Coral Reefs

Coral Reefs, written by Paula Schricker. Focus question, what are coral reefs and why are they being protected?

《珊瑚礁》，葆拉·施里克著 探究问题：什么是珊瑚礁，人们为什么要保护它们？

Introduction. Earth's tropical oceans contain places of wonder and beauty known as coral reefs. These huge undersea communities are home to thousands of living things. Day and night animals hunt, eat, and avoid being eaten. They depend on each other for food, shelter, and safety. Almost one fourth of all ocean plants and animals live around coral reefs. Fish, sea turtles, sea stars, and many other animals make reefs their home. Visitors include seabirds and dolphins.

介绍 地球的热带海洋里，藏着神奇又美丽的珊瑚礁。 这些庞大的海底群落，是成千上万种生物的家园。 不论白天黑夜，动物们都在这里觅食、进食，躲避天敌。 它们彼此依赖，获取食物、住所和安全庇护。 将近四分之一的海洋动植物都生活在珊瑚礁周边。 鱼儿、海龟、海星还有许多动物都把珊瑚礁当家。 海鸟和海豚也会造访这里。

What is coral? At first glance, coral may look like oddly shaped rocks or plants. Corals are actually tiny animals called polyps. Most polyps are smaller than a pea. One branch or mound of coral can have thousands of polyps. Each polyp has a tube -like body and a mouth with tiny tentacles. Polyps are eating machines. At night, they open their tentacles to catch tiny animals. Hundreds of kinds of corals live in the ocean. Most are one of two kinds. Hard corals, also known as stony corals, form hard skeletons. Over time, many millions of these hard skeletons build up and form reefs.

珊瑚是什么？ 乍一看，珊瑚就像形状奇怪的岩石或者植物。 其实珊瑚是叫做水螅体的微小动物。 大多数水螅体比豌豆还要小。 一小枝、一小块珊瑚里就可能有成千上万只水螅体。 每只水螅体都长着管状身体，嘴巴边还有细小的触手。 水螅体天生就是捕食小能手。 到了夜晚，它们会张开触手捕捉微小生物。 海洋里生活着几百种珊瑚。 它们大多可以分成两类。 硬珊瑚也叫石珊瑚，会长出坚硬的骨骼。 久而久之，数百万个硬骨骼不断堆积，就形成了珊瑚礁。

Most stony corals live together with algae. Algae are simple cousins of plants. They supply food for the corals and for many reef fish. Soft corals can bend with the currents. They often look like trees, bushes, or other plants. Algae live in the bodies of some, but not all, soft corals.

大多数石珊瑚都和藻类共生在一起。 藻类是结构简单的原始植物类生物。 它们给珊瑚和许多礁区鱼类提供食物。 软珊瑚可以顺着海流弯曲摆动。 它们常常长得像树木、灌木或是其他植物。 部分软珊瑚体内有藻类共生，但不是全部都有。

busy underwater community. Most people think of brightly colored fish when they think about coral reefs and with good reason. Thousands of kinds of fish live on reefs. The reefs provide them with food. Reefs also protect them from animals that hunt them for food. Shrimp, lobsters, and crabs also find food at reefs. Sea stars catch small animals that hide among the coral branches. Sea anemones, which look like flowers, wait for their next meal to drift past.

热闹的海底群落。 大多数人想到珊瑚礁，都会想起色彩缤纷的鱼儿，这可不是没有道理的。 成千上万种鱼儿都生活在珊瑚礁里。 珊瑚礁给它们提供食物。 还能帮它们躲避捕食自己的天敌。 虾、龙虾和螃蟹也会在珊瑚礁觅食。 海星会捕捉藏在珊瑚枝缝隙里的小动物。 长得像花儿一样的海葵，会等着下一顿猎物漂过身旁。

Coral reefs support thousands of kinds of living things. They are important in other ways, too. Reefs help protect coasts from storms and floods. By keeping soil in place, they protect coasts from erosion. Coral reefs also feed and shelter animals that provide much of the world's seafood. They help many countries bring in money and have food to eat. Also, reef plants and animals are used in medicines.

珊瑚礁养育着成千上万种生物。 除此之外，它们还有很多重要作用。 珊瑚礁能保护海岸，免受风暴和洪水的冲击。 它们固定土壤，避免海岸被侵蚀。 珊瑚礁还给很多能供应全球海鲜的动物提供食物和住所。 它们帮助很多国家获得收入，保障粮食供给。 另外，礁区的动植物还能用来制作药物。