卫报双语精读TG-2023-05-21期考研英语杂志英文外刊|鸟类数量仍在下跌
Bird numbers still falling with Britain on course to miss its own wildlife targets
鸟类数量仍在下跌，英国可能无法实现自己设定的野生动植物保护目标
【1】Bird populations in the UK continue to crash, new data shows, as campaigners predict the government will fail to meet its own nature targets unless radical changes are made.statistics released by the government show that bird populations continue to decline in the long and short term. In 2021, on average the abundance of 130 breeding species was 12% below its 1970 value. Though much of this loss was between the late 1970s and the late 1980s, caused mostly by relatively steep declines in woodland and farmland birds, there was still a 5% decrease between 2015 and 2020.Between 2015 and 2020, 24% of species increased, 28% showed little change and 48% declined. woodland birds continue to fare the worst, with a 12% decline.Wildlife experts agree that the decline in bird populations is largely driven by habitat loss.
新的统计数据显示，英国的鸟类数量持续下降，活动人士预测，除非做出彻底的改变，否则政府将无法实现保护自然环境的目标。政府公布的统计数字表明，从长期和短期来看，鸟类的数量都在持续下降。2021年，130种有繁殖能力的物种的平均丰度比1970年低12%。尽管由于林地和农田鸟类的相对数量急剧减少，这一平均丰度下降大多发生在70年代末至80年代末间，但其在2015-2020年间仍减少了5%。2015 - 2020年间，24%的物种的丰度增加，28%的物种的丰度变化不大，48%的物种的丰度下降。林地鸟类的情况最为糟糕，下降了12%。野生动植物专家一致认为，鸟类数量减少主要由栖息地丧失导致。
【2】The government passed the Environment Act into law in 2021, which requires a halt in species decline by 2030. campaigners have said that radical changes to government policy are needed if it is to meet its own legally binding targets.The problems were highlighted by the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch this year, in which house sparrows remained the most frequently observed species in gardens for the 20th year in a row.According to participants in the survey , about 1.5m house sparrows were seen in gardens between 27 and 29 January this year. Th is figure has dropped by nearly 60% since the survey began in 1979.
2021年，英国政府通过了《环境法案》（Environment Act），该法律要求到2030年阻止物种数下降。活动人士表示，如果要实现这一具有法律约束力的目标，政府政策就需要进行彻底改革。英国皇家鸟类保护协会（RSPB）今年的大花园鸟类观鸟活动（Big Garden Birdwatch）就突显出了这些问题，在花园鸟中，家麻雀连续20年来一直是花园中最常见到的物种。根据调查参与者的说法，今年1月27日至29日期间，大约有150万只麻雀出现在花园里。自1979年开始调查以来，这一数字下降了近60%。
【3】“The numbers speak for themselves when it comes to the startling declines of some of our once common birds,” said Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s chief executive. “They no longer have the abundance across the UK that they used to have. We are in a nature and climate emergency and we’ve lost 38m birds from our skies in the past 50 years.”This year, more than 500,000 people took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, and more than 9m birds were spotted. The results also identified problems faced by other common bird species, including chaffinches and greenfinches.
“那些本来常见的物种，其数量正以惊人的程度下降，对于这一点，数字本身就说明了一切。”英国皇家鸟类保护协会首席执行官贝西·斯佩特（Beccy Speight）说，“这些物种在英国的数量不再像过去那样多了。我们的自然和气候条件正处于紧急状态，在过去的50年里，我们失去了3800万只鸟类。”今年，50多万人参加了“大花园观鸟”活动，观察到了900多万只鸟类。这一结果也说明了苍头燕雀和绿翅雀等其他常见鸟类所面临的问题。
【4】Richard Benwell, the chief executive of the environmental coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link , said: “As political parties turn their sights to the general election, they would do well to heed the warning written into today’s wild bird statistics. The decline of nature has continued, relentless and unabated, for decades.“Meeting the legally binding target to stop wildlife losses by the end of the next parliament can’t be achieved with a legal tweak here, some spare change there. Serious, sustained investment, proper penalties for pollution, and action in every sphere of government must be the hallmarks of any nature-positive manifesto.”
