本集內(nèi)容
Antarctic discoveries 科學(xué)家提議保護南極海洋中的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)
學(xué)習要點
有關(guān)“Antarctica 南極”的詞匯
邊看邊答
What is threatening the species discovered in the sea off the Antarctic Peninsula??
文字稿
Antarctica - the most remote continent in the world. Encased in glacial ice thousands of feet thick. It's still largely unexplored. And we know even less about the icy seas that bring it. Now machines are making it possible for us to catch a glimpse. A mini-submarine is taking marine biologist Doctor Susanne Lockhart down into the Antarctic deep.
Above is a land of frigid ice, below is a thriving mass of life. No light penetrates this deep. Plants can't grow. These are all animals. Then it was my turn to go down with pilot John. We drop much deeper. More than a 1,000 feet (300 metres) down we find a wall of life. Sponges and corals, sea stars, feather stars - all thriving in complete darkness.
A robot arm catches samples. Some of these species have never been filmed before. They are threatened by an increase in fishing in the region. We gathered evidence of a unique ecosystem that deserves protection.
No one could deny that this region needs protecting. But what is the best way to do it? Is a line on a map really going to make much difference? And who is going to police anything out here? The proposal to protect all these creatures and their world will be heard by the Antarctic nations in October.
南極是世界上最偏遠的大陸。這片土地上覆蓋著數(shù)千英尺深的冰川。直到現(xiàn)在，在南極仍有很多地方無人涉足。而人們對構(gòu)成這些冰川的冰冷海洋更是知之甚少。如今，機械裝置給我們提供了一睹這片海洋奧秘的機會。一臺迷你潛水艇正載著海洋生物學(xué)家蘇珊·洛克哈特博士駛?cè)肽蠘O海洋的深處。
海平面之上覆蓋著極為堅硬的冰塊，而海底則蘊藏了數(shù)量龐大的生命。沒有任何一種光線能夠穿透并到達如此深的地方。因此植物無法在這里生長。這些全都是動物。我和駕駛員約翰一同潛入了海底。在潛到1000英尺（約300米）多深的地方時，我們可以看到一堵由海洋生物構(gòu)成的墻，包括海綿生物、珊瑚、海星、海百合，它們都在一片漆黑的環(huán)境中茁壯地生長。
潛艇伸出一只用來采樣的機械手臂。有一些物種在這之前從未被攝像機捕捉到過。如今，這些海洋生物受到了來自該地區(qū)捕魚業(yè)的威脅。我們所收集到的證據(jù)表明，這個獨特的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)應(yīng)受到保護。
沒人能否認我們有必要保護這片海域。但解決問題最好的方法是什么呢？難道在地圖上劃上一條線就能改變現(xiàn)狀嗎？此外，誰應(yīng)該來監(jiān)管這片地區(qū)？南極各國將在今年十月舉行的一次會議上受理有關(guān)保護這些生物及其生存環(huán)境的提案。
詞匯
glacial ice
冰河、冰川
icy seas
冰冷刺骨的海域
frigid ice
極為堅固的冰塊
wall of life
由各種生命組成的墻狀物
unique ecosystem
獨特的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)
你知道嗎？
Antarctica has the coldest land temperature recorded on the Earth of -89.2°C. The average annual temperature is around -50°C.
南極大陸創(chuàng)下了地球史上最冷地區(qū)的紀錄，溫度低達零下89.2攝氏度。這里的年均氣溫為零下50攝氏度左右。
問題答案
They are threatened by an increase in fishing in the region.
