VOA慢速英语听力：科学家致力于拯救佛罗里达珊瑚礁 Scientists Work to Save Florida Reefs.
Several organizations are racing to save the reef that runs along the Florida Keys.
一些组织正在竞相拯救位于佛罗里达群岛沿线的珊瑚礁。
A summer heat wave has already led to historic coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is the process by which coral becomes white because of high water temperatures or pollution.
夏季热浪已经导致了历史性的珊瑚白化。珊瑚白化是珊瑚因水温升高或污染而变白的过程。
Up and down the islands that form the Florida Keys, coral rescue groups, universities and the government are working to save the coral. Experts say the bleaching event threatens the health of the third-largest reef area in the world. They have been working long days for many weeks to get as much coral as they can onto land.
在构成佛罗里达群岛的各个岛屿上，珊瑚救援团体、大学和政府正在努力拯救珊瑚。专家表示，白化事件威胁着全球第三大珊瑚礁区的健康。他们已经连续几周日以继夜地工作，将尽可能多的珊瑚搬上陆地。
In mid-July, water surface temperatures averaged 33 degrees Celsius off the lower Florida Keys. That is well above the average of 29.5 degrees, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.
在7月中旬，佛罗里达群岛南部海域的水表面温度平均为摄氏33度。美国国家海洋和大气管理局（NOAA）表示，这远高于摄氏29.5度的平均温度。
The hot water resulted in nearly 100 percent bleaching along some parts of the reef. The bleaching caused the corals to lose their zooxanthellae. That is the algae that gives them color and nutrition. If they do not recover their zooxanthellae, they will die.
炎热的水温导致珊瑚礁的一些区域几乎100%的白化。白化使珊瑚失去了它们的赞克沙藻。这是赋予珊瑚颜色和营养的藻类。如果它们无法恢复赞克沙藻，它们将会死亡。
“We’re already seeing not just bleaching, but actual coral death out on the reef because the temperatures were so hot,” said Cynthia Lewis. She is director of the Keys Marine Lab, a research institute on the island of Long Key, about 160 kilometers south of Miami.
“我们已经看到了不仅仅是白化，而且还有珊瑚在珊瑚礁上死亡，因为温度太高，”辛西娅·刘易斯说道。她是位于迈阿密以南约160公里的朗基岛上的佛罗里达群岛海洋实验室的主任。
In Miami, rescue groups have already brought more than 1,500 pieces of coral.
在迈阿密，救援团队已经带来了1500多片珊瑚。
Coral bleaching happens naturally when waters warm greatly. It happened in 2016 in the Florida Keys. But Lewis said the current situation is urgent for coral, which is very important to Florida’s economy, coastal protection and marine life.
当水温急剧升高时，珊瑚白化会自然发生。这在2016年曾经发生在佛罗里达群岛。但刘易斯表示，当前的情况对于珊瑚来说十分紧急，珊瑚对佛罗里达的经济、海岸保护和海洋生态非常重要。
Recent cloudy and rainy days helped lower water temperatures slightly. But it will likely be late October or November before the coral samples can be returned to the reef, Lewis said.
最近多云和多雨的天气稍微降低了水温。但刘易斯表示，在珊瑚样本能够重新回到珊瑚礁之前，可能要等到10月底或11月。
The Florida Coral Reef stretches about 563 kilometers from the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf of Mexico to St. Lucie Inlet, about 185 kilometers north of Miami.
佛罗里达珊瑚礁从墨西哥湾的干燥托图加斯一直延伸约563公里，到迈阿密以北约185公里的圣卢西入口。
The reef is a first line of defense against coastal erosion and flooding from storms, Lewis said. It helps support fishing and the tourism industry. Coral also contains “such an amazing amount of diversity and life” in the ocean around them, Lewis added.
刘易斯表示，珊瑚礁是防止海岸侵蚀和暴风雨引发洪水的第一道防线。它有助于支持渔业和旅游业。刘易斯补充说，在周围海洋中，珊瑚还蕴含着“如此惊人的多样性和生命”。
Reef Renewal is a group that has worked to move endangered coral into land-based centers.
珊瑚礁更新（Reef Renewal）是一个致力于将濒危珊瑚转移到陆地中心的团体。
More recently, the group has worked to save coral in several of their own underwater facilities in shallower water by moving them to deeper, cooler water.
最近，该团体开始通过将珊瑚从较浅的水域转移到更深更凉爽的水域中，来拯救他们在几个自己的水下设施中的珊瑚。
Reef Renewal founder Ken Nedimyer called the coral bleaching “hard to watch and hard to experience.” He said his group knew that coral stress would increase under climate change. But he and others did not think it would happen so soon.
珊瑚礁更新的创始人肯·内迪迈尔（Ken Nedimyer）将珊瑚白化称为“难以观看和难以经历的”。他表示，他的团队知道珊瑚在气候变化下的压力会增加。但他和其他人没有想到会这么快发生。
Back at the Keys Marine Lab on Long Key, the collected pieces of coral are put in cooling containers that hold between 40 and 400 gallons of seawater. The 29-degree water makes for “much happier coral,” said marine biologist Emily Becker.
回到朗基岛上的佛罗里达群岛海洋实验室，收集到的珊瑚碎片被放入装有40至400加仑海水的冷却容器中。29度的水温使珊瑚变得“更加幸福”，海洋生物学家艾米丽·贝克（Emily Becker）说道。
The work goes beyond saving the coral. Becker and others are studying different kinds of coral to see which ones survive temperature stress and disease better. They hope to "build a better reef with more resilient corals,” she said.
这项工作不仅仅是为了拯救珊瑚。贝克和其他人正在研究不同种类的珊瑚，以确定哪些珊瑚能更好地抵抗温度压力和疾病。她说，他们希望“建立一个更好的、具有更强韧性珊瑚的珊瑚礁”。
Scientists from the University of Miami have created a research site off of Key Biscayne to do such work.
迈阿密大学的科学家们在比斯坎湾的海域建立了一个研究站来进行这项工作。
Jamison Gove is the co-writer of a new article in Nature about how Hawaii coral reefs survived a 2015 ocean heat wave.
詹米森·戈夫（Jamison Gove）是《自然》杂志上一篇关于夏威夷珊瑚礁如何在2015年的海洋热浪中幸存下来的新文章的合著者。
The oceanographer said reefs that returned best after Hawaii’s heat wave were those that had both the most fish and the least sewage.
这位海洋学家表示，在夏威夷的热浪过后，回复最好的珊瑚礁是那些既有最多鱼类又有最少污水的珊瑚礁。
But he said local efforts will not save reefs if people do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
但他表示，如果人们不减少温室气体排放，地方的努力将无法拯救珊瑚礁。
I’m Dan Novak.
我是丹·诺瓦克（Dan Novak）。
Words in This Story
bleach — n. whiten by exposure to sunlight or by a chemical process.
erosion — n. the gradual destruction of something by natural forces
tourism — n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure
diversity — n. the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc.
facility — n. something that is built for a specific purpose
stress — n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc.
resilient — adj. able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens
sewage — n. waste material that is carried away from homes and other buildings in a system of pipes
emission — n. the act of producing or sending out something from a source
