(完整文本版)《英语听力教程3》听力原文与答案

(完整word版)《英语听力教程3》听力原文与答案(完整word版)《英语听力教程3》听力原文与答案PAGEPAGE1(完整word版)《英语听力教程3》听力原文与答案《英语听力教程3》答案与听力材料UNIT1PartIGettingreadyA。B。Keys：1：burningoftheforests/treeremoval（deforestation)/reductionoftheworld'srainforests

2:globalwarming/greenhouseeffect/emissionsofCO2PartIITheEarthatrisk(I)A。Keys：1。a。Morepeoplemorefirewood-—-—fewertreesb.Moredomesticanimals--————moreplants—-———feweravailableplantsa，b-—Moredesert————movesouth———--desrttexpandingsouth-——-nograss2。Growingcropsstabilizesoil，withoutthemthetopsoiljustblowsaway.Butifthereisn’tenoughrainthecropsdon'tgrow。3.Peopletrytogrowfoodtosupportthemselvesortocreaterancheswherecattlecanberaised,ortogethardwoodforexport,ortomakewayforanironoremineB。Keys：1：SaharaDesert

2：NorthAmerica＆mostofEurope

3:topsoilblowingaway

4:tropicalforestsdestruction

5:animal/plantspeciesbecomingextinct

6:climatechangeforthewholeworldPartIIITheEarthatrisk（II)A.Keys:1:Treeswouldholdrainfallintheirroots。Whenforestsinthehigherup-riverhavebeendestroyed,alltherainthatfallsinthemonsoonseasonflowsstraightintotheriverandstartstheflooding.

2:Heimpliesthatsomenationalgovernmentsjustconsidertheresultsoftheirpoliciesinthenearfuture,orjustthinkasfaraheadasthenextelection.B.Keys：1:floodinginBangladesh

2:Actiontobetaken

3:populationcontrolPartIVMoreaboutthetopic：TheEffectsofGlobalWarmingKeys:1:Warmingupoftheworld

2：Effectsofglobal

3:reducedpotentialforfoodproduction

4：changeofpatternsofhear-relatedfoodpoisoning，etc。PartVDoyouknow…?A。Keys：1:F2:F3：F4:F5:TB。Keys:Dos1：yourtowels2:Cutout3:awall—fire4：fridge5:waituntilyou'veafullload

