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歡迎大家來到“英語閱讀”，本欄目旨在提升各位同學的閱讀、聽力水平及閱讀理解能力，內容精選自《英語週報》高中閱讀專版。

Bye-Bye Blu

——高中進階 (2018-2019學年第10期) 1版

1小時突破音標重難點

Blu is gone. Jewel is no more. And so are all the other Spix's macaws (小藍金剛鸚鵡) that once flew happily among the tree tops of Brazil's rainforests. The members of this brightly colored bird species have now been declared extinct in the wild by the conservation group BirdLife International.

You may remember Blu from the animated movie Rio (《里約大冒險》). He was the lonely Spix's macaw who flew from America to Brazil to find a mate. He found Jewel, and they fell in love. It was a funny movie, but with a serious message about protecting endangered species. In the movie, Blu and Jewel have babies and their species is saved. Unfortunately, movies are not real life.

According to BirdLife International, more and more bird species are dying out each year, not just on small islands, where 90 percent of extinctions happen, but increasingly on the large land areas of the earth's continents (大陸). Stuart Butchart of BirdLife International says, "There is a growing wave of extinction sweeping across continents, driven mainly by habitat loss and degradation (惡化) from unsustainable agriculture and logging (伐木作業)."

Bird extinctions are not something new. The dodo (渡渡鳥), an ostrich-like bird native to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius (毛里求斯), became extinct in the 17^th century when sailors hunted it for food. And the passenger pigeon of North America, which once numbered in the tens of millions, was killed off in just a few decades by hunters in the late 19^th century. Today's extinctions, though, are different.

As the earth's population increases, more land is needed to grow food. Forests are cut down and wetlands are drained (減少), which take away the nesting and feeding areas that birds rely on. This is why we have to learn how to take the benefits of nature without destroying it.

In China, this idea of learning to live in harmony with nature is having some success. The crested ibis (朱䴉) was once seen in many parts of the country, but intensive agriculture, which destroyed the bird's wetlands habitat, almost caused its extinction — in the 1960s, it was considered extinct! Surprisingly in the 1980s, seven of these large, long-legged, long-beaked (長喙的) birds were found in Shaanxi province. And through the Chinese government's conservation efforts, the population of crested ibises has now grown to more than 1,400.

We need more of these happy endings. Better conservation programs will help, and so will a greater awareness of the problem by young people. With your help, we won't have to say bye-bye to our beautiful birds.

教案

PRE-READING

1. Name the cartoon characters in the picture. What happened to them in the movie?

2. Read the title and guess what the article is about.

WHILE READING

Sentences

1. According to BirdLife International, more and more bird species are dying out^① each year, not just on small islands, where^② 90 percent of extinctions happen, but increasingly ...

① die out: (of a family, species, etc.) to become less common and finally stop existing completely （指家族、物種等）逐漸消失，滅絕

e.g. Dinosaurs died out millions of years ago.

② 本句中where引導非限制性定語從句，相當於on which。

2. Stuart Butchart of BirdLife International says, "There is a growing wave of^① extinction sweeping^② across continents, driven^② mainly by habitat loss and ..."

① a wave of: a sudden increase in a particular type of behavior, activity or feeling （行為、活動或感情的）一陣

e.g. a wave of anger/attacks/tiredness

② "sweeping across continents"和"driven mainly by ..."均為分詞作定語的結構。前者與邏輯主語為主動關係，用現在分詞；後者與邏輯主語為被動關係，用過去分詞。

3. The dodo, an ostrich-like bird native to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius^①, became extinct in the 17^th century when sailors hunted it for food.

① 該名詞短語是the dodo的同位語。英語中，我們常用一個名詞性成分（詞、詞組、從句等）對另一個名詞或代詞進行補充說明，這樣既保證了句子的整體性，又對作者提到的人或物加以解釋。"native ... Mauritius" 是形容詞短語作後置定語的用法。

Vocabulary

Complete each sentence using one word from the box in its correct form. Note that there is one word more than you need and you can use each word only once.

declare extinct conservation unsustainable harmony awareness

1. I was __________ of the mistake until my teacher pointed it out.

2. A new law to __________ wildlife will come into effect next month.

3. All the countries were in favor of a ceasefire (停火) __________.

4. We might live to see the __________ of the elephant unless we take effective measures immediately.

5. It is believed that cycling is a(n) __________ form of transport.

Key:

1. unaware 2. conserve 3. declaration

4. extinction 5. sustainable

Translation

1. 和我們一起工作了很多年的拉里已經回到了他的出生地加拿大。(where)

2. 那幢正在建造的教學樓將於下學期開始啟用。(分詞作定語)

3. 湯姆平時是個膽小的男生，但一看到溺水的嬰兒他就跳進了泳池。(同位語)

4. 如果我們無法確保生態旅遊與環境和諧發展，那就應該重新考慮它是否有意義。(harmony)

Possible answers:

1. Larry, who worked with us for many years, has already returned to Canada, where he was born.

2. The building being built will come into use / be brought into use next semester.

3. Usually a timid boy, Tom jumped into the swimming pool as soon as he saw the drowning baby.

4. If we are unable to ensure that ecotourism develops in harmony with the environment, we should reconsider if it makes sense.

Comprehension

Choose the best answer.

1. According to the article, which of the following statements about Spix's macaws is NOT true?

A. They are native to Brazil.

B. They are different from other parrots in color.

C. They were endangered birds before the release of Rio.

D. They are no longer found anywhere on Earth.

2. According to the author, today's extinctions result from ______.

① population explosion ② urbanization

③ habitat destruction ④ intensive agriculture

A. ①②③ B. ①②④ C. ①③④ D. ②③④

3. The crested ibis was cited as an example to show that ______.

A. endangered animals could be saved if we raise awareness

B. we should not jump to conclusions

C. unsustainable agriculture should be banned

D. the Chinese government has made a great effort to save the endangered bird

Key:

1-3 DCA

AFTER READING

Apart from the crested ibis, are there any other endangered animals that have been successfully saved thanks to our joint efforts? Do some research in a group of four to six and make a presentation about your findings in class.

相關閱讀：

「英語閱讀進階版」"Idolizing" the Positive（內附音頻）

「英語閱讀進階版」Work Hard, Play Fair（內附音頻）

「英語閱讀進階版」Breaking the Cycle（內附音頻）

「英語閱讀進階版」What's Outside the Box?（內附音頻）

「英語閱讀進階版」Do We Really Chat?（內附音頻）

「英語閱讀進階版」Mooncake Tradition Gets a Modern Makeover

「英語閱讀進階版」You Deserve a "Brighter" Future 內附音頻

「英語閱讀進階版」I Feel, Therefore I Am（內附音頻）

「英語閱讀進階版」When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do 內附音頻

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