在秋冬季節，大霧天氣很常見。最近，科學家發現海邊的霧裏含有一種有毒物質——汞，已經影響了沿海地區動物的健康。
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（神經毒素） can be carried in fog, deposited on land, and found within the food chain.
California /ˌkælɪˈfɔːniə/ n. 加利福尼亞（美國西部的州）
detect /dɪˈtekt/ v. 監測、檢測
alarming /əˈlɑːmɪŋ/ adj. 令人擔憂的
level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 水平、數量
toxic /ˈtɒksɪk/ adj. 有毒的
mercury /ˈmɜːkjəri/ n. 汞、水銀
coastal /ˈkəʊst(ə)l/ adj. 海邊的、沿海的（由coast加後綴-al變成形容詞）
confirmation /ˌkɒnfəˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 證實（由confirm加後綴-ation變成名詞）
deposit /dɪˈpɒzɪt/ v. 使沉積
food chain 食物鏈
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. 發生
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的後綴-er）
measure /ˈmeʒə(r)/ v. 測量
concentration /ˌkɒns(ə)nˈtreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 濃度
cat /kæt/ n. 貓科動物
system /ˈsɪstəm/ n. 生理系統（比如消化系統、呼吸系統等）
run /rʌn/ v. 是、變得（run deep意思是很嚴重）
A study led by Peter Weiss-Penzias, an environmental toxicologist（毒理學家） who has pioneered the study of pollutants in coastal fog, also found that mercury levels in lichen（苔蘚） 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. 環境的（由environment加後綴-al變成形容詞）
pioneer /ˌpaɪəˈnɪə(r)/ v. 做先鋒、開拓
pollutant /pəˈluːt(ə)nt/ n. 污染物
deer /dɪə(r)/ n. 鹿
significantly /sɪɡˈnɪfɪk(ə)ntli/ adv. 顯著地（由significant加後綴-ly變成副詞）
belt /belt/ n. 地帶
correlation /ˌkɒrəˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 相關性
elevate /ˈelɪveɪt/ v. 提高、升高
source /sɔːs/ n. 來源、源頭
"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（生物累積）, 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. 在場、存在
atmosphere /ˈætməsfɪə(r)/ n. 大氣、空氣
process /ˈprəʊses/ n. 過程
expose /ɪkˈspəʊz/ v. （無防護地）接觸（有害物質）
significant /sɪɡˈnɪfɪk(ə)nt/ adj. 顯著的
trace /treɪs/ n. 微量、痕量
threaten /ˈθret(ə)n/ v. 威脅
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（毒理學） research on fog. Once, while riding his bike along the coast, he thought to himself: "I was riding through this absolute fogstorm（濃霧）, with water dripping（滴落） off my glasses, and I just wondered, 'What's in this stuff?'"
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 數據
recall /rɪˈkɔːl/ v. 回憶、想起
tale /teɪl/ n. 故事
absolute /ˈæbsəluːt/ adj. 絕對的、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. 樣本
run /rʌn/ v. 做（實驗、測試等）
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. 生態系統（由system加上表示生態的前綴eco-）
fairly /ˈfeəli/ adv. 相當地
even /ˈiːv(ə)n/ adj. 均勻的
distribution /ˌdɪstrɪˈbjuːʃ(ə)n/ n. 分佈（由distribute加後綴-ion變成名詞）
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 對（某件不好的事情）負有責任
★ 這句是省略句，完整的句子是：We are to blame.
connect /kəˈnekt/ v. 聯繫、關聯
generate /ˈdʒenəreɪt/ v. 產生
mining /ˈmaɪnɪŋ/ n. 採礦
coal /kəʊl/ n. 煤炭（coal-fired就是燒煤的）
plant /plɑːnt/ n. 工廠（power plant就是發電廠）
global /ˈɡləʊb(ə)l/ adj. 全球的、全世界的
emit /ɪˈmɪt/ v. 排放
affect /əˈfekt/ v. 影響
（如果您發現某些行的最後一個單詞被分成兩半了，請把您使用的瀏覽器升級到最新版本就能正常顯示了。）