6：acompletemealDon’ts7:ironeverything8:theironup9:thekettle10：tothebrim

11：hotfoodTapescriptPartIGettingreadyA。B。1.TheAmazonforestsaredisappearingbecauseofincreasedburningandtreeremoval.InSeptember,satellitepicturesshowedmorethan20000firesburningintheAmazon。Expertssaymostofthesefiresweresetbyfarmers。Thefarmerswereattemptingtoclearlandtogrowcrops.TheWorldWildlifeFundsaysanotherseriousproblemisthattoomanytreesintheAmazonrainforestarebeingcutdown。TheWorldWildlifeFundsaysthefiresshowtheneedforurgentinternationalactiontoprotecttheworld'srainforests.Thegroupwarnsthatwithoutsuchactionsomeforestscouldbelostforever.2.EnvironmentalissuesswelltothefullinBerlinthisweek，fortheUNspongsoredconferenceonglobalwarmingandclimatechangeisthefirstsuchmeetingsincetheRiosummitthreeyearsago.WithscientistsandgovernmentsnowgenerallyreadytoacceptthattheearthclimateisbeingaffectedbyemissionsofCO2andothergreenhousegases，overahundredcountriesaresendingdelegations.ButhowmuchprogresshasbeenmadeimplementingthegreenhousegasreductiontargetagreedonatRio?SimonDaryreports..。PartIITheEarthatrisk（I)A.I（Interviewer):BrianCowlesistheproducerofanewseriesofdocumentariescalled"TheEarthatRisk"whichcanbeseenonChannel4laterthismonth。Eachprogramdealswithadifferentcontinent，doesn’tit,Brian？B(BrianCowles):That'sright。WewenttoAmerica，bothNorthandSouthandthenwewentovertoAfricaandSouth—EastAsia。I:Andwhatdidyoufindineachofthesecontinents?B：StartingwithAfrica，ourfilmshowstheimpactofthepopulationontheenvironment。Generallyspeaking,thishascausedtheSaharaDeserttoexpand。It'sabitofaviciouscirclewefind。Peoplecutdowntreesforfirewoodandtheirdomesticanimalseatalltheavailableplants—andsoconsequentlytheyhavetomovesouthastheSaharaDesertexpandsfurthersouth.Imean，soonthewholeofI:Isee。AndthenextfilmdealswithNorthAmerica?B：That’sright。IntheUSA，asyouknow，intensiveagriculturerequiresaplentifulsupplyofrainforthesecropstogrow，Imeanifthereisn’tenoughrainthecropsdon'tgrow。Andgrowingcropsstabilizesoil,withoutthemthetopsoiljustblowsaway.Thisisalsotrueforanyregionthatisintenselyfarmed—mostofEurope,forexample。I:AndwhatdidyoufindinSouthAmerica?B:InSouthAmerica（asinCentralAfricaandSouthernAsia)tropicalforestsarebeingcutdownatanalarmingrate。ThisisdonesothatpeoplecansupportthemselvesbygrowingfoodortocreaterancheswherecattlecanberaisedtobeexportedtoEuropeorAmericaastinnedmeat。Theproblemisthatthesoilissopoorthatonlyacoupleofharvestsarepossiblebeforethisverythinsoilbecomesexhausted。Anditcan’tbefedwithfertilizerslikeagriculturallandinEurope。Forexample，inBrazilin1982anareaofjunglethesizeofBritainandFrancecombinedwasdestroyedtomakewayforanironoremine.HugenumbersoftreesarebeingcutdownforexportsashardwoodtoJapan,Europe,USAtomakethingslikeluxuryfurniture.Theseforestscan’tbereplaced-theforestsoilisthinandunproductiveandinjustafewyears，ajunglehasbecomeawasteland。Tropicalforestscontainrareplants（whichwecanuseformedicines,forexample)andanimals—oneanimalorplantspeciesbecomesextincteveryhalfhour.Theseforesttreesalsohaveworldwideeffects。Youknow,theyconvertcarbondioxideintooxygen。Theconsequenceofdestroyingforestsisnotonlythattheclimateofthatregionchanges(becausethereislessrainfall）butthischangeaffectsthewholeworld.Imean,overhalftheworld'srainforesthasbeencutdownthiscentury。PartIIITheEarthatrisk(II)A。I:So，Brian，wouldyouagreethatwhatwegenerallythinkofasnaturaldisastersareinfactman—made？