媒體英語(yǔ)
England's hedges would go around Earth ten times英格蘭樹籬總長(zhǎng)度可繞地球十圈
新研究顯示，英格蘭的所有樹籬連起來(lái)共有39萬(wàn)公里長(zhǎng)。生態(tài)學(xué)家們希望這個(gè)新數(shù)據(jù)能使樹籬得到更好的保護(hù)，因?yàn)樗鼈儾粌H可以為野生動(dòng)物提供食物和住所，還能吸收并儲(chǔ)存大量的碳。
The researchers say if you joined up all the hedgerows in England, they would stretch almost ten times around the Earth. Their map, which is based on laser scanning hedges from the air rather than scaling up information from field surveys, gives a more complete picture of the quality and quantity of hedgerows across the country.
研究人員們說(shuō)，如果你把英格蘭所有的樹籬連起來(lái)，得到的長(zhǎng)度可以繞地球近十圈。研究人員使用的地圖是基于從空中對(duì)樹籬進(jìn)行激光掃描繪制而成的，不是靠擴(kuò)大實(shí)地調(diào)查得到的信息制成的，因此更全面地反映了英格蘭各地樹籬的質(zhì)量及數(shù)量。
The South West boasts the most hedges, led by Cornwall. Excluding big urban areas such as London and Merseyside, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire are the counties with the least.
英格蘭西南部擁有的樹籬數(shù)量最多，其中康沃爾郡排在首位。除去倫敦、默西塞德等大城市地區(qū)，薩里郡、漢普郡和伯克郡擁有的樹籬數(shù)量最少。
The scientists hope their new data will help restore a vital habitat for wildlife that also stores large amounts of carbon. Thousands of miles of hedgerows have been lost since the 1950s to intensive farming and development. And the government has set ambitious new targets to reverse this decline.
科學(xué)家們希望新數(shù)據(jù)將有助于使樹籬恢復(fù)生機(jī)，它不僅是野生動(dòng)物的重要棲息地，還能吸收并儲(chǔ)存大量的碳。自20世紀(jì)50年代以來(lái)，由于集約型農(nóng)業(yè)和土地開(kāi)發(fā)，數(shù)千英里的樹籬已經(jīng)消失不見(jiàn)。為了扭轉(zhuǎn)樹籬數(shù)量減少的趨勢(shì)，英國(guó)政府已定下一系列重大的生態(tài)保護(hù)新目標(biāo)。
詞匯表
joined up 連起來(lái)，連接
hedgerows （尤指田間或路邊的）樹籬
laser scanning 激光掃描
scaling up （按比例）擴(kuò)大
field surveys 野外調(diào)查，實(shí)地考察
boasts 擁有（值得自豪的事物）
counties 郡
restore 修復(fù)，使恢復(fù)
reverse 扭轉(zhuǎn)
閱讀理解：請(qǐng)?jiān)谧x完上文后，回答下列問(wèn)題。
1.How did the researchers map the hedges?
2.True or False? Cornwall has the fewest hedges.
3.Why do researchers want to protect the hedges?
4.Why have thousands of miles of hedgerows been lost since the 1950s?
答案
1.How did the researchers map the hedges?
The researchers used laser scanning to map the hedges.
2.True or False? Cornwall has the fewest hedges.
False. Cornwall has the most hedges.
3.Why do researchers want to protect the hedges?
The researchers want to protect the hedges because they provide a vital habitat for wildlife and store large amounts of carbon.
4.Why have thousands of miles of hedgerows been lost since the 1950s?
Thousands of miles of hedgerows have been lost since the 1950s due to intense farming and development.
