VOA标准英语2010年-Back From the Dead - 'Extinct' Frog Fo

A species of frog has been found alive on a farm in Australia more than 30 years after it was thought to have become extinct. Environment officials have said a thriving population of yellow-spotted bell frogs has been found in a remote creek¹ in New South Wales. 

The yellow-spotted bell frog is back from the dead.  It was thought to have become extinct but has now been seen for the first time since 1973.

Dr. David Hunter, a threatened species officer at the New South Wales Environment Department, was there when about 100 frogs were found in a remote stream, the location of which is being kept secret.

"This was definitely the most exciting moment of my career and I'd be surprised if I'll repeat it," he said.  "We really don't want anyone going to the site, trying to see the bell frog or capture the bell frog, because there's always the possibility that that could actually introduce an unknown pathogen into the population and cause a problem.'

The yellow-spotted bell frog's disappearance² is likely to have been caused by a range of factors, including disease, a loss of habitat and pollution.

Experts believe that exposure to a deadly fungus³ that arrived in Australia from Africa in the 1970s decimated frog numbers.

A collection of tadpoles⁴ has been established at Taronga Zoo in Sydney as part of a plan to re-populate rivers and streams.

The zoo's Michael McFadden says the breeding program should help this vulnerable species survive.

"We need to get an insurance population so that if something bad does happen over the next year and they are totally gone, we have at least not lost that species and we can work at re-introducing them back into their natural habitat," McFadden said.

Scientists have warned there are more than 40 threatened frog species fighting for survival in Australia.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has said that one-third of the world's 6,000 species of amphibians⁶ are under threat of extinction⁷.

The New South Wales Environment Minister, Frank Sartor, said the discovery of yellow-spotted bell frogs was the amphibian⁵ equivalent of discovering the Tasmanian Tiger, a carnivorous Australian marsupial⁸ that died out in the 1930s.
 

1 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

2 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

3 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

4 tadpoles   

n.蝌蚪( tadpole的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pond teemed with tadpoles. 池子里有很多蝌蚪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Both fish and tadpoles have gills. 鱼和蝌蚪都有鳃。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 amphibian   

n.两栖动物；水陆两用飞机和车辆

参考例句：

• The frog is an amphibian,which means it can live on land and in water.青蛙属于两栖动物，也就是说它既能生活在陆地上也能生活在水里。
• Amphibian is an important specie in ecosystem and has profound meaning in the ecotoxicology evaluation.两栖类是生态系统中的重要物种，并且对环境毒理评价有着深远意义。

6 amphibians   

两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器

参考例句：

• The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
• Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。

7 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。

8 marsupial   

adj.有袋的，袋状的

参考例句：

• Koala is an arboreal Australian marsupial.考拉是一种澳大利亚树栖有袋动物。
• The marsupial has been in decline for decades due to urban sprawl from car accidentsdog attacks.这种有袋动物其数量在过去几十年间逐渐减少,主要原因是城市的扩张、车祸和狗的袭击。