Modern man has cleared the forests for farmland and for wood, and has also carelessly burned them. More than that, though, he has also interfered with the invisible bonds between the living things in the forests. There are many examples of this kind of destruction. The harmfulness of man’s interference can be seen in what happened many years ago in the forest of the Kaibab plateau(凯亚巴布高原)of northern Arizona. Man tried to improve on the natural web of forest life and destroyed it instead.
The Kaibab had a storybook forest of large-sized pines, Douglas fir, white fir, blue and Engelmann spruce. In 1882 a visitor noted, "We, who have wandered through its forests and parks, have come to regard it as the most attractive region which we have the privilege to visit. “This was also the living place of the Rocky Mountain mule deer. Indians hunted there every autumn to gather meat and skins”. The forest also had mountain lions, timber wolves and bobcats that kept the deer from multiplying too rapidly.
Then, in 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt made the Kaibab a national game preserve. Deer hunting was forbidden. Government hunters started killing off the deer’s enemies. In 25 years’ time, 6,250 mountain lions, wolves and bobcats were killed. Before the program, there were about 4,000 deer in the Kaibab, and by 1924, there were about 100,000.
The deer ate every leaf and twig they could reach. But there was not nearly enough food. Hunting of deer was permitted again. This caused a slight decrease in the deer herd, but a far greater loss resulted from starvation and disease. Some 60 percent of the deer herd died in two winters. By 1930 the herd had dropped to 20,000 animals. By 1942 it was down to 8,000.
24.The destruction of the environment of the Kaibab resulted from_________ .
A. turning the forest into cultivated land
B. interfering with natural cycle of forest life
C. forest fires caused by man’s carelessness
D. cutting the trees for building materials
25.Engelmann spruce(Para. 2)is most likely the name of _________.
A. a tree B. an animal C. a mountain D. a game
26.The number of the deer in the Kaibab had increased enormously in_________ years’ time.
A.25 B.6 C.18 D.12
27.Years later, large numbers of deer in the Kaibab died mainly because of _________.
A. the cold B. the organized kill
C. the shortage of food D. the poor management
BACC
A. Profits enlarging B. Technology developing C. Education investing D. Benefits transferring E. Dominance disappearing F. A nation rising |
The following is an imaginary diary entry written by US president. This diary is part of Global Trends 2025, which was written by the US National Intelligence Council
80
The
81
The
82
Global wealth and economic power will shift from West to East.
83
84
The transition from old fuels to new will be slow, as will the development of new technologies that present feasible alternatives to fossil fuels or help eliminate food and water problems. All current technologies are inadequate, and new ones will probably not be commercially possible by 2025