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Australias Great Barrier Reef， home to over 1，500 fish species and countless other sea animals， is in trouble. Rising ocean temperatures have destroyed about half of its coral since 1998. Now， some scientists are hoping that a gigantic piece of pumice（浮石） stone currently floating towards Australia will aid in the recovery of the worlds largest coral reef system.
The massive sheet of stones， which stretches out 58 square miles—about the size of Washington， D.C.—was first spotted by Shannon Lenz on August 9， 2019 who was sailing through a pumice field. A few days later， on August 17， Michael and Larissa Hoult， an Australian couple sailing to Fiji， reported encountering “a sheet made up of pumice stones from marble to basketball size and water wasnt visible on it”， on their Facebook page. The couple later told CNN that theyd been at sea for 10 days when they saw the floating stone.
The floating sheet is believed to have been created by an underwater volcanic explosion recorded by NASA Earth Observatory satellites near Tonga in early August. The porous（多孔） stones， which are being pulled towards Australia by the ocean currents at speeds of about 10?30 kilometers per day， are fascinating to observe. However， what makes the raft invaluable to scientists is the array of organisms which live in the tiny holes.
Scott Bryan， a professor at the Queensland University of Technology， is optimistic that the rocks will sink around the Great Barrier Reef， forcing the dwellers（栖身者） to attach themselves to the reef， allowing for entirely new colonies of coral to grow. However， even if Bryan is right， the rafts ability to restore the Great Barrier Reef may be limited. A 2006 study conducted on a similar pumice stone sheet found thousands of organisms attached to the stones. However， coral polyps（珊瑚虫）， which is important to the reefs restoration， accounted for just 1% of the rock?dwellers. Therefore， instead of pinning their hopes on Mother Nature， humans need to take action now and save the worlds largest coral reef system before its too late.
[阅读检测]
1. What can we infer about the pumice stone from the text？
A. Its a beautiful tourist attraction.
B. It was discovered unexpectedly.
C. Its as large as the capital of the US.
D. It was finally identified by a couple.
2. Why is the pumice stone considered to be able to restore Australias Great Barrier Reef？
A. It is floating towards Australia.
The massive sheet of stones， which stretches out 58 square miles—about the size of Washington， D.C.—was first spotted by Shannon Lenz on August 9， 2019 who was sailing through a pumice field. A few days later， on August 17， Michael and Larissa Hoult， an Australian couple sailing to Fiji， reported encountering “a sheet made up of pumice stones from marble to basketball size and water wasnt visible on it”， on their Facebook page. The couple later told CNN that theyd been at sea for 10 days when they saw the floating stone.
The floating sheet is believed to have been created by an underwater volcanic explosion recorded by NASA Earth Observatory satellites near Tonga in early August. The porous（多孔） stones， which are being pulled towards Australia by the ocean currents at speeds of about 10?30 kilometers per day， are fascinating to observe. However， what makes the raft invaluable to scientists is the array of organisms which live in the tiny holes.
Scott Bryan， a professor at the Queensland University of Technology， is optimistic that the rocks will sink around the Great Barrier Reef， forcing the dwellers（栖身者） to attach themselves to the reef， allowing for entirely new colonies of coral to grow. However， even if Bryan is right， the rafts ability to restore the Great Barrier Reef may be limited. A 2006 study conducted on a similar pumice stone sheet found thousands of organisms attached to the stones. However， coral polyps（珊瑚虫）， which is important to the reefs restoration， accounted for just 1% of the rock?dwellers. Therefore， instead of pinning their hopes on Mother Nature， humans need to take action now and save the worlds largest coral reef system before its too late.
[阅读检测]
1. What can we infer about the pumice stone from the text？
A. Its a beautiful tourist attraction.
B. It was discovered unexpectedly.
C. Its as large as the capital of the US.
D. It was finally identified by a couple.
2. Why is the pumice stone considered to be able to restore Australias Great Barrier Reef？
A. It is floating towards Australia.