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A global analysis of Earth’s threatened and endangered species has changed our scientific understanding about how much climate change is affecting wildlife.
The research, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that 47 percent of mammals and 23 percent of birds have been negatively affected by our changing planet. Those figures are shockingly larger than previous assessments, which have shown 7 percent of mammals and 4 percent of birds were affected. Of the 873 mammal species looked at, 414 are hurt by climate change. For threatened birds, 298 of 1, 272 species are experiencing negative effects, according to the findings.
However, a new study follows the analysis of threatened wildlife shows that the biggest threat to wildlife is not climate change, which gets a lot of attention, but human activities, including logging (伐木), hunting and farming. Today, three-quarters of Earth’s land surface faces “human pressure”, according to a global analysis professor Watson carried out in August.
“When it comes to the effects of human activities on wildlife, ” Watson said, “most studies look at what might happen to a population in the future, perhaps 50 or 100 years down the line. The problem with such forecasts is that they are absolutely unhelpful for the here and now. ”
“Nature is extremely resilient (能复原的) if you give it a chance, ” Watson said. “But the big thing is acting now, not in 20 to 50 years’ time. Not make climate change and“human pressure” a future threat, but take action now. Because every day, every minute, which you delay, you lose those opportunities. ”
【语篇概述】本文为说明文。通过对全球濒危物种的分析我们认识到, 气候变化对物种的影响远比我们想象的要大得多。然而人类活动的影响却是对野生动植物最大的威胁, 因此人类要立即开始行动, 给自然自我修复的机会, 否则人类就会失去这些机会。
21. What has been found about the effects of climate change according to the passage?
A. Human activities are suffering severe disaster due to the climate change.
B. The species affected by climate change are more than people thought.
C. More than half of the mammal species were affected by climate change.
D. Three-quarters of Earth’s land surface has been damaged by climate change.
【解析】选B。推理判断题。由第一段“A global analysis of Earth’s threatened and endangered species has changed our scientific understanding about how much climate change is affecting wildlife”及第二段中的“Those figures are shockingly larger than previous assessments, which have shown 7 percent of mammals and 4 percent of birds were affected”可知, 气候变化对物种的影响比人们想象的要大得多。故选B。
22. What does the underlined word “they” refer to?
A. Human activities. B. Negative effects.
C. Assessments. D. Forecasts.
【解析】选D。代词指代题。由文章倒数第二段中的“When it comes to. . . , in the future, perhaps 50 or 100 years down the line”, 及“The problem with such forecasts. . . ”可知, 画线词所在句的句意为“这些预测的问题在于, 它们对此时此刻都是毫无帮助的”。由此可知, “they”在这里指的是上文所说的预测。故选D。
23. What’s the attitude of Watson towards the recovery of the environment?
A. Optimistic. B. Pessimistic.
C. Doubtful. D. Uncaring.
【解析】选A。推理判断题。由最后一段中沃森所说的“Nature is extremely resilient if you give it a chance”可推断出Watson对环境的恢复持乐观态度, 人类要立即采取行动。故选A。
