震惊！报告称自1970年以来野生动植物数量已减少了60%
Global wildlife populations have fallen by 60% since 1970 as humans overuse natural resources, drive climate change and pollute the planet, a chilling report has warned. WWF has called for an ambitious global deal for nature and people, similar to the international Paris Agreement to deal with climate change, as the new report tried to stop the damage being done to the natural world.
Only a quarter of the world’s land area is free from the impacts of human activity and by 2050 that will have fallen to just a tenth. The percentage of the world’s seabirds with plastic in their stomach is estimated to have increased from 5% in 1960 to 90% today, so it’s time for people to stop throwing plastic which pollutes the sea seriously. The world has already lost around half its shallow water corals in just 30 years.
Populations of more than 4,000 species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and amphibians have declined by an average of 60% between 1970 and 2014. Tropical areas have seen the worst declines, with an 89% fall in populations in Latin America and the Caribbean since 1970 as a result of the loss of habitats. Species which live in fresh water habitats, such as frogs and river fish, have seen global population falls of 83%, according to the living planet index by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) which tracks the abundance of wildlife.
From hedgehogs and puffins to elephants, rhinos and polar bears, wildlife is in decline, due to illegal shooting, pollution of land and seas and rising global temperatures, the Living Planet report warns. Current action to protect nature is failing because it is not enough to match the scale of the threat the planet is facing, the conservationists claim.
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1.What is the writer’s attitude toward the decrease of wildlife populations?
A Serious.
B Natural.
C Great.
D Happy.
解析：选A。观点态度题。根据第一段第一句的a chilling report has warned可知这份报告的结果令人胆战心惊，因此可以推知作者对这个问题是很“严肃的”，故选A。
2.What caused the plastic in seabirds’ stomach?
A The changed climate.
B The polluted seawater.
C The increased population.
D The overused resource.
解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第二段第二句的so it’s time for people to stop throwing plastic which pollutes the sea seriously可知是由于塑料垃圾污染了海洋才导致了海鸟的胃里面有塑料的，故选B。
3.Why have the tropical areas seen the worst decline?
A The number of wildlife is great.
B There is too much rain there.
C They don’t have shallow water.
D The living places are damaged.
解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第三段第二句Tropical areas have seen the worst declines, with an 89% fall in populations in Latin America and the Caribbean since 1970 as a result of the loss of habitats可知热带地区的动物数量下降得最厉害是因为那些动物的栖息地受到了很大的破坏，故选D。
4.What is the problem of protecting the wildlife currently?
A No one wants to do that.
B People are in need of money.
C People’s efforts are too weak to match the planet’s threat.
D No law stops illegal shooting.
解析：选C。推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句Current action to protect nature is failing because it is not enough to match the scale of the threat facing the planet, the conservationists claim.可知与地球遭受的威胁程度相比，人类目前的保护力度远远不够，这是人类面临的问题，故选C。