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听力文本
Australia Protests UN Plan to List Great Barrier Reef as ‘In Danger’
Australia has criticized a United Nations plan to declare the country's Great Barrier Reef "in danger" from climate change.
The U.N.'s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proposed this week that the Great Barrier Reef be added to its List of World Heritage in Danger.
A UNESCO committee report said this week it had found that "there is no possible doubt" that the reef's collection of colorful corals was "facing ascertained danger."
The Great Barrier Reef covers about 344,000 square kilometers of area on Australia's northeast coast. It contains about 3,000 reefs, natural structures made by very small animals called corals. The reef also includes more than 900 islands. The reef has been listed as a World Heritage site since 1981.
A report by the committee said it found the Great Barrier Reef had suffered major coral bleaching events in 2016, 2017 and 2020. It blamed the events on unusually warm ocean temperatures. UNESCO said the "in danger" listing was needed to make sure action is taken to protect the reef from the effects of climate change.
Such "corrective measures" would likely include stronger rules to reduce pollution linked to greenhouse gases. Adding the reef to UNESCO's "in danger" list could also reduce the number of international visitors coming to the area to see the huge collection of colorful corals.
Australian officials said they were surprised and saddened at the proposal. "This decision was flawed. Clearly there were politics behind it," Environment Minister Sussan Ley told reporters.
Ley said that she and Foreign Minister Marise Payne had called UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay to officially protest the proposed listing.
Some environmental groups praised the U.N. proposal. Imogen Zethoven is an environmental advisor for the Australian Marine Conservation Society. She told The Associated Press she welcomed the committee's recognition that "Australia hasn't done enough on climate change to protect the future of the reef."
The reef would become the first site to be added to the List of World Heritage in Danger because of climate change concerns, Zethoven added.
Richard Leck, a spokesman for the World Wide Fund for Nature in Australia, said the listing would come as "a real shock" to many Australians.
In 2014, Australia was warned that an "in danger" listing was being considered. The country had time to react by developing a long-term plan -- called the Reef 2050 Plan -- to improve the reef's health.
But the committee said this week that that plan "requires stronger and clearer" steps toward fighting the effects of climate change.
I'm Bryan Lynn.
重点解析
重点讲解：
1. in danger 在危险中
All of us will struggle fairly hard to survive if we are in danger.
我们所有人如果遇到危险都会竭力挣扎着活下来。
2. climate change 气候变化
Climate change is still very much a subject for debate.
气候变化很大程度上仍是一个争论的话题。
3. be in control of 在...的控制下；在...的管理内
He wants to be in control of his own destiny.
他想要掌握自己的命运。
4. there is no possible doubt ...毫无疑问
There is no possible doubt about her suitability for the job.
毫无疑问，她适合做这个工作。
参考译文
澳方不满联合国拟将大堡礁列入濒危名录
澳大利亚批评了联合国宣布将澳大利亚大堡礁因气候变化原因列入“濒危名录”的计划。
联合国教科文组织本周提议将大堡礁列入其濒危世界遗产名录。
联合国教科文组织旗下的一家委员会本周报告称，发现大堡礁的彩色珊瑚群无疑面临着确定性风险。
大堡礁位于澳大利亚东北海岸，面积约34.4万平方公里。它包含大约3000个珊瑚礁，这些珊瑚礁是由“珊瑚”这一微小动物组成的天然结构。大堡礁还包含900多个岛屿。自1981年以来，大堡礁一直被列为世界遗产。
该委员会的一份报告称，它发现大堡礁在2016年、2017年和2020年遭受了严重的珊瑚白化事件。该委员会将这些事件归咎于异常温暖的海水温度。联合国教科文组织表示，有必要将大堡礁列入“濒危名录”，以确保采取措施保护大堡礁免受气候变化的影响。
这类“纠错措施”可能包含更严格的规定，以减少与温室气体相关的污染。将大堡礁列入联合国教科文组织的“濒危名录”还可能导致慕名前来观赏大量彩色珊瑚群的国际游客减少。
澳大利亚官员表示，他们对这一提议感到惊讶和难过。澳大利亚环境部长苏珊·利（Sussan Ley）对记者表示：“这一决定是有缺陷的。显然这背后有政治动机。”
苏珊·利表示，她和澳大利亚外交部长玛丽斯·佩恩已致电联合国教科文组织总干事奥黛丽·阿祖莱，正式抗议拟将大堡礁列入濒危名录一事。
一些环保组织赞扬了联合国的这项提议。伊莫金·泽多芬（Imogen Zethoven）是澳大利亚海洋保护协会的环保顾问。她对美联社表示，她对委员会所说“澳大利亚在气候变化问题上做得不够，无法保护大堡礁的未来”表示欢迎。
泽多芬还表示，大堡礁将成为因气候变化担忧而被列入濒危世界遗产名录的先例。
世界自然基金会驻澳大利亚发言人理查德·莱克表示，拟列入濒危名录令许多澳大利亚人“非常震惊”。
2014年，澳大利亚收到警告称，正考虑将大堡礁列入濒危名录。该国有时间制定一项“大堡礁2050的长期计划”来改善大堡礁的现状。
但是该委员会本周表示，该计划“需要采取更强硬和更明确的措施来应对气候变化的影响。”
布莱恩·林恩为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
