中英双语新闻 大堡礁面临死亡

 The latest survey of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia reveals that an average of 35 percent of coral is now dead or dying in the northern and central 

sections. Experts from James Cook University say it’s the most extreme case of mass bleaching¹ they have ever measured at the World Heritage Site.

So in the last 30 years or so, we’ve seen unprecedented² episodes of mass bleaching that is very strongly linked to global warming.

And just describe specifically what happens then to the coral as the temperature in the water rises.

Here corals get most of their colour from the microscopic³ algae⁴ that live inside their tissues, the zooxanthellae. When the coral is stressed, the zooxanthellae die 

back. And because they give the coral most of its colour, when a coral is bleached⁵, we can actually see the underlying⁶ carbonate skeleton underneath⁷ the tissue. A 

bleached coral is a very sick coral because they are compromised nutritionally because they get most of their energy from photosynthesis⁸ by the algae.

And how serious is the situation in the Great Barrier Reef?

Severely⁹ bleached corals can die. And right now on the Great Barrier Reef, we’ve seen unprecedented levels of coral mortality in the northern third of the Great 

Barrier Reef. So we estimate that in the top half of the Great Barrier Reef on average, 35 percent of the corals are dead or dying. It’s much less than that in the 

middle and southern section of the Great Barrier Reef. So in the north, many of the reefs we’ve surveyed have already lost half of their coral cover.

And in the context of the Great Barrier Reef, how much of it is the responsibility of the Australian government?

Well, the Australian government is responsible for stewardship¹⁰ of the Great Barrier Reef. There has been some progress recently in dealing¹¹ with issues like fishing 

pressure and with water quality, but not at all really with climate change. So Australia is hardly leading the world in terms of its greenhouse gas emissions¹² which are 

pretty much stable. Over recent years they haven’t yet declined. Australia recently issued a permit for a new coal mine through the next 60 years. That coal mine, if 

it goes ahead, would be the largest coal mine in the world.

有关澳大利亚沿海大堡礁的最新调查显示：北部和中部平均有35%的珊瑚现在已经死亡或即将死亡。来自詹姆斯库克大学的专家称，这是他们目前在世界遗产地测出大量白化的最极端的例子。

在过去的大概30年里，我们见证了前所未有的大量白化现象，这和全球变暖有强烈的关联。

请具体描述一下海水温度升高会对珊瑚造成什么样的影响。

这里珊瑚的颜色大都来自只能通过显微镜才能看到的藻类，这种藻类生长在珊瑚的组织——黄藻中。珊瑚受到压迫会导致黄藻萎缩。因为珊瑚从这种藻类中获取大部分颜色，所以当一片珊瑚白化时，我们其实可以看到组织下面的碳酸盐骨架。白化了的珊瑚非常病态，因为营养不良，因为他们的能量大多来自藻类的光合作用。

那么大堡礁的情况有多严重？

严重白化的珊瑚可能会死亡。现在，我们观察到大堡礁北段三分之一部分珊瑚死亡的水平是史无前例的。因此我们预测，大堡礁上半部分平均有35%的珊瑚已经或即将死亡，比大堡礁中部和南部的珊瑚数量少很多。在北部，我们研究过的很多礁石都少了一半珊瑚覆盖。

就大堡礁的情况来说，有多少是澳大利亚政府的责任？

澳大利亚政府负责管理大堡礁。最近在应对捕捞压力和海水质量等问题上，政府取得了一些进步，但在应对气候变化方面真的一点进展也没有。所以，澳大利亚在温室气体排放上完全无法引领世界。澳大利亚温室气体排放量非常稳定，近年来也没有下降。最近，澳大利亚向一个新煤矿颁发了60年的开采许可证。如果这个煤矿按计划开发，会成为世界上最大的煤矿。

1 bleaching   

漂白法，漂白

参考例句：

• Moderately weathered rock showed more intense bleaching and fissuring in the feldspars. 中等风化岩石则是指长石有更为强烈的变白现象和裂纹现象。
• Bleaching effects are very strong and show on air photos. 退色效应非常强烈，并且反映在航空象片上。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

4 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

5 bleached   

漂白的，晒白的，颜色变浅的

参考例句：

• His hair was bleached by the sun . 他的头发被太阳晒得发白。
• The sun has bleached her yellow skirt. 阳光把她的黄裙子晒得褪色了。

6 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

7 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

8 photosynthesis   

n.光合作用

参考例句：

• In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almost exclusively in the leaves.苹果树的光合作用几乎只发生在叶内。
• Chloroplasts are the structures in which photosynthesis happens.叶绿体就是光合作用发生的地方。

9 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

10 stewardship   

n. n. 管理工作；管事人的职位及职责

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Last, but certainly not least, are the issues of stewardship and ethics. 最后，但当然不是微不足道的，是工作和道德规范的问题。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。