英语听力精选进阶版 6245

Sharks attack tourists at holiday resort 埃及红海海域鲨鱼出没攻击游客

What do you expect when you go on holiday? Probably to relax, have a good time and above all, stay safe.

Sometimes natural disasters, such as a hurricane or an erupting volcano, may put a stop to your holiday plans. But holidaymakers at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt are facing a problem of a different kind.

The resort is popular with British tourists who go there for the golden sands, warm sea, and for the excellent scuba¹ diving. But at the moment they are not venturing into the water because of a series of attacks by sharks.

One person has been killed and several others have been injured in the attacks over the last few weeks. According to Ian Fergusson, a shark biologist, these sharks, "Oceanic White Tips, frequent the region but it was unusual for swimmers to encounter them in shallow waters".

What has lured² them into these waters and attack people is still a mystery but experts agree that attacks are extremely rare and that they are not the man-eaters depicted³ in Hollywood films like Jaws⁴.

One thought is that animal carcasses were recently dumped into the sea from a ship close to the shore. Ian Fergusson says: "If you start dumping carcasses, you couldn't ask for a better way of baiting for sharks".

He also says that "they are opportunistic and it could just be a case of people being in the wrong place at the wrong time".

The thought of a shark attack might make you think twice about taking a dip in the sea but research by the University of Florida found there are estimated to be between 70 and 100 attacks on humans per year and only a small number are fatal.

Mark Murphy, who runs a scuba diving company, is worried about how the authorities will control these sharks in the Red Sea. He points out that "over 70 million sharks a year are killed by humans and they are an essential part of the marine⁵ ecosystem⁶".

What is clear is that finding the predators⁷ behind these attacks in Egypt is going to be very difficult.

Glossary 词汇表

natural disasters 自然灾害 

erupting 喷发 

holidaymakers 度假者 

resort 度假胜地 

scuba diving 带水下呼吸器潜水 

venturing 冒险 

biologist 生物学家 

to frequent 频繁（出没） 

lured 诱惑，吸引 

rare 罕见的 

man-eaters 食人族 

depicted 描述，描绘 

carcasses （动物的）尸体 

baiting 引诱，诱饵 

opportunistic 机会主义的，投机取巧的 

to think twice 三思 

to take a dip （下海）游泳 

fatal 致命的 

ecosystem 生态系统 

predators 食肉动物

1 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

2 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

3 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

4 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

5 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。

6 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

7 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》