2015年考研英语阅读理解考前专项训练（14）
发布时间：2012/10/30 22:34:16 来源：城市网学院 编辑：admin
The well-known Red List that details which species are threatened with extinction is inaccurate, according to a new assessment. It concludes the list fails to reflect the true threat to species, by not taking full account of the threat posed by people.
The Red List, which is #piled by the World Conservation Union （IUCN）， gauges a species' risk of extinction mainly on the basis of its population size, rate of decline and geographic range.
But Alexander Harcourt and Scan Parks at the University of California, Davis, argue that this is not enough. They #pare an endangered species to a house that has been left unlocked. The house is vulnerable to burglary, but it only be#es threatened when there is a burglar nearby.
In the same way, a small population of animals susceptible to extinction only be#es actively threatened when it is being poached or its habitat is destroyed. Harcourt and Parks advocate modifying he Red List criteria to include local human population density.
Although a large number of people nearby may not in itself be a threat, they argue that hunting pollution and habitat destruction, for example, are all likely to increase as people encroach on wildlife. What is more, data on human density is readily available. We have the numbers, why not use them? says Harcourt.
To illustrate their point, the researchers reassessed 200 primate species from the 1996 Red List, They found that 17 species designated as being at relatively low risk by the Red List should now be reassigned as high priority.
Contrary to the expectations of many, the researchers also found that two high-profile species, the gorilla and the pygmy chimpanzee, or bonobo, should be downgraded to a lower level of threat.
But Craig Hilton-Taylor, Red List Programme Officer based in Cambridge, England, says that theIUCN has already introduced a specific classification system for threats-such as human density. The system runs in parallel to the main Red List classification.
Besides, part of the Red List's value is that you can make #parisons with past assessments, he says, and tweaking the criteria would make this impossible. Weve been asked by everyone, please don' t change the system again, says Hilton-Taylor.
Harcourt maintains that making explicit threats part of the criteria is not only more accurate, it may also help highlight future problems. Matt Walpole, a conservation researcher at the University of Kent at Canterbury, England, agrees: Where population data is lacking, it might be a useful way of flagging up potentially threatened species. [417 words]
1. The Red List used to determine the risk of extinction a species may run by assessing all of the following, EXCEPT ______
A. human population data
B. the species' population size
C. the species' rate of decline
D. the geographic range of the species
2. An endangered species is #pared to an unlocked house in order to show that ______
A. an unlocked house is vulnerable to burglary
B. an unlocked house is not threatened without a burglar nearby
C. no other #parisons are more intelligible than this one
D. the Red List fails to reflect the threat posed by people to rare species
3. In order to indicate the level of threat posed by people to rare species, _____ has/have been introduced.
A. a specific classification system
B. a more accurate assessment system
C. the Red List criteria
D. the Red List classification
4. The level of risk indicated by the Red List to each endangered species should be ______
A. downgraded
B. upgraded
C. reassessed
D. kept as it is
5. The proper title for this passage should be ______
A. Data on Human Density
B. Red Alert over Rare Species
C. Red List Classification
D. Potentially Threatened Species [NextPage] 难句透析：
①It concludes Ethe list fails to reflect the true threat to species，by not taking full account of the threat（posed by people）].
【结构】主句主语“It”指前一句提到的“a new assessment”。方括号所标示的部分是“concludes”的宾语从句。圆括号所标示的过去分词短语用做后置定语，修饰“the threat”。
【释义】该项评估的结论认为，由于没有充分考虑人所造成的威胁，这份红名单并未反映出对物种的真正威胁。
②In the same way，a small population of animals[susceptible to extinction]only be#es actively threatened when l'it is being poached—or“its habitat is destroyed].
【结构】第一个方括号所标示的形容词短语用做后置定语，修饰”a small population of animals“。第二个方括号所标示的部分是”when“引导的时间状语从句，由”or“连接的两个分句并列而成。 #
【释义】同样，容易灭绝的数量较少的动物物种，只有当被人偷猎，或者其栖息地被毁掉时，才受到真正的威胁。
③[Alth0”gh a large number of people nearby may not in itself be a threat]，they argue[that huntin9，pollution and habitat destruction，for example，are all likely to increase（as people encroach on wildlife）].
