張靜
1 New Zealand's critically endangered kakspōs have begun to return to the country'smainland for the first time in almost 40 years. Kakapōs are the heaviest parrots in theworld, with some more than six pounds, and they have a lifespan of up to 90 years. Theycan't fly, so kakapōs climb trees and search on the ground for nuts and seeds to eat. The bigbirds used to be widespread across New Zealand, but were hunted to near extinction. Popu?lar Science described these“ curious” birds as already being“ doomed to early extermination”all the way back in April 1895.
2 The roughly left 250 or so individualbirds are managed by New Zealand's Department of Conservation(DOC) on five islands that are free of enemies.Now equipped with genetic science,research platform Genomics Aotearoais funding high?quality genetic sequencing(基因測序) of almost the entire kakapō population.
3 Establishing genetic sequencing methods is expected to not only play a part inkakapōs' survival, but also other endangered species' survival throughout theworld. Conservation genomics (基因組學) is part of a growing trend in the field. In 2019, ateam from the University of Hawaii used advanced DNA sequencing technology to create anearly complete genome assembly (基因組裝) for Hawaii's only remaining family of thecrow family alal'. The sequencing gave conservationists critical clues into the disease?susceptibility (易感性), population?level diversity, and genetic load of the alal' to betterinform their policies.
4 The same information could help the kakapō thrive. This work over the last year hasproduced two very significant outcomes. First, it has given the team an in?depth understandingof kakapō biology. It has also produced a high?quality code and reusable pipeline,which allows other researchers to rapidly use these methods in their own work.
“5 Kakapōs suffer from disease and low reproductive output, so by understanding thegenetic reasons for these problems, we can now help mitigate them,” Andrew Digby, theDOC's Science Advisor for Kakapō Recovery, said in a statement.“ It gives us the abilityto predict things like kakapō chick growth and susceptibility to disease, which changesour on?the?ground management practices and will help improve survival rates.”
Reading
Check
1. What do we know about Kakapōs?
A. They had no enemies from nature.
B. They were predicted to be numerous.
C. They are frequently hunted at present.
D. They are in urgent need of being rescued.
2. Why are alal's mentioned in paragraph 3?
A. To remind us to save other birds.
B. To call on more to focus on wild plants conservation.
C. To prove genome assembly to be effective.
D. To explain the definition of genome assembly.
3. What is Andrew Digby's attitude to genetic sequencing?
A. Negative.
B. Supportive.
C. Indifferent.
D. Ambiguous.
語篇解碼
語言學習
Ⅰ. 語料薈萃
Ⅱ. 語句分析
1. Establishing genetic sequencing methods is expected to not only play a part inkakapōs' survival, but also other endangered species' survival throughout the world. 建立基因測序方法不僅僅是為了鸮鸚鵡的生存,也是為了世界上其他瀕危物種的生存。
【點石成金】本句中,Establishing genetic sequencing methods是動名詞形式作主語。
2. It gives us the ability to predict things like kakapō chick growth and susceptibilityto disease, which changes our on?the?ground management practices and will help improvesurvival rates. 它使我們能夠預測鸮鸚鵡雛鳥的生長和對疾病的易感性,這也改變了我們的實地管理實踐,有助于提高存活率。
【點石成金】本句是一個主從復合句,主句中的to predict things like kakapō chickgrowth and susceptibility to disease 是不定式作后置定語;which 引導非限制性定語從句。
語言運用
Ⅰ. 例句仿寫
1. 在空中飛行很好玩。
_______________is great fun.
2. 這個軟件是一個容易使用且靈活的工具,它可以方便圖書管理員從藏書中選擇制作數(shù)字化內(nèi)容,制作圖書目錄,以實現(xiàn)增加信息獲取量的目標。
The software is an easy and flexible tool,___________digitizedcontent from their collection and to develop catalogue, fulfilling the objective of broadening?access to information.
Ⅱ. 寫作實踐
假定你是學生會主席,你校將舉辦主題為“Take action to protect the wildlife”的活動。請你以學生會的名義寫一份倡議書,號召全校同學保護野生動物。內(nèi)容包括:
1. 保護野生動物的重要性;
2. 保護野生動物的倡議。
注意:
1. 詞數(shù)80左右;
2. 可以適當增加細節(jié),以使行文連貫。
Take action to protect the wildlife
Respected teachers and fellow students,
_______________________
The Student's Union