春季高考 牛津译林必修第三册 Unit1 课文词汇背诵材料.docxVIP

TheAmazonrainforest:anaturaltreasure

Welcometothejungle,ahugeseaofgreenalivewiththesoundsofanimals.ThisistheAmazonrainforest.Asthelargestrainforestintheworld,itplaysasignificantroleinmaintainingthefinebalanceoftheEarth’secosystem.

TheAmazonrainforestcrossesintoeightcountries,includingBrazilandPeru,andoneoverseasregionofFrance,allonthesouthAmericancontinent.Withanareaofaround6millionsquarekilometers,theAmazonrainforestismorethanhalfthesizeofChina.TheAmazonriver,fromwhichtherainforestgetsitsname,iscloseto6,400kilometersinlength----roughly100kilometerslongerthantheYangtzeRiver.Onitsjourneyfromthemountainstotheocean,theriversupportsmanydifferentecosystems.Theygivethisareatherichestbiodiversityontheearth:oneintenknownspeciesintheworldcanbefoundhere.

Ofthe390,000plantspeciesknowntous,morethan40,000canbefoundintheAmazon.Thistallandancientbrazilnuttreeproducesnutsthatwecaneat;thesewaterliliesarebigenoughtoliedownon.Theforest’sdifferentlevelssupportanunbelievablevarietyofwildlife.Atthebottom,thereisasystemofrootsbeneaththeground.Abovethatisthemassofleaflitteronthedarkforestfloor.Thenextlevelismadeupofshorterplantswithlargeleaves.Thentherearethetoweringancienthardwoods,andfinallythetopsofthetallesttreesmanymetersabovetheground.Eachleveloftheforestformsitsownlittleworld,hometodifferentkindsoflivingthings.

Morethan1,300speciesofbirdsandover400speciesofmammalshideamongthejungle’splantlife.Thisjaguarisoneexample.Ithasayellowish-browncoatwithblackspots.Whileasignificantnumberofjaguarssurvivehere,theyareonlyoneelementofthisforest’sfoodchain.Theyfeedonatleast87species,includingfrogs.Thesefrogs,inturn,feedoninsectswhicheatleavesandfruit.Whenaja