美科学家研究蜜蜂数量减少的原因一托福阅读机经背景.docxVIP

智课网TOEFL备考资料 美科学家研究蜜蜂数量减少的原因一托福阅读机经背景   Volunteers equipped with nothing more than digital cameras are taking part in an unusual bee hunt.  一些只带着数码相机的义工正在参与一项不寻常的环境研究。  Its part of an environmental study that has amateur photographers documenting the impact of climate change, pollution and other factors on the interplay between plants and the creatures that pollinate them.  这个“寻觅蜜蜂计划”要求业余摄影家们记录下气候变化、污染和其它因素对植物和传播花粉的蜜蜂之间相互作用所造成的影响。  Freeze frame  Bees pollinate $10 billion worth of fruits, nuts and a variety of row crops each year in the United States.  在美国，蜜蜂每年为价值100亿美元的果实、坚果和其它作物传授花粉。  Yet recent declines in the population of these essential insects threaten the lucrative agricultural industry.  可是，最近蜜蜂数量的减少，威胁到这些收益良好的农副产品的生产。  Sam Droege, a researcher at the US Geological Surveys Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab, is examining possible causes for the bee decline. Working with an online environmental encyclopedia called, Discover Life, Droege has helped organize the Bee Hunt study.  为了找出导致蜜蜂数量下降的可能原因，德罗基利用网上环境百科全书“发现生命”，组织起一个叫作“寻找蜜蜂”的研究项目。  Bee hunters across the United States take pictures of pollinators and the plants they pollinate, and then upload them to the Discover Life website. The online database keeps track of trends in pollinator populations that show the effects of climate change, pollution or invasive species.  美国各地的寻蜂者拍摄传授花粉的昆虫和接受花粉传授的植物照片，并且将这些照片上载到“发现生命”网站。网路资料追踪因为气候变化、污染或外来物种入侵造成的传授花粉昆虫数量的变化趋势。  Tracking pollinator populations  Droeges lab is filled with boxes of dead bees at various stages of identification, but the part of his job he seems to really enjoy is being outside hunting for live bees.  山姆·德罗基的实验室里摆满了盒子，里面装着不同时期死亡的蜜蜂。这是他为美国地质调查局的“本土蜜蜂清查监测实验室”所做的工作。在这个工作当中，他最喜欢的是到野外寻找活着的蜜蜂。  After a short, bumpy car ride, Droege stops at a small grassy field filled with milkweed, Canada thistle and bees. He feel