英语听力文摘 English Digest 730 全球变暖对灰熊有益处么？

Is Global Warming Good For Grizzlies¹?

You’ve probably heard that climate change is bad news for many animal species like polar bears. Warmer temperatures mean less sea ice in the Arctic region. And with less ice, there’s less room there is for polar bears to hunt. And so their populations shrink.

But rising temperatures do not affect all animals in equally harmful ways. For some animals, even for some bears, warming may be beneficial. Take, for example, the grizzly².

Like pretty much all animals, grizzly bears thrive when they have more food. A ten year study that followed 112 bears in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada, has found that warmer temperatures have resulted in grizzlies having easier access to food.

The more food they have, the fatter the bears get. And the more fat lady grizzlies store, the better their chances of having healthy cubs³. Cubs born during warmer than normal years were found to grow into larger and healthier adults.

Of course, this in no way negates⁴ the fact that climate change is a serious issue requiring immediate⁵ and ongoing⁶ attention. For every species that may benefit from global warming, many more may suffer and possibly go extinct.

But the study does show that warming does not necessarily spell total gloom and doom⁷ for all animal species. Plus, the research may give scientists a clue about how to alter forest harvest designs to increase the grizzly population in the Canadian Rockies. At the moment, there are only around 750 bears in Alberta, making them an endangered species.

全球变暖对灰熊有益处吗？

你可能听说过，气候变化对北极熊等许多动物物种来说都是坏消息。气温升高意味着北极地区的海冰减少。冰少了，北极熊捕猎的空间也就少了。因此，他们的人口减少了。

但气温升高并不会以同样有害的方式影响所有动物。对一些动物，甚至对一些熊来说，变暖可能是有益的。以灰熊为例。

和几乎所有的动物一样，灰熊在食物充足时会茁壮成长。一项对加拿大阿尔伯塔省落基山脉112只熊进行的为期十年的研究发现，气温升高导致灰熊更容易获得食物。

他们吃的食物越多，熊就越胖。而且，大灰熊越胖，它们生下健康幼崽的机会就越大。研究发现，在比正常年份更温暖的年份出生的幼崽会长成更大、更健康的成年人。

当然，这绝不否认气候变化是一个需要立即和持续关注的严重问题。对于每一个可能从全球变暖中受益的物种来说，更多的物种可能会遭受痛苦，甚至可能灭绝。

但这项研究确实表明，气候变暖并不一定意味着所有动物物种都会陷入黑暗和厄运。此外，这项研究可能会给科学家们一个线索，如何改变森林采伐设计，以增加加拿大落基山脉的灰熊数量。目前，阿尔伯塔省只有大约750只熊，这使它们成为濒危物种。

1 grizzlies   

北美洲灰熊( grizzly的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies 127-113 earlier Tuesday night. 在周二晚上早些时候，太阳以127：113击败孟菲斯灰熊。
• Whatever you do, do not blink.They're like grizzlies. 无论你做什么，别眨眼。他们跟熊有点相象。

2 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

3 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 negates   

v.取消( negate的第三人称单数 )；使无效；否定；否认

参考例句：

• Alcohol negates the effects of the drug. 酒精能使药物失效。
• The lack of deep hardening in these alloys negates their use. 这些合金缺乏深层硬化能力使它们无法利用。 来自辞典例句

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。