2022年10月30日 VOA慢速英语：美国称气候变化正在威胁帝企鹅

 
The U.S. wildlife agency says Antarctica's emperor penguins are now threatened because of the effects of climate change.
美国野生动物机构​​表示，由于气候变化的影响，南极洲的帝企鹅现在受到威胁。
 
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently issued a warning that the species is in danger of disappearing, or becoming extinct, if steps are not taken to protect it.
美国鱼类和野生动物管理局最近发出警告，如果不采取措施保护该物种，该物种将面临消失或灭绝的危险。
 
The declaration officially calls for protections of emperor penguins under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
该宣言正式呼吁根据《濒危物种法》（ESA）保护帝企鹅。
 
The flightless seabirds are native to Antarctica. But the U.S. agency said warming oceans linked to climate change have harmed the penguins' sea ice environment. The animals need sea ice to reproduce, hunt for food and avoid other creatures.
不会飞的海鸟原产于南极洲。但美国机构表示，与气候变化有关的海洋变暖已经损害了企鹅的海冰环境。这些动物需要海冰来繁殖、寻找食物并避开其他生物。
 
Martha Williams is the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She said in a statement the listing of emperor penguins on the ESA demonstrates a "growing extinction crisis" affecting many species worldwide.
玛莎威廉姆斯是美国鱼类和野生动物管理局局长。她在一份声明中说，帝企鹅在欧空局的名单显示出影响全球许多物种的“日益严重的灭绝危机”。
 
"The listing of the emperor penguin serves as an alarm bell, but also a call to action," Williams said.
“帝企鹅的上市既是敲响了警钟，也是行动的号召，”威廉姆斯说。
 
The wildlife agency said a major examination of available evidence suggests the penguins are not currently in danger of extinction. However, if carbon emissions continue to rise, temperatures will as well, leading to more sea ice destruction. This harm could result in the emperor penguins disappearing "in the foreseeable future," the agency said.
野生动物机构​​表示，对现有证据的重大检查表明企鹅目前没有灭绝的危险。然而，如果碳排放量继续上升，温度也会上升，导致更多的海冰破坏。该机构表示，这种伤害可能导致帝企鹅“在可预见的未来”消失。
 
 
The agency's declaration followed a 2011 request by the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity to list the penguins under the ESA.
该机构的声明是在环境组织生物多样性中心 2011 年要求将企鹅列入 ESA 的要求之后发表的。
 
Climate change has reduced reproduction rates in emperor colonies, the agency said. One example is the Halley Bay colony in the Weddell Sea, the second-largest emperor penguin colony in the world. Officials say several years of poor ice conditions in areas around the colony led to the drowning of all newborn penguins beginning in 2016.
该机构表示，气候变化降低了皇帝殖民地的繁殖率。一个例子是威德尔海的哈雷湾栖息地，它是世界上第二大帝企鹅栖息地。官员们表示，从 2016 年开始，该殖民地周围地区数年恶劣的冰层条件导致所有新生企鹅溺水身亡。
 
The endangered declaration is designed to improve international cooperation for conservation efforts and increase financial assistance. The action also requires federal agencies in the United States to take steps to reduce extinction threats.
濒危宣言旨在改善保护工作的国际合作并增加财政援助。该行动还要求美国的联邦机构采取措施减少灭绝威胁。
 
Shaye Wolf is the climate science director for the U.S.-based Center for Biological Diversity. She told Reuters news agency she sees the U.S. declaration as a warning that emperor penguins need "urgent climate action" in order to survive.
Shaye Wolf 是美国生物多样性中心的气候科学主任。她告诉路透社，她将美国的声明视为帝企鹅需要“紧急气候行动”才能生存的警告。
 
"The penguin's very existence depends on whether our government takes strong action now to cut climate-heating fossil fuels and prevent irreversible damage to life on Earth," Wolf said.
“企鹅的存在取决于我们的政府现在是否采取强有力的行动来减少气候变暖的化石燃料并防止对地球上的生命造成不可逆转的损害，”沃尔夫说。
 
 
The 1973 Endangered Species Act is credited with bringing several animals back from the danger of extinction. These include grizzly bears, bald eagles, gray whales and others. Some drilling and mining industries have opposed the act because it can halt development in areas considered necessary for species survival.
1973 年的《濒危物种法》被认为使几种动物摆脱了灭绝的危险。其中包括灰熊、秃鹰、灰鲸等。一些钻井和采矿业反对该法案，因为它可能会阻止物种生存所必需的地区的发展。