英语听力：自然百科 大堡礁 堡礁内外(9)

 They are one of the ten species of whales that visit the reef each year.

座头鲸是每年造访大堡礁十种鲸鱼当中的一种。

They were once hunted almost to extinction¹, but numbers here have bounced back to 15 thousand, about half the pre-whaling population.

它们曾遭受大肆捕猎，几乎处于绝迹，但现在数量已经回升至15000只，这个数字是捕鲸业开始之前数量的一半。

Like Minkes, humpbacks come up from the Antarctic to mate and to calve.

和小须鲸一样，座头鲸也是从南极来这里进行交配分娩。

This mother gave birth a couple of weeks ago.

这头母鲸数周前产下幼鲸。

And already her calf² weighs over two tons and it is more than six meters long.

她的小宝宝已经有2吨多重，身长也超过6米。

For the turtle mother, the final and what may turn out to be the most arduous³ part of her journey has only just begun.

对海龟妈妈而言，此行途中最后也可能是最为艰辛的部分只不过刚刚开始。

With thousands of turtles arriving at the same time, their trails crisscross the sand like tank tracks on a battlefield.

数千只海龟同时抵达，它们在沙滩上的痕迹纵横交错，就像战场上坦克过后留下的痕迹。

1 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

2 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

3 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。