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Passage Two
文章二
An endangered species of whale is experiencing a small baby boom off the coast of America.
一種瀕臨滅絕的鯨魚物種正在美國海岸經(jīng)歷小型生育高峰。
The North Atlantic right whale is one of the rarest species of whale on the planet numbering only about 411.
北大西洋露脊鯨是地球上最稀有的鯨魚物種之一，只有大約411只。
But the Center for Coastal Studies said Friday that its aerial survey team spotted a mom with two babies in Cape Cod Bay a day earlier.
但海岸研究中心周五表示，其航測隊一天前在科德角灣發(fā)現(xiàn)了一位鯨魚母親和兩個鯨魚幼崽。
That brings the number seen in nearby waters alone this year to 3.
這使得今年僅在附近水域發(fā)現(xiàn)的小鯨魚增加到了3只。
That's big news because the whale population has been falling and no baby whales were seen last year.
這是個大新聞，因為鯨魚的數(shù)量一直在下降，去年沒有看到小鯨魚。
In all, seven baby whales have been spotted so far this year.
到目前為止，今年總共有七只小鯨魚被發(fā)現(xiàn)。
The whale population has become endangered due to commercial whaling activities in recent years.
由于近年來的商業(yè)捕鯨活動，鯨魚已經(jīng)瀕臨滅絕。
This is because they are sometimes hunted for their meat or their skin.
人類有時為了它們的肉或皮去獵殺它們。
Over-hunting could lead to the disappearance of the whale population, possibly causing major problems to the global food chain.
過度捕撈可能會導(dǎo)致鯨魚數(shù)量的消失，可能會對全球食物鏈造成重大問題。
The whales give birth off the southeast coast of America in the winter and travel to feeding grounds off the northeast coast in the early spring.
這些鯨魚冬天在美國東南海岸分娩，早春時游到東北海岸的覓食地。
Northeast coast is a critically important source of food.
東北海岸是非常重要的食物來源地。
The animals often feed close to shore.
許多動物經(jīng)常在海岸附近覓食。
This provides watchers on land with unbeatable views of one of the rarest of marine mammals.
這為陸地上的觀察者提供了觀察最罕見海洋哺乳動物的絕佳視角。
It's illegal to get within 1,500 feet of the animals without a federal research permit, so whale watchers are discouraged from attempting to get close to the whales.
在沒有聯(lián)邦研究許可的情況下，接近鯨魚1500英尺以內(nèi)是非法的，所以不鼓勵鯨魚觀察者試圖接近鯨魚。
Questions 19~21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
請根據(jù)你剛剛聽到的短文回答19~21題。
Question 19: What do we learn from the passage about the North Atlantic right whale？
問題19:關(guān)于北大西洋露脊鯨，我們從文章中了解到什么?
Question 20: What has caused the decline of the whale population in recent years?
問題20:是什么導(dǎo)致了近年來鯨魚數(shù)量的下降?
Question 21: Why do whales travel to the northeast coast of America in the early spring?
問題21:為什么鯨魚會在早春的時候游到美國的東北海岸?
