The oceans occupy most of the Earth's surface — about 70% — to the point of giving our planet its unmistakable colour.As such, they can tell the state of the Earth's health: to observe them is to know where we stand.
In terms of climate, the warming and acidification of the oceans have harmful consequences for marine life and for land: there is of course the rise in water levels which threatens communities settling along the coasts.There is also a risk that is even more worrying since the oceans are no longer able to perform the climate regulation function that they have long fulfilled.As far as biodiversity（生物多样性）is concerned, the diagnosis is even more alarming.
We are well aware of these interacting crises, in particular thanks to the work of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO.We also know where we must act.However, we still have to reflect matters and cooperate widely in order to manage the unavoidable and prevent the uncorrectable.
COVID-19 affords us this opportunity to come together and set up ambitious programmes of action.This is true for climate; it is true for biodiversity; it is also true for the oceans, as the United Nations Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson, explained: “If there were ever a tide in human affairs that should be taken, this is it.”
It is indeed our responsibility to seize this moment.We must firstly learn more about the depths, which remain largely unknown to us and still hold many secrets that only we can reveal.Secondly, we must give free rein to imagination and innovation, which we need in order to deal with this worrying situation.This is why we have made innovation the theme of 2020 World Oceans Day.We must also seize this moment to sound the alarm, perhaps more widely than we have done so far, because no technical solution can replace a widespread, personal understanding of the threats to the oceans, their mysteries and their beauty.
【小题1】What has made people worried about the oceans according to Paragraph 2?| A．So many living things disappear in the oceans. |
| B．The oceans fail to work properly as they used to. |
| C．Water levels may rise at a fast speed. |
| D．Human activities can't be prevented in a way. |
| A．Place a restriction on. |
| B．Be in possession of. |
| C．Give complete freedom to. |
| D．Pay no attention to. |
