英语听力精选进阶版 7203

Background: 科学家近日报告说，排入海洋中的化石燃料气体会使海水酸化，由此可导致海洋中的鱼类失去听力，并会给众多海洋生物的未来带来毁灭性的破坏。

Spectacular tropical clownfish who live around ocean coral reefs rely heavily on their hearing, say scientists. It helps them find a mate, forage¹ for food, and crucially avoid predators³ lurking⁵ in the depths.

Scientists from the University of Bristol in England bred baby clownfish then exposed different groups of them to different levels of carbon dioxide in the water around them -- one at today's levels, and the others at the levels the world's oceans are predicted to reach by 2050 and the year 2100.

They tested their hearing by piping into each tank the sounds of the coral reef -- those in today's conditions swam away from the noise of predators. Those in the mocked-up waters of the future showed no response, suggesting they couldn't hear.

Scientists say the more carbon dioxide we emit, the more oceans absorb and the more acidic the water becomes, and that has potentially devastating⁶ consequences for fish. What they don't know though is whether fish will be able to adapt and tolerate the changing waters.

Glossary⁷ 词汇表

a coral reef 珊瑚礁 

to rely on 依靠 

to forage (for something) 动物觅食 

a predator² 食肉动物 

to lurk⁴ 潜伏，埋伏 

carbon dioxide 二氧化碳 

to pipe into 用管道将某物输入 

to mock-up 实验用的模型 

devastating 毁灭性的 

to adapt (to something) 适应

Questions and Answers

1. Why do fish need hearing? 

It helps them to find food, a sexual partner and avoid other animals that might eat them.

2. What did the clownfish do that made scientists think that they were deaf? 

They didn't change their behaviour when noise of predators was played.

3. True or false? The ocean’s water becomes more acidic when it takes in carbon dioxide. 

True. When dissolved into water it forms a weak acid called carbonic acid.

4. True or false? Scientists think that fish will find a way to live in acidic waters. 

False. According to the report, researchers do not know if the fish will be able to adapt to the changing waters.

1 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

2 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

3 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》

4 lurk   

n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏

参考例句：

• Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
• He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。

5 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

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。