环境联盟“野生动植物和乡村联系”（Wildlife and Countryside Link）的首席执行官理查德·本威尔（Richard Benwell）说：“随着各政党将目光转向大选，他们最好要注意到目前野生鸟类统计数据所发出的警告。”几十年来，大自然在持续衰退，残酷无情且势头不减。“要想在下一届议会更替前实现这一具有法律效力的目标，即阻止野生动植物数量下降，这里调整一下法律不靠谱，那里变通一下也不可行。相反，真正有用的是认真正经、可持续的投资，对污染者的适当惩罚，以及政府各个领域的行动，而且所有声称积极保护自然的宣言都应将这一点置于重要位置。”
【5】Dr Richard Gregory, the RSPB’s head of science , said: “Everyone should be concerned that UK bird populations are continuing to decline as this is a crucial indicator of the condition of our environment and health of our natural world. We cannot keep publishing report after report charting the decline of the UK’s wildlife without UK governments delivering on their commitments to take urgent action to restore nature and halt wildlife decline.“We are in a nature and climate emergency, and we need urgent action to keep common species common and save those already on the brink of being lost. ”He pointed out that the UK is “among the most nature-depleted countries in the world, bottom of the table compared to the rest of the G7” .
皇家鸟类保护协会的科学主管查德·格雷戈里博士（Dr Richard Gregory）说：“每个人都应该关注英国鸟类数量的持续下降，因为这是表明环境状况和自然界健康状况的一个关键指标。如果英国政府不履行承诺、不采取紧急行动来恢复自然、阻止野生动物数量下降，那么我们继续发布一份又一份报告来展示英国野生动物数量下降也没有意义。我们的自然和气候正处于紧急状态，因此我们需要采取紧急行动，避免常见物种变得不再常见，拯救那些已经处于灭绝边缘的物种。”他指出，英国是“世界上自然资源消耗最严重的国家之一，在七国集团中排名垫底”。
【6】The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “Bird populations have long been considered to provide a good indicationof the broad state of wildlife in the UK. This is because they occupy a wide range of habitats and respond to environmental pressures that also operate on other groups of wildlife.“In addition, there are considerable long-term data on trends in bird populations, allowing for comparison between trends in the short term and long term. Because they are a wellstudied taxonomic group, drivers of change for birds are better understood than for other species groups, which enable better interpretation of any observed changes.”A spokesperson for Defra said: “Under the environmental improvementplan, we set out clear steps to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and improve the status of wild birds and other species which play an important role in our ecosystems. We are already taking robust action to reduce key pressures on wild birds and improve their habitats. ”
英国环境、食品和农村事务部（Defra）表示：“长期以来，鸟类数量一直被认为是一个反映英国野生动植物总体状况的良好指标。这是因为其栖息地分布广泛，对同时影响其他野生动植物的环境压力也能做出反应。此外，还有大量关于鸟类种群发展趋势的长期数据，这些数据可以用于比较鸟类种群短期和长期的发展趋势。因为它们是一个已经得到良好研究的物种分类，而且与其他物种群体相比，促使鸟类产生变化的因素更容易理解，这也使得我们可以更好地解释任何观察到的变化。”Defra的一位发言人说：“根据环境改善计划，我们制定了明确的措施，从而能到2030年阻止物种丰富度下降，以改善野生鸟类和其他物种的生存状况，这些物种对我们的生态系统非常重要。我们已经采取了强有力的措施来减少野生鸟类面临的主要压力，并改善它们的栖息地环境。”
段落大意：
【1】英国鸟类数量持续下降，除非做出彻底改变，否则英国将无法实现其保护自然的目标。
【2】2021年，英国政府通过了《环境法》，该法律要求到2030年阻止物种数下降。
【3】过去常见的物种出现了大幅度下降，我们的自然气候条件正处于紧急状态。
【4】认真正经、可持续的投资，对污染者的适当惩罚，以及政府各个领域的行动才能真正解决问题。
【5】英国鸟类数量是表明环境状况和自然界健康状况的一个关键指标，应当引起我们关注。
【6】鸟类已经得到良好研究，是研究野生动植物的重要研究对象。Defra称已制定了明确的措施来改善野生动植物的生存状况。
短语：
1）原文：Bird populations in the UK continue to crash, new data shows, as campaigners predict the government will fail to meet its own nature targets unless radical changes are made.
