时间:2019-01-12 作者:英语课 分类:2015年VOA慢速英语(六)月


英语课

Plankton 1 More Important than Scientists Thought 浮游生物比科学家认为的重要的多


For years, most people thought of small organisms called plankton as food for whales and other large sea animals. But a four-year long study discovered that plankton are a major supplier of oxygen on our planet.


Plankton are a group of different ocean creatures, algae 2, bacteria and other organisms. They live close to the water’s surface in oceans, seas and lakes. Plankton cannot be seen without a microscope. But they are the main source of food for larger animals, like whales.


Recently, 200 scientists from 45 countries took turns researching plankton on a two-mast schooner 3. The boat set sail in September 2009. It visited 210 areas. The scientists collected 35,000 samples of plankton. The researchers followed the lives of plankton, examined their genetic 4 material and watched their movements.


A French non-profit group called Tara Expeditions launched the project, known as Tara Oceans. Chris Bowler 5 was the project’s scientific coordinator 6. He says the researchers found that plankton are very important to the health of our planet.


“Generating the oxygen we breathe, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and generally maintaining this Earth in a state that is habitable for us human beings.”


Mr. Bowler says almost half of the oxygen we breathe comes from very small algae called diatoms. These plants live in the part of the water where the sun reaches.


“That basically means every fifth time that you breathe, you’re breathing oxygen -- which we can directly trace back to diatoms, so they’re sort of as important as a tropical rain forest in terms of their global contribution.”


Romain Troublé is the executive director of Tara Oceans. He believes the study shows that the ocean greatly affects the earth’s climate.


“We believe that the ocean is also a main driver of the climate change, a main, main mitigator 7 in the way that the ocean and the life in the ocean is storing carbon dioxide, storing heat. And this machinery 8 works because the ocean is in good health.”


Different groups of researchers studied different things. One group identified more than 40 million plankton genes 9 formerly 10 unknown to scientists.


The collected information will be used to identify which of the plankton have little or no trouble reacting to changing water conditions.


Results of the study appeared in the online scientific journal Science. The publication says many experts will be examining the study.


Words in This Story


plankton – n. the very small creatures in an ocean, sea or lake


algae – n. simple plants that grow in or near water


sample – n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from


generate – v. to produce (something) or cause (something) to be produced


maintain – v. to keep (something) in good condition by making repairs or correcting problems


habitable – adj. able to live in


trace back – idiom to learn about the development or progress of something by reasoning backward from an effect to a cause


in terms of – idiom regarding something; concerning something


contribution – n. something that is done to cause something to happen


driver – n. idiom cause


mitigate 11 – v. to make (something) less severe, harmful or painful



n.浮游生物
  • Plankton is at the bottom of the marine food chain.浮游生物处于海洋食物链的最底层。
  • The plankton in the sea feeds many kinds of animals. 海的浮游生物成为很多种动物的食物。
n.水藻,海藻
  • Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
  • Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。
n.纵帆船
  • The schooner was driven ashore.那条帆船被冲上了岸。
  • The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate.急流正以同样的速度将小筏子和帆船一起冲向南方。
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。
n.打保龄球的人,(板球的)投(球)手
  • The bowler judged it well,timing the ball to perfection.投球手判断准确,对球速的掌握恰到好处。
  • The captain decided to take Snow off and try a slower bowler.队长决定把斯诺撤下,换一个动作慢一点的投球手试一试。
n.协调人
  • The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下,负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
  • How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室?
n.缓和者
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构
  • Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗?
  • Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。
n.基因( gene的名词复数 )
  • You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因,所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪
adv.从前,以前
  • We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
  • This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。
vt.(使)减轻,(使)缓和
  • The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
  • Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。
标签: VOA慢速英语
学英语单词
-phasia
advanced rural transportation system
ancillary resources
andrologia
arcus frontalis
bacteriomes
battlestars
betula populifolias
Big, large,
Castiglioncello
CC (channel controller)
chinne
Chlormuron-ethyl
chromospheric bubble
close in for the kill
colloidal graphite for fibre glass
conjunctive proposition
Cruikshank
delete capability
disassure
double heterojunction diode
electronic ceramic device
fat vacuole
follicular hydrops
footpad
formals
fourvey
fruitbat
Fua'amotu
geochemical dispersion
glaucarubin
green water deck wetness
grid plate characteristics
inch-meal
inference procedure
intermediate frequency signal
irregular nature of traffic
jumptv
La Virgen, Cerro
Lagarosolen hispidus
landside slope
lead compensation
lignaloe oil
logic control
logrolling legislation
maunching
mearstone
mincing knife
Mitteleschenbach
mole blade
myrons
narrow-leaved white-topped aster
natural theology
Neonalium
neuroautoimmune
new-land
niche differentiation
No power
occupation forces
octothorpe
out of collar
parthenocarpous fruit
Pedicularis pseudocephalantha
pension program
photoepinasty
polar distribution
Portballintrae
property insured
quasi peak
radiation analyzer
reverse conducting thyristor
Rhogogaster dryas
rubidium indium alum
saouma
Saxifraga aristulata
Simchat Torah
simulation centre
sinusoidal trace
skirt
soil erodibility
sour mushroom
stochastic perturbation
submerged coastal plain
taxed product
telectorate
tephrosia
through phrase
thudding
top-hinged swinging door
truth table reducibility
understudies
UnitName
virtual core
virusin
wavelength plate
wild apples
WILKIE
windowless presenter
withdraw an action
workers' management
working dogs
worth his salt