1 . There exist a great variety of national parks that are representative of the different regions of the world. To reveal and maintain the great diversity of the interactions between humans and their environment, and to protect living cultures and preserve the traces (痕迹) of those which have disappeared, these sites have been included in the World Heritage List.

Lushan National Park, China

Mount Lushan, in Jiangxi, is one of the spiritual centres of Chinese civilization. Buddhist and Taoist temples, along with landmarks of Confucianism blend (融合) effortlessly into a strikingly beautiful landscape which has inspired countless artists who developed the aesthetic (美的) approach to nature found in Chinese culture. Special attention has been placed on protecting the cultural heritages and their settings as a whole.

Dinosaur Provincial Park, Canada

In addition to its particularly beautiful scenery, Dinosaur Provincial Park — located at the heart of the province of Alberta’s badlands — contains some of the most important fossil discoveries ever made from the “Age of Reptiles”, in particular about 35 species of dinosaur, dating back some 75 million years. These fossils are valuable materials for scientists to study the history of the earth.

Kaziranga National Park, India

In the heart of Assam, this park is one of the last areas in eastern India undisturbed by a human presence. It is inhabited by the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, as well as many mammals, including tigers, elephants, panthers and bears, and thousands of birds.

Komodo National Park, Indonesia

These volcanic islands are inhabited by a population of around 5,700 giant lizards, whose appearance and attacking behaviour have led to them being called “Komodo dragons”. They exist nowhere else in the world and are of great interest to scientists studying the theory of evolution.

1. Why are these above parks included in the World Heritage List?

A．They are famous worldwide.

B．They have gorgeous landscape.

C．They are representative of the different regions.

D．They have important values and need protecting.

2. What can you do in Lushan National Park, China?

A．Know about religious culture.	B．Enjoy being with animals.
C．Study the theory of evolution.	D．Learn the history of the earth.

3. Which national part is a better choice for people who are interested in mammals?

A．Lushan National Park, China.	B．Dinosaur Provincial Park, Canada.
C．Kaziranga National Park, India.	D．Komodo National Park, Indonesia.

2 . Great whites and whale sharks are among the species at risk of extinction over the next century, a new study has found.

Pimiento is the lead author of a study published in Science Advances that looks at how the extinction of large marine species would impact the ecological roles of ocean ecosystems. “The extinction crisis challenges scientists to better measure biodiversity: how will the total variety of life on Earth be affected as human activities lead to the losses of more and more species?” they said. In the oceans, the biggest animals are thought to play crucial ecological roles, and are also facing high levels of threat from human activities such as fisheries and climate change.

The team was looking to move beyond traditional species extinctions, to find out more about the functional diversity, the range of roles that these species perform, and how biodiversity might respond under different extinction scenarios. They ran two different extinction scenarios. In one, researchers looked at extinction probability based on their current IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) status. In the second, they assumed all species listed as threatened, around 40 percent, had gone extinct.

Sharks were found to be one of the worst affected groups. “We already knew that sharks are one of the most threatened groups in the ocean,” they said. “They are also very vulnerable due to their large size and low reproductive rate. Our results show that future extinctions would be selective against the most functionally unique and specialized shark species, resulting in greater projected losses.” They also said the biggest threats to marine megafauna are fishing, either through accidentally getting caught up or directly targeted, and climate change. Mitigating these threats could be the best way to protect these species.

The good news is that the study identifies key species that can be targeted and protected. Sometimes ocean conservation can be a triage game. The science helps us know which species really need our help and which species we really cannot afford to lose.

1. What is Pimiento’s study about?

A．The possible threats of large marine animals.

B．The main cause of the extinction crisis in the sea.

C．The ecological role of large animals in the ocean.

D．The best way of balancing biodiversity with human acts.

2. How did the team conduct its research?

A．By checking current data.	B．By predicting extinction rates.
C．By measuring marine biodiversity.	D．By analyzing traditional experiments.

3. What does the study’s result show?

A．The risk of sharks reproducing in the ocean.	B．The solution to animals’ protection in the sea.
C．The influence of sharks’ extinction on the ocean.	D．The reason for sharks being hit hardest in the sea.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the study?

A．Indifferent.

B．Positive.

C．Skeptical.

D．Negative.