Loss of older trees continues around the world
古树在世界各地持续消亡
For scientists, the loss of older trees and tropical rainforests is a double blow to life on Earth. As well as storing massive amounts of carbon, they're hotspots of biodiversity as the homes of orangutans, jaguars, and tigers.
对科学家们来说，古老树木和热带雨林的消失是对地球生命的一个双重打击。除了储存大量的碳以外，古老树木和热带雨林还是生物多样性热点地区，是红毛猩猩、美洲豹和老虎的家园。
According to the new data, these primary forests continue to be destroyed at alarming rates. Brazil accounted for over a third of all losses last year, with deforestation for agriculture the main motive.
据新数据显示，这些原始森林持续以惊人的速度遭到毁坏。去年，巴西原始森林损失的比例占所有损失的三分之一以上，其主要缘由是为了农业生产砍伐森林。
The end of 2019 also saw dramatic fires in Australia leading to a sixfold increase in the total number of trees lost compared to 2018.
2019年底，澳大利亚也发生了严重森林火灾，导致树木损失总数比2018年增加了六倍。
词汇
tropical rainforests
热带雨林
a double blow
双重打击
hotspots
热点地区
biodiversity
生物多样性
orangutans
红毛猩猩
jaguars
美洲豹
primary
原始的
deforestation
滥砍滥伐森林
motive
缘由，动机
dramatic
严重的，剧烈的