Emperor penguins could disappear by the end of the century

湖北宜昌天問國際學校 王 晶

Emperor penguins are the largest of the 19 penguin species.“The Emperor penguin is certainly the most iconic of the penguin species,” said Dyan deNapoli, penguin expert and author of The Great Penguin Rescue.“It is the most visually impressive of the penguin species, and is very well-known by millions of people, who fell in love with the species after seeing the award-winning documentary, March of the Penguins.” Emperor penguins are also the hardiest penguin species: They live on the coldest,driest, and windiest place on the planet and breed during the harsh Antarctic winter, when the temperatures can drop to 100 degrees F and the winds can blow 100 mph.

Despite all that, a new study predicts that if climate change continues, most Emperor penguins may disappear by the end of the century.“If global climate keeps warming at the current rate,we expect Emperor penguins in Antarctica to experience an 86 percent decline by the year 2100,”said Stephanie Jenouvrier, a lead author on the paper that was published in Global Change Biology.“At that point, it is very unlikely for them to bounce back.” Jenouvrier and a team of researchers created a global climate model that forecasts when and where sea ice forms and a model of penguin populations to see how colonies may respond to varying sea ice in future climate footprints.However, if countries meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, Emperor penguins would decline by a less drastic 31 percent.

As with most of the penguin species on Earth today, the number one threat to their survival is global warming.Both poles (the Arctic and the Antarctic) have experienced the greatest increases in temperatures over the last 50 years, notes deNapoli.The second threat to most penguin species today is the overfishing of their food supplies.

DeNapoli notes that there has been a decrease in the amount of sea ice formation in the regions of Antarctica where some Emperor penguins establish colonies to breed and raise their babies.“Many Emperor penguins breed on ice shelves that only form during the Antarctic winter.There have been times in recent years when the ice shelves have melted back faster or sooner than usual.Many of the babies haven't completely fledged into their waterproof feathers by the time the ice melts back to the colony, and they are forced into the cold ocean waters, where they die of cold exposure or drowning,”said deNapoli.Another thing that less sea ice definitely affects is food for the penguins.“One of their food sources is krill, and the sea-ice shelves serve as a nursery for the krill.The krill larvae feed on the algae that grow on the underside of the sea ice.When there is less sea ice, fewer krill are produced,” deNapoli explained.

“People can donate to organizations that are working to protect Emperor penguins and other penguin species, and our oceans in general,” says deNapoli.Reducing your impact on the environment, in particular, is something you can do—you can make these tiny changes to lower your carbon footprint every day.“You can also be mindful about reducing seafood consumption as overfishing is the second greatest threat to nearly every penguin species today.Also, avoid using supplements and other products that contain krill or krill oil,” noted deNapoli.

閱讀自測

1.Why are Emperor penguins the hardiest penguin species?

A.Their appearances are ugly.

B.Their living environment is tough.

C.Their breeding process is too long.

D.Their food sources are quite limited.

2.Why was the global climate model created?

A.To forecast when and where sea ice forms.

B.To predict the climate change in the future.

C.To monitor the changes of penguins' population.

D.To see penguins' response to climate footprints.

3.What's the biggest threat to penguins' survival?

A.Cold weather.

B.A lack of food.

C.Global warming.

D.Water pollution.

4.Where do most Emperor penguins breed?

A.In ice caves.

B.On ice shelves.

C.In ocean waters.

D.On the underside of the sea ice.

文本探究

探究視角1：語篇分析

Structure Paragraph（s） Main idea(s)Introduction Paragraph 1 ●Emperor penguins are the largest and hardiest penguin species.Topic Paragraph 2 ●Most Emperor penguins may disappear by the end of the century.Reasons Paragraph 3～4●The number one threat to their survival is global warming.●Another threat to most penguin species today is the overfishing of their food supplies.Advice Paragraph 5●Donate to organizations that are working to protect Emperor penguins.●Reduce your impact on the environment.●Reduce seafood consumption.

本文是一篇說明文，解析帝企鵝即將滅絕的原因，并提出相關建議。說明文是客觀說明事物的一種文體，目的在于給人以知識，或說明事物的狀態、性質、功能，或闡述事理。根據說明對象的不同可分為事理說明文和事物說明文。事理說明文旨在說明事因、物因；事物說明文旨在介紹某一事物的特征。本文為事理說明文。該文章的篇章結構如下：

探究視角2：語言學習

Ⅰ.文本填空

1.Emperor penguins are the ________(large) of the 19 penguin species.

2.It is well-known by millions of people, ________fell in love with the species after seeing the award-winning documentary, March of the Penguins.

3.Despite all that, a new study predicts that if climate change continues, most Emperor penguins may________(appear) by the end of the century.

4.If global climate keeps warming, we expect Emperor penguins in Antarctica ________(experience)an 86 percent decline by the year 2100.

5.In recent years the ice shelves have melted back faster or sooner ________usual.

6.One of their food sources _________(be) krill, and the sea-ice shelves serve as a nursery for the krill.

7.Reducing your impact ________the environment, in particular, is something you can do—you can make these tiny changes to lower your carbon footprint every day.

8.You can also be mindful about_________(reduce) seafood consumption as overfishing is the second greatest threat to nearly every penguin species today.

Ⅱ.寫作推薦

Despite all that, a new study predicts that if climate change continues, most Emperor penguins may disappear by the end of the century.盡管如此，一項新的研究預測，如果氣候變化持續下去，大多數帝企鵝可能在21世紀末消失。

【信息提取】despite是介詞，意為“不管；盡管”，后面常跟名詞和動詞-ing形式。

【句式仿寫】盡管病得很重，他還是來參加了會議。

探究視角3：文化拓展

電影《帝企鵝日記》

這部影片于2005年1月26日在法國上映。在一片冰川、荒涼孤寂的南極洲上，生存著一群不畏寒冷的族類：帝企鵝。在這終年寒冷的地方，每年三月便開始進入寒冬，并將持續九個月的時間。于是每年的三月，成千上萬的帝企鵝離開它們的海洋家園，以輕巧的動作躍上岸，一開始以圓滾滾的肚皮在地面滑行數10米，最終用蹣跚的雙腳在冰面上行走。為了尋找一個安全的環境繁衍后代和生存，帝企鵝們不得不放棄海里的悠然生活，冒著昏天黑地的冰風暴，踉踉蹌蹌、如嬰兒學步一般開始一段漫長而艱辛的旅程。

白天越來越短，氣候也越來越惡劣，雌性企鵝會停下來一段時間生蛋。之后，筋疲力盡的它們還不能休息，必須要立即啟程繼續趕路，然后返回大海尋找食物并恢復體力。而企鵝爸爸則會留下來保護那些珍貴的企鵝蛋，它們將蛋孵在自己的腳掌上面以保持溫暖……水盡糧絕的境遇下，這種看起來柔弱、笨拙的動物卻表現出了頑強的生命力。