1     欢迎来到丛林, a huge sea of green alive with the sounds of animals. This is the Amazon rainforest. As the largest rainforest in the world,     2     it plays a significant role in maintaining the fine balance of the Earth’s ecosystem.

The Amazon rainforest crosses into eight countries, including Brazil and Peru, and one overseas region of France, all on the South American continent. With an area of around 6 million square kilometres,     3     the Amazon rainforest is more than half the size of China. The Amazon River, from which the rainforest gets its name, is close to 6,400 kilometres in length — roughly 100 kilometres longer than the Yangtze River. On its journey from the mountains to the ocean,     4     这条河支持着很多不同的生态系统. They give this area the richest biodiversity on the Earth:     5     one in ten known species in the world can be found here.