B:Yes,byandlarge.Imean，obviouslynothurricanesorearthquakes，buttakeflooding，forexample.Practicallyeveryyear，thewholeofBangladeshisfloodedandthisisgettingworse.Youknow,thecauseisthatforestshavebeencutdownupinNepalandIndia,Imeanhigherup—riverintheHimalayas.Treeswouldholdrainfallintheirroots,butifthey'vebeencutdownalltherainthatfallsinthemonsoonseasonflowssraightintotheriverGangesandfloodsthewholecountry.ThereasonforfloodinginSudanisthesame—theforestshigheruptheBlueNileinEthiopiahavebeendestroyedtoo.I:Well,thisallsoundsterriblydepressing.Um..。Whatistobedone？Imean,cananythingbedone，infact？B：Yes,ofcourseitcan.First，thenationalgovernmentshavetobeforward—lookingandconsidertheresultsoftheirpoliciesintenortwentyyears,notjustthinkasfaraheadasthenextelection.Somehow,allthecountriesintheworldhavetoworktogetheronaninternationalbasis。Secondly，thepopulationhastobecontrolledinsomeway：therearetoomanypeopletryingtoliveofftoolittleland。Thirdly,wedon’tneedtropicalhardwoodtomakeourfurniture—it’saluxurypeopleintheWestmustdowithout。Softwoodsarejustasgood，lessexpensiveandcanbeproducedonenvironment-friendly”treefarms”，wheretreesarereplacedatthesameratethattheyarecutdown。I：And,presumably,educationisimportantaswell.Peoplemustbeeducatedtorealizetheconsequencesoftheiractions？B：Yes，ofcourse。I:Well,thankyou,BrianB.I：So,Brian,wouldyouagreethatwhatwegenerallythinkofas。.。er。..aser.。.naturaldisastersareinfactman-made?B:Yes,byandlarge。。。er。。.Imean,obviouslynothurricanesorearthquakes,buttakeflooding,forexample。Imean，practicallyeveryyear,thewholeofBangladeshisfloodedandthisisgettingworse.Youknow,thecauseisthatforestshavebeencutdownupinNepalandIndia。.。Imean.。。higherup—riverintheHimalayas。Trees.。.er。。。wouldholdrainfallintheirroots，butifthey’vebeencutdownalltherainthatfallsinthemonsoonseasonflowsstraightintotheriverGangesandfloodsthewholecountry。ThereasonforfloodinginSudanisthesame—theforestshigheruptheBlueNileinEthiopiahavebeendestroyedtoo.I：Well,thisallsoundsterriblydepressing。Um.。.whatistobedone？Imean，cananythingbedone,infact?B：Yes,ofcourseitcan。.。er。.。first，thenationalgovernmentshavetobeforward—lookingandconsidertheresultsoftheirpoliciesintenortwentyyears，notjustthinkasfaraheadasthenextelection.Somehow,allthecountriesintheworldhavetoworktogetheronaninternationalbasis。Secondly，thepopulationhastobecontrolledinsomeway:therearetoomanypeopletryingtoliveofftoolittleland。Thirdly,wedon'tneedtropicalhardwoodtomakeourfurniture-it’saluxurypeopleintheWestmustdowithout.Softwoodsarejustasgood，lessexpensiveandcanbeproducedonenvironment—friendly”treefarms",wheretreesarereplacedatthesameratethattheyarecutdown。I:And,presumably,educationisimportantaswell。Peoplemustbeeducatedtorealizetheconsequences。..um..。oftheiractions?B：Yes，yesofcourse。I：Well,thankyou，Brian.PartIVMoreaboutthetopic：TheEffectsofGlobalWarmingTheworldiswarmingup。Weknowthisbecauseaveragetemperaturesarethehighestsincescientistsstartedmeasuringthem600yearsago.Theincreaseisabout0。2℃JeffJenkinsisheadofBritain'sClimate”Sunlightstrikestheearthandwarmsitup.Atthesametimeheatleavestheearth,butpartofthatistrappedbycarbondioxideandothergasesintheearth'satmosphere。Thathasbeenhappeningeversincetheearthwasformed。Butthefearisthatincreasingamountsofcarbondioxideproducedbyindustrialprocessesandtransportandsoonwillleadtoagreaterwarmingoftheearth’ssurface.Sothat’sthegolbalwarmingthatpeopleareconcernedabout。"Peoplearemostconcernedabouttheuseoffossilfuels.Fossilfuelsareoil，coal，woodandsoon.Whentheseburn,theyproducethegascarbondioxide.Manyscientistsagreethatanincreaseintheamountofcarbondioxideandsomeofthegasesintheatmospherewillincreasetheamountofwarming。Computersarebeingusedtopredictwhatthismaymean。Theyshowedthattherecouldbegreatchangesinrainfallandtheriseinthesealevelasicecapsinthenorthandsouthpolesmelt.ThiscouldhaveaseriouseffectonagricultureaccordingtoProf。