From The Telegraph · 285 words · 3 mins
For a river of such monumental importance – be it strategic, environmental, economic or gastronomic – the Thames is rather overlooked.
According to one survey, 10 per cent of children in the capital have never even seen the river; for those, young or old, who do come into frequent contact, it tends to be a quick walk or bus ride over one of its many bridges, with scant attention to what’s going on underneath.
As the main artery leading to London, the Thames provided its residents with fish, eels and oysters for centuries.
Legend has it that generations ago, Londoners could grab an eel from the water to meet its fate in jelly, so teeming were the waters. But, in 1957, the river was declared “biologically dead”. After centuries of sewage and pollution, large swathes became anoxic – devoid of oxygen and life.
But this year over 100 pups were born in the river; the population of grey and harbour seals is now well over 3,000. Roughly 125 species of fish call the river home again, including two types of shark; there are seahorses and shrimps; otters, too.
There have been reported sightings of osprey as far inland as Beckton, by London City Airport. Would the fish-loving raptor be present if it weren’t for a good supply? From what was a watery wasteland the Thames is thriving once again.
“I think the starting point [of regeneration] is from the Sixties,” says Alison Debney, the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) senior conservation programme manager for UK & Europe, who has led the charity’s monitoring of the Thames over the past 16 years. Debney points to the improvement in sewage treatment as a catalyst for the return of wildlife.
泰晤士河从“荒芜之地”变成野生动物天堂
作为一条具有重大意义的河流——无论是战略上、环境上、经济上还是饮食上— —泰晤士河都被严重忽略了。
一项调查显示，生活在首都 10%的儿童甚至从未见过这条河；对于那些频繁接 触泰晤士河的人来说，不论老少，他们往往只是步履匆匆路过它，或乘公交经过泰晤士河的某座桥上，却很少注意桥下的情况。
作为通往伦敦的主要干道，多年来，泰晤士河一直为居民提供鱼、鳗鱼和牡蛎。
相传，几代人以前，泰晤士河里到处都是鳗鱼，伦敦人可以从水里抓鳗鱼做成鳗 鱼冻“以帮助它完成宿命”。但在 1957 年，这条河却被称为一条“了无生机” 的河流。经过几个世纪的污水污染，大片土地变成缺氧区——没有氧气和生命。
但今年有 100 多只幼崽在这条河里出生; 现在，灰海豹和斑海豹的数量已经超过 3000 只。包括两种鲨鱼在内，大约有 125 种鱼类再次以该河为家；河里还有海 马、小虾和水獭。
据报道，从伦敦城市机场到内陆的贝克顿，都有人目击到鱼鹰。如果没有充足的食物，这种爱鱼的猛禽还会出现吗？因此，多水不毛之地的泰晤士河正再次充满 生机。
在过去的16年里，伦敦动物学会(ZSL)英国和欧洲高级保护项目经理艾莉森德伯尼一直负责监管泰晤士河。他说：“我认为(重建)是从 60 年代开始的。”并指出，改善污水处理是野生动物回归的催化剂。
haven /ˈheɪvn/ n. 安全的地方；保护区
释义：a place that is safe and peaceful where people or animals are protected
例句：The hotel is a haven of peace and tranquility.
辨析：heaven n. 天堂，天国；极乐之地，极乐
· 例句：It was heaven being away from the office for a week.
monumental /ˌmɑːnjuˈmentl/ adj. 重要的；意义深远的；不朽的
释义：very important and having a great influence, especially as the result of years of work
搭配：Gibbon’s monumental work 吉本的不朽著作
近义：historic
· monumental adj. 极大的，巨大的
例句：It had been a monumental blunder to give him the assignment.
gastronomic /ˌɡæstrəˈnɑːmɪk/ adj. 烹饪的；美食的
释义：connected with cooking and eating good food
例句：Paris is the gastronomic capital of the world.
相关：culinary 烹饪的，食物的
· 例句：She was keen to acquire more advanced culinary skills.
scant /skænt/ adj. 一丁点的；微小的；不足的；欠缺的
释义：hardly any; not very much and not as much as there should be
例句：I paid scant attention to what she was saying.
句子主句 10 per cent of children have never even seen the river；who do come into frequent contact 这个定语修饰 those；形式主语 it 引导；后面 with 是伴随状语，to 后面 what 引导宾语从句。
artery /ˈɑːrtəri/ n. 干线（指主要公路、河流、铁路线等）
释义：a large and important road, river, railway/railroad line, etc.
例句：Clarence Street was one of the northbound arteries of the central business district.
· artery n. 动脉
搭配：main/major artery 主动脉
blocked/clogged artery 堵塞的动脉
meet one’s fate 死亡
例句：Like his father, he met his fate on the battlefield.
· meet one’s fate 死于非命、送命、被杀
近义：die an unnatural death
teeming /ˈtiːmɪŋ/ adj. 大量的；充满（移动着的人、动物等）的
释义：present in large numbers; full of people, animals, etc. that are moving around
搭配：the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道
近义：abundant
sewage /ˈsuːɪdʒ/ n. （下水道的）污水，污物
释义：used water and waste substances that are produced by human
bodies, that are carried away from houses and factories through special pipes
例句：Raw/untreated sewage is being pumped into the sea, from where it pollutes our beaches.
搭配：treated sewage 处理过的污水
dump/pump sewage 倾倒污水；排入污水
swathe /swoth/ n. （尤指割了庄稼的）一长条田地
释义：a long strip of land, especially one on which the plants or crops have been cut
搭配：cut a swathe through sth 把（某地的一大片）夷为平地；使 … 大
部分遭受破坏
例句：Development has affected vast swathes of our countryside.
anoxic /æn’ɑksɪk/ adj. 缺氧的
释义：relating to or marked by a severe deficiency of oxygen in tissues or organs.
例句：Just as we are seeing at a smaller scale today, huge parts of the ocean became anoxic at depth.
devoid of 完全没有；缺乏
释义：completely lacking in sth
例句：The letter was devoid of warmth and feeling.
辨析：lack of 缺少
句子：
Legend has it that generations ago, Londoners could grab an eel from the water to meet its fate in jelly, so teeming were the waters.
legend has it that 这个 it 是一个形式成分，真正“相传“的部分在 that 后面；
so teeming were the waters 是一个 so 放在了句首的感叹句，用到了完全倒 装。
pup /pʌp/ n. 幼小动物
释义：a young animal of various species
搭配：a seal pup 一只小海豹
sell/buy a pup 卖给/买到伪劣货
· 例句：I’m wondering whether this really is a genuine Rolex.
Do you think I’ve been sold a pup?
raptor /ˈræptər/ n. 猛禽；攫禽
例句：Raptors are faring especially well in the south, but their numbers are rising in most parts of Britain.
catalyst /ˈkætəlɪst/ n. 促使变化的人；引发变化的因素
释义：a person or thing that causes a change
例句：He said he saw the bank’s role as a catalyst to encourage foreign
direct investment.
近义：activator
反义：anticatalyst 反催化剂