郝雯雯

1 In a remote national park on Australiasmost southwestern tip， a lone radio tower standsabove a quiet wetland. Every five seconds， it collectssignals from a few dozen young tortoiseshiding out beneath the glassy waters. The tinytortoises don't journey far， but researchers aretracking their every move. The fate of a species—one of the most endangered in the world—might depend on these data.

2 There are fewer than 70 adult western swamp tortoises living in the wild in twosmall wetland reserves north of Australia. These spots are all that remains of the creatures' native habitat， and they are drying out， owing to rising temperatures and a reductionin rainfall. So， in August last year， scientists selected 41 baby tortoises from a breeding programmein a zoo and released them into this national park， some 330 kilometres south ofwhere the tortoises are naturally found. The aim is to see whether the animals can toleratecooler climates， and whether this new habitat might ensure the species' future as the planetwarms.

3 This experiment is part of a series of closely monitored field trials testing one of themost controversial strategies for saving a species—a concept called assisted migration. Thetortoise is thought to be the first vertebrate （脊椎動(dòng)物） to be moved beyond its historicalrange because of climate change.

4 Nicki Mitchell， a zoologist at the University of Western Australia， is leading the projectthat is trying to save the tortoise. Her team is now on their fourth trial of releasing bredtortoises into selected wetlands to test the potential of assisted migration. It's a high?risk?strategy—and one that researchers have long debated.“ It's a demonstration project forthe world， and we particularly want to make sure there are no bad outcomes，” Mitchellsays.

5 Conservation biologists have long resisted assisted migration， mainly because introducedspecies could become invasive pests， carry diseases or upend existing ecosystems.But attitudes towards assisted migration are slowly shifting as conservationists realize justhow fast the climate is changing. Several projects are in the works now.

Reading

Check

1. How does the radio tower help western swamp tortoises？

A. By presenting gathered data to researchers.

B. By reminding possible dangers in advance.

C. By guiding them to safer and better spots.

D. By checking the climate changes there.

2. Why did researchers put 41 baby tortoises in the national park？

A. To tell their differences from wild ones.

B. To study their living habits and adaptability.

C. To make out their lifespan in small wetlands.

D. To find out whether they can breed in a different environment.

3. What do we know about assisted migration？

A. It is strongly supported by most experts.

B. It makes introduced species die out soon.

C. It has been proved efficient and scientific.

D. It causes public discussion and disagreement.

4. What do we know about Nicki Mitchell？

A. Her attitude to assisted migration is unclear.

B. She is sure the program is a success.

C. She is uncertain of the future result.

D. She is a conservation biologist， too.

語篇解碼

語言學(xué)習(xí)

Ⅰ. 語料薈萃

Ⅱ. 語句分析

1. There are fewer than 70 adult western swamp tortoises living in the wild in twosmall wetland reserves north of Australia. 在澳大利亞北部的兩個(gè)小型濕地保護(hù)區(qū)內(nèi)，生活著不到70只成年西部沼澤龜。

【點(diǎn)石成金】本句使用了“There be”句型，句中的 living in the wild in two small wetlandreserves north of Australia是現(xiàn)在分詞作后置定語。

2. It's a high?risk strategy—and one that researchers have long debated. 這是一個(gè)高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的策略，也是研究人員長期爭論的一個(gè)策略。

【點(diǎn)石成金】本句是一個(gè)簡單句，句中的that引導(dǎo)定語從句。

語言運(yùn)用

Ⅰ. 例句仿寫

1. 目的是看看這些動(dòng)物能否從危險(xiǎn)中生存下來，以及如何拯救它們。

The aim is to see_________the dangers， and_________.

2. 有一個(gè)商業(yè)概念叫作機(jī)會成本，它與金錢并沒有密切的聯(lián)系。

There's a business concept called opportunity cost，_________money.

Ⅱ. 寫作實(shí)踐

假定你是李華，你所在的學(xué)校計(jì)劃舉辦主題為“保護(hù)動(dòng)物”的海報(bào)設(shè)計(jì)比賽。請你用英語設(shè)計(jì)一張保護(hù)揚(yáng)子鱷 （Yangtze alligator） 的海報(bào)。有關(guān)揚(yáng)子鱷的資料如下：

注意：

1.詞數(shù)80左右；

2.可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，以使行文連貫。