2 . The world’s coral reefs do more for the planet than provide underwater beauty. They protect shorelines from the effects of hurricanes. An estimated 500 million people earn their livelihood from the fishing stocks and tourism opportunities reefs provide. The tiny animals that give rise to reefs are even offering hope for new drugs to treat cancer and other diseases.
Despite their importance, warming waters, pollution, ocean acidification, overfishing, and physical destruction are killing coral reefs around the world. So now scientists around the world are looking for all kinds of ways to protect and maybe even revive(复苏) corals. In the Bahamas, Ross Cunning, a research biologist at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, is focusing on corals with genes that could make them natural candidates for restoration projects. He recently published a study of two Bahamian reefs, one that seemed to survive an intense 2015 heat wave, and one that didn’t.“It sets the stage to find out which genes are responsible for thermal tolerance,” says Cunning, adding that he hopes discovering those genes will help scientists one day breed more heat-tolerant coral.
In Massachusetts, Cohen’s research has found two key elements that seem to protect corals. The first: internal(内部的) waves beneath the ocean’s surface that bring cooler currents to heat-struck corals, essentially air-conditioning them as temperatures rise. The second: adaptation, a quality that corals found in Palau’s warm lagoons(环礁湖) seem to display.On average, these lagoons submerge(淹没) coral in water that is two degrees Celsius warmer than the water outside the lagoons. “We think the fact that they can deal with these higher temperatures is built into their genetics and allows them to deal with the heat waves.”
She’s also found evidence of corals evolving more quickly in the past two decades to withstand rapidly warming temperatures. The big question scientists are now enquiring into, says Cohen, is whether there’s a cap on how much more heat corals can adapt to. Cohen calls these regions with heat-adapted corals as “super reefs,” and like Friendlander, advocates for using marine reserves to protect them.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?
| A．The protection for coral reefs |
| B．The great value of coral reefs. |
| C．The benefits for tourism from coral reefs. |
| D．The relationship between animals and coral reefs. |
2. What can be inferred from Cunning’s coral research?
| A．Cooling down the waters is the key to their success. |
| B．Some corals have been genetically improved successfully. |
| C．He expects to identify the genes of the heat-tolerant corals. |
| D．Some corals that survived 2015 heat wave surprised people. |
3. What is the focus of the study to save corals according to Cohen?
| A．How corals survive in the warm lagoons. |
| B．What are the key elements to protect corals. |
| C．How they can use natural reserves to protect corals. |
| D．What is the high temperature limit of the surviving corals. |
4. Which section is the text probably taken from?
| A．Science. | B．Environment. | C．Animal. | D．Climate. |
