2 56万只帝企鹅即将灭绝：地球最后一块净土正在消失
Virtually all emperor penguins doomed for extinction by 2100 as climate change looms, study finds
研究发现，到 2100 年，几乎所有帝企鹅都注定随着气候变化的逼近而走向灭绝
Nearly all of the world's emperor penguin colonies may 1_____(push) to the brink of extinction by 2100, a new study has found, as the United States moves to list them as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
If climate change continues at its current rate, more than 98% of emperor penguin colonies are expected 2_____( become) quasi-extinct(准灭绝) by the turn of the century. The scientists' near-term predictions were 3_____(equal) grim（不乐观的）: they estimated at least two-thirds of colonies would be quasi-extinct by 2050.
Emperor penguins are the world's 4______(large) penguin species. A study 5______(publish) in 2020 estimated that there are about 280,000 breeding pairs worldwide, nearly all of 6_____ are in Antarctica. The species is especially vulnerable (敏感的)to climate change because, like polar bears in the Arctic, they depend 7_____ sea ice for vital activities 8_____(include) breeding, feeding, and molting(换羽).
An emperor penguin colony in the Antarctic's Weddell Sea was effectively wiped out in 2016 because of record-low sea ice and early ice breakup. More than 10,000 chicks are thought to have drowned when the sea ice broke up 9_____ they were ready to swim.
The emperor penguins 10_____(be) a vital part of the Antarctic food chain, preying on krill, squid, and small fish and providing a source of food for leopard seals and killer whales. "Although they are found in Antarctica, far from human civilization, they live in a delicate balance with their environment, which today is rapidly changing — they have become modern-day canaries(金丝雀)," for the effects of climate change, said Stephanie Jenouvrier, a lead author of the study.
Keys: 1 be pushed 2 to become 3 equally 4 largest 5 published 6 which 7 on 8 including 9 before 10 are
