2019年11月11日 星期一

The Teddy Bears of the Sea 「海」洋泰迪熊「獺」上拯救地球之路


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2019/11/12 第438期 訂閱/退訂看歷史報份直接訂閱
   
 

The Teddy Bears of the Sea  「海」洋泰迪熊「獺」上拯救地球之路
by Ivy Liu


    

  Sea otters are some of the most adorable creatures on the planet. Their heartwarming behavior and furry faces are enough to brighten the gloomiest of days. Anyone who has browsed through social media can attest to that after watching videos of sea otters holding hands while they float sleepily in the water. Sea otters float on their backs even while enjoying a meal by smashing shellfish against their chests. Mothers attend to their young while on their backs as well.
  Holding hands is one way sea otters keep themselves from drifting away from each other, but another method is to wrap themselves in kelp. This can be seen when they are resting together in large groups, called rafts. Some researchers have spotted rafts made up of over 1,000 sea otters, an encouraging number thanks to years of intervention and protection by the US government.
  In the early 20th century, sea otters were on the verge of extinction, having been hunted for their thick and valuable fur. Yet, now with their numbers bouncing back, sea otters are being recognized as a keystone species, meaning they are crucial to maintaining healthy ecosystems and the overall health of the environment. Without them, kelp forests, which absorb enormous amounts of carbon dioxide and provide sustenance for fish and other sea animals, would be destroyed by hungry swarms of sea urchins. The sea otters help keep the sea urchin population in check by consuming them, allowing kelp forests to flourish.
  Researchers have noted that the influence of sea otters extends to every species within the coastal marine environment. It seems this species was saved just in time, not only helping to save ecosystems but also aiding our planet by decreasing carbon dioxide levels.

-------------------------------------
1. Which of the following is NOT an activity sea otters do while floating on their backs?
(A) Rest in rafts.
(B) Devour shellfish.
(C) Construct kelp forests.
(D) Take care of their offspring.

-------------------------------------
2. What can be inferred from the second and third paragraphs?
(A) Researchers have found that 1,000 sea otters are needed for a diverse ecosystem.
(B) Without intervention, sea otters would have wiped out sea urchins.
(C) Sea urchins hunt fish and seabirds for food.
(D) If sea otters were gone, ecosystems would collapse.

-------------------------------------
3. According to the passage, why are sea otters considered a keystone species?
(A) They were brought back from the brink of extinction.
(B) They are essential to a healthy marine ecosystem.
(C) They are able to herd sea urchins for farmers to sell to restaurants.
(D) They have the ability to protect other marine species from predators.

-------------------------------------
4. Which of the following is a finding of researchers regarding sea otters?
(A) Their rafts were discovered to be stable for humans.
(B) They live in communities of fish and other marine life.
(C) Their presence helps with slowing down global warming.
(D) They have the ability to absorb carbon dioxide.

a sea otter  海獺
attest vi. 證明(與介詞 to 並用)
shellfish n. 貝類/有殼類動物(單複數同形)
kelp n. 巨藻
raft n. 皮筏,竹筏
encouraging a. 振奮人心/令人鼓舞的
a keystone species  關鍵物種
 keystone n. 基礎,基石
ecosystem n. 生態系統
carbon dioxide  二氧化碳
sustenance n. 食物;營養
a sea urchin  海膽
coastal a. 沿海的,海岸的
marine a. 海(洋)的
offspring n.(動物的)幼獸;後代
(視為複數,不可數)
herd vt. 把……趕在一起,放牧
predator n. 掠食者

1. attend to...  照顧/照料……
• James was in the bedroom attending to his injured son last night.
詹姆士昨晚在房間照顧他受傷的兒子。

2. be on the verge of...  瀕臨……
= be on the brink / edge of...
brink n. 邊緣
• The entrepreneur is on the verge of bankruptcy.
那位企業家正瀕臨破產。

3. bounce back  (受挫折後)重新振作
• Paul has had a lot of problems, but he seems to have bounced back pretty quickly.
保羅遭遇過許多挫折,但他似乎已很快地振作起來。

