Coralreefs(珊瑚礁)arenotjustbeautifultolookat,butalsoveryuseful.Theyshelternearly
25% ofoceanlifeandprovidefoodforbillionsofpeople.However,likemanyotherspecies,thisamazingecosystem(生态系统)isindangerofdyingout!
Therearetwomainreasonsforthedestruction-therisingcarbondioxidelevelscausedbyglobalwarmingaswellashumaninfluenceslikebottomoperation.Whilenotmuchcanbedoneabouttheformer,thelosscausedbythelattercanbereduced.
Bottomoperationinvolvesdroppingnetstotheoceanbedandthendraggingthemupwhenfilledwithfish.Thisactiondamagedtheoceanfloor,causingthecoralbranchestoseparatefromthereefs.Whilethatisverydiscouraging,thegoodnewsisthatifthesebranchesarefoundquickly,theycanbesaved.Atpresent,thatworkisbeingperformedbyvolunteerdivers.Butthemethodhasonlylimitedsuccessbecausetheycannotstaylongunderwater,norreachdepthsofover200meterswheresomeofthedeep-seacoralgrows.
However,thisisnotthecaseforCoralbots-therobotsthatcanconstantlyseekoutbrokenbranches.Ateamof‘coralbots',eachindividuallyworkingtosimpleruleswillpiecetogetherdamagedbitsofcoral,allowingthemtoregrow.Theyareprogrammedtobeabletodistinguishbetweenotherthingsandthecoral.Therobotsworktogetheringroups,similartobees.Ifonecoralbotisdamagedthentheotherswillstillbeabletocompletethetask.
DrLea-AnneHenrysaid:"Theprojectofusingcoralbotsoffersusthepossibilitytorestore(修复)thefunctionofreefs.Itisinthefinalstageoftesting.Onceready,theresearchershopetobuildhundredsofthemandusethemeffectivelyinthewatersoffScotlandandthenhopefullyintheoceansacrosstheworld."
32.Whichofthefollowingisacauseofthedangerthatcoralreefsarefacing?___
A.Theappearanceofnewcreatures.
B.Theseriouslypollutedseawater.
C.Theactivitiesofvolunteerdivers.
D.Humanactivitieslikebottomoperation.
33.Comparedwithvolunteerdivers,coralbots___.
A.canstaylongerunderwater B.mustworkasbeesdo
C.candistinguishwhatiscoral D.canneverbedamaged
34.Whatdoest