英语听力：自然百科 罕见的海洋生物

 They are mini-masterpieces, built with microscopic¹ elegance², the small and hard-to-see life of the sea, microbes, larvae³, burrowers, and they've been photographed and catalogued as part of a massive marine⁴ collaboration⁵ of scientists from across the global. 

 

The census⁶ of marine life is a ten-year program to try and uncover as much as we can about diversity, distribution and abundance of life in the ocean.

 

A portion of this project, the census of hard-to-see marine life focused on the smallest sea creatures and found them in spectacular abundance. 

 

There was one sampling effort in the South Atlantic that we sampled an area about the size of the small bathroom and we found similar hundred species of just crustaceans⁷, most of which were new to the science.

 

Huge numbers of rarely seen species are coming to light and scientists are gaining a new understanding of the dynamics⁸ of a microbial world on which all other life depends. 

 

The microbes actually play a very key role in the way the nutrients⁹ move through the ocean. And if they weren't there, the ocean would shut down very quickly and the planet would shut down very quickly.

 

Census explorers recently found that microbes form mats on the seafloor of the west coast of South America. These mats rank among earth's largest masses of life and cover a surface comparable in size to Greece. Amazingly, census of marine life estimates that all microbes in the global ocean collectively weigh the equivalent of 240 billion African elephants. Although the census has learned over the last ten years about hard-to-see creatures and all the animals that live in the world's oceans will be formally released in October 2010, the results of this massive effort will give scientists an unprecedented¹⁰ new understanding of life in the world ocean.

1 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

2 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

3 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

6 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

7 crustaceans   

n.甲壳纲动物（如蟹、龙虾）( crustacean的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句

8 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

9 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。