MartinPerryofUniversityCollegeinLondon。Hesaysitcouldbecomemoredifficulttogrowfoodinthetropicsatlowerlatitudesnearertotheequator."Themostclearpatternemergingisthepossibilityofreducedpotentialproductioninlowerlatituderegions，andmostgenerallyspeaking，increasedpotentialinhigherlatituderegions.Lowerlatituderegionsarealreadywarm，toputitextremelysimply,andplantstherearequiteneartheirlimitsofheatanddroughtstress.Anincreaseintemperatureorreductioninmoisturewouldplacelimitsoncropgrowth。”Woman:Globalwarmingcouldreducefoodproductioninlowerlatituderegions。Lowerlatituderegionsarealreadywarm.Globalwarmingcouldputmorestressonplansandplacelimitsoncropgrowth.Foodproductionisonlyoneareathatcouldbeaffected.Therecouldalsobehealthandsocialproblems。Prof。AntonyMacMichaeloftheLondonSchoolofHygieneandTropicalMedicinebelievesthatsomeruralareasarealreadysuffering。Andtheinsectsandbacteriacouldspreaddiseasemoreeasily。"Alreadyanumberofruralpopulationsaroundtheworldaresufferingfromthedeclineofagriculturalsystems。Climatechangewouldaddtothis。Andwewouldexpectthatitwouldacceleratethefloodofenvironmentalrefugeesaroundtheworld。Butitincludesnotjustthefoodproductionsystems，butthepatternsofdistributionofinsectsandinfectiveagentsaroundtheworld.Itincludeslikelyeffectsonpatternsofhear-relatedfoodpoisoning,watercontaminationanddiarrheadiseases，lotsofthingslikethisthatwouldrespondsensitivelytochangesinclimate.”Woman：Globalwarmingcouldaffectthedistributionofinsects。Globalwarmingcouldchangepatternsofheat—relatedfoodpoisoning。Manycountriesnowagreethatsomethingmustbedonetoreducethedangerofglobalwarming.Butaworldwideagreementonloweringtheproductionofcarbondioxidehasbeendifficulttoreach。Thisisbecausemanyeconomiesdependonfossilfuelslikeoil.Scientistsbelieveit'snowthepoliticiansineveryregionoftheworldwhoneedtotakeaction。PartVDoyouknow…？EnvironmenthastakenratherabackseatpoliticallysincetheEarthsummitinRiodeJaneironearly5yearsago.Buttheproblemsthatmeetinghighlightedhadnotgoneaway.Oneenvironmentalthinktank—theInternationalFoodPolicyResearchInstitute-hasbeenlookingatthefutureofwateranditsreportreflectsgrowingconcernatthehugeleapinusageoverthepastfewyears.Insomepartsoftheworld，waterconsumptionhasincreasedfivefold.Andtheinstitute,knownbyitsinitialsIFPRI，saysshortagescouldsoonbecomethetriggerforconflictandamajorbarriertofeedingtheworld'sgrowingpopulation。Here’sRichardBlackofourScienceUnit.”It'softenbeensaidthatwaterratherthanoilwillbethecauseofwarfareinthenextcentury。AccordingtotheIFPRIreport，thetimewhenthathappensmightnotbefaraway。Thenumberofpeopleaffectedbywatershortagewillincreasetenfoldoverthenext30years,itsays,whichcouldwellleadtolargescaleconflicts.Themainreasonwhywaterisbecomingascarceresourceisagriculture，whichnowaccountsfor70％ofwaterconsumptionworldwide，90%insomedevelopingcountries。Countlessfarmershaveswitchedfromgrowingindigenouscropsforthehomemarkettohighyieldexportvarieties,whichinevitablyneedfarmorewater。ButtheIFPRIreportsaysthatinsomeregionswatershortageisnowthesinglebiggestimpedimenttofeedingthepopulation.Waterscarcityalsoleadstowaterpollution。IntheIndianStateofWestBengal，forexample,overextractionofwaterfromboreholeshasledtoarsenicpoisoningwhichisestimatedtohaveaffectedtwomillionpeoplesofar。ButtheIFPRIreportcallsforbetterwatermanagementworldwideincludingfinancialincentivestoencourageconservation。"ThatreportbyRichardBlackofourScienceUnit.Unit2PartIGettingreadyA。B.Keys：1：InternationalUnionfortheConservationofNature,UnitedNations，wildlife，policies

