在秋冬季节，大雾天气很常见。最近，科学家发现海边的雾里含有一种有毒物质——汞，已经影响了沿海地区动物的健康。
The toxic coastal fog
by Bryan Nelson
A new study out of the University of California, Santa Cruz, has detected alarming levels of toxic mercury in California's coastal fog. The research is just the latest confirmation that this neurotoxin（神经毒素） can be carried in fog, deposited on land, and found within the food chain.
California /ˌkælɪˈfɔːniə/ n. 加利福尼亚（美国西部的州）
detect /dɪˈtekt/ v. 监测、检测
alarming /əˈlɑːmɪŋ/ adj. 令人担忧的
level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 水平、数量
toxic /ˈtɒksɪk/ adj. 有毒的
mercury /ˈmɜːkjəri/ n. 汞、水银
coastal /ˈkəʊst(ə)l/ adj. 海边的、沿海的（由coast加后缀-al变成形容词）
confirmation /ˌkɒnfəˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 证实（由confirm加后缀-ation变成名词）
deposit /dɪˈpɒzɪt/ v. 使沉积
food chain 食物链
The first warning sign occurred when researchers studying mountain lions in California's Santa Cruz Mountains measured dangerous concentrations of mercury in the cats' systems. A deeper look found that mercury contamination（污染） in coastal environments runs far deeper than just what was found in the lions, though.
occur /əˈkɜː(r)/ v. 发生
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
measure /ˈmeʒə(r)/ v. 测量
concentration /ˌkɒns(ə)nˈtreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 浓度
cat /kæt/ n. 猫科动物
system /ˈsɪstəm/ n. 生理系统（比如消化系统、呼吸系统等）
run /rʌn/ v. 是、变得（run deep意思是很严重）
A study led by Peter Weiss-Penzias, an environmental toxicologist（毒理学家） who has pioneered the study of pollutants in coastal fog, also found that mercury levels in lichen（苔藓） and deer were significantly higher inside the fog belt than beyond it. The correlation of elevated mercury levels with the fog zone made the source of the toxin（毒素） obvious: it was in the fog.
environmental /ɪnˌvaɪr(ə)nˈment(ə)l/ adj. 环境的（由environment加后缀-al变成形容词）
pioneer /ˌpaɪəˈnɪə(r)/ v. 做先锋、开拓
pollutant /pəˈluːt(ə)nt/ n. 污染物
deer /dɪə(r)/ n. 鹿
significantly /sɪɡˈnɪfɪk(ə)ntli/ adv. 显著地（由significant加后缀-ly变成副词）
belt /belt/ n. 地带
correlation /ˌkɒrəˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 相关性
elevate /ˈelɪveɪt/ v. 提高、升高
source /sɔːs/ n. 来源、源头
"Lichen don't have any roots so the presence of elevated methylmercury（甲基汞） in lichen must come from the atmosphere," said Weiss-Penzias. The lichen get eaten by the deer, which get eaten by the mountain lions. Due to a process known as bioaccumulation（生物累积）, by the time the mountain lions get exposed, the mercury has been magnified（放大） by a significant degree. What begins as trace amounts of methylmercury in tiny water droplets（微液滴） floating through the air, becomes life-threatening levels of deadly neurotoxin.
root /ruːt/ n. 根
presence /ˈprez(ə)ns/ n. 在场、存在
atmosphere /ˈætməsfɪə(r)/ n. 大气、空气
process /ˈprəʊses/ n. 过程
expose /ɪkˈspəʊz/ v. （无防护地）接触（有害物质）
significant /sɪɡˈnɪfɪk(ə)nt/ adj. 显著的
trace /treɪs/ n. 微量、痕量
threaten /ˈθret(ə)n/ v. 威胁
deadly /ˈdedli/ adj. 致命的、致死的
In collecting data for this study, Weiss-Penzias recalled of his own tale and what led him into doing toxicology（毒理学） research on fog. Once, while riding his bike along the coast, he thought to himself: "I was riding through this absolute fogstorm（浓雾）, with water dripping（滴落） off my glasses, and I just wondered, 'What's in this stuff?'"
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据
recall /rɪˈkɔːl/ v. 回忆、想起
tale /teɪl/ n. 故事
absolute /ˈæbsəluːt/ adj. 绝对的、完全的
When he collected samples and brought them into the lab for testing, the results surprised everyone. "The lab called me, saying they'd have to re-run the tests, because they didn't believe the numbers," he recalled.
sample /ˈsɑːmp(ə)l/ n. 样本
run /rʌn/ v. 做（实验、测试等）
While this latest study was performed on California's coastal ecosystems, researchers warn that what they found there can likely be found in coastal fog around the world. That's because the source of mercury in coastal fog is the ocean, and the world's oceans have a fairly even distribution of this toxin across the planet.
perform /pəˈfɔːm/ v. 做（某事）
ecosystem /ˈiːkəʊˌsɪstəm/ n. 生态系统（由system加上表示生态的前缀eco-）
fairly /ˈfeəli/ adv. 相当地
even /ˈiːv(ə)n/ adj. 均匀的
distribution /ˌdɪstrɪˈbjuːʃ(ə)n/ n. 分布（由distribute加后缀-ion变成名词）
The oceans aren't to blame, though. We are.★ The increased amount of mercury found in our oceans is directly connected with an increased amount of pollution generated from mining and coal-fired power plants around the world. "Mercury is a global pollutant," explained Weiss-Penzias. "What's emitted in China can affect the United States just as much as what's emitted in the United States."
be to blame 对（某件不好的事情）负有责任
★ 这句是省略句，完整的句子是：We are to blame.
connect /kəˈnekt/ v. 联系、关联
generate /ˈdʒenəreɪt/ v. 产生
mining /ˈmaɪnɪŋ/ n. 采矿
coal /kəʊl/ n. 煤炭（coal-fired就是烧煤的）
plant /plɑːnt/ n. 工厂（power plant就是发电厂）
global /ˈɡləʊb(ə)l/ adj. 全球的、全世界的
emit /ɪˈmɪt/ v. 排放
affect /əˈfekt/ v. 影响
（如果您发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，请把您使用的浏览器升级到最新版本就能正常显示了。）
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