New lease of life for endangered animals

題材 體裁動物 說明文 3 5 8 ★★★文章詞數 難度建議用時6分鐘

Several rare wildlife species,whose populations have declined over the years,with some on the edge of extinction,have made a remarkable comeback across China.

The population of giant pandas in the wild has grown from 1,114 to 1,864 over the past four decades,while the crested ibis population has increased from only seven to more than 5,000,according to the white paper.The Asian elephant population in the wild has grown from 180 in the 1980s to about 300 at present,and the wild population of Hainan gibbons has increased from no more than 10 in two groups 40 years ago to 35 in five groups.

A separate report from China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration shows that milu deer,once nowhere to be found in the wild,have grown to around 10,000 in number,mainly living in three conservation bases in Beijing and the provinces of Jiangsu and Hubei.The population of snow leopards in Qinghai Provincehasexpanded to more than 1,800.

“The expanding population of snow leopards(in Qinghai)provides compelling evidence of an improving ecological environment in the region,”says Zhang Dehai,chief engineer of the management bureau of the Sanjiangyuan National Park.Over the past decade,the area of new forests in China has exceeded 70 million hectares and restored 1,200 kilometers of its coastline and 23,000 hectares of seaside wetlands,according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

“Through continuous efforts in fighting pollution,our water quality is getting better,and the coverage of forests is expanding.This provides wild animals with a favorable environment in which to live and reproduce,”says Zhuo Weihua,former director of the department for wildlife and nature reserves.

Recognizing the fundamental role of good ecosystems in preserving biodiversity,China has made incredible efforts to improve biodiversity governance.So far,China has made a positive contribution to the 2020 global biodiversity targets(the Aichi targets)and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

The efforts that China has made in recent decades to protect and conserve biodiversity represent a good model for future work,which other countries can also emulate and learn from,says Mrema.

Reading Check

1.What do the figures in paragraph 2 stress about animals?

A.Their situation.

B.Their scale.

C.Their beauty.

D.Their number.

2.Which animals in Qinghai are evidence of environmental improvement?

A.Giant pandas.

B.Asian elephants.

C.Snow leopards.

D.Crested ibises.

3.What causes some nearly extinct animals'population to increase in China?

A.The hunters have stopped hunting in some areas.

B.The Chinese government has taken strong measures.

C.1,200 kilometers of China's coastline was restored.

D.New forest coverage has exceeded 70 million hectares.

Language Study

Difficult sentence in the text

Recognizing the fundamental role of good ecosystems in preserving biodiversity,China has made incredible efforts to improve biodiversity governance.認識到良好的生態系統在保護生物多樣性方面的根本作用，中國在提升生物多樣性治理水平方面做出了令人難以置信的努力。

【點石成金】recognizing的邏輯主語是China，表示主動，作原因狀語。