【英语时差8,16】美国提议保护七种企鹅

 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list six species of penguin¹ as threatened and one, the African penguin, as an endangered species.

It has denied protection under the 1973 Endangered Species Act for three others, including the emperor and northern rockhopper penguins², stars of such popular movies as "March of the Penguins" and "Happy Feet."

The administration said there was not enough evidence to list the emperor as threatened because of global warming now or in the near future, although research has predicted that increasing temperatures could melt ice in Antarctica and also diminish populations of the penguin's preferred food such as krill.

About 390,000 emperor penguins live in 47 colonies in Antarctica. But while the populations of many penguin species are high, recent research has shown that about a dozen species are in decline because of numerous stresses, including climate change.

The other species not getting protection include the northern rockhopper penguin and the macaroni penguin.

"There are certainly issues with those species, but we did not believe at this time that the populations were reduced or that there were significant threats to lead us to make a determination that they are threatened with extinction," Kenneth Stansell, deputy director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said in an interview.

1 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

2 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》