VOA常速英语2018--新报告记录了野生动物种群的快速消失

The statistics are stark¹ and alarming.Populations of mammals, of birds, of fish declines between 1970 and the year 2014 by 60 percent globally.And in fresh water, habitats, the figure is some 83 percent.And it’s no surprise that human activity is mainly to blame.

统计数据结果非常明显且令人震惊。从1970年到2014年，哺乳动物、鸟类和鱼类的全球种群数量下降了百分之六十。在淡水、栖息地中，这个数字是约百分之八十三。人类是罪魁祸首，这一点也不奇怪。

Human activity is the driver of the declines we’re seeing, primarily our demand, our increasing demand for food, energy, water.That activity is driving climate change,but the authors say there are lessons we can learn from how the world came together to act on curbing² greenhouse gases.We think about how the world responded to the climate threat and forge a pact³ in Paris in 2015 to address climate change.We need a similar deal at the global level for people in nature.

人类活动是我们现在看到的动物种群数量下降的推手，这一现象主要是由于我们的需求、我们日益上涨的对食物、能源和水的需求导致的。人类活动带来了气候变化，但是作者表示，我们也能从世界共同采取行动遏制温室气体上吸取一些教训。我们需要考虑世界如何应对气候威胁，并于2015年在巴黎达成协议，以应对气候变化。我们需要在全球层面上为自然界的人们达成相似的协议。

And Cesareo points the success stories like the giant pandas’ recovery and the rising population of tigers in the wild as proof that what is happening is reversible.The report is very sobering.

Cesareo指出，大熊猫数量恢复、野外老虎数量增多，这都证明了现在发生的一切都是可逆的。这份报告让人感到警惕。

I think the, the message is also that it’s not too late to course-correct.Life is resilient.It bounces back and so if we take concerted action, we can reverse these trends, and ensure a living planet for future generations.To help life bounce back, the World Wildlife Fund is calling on governments to sign onto a Convention on Biological Diversity in 2020.It creates a pathway to conserve⁴ the world’s wild places and reverse the planets shrinking biodiversity.And it has set targets for things like area, percentage of area to be protected under pacts,and indigenous⁵ reserves, and other types of community conserved⁶ areas.The WWF says all of the resources the earth provides us in terms of food, lumber⁷ and energy for instance all told are worth about 125 trillion dollars a year.The goal now is to find a way to make all that rich, natural biodiversity sustainable and available for generations to come.

我认为，这个消息表明，亡羊补牢，为时不晚。生命是可以复原的，如果我们采取一致行动，我们可以力挽狂澜，为子孙后代留下一个生机勃勃的地球。为了恢复生命，世界野生动物基金会呼吁各国政府在2020年签署生物多样性公约。这为保护世界野外环境提供了道路，并且可以扭转生物多样性减少的逆境。在公约框架内，它还为受保护区域的面积设定了目标，比如本土保护区和其他类型的社区保护区域。世界自然基金会表示，地球每年为我们提供的所有资源，例如所有食物、木材和能源，总价值约一百二十五万亿美元。现在的目标是想办法延续这丰富的自然生物多样性，并能为子孙后代享用。

1 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

2 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

3 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

4 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！

5 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

6 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

7 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。