VOA慢速英语--气候变化导致产生新的有毒鱼类

Climate Change Leading to Strange Poisonous Fish

People in Japan pay good money to eat the deadly pufferfish. There, the food is called fugu. The fish can cost more than $100 a kilogram. Eating fugu is especially popular now, during the winter holiday season.

But in the last few years, the fugu market has seen a change. The part of the ocean where pufferfish live is warming quickly. In answer, pufferfish are traveling north to find cooler water. Along the way, new kinds of poisonous fish are being created.

These pufferfish hybrids² worry government officials. They are afraid people will accidentally eat them and die. The Japanese government has ordered fishermen and fish traders to throw away any hybrids that they catch.

Some industry workers strongly object to the order. They note that hybrids have poison in the same areas as regular pufferfish. Trained cooks and fish butchers know how to remove the areas that contain the poison. Usually the poison is in the fish’s liver and reproductive organs, or sometimes the skin or muscle.

Naoto Itou leads a seafood-processing company in the city of Shimonoseki. He disagrees with the government’s rule to throw away pufferfish hybrids. “But we have to follow the rules,” he says, “because if there’s any problems it leads to hysteria.”

The Japanese take pufferfish danger seriously. A supermarket in western Japan once accidentally sold some pufferfish that had not had their poisonous livers removed. The town used its missile alert³ system to warn residents.

The danger linked to the fish may be one reason for its popularity⁴. One man who fishes for pleasure said, “Some people like it when they feel a bit of tingling⁵ on their lips.”

A high-end fish seller adds that the fish tastes good. But the seller, Koichi Kushida, notes that pufferfish hybrids are a concern. As more hybrids appear in the market, Kushida checks all the fish himself.

“When we hand it to our customers, we have to be sure it’s absolutely safe,” he says. “We can’t have any problems.”

But in truth, even experienced fish handlers and scientists cannot always identify the hybrids. The one certainty⁶ is that the hybrid¹ population is increasing. And this rise of mixed pufferfish is another example of the effects climate change is having on sea creatures.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Words in This Story

hybrid - n. an animal or plant that is produced from two animals or plants of different kinds

butcher - n. someone who cuts and sells meat in a shop

hysteria - n. a situation in which many people behave or react in an extreme or uncontrolled way because of fear, anger, etc.

tingling - n. a feeling like the feeling of many small sharp points pressing into your skin

customer - n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

1 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

2 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句

3 alert   

adj.机警的，活泼的，机灵的；vt.使...警觉

参考例句：

• Drivers must be on the alert for traffic signals.驾驶员必须密切注意交通信号。
• The rabbIt'seems to be very alert all its life.兔子似乎一生都小心翼翼，十分警觉。

4 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

5 tingling   

v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• My ears are tingling [humming; ringing; singing]. 我耳鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My tongue is tingling. 舌头发麻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 certainty   

n.必然的事，确定的事实，确信，确实

参考例句：

• I can't say with any certainty where I shall be next week.我不能确切地说下周我在什么地方。
• I know for a certainty that the company has been bought up.我确实知道公司已经被人收购了。