2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Creates World's Largest Marine Reserve

By Scott Stearns
White House
15 June 2006

President Bush has created the world's largest marine¹ reserve.  Mr. Bush acted to protect an area of the Pacific Ocean that is roughly the size of California.

More than 7,000 species of marine life live in a chain of reefs and shoals stretching nearly 2,000 kilometers northwest from the Hawaiian Islands.

That ecosystem² is now a protected marine area where commercial and sport fishing will be phased out over the next five years. Visitors wishing to dive or take photographs must have a permit and no one will be allowed to remove animals or minerals.

President Bush signs a proclamation on the Establishment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument   
  
President Bush says the move protects a precious natural resource and establishes an important place for research and learning.

"The oceans contain countless³ natural treasures," he said.  "They carry much of our trade. They provide food and recreation for billions of people. We have a responsibility, a solemn responsibility, to be good stewards⁴ of the oceans and creatures who inhabit them."

The islands include endangered Hawaiian monk⁵ seals and threatened green sea turtles as well as a rookery for 14 million seabirds.

IKONOS satellite image made available Thursday, June 15, 2006 by GeoEye shows part of French Frigate⁶ Shoals, largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands   
  
At more than 300,000 square kilometers, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument is slightly larger than Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, making it the world's biggest protected marine area.

It includes the World War II memorial on Midway Island, which will remain open for research and education programs.

President Theodore Roosevelt established a bird sanctuary⁷ on some of the islands in 1909. President Bill Clinton created a coral-reef ecosystem reserve in the area six years ago. By exercising executive powers to declare the islands a national monument, President Bush avoided what would have been a year-long review process to make the area a less-protected national marine sanctuary.

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

3 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

4 stewards   

（轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家

参考例句：

• The stewards all wore armbands. 乘务员都戴了臂章。
• The stewards will inspect the course to see if racing is possible. 那些干事将检视赛马场看是否适宜比赛。

5 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

6 frigate   

n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰

参考例句：

• An enemy frigate bore down on the sloop.一艘敌驱逐舰向这只护航舰逼过来。
• I declare we could fight frigate.我敢说我们简直可以和一艘战舰交战。

7 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。