2016高考英语人教版新课标一轮总复习 滚动测试15.docVIP

课时作业15　Canada—“The True North” .阅读理解 (2015·湖北省黄石市示范三校元月联考) One baobab tree in South Africa is so large that a popular pub has been established inside its trunk. Many local cultures consider baobab trees to be sacred (神圣的). Others use them for their nutritious fruits, eatable leaves and beautiful flowers. But the size has not necessarily protected them. According to research published in Biological Conservation, two of Madagascars baobab tree species will lose much of their available habitat in the next 70 years. One species may not survive to the next century. Madagascar is home to seven of the worlds eight baobab species, six of which can be found nowhere else. The study—by scientists from the French agricultural research center CIRAD—relied on satellite images and field work to develop population estimates and distribution models for three baobab species. All three trees are currently listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. The study suggests that two of the species should now be reclassified as seriously endangered. One of those species, A. perrieri, had the lowest current population, with just 99 trees observed during ten years of field study. The researchers estimate that climate change will decrease the habitat of this species from about 21,000 square kilometers today to just over 6,500 square kilometers in 2080. The second species, A．suarezensis, had a higher estimated current population of 15,000 trees but a far smaller distribution area of just 1,200 square kilometers. Based on climate change models, the researchers estimated that the distribution of this species will cover just 17 square kilometers by 2050 and could face potential extinction by 2080. The one bright spot in their study was A．grandidieri, the largest and most populous baobab species. The researchers counted an estimated one million trees with a distribution of more than 26,000 square kilometers. This isnt expected to change much by 2050. As the researchers point out, theres nowhere left