飽受非議的老鼠不是一種能讓人們聯(lián)想起珊瑚礁的生物。但在熱帶島嶼上研究珊瑚礁的科學(xué)家們稱，這類(lèi)動(dòng)物直接威脅到珊瑚礁周?chē)鷳B(tài)系統(tǒng)的生存。

文字稿

On the tropical Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, this is the sound of rat-free territory – teeming with birdlife. The remote archipelago of 60 islands is now a natural laboratory.

在印度洋上的熱帶島嶼查戈斯群島上，鳥(niǎo)叫聲遍布這個(gè)無(wú)鼠地帶。這個(gè)擁有60個(gè)島嶼的偏遠(yuǎn)群島現(xiàn)在是一個(gè)天然的實(shí)驗(yàn)室。

While some islands are rat-free, others that were visited historically by ships are now home to the invasive rodents. And rats, scientists found, dramatically reduce the health of a coral reef surrounding an infested island.

雖然有些島嶼上沒(méi)有老鼠，但歷史上有船只造訪過(guò)的島嶼現(xiàn)在都已成為這類(lèi)入侵嚙齒動(dòng)物的家園。科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)，在有大批老鼠出沒(méi)的島嶼周?chē)?，其珊瑚礁的健康狀況急劇下降。

By killing seabirds, the rats deprive a reef of nutrient-rich seabird droppings that naturally fertilise it. The researchers working on the archipelago found that rat-free islands' reefs were much healthier, with more and significantly larger fish.

通過(guò)捕殺海鳥(niǎo)，老鼠剝奪了珊瑚礁依靠營(yíng)養(yǎng)豐富的海鳥(niǎo)糞便作為肥料使其生長(zhǎng)的自由。在這個(gè)群島上工作的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，沒(méi)有老鼠的島嶼周?chē)纳汉鹘敢】档枚?，魚(yú)的數(shù)量也多，而且體積也明顯更大。

With coral reefs under threat from climate change, the scientists are now advocating rat eradication on islands around the world to protect some of the most diverse ecosystems in the ocean.

由于珊瑚礁受到氣候變化的威脅，所以科學(xué)家們現(xiàn)提倡在世界各地的島嶼上消滅老鼠，以保護(hù)海洋中最多樣化的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)。

1. 詞匯表

territory 區(qū)域，活動(dòng)范圍
teeming 充滿…的
archipelago 群島
invasive 入侵的
rodents 嚙齒動(dòng)物
infested （老鼠）大批出沒(méi)的
deprive 剝奪
fertilise 施肥
advocating 提倡，擁護(hù)
eradication 消滅，根除
diverse 多種多樣的

2. 閱讀理解：請(qǐng)?jiān)谧x完上文后，回答下列問(wèn)題 。 

1. Why have some islands become infested with rats and others not?

2. True or false? It's the droppings from rats that damage the coral reefs.

3. What have researchers found that leads to larger fish in the sea around some islands?

4. Why do researchers think coral reefs should be protected?

3. 答案

1. Why have some islands become infested with rats and others not?
In the past, ships that visited certain islands, brought rats with them which stayed on the island and started to breed.

2. True or false? It's the droppings from rats that damage the coral reefs.
False. The problem has nothing to do with rats' droppings. The coral reefs need nutrient-rich seabird droppings that naturally fertilise it but this is reduced if the rats kill the seabirds.

3. What have researchers found that leads to larger fish in the sea around some islands?
The researchers working on the archipelago found that rat-free islands reefs were much healthier, with more and significantly larger fish.

4. Why do researchers think coral reefs should be protected?
They think that coral reefs are under threat from climate change and need protecting.