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Preserving Nature for Future
Demands for stronger protection for wildlife in Britain sometimes hide the fact that similar needs are felt in the rest of Europe. Studies by the Council of Europe, of which 21 counties are members, have shown that 45 per cent of reptile (爬行类的) species and 24 per cent of butterflies are in danger of dying out.
European concern for wildlife was outlined by Dr Peter Baum, an expert in the environment and natural resources division of the council, when he spoke at a conference arranged by the administrators of a British national park. The park is one of the few areas in Europe to hold the council’s diploma for nature reserves of the highest quality, and Dr. Peter Baum had come to present it to the park once again. He was afraid that public opinion was turning against national parks, and that those set up in the 1960s and 1970s could not be set up today. But Dr. Baum clearly remained a strong supporter of the view that natural environments needed to be allowed to survive in peace in their own right.
“No area could be expected to survive both as a true nature reserve and as a tourist attraction,” he went on. The short-sighted (眼光短浅的) view that reserves had to serve immediate human demands for outdoor recreation should be replaced by full acceptance of their importance as places to preserve nature for the future.
“We forget that they are the guarantee of life systems, on which any built-up area ultimately depends,” Dr. Baum went on. “We could manage without most industrial products, but we could not manage without nature. However, our natural environment areas, which are the original parts of our countryside, have shrunk to become mere (纯粹的) islands in a spoiled and highly polluted land mass.”
1、Recent studies by the council of Europe have indicated that ______.
A、wildlife needs more protection only in Britain.
B、all species of wildlife in Europe are in danger of dying out.
C、there are fewer species of reptiles and butterflies in Europe than elsewhere.
D、many species of reptiles an butterflies in Europe need protecting.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】 第一段的第二个句子是这么说的：有21个国家组成的欧洲委员会的研究表明，45%的爬行动物和24%的蝴蝶濒临灭绝。由此可见，D是正确的答案。
2、Why did Dr. Baum come to a British national park?
A、Because he needed to present it with a council’s diploma.
B、Because he was concerned about its management.
C、Because it was the only national park of its kind in Europe.
D、Because it was the only park which had ever received a diploma from the Council.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】 该题问的是：Baum博士为什么来到一个英国国家公园?第二段有这么一个句子，意思是：Baum博士来到这里，目的是要把委员会的最高质量自然保护区证书再次给这个公园。由此可见，A是正确的答案。
3、The last sentence in the second paragraph implies that ______.
A、people should make every effort to create mere environment areas.
B、people would go on protecting national parks.
C、certain areas of countryside should be left intact.
D、people would defend the right to develop the areas around national parks.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】 该题问的是：第二段最后一个句子蕴涵了什么?这个句子是这么说的：然而，Baum博士旗帜鲜明地继续支持这样的观点：自然环境本身就需要不受侵扰地生存下来。不难看出：C是该句所蕴涵的。
4、In Dr. Baum's opinion, the view that a nature reserve should serve as a tourist attraction is ______.
A、idealistic
B、revolutionary
C、short-sighted
D、traditional
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】 该题问的是：Baum博士是怎样看待自然保护区应该用做旅游景点的观点的?答案可在第三段中找到。
5、Which of the following can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A、We have developed industry at the expense of countryside.
B、We have forgotten what our original countryside looked like.
C、People living on islands should protect natural resources for their survival.
D、We should destroy all the built-up areas.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】 该题问的是：下面四个陈述句中哪一个可以从最后一段中推出?有两句话特别明显：我们没有大部分的工业产品还是可以生存的， 但是如果没有自然我们则不可能生存。然而，原来属于我们农村一部分的自然环境区域已经缩小成受到破坏的、高度污染的地块中的孤岛。不难看出，工业的发展是以牺牲农村为代价的。
