世界上最大的海草生態系統

浙江 李 暢

主題語境：海洋生物 篇幅：336詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1Seagrass meadows（海草草甸）are wonder plants growing beneath the sea.They feed and shelter sea life and are masterful at storing carbon.Thanks to the assistance of tiger sharks, a huge seagrass meadow in the Bahamas Banks was recently discovered, offering the world a tool to fight climate change.

2Seagrass has usually been detected by Earth-orbiting satellites that identify darker patches in the blue water.In this study, tiger sharks were selected as research tools due to their highly consistent associations with seagrass ecosystems.They spend 72% of their time in seagrass meadows.The team equipped eight tiger sharks with satellite tags,seven sharks with camera tags,and used a 360-degree camera on a shark for the first time ever.

3The data researchers collected was astonishing.The world's largest seagrass ecosystem,measuring at least 66,900 square kilometers,has been discovered.This reflects a 41%increase from the previous estimate of global seagrass.Seagrass can capture（捕獲）huge quantities of carbon by photosynthesis (光合作用) and store it on the seafloor.In terms of climate change, this is excellent news.Seagrass is 35 times faster at removing carbon than tropical rainforests.When referred to global seagrass carbon stock estimates, the study indicates that seagrass in the Bahamas may contain 19.2% to 26.3% of all the carbon stored in seagrass meadows on Earth.

4Yet seagrass meadows are rapidly disappearing,with over 92%of meadows in the UK gone, according to the World Wildlife Fund.Scientists are collecting seeds and trying to grow new seagrass meadows through restoration projects.This new discovery offers optimism and proves the importance of the ocean for healing.

5The sharks led us to the seagrass ecosystem in the Bahamas, which we now know is likely the most significant blue carbon sink on the planet.What this discovery shows us is that ocean exploration and research are essential for a healthy future.The untapped potential of the ocean is limitless.These meadows can be protected and can be copied, offering hope for fighting climate change around the globe.

Reading Check

Language Study

Ⅰ.Difficult sentence in the text

When referred to global seagrass carbon stock estimates, the study indicates that seagrass in the Bahamas may contain 19.2% to 26.3% of all the carbon stored in seagrass meadows on Earth.當提到全球海草碳儲量估算時，該研究表明，巴哈馬的海草可能含有的碳量是地球上海草草甸儲存的所有碳的19.2%～26.3%。

【點石成金】本句中，When 引導的是時間狀語從句，that 引導的是賓語從句，主句是the study indicates...on Earth。

Ⅱ.Text-centered chunks

Earth-orbiting satellite 地球軌道衛星

huge quantities of 大量的

in terms of 在……方面；就……而言

tropical rainforest 熱帶雨林

refer to 涉及；參考

global seagrass carbon stock 全球海草碳儲量

blue carbon sink 藍色碳匯