‘They have schedules to follow’: how fast ferries can threaten endangered whales in the...
Listen to Course
0:00
0:00
EN: The present perfect tense ('has found') is used with reporting verbs to introduce recent research or investigative findings that have current relevance. It connects the past action to the present state of knowledge.
A new study has shown that sleep quality directly affects memory.
EN: The conjunction 'that' introduces a noun clause functioning as the direct object of the transitive verb 'found'. Inside the clause, a complete subordinate sentence ('fast ferries often travel...') is embedded.
Scientists discovered that the ocean temperatures were rising steadily.
EN: The Guardian is a major British daily newspaper known for its rigorous investigative journalism and environmental reporting. Investigative pieces often hold corporations and governments accountable on ecological crises.
EN: Reduced relative clause using a past participle: 'run by...' modifies the subject noun 'Ships', functioning as a shorter alternative to 'which were run by...'.
Buses operated by the city council run every ten minutes.
EN: Passive voice in past tense ('were recorded'): used when the focus is on the action being observed/documented rather than who recorded it.
Temperatures were recorded at historic highs last summer.
EN: A 'knot' is a standard unit of speed used in maritime and aviation navigation, equal to one nautical mile per hour (approximately 1.852 km/h or 1.15 mph). In whale conservation zones, vessels are often urged to slow down under 10 knots to drastically reduce fatal strikes.
EN: "Even though" is a subordinating conjunction used to introduce a clause of concession or contrast, emphasizing an unexpected contrast between two facts (stronger than 'although').
He continued driving even though the road was covered in ice.
EN: "Which includes..." is a non-defining relative clause set off by a comma. It provides extra, non-essential information about the antecedent "the area".
We visited the local museum, which houses many ancient artifacts.
EN: The Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals is a specially protected marine area covering parts of French, Monegasque, and Italian waters. Designed to safeguard whales and dolphins, it recommends speed limits for maritime traffic, though enforcement is often challenging.
EN: The structure 'be unlikely to + infinitive' is used to express that something has a low probability of happening. 'Likely' or 'unlikely' act as predicative adjectives here.
The weather is unlikely to improve before tomorrow morning.
EN: The conjunction 'but' coordinates two independent clauses showing contrast between high-speed collisions and low-speed strikes.
He studied very hard, but he failed to pass the final examination.
EN: In maritime contexts, speed is measured in 'knots' (nautical miles per hour, where 1 knot ≈ 1.852 km/h or 1.15 mph). Marine conservation regulations commonly use 10 knots as a crucial safety threshold because scientific studies show whale collision mortality drops significantly below this speed.
EN: The present perfect tense ('have been') combined with the adverb 'long' indicates a state or situation that started in the past and continues to be true up to the present moment.
Plastic pollution has long been a serious threat to marine life.
EN: Stacked noun modifiers: 'a leading human cause of death' uses 'leading' (participial adjective meaning principal/major), 'human' (noun functioning as an adjective), and 'cause' to describe the primary factor responsible for fatalities caused by humans.
Habitat loss is a leading cause of species extinction.
EN: The Mediterranean Sea is one of the world's busiest shipping corridors, overlapping significantly with critical cetacean feeding and breeding grounds such as the Pelagos Sanctuary. International conservation bodies frequently campaign for mandatory vessel speed restrictions, as ship strikes are globally recognized as a catastrophic threat to recovering whale populations.
EN: Prepositional phrases indicating time (e.g., 'During a recent research trip') often appear at the beginning of a sentence as introductory adverbials, setting the background before the main clause. They are typically set off by a comma.
During the morning meeting, the manager announced the new project guidelines.
EN: The preposition 'with' can introduce a descriptive prepositional phrase functioning as an adjectival post-modifier, meaning 'having' or 'bearing' a specific characteristic (e.g., 'a sperm whale with an injury').
The scientist observed a bird with unusual blue feathers.
EN: In English journalism, professions or titles without an article frequently precede personal names (e.g., 'marine biologist Alice Barbarioli' rather than 'the marine biologist...'). This journalistic convention is known as a 'false title' or 'appositive title,' used to introduce sources concisely.
EN: The prepositional phrase 'Given...' means 'taking into account' or 'considering'. Here, it introduces an embedded question clause functioning as its object: 'how precise the mark is' (wh-word + adjective + subject + verb), which preserves normal declarative word order rather than inversion.
Given how bad the weather is, we should cancel the trip.
EN: The phrase 'the result of [noun]' is used to explain causation or the consequence of an event or action.
His success was the result of years of hard work.
EN: In scientific reporting, researchers frequently use hedges like 'probably' or conditional framing ('Given...') rather than stating absolutes. This reflects scientific rigor, ensuring statements remain accurately grounded strictly in observational evidence.
Key vocabulary words with IPA pronunciation, definitions, example sentences, and interactive quizzes.
Phrases with type tags, bilingual definitions, usage notes, and example sentences.
to reduce speed or become less active
a collision between a vessel and a marine animal, especially a whale
the specific injury, condition, or event that results in death
the outcome, consequence, or effect caused by something