“Mother Coral”“珊瑚妈妈”

张岚

在过去的32年里，珊瑚已经遭到严重破坏。从2005年开始，中国女生物学家黄晖致力于珊瑚的研究和珊瑚的拯救行动。因此，黄晖被媒体亲切地称为“珊瑚妈妈”。

主题语境：海洋环保 篇幅：381词 建议用时：7分钟

In the past 32 years， China has lost over 80 percentof its coral reefs. In the South China Sea， the coral cover?age on the seabed has dropped quickly from some 60 per?cent to around 20 percent， and worldwide， the coral cov?erage has dropped to about 15 percent in recent decades.

Facing the severe living conditions of coral， HuangHui， a Chinese coral biologist who has been engaged in coral research and rescue work formore than 20 years， said that to save coral， more people should see the living conditions ofcoral and pay attention to it consciously. Since 2005， Huang Hui has devoted herself to cor?al research and practical actions to save coral. Therefore， Huang Hui is also affectionatelycalled“Mother Coral”by the media.

To help the coral community recover， Huang decided to plant coral under the sea. In2009， she organized a team in south Chinas Hainan Province， which administers Sanya.

Are all sea areas suitable for coral planting？ In response to this problem， Huang Huisaid that“repairability assessment”should be carried out before planting coral.“In fact，coral has clear requirements for the hardness of the seabed， the quality of water， the trans?parency of water， and the degree of human interference. To ensure the survival of the plant?ed coral， it is necessary to do a series of preparatory work in the early stage.”

Typhoons and tropical cyclones are frequent visitors to the South China Sea. Huangand her team only have a narrow time?slot （时段） for underwater work each year.“If theweather permits， we make the most of the time available，”Huang said. A bottle of oxygenallows about 30 minutes of diving， during which time a diver can only plant a few coralbushes.

Despite the challenges， their efforts have paid off. Since 2009， Huang and her teamhave planted 120，000 to 150，000 groups of coral， covering over 200，000 square meters ofthe seabed of the South China Sea.

Yet， she considers this result to be only“a drop in the ocean”.“The underwater eco?system needs time to recover. Planting coral is only the first step in restoring the underwa?ter ecology. We need time to plant more，”said Huang.“Hopefully， the coral will graduallybecome a forest， and the fish and shrimp will come back.”

Reading Check

1. What is vital for saving coral according to Huang Hui？

A. Government policies. B. Pollution control.

C. Modern technology. D. Public awareness.

2. Which of the following may help the planted coral survive？

A. The harder seabed. B. Less human activities.

C. Muddy water. D. Lower water temperature.

3. What do we know about Huang and her teams underwater work？

A. It depends much on the weather.

B. It goes on all the year round.

C. It consumes lots of hydrogen.

D. It calls for two divers working together.

4. How does Huang feel about her teams future job？

A. Excited. B. Cautious.

C. Ambitious. D. Disappointed.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

Facing the severe living conditions of coral， Huang Hui， a Chinese coral biologist whohas been engaged in coral research and rescue work for more than 20 years， said that tosave coral， more people should see the living conditions of coral and pay attention to it con?sciously. 面对如此严峻的珊瑚生态状况，已经從事珊瑚研究和拯救工作20多年的中国珊瑚生物学家黄晖认为，为了拯救珊瑚，有必要让更多的人看到珊瑚的生存困境，并自觉重视对珊瑚的保护。

【点石成金】本句是一个复合句。Facing...coral是现在分词作原因状语；a Chinesecoral biologist who has been engaged in coral research and rescue work for more than 20years是一个同位语，含有who引导的一个定语从句；不定式to save coral作目的状语。

Ⅱ. Text?centered chunks

be engaged in 从事于

be suitable for 适合

in response to 回应；回答

carry out 执行；开展

pay off 成功；奏效