2019年12月六级第3套仔细阅读 Passage 2 原文翻译及答案解析

Rising temperatures and overfishing in the pristine (未受污染的) waters around the Antarctic could see King penguin populations pushed to the brink of extinction by the end of the century, according to a new study. The study's report states that as global warming transforms the environment in the world's last great wilderness, 70 percent of king penguins could either disappear or be forced to find new breeding grounds. Co-author Céline Le Bohec, from the University of Strasbourg in France, warned: "If there're no actions aimed at halting or controlling global warming, and the pace of the current human-induced changes such as climate change and overfishing stays the same, the species may soon disappear." The findings come amid growing concern over the future of the Antarctic. Earlier this month a separate study found that a combination of climate change and industrial fishing is threatening the krill (磷虾) population in Antarctic waters, with a potentially disastrous impact on whales, seals and penguins. But today's report is the starkest warning yet of the potentially devastating impact of climate change and human exploitation on the Antarctic's delicate ecosystems. Le Bohec said, "Unless current greenhouse gas emissions drop, 70 percent of king penguins—1.1 million breeding pairs—will be forced to relocate their breeding grounds, or face extinction by 2100." King penguins are the second-largest type of penguin and only breed on specific isolated islands in the Southern Ocean where there is no ice cover and easy access to the sea. As the ocean warms, a body of water called the Antarctic Polar Front—an upward movement of nutrient-rich sea that supports a huge abundance of marine life—is being pushed further south. This means that king penguins, which feed on fish and krill in this body of water, have to travel further to their feeding grounds, leaving their hungry chicks for longer. And as this distance between their breeding grounds and their food grows, entire colonies could be wiped out. Le Bohec said, "The plight of the king penguin should serve as a warning about the future of the entire marine environment in the Antarctic. Penguins, like other seabirds and marine mammals, occupy higher levels in the food chain and they are what we call bio-indicators of their ecosystems." Penguins are sensitive indicators of changes in marine ecosystems. As such, they are key species for understanding and predicting impacts of global change on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic marine ecosystems. The report found that although some king penguins may be able to relocate to new breeding grounds closer to their retreating food source, suitable new habitats would be scarce. Only a handful of islands in the Southern Ocean are suitable for sustaining large breeding colonies.

根据一项新研究，南极洲周围原始水域中气温上升和过度捕捞可能会在本世纪末将帝企鹅种群推向灭绝边缘。研究报告指出，随着全球变暖改变这个世界最后一大荒野的环境，70%的帝企鹅可能会消失或被迫寻找新的繁殖地。来自法国斯特拉斯堡大学的合著者Céline Le Bohec警告说：“如果没有旨在阻止或控制全球变暖的行动，并且当前人类引起的变化（如气候变化和过度捕捞）的速度保持不变，这个物种可能很快就会消失。”这些发现出现在人们对南极洲未来的担忧日益加剧之际。本月早些时候，另一项研究发现，气候变化和工业捕捞的结合正在威胁南极水域的磷虾种群，对鲸鱼、海豹和企鹅可能产生灾难性影响。但今天的报告是对气候变化和人类开发可能对南极洲脆弱生态系统造成破坏性影响的迄今最严峻警告。Le Bohec说：“除非当前温室气体排放下降，否则70%的帝企鹅——110万繁殖对——将被迫迁移繁殖地，或在2100年前面临灭绝。”帝企鹅是第二大的企鹅类型，只在南大洋上特定孤立岛屿繁殖，那里没有冰覆盖且容易进入海洋。随着海洋变暖，一个被称为南极极地锋的水体——一个富含营养盐的上升流，支持着大量海洋生物——正被推向更南。这意味着，以这个水体中的鱼和磷虾为食的帝企鹅，必须更远地前往觅食地，让它们的幼崽饥饿时间更长。随着繁殖地与食物之间的距离增加，整个种群可能被消灭。Le Bohec说：“帝企鹅的困境应作为南极整个海洋环境未来的警告。企鹅，像其他海鸟和海洋哺乳动物一样，占据食物链的较高层次，它们是我们所说的生态系统生物指示物。”企鹅是海洋生态系统变化的敏感指示物。因此，它们是理解并预测全球变化对南极和亚南极海洋生态系统影响的关键物种。报告发现，尽管一些帝企鹅可能能够迁移到更靠近退缩食物来源的新繁殖地，但合适的新栖息地将很少。只有南大洋的少数岛屿适合维持大型繁殖群落。