By the end of the century, if not sooner, the world’s oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate, according to a new study.
根据一项新研究，到本世纪末，如果不是更早的话，由于气候变暖，世界海洋将变得更蓝更绿。

At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms（海洋微生物）called phytoplankton. Because of the way light reflects off the organisms, these phytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colour varies from green to blue, depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas, while reducing it in other spots, leading to changes in the ocean’s appearance.
这一现象的核心是微小的海洋微生物，称为浮游植物。由于光线从这些生物体反射的方式，这些浮游植物在海洋表面形成了多彩的图案。海洋颜色从绿色变化到蓝色，这取决于浮游植物的类型和浓度。气候变化将在某些地区促进浮游植物的生长，而在其他地区减少它，从而导致海洋外观的变化。

Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface, where they pull carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）into the ocean while giving off oxygen. When these organisms die, they bury carbon in the deep ocean, an important process that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerable to the ocean’s warming trend. Warming changes key characteristics of the ocean and can affect phytoplankton growth, since they need not only sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow, but also nutrients.
浮游植物生活在海洋表面，它们将二氧化碳吸入海洋，同时释放氧气。当这些生物死亡时，它们将碳埋藏在深海中，这是一个重要的帮助调节全球气候的过程。但是，浮游植物容易受到海洋变暖趋势的影响。变暖改变了海洋的关键特征，并可能影响浮游植物的生长，因为它们不仅需要阳光和二氧化碳来生长，还需要营养。

Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a scientist in MIT’s Center for Global Change Science, built a climate model that projects changes to the oceans throughout the century. In a world that warms up by 3℃, it found that multiple changes to the colour of the oceans would occur. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplankton could become even bluer. But in some waters, such as those of the Arctic, a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton, and these areas will turn greener. ＂Not only are the quantities of phytoplankton in the ocean changing,＂she said, ＂but the type of phytoplankton is changing. ＂
麻省理工学院全球变化科学中心的科学家斯蒂芬妮·杜特基维奇建立了一个气候模型，预测整个世纪的海洋变化。在一个升温3℃的世界中，模型发现海洋颜色会发生多种变化。模型预测，目前含有少量浮游植物的蓝色区域可能会变得更蓝。但在一些水域，如北极，变暖将使条件更适合浮游植物生长，这些区域将变得更绿。“不仅海洋中浮游植物的数量在变化，”她说，“而且浮游植物的类型也在变化。”

And why does that matter? Phytoplankton are the base of the food web. If certain kinds begin to disappear from the ocean, Dutkiewicz said, ＂it will change the type of fish that will be able to survive.＂ Those kinds of changes could affect the food chain.
为什么这很重要？浮游植物是食物网的基础。如果某些种类开始从海洋消失，杜特基维奇说，“它将改变能够生存的鱼类类型。”这些变化可能会影响食物链。

Whatever colour changes the ocean experiences in the coming decades will probably be too gradual and unnoticeable, but they could mean significant changes. ＂It’ll be a while before we can statistically show that the changes are happening because of climate change,＂ Dutkiewicz said, ＂but the change in the colour of the ocean will be one of the early warning signals that we really have changed our planet.＂
在未来几十年中，无论海洋经历的颜色变化多么渐进和难以察觉，但它们可能意味着重大的变化。“在我们能够统计证明这些变化是由气候变化引起的之前，还需要一段时间，”杜特基维奇说，“但海洋颜色的变化将是我们真正改变了我们星球的早期预警信号之一。”

1. What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?
   A. The various patterns at the ocean surface.
   B. The cause of the changes in ocean colour.
   C. The way light reflects off marine organisms.
   D. The efforts to fuel the growth of phytoplankton.
   答案：B

2. What does the underlined word＂vulnerable＂in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
   A. Sensitive. B. Beneficial. C. Significant. D. Unnoticeable.
   答案：A

3. What can we learn from the passage?
   A. Phytoplankton play a declining role in the marine ecosystem.
   B. Dutkiewicz’s model aims to project phytoplankton changes.
   C. Phytoplankton have been used to control global climate.
   D. Oceans with more phytoplankton may appear greener.
   答案：D

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?
   A. To assess the consequences of ocean colour changes.
   B. To analyse the composition of the ocean food chain.
   C. To explain the effects of climate change on oceans.
   D. To introduce a new method to study phytoplankton.
   答案：C