VOA标准英语2015--报告显示许多物种面临灭绝的风险

Report: Many Species Risk Extinction¹ 报告显示许多物种面临灭绝的风险

While progress has been made to preserve endangered animal, plant and other species, a new report said successes are being overshadowed by declines. The International Union for Conservation of Nature warned many species face lethal² threats.

The IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network. It has more than 77,000 species on its Red List and warns that nearly 23,000 of them are threatened by extinction. Some 830 are listed as being extinct. The list indicates how fast the world is losing biodiversity.

Craig Hilton-Taylor -- head of the organization’s Red List Unit -- said humans have been getting better at preserving species.

“Yes, we have. We have built up quite a good set of tools and techniques for conserving³ species and their habitats. We know in many cases what we should do and how to do it. We are constantly surprised though by new emerging threats, which take us by surprise. But after some research and hard work we soon work out ways of dealing⁴ with new threats as they emerge.”

But he said knowing what to do is not the issue. The Red List points out where to take action and what species are at risk.

“The big issue really is to try and get enough people and resources to actually do something about it – to get the governments to have enough political will to invest in conservation and also engaging in the general public as well. So it cuts across all levels of society,” he said.

One of the big conservation success stories is the Iberian Lynx in Spain. There were just 52 mature cats in 2002. Today, there are 156. It may not seem like a lot, but it’s enough to remove the Iberian Lynx from the Critically Endangered list.

Another example is the Guadalupe Fur Seal. It was twice thought to be extinct. There were 20,000 in 2010.

On the other hand, 99 percent of the tropical Asian slipper⁵ orchids⁷ – a prized ornamental⁸ plant – are threatened with extinction. That’s due to a huge illegal trade in the slipper orchids and habitat loss due to development.

Hilton-Taylor said, “Most people around the world, they know orchids. They will either be growing them or will have seen them or will have them in their house as cut flowers. They are truly spectacular flowers.”

And then there’s the African lion. It’s on the IUCN’s Vulnerable List.

“The lion story is quite complicated because lions in southern Africa are pretty well conserved¹⁰. Most of them are in protected areas. There are good conservation policies in place to protect lions in southern Africa. In fact, the southern Africa population is increasing. But as soon as you move up into East Africa or across to West Africa it’s a totally different picture. The lions in West Africa are completely isolated¹¹ from the rest of African lions -- listed as critically endangered,” he said.

The lions face habitat loss, poaching and conflict with humans. Prey¹² animals are on the decline in some areas causing lions to kill livestock¹³.

Hilton-Taylor said that the International Union for Conservation of Nature takes a slow approach before declaring a species extinct.

“So, for example, one of the species on the list this time was a species of orchid⁶ from Madagascar. It was last seen in 1898 – over a hundred years ago. But we still don’t declare it extinct because there are still little patches of forest that haven’t been surveyed properly. There’s a remote chance it may still be living on a tree top somewhere that we just haven’t looked yet. So, it takes a long time to declare something extinct.”

A recent study in the journal Science Advances says the sixth mass extinction in the Earth’s history has begun. The study, like the IUCN, says humans are the driving force behind unprecedented¹⁴ extinction rates. For example, since 1900, nearly 480 vertebrate species have gone extinct.

The IUCN reported no new species have been declared extinct, but 14 have been assessed as Critically Endangered.

“The whole acceleration¹⁵ of the extinction is very much a human factor. So, it’s the demand for land for agriculture; building cities, roads. Extraction of minerals has huge impacts. Pollution events. So, there are a whole lot of different activities from people that reduce population sizes, reduce ranges, that have impacts on these species and drive them towards extinction,” he said.

Hilton-Taylor said environmental legislation can help preserve species, but he says much more needs to be done to protect habitats.

“You can go around and set areas of land aside as protected areas, as national parks with nature reserves. And make sure those networks are well connected to each other so species can move between different areas. But you can’t conserve⁹ all the land," he said. "You have to look at how we manage the land outside of the protected areas. So, putting into place effective management and restoration projects can restore habitats and ecosystems¹⁶ back to how they lived before.”

Hilton-Taylor said sometimes farmers need to be compensated¹⁷ not to cultivate their land and allow the natural habitat to remain. This was done to save the Iberian Lynx. And sustainable fishing methods may help save Gobies, one of the largest families of marine¹⁸ fish. Many of their coral reef homes have disappeared and they are more vulnerable to invasive Lionfish.

1 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。

2 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

3 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 slipper   

n.拖鞋

参考例句：

• I rescued the remains of my slipper from the dog.我从那狗的口中夺回了我拖鞋的残留部分。
• The puppy chewed a hole in the slipper.小狗在拖鞋上啃了一个洞。

6 orchid   

n.兰花，淡紫色

参考例句：

• The orchid is a class of plant which I have never tried to grow.兰花这类植物我从来没种过。
• There are over 35 000 species of orchid distributed throughout the world.有35,000多种兰花分布在世界各地。

7 orchids   

n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She breeds orchids in her greenhouse. 她在温室里培育兰花。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ornamental   

adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物

参考例句：

• The stream was dammed up to form ornamental lakes.溪流用水坝拦挡起来,形成了装饰性的湖泊。
• The ornamental ironwork lends a touch of elegance to the house.铁艺饰件为房子略添雅致。

9 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

10 conserved   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He conserved his energy for the game. 他为比赛而养精蓄锐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Under these conditions, the total mechanical energy remains constant, or is conserved. 在这种条件下，总机械能保持不变或机械能保存。 来自辞典例句

11 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

12 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。

13 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

14 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。

15 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

16 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

17 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

18 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。