文字稿

一組科學家稱，繼海洋變暖后，塑料已成為危及珊瑚礁生存最大的威脅之一。研究人員發現亞太海域中有三分之一的珊瑚礁被超過110億件塑料垃圾所覆蓋。

Discarded plastic bags, water bottles and food wrappers: researchers say they were saddened to find so much plastic tangled around delicate corals.

（海洋中有）被人們丟棄的塑料袋、水瓶和食品包裝：研究人員們說，他們非常傷心地發現，在脆弱的珊瑚周圍竟纏結了這么多塑料。

After surveying 159 coral reefs across the Asia Pacific region, they estimated that 11 billion items of plastic are polluting coral reefs and this could reach more than 15 billion by 2025.

在對亞太地區的159座珊瑚礁進行檢測后，研究人員估計現已有110億件塑料垃圾對此地珊瑚礁的生態環境帶來了嚴重的污染，而且這些塑料垃圾的數量有可能在2025年前升至150億件。

The scientists say there's a link with diseases that can kill coral. Outbreaks are 20 times more likely when plastic is present.

這些科學家還表示，該狀況與可導致珊瑚死亡的一系列疾病之間有關聯。當珊瑚附近有塑料存在時，疾病暴發的可能性要高于無塑料環境的20倍。

1. 詞匯表

discarded 被丟棄的
saddened 傷心的，使…難過的
tangled 纏繞、纏結著的
delicate 脆弱的
estimated 估計（了），估算（了）
polluting（正在）污染
link（二者間的）關聯，聯系
outbreaks（疾病的）暴發

2. 閱讀理解：請在讀完上文后，回答下列問題 。

1. Which words used in the report emphasise that there is a lot of plastic tangled around the coral?

2. How many more billions of plastic items are expected to pollute the coral reefs by 2025?

3. What have scientists found occurs more when there is plastic in the ocean?

4. True or false?  The scientist's findings were the result of surveying all the coral reefs in the Asia Pacific region.

3. 答案

1. Which words used in the report emphasise that there is a lot of plastic tangled around the coral?
'So much' – "researchers say they were saddened to find so much plastic tangledaround delicate corals."

2. How many more billions of plastic items are expected to pollute the coral reefs by 2025?
Four billion more. Scientists estimated that 11 billion items of plastic are polluting coral reefs and this could reach more than 15 billion by 2025.

3. What have scientists found occurs more when there is plastic in the ocean?
They say outbreaks of diseases are 20 times more likely when plastic is present.

4. True or false?  The scientist's findings were the result of surveying all the coral reefs in the Asia Pacific region.
False. The scientists surveyed 159 coral reefs across the Asia Pacific region.