要点:1.问题:全球沙漠化的面积约占整个地球的四分之一;全世界受沙漠化影响的国家有100多个;到下个世纪,沙漠化的面积有可能增长17%;
2.原因:人类的行为,如乱砍滥伐;全球气候变暖等;
3.倡议:植树造林;呼吁人们提高环保意识……
注意:1.可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯;
2.词数:不少于100词(开头已给出,但不计入总词数)。
In recent years, desertification has gone from bad to worse and threatened us in many ways.
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2 . As seabird biologist Bonnie Slaton slides off a small boat and walks through high water, the brown pelicans (鹈鹕) spread their wings overhead until she reaches Raccoon Island. The narrow island is a small piece of land separating the American state of Louisiana from the Gulf of Mexico. During the seabird breeding (繁殖) season, the placer, one of the few remaining places of safety for the pelicans, is full of noise.
Twelve years ago, there were 15 low-lying islands with breeding areas for Louisiana’s state bird. However, today, only about six islands in southeastern Louisiana have brown pelican nests and the rest have disappeared underwater.
Slaton and other scientists set u cameras to observe pelican nests on the island. The cameras show that in recent years the pelicans have faced some natural disasters. The main killer of them is flooding, which can wash away all the nests, as happened in April 2021. The disappearing islands are the location of a story of successful conservation. For many years, scientists have worked to bring the pelicans beck from tally dying off.
Mike Carloss is a state wildlife biologist in Louisiana. He said he never saw brown pelicans as a child in the 1960s. Their populations had been killed by the use of DDT, a kind of farm chemical. It thinned eggshells and prevented pelicans from giving birth to young birds. The beloved birds were completely gone from Louisiana, only appearing on the state flag. But a long-running effort to save them led to the birds’ return. After DDT was stopped in the U.S. in 1972, biologists brought young pelicans from nearby Florida to let them inhabit empty islands across the Gull of Mexico again. More than 1,200 pelicans have been set free in southeastern Louisiana over 13 years.
The brown pelicans can live more than 20 years. So, the final effect of disappearing breeding areas is uncertain and it will sill take time to become clear. And the future for pelicans is uncertain on the islands.
1. What is a killer of brown pelicans?A.The island movement. | B.The underwater noise. |
C.The increase of human population. | D.The disappearance of breeding areas. |
A.To stop illegal hunting. | B.To watch pelicans’ home. |
C.To predict serious flooding. | D.To record the number of pelicans |
A.Live on. | B.Focus on. | C.Break into. | D.Look into. |
A.Unconcerned. | B.Doubtful. | C.Curious. | D.Proud. |
3 . The United Nations Environment Program is calling for urgent action to reduce growing risks from chemicals. Better management of chemicals could save millions of lives and billions of dollars. As estimated, 143,000 chemicals are now produced. Yet the report says only a small number of these chemicals have been studied for their effects on human health and the environment. It says death and disability rates are high from the unsafe use of chemical products.
Sylvie Lemmet, director of the UNEP, says poor management of chemicals has a high economic cost. For example, she says the cost is higher than the amount of overseas development aid, or ODA, for health care in sub-Saharan Africa.
She says, “If you look at the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide (杀虫剂) in sub-Saharan Africa, only the injury and the loss of working time is estimated to be 6.3 billion US dollars in 2009. This is higher than the total ODA that is going to the health part in the same area.”
The UNEP estimates that chemical sales worldwide will increase by around three percent a year until 2050. Chemical production is moving quickly from developed to developing countries. By 2020, chemical production is expected to increase by 40 percent in Africa and the Middle East and 33 percent in Latin America. One of its biggest concerns is pollution of rivers and lakes by pesticide and fertilizer. Other major concerns are heavy metal pollution from the production of cement (水泥) and textiles (纺织品), and dioxin pollution from mining.
The UN report urges the chemical industry and governments to work together to develop safety policies. It says preventing harm costs less than fixing it.
1. The purpose of Paragraph 3 is mainly to indicate that ______.A.chemicals have a high production cost |
B.Africa needs more development aid |
C.the use of pesticide causes a great loss |
D.the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide is incorrect |
A.Pesticide. | B.Fertilizer. |
C.Heavy metals. | D.Minerals. |
A.The mass production of cement and textiles. |
B.Lack of research funds on chemicals. |
C.Poor management of chemicals. |
D.Contradictions between chemical producers and governments. |
A.The truth in Sylvie Lemmet’s comments |
B.A UN warning about chemical dangers |
C.The unpredictable future of chemical industry |
D.Preventing is much better than fixing |