2007年VOA标准英语-Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal Population Contin

By Zulima Palacio
Hawaii
11 June 2007

Monk¹ seals are one of the most endangered mammals in the world.  In the Caribbean, they already are extinct. Off the African coast of Mauritania, they are down to a few hundred.  In the remote northwestern islands of Hawaii, their numbers are quickly dwindling².  Producer Zulima Palacio went to Hawaii and examined the monk seals close up.  Melinda Smith narrates³ the story.

A monk seal (background) swimming in the waters of Hawaii

We spot one of the dwindling number of Hawaiian monk seals. It is what marine⁴ biologists call a true seal -- meaning it has no external ears.  It uses its hind⁵ flippers for propulsion and its front flippers as stabilizers. Some say the monk seal got its name because it likes to be alone. Monk seals are playful, they are great swimmers and very curious.  This one took a long swim in order to see what a diver was doing.

Anthropologist⁶ Joe Heakock is one of a handful of dive masters who take small groups to the remote waters near Niihau Island to see the seals. "A true seal is perfectly⁷ made for water, totally hydrodynamic and you see their little flippers do this little side to side switch thing… they are fast and beautiful."

For the past three years, Heakock has taken more than 1,000 divers⁸ to see the seals in their natural habitat along dramatic lava⁹ formations and vertical¹⁰ rock walls running 90 meters straight down.  A solitary¹¹ monk seal often stays close to the divers.

 

"Monk seals are the most endangered marine mammal we have in the United States, so there is a lot of concern about making sure that they will be around for future generations to see,” said Heakock. “But from what biologists are saying we may only have 12 to 15 years to enjoy them."

There were three groups of monk seals.  But one has been extinct for more than 50 years in the Caribbean.  A second group in the Mediterranean¹² is down to a few hundred.  Here in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands the numbers are rapidly falling. 

Mimi Olry is Hawaii's Marine Conservation Coordinator¹³. "The Hawaiian monk seals are really on a crisis stage now,” she says. “Their numbers are in the lowest they have ever been. They numbered about 1200 this year and we have been losing about four percent of the population since about 2000."

Until the early 1900s hunting dramatically reduced the monk seal population. And despite laws protecting them since 1972, a number of factors, including human activity, still keep them on the endangered list.

"The majority of seal loss is within the juvenile¹⁴ age of the pups not making it through the first and second year of age,” explains Olry, “primarily being because of lack of food supply. Other factors are shark predations and marine debris¹⁵.  These seals are getting entangle¹⁶ in floating nets and ropes and drowning basically."

Local and national authorities are trying multiple approaches to protect the seals. One is posting signs on public beaches where the seals often rest and give birth.

"And here it informs people that seals may bite and cause serious injury,” says Olry, and that they are one of the most endangered species in the world and that they rest on the beach and we ask people not to disturb them."

Many scientists believe that the seals evolved from terrestrial mammals about 15 million years ago.  But their time left could be numbered unless efforts to save them are successful. 

1 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

2 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

3 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

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 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

6 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

9 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

10 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

11 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

12 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

13 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

14 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

15 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

16 entangle   

vt.缠住，套住；卷入，连累

参考例句：

• How did Alice manage to entangle her hair so badly in the brambles?爱丽丝是怎么把头发死死地缠在荆棘上的？
• Don't entangle the fishing lines.不要让钓鱼线缠在一起。