4. be crucial to N/V-ing  對……極為重要
= be essential to N/V-ing
• David’s dedication to the company was crucial to our success.
大衛對公司的奉獻對我們的成功來說極為重要。

5. keep... in check  控制/抑制……
• If you don’t keep your emotions in check, they’ll take over your life.
如果你不控制好你的情緒,它們將會影響你的生活。

6. wipe out... / wipe... out  
 徹底消滅/毀滅……
• The typhoon wiped out the whole village.
這個颱風將整座村莊破壞殆盡。

1. adorable a. 可愛的
• Doris is such an adorable girl that everyone wants to be friends with her.
桃樂絲很可愛,所以大家都想和她做朋友。

2. gloomy a. 陰暗的;不樂觀的
• The doctor seemed to have a rather gloomy attitude about the patient’s chance of recovery.
醫生似乎對這名病人的康復機率抱持著相當不樂觀的態度。

3. smash vt. 砸碎,打破
• Johnny smashed the glass after a big fight with his wife.
強尼跟老婆大吵一架後砸碎了玻璃杯。

4. wrap vt. 包,裹住
wrap A in B  用 B 把 A 包起來
• The mother wrapped the baby in a blanket.
這位母親把寶寶裹在毯子裡。

5. intervention n. 介入;干預
• Ms. Chu’s intervention soon brought the dispute to an end.
朱老師的介入讓這場糾紛很快結束。

6. extinction n. 滅絕,絕種
• Whales have been hunted almost to extinction.
鯨魚已經被捕殺到幾近絕種的地步。

7. overall a. 整體的,全部的
• I suggest you examine the overall situation before making a decision.
我建議你在做決定前先通盤考量局勢。

8. absorb vt. 吸收
• Use that piece of cloth to absorb the spilled juice.
用那塊布將灑出的果汁吸乾。

9. swarm n.(昆蟲等的)群;蜂群
a swarm of...  一大群的……
• Jack knocked down the hive and was instantly set on by a swarm of bees.
傑克打下了那個蜂窩後立刻被一大群蜜蜂攻擊。
*be set on by...  被……攻擊

10. flourish vi.(生長)茂盛;繁榮
• My garden flourished this summer because of the warm weather.
今年夏天溫暖的氣候讓我花園裡的植物生長茂盛。

11. devour vt. 狼吞虎嚥地吃
• The hungry boy devoured the hamburger in no time.
那個飢餓的男孩一下子就把漢堡吃掉了。

12. diverse a. 多元的,各式各樣的
• New York is a culturally diverse city.
紐約是個文化多元的城市。

13. collapse vi. 崩潰;累垮
• After weeks of hard work, the worker collapsed from exhaustion.
經過好幾個星期的努力工作,這名員工因疲累而崩潰了。

browse through...  瀏覽/隨意翻閱……(書刊、雜誌等)
browse vi. 瀏覽,隨意翻閱
• Al browsed through all the items in the catalogue.
艾爾瀏覽了商品目錄上的所有項目。
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
以下介紹 browse 作動詞的其他用法:
a. browse around...  在……隨便看看
• Laura passed the time by browsing around the souvenir shop.
蘿拉在那間紀念品店隨便看看以打發時間。
b. browse 亦可作及物動詞,表「瀏覽(網際網路)」。
• Sean browsed the entire website but still couldn’t find the information he needed.
尚恩瀏覽了整個網站,但還是找不到他所需的資訊。
以下介紹其他表「瀏覽/翻閱……」的用法,有時可互換使用:
a. flip through...  快速瀏覽……(書、雜誌等)
• Lisa flipped through the travel brochure and checked out the photos.
麗莎翻了一下旅遊手冊並看看裡面的照片。
b. leaf through...  翻閱……
• I was leafing through a magazine when I saw a picture of myself.
我隨意翻閱雜誌時看到一張自己的照片。
c. thumb through...  (隨意)翻閱/瀏覽……
• After thumbing through a few pages, Ed decided to purchase the novel.
翻了幾頁後,艾德決定要買這本小說。

