英语听力文摘 English Digest 266、大灭绝

　　Coextinction
绝种是指生物群体逐渐消失的过程。物种和较大族群常态性的灭绝，并由更进步的形式所取代，这是进化的正常过程。然而，从化石的记录来看，有时会出现整个科目的动物和植物都突然消失的情形，这种现象称之为大灭绝。
Y:Down,you konw how when we think about species going extinct, we think of them as functioning separately from other species.
D:Oh!So we think about saving the whales, but don’t really think about any other species with which endangered whales interact.
Y:Right.Well,A study published in Science suggests that extinction¹ is actually a lot more complicated. The problem is that extinction of one species can cause the extinction of a bunch of others.

　　Scientists call this process coextinction. For example, take hummingbird² flower mites³. If hummingbirds⁴ went extinct, the mites would go extinct too because they would have no way of getting from flower to flower. The same goes if the flowers on which these mites depend for nectar and pollen⁵ go extinct.
In fact, according to this study, if you add up all the affiliate⁶ species that are expected to go extinct if the species on the endangered list goes extinct, you’re looking at an additional sixty- three-hundred endangered species.
And also important to know as we try to focus conservation efforts, especially since some species have more affiliate species thann others. The army ant(行军蚁), for example, is host to over one hundred affiliate organisms, ranging from beetles⁷ and mites to ant birds. These kinds of species are keystone species in an evolutionary⁸ sense, and so are extremely important from a conservationstandpoint.
Even if coextinction isn’t the main reason for species extinction, it certainly is an insidious⁹ process that we can’t (1)afford to ignore.
Notes:
(1)afford to（有条件）做；能承担；买得起某物；支付的起
One can afford to lose anything, but dignity.
可以承受失去任何东西，但有尊严。

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 hummingbird   

n.蜂鸟

参考例句：

• The hummingbird perches on a twig of the hawthorn.小蜂鸟栖在山楂树枝上。
• The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backward.蜂鸟是唯一能倒退向后飞的鸟。

3 mites   

n.（尤指令人怜悯的）小孩( mite的名词复数 )；一点点；一文钱；螨

参考例句：

• The only discovered animals are water bears, mites, microscopic rotifers. 能够发现的动物只有海蜘蛛、螨和微小的轮虫。 来自辞典例句
• Mites are frequently found on eggs. 螨会经常出现在蛋上。 来自辞典例句

4 hummingbirds   

n.蜂鸟( hummingbird的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious. 蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• Why do hummingbirds and gorillas both have backbones? 为什么蜂鸟和大猩猩都有脊骨？

5 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

6 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

7 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

9 insidious   

adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧

参考例句：

• That insidious man bad-mouthed me to almost everyone else.那个阴险的家伙几乎见人便说我的坏话。
• Organized crime has an insidious influence on all who come into contact with it.所有和集团犯罪有关的人都会不知不觉地受坏影响。