听力文摘第278期:全球变暖对灰熊有益吗?
日期:2014-05-13 16:37

(单词翻译:单击)

You've probably heard that climate change is bad news formany animal species like polar bears.
你可能听说过,气候变化对很多诸如北极熊这样的物种都是不利的。
Warmer temperatures mean less sea ice in the Arctic region.
温度越高,北极区域的海上浮冰就会越少,
And with less ice, there's less room there is for polar bears to hunt.
进而就会使得北极熊的狩猎范围缩小。
And so their populations shrink.
最后就会导致北极熊的物种数量萎缩。
But rising temperatures do not affect all animals in equally harmful ways.
但温度升高并不会对所有动物产生同样的不利影响。
For some animals, evenfor some bears, warming may be beneficial. Take, for example, the grizzly.
对有些动物,甚至是一些熊类来说,全球变暖是有利的。就拿灰熊来举个例子吧。
Like pretty much all animals, grizzly bears thrive when they have more food.
灰熊几乎跟所有动物一样,只要有足够的食物,他们就可以繁衍生息。


A ten year study thatfollowed 112 bears in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada, has found that warmertemperatures have resulted in grizzlies having easier access to food.
在一项为期十年的研究中,研究人员对加拿大亚伯达省落基山脉的112只熊进行了观察,发现温度越高,灰熊就越容易找到食物。
The more food they have, the fatter the bears get.
食物越多,灰熊就能够储存更多的脂肪。
And the more fat lady grizzlies store, the bettertheir chances of having healthy cubs.
然而雌熊储存的脂肪越多,他们繁殖健康幼崽的几率也就越大。
Cubs born during warmer than normal years were found togrow into larger and healthier adults.
在温度较高的时候出生的熊仔一般要比正常温度下的熊仔长的更大,更加健康。
Of course, this in no way negates the fact that climate change is a serious issue requiringimmediate and ongoing attention.
当然,不可否认的是,气候变化仍然是一个严重且需要我们密切关注的问题。
For every species that may benefit from global warming, manymore may suffer and possibly go extinct.
对于每一个能从全球变暖获益的物种来说,这里仍然存在着更多物种可能会面临着灭绝的危险。
But the study does show that warming does not necessarily spell total gloom and doom for allanimal species.
但是研究确实表明,全球变暖对所有物种来说并不都是噩耗。
Plus, the research may give scientists a clue about how to alter forest harvestdesigns to increase the grizzly population in the Canadian Rockies.
此外,科学家们从这项研究中还知道了如何通过改变森林收获量来增加加拿大落基山脉的灰熊数量。
At the moment, there are onlyaround 750 bears in Alberta, making them an endangered species.
目前,亚伯达地区只有大概750只灰熊,它们已经被列入了濒危物种的名单之中。

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重点单词
  • rockyadj. 岩石的,像岩石的,坚硬的,麻木的,困难重重的
  • beneficialadj. 有益的,有利的
  • globaladj. 全球性的,全世界的,球状的,全局的
  • extinctadj. 灭绝的,熄灭的,耗尽的
  • speciesn. (单复同)物种,种类
  • issuen. 发行物,期刊号,争论点 vi. & vt 发行,流
  • populationn. 人口 ,(全体)居民,人数
  • affectvt. 影响,作用,感动
  • benefitn. 利益,津贴,保险金,义卖,义演 vt. 有益于,得
  • thrivevi. 兴旺,繁荣,茁壮成长