科學傢通過采集和分析有數百年歷史的珊瑚礁樣本發現，氣候變化對大堡礁造成瞭嚴重威脅。研究表明，過去十年中大堡礁周圍的海水溫度達到瞭四百年來的最高點。
The Great Barrier Reef is Earth’s largest collection of coral reefs, and it’s home to thousands of marine species.
大堡礁是地球上規模最大的珊瑚礁群，這裡生活著成千上萬種海洋生物。
This alarming new evidence comes from inside the coral itself. Over many years, marine scientists have collected cores – samples drilled out of the skeletons of coral – that provide clues about how the environment in the reef is changing. Corals are animals that can live for centuries, and as they grow, they lay down chemical signals in their bodies that indicate the temperature of the water they’re in.
這份令人擔憂的新證據來自於珊瑚的內部。多年來，海洋科學傢從珊瑚內部鉆取瞭許多核心樣本，這些樣本提供瞭大堡礁周圍環境變化的證據。珊瑚可以存活數百年之久，它們在不斷生長的同時會在身體中留下能反映周遭海水溫度的化學信號。
Researchers in Australia re-examined thousands of these cores and cross referenced them with historical sea temperature records. The oldest of the samples they studied dated back 400 years before the Industrial Revolution. This revealed that in the past decade, temperatures around the Great Barrier Reef were the warmest of the last four centuries.
澳大利亞的研究人員重新檢查瞭數千份珊瑚的核心樣本，並和海洋溫度的歷史記錄進行瞭交叉對比。在他們研究的所有樣本中，最古老的樣本能追溯到工業革命前四百多年。所以這項研究表明，過去十年間大堡礁周圍的海水溫度處於四個世紀以來的最高點。
Climate change is now driving more extreme and more frequent marine heatwaves that threaten the survival of this ancient reef. The Great Barrier Reef is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the scientists hope that this research could persuade the UN organisation to give it official endangered status to send a signal to the world about how grave the problem of global warming is for this vast and threatened wonder of the natural world.
氣候變化正驅動著海洋熱浪變得更加強烈和頻繁，進而威脅這片古老珊瑚礁的生存。大堡礁是一個聯合國教科文組織世界遺產地，而科學傢們希望這項研究能夠說服聯合國教科文組織正式將大堡礁的珊瑚列為瀕危物種，從而向世界發出訊號：這片自然造就的宏偉奇觀正面臨全球變暖帶來的嚴峻威脅。
詞匯表
coral reefs 珊瑚礁
marine species 海洋生物
alarming 令人擔憂的
drilled out 鉆取
cross referenced 交叉對比
heatwaves 熱浪
threaten 威脅
endangered status 瀕危狀態
send a signal 發出一個訊號
grave 嚴峻的
vast 龐大的
wonder 奇觀
閱讀理解：請在讀完上文後，回答下列問題。
1. How do coral cores provide information about past environmental conditions?
2. True or False? Corals are plants.
3. What did re-examining the coral cores and cross referencing them with historical sea temperature records reveal?
4. Why do the scientists hope the Great Barrier Reef will be given official endangered status?
答案
1. How do coral cores provide information about past environmental conditions?
As corals grow, they lay down chemical signals in their bodies that indicate the temperature of the water they’re in.
2. True or False? Corals are plants.
False. Corals are animals.
3. What did re-examining the coral cores and cross referencing them with historical sea temperature records reveal?
The study revealed that in the past decade, temperatures around the Great Barrier Reef were the warmest of the last four centuries.
4. Why do the scientists hope the Great Barrier Reef will be given official endangered status?
The scientists hope the Great Barrier Reef will be given official endangered status to send a signal to the world about how grave the problem of global warming is for it.
免費試聽
填表領取25分鐘真人外師課＋英文程度分析
