英语听力精选进阶版 7159

Background: 背景：新的调查研究显示全世界蛇的总量在逐日减少。专家们在对欧洲、非洲和澳洲的8种蛇类进行考察后发现在过去15年中蛇的数量在这些地方骤减。

1998 seems to be the year when things started going wrong for the world's snakes.

Numbers of species such as European asps and west African vipers¹ began falling then and in some places have plummeted² since, by as much as ninety percent.

Some of the declines are clearly due to the spread of human settlements, but others have occurred in national parks and protected areas.

The scientists behind the study, which is published in the journal Biology Letters, say they have no idea what could be causing the trend.

Climate change is a possibility, as 1998 was an unusually hot year.

A similar decline noted³ a couple of decades ago in frogs was subsequently found to be due to the spread of a hitherto unknown disease, but there's no evidence yet for anything similar in snakes.

The scientists are calling for other researchers in other parts of the world to put forward any data they may have, in order to better understand the phenomenon and perhaps begin to detect what's causing it.

Glossary⁴ 词汇表

species 种类 

plummeted 骤减、暴跌 

settlements 移居、定居 

journal 期刊 

trend 趋势、动向 

climate change 气候变化 

decline 下降、减少 

noted 显示、记录 

subsequently 后来、事后 

hitherto 到目前为止 

phenomenon 现象 

detect 探究、查明

Questions and Answers

What year did the number of snakes start to decline? 

1998 seems to be the year when the number of snakes in Europe, Africa and Australia started to decline.

What percentage have snake numbers fallen by in some places? 

In some places snake numbers have fallen by ninety percent in the last 15 years.

What is being suggested as a cause of this trend? 

Climate change is being suggested as a cause of the decline in snake numbers, as 1998 was a particularly hot year.

What other species has had a similar decline in numbers? 

A couple of decades ago, frogs faced a decline in numbers due to an unknown disease.

1 vipers   

n.蝰蛇( viper的名词复数 )；毒蛇；阴险恶毒的人；奸诈者

参考例句：

• The fangs of pit vipers are long, hollow tubes. 颊窝毒蛇的毒牙是长的空心管子。 来自辞典例句
• Vipers are distinguishable from other snakes by their markings. 根据蛇身上的斑纹就能把┹蛇同其他蛇类区别开来。 来自辞典例句

2 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。