【结构】第一个方括号所标示的部分是“Although”引导的让步状语从句。第二个方括号所标示的部分是“argue”的宾语从句。
【释义】虽然附近人口众多本身可能不是威胁，他们论证说，但是由于人对野生动植物的不断蚕食，例如，打猎、污染和破坏栖息地等都可能增多。
④Contrary to the expectations of many，the researchers also found[that two high-profile species，the gorilla and the pygmy chimpanzee，or bonobo，should be downgraded to a lower level of threat].
【结构】方括号所标示的部分是“found”的宾语从句。
【释义】与很多人的预料相反，研究人员还发现，两个备受关注的物种，大猩猩和侏儒黑猩猩（又名倭黑猩猩）应该降低其受威胁的级别。
超纲词汇
bonobo n.（产于非洲刚果河以南的）倭黑猩猩（源自非洲当地语）
burglar n.夜贼
burglary v.入室行窃
encroach vi.（逐步或暗中）侵占，蚕食；超出通常（或正常）界限
IUCN abbr.国际自然和自然资源保护协会
poach vt.／vi.水煮（荷包蛋）；把…踏成泥浆；侵入偷猎，窃取
pygmy n.／adj.俾格米人（属一种矮小人种，身长不足5英尺）；矮人，侏儒；小妖精
tweak v.拧
参考答案：1.A 2.D 3.A 4.C 5.B[NextPage] 全文翻译
根据一项新的评估，列出哪些物种正受到灭绝威胁的着名的“红名单”并不准确。该项评估的结论认为，由于没有充分考虑人所造成的威胁，这份红名单并未反映出对物种的真正威胁。
由国际自然和自然资源保护协会（IUCN）编制的红名单在评测一个物种所受的绝种威胁程度时，主要是考虑该物种的种群数量、下降速度以及地理分布等。
但是来自位于加州大学达维斯分校的亚历山大·哈考特和肖恩·帕克思则认为这些标准并不充分。他们将一个受威胁的物种比作一幢没有锁门的房子。这座房子确实有可能被入室行窃，但这也只有可能在周围有小偷存在的情况下才会发生。#
同样，容易灭绝的数量较少的动物物种，只有当被人偷猎，或者其栖息地被毁掉时，才受到真正的威胁。哈考特和帕克思主张修改红名单的评测标准，应该将本地人口密度列为其中一项。
虽然附近人口众多本身可能不是威胁，他们论证说，但是由于人对野生动植物的不断蚕食，例如，打猎、污染和破坏栖息地等都可能增多。而且，人口密度的数据是早就可供使用的。哈考特说，“我们有这些数据，干嘛留着不用？”
为了验证他们的观点，研究者们重新评估了1996年所制作的红名单上的200种灵长类动物。他们发现，原先红名单上列为相对较低威胁的物种中有17种应该被重列入高危物种当中。 #
与很多人的预料相反，研究人员还发现，两个备受关注的物种，大猩猩和侏儒黑猩猩（又名倭黑猩猩）应该降低其受威胁的级别。
但是位于英国剑桥的红名单办公组成员克里格·希尔顿一泰勒则称国际自然和自然资源保护协会已经引入了一种具体的用于分类的体系，可以用于评估诸如人口密度这样的威胁。这个体系下的分类与红名单并行不悖。 除此之外，红名单的一个价值还在于你可以藉此将现有和既往数据进行对比，他说，因为更改了评测标准，这样的对比已经不再可能了。希尔顿一泰勒说，“很多人都要求我们不要再次更改标准了。”
哈考特则坚信将明显的威胁列入评测标准不仅更加准确，而且还可以帮助凸现未来可能存在的问题。位于英国坎特伯雷的肯特大学的保守派学者马特·沃珀勒同意他的观点：“当缺乏对人口数据的考虑时，确实有可能将潜在的受威胁的物种的情况描述得太好。”
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