2：ConventiononInternationalTradeinEndangeredSpecies,

trade，animalsandplants，1975，prohibits，8000,controls,

30000

3：UnitedNationsEnvironmentalProgram,leadership,environment，qualityoflife

4:WorldWideFundforNature(formerlyWorldWildlifeFund)，

1961，SaharaDesert,NorthAmerica&mostofEurope，topsoilblowingawayC.Keys：1:22：43:54:1,65:3Questions：1:Theyworktoconservenaturalareasthatcontainendangeredwildlife

2:Theyarecampaigningtoprovideseasanctuariesforsomeoftheseendangeredspecies。Protected—nestingsitesforturtleshavebeensetup

3:ItreferstotheplacesofsafetyintheseawhereseaanimalsareprotectedandallowedtolivefreelyPartIIChristmasbirdcountsA。Keys:1：Jan。3rd2:morethan40000volunteers3：16004：a15milediameter5：anAmericanartist6:theirnaturalhabitats7:thelate1800sB.Keys：1：start2：sponsored3：outsidecountingbirds4：experiencedbirdwatchers

5：anyonethatisinterestedorconcerned6:scheduled7:10peopletakingpart

8：15milediametercircle9：thetotalbirdpopulations10:thenumberofbirds

11:thelongest-runningbirdcensus12：undefinedPartIIIDolphincaptivityA。B.Keys：1:12:33:44:55:2

6：Dolphinsshouldbekeptincaptivity。

7：Thereareeducationalbenefitsofkeepingmarinemammalsincaptivity。C。Keys：1：stress（family—oriented)2:sonarbouncingoff

3:averageageofdeath;lifegettingbetterforcaptivedolphins

4：naturalbehabiorpatterns—altered5:sufferingfromfracturedskulls,ribsorjaws

6：can'tlearnfromanimalsinthewildhowtheyoperate，breed,whattheyneed,etc.PartIVMoreaboutthetopic：Birds-—-—ASourceofWealthKeys:1:93002：Habitat3：warmerclimates4:300differentspecies

5:colderclimates6:habitatalteration7：estheticvalue8:Birds’populationPartVDoyouknow…?Keys:1：oneandone—halfmillion2:20times

