亡者归来:三分之一绝种动物再现世间

    Conservationists are overestimating¹ the number of species that have been driven to extinction²(消失), scientists have said.
    A study has found that a third of all mammal species declared extinct in the past few centuries have turned up alive and well.
    Some of the more reclusive（隐居的） creatures managed to hide from sight for 80 years only to reappear within four years of being officially named extinct in the wild.
    The shy okapi – which resembles（类似的） a cross between a zebra and a giraffe – was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1901.
    After increasingly rarer sightings, it vanished from the wildlife radar³ for decades from 1959, prompting fears that it had died out.
    But five years ago researchers working for the WWF found okapi tracks in the wild.
    Other mammals 'back from the dead' include the rat-like Cuban solenodon, the Christmas Island shrew, the Vanikoro Flying Fox of the Solomon Islands, the Australian central rock rat and the Talaud Flying Fox of Indonesia.
    The revelations come as the world's leading conservationists prepare for a major United Nations summit on biodiversity in Nagoya, Japan, next month.
    Many scientists believe the world is going through a new 'mass extinction' fuelled by mankind – and that more species are disappearing now than at any time since the dinosaurs⁴ vanished 65 million years ago.
    According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, 22 per cent of the world's mammals are at risk of extinction. In Britain, more than two plant and animal species are being wiped out each year.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 overestimating   

对（数量）估计过高，对…作过高的评价( overestimate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I think you're overestimating his abilities. 我看你对他的能力评价过高。
• With hindsight, he was overestimating their desire for peace. 事后看来，他高估了他们对和平的渴望。

2 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。

3 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

4 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》