[科学美国人60秒] SSS 2015-10-26
时间：2018-12-24 作者：英语课 分类：2015年Scientific American(十)月
英语课
Each fall thousands of Coho salmon 1 flocked to northwest rivers to spawn 2, but many never get the chance, especially near big cities like Seatle.
And in some of these urban areas, up to ninety percent of the female were dying before they spawned 3, which is not a good thing for a population .Jew Anne Sprangburg, a toxicologist affiliated 4 with the Northeast Fishery Science Centre.
Researchers suspected that these deaths are partly a matter of bad timing 5. The fish often reaches the streams during the first showers of the rainy season, which flush chemicals from roads and parking lot into the water. Now Sprangburg and her colleagues have produced the first direct evidence that this runoff kills the salmon. Their study is in the journal of Pride Ecology. The researchers found that fish exposed to stormwater from Seatle highways quickly grew sick and died. Surprisingly though, the salmon didn't seem to mind taking a dip in the cocktail 6 of common road pollutants,inlcuding hydrocarbons 7 and metals. That detail suggests that the current ingredient in the runoff may be a different kind of chemical or lethal 8 combination of several compounds.
There is a lot of whole different matter that we haven't been able to measure or don't have the capability 9 to measure at the moment.
However, Scrangburg says there is a way to help the fish even before scientists hunt down the culprits. Her team also found that filtering runoff to just a few feet of soil makes stormwate safe for salmon. Cities can implement 10 the simple form of clean water technology by building more systems, including roadside gardens to collect runoff from paved areas and pass it to soil before it enters urban waterways,literally a quick and dirty solution.
1 salmon
n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的
- We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
- Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？
2 spawn
n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产
- The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
- These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。
3 spawned
（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产
- The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
- The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。
4 affiliated
adj. 附属的, 有关连的
- The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
- All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。
5 timing
n.时间安排，时间选择
- The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
- The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。
6 cocktail
n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物
- We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
- At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。
7 hydrocarbons
n.碳氢化合物，烃( hydrocarbon的名词复数 )
- Hydrocarbons (HC), like carbon monoxide, represent unburned and wasted fuel. 碳氢化合物(HC)像一氧化碳一样，为未燃尽的和被浪费掉的燃料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
- With this restricted frequency range it is not applicable to hydrocarbons. 这个较紧缩的频率范围不适用于烃类。 来自辞典例句
8 lethal
adj.致死的；毁灭性的
- A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
- She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。
9 capability
n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等
- She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
- Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。