英语听力：自然百科 澳大利亚大堡礁 Great Barrier Reef—15

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Eighteen million years ago, a series of remarkable² events conspired³ to creat the great barrier reef--the migration⁴ of a continent, the might of an ocean, and the full power of the tropical sun. The result is a world that is as tough as it is beautiful. It's been through numerous catastrophies, and everytime, it's balanced back. But the Great Barrier Reef now faces its biggest challenge--us.

 

It all began just a hundred years ago, in the reigns⁵ equivanlent to the Klondike Gold Rush. Natural pearls fetch high prices around the world and the floor of the reef was once littered with them. 

 

In 1877, hundreds of breast helmeted divers⁶ risked their lives for hours on end in waters up to 15 feet deep, searching them out. With heavy leg boots they trampled⁷ all over the delicate reef. They left terrible devastation⁸ in their wake. But whilst the reef quickly recovered, the pearl corals were not so lucky. Within a few short years, the trade was over.

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