2. 职称英语
  3. The news about the world’s oceans in 2003 wasn’t that they’re in trouble — t

The news about the world’s oceans in 2003 wasn’t that they’re in trouble — t

游客2024-05-04  12
问题     The news about the world’s oceans in 2003 wasn’t that they’re in trouble — that much was already clear — but that the scale of devastation is far greater than anyone had realized. A shocking study revealed that a full 90 percent of the species most desirable to fishmongers(鱼商)—tuna, halibut, sharks, swordfish, grouper — has been wiped out in the past half century.

    But there was hopeful news as well. An alternative to conventional fishing practices, while not a cure-all(万灵药), could significantly restore ravaged fish populations.
    The chilling centerpiece of last year’s marine research: just 50 years of industrial fishing has decimated(大批杀害)the world’s large predator(食肉动物)fish species, according to a report published in Nature in May. Irresponsible fishing practices have resulted severe casualties: Shrimp trawling(拖网捕捞)in the Gulf of Mexico, for example, a reckless process in which, for every ton of shrimp obtained, three tons of fin-fish(长须鲸)are destroyed and discarded — has shrunk large fish stocks a thousandfold. "Across the board we’ve removed everything bigger than a bicycle from the o-cean," says Steve Palumbi, a Stanford University biologist, "and that has almost certainly changed the ocean in fundamental ways. "
    But the urgent need for large-scale conservation efforts is on a collision course with economic pressures to expand fishing even further, according to a 2003 report by the Pew Oceans Commission, an independent expert panel, as well as preliminary reports from members of the Bush-appointed U. S. commission on Ocean Policy. Americans are eating more seafood than ever: Consumption was up 7 percent in 2002, to 4. 5 billion pounds. Worldwide, more than 130 billion pounds of marine species are caught annually, and that doesn’t include the huge amount of sea life destroyed as by-catch. More than a billion people rely on fish for protein. " We need to change the whole ethic of how we are viewing the oceans," says Andrew Rosenberg, a member of the Commission on Ocean Policy, " from a place that we use to a place we care for. "
    In September marine biologists Fiona Gell and Callum Roberts of the University of York in England offered a solution, boldly asserting that at least 30 percent of the world’s ocean habitat had to become safe zones for marine life. It’s a practical, not a sentimental matter, they contend. After studying 60 no-fishing zones around the world, Gell and Roberts discovered that the fish there live longer, grow larger, and produce more young than those in unprotected areas. Significantly, as populations growing, many fish head into less crowded areas outside the reserve, where fishermen reap the benefits indefinitely. "It’s a no-brainer(无需用脑的事), really, isn’t it?" Roberts observes. "Like money in the bank producing interest. " [br] The author mentions America’s increasing seafood consumption to show______.
选项 A、the different life styles the Americans have
B、U. S. should be blamed for the devastation of oceans
C、how high the economic pressures on ocean reserves are
D、the great influence of human life on natural surroundings
答案 C
解析 推理判断题。第三段中举出美国人消耗海产品的巨大数量，是为了说明前文中的“大规模保护工作的迫切需要与进一步扩大捕鱼业的经济压力是互相冲突的”这一观点的，正确的是[C]“彰显经济对海洋保护的巨大压力”。
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