去（2019）年自然界最大的噩耗之一，就是亞馬遜雨林野火肆虐，且持續燃燒的消息。就讓我們藉由閱讀英文新聞，一起重新認識亞馬遜雨林，思考這場還在持續燃燒的大火帶給人類的警示與影響會是什麼，且時事題也常見在多益考題中，看新聞時不妨順便學單字。
一窺亞馬遜雨林的生態物種
The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. Covering over 5.5 million square kilometers, it’s so big that the UK and Ireland would fit into it 17 times.
亞馬遜雨林是世界上最大的熱帶雨林。佔地超過550萬平方公里，它的面積大到可塞下17個英國加上愛爾蘭。
The Amazon is found in South America, spanning across Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. Brazil has 60% of the Amazon, Peru has 13%, and Colombia has 10% while other countries have very small parts of the rainforest within their borders.
亞馬遜位於南美洲，橫跨巴西、玻利維亞、秘魯、厄爾瓜多、哥倫比亞、委內瑞拉、圭亞那、蘇利南、與法屬圭亞那。巴西領土佔森林面積的60%，秘魯佔約13%面積，哥倫比亞佔約10%，而其他國家領土範圍則佔少許。
Running through the north of the rainforest is the Amazon River — a network of many hundreds of waterways that stretches 6,840km. Although there is some debate, most scientists agree that the Amazon is the world’s second longest river after the River Nile.
流經雨林北邊的就是亞馬遜河，是由幾百條支流組起的河域，流域面積長達6,840公里。雖然各界說法爭辯不一，但大多科學界認同亞馬遜河是繼尼羅河之後，世界第二長的河流。
Around 400-500 indigenous Amerindian tribes call the Amazon rainforest home. It’s believed that about fifty of these tribes have never had contact with the outside world.
大約有四百到五百個美洲原住民部落以亞馬遜雨林為家。據說，其中大概有50 個部落從未與外界接觸過。
The Amazon has an incredibly rich ecosystem – there are around 40,000 plant species, 1,300 bird species, 3,000 types of fish, 430 mammals and a whopping 2.5 million different insects.
亞馬遜擁有極其豐富的生態系統。當中約含有四萬種的植物種類、一千三百種鳥類、三千種魚類、四百三十種哺乳類生物，以及兩百五十萬種不同的昆蟲種類。
The Amazon is home to a whole host of fascinating and deadly creatures, including bullet ants, electric eels, flesh eating piranhas, poison dart frogs, jaguars and some seriously venomous snakes.
亞馬遜雨林是許多有趣卻也致命的生物的家，包含子彈蟻、電鰻、食人魚、箭毒蛙、美洲豹以及一些劇毒蛇類。
One fascinating fish found in the Amazon is the pirarucu (also known as the arapaima or paiche). A menacing meat-eater, the pirarucu guzzles up other fish and can grow to nearly 3m long! And what makes it super deadly? It has teeth on the roof of its mouth and on its tongue!
亞馬遜其中一種厲害的魚類則是pirarucu（巨骨舌魚）。巨骨舌魚這可怕的葷食者會吃掉其他魚類，而且可以長到近三公尺長。然而為什麼它這麼危險致命呢？因為它的牙齒長在上顎跟舌頭上。
地球之肺的重要性
This area of immense natural beauty is sometimes referred to as“the lungs of the Earth”. This is because the rich vegetation takes carbon dioxide out of the air, and releases oxygen back in. In fact, more than 20% of the world’s oxygen is produced by the Amazon.
這片廣大的自然之美常被稱之為「地球之肺」，這是因為茂密植被吸收大量二氧化碳且釋放氧氣。事實上，世界上約有超過20%的氧氣是由亞馬遜雨林所製造出來的。
Due to the thickness of the canopy, the Amazon floor is in permanent darkness. In fact, it’s so thick that when it rains, it takes around ten minutes for the water to reach the ground!
因為樹冠層的厚度，亞馬遜雨林的地面層永遠都是暗的。事實上，正因它的厚度之厚，連下雨的時候，雨水流到地面也得花上十分鐘呢！
檢驗學習成效 找出對應的單字意義
1. canopy :____________
2. ecosystem :____________
3. tropical :____________
4. species :____________
5. vegetation :____________
(A) Coming from or existing in the hottest parts of the world.
(B) A group of animals really plants whose members are similar and can breed together to produce young animals or plants.
(C) A layer of something that spreads out and covers an area, for example the branches and leaves that spread out at the top of trees in a forest.
(D) Plants in general, such as trees, and flowers.
(E) All the animals and plants in a particular area, and the way in which they are related to each other and to their environment.
解答：
1. canopy:(C)
2. ecosystem:(E)
3. tropical:(A)
4. species:(B)
5. vegetation:(D)
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