Part I
I've been looking at ocean biodiversity, that's the diversity of species that live in the world's oceans. About 20 years ago biologists developed the idea of what they called 'biodiversity hotspots'. These are the areas which have the greatest mixture of species, so one example is Madagascar. These hotspots are significant because they allow us to locate key areas for focusing efforts at conservation. Biologists can identify hotspots on land, fairly easily, but until recently, very little was known about species distribution and diversity in the oceans, and no one even knew if hotspots existed there.Then a Canadian biologist called Boris Worm did some research in 2005 on data, on ocean species that he got from the fishing industry. Worm located five hotspots for large ocean predators like sharks, and looked at what they had in common. The main thing he'd expected to find was that they had very high concentrations of food. But to his surprise that was only true for four of the hotspots - the remaining hotspot was quite badly off in that regard. But what he did find was that in all cases, the water at the surface of the ocean had relatively high temperatures, even when it was cool at greater depths, so this seemed to be a factor in supporting a diverse range of these large predators. However, this wasn't enough on its own, because he also found that the water needed to have enough oxygen in it - so these two factors seemed necessary to support the high metabolic rate of these large fish.这些热点地区意义重大，因为它们使我们能够找到重点保护区域。noun. a group into which animals, plants, etc. that are able to breed with each other and produce healthy young are divided, smaller than a genus and identified by a Latin name种，物种（分类上小于属）E.g.:a conservation area for endangered species
濒危物种保护区
2. conservation|ˌkɒnsəˈveɪʃən|noun. conservation is saving and protecting the environment (对环境的) 保护E.g.: a four-nation regional meeting on elephant conservation
一次有关大象保护的4国区域性会议
3. distribution|ˌdɪstrɪˈbjuːʃn|noun. the way that sth is shared or exists over a particular area or among a particular group of people分配；分布E.g.: The map shows the distribution of this species across the world.
地图上标明了这一物种在全世界的分布情况。
noun. the people and activities involved in producing a particular thing, or in providing a particular service行业
E.g.: the catering/tourist, etc. industry
餐饮、旅游等行业
concerning what has just been mentioned在这方面；在这一点上E.g.: I have nothing further to say in this regard.
在这方面，我没什么要说的了。
6. oxygen 氧气; sulfur dioxide 二氧化硫;methane 甲烷; carbon dioxide 二氧化碳; carbon monoxide 一氧化碳; hydrogen 氢气; nitrogen 氮气; hydrogen sulfide 硫化氢7. metabolic|ˌmetəˈbɑːlɪk|adj. metabolic means relating to a person's or animal's metabolism 新陈代谢的E.g.: People who have inherited a low metabolic rate will gain weight.
因遗传而新陈代谢速度慢的人会发胖。
A couple of years later, in 2007, a researcher called Lisa Ballance, who was working in California, also started looking for ocean hotspots, but not for fish - what she was interested in was marine mammals, things like seals.And she found three places in the oceans which were hotspots, and what these had in common was that these hotspots were all located at boundaries between ocean currents, and this seems to be the sort of place that has lots of the plankton that some of these species feed on. So now people who want to protect the species that are endangered need to get as much information as possible. For example, there's an international project called the Census of Marine Life. They've been surveying oceans all over the world, including the Arctic.One thing they found there which stunned other researchers was that there were large numbers of species which live below the ice - sometimes under a layer up to 20 metres thick. Some of these species had never been seen before. They've even found species of octopus living in these conditions.他们在那里发现的一件事令其他研究人员感到震惊，那就是有大量的物种生活在冰层之下——有时甚至在厚达20米的冰层之下。adj. connected with the sea and the creatures and plants that live there海的；海产的；海生的
E.g.: breeding grounds for marine life
海洋生物的繁殖地
2. mammal 哺乳动物; sponge 海绵动物; crustacean 甲壳纲动物; vertebrate 脊椎动物; megafauna 巨型动物; rodent 啮齿动物; amphibian 两栖动物; reptile 爬行动物; mollusk 软体动物; arthropod 节肢动物; primate 灵长动物noun. the movement of water in the sea or a river; the movement of air in a particular direction（海洋或江河的）水流，潮流；气流
E.g.: He swam to the shore against a strong current.
