8 Visiting Endangered Places around the World 拜访世界各处的濒危地区

仔细听

Earlier this month，the Obama Administration called for increased protection of the world's most southern continent，Antarctica.Scientists say climate change and human activity have increasingly led to the melting of massive pieces of Antarctic ice.The disappearance of ice will not only affect wildlife in the area such as seals and penguins.The melting will also cause oceans and seas around the world to rise.

本月早些时候，奥巴马政府呼吁各界增强对世界最南端的大陆——南极洲的保护。科学家称，气候变化和人类活动导致南极洲巨大的冰层逐渐融化。冰层的消失不仅影响到海豹和企鹅这类本土野生动物的生存，融冰也将引起世界范围内的海洋平面上涨。

听力破解：播音员重读了一个单词protection，同时在第二句中又重读了climate change、human activity以及melting等，可知这段新闻主要是谈论环保的相关话题。

词汇宝典：massive的意思是“大量的，巨大的，庄严的”，massive land则指“幅员辽阔”，massive data意为“大量的数据”，massive的同义词还有extensive、tremendous、substantial等。

仔细听

This represents a major threat，especially to coastal areas.For example，the ancient city of Venice，Italy has long been threatened by rising sea levels.The situation is made worse by the fact that its ancient buildings，built on a body of water called a lagoon，are slowly sinking.When the city was founded almost one thousand six hundred years ago，the level of the Adriatic Sea was almost two meters lower than it is today.

这意味着一种严重的威胁，尤其是对于沿海地区。例如意大利的古城威尼斯，长期以来一直受到海平面上涨的威胁。更糟糕的是，这里的古建筑修建在一种叫作泻湖的水体上，这些建筑正在慢慢下沉。约1600年前，在这座城市修建之初，亚得里亚海的海平面要比现在低将近2米。

听力破解：on a body of water中的on a连读为[ɔnə]，这是一种很常见的连读情况，在平时的朗读及听力中都可以注意一下。

仔细听

Rising sea levels are not the only threat.The salty water is also destroying Venice's famous buildings and artworks.The Italian government is trying to fix the problem with the construction of a seven billion dollar system of moving flood barriers.

上涨的海平面并不是唯一的威胁，盐水也正在摧毁威尼斯的著名建筑和艺术品。意大利政府耗资70亿美元修筑了一种移动防洪屏障系统，试图解决这一问题。

听力破解：注意英语中的吞音问题，如flood和barriers在一起出现的时候，[d]被吞掉。

词汇宝典：construction的意思是“建筑”，in/under construction意为“在建设中”，construction period意为“施工期”，construction cost意为“建造成本”。

仔细听

Climate change is also leading to the melting of ice in other areas，such as Mount Kilimanjaro in northeastern Tanzania.It is the highest point in Africa，measuring almost six thousand meters.The mountain supports five vegetation zones and many kinds of animals.

气候变化也导致了其他地区冰层的融化，例如坦桑尼亚东北部的乞力马扎罗山。乞力马扎罗山高约6000米，是非洲的最高峰。这座山脉是5个植被带的植物和多种动物赖以生存的家园。

词汇宝典：vegetation的意思是“植被”，vegetation zone意为“植被带”，vegetation type意为“植被型”，vegetation的动词形式是vegetate，意思是“植物生长，过单调的生活”。

学着说一说

1.fix...with用……修理，解决

▶fix 有“修理”的意思，车子坏了想找人帮忙修理时就可以说Can you help me fix the car？，不过也可能遇到下面这种情况：

A：Can you help me to fix the car？你能帮助我修理一下我的车吗？

B：I am not good at that，but I can try.

我不太擅长修理，不过我可以试试。

▶fix还有“解决”的意思，如：

We've tried everything to fix the problem.

我们为了解决这个问题尝试了各种方法。

2.lead to导致；通向

▶lead to 常用意思有“导致，引起；通向”，如：

A：Do you know what led to the explosion of Aircraft Columbia in 2003？你知道是什么导致了2003年哥伦比亚号航天飞机的失事吗？

B：I feel sorry about that accident，but I didn't know what exactly caused it.

我对那件事故表示很遗憾，但是我不清楚是什么造成的它失事。

▶与lead连用的词组还有：

lead a busy/normal/quiet life过一种忙碌/正常/安静的生活

lead sb.away/down 将某人带走

lead an investigation/inquiry展开调查/询问