海灘小屋

馮愛麗

Beach nests help endangered penguins and their chicks

一種新型的白色小屋正從南非的海灘和海岸附近干燥的島嶼上拔地而起，這些白色的海灘小屋正是為來自南大西洋的非洲企鵝提供的臨時的家。

1 A new form of house is popping up along the beaches of South Africa and on the dry islands off its coast—tiny white beach nests. With good ventilation （通風(fēng)） and a sea view， theyre just big enough to fit a family of African penguins which grow up quite well in the cold currents of the South Atlantic Ocean. But when they come to land， their thick black coats absorb the heat， and they desperately look for cover—both for themselves and their fragile eggs.

2 Historically， the penguins dug holes in layers of guano （海鳥糞） that lined Africas penguin colonies， but in the 1800s， traders started selling guano as fertilizer， leaving the penguins and their eggs increasingly exposed to hunters and the burning sun. This， combined with other threats such as egg hunting， overfishing and climate change， has caused African penguin populations to decline sharply. Thats why conservationists have come to the rescue with the African Penguin Nest Project （APNP）， which aims to build artificial nests to give penguin parents a safe and shaded place to raise their chicks.

3 While guano trade gradually disappeared， recreating the layers that accumulated over thousands of years isnt a choice. Seabird populations have declined so much over time， so there are simply not enough birds to recreate it， says Kevin Graham， director of the project. It will take around 600 years to produce one usable guano layer， he adds.

4 Instead， the project decided to build artificial nests which look fairly simple—a round structure made from two molded （模制的） shells with a small entrance measuring about 20 centimeters wide. Graham and other scientists closely studied old guano nests and worked out how to best copy “Mother Nature”.

5 Getting the right temperature and humidity， the nests create an air conditioning effect. “Eggs are extremely delicate. Theyre only to be incubated （孵化） at about 38 to 39 degrees. The project started to build the nests in 2018 and the huts have usage rates of at least 99%，” he explains.

Ⅰ. 日積月累

pop up 突然出現(xiàn)

islands off its coast 沿岸島嶼

come to land 登陸

desperately look for 迫切尋找

be exposed to 暴露在……

come to the/ones rescue 拯救

aim to do sth 力求做到某事

raise the chicks 撫養(yǎng)雛鳥

artificial nests 人造巢穴

work out 解決；想出

usage rate 使用率

Ⅱ. 語法填空

Many white beach nests 1. （build） along the beaches of South Africa and on the dry islands off its coast. Theyre big enough to fit a family of African penguins when they come to land. Now they neednt 2. （desperate） look for shelters for themselves 3. their fragile eggs. Without layers of guano nowadays， the penguins and their eggs may 4. （expose） to hunters and the burning sun. The African Penguin Nest Project 5. （aim） to build artificial 6. （nest） for them 7. （work） out a plan and has come to 8. rescue so far. This will make it possible for penguin parents 9. （raise） their chicks. At present， the huts have 10. （use） rates of at least 99%.