他逆着急流游向岸边。
noun. the very small forms of plant and animal life that live in water浮游生物
E.g.: its usual diet of plankton and other small organisms
它通常赖以为食的浮游生物和其他微生物
noun. the process of officially counting sth, especially a country's population, and recording various facts（官方的）统计；人口普查；人口调查
E.g.: The detailed assessment of the latest census will be ready in three months.
有关最新人口普查的详细评估工作将在3个月内就绪。
6. Arctic 北极; Antarctica 南极; equator 赤道; longitude 经度; latitude 纬度; prime meridian 本初子午线verb. to surprise or shock sb so much that they cannot think clearly or speak使震惊（或惊愕、目瞪口呆）
E.g.: They were stunned by the view from the summit.
在峰顶看到的景色使他们惊叹不已。
Part III
And other scientists working on the same project, but researching very different habitats on the ocean floor, have found large numbers of species congregating around volcanoes, attracted to them by the warmth and nutrients there. However, biologists still don't know how serious the threat to their survival is for each individual species.So a body called the Global Marine Species Assessment is now creating a list of endangered species on land, so they consider things like the size of the population - how many members of one species there are in a particular place - and then they look at their distribution in geographical terms, although this is quite difficult when you're looking at fish, because they're so mobile, and then thirdly they calculate the rate at which the decline of the species is happening.So far only 1,500 species have been assessed, but they want to increase this figure to 20,000. For each one they assess, they use the data they collect on that species to produce a map showing its distribution. Ultimately they will be able to use these to figure out not only where most species are located but also where they are most threatened.然而，生物学家仍然不知道每种物种的生存所面临的威胁有多严重。noun.the place where a particular type of animal or plant is normally found（动植物的）生活环境，栖息地E.g.: The panda's natural habitat is the bamboo forest.
大熊猫的天然栖息地是竹林。
2. congregate|ˈkɑːŋɡrɪɡeɪt|verb. to come together in a group群集；聚集；集合
E.g.: Young people often congregate in the main square in the evenings.
年轻人傍晚时经常聚集在大广场上。
noun. a group of people who work or act together, often for an official purpose, or who are connected in some other way团体；社团；群体
E.g.: The governing body of the school is/are concerned about discipline.
学校的管理部门很重视纪律问题。
4. in...terms / in terms ofused when you are referring to a particular aspect of sth谈及；就…而言；在…方面E.g.: In practical terms this law may be difficult to enforce.
从实际的角度来看，这项法律可能难以执行。
adj. able to change your social class, your job or the place where you live easily易于变换社会阶层（或工作、住处）的；流动的
E.g.: a highly mobile workforce (= people who can move easily from place to place)
具有很强流动性的劳动力
So finally, what can be done to retain the diversity of species in the world's oceans?Firstly, we need to set up more reserves in our oceans, places where marine species are protected. We have some, but not enough. In addition, to preserve species such as leatherback turtles, which live out in the high seas but have their nesting sites on the American coast, we need to create corridors for migration, so they can get from one area to another safely.As well as this, action needs to be taken to lower the levels of fishing quotas to prevent overfishing of endangered species. And finally, there's the problem of 'by-catch'. This refers to the catching of unwanted fish by fishing boats - they're returned to the sea, but they're often dead or dying. If these commercial fishing boats used equipment which was more selective, so that only the fish wanted for consumption were caught, this problem could be overcome. OK. So does anyone have any....此外，为了保护棱皮龟等生活在公海但筑巢地位于美国海岸的物种，我们需要建立迁徙走廊，以便它们能够安全地从一个地区迁徙到另一个地区。verb. to keep sth; to continue to have sth保持；持有；保留；继续拥有E.g.: The house retains much of its original charm.noun. a piece of land that is a protected area for animals, plants, etc.（动植物）保护区；自然保护区the open ocean, especially that not within any country's jurisdiction公海E.g.: drift-net fishing on the high seasnoun. the limited number or amount of people or things that is officially allowed定额；限额；配额E.g.: to introduce a strict import quota on grainunwanted fish and other sea animals caught in a fishing net along with the desired kind of fish 拖网副渔获E.g.: to introduce a strict import quota on grainadj. tending to be careful about what or who you choose认真挑选的；严格筛选的E.g.: Their admissions policy is very selective.7. consumption|kənˈsʌmpʃn|noun. the act of using energy, food or materials; the amount used（能量、食物或材料的）消耗，消耗量E.g.: The meat was declared unfit for human consumption.
10个月宝宝每天需要喝多少奶粉？
