1、 1 一、时文阅读 Humanity has wiped out many animal populations since 1970, report finds “We are rapidly running out of time,” said Prof Johan Rockstrm, a global sustainability expert at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. “Only by addressing both ecosystems and climate (1) _ we s
2、tand a chance of safeguarding a(n) stable planet for humanitys future on Earth.” Many scientists believe the world has begun a sixth mass extinction, the first to to be caused by a species Homo sapiens. Other recent analyses have revealed revealed that humankind (2) _(destroy) 83% of all mammals and
3、 half of plants since the dawn of civilisation and (3) _, even if the destruction destruction were to end now, it would take 5-7 million years for the natural world to recover. The Living Planet Index, (4) _(produce) for WWF by the Zoological Society of London, uses data on 16,704 populations of mam
4、mals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, representing more than 4,000 species, to track the decline (5)_wildlife. Between 1970 and 2014, the (32) (6)_(late) data available, populations fell by an average of 60%. Four years ago, the decline was 52%. The “shocking truth”, said Barrett, is that the
5、wildlife crash is is continuing unabated. Wildlife and the ecosystems are vital to human life, said Prof Bob Watson, one of the worlds most eminent environmental (7) _(scientist) and currently chair of an intergovernmental panel on biodiversity that said in March that the destruction of nature is as
6、 dangerous (8) _ climate change. “Nature contributes to human wellbeing (9) _(cultural) and spiritually, as well as through the critical production of food, clean water, and energy, and 2 through regulating the Earths climate, pollution, pollination and floods,” he said. “The Living Planet report cl
7、early demonstrates that human activities are destroying nature at an unacceptable rate, threatening the wellbeing of current and future generations.” The biggest cause of wildlife losses is the destruction of natural habitats, much of it to create farmland. Three-quarters of all land on Earth is now
8、 (10) _(significant) affected by human activities. Killing for food is the next biggest cause 300 mammal species are being eaten into extinction while the oceans are massively overfished, with more than half now being industrially fished. 二、参考答案二、参考答案：DBACH EKIFJ (1) do (2) has destroyed (3) that (4
9、) produced (5) of (6) latest (6) (7) scientists (8) as (9) culturally (10) significantly 三、核心词汇三、核心词汇： 1.reveal rvil v. 揭示;透露;展示 No test will reveal how much of the drug was taken. 没有哪项测试可以测出用药量。 2.进义辨析进义辨析 3 disclose /expose /reveal (揭露) （1）disclose v. 正式揭露，透露 指公开某事，尤指不为人知的或被隐瞒的事。 He disclosed impo
10、rtant information to the rival of his company. 他向公司的竞争对手泄露了重要信息。 （2）expose v. 暴露，显露 尤指揭露丑闻、阴谋等不好的事。 The report exposes the disadvantages of the present transportation system. 该报道揭露了现有运输系统的不足之处。 （3）reveal v. 揭示，揭露 指揭露此前不为人知或隐秘的事，常可与 disclose 换用。 She will never reveal/disclose her friends secrets. 她绝不
11、会泄露朋友的秘密。 3.词根词缀词根词缀 veil= to cover 盖上 (1) reveal v. 揭露 re 相反；反对；不 + veal= veil盖上 不盖上 揭露 (2) unveilv. 揭露 4 un 打开 + veil 盖上 揭开面纱 揭露 (3) veil n. 面纱；借口 四四、原文翻译、原文翻译 报告发现，自 1970 年以来，人类已经消灭了许多动物种群 德国波茨坦气候影响研究所全球可持续性专家约翰 罗克斯特伦教授说：“我们很 快就没时间了。”。“只有同时解决生态系统和气候问题，我们才有可能为人类在 地球上的未来维护一个稳定的地球。” 许多科学家认为，世界已经开始了第
12、六次大灭绝，第一次是由一个物种智人 引起的。最近的其他分析显示，自文明诞生以来，人类已经摧毁了 83%的所有哺 乳动物和一半的植物，即使这种破坏现在就要结束，自然世界也需要 500-700 万 年才能恢复。 伦敦动物学会为世界自然基金会编制的“活星球指数”使用了 16704 个哺乳动物、 鸟类、鱼类、爬行动物和两栖动物种群的数据，代表了 4000 多个物种，来追踪 野生动物数量的下降。根据最新数据显示，1970 年至 2014 年间，人口平均下降 了 60%。四年前，下降了 52%。巴雷特说，“令人震惊的事实是，野生动物坠毁 事件仍在有增无减。 野生动物和生态系统对人类生命至关重要，世界上最杰