Without them, kelp forests... would be destroyed by hungry swarms of sea urchins.
表「要不是/若非……」的假設語氣用法
※ 此種假設語氣用法可分為下列兩種情形:
a. 與現在事實相反:
Without + N, S + 過去式助動詞 + V  
要不是/若非……就……
= But for + N, S + 過去式助動詞 + V
= If it were not for + N, S + 過去式助動詞 + V
Without all her hard work, Ann’s business would not be what it is today.
要不是小安的努力,她今日的事業不會如此成功。
If it were not for music, our life would be boring.
如果沒有音樂,人生會很無聊。
b. 與過去事實相反:
Without + N, S + 過去式助動詞 + have + p.p. 
當時要不是/若非……就……
= But for + N, S + 過去式助動詞 + have + p.p.
= If it had not been for + N, S + 過去式助動詞 + have + p.p.
Without her mom’s encouragement, Sally would have given up playing the piano.
當時若沒有媽媽的鼓勵,莎莉可能會放棄彈鋼琴。
But for the captain’s timely warning, Duncan might have been killed.
當時若非隊長的及時警告,鄧肯可能已經喪命了。

「海」洋泰迪熊「獺」上拯救地球之路
  

  海獺是地球上最可愛的生物之一。牠們暖心的行為及毛茸茸的面孔足以照亮最黑暗的日子。任何瀏覽過社群媒體的人都會在看完海獺浮在海上睡覺時手牽手的影片後證明這一點。海獺即便在胸前敲開貝類大啖美食時也都會仰面浮在水上。媽媽照顧孩子時也是躺在海上。
  牽手是海獺避免失散的一種方式,但另一種方法是用海藻纏住自己。這種現象在牠們成群結隊休息、形成一種稱為「筏」的隊形時可以看到。多虧了美國政府多年來的介入及保護,有些研究人員曾看到由一千隻多海獺組成的筏,這是個振奮人心的數量。
  二十世紀初時,海獺因厚厚的珍貴毛皮被獵捕而曾瀕臨絕種。不過,如今隨著海獺數量的回升,牠們被視為一個關鍵物種(編按:指對環境的影響與其生物量不成比例的物種。這些物種對保持生態群落的結構有重要的作用,牠們影響著生態系統中其他許多生物,並決定了群落中各種物種的種類與數量),意味著牠們對於維護健康的生態系統以及環境的整體健康來說至關重要。如果沒有海獺,能夠吸收大量二氧化碳、提供食物給魚類及其他海洋動物的海藻森林將被飢腸轆轆的海膽群摧毀。海獺藉由將海膽吃下肚來幫助控制其數量,讓海藻森林得以成長茁壯。
  研究人員注意到,海獺的影響範圍延伸至沿海海洋環境的每個物種。看起來這個物種獲救的時機恰好,不僅幫助拯救生態系統,也協助我們的地球降低二氧化碳。
-------------------------------------

1. 以下何者不是海獺仰面浮在水上時會做的事情?
(A) 以筏的形式休息。
(B) 吞食貝類。
(C) 建立海藻森林。
(D) 照顧牠們的後代。
-------------------------------------

2. 從第二段及第三段可以推論出什麼?
(A) 研究人員發現,一個多元化的生態系統需要一千隻海獺。
(B) 若沒有介入,海獺會徹底消滅海膽。
(C) 海膽會捕食魚及海鳥。
(D) 若沒有海獺,生態系統會崩潰。
-------------------------------------

3. 根據本文,為什麼海獺被視為一個關鍵物種?
(A) 牠們從瀕臨絕種中獲救。
(B) 牠們對於一個健康的海洋生態系統而言至關重要。
(C) 牠們能夠將海膽趕成一群以供農民出售給餐館。
(D) 牠們可以保護其他海洋物種免受掠食者的危害。
-------------------------------------

4. 以下何者是研究員對於海獺的發現?
(A) 牠們的筏對人類來說是穩固的。
(B) 牠們生活在魚類及其他海洋生物的群體中。
(C) 牠們的存在對減緩全球暖化有幫助。
(D) 牠們能夠吸收二氧化碳。
答案:
1. C 2. D 3. B 4. C

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