VOA标准英语2010年-Some US National Parks Threatened by G

The director of US National Parks says more than 40 parks and wildlife refuges on the Gulf¹ of Mexico could be affected² by the BP oil spill. He said there is no clear end to the spill at this point but he downplayed the potential impact when the slick reaches the Florida Keys.  Meanwhile a scientist at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric³ Organization (NOAA) has warned about potential damage to the area's corals. 

Eight national parks and 33 wildlife refuges along the Gulf of Mexico could be threatened by the oil spill, according to National Parks Director Jonathan Jarvis. He is helping⁴ coordinate⁵ the government's response to the spill and spoke⁶ at a hearing on Capitol Hill.

"We are at 100 percent of our planning level in terms of protection of Gulf islands, national seashore, to protect predominantly the wetlands and estuaries⁷ and sea grass beds that are on the backside of the islands," said Jonathan Jarvis.

Jarvis said teams of scientists have been deployed⁸ to assess conditions in the national parks in the Gulf.  Those teams, he said, are also looking at the possible impact - short and long term - of the dispersant that BP has been using. 

The oil slick has now entered the loop current that runs from the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Keys and up the east coast of the U.S., Jarvis said.  The region has the third largest barrier reef in the world.  Tortugas National park is at the southern most point of the Keys.  

"We think that for the South Florida parks, Dry Tortugas, Big Cypress⁹, Everglades and Biscayne, it is predominately going to be a tar¹⁰ ball event because the oil is weathering," he said.

That means oil tends to lose toxicity¹² as it travels.  And, he said, tar balls are less toxic¹¹.

Jarvis said the government has been working closely with BP to better understand how the oil changes as it moves through the Gulf.

Some of the worst damage is already underway. Dense¹³ areas of deep coral that have taken hundreds of years to grow are located under the oil slick. 

Scientists from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are assessing the situation.

Kacky Andrews, is NOAA's manager for Coral Reef Conservation.  Pointing to a map of the region, she says there are deep and shallow corals throughout the Gulf of Mexico.

"They are all over the place and that's what makes the Gulf of Mexico such a rich place for fisheries," said Kacky Andrews. "Now we all know they are essentially¹⁴ underneath¹⁵ where the sheen is appearing right now."

She said coral tends to be the main habitat for many fish.

"These are the habitats that provide really valuable places for the fish to get together, to aggregate¹⁶, to spawn¹⁷, so they are the bases of the fisheries," she said. "It is an important piece of the economic engine of the fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico.  But also these places are just remarkable¹⁸ in and among themselves. Some of these things are possibly over 4000 years old."

Andrews says the extent of the damage is unknown because the spill is unprecedented¹⁹.

"Coral reefs only make up about one tenth of one percent of the ocean floor," said Andrews. "But they provide habitat for over 25 percent of the marine²⁰ species."

For the moment, uncertainty²¹ rules the day.
 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 estuaries   

（江河入海的）河口，河口湾( estuary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We also recognize the diversity and complexity of controlling in fluences in estuaries. 我们也认识到在河湾内控制影响的多样性和复杂性。
• Estuaries also contribute to economy through tourism and fishing. 河口还为人类提供了休闲和教育的场所。

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

10 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

11 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

12 toxicity   

n.毒性，毒力

参考例句：

• The hoarse grunt or squeal is characteristic of toxicity.嘶哑的哼声和叫声是中毒的特征。
• Dieldrin is related to aldrin,and its toxicity to earthworms is similar.狄氏剂与艾氏剂有关，对蚯蚓的毒性是相似的。

13 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

14 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

15 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

16 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

17 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

18 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

19 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

20 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。

21 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。