13、出的环境科学家之一、现 任政府间生物多样性委员会主席鲍勃 沃森教授今年 3 月表示，对自然的破坏与 气候变化一样危险。 他说：“自然在文化和精神上为人类福祉做出了贡献，也通过粮食、清洁水和能 源的关键生产，以及通过调节地球的气候、污染、授粉和洪水。”。“活星球报告 清楚地表明，人类活动正在以不可接受的速度破坏自然，威胁到今世后代的福 祉。” 野生动物损失的最大原因是自然栖息地的破坏，其中大部分是为了创造农田。地 球上四分之三的土地现在受到人类活动的严重影响。 捕杀食物是下一个最大的原 因300 种哺乳动物正在被吃掉走向灭绝而海洋被大量过度捕捞，目前一 半以上是工业捕捞。 5 五、五、拓展阅读拓
14、展阅读 （精读后续） Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, leading the worlds foremost experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is now an emergency that threatens civilisation. The new estimate of the massacre of wildlife is made in a major report produced by WWF
15、 and involving 59 scientists from across the globe. It finds that the vast and growing consumption of food and resources by the global population is destroying the web of life, billions of years in the making, upon which human society ultimately depends for clean air, water and everything else. “We
16、are sleepwalking towards the edge of a cliff” said Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at WWF. “If there was a 60% decline in the human population, that would be equivalent to emptying North America, South America, Africa, Europe, China and Oceania. That is the scale of what
17、 we have done.” 6 “This is far more than just being about losing the wonders of nature, desperately sad though that is,” he said. “This is actually now jeopardising the future of people. Nature is not a nice to have it is our life-support system.” The worst affected region is South and Central Ameri
18、ca, which has seen an 89% drop in vertebrate populations, largely driven by the felling of vast areas of wildlife-rich forest. In the tropical savannah called cerrado, an area the size of Greater London is cleared every two months, said Barrett. “It is a classic example of where the disappearance is
19、 the result of our own consumption, because the deforestation is being driven by ever expanding agriculture producing soy, which is being exported to countries including the UK to feed pigs and chickens,” he said. The UK itself has lost much of its wildlife, ranking 189th for biodiversity loss out o
20、f 218 nations in 2016. The habitats suffering the greatest damage are rivers and lakes, where wildlife populations have fallen 83%, due to the enormous thirst of agriculture and the large number of dams. “Again there is this direct link between the food system and the depletion of wildlife,” said Ba
21、rrett. Eating less meat is an essential part of reversing losses, he said. 7 The Living Planet Index has been criticised as being too broad a measure of wildlife losses and smoothing over crucial details. But all indicators, from extinction rates to intactness of ecosystems, show colossal losses. “T
22、hey all tell you the same story,” said Barrett. Conservation efforts can work, with tiger numbers having risen 20% in Indiain six years as habitat is protected. Giant pandas in China and otters in the UK have also been doing well. But Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF International, said the
23、 fundamental issue was consumption: “We can no longer ignore the impact of current unsustainable production models and wasteful lifestyles.” The worlds nations are working towards a crunch meeting of the UNs Convention on Biological Diversity in 2020, when new commitments for the protection of natur
24、e will be made. “We need a new global deal for nature and people and we have this narrow window of less than two years to get it,” said Barrett. “This really is the last chance. We have to get it right this time.” Tanya Steele, chief executive at WWF, said: “We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last one that can do anything about it.”
