Forest police protect wildlife

四川 蔣建平

森林警察在打擊破壞森林和野生動植物資源違法犯罪方面，發揮了不可替代的作用，同時也遇到了很多的困難。

主題語境：職業 篇幅：359詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1Forest police from Hongtupo Township,Southwest China's Yunnan Province, finished their annual patrol (巡邏) of a famed stopover site and habitat for migratory birds in the Ailao Mountain area.

2Officers with the forest police station of Hongtupo, Nanhua County, enter forests in the Nanhua area of the Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve every September and remain there until the following February, says Zhang Yueping, an instructor with the police station.During their stay, the officers patrol the forests in Dazhong Mountain, deep in the Ailao area to prevent poaching (偷獵) and other wildlife crimes.

3The Hongtupo Forest Police Station, known as“a migratory police station”, was established in 1984 in response to illegal poaching in the mountain.A huge variety of wildlife was hunted to near extinction, according to Zhang.The police station got off to a rough start, with no running water, no phone service, and significant challenges in the delivery of supplies.Initially, the officers had no option but to live in tents.

4It was not until2010that a house was built for the officers at the foot of Dazhong Mountain.Over nearly four decades, forest police in Hongtupo have endured all kinds of harsh conditions to protect wildlife in the mountain.“Skin peeling after bad sunburn,frostbite, sleeping for half a month under a mouldy （發霉的） blanket and hearing bears growl at night are what we've experienced,” says Zhou Piyin, former head of the police station, who worked at the station for eight years.

5Difficult as the journey has been,generations of protection efforts have paid off.Since 2019, zero cases of poaching have been reported.Villagers have also stepped up and created their own forest protection members.

6Over the years, the forests have seen a growing number of birds.During the migration season, birds can be seen flying right over people's heads.“In October, there are birds all over the mountain, which is quite splendid,” says Liu Yan, a female officer with the police station.

7As the ecosystem improves, Zhang says, the police station has been relocated outside the forests to the town, and officers are sent to carry out patrols in the forests during the migration season.

Reading Check

Detail1.What's the responsibility of the forest police station of Hongtupo?

A.To go through the forests.

B.To save endangered species.

C.To protect wildlife in the forests.

D.To stop people cutting down forests.

Inference2.Which of the following can best describe the Hongtupo forest police?

A.Critical.

B.Humorous.

C.Warm-hearted.

D.Strong-willed.

Gist3.What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A.A story about“ a migratory police station”.

B.Some facts about protecting wildlife in Hongtupo.

C.The difficulties the forest police met in Hongtupo.

D.The working environment of the forest police in Hongtupo.

Detail 4.What can we learn about the Hongtupo forest according to the last two paragraphs?

A.It no longer needs officers' patrol.

B.The number of birds has been growing.

C.Its police station has always been there.

D.Many birds are all over the mountain in spring.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Discover useful structures in the text

1.it is/was not until...that意為“直到……才……”，其中包含了強調句式

It was not until 2010 that a house was built for the officers at the foot of Dazhong Mountain.直到2010年，大中山腳下才建造了為森林警察準備的房子。

2.“adj.+as+主語+...”結構中，as引導倒裝句，意為“盡管”

Difficult as the journey has been, generations of protection efforts have paid off.盡管路途艱難，但幾代人為保護（森林）做出的努力得到了回報。

Ⅱ.Fill in the blanks with the words and phrases in the box in proper forms.

extinction__significant__initially__response to__carry______out

1.We have ____________ increased the number of people in education but the size of the classes hasn't changed.

2.At the current rate of decline, many of the rainforest animals could become ____________ in less than 10 years.

3.The agency was heavily criticized for its tardy ____________ the hurricane.

4.The competition encouraged young people to ____________ their bright ideas.

5.After she had overcome her ____________ shyness, she became very friendly.