VOA标准英语2009年-Conservation Group: Climate Change Threate

By Daniel Schearf
Bangkok
25 September 2009

 
Cambodian fishing boats at anchor in middle of Mekong River, on outskirts¹ of Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital (file photo)
A conservation group says newly discovered species in the Mekong river region are at risk of extinction² because of rising global temperatures.

The international conservation group WWF (World Wildlife Fund) says 163 species of plants and animals were discovered last year in the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia where the Mekong River flows.

Some of the most unusual animals included a frog with fangs³ in Thailand that eats birds and a leopard-spotted gecko found on an island in Vietnam.

But in a report released in Bangkok Friday, the WWF says that temperatures in the region are expected to rise by as much as four degrees Celsius⁴ in the next 60 years and that could threaten their existence.

The WWF says rare and endangered species are at the greatest risk from climate change, because rising temperatures could affect food supplies or cause weather problems that damage habitats. It says the newly discovered species are especially vulnerable because of their restricted habitats.

"Species that live at the tops of mountains only or low-lying islands only, like this Cat Ba gecko that was just found, are also at great risk to extinction from climate-change impacts," said Geoffrey Blate, WWF's climate change coordinator⁵ for the Greater Mekong.
 
The Greater Mekong region spans Burma, Cambodia, China's Yunnan Province, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Stuart Chapman, the WWF's program director for Laos, says changes to wildlife in the Mekong area could also affect many of the 60 million people who depend on the river for their livelihoods⁷.

"Of all the region's the WWF works in, the Mekong region probably has the closest link between its resource and human livelihood⁶ than any other region in the world," he said.

The WWF says more than 1,000 new species have been discovered in the Greater Mekong region in the past decade.

The WWF report comes just days ahead of a major United Nations meeting in Bangkok on climate change.

The Bangkok meeting will try to narrow down a framework agreement on global emission⁸ targets to be negotiated at the end of this year.

1 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

2 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。

3 fangs   

n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座

参考例句：

• The dog fleshed his fangs in the deer's leg. 狗用尖牙咬住了鹿腿。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Dogs came lunging forward with their fangs bared. 狗龇牙咧嘴地扑过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

5 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

6 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

7 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

8 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。