英语听力精选进阶版 7181

Background: 美国政府指定阿拉斯加沿海的大片区域作为北极熊的危急栖息地。这片区域包括石油公司准备勘探的油区。环保人士希望这个举动能够挽救北极熊这个濒危物种的生存。

Right now in an icy den¹ in the Arctic, a polar bear is giving birth to cubs², or is about to. But the very survival of this fearsome, majestic³ species concerns many humans.

Polar bears live and hunt on sea ice but the frozen Arctic Ocean is melting at an increasing rate, a result, scientists say, of global warming caused by greenhouse gases.

Now the US government has designated nearly half a million square kilometres in Alaska as critical habitats for the polar bear. It covers an area of roughly twice the size of the United Kingdom, and it means any proposed economic activity there must be weighed against its impact on the bears’ habitat. It includes some of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, exactly where the oil company Shell wants to drill.

The designation itself doesn't ban oil exploration, but it adds extra hurdles⁵ that opponents say will harm the economy.

Environmentalists welcome the move, saying now they can write a recovery plan for polar bears, not an obituary⁶.

Glossary⁷ 词汇表

fearsome 十分可怕的 

to melt 融化 

increasing rate 加快的比率 

to designate 指定 

critical habitat 危急栖息地 

to propose 提议 

to weigh against 权衡 

to ban 禁止 

hurdle⁴ 障碍、限制 

environmentalist 环保人士 

recovery plan 恢复计划 

obituary 讣告

Questions and Answers

1. Why do polar bears need a designated habitat in Alaska? 

Because, according to scientists, their habitat in the Arctic is melting as a result of global warming.

2. Are companies forbidden to operate in the designated area? 

No, if their activities do not harm the bears' habitat.

3. True or false? The area is bigger than the UK. 

True. The designated area is twice the size of the UK.

4. True or false? Environmentalists are writing the bears' obituary. 

False. They say that now the species can recover.

1 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

2 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

4 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

5 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

6 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。

7 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。