人教课标版高中英语必修2 Unit4_单元探索背景阅读.docVIP

PAGE 1 / NUMPAGES 2 Unit4 单元探索背景阅读 Protect animals-our duty! 保护动物——我们的责任！ 阅读提示：本文是一篇关于动物保护的说明文。目前，世界范围内动物的数量正在不断下降，保护动物刻不容缓。保护动物不仅是为动物，也是为我们人类自己的生存考虑。幸运的是，现在有的国家已经开始行动，例如成立保护组织或设立法律等对动物进行有效的保护。 Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history. ① Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sports, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the earth forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger. Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more. Animals are more than beautiful or interesting. They are more than a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems. For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks (鹰)，the farmers stores of corn and grain were destroyed by mice. Why?Because hawks eat mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the mice multiplied quickly. Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger. Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animal or plant on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.