VOA标准英语2009年-Endangered Turtles Make Hong Kong Home

Endangered green sea turtles fight against the odds¹ to survive in Hong Kong waters, where the government is working to rebuild turtle populations.

Hong Kong, a bustling² capital of commerce, may seem an unlikely place to find endangered species. But the green sea turtle continues to make the territory's waters its home.

Green sea turtles are rare find
　
US Fish and Wildlife Service Inspector³ inspects live turtles in transit⁴ from Louisiana to Hong Kong (File)

Gina Miller⁵ recently was canoeing near Lamma Island, one of more than 200 islands that comprise Hong Kong, when she had a glimpse of a member of a species struggling to survive worldwide.

"And I looked again and realized I was looking at a green turtle," said Miller. "No one sees green turtles any more. And so pretty much as quickly as I recognized it, it dove below the surface and disappeared."

The green sea turtle, named for its greenish colored fat, was added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of threatened species in 2004. They are global citizens, known to nest in over 80 countries and to swim in the waters of 140 tropical and subtropical nations. The turtles can grow to more than 150 kilograms.

Though the two largest nesting populations are found in Costa Rica and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Hong Kong is home to a small number of nesting and foraging⁶ turtles. The population, however, is ever diminishing as threats to their habitat continue.

Miller often sees trawling boats and yachts on the south side of Lamma Island, which is a protected area for the turtles.

"We see the Marine⁷ Police around the island around all the time, they're always monitoring the area, they're great, really lovely people," said Miller. "And so I was really perplexed⁸ in this area during its nesting season, somebody hadn't made an effort to get the boats out of there at the time."

Hong Kong protects habitats

K.S. Cheung is a wetland and fauna⁹ conservation officer with Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. He says the area is well secured.

"It's not under our jurisdiction¹⁰. We just call the Marine Police and they usually arrive in about 10 minutes," he said. "It's usually quite effective."

His department protects biodiversity in Hong Kong and is responsible for conserving¹² the habitats of green sea turtles that nest on the territory's beaches.

"For the nesting green turtles on the Lamma Island, we've designated the Sham¹³ Wan¹⁴ beach as a restricted area so the public could not access basically the only regular nesting beach of the green turtle in Hong Kong from June to October," he added.

Turtles face many challenges
　
The first green turtle, known to researchers as Hong Kong No. 1, leaves a Hong Kong beach, Sham Wan, soon after it was tagged with a satellite transmitter (File)

Green turtles face many challenges in Hong Kong. Pollution, development, scuba¹⁵ divers¹¹ and speed boats are all serious hazards. But in the Hong Kong area, the largest threat has been the dinner table.

"In Hong Kong I would say the biggest problem would be the consumption of the eggs or even of the nesting turtles themselves," said Cheung.

In mainland China, turtle meat is considered a healthy delicacy¹⁶. In Hong Kong, Cheung says, poor fishing communities used to rely on turtles and their eggs as food in lean years. Cheung says his department has managed to all but eradicate¹⁷ the consumption of eggs and turtles in Hong Kong.

But conservationists say in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, green turtles are still eaten.

Earthtrust, a wildlife conservation group, estimates that there are fewer than 200,000 nesting female green turtles in the world. And the development of coastal¹⁸ areas around the world limits the ability of some to lay eggs, since sea turtles need return to the beach where they hatched to nest. They can not do that, however, if the beach has been paved over.

Though numbers have been bleak¹⁹ in recent years, Cheung's department is optimistic that the green turtles will begin to flourish in Hong Kong waters. In 2007, the department released more than 60 juvenile²⁰ turtles that had been artificially incubated in Hong Kong labs.

"I think they are endangered animals and they should receive our respect," said Cheung.

International treaties such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ban the trade of green turtle meat and eggs, or products made from them. Researchers here hope this effort along with their own will foster a resurgence²¹ of population.

1 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

2 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

3 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

4 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

5 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

6 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

9 fauna   

n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系

参考例句：

• This National Park is an area with unique fauna and flora.该国家公园区域内具有独特的动物种群和植物种群。
• Fauna is a biological notion means all the animal life in a particular region or period. 动物群是一个生物学的概念，指的是一个特定时期或者地区的所有动物。

10 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

11 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。

12 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

13 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

14 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

15 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。

16 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

17 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

18 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

19 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。

20 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。

21 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。