科学家们发现，全球变暖给南极洲带来了变化，正因如此，帝企鹅一年一度羽毛完全脱落再重新生长的过程变得危机重重。  

In order to survive the cold, emperor penguins must remain on platforms of sea ice for long enough every year to replace weather-beaten feathers with new waterproof coats. Little was known about what is called catastrophic moulting until researchers at the British Antarctic Survey looked at satellite pictures of the frozen continent and spotted brown smudges. They realised they were mounds of feathers. But global warming is now rapidly changing Antarctica. 

为了在严寒中生存，帝企鹅每年必须在海冰平台上停留足够长的时间，以将历经风雨的羽毛换成一套全新的防水 “大衣”。此前，人们对帝企鹅这种被称为 “灾难性换羽” 的过程知之甚少，直到英国南极调查局的研究人员看了这片冰封大陆的卫星照片时，发现了一些棕色的斑块。他们意识到这些斑点其实是堆积如山的羽毛。不过，全球变暖正在迅速改变着南极洲。

Satellite images show that after summer sea ice shrank dramatically in 2022 and 23, there were fewer smudges, suggesting many penguins had died in West Antarctica. There is hope that some move to safer ice, but it is another sign of how climate change is endangering some of the world's most vulnerable animals.

卫星图像显示，自夏季海冰于 2022 年和 2023 年大规模缩小之后，棕色斑块的数量有所减少，这表明西南极洲的许多企鹅可能已经死亡。虽然人们仍希望部分企鹅能迁移到更安全的冰面上，但这一迹象再次表明，气候变化正危及世界上一些最脆弱的动物的生存。

词汇表

platforms 平台
weather-beaten 受风吹雨打的
waterproof 防水的
catastrophic 灾难性的
moulting （鸟类或动物）换羽，脱毛
spotted 发现了
smudges 斑块，污痕
mounds 堆，堆积物
shrank 缩小了
endangering 危害，让…处于危险之中
vulnerable 脆弱的，易受伤害的

听力练习

一、听第一遍音频，回答问题。

1. What do penguins lose every year? 

二、用一分钟阅读下列问题，然后听第二遍音频并回答问题。

1. Where do penguins stay to grow new feathers?
a. in the sea
b. on sea ice
c. on the frozen continent

2. What is important about the new feathers?
a. They are brown.
b. They are weather-beaten.
c. They are waterproof.

3. What important thing did scientists notice on satellite images?
a. penguins
b. feathers
c. ice

4. Scientists think climate change has caused penguins to die.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

三、听第三遍音频，将句子补充完整。（提示：可以反复听，直到听清楚每一个词）

1. ________________ survive the cold, emperor penguins must remain on platforms of sea ice for long enough every year to replace weather-beaten feathers with new waterproof coats. 

2. ________________ about what is called catastrophic moulting until researchers at the British Antarctic Survey looked at satellite pictures of the frozen continent and spotted brown smudges.

答案

一、听第一遍音频，回答问题。

1. What do penguins lose every year?

Penguins lose their feathers every year.

二、用一分钟阅读下列问题，然后听第二遍音频并回答问题。

1. b. In order to survive the cold, Emperor penguins must remain on platforms of sea ice for long enough every year to replace weather-beaten feathers with new waterproof coats.

2. c. In order to survive the cold, emperor penguins must remain on platforms of sea ice for long enough every year to replace weather-beaten feathers with new waterproof coats.

3. b. Little was known about what is called catastrophic moulting until researchers at the British Antarctic Survey looked at satellite pictures of the frozen continent and spotted brown smudges. They realised they were mounds of feathers.

4. a. True. Satellite images show that after summer sea ice shrank dramatically in 2022 and 2023, there were fewer smudges, suggesting many penguins had died in West Antarctica.

三、听第三遍音频，将句子补充完整。（提示：可以反复听，直到听清楚每一个词）

1. In order to survive the cold, emperor penguins must remain on platforms of sea ice for long enough every year to replace weather-beaten feathers with new waterproof coats.

2. Little was known about what is called catastrophic moulting until researchers at the British Antarctic Survey looked at satellite pictures of the frozen continent and spotted brown smudges.