外研版选修二册第五单元听力练习

Unit 5 A delicate world

Fred: Hey Carol, how was your vacation in Australia?

Carol: It was awesome, Fred. But one thing stood out for me – the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland. It is vast, about 2,600 kilometres long, with beautiful coral and thousands of different kinds of fish.

Fred: Sounds wonderful.

Carol: Yes, it was… but there's a problem – the reef is dying.

Fred: What! You must be kidding! I have seen TV programmes about the reef. It looked fine to me.

Carol: It's a fact! Some parts of the reef seem to be thriving, but in many places the coral has been damaged by rising levels of acidity in the sea water. This causes the coral to dissolve.

Fred: I don't believe it! I had no idea that the coral could be damaged like this.

Carol: I'm afraid it's true. Plus, climate change is a big problem. According to statistics, just a one-degree Celsius rise in sea temperatures leads to coral losing its beautiful colours. It becomes bleached, which means it goes white.

Fred: Are you sure about this, Carol? I haven't heard about this at all.

Carol: Check it out for yourself online. The coral is now also endangered by an invasion of a nasty starfish called the Crown of Thorns. Apparently, it no longer has any natural predators and can eat huge amounts of coral every day.

Fred: This all sounds terrible! What can be done about this problem?

Carol: Well, don't forget that the reef attracts over two million tourists a year, who also can damage the coral by breaking off pieces of coral for souvenirs or damaging it when diving. But, visiting the reef is also an opportunity for people like me to learn more about this fabulous ecosystem, and tourist money can be used to fund research into effective ways to protect the reef.