VOA慢速英语2020 约30亿只动物因澳大利亚山火遭殃（在线收听）

The World Wildlife Fund for Nature - WWF - reports that nearly 3 billion animals were killed or displaced by Australia's wildfires in 2019 and 2020. The number, reported in late July, was about three times higher than an earlier WWF estimate.

世界自然基金会(WWF)报告称，2019年和2020年，澳大利亚的山火导致近30亿动物死亡或流离失所。7月底报告的这份数据比世界自然基金会早前预估的数字高三倍。

A team of 10 scientists studied more than 11 million hectares of Australia's countryside to create the latest estimate.

一个由10名科学家组成的小组研究了澳大利亚1100多万公顷的乡村地区，得出了最新的估计。

In total, the wildfires affected about 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds and 51 million frogs, the WWF said. The group noted that koalas, kangaroos and other native animals were among the affected wildlife.

世界自然基金会表示，受到山火影响的包括1.43亿只哺乳动物、24.6亿只爬行动物、1.8亿只鸟类和5100万只青蛙。该组织指出，考拉、袋鼠和其他本土动物也位于受影响的野生动物行列。

"This ranks as one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history," said WWF-Australia Chief Executive Officer Dermot O'Gorman.

世界自然基金会澳大利亚分会的首席执行官德莫特·奥戈尔曼（Dermot O'Gorman）说道，“这是现代史上最严重的野生动物灾难之一。”

The WWF said it used different methods to estimate wildlife populations, including information from over 100,000 studies. The scientists created models to estimate the number of creatures found in areas destroyed by fire.

世界自然基金会表示，他们使用了不同的方法来统计野生动物的数量，其中包括来自10万多项研究的信息。科学家们通过建模来估算在山火地区发现的生物数量。

Project leader Lily Van Eeden from the University of Sydney said the research was the first continent-wide examination of animals affected by wildfires. "Other nations can build upon this research to improve understanding of bushfire impacts everywhere," she said.

来自悉尼大学的项目负责人莉莉·凡·伊登（Lily Van Eeden）指出，这项研究是第一次在全大陆范围内对受山火影响的动物进行调查。她说：“其他国家可以在这项研究的基础上加强对各地森林火灾影响的认识。”

The total includes wildlife that fled destroyed habitats. These creatures faced a lack of food and shelter or the likelihood of moving into already occupied habitats.

其中包括逃离被破坏栖息地的野生动物。这些生物面临着食物和栖息地的缺乏，或者可能会迁移到已被占领的栖息地。

Researchers said the destruction will cause some species to become extinct before their existence is even recorded.

研究人员表示，这种破坏将导致一些物种在被记录下来之前就已经灭绝了。

"We don't even know what we are losing," said Chris Dickman, a professor of ecology at the University of Sydney. He spoke to Reuters news agency. "These were species that were here and now they have gone... It's almost too tragic to think about," Dickman added.

“我们甚至没有意识到我们正在失去什么，”悉尼大学生态学教授克里斯·迪克曼(Chris Dickman)在接受路透社的采访时说道。迪克曼补充说，“这些物种曾经在这里生存，现在却销声匿迹了……想想都觉得悲惨”。

The WWF report calls for improvements in habitat connectivity to help species escape from fires. It also calls for identifying and protecting habitat that was not burned to help save threatened species. An expanded report on the study is expected later this year.

世界自然基金会的报告呼吁改善栖息地的连通性，以帮助物种逃离火灾。它还呼吁，发掘和保护未被烧毁的栖息地，以帮助拯救濒危物种。一份关于这项研究的扩展报告预计将在今年晚些时候发布。

The wildfires started in September 2019 and continued through March of this year. Scientists say the fires were fueled by higher than normal temperatures and years of drought in the Australian bush. The fires caused 34 human deaths and destroyed nearly 3,000 homes.

这场山火始于2019年9月，持续到今年3月。科学家表示，大火是由异常高温和澳大利亚丛林多年的干旱引发的。大火造成34人死亡，近3000座房屋被毁。

The WWF said that over the past year, it had raised money from donors to deploy emergency aid to the front lines of the fires to help injured and displaced wildlife.

世界自然基金会表示，在过去的一年里，他们从捐赠者那里筹集资金，将紧急援助运往火灾前线，帮助受伤和流离失所的野生动物。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布莱恩·林恩为您播报。

Words in This Story

rank – v. give someone a position on a list of things in order of importance

impact – n. effect on something

habitat– n. the natural environment of an animal or plant

species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

extinct – adj. no longer existing in nature

drought – n. a period of extended dryness caused by a lack of rain

front lines – n. a position of direct and important influence