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1.Australia's Great Barrier Reef has been hit by widespread coral bleaching repeatedly in recent years, where marine heat waves have turned large parts of the reef a ghostly white. 近年来，澳大利亚的大堡礁多次遭受大面积珊瑚白化的袭击，海洋热浪将大堡礁的大部分变成了幽灵般的白色。 2.Now, it looks like the fourth mass bleaching in the last seven years is unfolding. 现在，似乎是过去七年里的第四次大规模珊瑚白化了。  3.Abnormally hot ocean temperatures, as high as 7 degrees Fahrenheit above average, have stressed the reef in recent weeks even though autumn normally means cooler conditions. 异常炎热的海洋温度，比平均温度高出7华氏度，在最近几周给珊瑚礁带来了压力，尽管秋季通常意味着更冷的天气条件。 4.Scientists with Australian government agencies say some parts of the reef are experiencing severe bleaching as a result. 澳大利亚政府机构的科学家表示，部分珊瑚礁正因此经历严重的白化。 5.Back-to-back bleaching events are expected to become more common as the climate gets hotter, but it's happening sooner than expected in Australia – a worrying sign that the vast majority of the world's coral reefs are at risk of disappearing. 随着气候变暖，连续发生的珊瑚白化现象预计将变得更加普遍，但在澳大利亚发生的速度比预期的要快——这是一个令人担忧的迹象，表明世界上绝大多数的珊瑚礁正面临消失的危险。 6."Climate change is a whole host of bad things for corals," says Emily Darling, director of coral reef conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society. “气候变化对珊瑚来说是一大堆坏事，”野生动物保护协会珊瑚礁保护主任艾米丽·达林说。 7."If they're getting bleached and dying off every year or two years, there's simply not enough time in between these massive bleaching events for coral reefs to have any chance at meaningful recovery." “如果它们每年或每两年就会白化和死亡，那么在这些大规模白化事件之间就没有足够的时间让珊瑚礁有任何有意义的恢复。” 8.Reefs around the world are experiencing similar climate-related damage. 全球的珊瑚礁也都在经历类似的与气候相关的破坏。 9.A worldwide assessment found that between 2009 and 2019, 14 percent of the world's corals died. 一项全球评估发现，2009年至2019年间，世界上有14%的珊瑚死亡。 10.A quarter of marine species depend on coral reefs at some point in their lives, as do millions of people who depend on reefs for food, jobs and shoreline protection from storm surges. 四分之一的海洋物种在生命的某个阶段依赖于珊瑚礁，就像数百万依靠珊瑚礁获取食物、工作和抵御风暴潮的海岸线保护的人一样。  11.Scientists are racing to find ways to give corals a fighting chance, like searching for reefs that could act as refuges because they experience naturally cooler water. 科学家们正竞相寻找方法让珊瑚有可以生存的机会，例如寻找到一些可以让珊瑚作为避难所的礁石，因为那里可以有更凉爽的海水。 12.Others are breeding heat-resistant corals that could be used to restore reefs. 另一些则在培育可以用来修复珊瑚礁的耐热珊瑚。 13.Still, if countries don't reduce fossil fuel emissions over the next decade, studies show the outlook for coral reefs is grim. 尽管如此，研究表明，如果各国在未来十年不减少化石燃料的排放，珊瑚礁的前景仍是严峻的。 14.Even if the world can limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, 70 to 90 percent of coral reefs are likely to die off. 即使世界能够将升温控制在1.5摄氏度，70%至90%的珊瑚礁仍可能会死亡。  15."We need to really learn from these bleaching events," Darling says. “我们真的需要从这些漂白事件中吸取教训，”达林说。16."We need to change business as usual. We need to take action on climate change." 跟以前一样，我们还是需要做出改变。并且需要对气候变化采取行动。 |
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