考研阅读精讲（五）（上）
环境与生态
1
1 Biologists estimate that as many as 2 million lesser prairie chickens — a kind of bird living on stretching grasslands— once lent red to the often grey landscape of the midwestern and southwestern United States. But just some 22,000 birds remain today， occupying about 16% of the species’ historic range.
prairie chickens
非迁徙物种。居住在美国多州的干旱高原。
这些地面栖息的鸟类的生态系统依赖于原生草丛和灌木，它们在筑巢季节期间需要灌木来保护，夏天则需要遮荫。
在冬天的温度变得极端的时候，这些鸟会在雪地里躲藏起来。是杂食动物，在较温暖的月份，以各种植物的种子、草籽和昆虫为食。
2 The crash was a major reason the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service （USFWS）decided to formally list the bird as threatened “The lesser prairie chicken is in a desperate situation,”said USFWS Director Daniel Ashe. Some environmentalists, however, were disappointed. They had pushed the agency to designate the bird as “endangered,” a status that gives federal officials greater regulatory power to crack down on threats.
But Ashe and others argued that the“threatened” tag gave the federal government flexibility to try out new, potentially less confrontational conservations approaches. In particular, they called for forging closer collaborations with western state governments, which are often uneasy with federal action, and with the private landowners who control an estimated 95% of the prairie chicken’s habitat.
In particular, they called for forging closer collaborations with western state governments, which are often uneasy with federal action, and with the private landowners who control an estimated 95% of the piairie chicken’s habitat.
forge 英[fɔːdʒ] v.形成
collaboration英[kəˌlæbəˈreɪʃn] n.合作；协作
habitat 英[ˈhæbɪtæt] n. （动植物的）生活环境，栖息地
句中有三个逗号，第一个逗号断句太短，第三个逗号起到连接作用，因此在which和第二个逗号将例句分为三个部分。
①In particular, they called for forging closer collaborations with western state governments
②which are often uneasy with federal action, and with the private landowners
③who control an estimated 95% of the piairie chicken’s habitat
In particular, they called for forging closer collaborations with western state governments, which are often uneasy with federal action, and with the private landowners who control an estimated 95% of the piairie chicken’s habitat.
They 是主语；called for是谓语；forging 为动名词结构作宾语
In particular是状语；
which 引导定语从句，修饰western state governments；
who 也引导定语从句，修饰piairie chicken’s habitat
特别是，他们呼吁与西部各州政府（通常不满联邦政府的行动）以及私人土地所有者（控制着约95%的草原榛鸡栖息地）缔造更紧密的合作关系。
3 Under the plan, for example, the agency said it would not prosecute landowner or businesses that unintentionally kill, harm, or disturb the bird, as long as they had signed a range—wide management plan to restore prairie chicken habitat.
例如，在这一计划下，该机构说将不会起诉那些无意中杀害或扰乱小草原松鸡的土地所有者或企业， 只要他们签署一份修复小草原松鸡栖息地的宽泛管理计划即可。
Negotiated by USFWS and the states,the plan requires individuals and businesses that damage habitat as part of their operations to pay into a fund to replace every acre destroyed with 2 new acres of suitable habitat .The fund will also be used to compensate landowners who set aside habitat, USFWS also set an interim goal of restoring prairie chicken populations to an annual average of 67,000 birds over the next 10 years.
interim [ˈɪntərɪm]
adj.暂时的；过渡的；期中的
n.间歇，过渡期间
But, in the interim, we obviously have a duty to maintain law and order.
但是，在过渡期间，我们显然有责任维护治安。
And it gives the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies （WAFWA）, a coalition of state agencies, the job of monitoring progress. Overall, the idea is to let “states” remain in the driver’s seat for managing the species,” Ashe said.
4 Not everyone buys the win-win rhetoric. Some Congress members are trying to block the plan, and at least a dozen industry groups, four states, and three environmental groups are challenging it in federal court. Not surprisingly, industry groups and states generally argue it goes too far ; environmentalists say it doesn’t go far enough.“The federal government is giving responsibility for managing the bird to the same industries that are pushing it to extinction,” says biologist Jay Lininger.
rhetoric[ˈretərɪk]
rhetor 修辞学大师 + ic …学 → 修辞学
n.华而不实的言语；花言巧语；修辞技巧；修辞
26、The major reason for listing the lesser prairie as threatened is ____ .
A. its drastically decreased population
B. the underestimate of the grassland acreage
C. a desperate appeal from some biologists
D. the insistence of private landowners
参考答案：A
27、The “threatened” tag disappointed some environmentalists in that it _____.
A. was a give-in to governmental pressure
B. would involve fewer agencies in action
C. granted less federal regulatory power
D. went against conservation policies
参考答案：C
28、It can be learned from Paragraph3 that unintentional harm-doers will not be prosecuted if they_____.
A. agree to pay a sum for compensation
B. volunteer to set up an equally big habitat
C. offer to support the WAFWA monitoring job
D. promise to raise funds for USFWS operations
参考答案：A
29、According to Ashe, the leading role in managing the species in______.
A. the federal government
B. the wildlife agencies
C. the landowners
D. the states
参考答案：D
30、Jay Lininger would most likely support_______.
A. industry groups
B. the win-win rhetoric
C. environmental groups
D. the plan under challenge
参考答案：C
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