高考英语 3500 词・语境速记【136】|再不保护野生动物就晚了 ——24 个高考高频词

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Every year, thousands of animalspecies around the world are in danger. Some are endangered because their habitat is disappearing. Others are hunted illegally for their fur or ivory. When a species becomes extinct, it is gone forever. We can never bring it back.

Take the elephant, for example. For many years, hunters killed elephants for their ivory. The number of wild elephants dropped fast. Finally, the law made it illegal to sell ivory. Today, elephants are still protected in national reserves. But the danger has not fully passed. The situation is still dangerous. The giant panda and the South China tiger were once nearly extinct. Thanks to years of protection, their numbers are slowly growing.

protecting wildlife is not a choice. It is a necessity. Every species plays a part in nature. If one disappears, the whole system may break. A bear in the forest, a bird in the sky, a fish in the river—each has a role. When we put an animal in a cage for fun, we are not protecting it. We are taking away its freedom.

Some people ask why we should spend money saveing animals when humans still have problems. But a world where only humans survive is not a world worth living in. Protecting wildlife means protecting our own future. If we act now, we can prevent the next extinction. If we wait, it will be too late.

每年，全世界有数千种动物处于危险之中。有些濒危是因为栖息地正在消失。另一些则因为皮毛或象牙被非法猎杀。当一个物种灭绝，它就永远消失了，再也回不来。以大象为例。多年来，猎人猎杀大象取象牙。野生大象数量急剧下降。最终，法律规定买卖象牙非法。今天，大象在国家保护区仍受保护。但危险并未完全过去，形势依然严峻。大熊猫和华南虎曾一度濒临灭绝。多亏多年保护，它们的数量才慢慢回升。保护野生动物不是选择，是必需。每个物种在自然界都有角色。一个消失，整个系统可能崩溃。森林里的熊、天上的鸟、河里的鱼——各有各的作用。为了好玩把动物关在笼子里，不是保护，是剥夺它的自由。有人问，人类自己的问题还没解决，为什么要花钱救动物？但一个只有人类存活的世界不值得活。保护野生动物就是保护我们自己的未来。现在行动，还能阻止下一次灭绝。再等，就晚了。