News Item6

亚洲的野生虎保护进入关键一年

News Background

新闻背景

目前，全球野生虎的数量已从一百年前的10万多只骤减至4000只左右。很多国家无序的森林开发使得老虎栖息地不断减少，现在全世界野生虎的活动范围仅有历史上繁荣时期的7％，而虎皮、虎骨的黑市交易又导致盗猎者疯狂捕杀老虎。所有迹象都表明，老虎的生存圈面临崩溃的危险，只有人们立即着手保护野生虎，恢复它们的栖息地，野生虎数量才有望回升。然而与目前人类面临的气候变化等可持续发展危机一样，野生虎的生存危机并非举一国之力能够解决，需要国际社会联合起来共同应对。

News Transcript VOA 新闻梗概

China is awash with images of orange and black-striped big cats as the country prepares tousher in the Year of the Tiger on sunday.

Yet for all the traditional sentiment toward one of the most revered animals in the ChineseZodiac, 2010 could be a make-or- break year for wild tigers in China.

Since the last Year of the Tiger 12 years ago, the worldwide population of wild tigers hasalmost halved to 3,200.

The South China tiger has not been seen in the wild for 25 years and is believed to be extinct.

In northeastern China near the Russian border, the struggle to bring the Amur–or Siberian–tiger back from the brink has the backing of the World Bank.

It is funding a program worth several billion dollars to boost the population to a sustainablelevel.

News Item6Part 1Listening Comprehension听力理解1. traditional sentiment; a make-or- break year2. D 3. B KeyThe head of the bank’s China environment program, Carter Brandon, saysthe survival of the species is no longer an issue of conservation but instead one ofdevelopment.

The battle to save the tiger is of course not exclusive to China.

The fi rst Asian ministerial conference on the issue was held in Thailand lastweek. It set a goal of doubling the wild population by the start of the next tigeryear in 2022.

And an international tiger summit will convene in September in Russia.

1 Yet for all the toward one of the most revered animals in theChinese Zodiac, 2010 could be for wild tigers in China.

2 Which statement about the situations of tigers is right? ( )A. Since the last Year of the Tiger 12 years ago, the worldwide population ofwild tigers has almost halved to 3,200.

B. The South China tiger has not been seen in the wild for 25 years and isbelieved to be extinct.

C. In northeastern China near the Russian border, the struggle to bring theAmur–or Siberian–tiger back from the brink has the backing of the WorldBank.

D. All the above.

3 Which one of the following is not right according to the context? ( )A. Carter Brandon, says the survival of the species is no longer an issue ofconservation but instead one of development.

B. The battle to save the tiger is exclusive to China.

C. The fi rst Asian ministerial conference on the issue was held in Thailand lastweek.

D. An international tiger summit will convene in September in Russia.

awash a.

很多的revere v.

尊崇，崇敬halve v.

减半extinct a.

灭绝的sustainable a.

可持续的issue n.

问题exclusive a.

唯一的，独家的summit n.

峰会词汇加油站当中国准备迎接虎年的到来时，在这个国家到处都能看到这种橘色和黑色条纹动物的形象。

然而由于所有的传统情节都朝向中国黄历中最让人敬畏的动物，2010年对于中国野生虎而言是成败攸关的一年。

从12 年前的上一个虎年开始，全世界野生虎的数量已经减少了几乎一半，只剩3200 只了。

已有25年未见到过野生的华南虎了，人们认为华南虎已经灭绝了。

在靠近俄罗斯边境的中国东北部，将阿穆尔虎（或者称作西伯利亚虎）从灭绝边缘拉回来的斗争得到了世界银行的支援。

他们正在为一个价值几十亿元的项目提供资金，旨在将西伯利亚虎的数量增加到一个合适的水平。

银行的中国环境项目领头人卡特??布兰登说：这个物种的存活不再是保存的问题，而是发展的问题。

拯救老虎的战斗当然不仅限于中国。

上周，就此事，第一次亚洲部长会议在泰国举行。会议设立了到2022年，即下一个虎年开始时，野生虎数量要翻倍的目标。

一个国际性的老虎峰会将于九月在俄罗斯召开。

1 China is awash with images of orange and black-striped big cats as the country prepares tousher in the Year of the Tiger. 句中black-striped意思是有黑色条纹的，这里用做形容词。

as引导后面的时间状语从句，当……的时候。

2 Since the last Year of the Tiger 12 years ago, the worldwide population of wild tigers hasalmost halved to 3,200. Since引导的时间状语从句常用在现在完成时或过去完成时当中，表示在这个时间段前，就已经完成的动作或持续的状态。

3 World Bank是世界银行集团的俗称，“世界银行”这个名称一直是用于指国际复兴开发银行和国际开发协会。这些机构联合向发展中国家提供低息贷款、无息信贷和赠款。它是一个国际组织，最开始的使命是帮助在第二次世界大战中被破坏的国家重建。今天它的任务是资助发展中国家克服穷困，各机构在减轻贫困和提高生活水平的使命中发挥独特的作用。