时间:2019-01-22 作者:英语课 分类:自然百科2009年


英语课

 Conserving wildlife is a struggle all governments face, but nowhere more sole than in China, where the world’s last female rafetus turtle (斑鳖)is about to be introduced to her new home. 600 miles and 17 hours into the journey, the team arrives at the Suzhou Zoo. The zoo has constructed a divided breeding pond for the occasion: one side for the female; one for the male. In a few days, if the turtles don’t show any aggression 1, the gate will be opened. Crowds have gathered to witness the arrival of the famous female.


 
This is special because it is the largest turtle in China. It is one of the most revered 2 turtles in China, and this is the last male and the last female known in China. So, it’s important not just to us as conservation biologists, but to the Chinese people. This is an extremely important event.
 
(If you just move it inside, then we’re gonna come right by, understand?
Ah, do not put it in the water. Take care.
Easy, easy, easy…
Here we go. Here we go.
There she goes.)
 
The new pond is a paradise compared to her old home. And the female is happy just to be out of the crate 3. (Excellent, there she is!) Teen turtle is elated(高兴) with the success of phase one.
 
This is the last female on the planet of this species of turtle, and this is literally 4 the last chance we have to save this species.
 
Phase two is to coax(诱导) the male through a connecting tunnel into his half of the pond.
 
But the fence is there for a reason.
 
The male is nearly three times the size of the female, and he has already killed another turtle. Instead of mating with her, he could attack her.
 
If we introduce them and he does not recognize the female as a female, then there will be a fight. We’re concerned, but I’m hoping love is in the air. And I believe we’ll know this afternoon when we see the male and the female, on opposite sides of the protective barrier, able to see each other and smell each other and touch each other for the first time.
 
The unexpected scent 5 of a female lures 6 the male into his half of the pond, and he’s not the only one whose interest has peaked. Now, the two will have a night to get acquainted through the dividing gate.
 
The next day, a rainstorm inundates(淹) Suzhou, but for the turtles, the weather is just setting the mood. The male and the female have spent the night piercing the fence. And Dr. Cooley insists that time is right to open the gate.
 
The female definitely is a very good looking girl, and the male, I hope the female thinks the same of the male that he’s a good looking guy. But what I can tell, she’s almost interested what’s next door and this is a male. This is also one reason why we’re confident we should open the gate now.
 
The zoo gives the team the final go-ahead. It’s time for the big introduction. The male hesitates to approach the open gate. And the team gets ready for an emergency separation. Finally, he makes his move. (There he goes. He’s headed right towards it.) And the two disappear into a swirl(漩涡) of bubbles.
 
There are something going on in the middle of the pond here.
 
The underwater courtship(求爱) begins as the team closely watches for any signs of aggression. But so far, all signs point to a successful match. (Ah, there she goes.) In a few months, the female will lay her eggs and they’ll know for certain if the plan has worked.
 
She can lay anywhere from 20 to 80 eggs, and so one or two fertile clutches would, by an order of magnitude, increase the number of this species on earth. If this effort is not successful, then the species will become extinct.
 
The future of the rafetus turtle now depends upon the dangerously limited gene 7 pool. But biologists agree this is no reason to let the animals die out. 
 
You know, sometimes people say, “Wow, the species gets below a certain number. It’s no longer viable 8 genetically 9.” I don’t believe it. I think that if there is a pregnant female remaining, you should make the effort to try to bring that species back from the brink(边缘) of extinction 10.

n.进攻,侵略,侵犯,侵害
  • So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结,就不必惧怕外来侵略。
  • Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。
v.崇敬,尊崇,敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )
  • A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例,现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句
vt.(up)把…装入箱中;n.板条箱,装货箱
  • We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
  • The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
吸引力,魅力(lure的复数形式)
  • He left home because of the lures of life in the city. 他离家是由于都市生活的诱惑。
  • Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures men down to the depths of the earth. 可能正是寻觅幽静的去处,或者找个猎奇的机会的欲望引诱着人们进入地球的深处。
n.遗传因子,基因
  • A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
  • The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。
adj.可行的,切实可行的,能活下去的
  • The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
  • The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。
adv.遗传上
  • All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
  • Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物
n.熄灭,消亡,消灭,灭绝,绝种
  • The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
  • The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。
学英语单词
5-deoxysorbitol
actinospectacin
air drills
alter course to
arabino-hexosone
bluebucks
bomb impact point
broom tree
bufo boreass
bumaree
capacitance vessel
cargo purchase eye
catenatives
Cayaponia globosa
chambourcies
characterhood
cloth plaiting machine
comparing unit
complex source
continuous magnetic chronology
cross bonding
deck end roller
diffusion layer
DILARIDAE
doomful
dry wallings
electronic vacuum regulator valve
encankers
etioposide
finitely generated projective modules
Florida water
free valency
Frictionless Market
fuel flexibility
gas partition process
gas recovery system
Guéguen, L.
half-case
handed-down
Henry Bolingbroke
hernandezs
Home Page (or Homepage)
Igualtepec
in-things
innermost layer electron
irritative hypertrichosis
Jacob's coat
kortchmar
localist
logic analysis device
madilynn
magnolia delavayi franch.
matchiat
Meherpur
melodramatized
memory interference
mooreite
Māregaon
neutralizing indicator
nuclear reaction macroscopic cross section of neutron
Obispo, R.
option to double
overreported
physical file requirement
pilloried
Pleinmont Point
premarin
present worth cost pattern
prosperi
protective blanket
pseudo-semi-ideal ring
quill pulling machine
refrigerant bypass
reversing switch lever
Rose Louise Hovick
rotary piston motor
Sabbathine
Samit, Chroǔy
sand control gravel
Selatpampang
sentineling
shore tank
sidway
sorting program
southern-style
standard wire ga(u)ge
sublevation
supercyclone
surface treated
syto
temporary working space
thallium fluorosilicate
thought process
Tir-na-nog
top mat
topsiest
trumpet sections
tunnel opening
underdetection
unremarked
wavy-line screen
Wetmore Glacier