评论
打印
Passage Two
文章二
An endangered species of whale is experiencing a small baby boom off the coast of America.
一种濒临灭绝的鲸鱼物种正在美国海岸经历小型生育高峰。
The North Atlantic right whale is one of the rarest species of whale on the planet numbering only about 411.
北大西洋露脊鲸是地球上最稀有的鲸鱼物种之一，只有大约411只。
But the Center for Coastal Studies said Friday that its aerial survey team spotted a mom with two babies in Cape Cod Bay a day earlier.
但海岸研究中心周五表示，其航测队一天前在科德角湾发现了一位鲸鱼母亲和两个鲸鱼幼崽。
That brings the number seen in nearby waters alone this year to 3.
这使得今年仅在附近水域发现的小鲸鱼增加到了3只。
That's big news because the whale population has been falling and no baby whales were seen last year.
这是个大新闻，因为鲸鱼的数量一直在下降，去年没有看到小鲸鱼。
In all, seven baby whales have been spotted so far this year.
到目前为止，今年总共有七只小鲸鱼被发现。
The whale population has become endangered due to commercial whaling activities in recent years.
由于近年来的商业捕鲸活动，鲸鱼已经濒临灭绝。
This is because they are sometimes hunted for their meat or their skin.
人类有时为了它们的肉或皮去猎杀它们。
Over-hunting could lead to the disappearance of the whale population, possibly causing major problems to the global food chain.
过度捕捞可能会导致鲸鱼数量的消失，可能会对全球食物链造成重大问题。
The whales give birth off the southeast coast of America in the winter and travel to feeding grounds off the northeast coast in the early spring.
这些鲸鱼冬天在美国东南海岸分娩，早春时游到东北海岸的觅食地。
Northeast coast is a critically important source of food.
东北海岸是非常重要的食物来源地。
The animals often feed close to shore.
许多动物经常在海岸附近觅食。
This provides watchers on land with unbeatable views of one of the rarest of marine mammals.
这为陆地上的观察者提供了观察最罕见海洋哺乳动物的绝佳视角。
It's illegal to get within 1,500 feet of the animals without a federal research permit, so whale watchers are discouraged from attempting to get close to the whales.
在没有联邦研究许可的情况下，接近鲸鱼1500英尺以内是非法的，所以不鼓励鲸鱼观察者试图接近鲸鱼。
Questions 19~21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
请根据你刚刚听到的短文回答19~21题。
Question 19: What do we learn from the passage about the North Atlantic right whale？
问题19:关于北大西洋露脊鲸，我们从文章中了解到什么?
Question 20: What has caused the decline of the whale population in recent years?
问题20:是什么导致了近年来鲸鱼数量的下降?
Question 21: Why do whales travel to the northeast coast of America in the early spring?
问题21:为什么鲸鱼会在早春的时候游到美国的东北海岸?
