VOA标准英语2009-Global Warming Threatens Pacific's Bountiful Cor

Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea have set new plans to protect the Coral Triangle - a 5.5 million square kilometer area that holds the largest biodiversity in the oceans. Scientists consider it to be the marine² equivalent of the Amazon rain forest, and say it is crucial for preserving life in the world's oceans. The agreement was reached in Manado, Indonesia.
　
In this photo taken 30 Apr 2009, divers¹ swim near coral reefs off Komodo island, Indonesia

In the area of the sea area wedged between Indonesia and the Solomon Islands lies an extraordinarily³ rich sample of biodiversity: three quarters of all coral species live here, a third of the world's fish, half of its mangroves - all precious ecosystems⁵.

Coral Triangle is essential to humans

Nancy Knowlton, a leading expert in marine life with Smithsonian Institute in Washington, says humans could not live without this region, called the Coral Triangle.

"It's by far the most diverse part of the ocean. So if you had to protect any one part of the oceans you'd protect this place. Things that are here can move out of the Coral Triangle to the Great Barrier Reef or the coasts of Japan, or further east into the Pacific Ocean. So in that sense you can think of it as a nursery, where so much of the diversity of the world's oceans is concentrated, said Knowlton.

The national park of Bunaken, near Manado in northern Indonesia, lies in the heart of the Coral Triangle.

Early one recent morning, several small boats rock gently on the turquoise⁶ water, each with a few scuba⁷ divers getting ready to jump in to admire some of the most beautiful coral reefs on the planet.

"OK? This place, we call it Mandarin⁸; this is another wall dive. I hope we can find sharks here, because most of the time we find sharks, eagle rays, also Napoleon (wrasse fish). Ok?" a diving instructor⁹ explains.

Below the surface, schools of fishes dance in the divers' bubbles. The coral reefs flash like green, yellow and red flowers in an amazing chorus of colors.

Many depend on coral reef

Places like the Bunaken national park directly support the livelihood¹⁰ of more than 100 million people throughout the Coral Triangle. This part of the world's oceans also feeds millions outside of its borders, as it nurses young fish that end up in plates all around the world.

At the end of a dive, David McCauley, a climate change specialist from the Asian Development Bank, says that this area is endangered. Pollution, development on land, and overfishing cause problems. But even natural events, such as the El Nino weather pattern of warming ocean currents, can be a threat.

"There are some shifts that are consistent with what is associated with climate change, he said. There was a El Nino event here in 1997-98, where temperatures increased substantially, and there was some coral bleaching¹¹ at that time. And there are a lot of concerns that the next El Nino may be even stronger. But in the longer haul we're quite worried about the ocean chemistry, the temperature, and how that will affect the marine organisms."

The environmental organization WWF just released a study that paints a bleak¹² picture of what will happen to the Coral Triangle if nothing is done to protect it. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg led the research team. He says that negotiations¹³ to curb¹⁴ carbon emissions¹⁶, to be held in Copenhagen next December, will be crucial for its survival.

"When you take the stresses of overfishing, pollution and things, you pile those up with climate change, things disappear very quickly. So if I go back to our world where we haven't been very careful with these reefs, and now I imagine that our leaders have let us down in Copenhagen, what we'd see here is that the restaurant where we sit here could be under water; we'd see a reef that's devastated¹⁷, we'd see no mangrove⁴. So at the end of the day, it'd be a largely unlivable world, he said.

Rising temperatures pose threat

Most climate researchers say the emission¹⁵ of so-called greenhouse gases, many of them burning fuels such as oil and coal, contribute to warming global temperatures. They say those rising temperatures will cause severe weather disturbances¹⁸ that could threaten crops, animal life and cities around the world.

Nancy Knowlton says time is running short on efforts to reduce global warming.

"I'm not, personally, comfortable with the idea of destroying one quarter of the diversity in the planet. That qualifies as a mass extinction¹⁹, and we've had only five mass extinctions in the planet in, you know, hundreds of millions of years. For humans to create a sixth mass extinction, that's a pretty serious responsibility for us to take on, she said.

During the World Oceans conference that wrapped up this week in Manado, delegates stressed the importance of oceans in fighting climate change. But they say the conference was only a first step. Next stop is Copenhagen summit, where governments hope to reach an agreement to drastically curb carbon emissions.

1 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。

2 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。

3 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

4 mangrove   

n.(植物)红树，红树林

参考例句：

• It is the world's largest tidal mangrove forest.它是世界上最大的红树林沼泽地。
• Many consider this the most beautiful mangrove forest in all Thailand.许多人认为这里是全泰国最美丽的红树林了。

5 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

6 turquoise   

n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的

参考例句：

• She wore a string of turquoise round her neck.她脖子上戴着一串绿宝石。
• The women have elaborate necklaces of turquoise.那些女人戴着由绿松石制成的精美项链。

7 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

8 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

9 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

10 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

11 bleaching   

漂白法，漂白

参考例句：

• Moderately weathered rock showed more intense bleaching and fissuring in the feldspars. 中等风化岩石则是指长石有更为强烈的变白现象和裂纹现象。
• Bleaching effects are very strong and show on air photos. 退色效应非常强烈，并且反映在航空象片上。

12 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

13 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

14 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

15 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

16 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

17 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

18 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

19 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。