词典：fail to 未能做
例句：Some schools fail to require any homework.
有些学校没有布置任何家庭作业。
2）原文：The problems were highlighted by the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch this year, in which house sparrows remained the most frequently observed species in gardens for the 20th year in a row.
词典：in a row 连续
例句：This is her third win in a row.
这是她连续获得的第三次胜利。
3）原文：This is because they occupy a wide range of habitats and respond to environmental pressures that also operate on other groups of wildlife.
词典：respond to 对……反应
例句：The world community has been slow to respond to the crisis.
国际社会对该危机的反应向来迟缓。
词典：operate on 对……起作用
例句：Other commands that operate on the file system are unaffected by views.
其他命令操作文件系统，它们不受视图影响。
长难句分析：
一、原文：
Dr Richard Gregory, the RSPB’s head of science , said: “Everyone should be concerned that UK bird populations are continuing to decline as this is a crucial indicator of the condition of our environment and health of our natural world.”
皇家鸟类保护协会的科学主管查德·格雷戈里博士（Dr Richard Gregory）说：“每个人都应该关注英国鸟类数量的持续下降，因为这是表明环境状况和自然界健康状况的一个关键指标。
分析：
l 红色部分是主句，是主谓宾结构，其中宾语是宾语从句，也就是引号内内容。绿色部分是Dr Richard Gregory的同位语。
l 紫色部分是宾语从句的主句。橙色部分是宾语从句中be concerned的宾语从句。
l 蓝色部分是as引导的原因状语从句。
二、原文：
This is because they occupy a wide range of habitats and respond to environmental pressures that also operate on other groups of wildlife.
这是因为其栖息地分布广泛，对同时影响其他野生动植物的环境压力也能做出反应。
分析：
l 红色部分是主句，是主系表结构，其中表语是蓝色部分，即because引导的表语从句。
l 橙色部分是that引导的定语从句，修饰先行词pressures，其中that在从句中充当主语。
背景知识：
《世界鸟类状况》报告描绘了迄今为止最令人担忧的自然界图景，世界上近一半的鸟类物种种群目前正在减少。这份旗舰报告称，在进一步强调我们正处于生物多样性危机之中的同时，它也强调了我们迫切需要的拯救自然的关键解决方案——我们现在迫切需要政治意愿和财政承诺来大规模、快速地实施这些方案。
最新版的《世界鸟类状况》描绘了迄今为止最令人担忧的自然景象。世界上近一半的鸟类物种现在都在减少，只有6%的物种数量在增加。全球八分之一的鸟类物种（即折合1409种鸟类）现在面临着灭绝的威胁。据估计，自1970年以来，仅在北美就损失了近30亿只鸟，而自1980年以来，欧盟地区又损失了6亿只鸟，而欧盟的面积比北美小5倍。尽管这些地区的物种的长期种群数据要全面得多，但有迹象表明，全球其他地方也有类似的灾难性衰退。
“过去的500年来，我们已经丧失了160多个鸟类物种，而且灭绝的速度正在加快，”国际鸟盟的科学家和《世界鸟类状况》的主要作者Lucy Haskell表示。“历史上，大多数鸟类灭绝是在岛屿上；但令人担忧的是，在大尺度的景观规模的栖息地丧失的驱动下，大陆上的鸟类灭绝之潮越来越多。”
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