VOA标准英语2010-Underwater Parks Preserve Pristine Califo

Protected marine¹ sanctuaries² lure³ divers⁴, scientists

Rachel Abrams | Point Lobos, California 06 April 2010

Point Lobos State Reserve is a sanctuary⁵ for thousands of sea and shorebirds.

Related Links:

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Edward Weston photography

The nation's oldest underwater reserve is one of nine protected marine areas along the California coast.

While Point Lobos Underwater Reserve is off-limits to fishermen, recreational divers enjoy the park's pristine⁶ conditions while scientists take advantage of the untouched eco-system to measure change over time to the environment.

Pristine conditions

Brandon Smith kneels down on the Point Lobos beach to double-check his SCUBA⁷ gear before he goes in the water. "You have to do everything a specific way every single time," he explains. "You don't want to make mistakes, because the worst time to find out that something's not working is, like, when you're [18 meters] under water."

Brandon Smith and his friends get ready for a dive at Point Lobos.

Smith and his two companions are training to be on the Monterey County Sheriff's dive team, a law enforcement group that recovers criminal evidence from the water. Smith, a recreational diver and police officer, joined the group partly because he has always been fascinated with the ocean.

He says the expansive waters of Point Lobos have appealed to him for years. "It's just beautiful, but just specifically in Point Lobos, it just seems like everything's a little bigger. I never knew that starfish could ever get as big as they get. I mean to see one that's like [60 centimeters] in diameter and it's just cruising along the bottom, it's just kind of like, 'Whoa! Oh my god!' But it's a lot of fun."

He says a dive here is an eye-opening experience.

Luring⁸ scientists

The protected conditions at Point Lobos provide a base line to which researchers can compare data to measure environmental change.

"Without that base line, it's hard for us to try and ascertain⁹ if any of the differences or changes that we see long-term can be attributed, things like environmental change or human-mediated impact," says Dr. Corey Garza, an assistant professor in the division of Science and Environmental Policy at California State University-Monterey Bay.

Point Lobos Underwater Reserve is one of nine protected marine areas along the California coast.

He notes that the biggest threat to these protected underwater areas is people: poachers, boaters who spill oil, even visitors who disrupt the ecosystems¹⁰ by taking home souvenirs. Native Americans, Chinese fishermen and Japanese abalone harvesters have all called this area home at one point or another so, Garza says, the story of the park is also one of the human experience.

"We've changed our use of the environment over time and that's kind of one of the great historic things that marine reserves can do for us, just give us an estimate of how we've sort of changed some of these ecosystems, both through our use of it and in terms of what we're taking out of it."

Educating visitors protects park

Park rangers¹² like Chuck Bancroft help maintain these protected marine areas by enforcing the park's rules, doing a little bit of everything related to the upkeep of the Reserve, and teaching the public about life underwater. Bancroft has worked at Point Lobos for close to 30 years, and loves talking to students about the marine life here and the history of Point Lobos. "To me, the thrill is being able to see things here and then pass it on to another generation," he says.

Ranger¹¹ Chuck Bancroft's job includes enforcing the park's rules and sharing its wonders with visitors.

School groups come here from all around California, and other visitors come from even farther away. "We actually have handouts¹³ in 20 different languages to welcome people from around the world that come to visit here," Bancroft says.

"I remember one evening, I was closing up and a little car comes up and a gentlemen gets out and it turns out he's from Italy. And the only things he can say in English are 'Point Lobos' and 'Edward Weston'." Weston, an American photographer, created some of the magnificent photos of Point Lobos in the 1930s which still attract visitors today.

Preservation¹⁴

California State University's Corey Garza says visitors like these, and divers like Brandon Smith, help make scientific research in the area is possible. "You can't have research and you can't have conservation unless you have a public that's actually invested in conserving¹⁵ that," he points out. "And so those parks actually provide for this educational aspect, as well helping¹⁶ people understand what the marine environment is, what's in there, and why is what you find in there important to them? So that's what I think the real big value of parks are."

Not only has this research added to our understanding of the ocean, it's helped shape government policies. Studies conducted by different institutes around Point Lobos provided the scientific basis for laws which created protected marine areas, including Point Lobos itself, which became a reserve in 1960.

As a diver, Brandon Smith understands the importance of protecting these areas, both for the creatures that live here and the people who enjoy it. "If you're going to learn about the ocean," he says, "there's no better way of learning it than seeing it first-hand."

Conservationists hope that scientists, and respectful visitors, will keep that possible at Point Lobos for years to come.

 

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

3 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

4 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

5 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

6 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

7 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

8 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

9 ascertain   

vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清

参考例句：

• It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。
• We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。

10 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

11 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

12 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

13 handouts   

救济品( handout的名词复数 )； 施舍物； 印刷品； 讲义

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts. 士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Even after losing his job, he was too proud to accept handouts. 甚至在失去工作后，他仍然很骄傲，不愿接受施舍。

14 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

15 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

16 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。