气候变化

事实上，正是如此。一份研究显示，对位于新西兰南部博福特岛上的一个阿德利企鹅的种群而言，气候的变化已为它们带来好消息。在过去的六十年间，随着气温上升及大陆冰川后撤，这个鸟类种群的繁殖数目由35,000对增长到64,000对。原因何在?因为冰川的溶解反而为企鹅提供了更多赖以筑巢的裸露地表。

目前，更重要的是应该注意到这或许只是一个孤立并相对罕见的案例。部分研究表明，其他种群的阿德利企鹅数目已在过往几十年间锐减。而其他动物，包括最为出名的北极熊在内，已明显由于极地海洋冰川减少而数目下降。

物种研究

然而，这份研究的确显示，气候变化的影响将视乎研究对象的地理位置及种类而有所不同，造成一个物种消退的原因可能帮助另一物种繁衍。不过总的来说，许多科学家相信，气候变化的负面影响将远远超过其潜在的好处。

1 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

3 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

4 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。