3：1004:400005:65million

6：35007:2millionsquaremiles8：3%

9:200animalspecies10:1000

11:athird12:two-thirds13：three—quartersTapescriptPartIGettingreadyA:Hello,I'mcallingonbehalfoftheWorldWildlifeFund。B：Thewhat？A：TheWorldWildlifeFund.Ifyou'vegotafewminutesI'dliketotellyouwhatthatmeans。B:Oh,allright。A：Weworktoconservenaturalareasthatcontainendangeredwildlife.Theseas,forexample,havebecomepollutedbytheindustrializedworld；whalesarebeinghuntedtoextinction;turtlesarerolledofftheireggswhentheycomeashoretobreedorareslaughteredfortheirmeatandoil…B:Oh.A：Crocodilesarekilledtomakehandbagsandshoes;walrusesarehuntedfortheirivory。B:Isee.A:Sealsarebludgeonedtodeathtoprovidefurcoatsandthethreatofextinctionhangsoverseveralspeciesofwhale,dolphinandporpoise。B:Really。A:Wearenowcampaigningtoprovideseasanctuariesforsomeoftheseendangeredspecies。B:Veryinteresting.A:Aidedbyourcampaign,protectednestingsitesforturtleshavealreadybeensetup。Asyoucansee，thisisveryvaluableworkandIwonderthereforeifyou'dliketomakeadonation？PartIIChristmasbirdcountsJohnJamesAudubonwasanAmericanartistintheearly1800s，whoillustratedbirdsintheirnaturalhabitats。TheSocietynamedafterhimwasfoundedinthelate1800sbyconservationistsconcernedwiththedeclineofbirds，whichwerebeingkilledsotheirfeatherscouldbeusedinthemanufactureofwomen’shats。SponsoredbytheNationalAudubonSociety,morethan40000volunteerswillbeoutsidecountingbirdsfromtodayuntilJanuary3rd。Volunteersfromall50statesoftheUnitedStates,everyCanadianprovince，partsofCentralandSouthAmerica,Bermuda，theWestIndiesandPacificislandshavebeguntocountandrecordeveryindividualbirdandbirdspeciesobservedduringthetwoandonehalfweekperiodofthecount.JeffreyLeBaronistheNationalAudubonSociety'sChristmasBirdCounteditor。Hesaysthecountisthelongest—runningbirdcensusinornithology.Thisyear，accordingtoMr.LeBaron,morethan1600separatebirdcountshavebeenscheduled。Somewouldhaveasfewas10peopletakingpart，otherswithhundreds。ThelogisticsoftheChristmasbirdcount,headds，aresimple.”Eachindividualcountisinacircle。It’sa15milediametercircle，um，aroundtheexactcenterpoint。Andit'salwaystheexactlysameareathat’sdoneeveryyear，usually，evenonthesameweekendduringthecountperiod。Andwhattheidealwouldbe,whichisvirtuallyimpossible,isthiscensus：everysingleindividualbirdwithinthatcircleonthecountday。”Mr.LeBaronsaysexperiencedbirdcounterscangetagoodideaofthetotalbirdpopulationswithinthecountcirclebasedonthenumberofbirdstheyactuallysee.Theeditorpointsout,however，thatthecountsarenotonlyforexperiencedbirdwatchers。”Anybodythatisinterestedorconcernedcanbecomeinvolved.Beginnerswillgooutinapartywithexperiencedindividualswhoknowboththeareaandthebirdsinthearea，inthefieldwheremoreeyesandearsarebetter。Andthenanybodycanpointoutabird,andsomeoneinthefieldwillalwaysbeabletoidentifythebird."PartIIIDolphincaptivityA:AplannedaquaticparkinDenverisraisingtheireofanimalrightsactivistswhoobjecttoaproposaltoincludeacaptivedolphindisplay。AlthoughofficialsforColorado'sOceanJourneyssaytheyhaveyettomakeafinaldecisionontheissue，localandnationalactivistshavealreadyinstigateda”NoDolphinsinDenver'campaign.AsColoradoPublicRadio’sPeterJonesreports，thebattlelineshavebeenclearlydrawn.P：RickTroud，aformernavydolphintrainerbasedinFlorida,istakinganactiveroleinthe"NoDolphins”campaign。R:Averageageinthewildrangesanywhereinsomeofthestudiesbetween30and40yearsofage。Incaptivity,youcanexpectadolphintolivemaybe5.13years,andevery7yearsincaptivity,thedolphinpopulationisdead.P：AccordingtoTroud,therearemanyreasonswhydolphinscan'tlivefulllivesincaptivity.R：Ifyoutakealookatwheretherealdolphinisintherealocean，youfindthedolphinwhoswims40milesaday，isveryfamily-oriented.Theseanimalsareseparatedfromtheirmothers;that'sastress.Youputtheminaconcretetankwheretheirsonarbouncesoffofwalls,theycan’tswiminthesameamountoftimeanddirectionthattheycaninthewild.P:Environmentalistandoceanexplorer，JeanMichelCousteau：J：Therearesomeanimalswhichrejectcaptivityrightaway,andthey'reverysuicidal。I’vehadoneofthoseinmyownarmsformanydays.ThenextmorningwhenIcametotakecareofhim，hewasdead。Andwhathe’ddonewastoswimasfastashecouldfromoneendofthepoolon.。。totheothersideanddestroyedhisheadbyhittingthewall。Theyhaveaverysophisticatedbrain.Idon'tthinkwehaveanyrightstoplaywiththelivesoftheseanimals.P：Cousteau'santi—captivitypositionischallengedbyDr。