英语听力：自然百科 大堡礁 自然奇迹(3)（在线收听）

They respond to touch, temperature, currents, and the cycles of the sun and the moon.

它们对触碰，温度，洋流及日月的交替都有反应。

And their tiny movements combined to give each colony a rhythm of its own.

它们轻微的运动形成整个群落的一种独特节奏。

The polyps can't build the reef alone.

珊瑚虫自己不能建造珊瑚礁。

For this, they need parterners that are even smaller.

它们需要一种体积更小的同伴。

Within each polyp's tentacles are millions of tiny brown dots.

每个珊瑚虫的触角里都有无数的小棕点。

Each is a microscopic plant, which transform sunlight into food and energy for the corals.

每一个都是显微镜下才能看到的植物。它们将太阳能转化为食物和能量提供给珊瑚。

It's a miraculous parternship that allows the corals to turn the minerals in the water into limestone, building their stony skeletons.

这是一种绝妙的合作关系，这使得珊瑚能将水中的矿物质转化为石灰岩从而形成它们石质的骨架。

In this way, each colony grows.

只有这样每一个珊瑚群才能生长。

If we were able to watch a reef over several years, we'd see a continuely growing marine metropolis.

如果我们每隔几年就观察一次某块珊瑚礁，我们将会发现一个规模持续扩大的海底都市。

Its intricate architecture provides homes for thousands of creatures.

它错综复杂的构造给无数生物提供住所。