2006年VOA标准英语-New Species of Undersea Life Found Near Indones

By Zulima Palacio
Washington, D.C.
20 September 2006
 
watch New Species report

A team of scientists just back from combing the waters off Indonesia has announced the discovery of more than 50 new species of undersea life, including a "walking" shark and a shrimp¹ that looks like a praying mantis².  Jeffrey Young narrates³.

 
Divers did an underwater census⁴ of a large area off the coast of Indonesia
The expedition led by Conservation International says it discovered 52 new undersea species off Indonesia's Papua province.  They include 24 new species of fish, 22 new corals and eight new species of shrimp.

Sebastian Troeng, the conservation group's Director of Marine⁵ Strategies, said the new fish species include two species of shark that "walk" on their fins⁶.

 
Sebastian Troeng
"Its not very often that new species of sharks are found and finding two of them within these two surveys is very exciting,” says Mr. Troeng.  “These are smaller sharks, about three or four feet in length [.91 to 1.22 meters].  They live on shallow reed flats and they come out at night to look for prey⁷, things like crabs⁸, snails⁹ and probably small fish, but mainly things that live at the bottom. And so these sharks have large pectoral fins which they can use almost to walk over the substrate."

The team said papers on two of the new fish species -- called flasher wrasse because of the bright colors the male exhibits during mating -- have been accepted for publication in Aqua, the Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic¹⁰ Biology.  The group is also in the process of writing papers on the other species.

 
A new species of shark was found -- one that seems to walk on its fins
This region, known as "Asia's Coral Triangle" has been poorly studied and is not often visited by marine biologists.  But Troeng says its richness of coral and other species could make it more important than Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

"The number of species now recorded -- 1,233 species of coral reef fish -- is close to the just over 1400 species found in the Great Barrier Reef.  And, in terms of corals, there are actually more species found in the Bird's Head Seascape than in the Great Barrier Reef."

The U.S.-based Conservation International team says the remote and extensive area is under danger from fishermen who use dynamite¹¹ and cyanide to net their catches. The group called on Indonesia's government to protect the region.

1 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

2 mantis   

n.螳螂

参考例句：

• Praying mantis has two powerful claws like sharp knives.螳螂有一对强壮的爪子，它们像锋利的刀。
• In her mind,it was a female mantis,devouring her mates.她的意识中，是一只雌螳螂正吞咽她的配偶。

3 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

4 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

5 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。

6 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

7 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

8 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。

11 dynamite   

n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破)

参考例句：

• The workmen detonated the dynamite.工人们把炸药引爆了。
• The philosopher was still political dynamite.那位哲学家仍旧是政治上的爆炸性人物。