DeborahDuffield，abiologyprofessoratPortlandStateCollegeinOregon.Her1990studycomparedcaptivedolphinstothewildpopulationofSarasotaBay，D:ThecensusdatasaythateverytimeIdoacensus,I’vegotolderandolderanimalsinitaswellasthisnormalagedistributionthatwe'vebeenlookingat.Somyfeelingisthatthetrendincaptivityhasbeenthatthegroupofanimalsthatwe'refollowingaregettingolder，andiftheycontinuetodothatoverthenextfiveyears，theywillthenindeedbeolderthanthewildpopulation。P：Thereisalsoadebateovertheeducationalbenefitsofkeepingmarinemammalsincaptivity。AccordingtoDuffield,captivedolphinsplayanimportantroleinourbasicunderstandingoftheanimals。D:Ifirmlybelievethatwecannotlearnanythingaboutorganismsthatwesharethisworldwithifwedonotunderstandhowtheyliveinanenvironment，andwhattheydo,andthatwatchingthemgobyinthewildwillnotdoit.Icannottellwhatananimalneeds，unlessIknowhowitoperates，howitbreeds,whatitneedsmetabolically，andIcan'tlearnthatfromanimalsinthewild。P:ButTroudsaysthedolphindisplaysareanti-educationalbecausetheanimals’naturalbehaviorpatternsarealteredbycaptivity.R：Inthewild,youdon'thavedolphinswhobeateachothertodeath.TherearenodolphinsthatI'veeverseenstrandedonthebeach,whoaresufferingfromfracturedskulls,fracturedribsorfracturedjaws，asisthecaseincaptivity.P：TheOceanJourneyboardwilltakeallfactorsintoconsiderationbeforemakingafinaldecisiononwhethertoincludedolphinsinthepark。ForColoradoPublicRadio,I'mPeterJones.PartIVMoreaboutthetopic：Birds-——-ASourceofWealthMr。LeBaronsaysthereareabout9300differentknownspeciesofbirds.Largernumbersofthemliveinthewarmerclimates.Forexample,morethan300differentspecieshavebeencountedinPanama,whilefarfewerspeciesarenativetocolderclimates。Asidefromtheirestheticvalue，Mr.LeBaronsaysbirdsareimportanttotheenvironmentbecausetheycansignalchangesinit."Birdsareoneofthebestindicatorsthatwehaveofthequalityoftheenvironmentwithinthegivenarea。Whetheritisarelativelylocalarea，orevenprimarilyontheworldwidebases,theyareoneofthefirstthingstobealtered。Theyarequitesensitivetoahabitatalterationortootherthreats.Andoftentimeswhenbirdsaredisappearingoutofthearea，itjustmeansthereisadegradationofthequalityofthehabitatwithinthatareawhichwilladverselyaffecteverythinginthereincludinghumans."NationalAudubonSocietyeditorJeffreyLeBaroncallstheworld’sbirdpopulationsasourceofwealththathumansmustprotect."Peoplegetsomuchpleasureoutoflookingatbirdsandlisteningtobirds.Andiftheystartdisappearingjusttheer,thequalityoflife，um,maybenotphysically，butthementalqualityoflifecanbedegradedquickly。"JeffreyLeBaronsaysthatwhiletheNationalAudubonSociety’sannualChristmasbirdcountsshowadeclineinsomespecies，manytypesofbirdsareactuallyincreasingtheirpopulations。PartVDoyouknow…?Scientistshavecatalogedmorethanoneandone-halfmillionofthespeciesthatexistonEarthtoday.Bysomerecentestimates,atleast20timesthatmanyspeciesinhabittheplanet.Upto100speciesbecomeextincteveryday。Scientistsestimatethatthetotalnumberofspecieslosteachyearmayclimbto40000bytheyear2000,aratefarexceedinganyinthelast65millionyears。Aroundtheworldmorethan3500protectedareasexistintheformofparks，wildliferefugesandotherreserves.Theseareascoveratotalofabout2millionsquaremiles（5millionsquarekm，or3%ofourtotallandarea)。Today,morethan200animalspeciesintheUnitedStatesareclassifiedasendangered。Morethan1000animalspeciesareendangeredworldwide.Little-noticedaquaticanimalsareinbigtrouble。InNorthAmerica,athirdofourfishspecies，two—thirdsofourcrayfishspeciesandnearlythree—quartersofthemusselspeciesareintrouble。Unit3Unit3ElNino？LaNina?PartID.warmer/greenhouseeffect/sealevels/climatezonesAs1998endsandpeoplelookforwardtothelastyearofthecentury,theWorldAlmanacspokewithexpertsaboutwhatcomesnext。Almanaceditorialdirectorsaystheexpertsbelievethenextcenturywillbringlotsofchanges.Warm,ofcourse,thatourclimateisgoingtocontinuegettingwarmer.That’sthesubject，bytheway，ofanothernewarticleonthe1999WorldAlmanac。Thegreenhouseeffect，exactlywhatcausesit，andwhatstepstobetakento，perhapstoalleviateglobalwarmings.I’veseenrecentlythat1998isgoingtogodownasthewarmestyeareveronrecord.Andsothat’sgoingtobeamajorissueofthenextcentury,andpossibletremendousconsequencesoftheglobalwarmings,whetheritisrisingsealevelsaffectingthecoastalareas;changesinclimatezonesaffectingwhatcropsc