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Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history.
Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, or simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the world forever.
Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger. Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.
Animals are more than just beautiful and interesting. They are more than just a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems. For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks (鹰), the com and grain they stored would be destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiply (繁殖) quickly.
Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws to protect animals in danger.
Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animal on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.
The Amazon Rainforest: A Natural Treasure
Welcome to the Amazon rainforest. As the largest rainforest in the world, it plays a significant role in maintaining the fine balance of the Earth's ecosystem.
The Amazon rainforest crosses into eight countries. With an area of 5.5 million square kilometers, the Amazon rainforest is more than half the size of China. The Amazon River, from which the rainforest gets its name, is about 6,400 kilometers in length. On its journey from the mountains to the ocean, the river supports many different ecosystems.
The forest's different levels support an unbelievable variety of wildlife. At the bottom, there is a system of roots beneath the ground. Above that is the mass of leaf litter on the dark forest floor.
Then there are the towering ancient hardwoods, and finally the tops of the tallest trees many metres above the ground. Each level of the forest forms its own little world, and is home to different kinds of living things.
More than 1,300 species of birds and over 400 species of mammals hide among the jungle's plant life. The jaguar(美洲豹) is one example. It has yellowish-brown coat with black spots. While a significant number of jaguars survive here, they are only one element of this forest's food chain. These frogs, in turn, feed on insects which eat leaves and fruit. When a jaguar dies, a tiny army of microorganisms helps break down its body and return the nutrients to the earth.
The Amazon rainforest breathes life into the planet by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing over 20 percent of all the Earth's oxygen. Moreover, the Amazon rainforest is a treasure house of species that can be used for food or medicine. Yet there is one major danger to these irreplaceable plants and animals: us.
As the impact of human activities such as agriculture and cattle fanning continues to grow and the list of species in danger of extinction becomes longer, we are left with a question: can we afford to damage the "lungs of the planet"?
A.They feed on many species, including frogs.
B.Thus, it's often known as the "lungs of the planet".
C.Rivers tend to be the easiest way to enter the forest.
D.The next level is made up of shorter plants with large leaves.
E.They give this area the richest species of plants and animals on the Earth.
F.Currently the trees in the Amazon rainforest absorb around 500 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
G.Over the past 50 years, 17 percent of the rainforest has disappeared due to human activities.
It was late, about 10: 15 p. m., when Janice Esposito arrived at the Bellport train station; she jumped into her Honda Odyssey and began the 20-minute drive home to her husband and seven-year-old son. She'd just returned from visiting her mother and had traveled the route many times before. She practically1on autopilot: a left onto Station Road, then a left on Montauk Highway, and then— wham! Out of nowhere a car T-boned Esposito's minivan,2her to move backward some 100 feet onto the railroad tracks. She3in the minivan, bruised (撞伤) but mostly just knocked out by the4and the airbags.
As it happened, Pete DiPinto was getting ready for5. He'd just closed his book and was getting under the covers when he heard the sound of metal on metal and breaking glass coming from not far outside his bedroom window. A volunteer6and retired teacher, DiPinto, 64, never7to think. He grabbed a flashlight and, still dressed in his pajamas (睡衣), ran out the door. "Any firefighter would have done what I did," he told Nevosday. "We're always on duty."
The first car he came upon, 2,000 feet from his front yard, was the one that had8Esposito. Once DiPinto concluded the driver was OK, he looked around and9Esposito's minivan positioned on the railroad tracks. And then he heard a terrible sound: the bells signaling an oncoming train.
"The gates were starting to come down," he told Nezvsday. "I see the headlight of the train." DiPinto ran quickly to Esposito's minivan and knocked on the driver's side window. She10looked at him, her eyes unfocused. "I don't know where I am," she said. She seemed unhurt. "Honey, you're on the railroad11," DiPinto shouted. "We have to get you off right now!" He pulled hard on the handle, but the door was crashed in and12. The heavy diesel train, traveling at 65 miles per hour, was moving fast toward them. DiPinto ran to the passenger side and threw open the door. "Please, don't let her be13," he thought. He pushed aside the deflating (瘪了的) airbags, grabbed Esposito's arms, and pulled her toward him across the passenger seat until he could help her out and quickly get her to14behind a signal box a few feet away. Within six seconds, he estimated, the train crashed into the minivan. "It was like a Hollywood movie" DiPinto told reporters the next day.
But this one had a twist. "Last night," South Country Ambulance chief Greg Miglino told CBS New York, "the15arrived in pajamas, not in a fire truck."
Starting a wildlife conservation center is a necessary important job, but it hardly brings money to its founder and so it is for Jane Thomas. She spent several years (build) the Motley Zoo, and devoted herself to wildlife (protect) in Redmond, Washington, but all money she made was spent straight back on the zoo. She was determined (continue) to do her work, even though there was little money to reward her.
But things changed this year. "As crazy as it sounded, because of my efforts, I received a secret donation: $ 9,000," Thomas said. She decided to use the money was donated by a stranger this year to rescue more animals. She advertised the animal rescue on the street and received much support from public.
Thomas said, "Ever since I advertised the animal rescue on the street, I (attract) many people. Now when I walk on the street, many (passer-by) wave and even shout to me 'I adopted (收养) my dog from you!' I feel (shock) that people treat me (nicely) than ever. "
