2014届高三英语二轮专题复习拔高训练：科普环保类阅读理解20.docVIP

2014届高三英语二轮专题复习拔高训练：科普环保类阅读理解20 1.Australian cities can keep their native wildlife—but only if they can kick their habit of urban sprawl (无计划的扩展). That’s the finding of a new study by leading Australian environmental researchers Jessica Sushinsky , Professor Hugh Possingham and Dr Richard Fuller of The University of Queensland. “While urban development usually reduces the number of bird in a city, building more compact (紧凑的) cities and avoiding urban sprawl can slow these reductions greatly,” says lead author Jessica Sushinsky. “Compact housing development leaves birds’ homes untouched, leading to fewer losses of birds.” The researchers surveyed native and wild birds in Brisbane’s urban areas, including living and industrial areas, public parks and gardens, major roadways and airports. They then used statistical modeling to find out what will happen to the birds as the city grows. The first setting was compact growth – where multiple homes are built on land that previously had only one house. The second setting was sprawling growth – a familiar pattern where homes are built here and there beyond the city’s current boundaries. The team’s forecasts showed that a much greater diversity of species was lost over 20 years in the sprawling setting compared to the more compact setting. “Urban sprawl resulted in the disappearance of many urban-sensitive birds- birds that only live in areas where there is native vegetation (植被), such as parklands and woodlands,” Ms Sunshinsky says. “On the other hand, we found the city with the compact development attracted more birds because it kept more of its parks and green areas.” Now the Queensland Government has adopted the more compact urban growth strategy, which, Dr Richard Fuller says, is good news for Australia’s native birds. These birds are environmental specialists – they need a particular environment to do well. “While compact development means smaller backyards, it can also make our entire cities more biodiverse,” according t