Unit2 Reading for Writing 学案-2023-2024学年高中英语人教版（2019）必修第二册

B2U2 Wildlife protection - Reading for writing

Task 1: read the text and then answering the following questions:

请在单词下标注黑体字的中文意思

A DAY IN THE CLOUDS

The air is thin and we have to rest several times on the short hike from camp. To our left, snow-covered mountains disappear into clouds that seem almost close enough to touch. On the plain in front of us, we can just make out a herd of graceful animals. This is why we’re here—to observe Tibetan antelopes.

 

Tibetan antelopes live on the plains of Tibet, Xinjiang, and Qinghai. Watching them move slowly across the green grass. I’m struck by their beauty. I’m also reminded of the danger they are in.They are being hunted, illegally, for their valuable fur.

 

My guide is Zhaxi, a village from Changtang. He works at the Changtang National Nature Reserve. The reserve is a shelter for the animals and plants of northwestern Tibet. To Zhaxi, the land is sacred and protecting the wildlife is a way of life. “We’re not trying to save the animals,” he says. “Actually,we’re trying to save ourselves.”

 

The 1980s and 1990s were bad times for the Tibetan antelope. The population dropped by more than 50 percent. Hunters were shooting antelopes to make profits. Their habitats were becoming smaller as new roads and railways were built.

 

In order to save this species from extinction, the Chinese government placed it under national protection. Zhaxi and other volunteers watched over the antelopes day and night to keep them safe from attacks. Bridges and gates were added to let the antelopes move easily and keep them safe from cars and trains.

 

The measures were effective. The antelope population has recovered and in June 2015, the Tibetan antelope was removed from the endangered species list.The government, however, does not intend to stop the protection programmes, since the threats to the Tibetan antelope have not yet disappeared.

 

In the evening, I drink a cup of tea and watch the stars. I think about the antelopes and what Zhaxi told me. Much is being done to protect wildlife, but if we really want to save the planet, we must change our way of life. Only when we learn to exist in harmony with nature can we stop being a threat to wildlife and to our planet.