A Spanish project is attempting to 3D print coral reefs (珊瑚礁) to provide habitat for fish and protection for beaches and coastal communities at risk from rising seas and other damage.
Coral reefs are massively decreasing globally, and some scientists say we could lose 70-90% of our reefs due to warming ocean waters. That has all kinds of serious consequences because a quarter of the world’s fish live in and around reefs, reefs are critically important protectors of beach communities threatened by high waves and tides, and they support a massive amount of biodiversity. That led marine biologist Lizzie Fane and her co-founder Alfred Martel, a computer scientist, to start Coastruction, a non-profit organization.
“Even if you start on a small scale (规模) ... a square kilometer already, it could have a great impact,” Martel says. “It could really protect a coast, a beach, or an area where there is a community living and they need protection because the sea is rising.”
Being able to 3D print is important, because you match individual sites. Every location is different with different coral species. “It’s like everybody has a different house,” Fane says. “You can take into account habitat requirements of not just the coral but also the fish that live nearby.”
Their current technology can print various shapes. The result can be an amazingly natural-looking man-made rock with plenty of corners for both coral and other fish to attach themselves and make homes.
The Coastruction founders don’t think they can possibly meet the global demand, so their goal is to provide the tools — like the 3D printer — for local people and design the technology to use cheap and locally-available materials to create the artificial coral reefs. No high temperatures or chemical additives are required, and any loose powder or sand material not used in one print will be used in the next. The 3D printer works on-site, so there’s no transport of finished blocks required.
28. What does the underlined word “That” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.The biodiversity of coral reefs. |
B.The reduction in coral species. |
C.The protection coral reefs provide. |
D.The loss of global coral reefs. |
29. What do Martel’s words imply?
A.3D-printed reefs can hardly save oceans. |
B.Small actions can make a lot of difference. |
C.Small-scale production of reefs is a drop in the ocean. |
D.3D-printed reefs fail to provide perfect fish habitat. |
30. What do we know about the current 3D reef printing?
A.It can just print regular-shaped reefs. |
B.It can use any material to produce reefs. |
C.It can create life-like reefs. |
D.It can meet the global demand for reefs. |
31. What is one goal of the Coastruction founders?
A.Adapting their technology to local conditions. |
B.Putting their reefs into mass production. |
C.Transporting finished reefs to where they are needed. |
D.Adding chemicals to reefs to make them colorful. |