警报！ 过去40年野生动物数量减半

 　　From the forest elephants of Africa, to India’s tigers and even our own harbour seals, wildlife is losing the battle for survival all over the world.

　　无论是非洲森林象、孟加拉虎（又名印度虎）还是斑海豹，世界上所有的野生动物时时刻刻都在面临着生存的威胁。

　　Exotic mammals such as the magnificent big cats are under the greatest threat, but even here in Britain numbers of once-familiar species have collapsed¹.

　　除了诸如大型猫科动物之类的哺乳动物数量稀少外，很多曾经很常见的动物数量也在锐减。

　　And responsible for this dramatic decline is man. In fact, humankind’s ever-growing need for land and resources, coupled with hunting and poaching, has halved² the number of wild animals in world in just 40 years, according to a shocking report. The Living Planet Report by WWF and the Zoological Society of London has found that wildlife populations around the globe have declined by 52 per cent on average since 1970.

　　而人类是造成这种情况的罪魁祸首。根据世界自然基金会和伦敦动物学会最新发布的《地球生命力报告2014》显示，人类对土地、资源日益增长的需求，以及非法猎捕等活动，已经让世界的野生动物数量在40年内减少了一半。该报告称，自1970年，全球野生动物的数量平均减少了52%。

　　警报！ 过去40年野生动物数量减半

　　The authors compiled data on 10,380 animal populations, including 3,038 different species, as an index to judge how global wildlife is faring as a whole.

　　报告的统计数据包括动物总量为10380，涉及3038个种类，以此作为整体判断全球野生动物数量变化趋势的一个索引。

　　It shows that British animals have not escaped the global decline.

　　报告显示英国境内的许多动物数量也在不断减少。

　　The audit³, which is published every two years, found that 90 per cent of corn buntings, a bird once often seen perched on fences, have disappeared from our countryside.

　　该项统计每两年进行一次，今年的统计显示，过去经常栖息在围栏上的一种鸟类---黍鹀，现在已经消失了90%。

　　The number of northern lapwings – another once-familiar sight on farmland – have fallen 60 per cent and grey partridges have halved in number. Harbour seals have declined by 40 per cent in the last decade alone in Orkney and Shetland, killed off by disease and measures to protect salmon⁴ farms.

　　另一种以前常见于乡村的禽类---凤头麦鸡的数量减少了60%，还有，灰山鹑的数量减少了一半。仅在过去十年中，奥克尼郡和设得兰群岛的斑海豹数量就减少了40%，这些斑海豹或者因为疾病或者因为保护鲑鱼养殖场而被杀。

　　The global picture is worst for freshwater creatures such as amphibians⁵, river fish and mammals, with average population declines of 76 per cent between 1970 and 2010, says the latest data available. Land-dwelling animals declined by 39 per cent over the same period and sea creatures fell 39 per cent, the report found.

　　从全球来看，淡水生物如两栖动物、淡水鱼和哺乳动物等的状况更糟，最新数据显示，1970年至2010年间其平均数量减少了76%。报告表明同时期内陆栖动物和海洋生物的数量都减少了39%。

　　The authors said the main threats to wildlife are loss or damage to their habitat and exploitation through hunting and fishing.

　　报告的作者称，野生动物面临的最大威胁来自于人类打猎和捕鱼对动物们的栖息地和活动场所造成的占用和破坏。

　　They also warned that humans are using resources faster than the planet can provide, cutting down forests too quickly, overfishing and pumping out pollution faster than the world can cope with it.同时他们还警告称，人类获取资源的速度已经远远超过了地球可以提供资源的速度，过度伐木、过度捕鱼、过度污染等，都大大超过了地球的承受能力。

　　Professor Ken⁶ Norris, director of science at Zoological Society of London (ZSL), said: ‘The scale of biodiversity loss and damage to the very ecosystems⁷ that are essential to our existence is alarming. This damage is not inevitable⁸, but a consequence of the way we choose to live.’

　　伦敦动物学会的科学总监肯·诺里斯教授说：“生物多样性的不断下降，人类赖以生存的生态环境持续遭到破坏，这都为我们敲响了警钟。这些情况不是不可避免的，只是人类选择的生活方式所导致的。”

1 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

2 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

4 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

5 amphibians   

两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器

参考例句：

• The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
• Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。

6 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

7 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

8 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。