The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world, home to an incredible diversity of sea life. It's the largest coral reef in the world, covering more than 345,000 square kilometers.
大堡礁是世界七大自然奇观之一，也是蕴育种类多得惊人的海洋生命的摇篮1167+!B23*tTPrk%u_。它是世界上最大的珊瑚礁，在海底面积超过三十四万五千平方公里(*QDof+~4DK)。
But lately, the reef is losing more and more of its living outer layer. That's according to recent research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
但最近，珊瑚礁的活体外层正逐渐消失v7RVwY,jTUDWp@。这是从近期刊登在《美国国家科学院院刊》上的研究得来的ms43[s#OdNqCIf。
Looking back to 1985, scientists found that the number of living polyps has declined from more than 25 percent of the reef's surface to just under 14 percent. Most of that loss has come in the last decade or so in areas where humans live closest to the reef.
追朔到1985年，科学家们发现水螅珊瑚的数量由原来占珊瑚礁表面积的25%降至14%以下poFX5l*wNOKRMZaJRG。其中大多数珊瑚礁是在过去十年间消失的，而且均分布在离人类居住区最近的地方5r%ME|-R(W。
The problem is the number of challenges facing the reef. There's coral bleaching due to the hot temperatures induced by human-caused climate change. There's our sewage and agricultural runoff flowing into the sea. There are even outbreaks of coral-chomping starfish, aided and abetted by human activity.
问题在于珊瑚礁所面临的威胁有多严重lWrGjOGp]0E_T8&。人类活动引起温室效应，气温升高则导致珊瑚礁褪色_pdeVkE=[;1vi5i,。人类不断向大海排放污水和农业废水，甚至还会推波助澜地招来啃食珊瑚的海星群u,jsUz+L5A_(THI-H%。
Not all is lost. The relatively pristine northern end of the reef shows that coral could recover, given the chance. For that to happen, we all will have to do more to combat climate change.
并不是所有的珊瑚礁都在消失Mh,0.m+qdU_KcR=REgsU。相对原始的大堡礁北端显示，只要有条件珊瑚礁是可以恢复的9=z_pbD(A9F*&。为了还原珊瑚礁，我们将采取更多行动来抵抗气候变化U4gEMf^!wqcJ.n。
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