国际交流英语视听说答案

国际交流英语视听说答案

【篇一：国际交流英语视听说4 u2 听力原文及翻译】ss=txt>tour guide: ok, everyone, here’s our next exhibit. do you see the body of the little bird in that bottle? that is a dusky seaside sparrow. it was an old male that died on june 16, 1987. it’s kind of sad because he was the very last dusky seaside sparrow i n the world. they’re now extinct. yes, you have a question?

male: do you know why they became extinct?

tour guide: basically, they lost their habitat. see, the dusky seaside sparrow lived only in one place—on merritt island in florida. the island had a lot of mosquitoes and wetlands. the people on merritt island used chemicals to kill the mosquitoes. tour guide: those chemicals were also very harmful to the sparrows, and many died. in addition, the people on merritt island tried to control and exploit the wetlands. as they altered them, the wetlands were no longer a good habitat for the sparrows. the birds died one by one until there weren’t any left. female: so, if people were to blame, can’t we make sure something like that never happens again?

tour g uide: we’re trying. the situation with the dusky seaside sparrow makes one thing very clear. we need to protect endangered animals. however, it’s a better strategy to protect the animals and

their habitats, too. after all, if an animal’s habitat is destr oyed, the animal will likely become extinct.

tour guide: we’re trying. the situation with the dusky seaside sparrow makes one thing very clear. we need to protect endangered animals. however, it’s a better strategy to protect the animals and

their habita ts, too. after all, if an animal’s habitat is destroyed, the animal will likely become extinct. that’s why the endangered species act, which was passed in the united states in 1973, protects both endangered animals and their habitats. for example, the steelhead trout lives in rivers and streams on the west coast of the united states—the columbia river in washington state for instance. recently, both the fish and the river came under the protection of the endangered species act.

male: but how can we protect large areas such as rivers and forests? no one—not even the government—can afford to buy or control all the land that endangered species live on.

tour guide: good point. in fact, that’s what makes the endangered species act difficult to fully enforce. t here’s an ongoing conflict between some landowners and the government. take the case of the gray wolf, for instance. at one time, the wolves were common all over north america, but by the 1930s they were nearly all killed. then in 1973, the wolves came under the protection of the endangered species act, along with huge areas of land—in wyoming and idaho, for example. this angered ranchers. they think they should have the right to shoot wolves that threaten their sheep and cows.

tour guide: so, landowners may understand the need for the protection of endangered species, but it’s understandable that they might also feel that the endangered species act violates their rights. yes?

female: is the law working? i mean, what is the status of endangered species today in the united

states?

tour guide: unfortunately, the situation of threatened and endangered animals is worse now than in 1973, even with the endangered species act in place. reports on topics such as habitat loss, deforestation, and overfishing show that the situation for many species is far worse now than it was in 1973. let me be more specific. right now over 1,300 species in the united states are listed as endangered or threatened.

tour guide: and, it’s important to keep in mind that not many species are ever taken off the list. since 1973, in fact, only around 39 species have been removed from the endangered species list. but that number doesn’t indicate the complete story. what’s significant about that number is that only 14 species were removed because they had actually recovered. nine species became extinct, and the others were removed from the list after scientists found evidence that listing the species had been a mistake in the first place. meanwhile, another 300 species may soon be added to the list, including a plant, the las vegas buckwheat, and an insect, the miami blue butterfly. so, you see, even with the endangered species act in place, we’re not making as much progress as we would like.