To humans, roads mean connection and escape; to other life-forms, they spell death and division. A half-century ago, just 3 percent of land animals met their end on a road; by 2017 the number had greatly doubled.
Considering the outsize effects of roads, it’s perhaps surprising that they didn’t truly receive their scientific due until the late 20th century. In 1993, Richard Forman, a landscape ecologist, coined an English term: “road ecology,” defined loosely as the study of how “life changes for plants and animals with a road and traffic nearby.” As the 1990s wore on, road ecology gained steam.
Like most people, I at once cherish animals and think nothing of piloting a 3,000-pounddeath machine. One summer, in Alaska, I hit a songbird–a death I didn’t discover until I found the delicate splash of feathers the next day. I’d killed it unconsciously. But I could do nothing.
Road ecology offers one path through this thicket (灌木丛). North America and Europe constructed their road networks with little regard for how they would affect nature. Today, in theory, we know better. Road ecology has revealed the danger of thoughtless development and pointed us toward solutions. Over the last several decades, its practitioners have constructed bridges for bears, tunnels (隧道) for turtles. In Kenya, elephants move slowly beneath highways and railroads via passages as tall as two-story houses.
And road ecology has yielded more than crossings: We’ve also learned to map and protect the migrations of certain animals, to design roadsides that nourish bees and butterflies– proof that old mistakes need not be permanent.
Today we’re entering a period that might fairly be considered the golden age of road ecology. The coming years will undoubtedly be transformative ones for our road network. Still, whether we can ever truly undo the harms of our concrete-coated world is far less certain.
8. What may be the reason for the doubled death number by 2017?
A.Road noises. | B.Traffic accidents. | C.Natural disasters. | D.Hunting activities. |
9. What did the author want to tell us by the experience in Alaska in Paragraph 3?
A.Songbirds were common in that area. | B.The songbird’s death was undervalued. |
C.Driving a car was necessary for his job. | D.He was much troubled by the songbird. |
10. Which best describes the impact of road ecology?
A.Far-reaching. | B.One-sided. | C.Short-lived. | D.Unnoticeable. |
11. What is the most suitable title for the text?
A.How Roads Have Transformed the Natural World | B.What Measures Should Be Taken to Protect Animals |
C.How Road Ecology Will Change the Future World | D.What Difficulties Humans face in Road Construction |