Preserving Nature for Future
Demands for stronger protection for wildlife in Britain sometimes hide the fact that similar needs are felt in the rest of Europe. Studies by the Council of Europe, of which 21 counties are members, have shown that 45 per cent of reptile species and 24 per cent of butterflies are in danger of dying out.
European concern for wildlife was outlined by Dr Peter Baum, an expert in the environment and natural resources division of the council, when he spoke at a conference arranged by the administrators of a British national park. The park is one of the few areas in Europe to hold the council's diploma for nature reserves of the highest quality, and Dr Peter Baum had come to present it to the park once again. He was afraid that public opinion was turning against national parks, and that those set up in the 1960s and 1970s could not be set up today. But Dr Baum clearly remained a strong supporter of the view that natural environments needed to be allowed to survive in peace in their own right.
"No area could be expected to survive both as a true nature reserve and as a tourist attraction," he went on. The short-sighted view that reserves had to serve immediate human demands for outdoor recreation should be replaced by full acceptance of their importance as places to preserve nature for the future.
"We forget that they are the guarantee of life systems, on which any built-up area ultimately depends," Dr Baum went on. "We could manage without most industrial products, but we could not manage without nature. However, our natural environment areas, which are the original parts of our countryside, have shrunk to become mere islands in a spoiled and highly polluted land mass."
1. Recent studies by the council of Europe have indicated that
A) wildlife needs more protection only in Britain
B) all species of wildlife in Europe are in danger of dying out.
C) there are fewer species of reptiles and butterflies in Europe than else where
D) many species of reptiles an butterflies in Europe need protecting
2. Why did Dr Baum come to a British national park?
A) Because he needed to present it with a council's diploma.
B) Because he was concerned about its management
C) Because it was the only national park of its kind in Europe.
D) Because it was the only park which had ever received a diploma from the Council.
3. The last sentence in the second paragraph implies that
A) People should make every effort to create mere environment areas
B) People would go on protecting national parks
C) certain areas of countryside should be left intact
D) people would defend the right to develop the areas around national parks
4. In Dr Baum's opinion, the view that a nature reserve should serve as a tourist attraction is
A) idealistic
B) revolutionary
C) short-sighted
D) traditional
5. Which of the following can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A) We have developed industry at the expense of countryside
B) We have forgotten what our original countryside looked like
C) People living on islands should protect natural resources for their survival
D) We should destroy all the built-up areas.
KEY：DACCA
Smuggling
It is not unusual for a pet to be sent by air cargo from Colombia to New York, but last December's shipment of a 4-year-old sheep dog caught a New York Kennedy Airport Customs inspector's eye. The dog looked to be on its last legs, and there was an unusual lump on the side of its body. An X-ray and emergency surgery revealed the presence of 10 condoms tightly packed with five pounds of cocaine that had been surgically implanted in the dog's abdomen - yet another first for Customs in the war on drugs.
When it comes to transporting drugs, the methods used are only as limited as a smuggler's imagination. Kilo bricks of cocaine are routinely concealed beneath false bottoms of containers that hold poisonous snakes. "You've got snakes that are 12feet long," says a United States Fish and Wildlife Service agent - and sometimes the drug is in the snake. "Who's going to pull it out and feel it?"
In 1994, United States Customs seized 204,391 pounds of cocaine, 559,286 pounds of marijuana and 2,577 pounds of heroin. Just how much actually flows into the country is anyone's guess. Some customs officials estimate that only 10 percent of the drugs coming into the country are ever seized. In Miami, the District Attorney won't even prosecute small fry. "It's got to be over five kilos of cocaine, above a kilo of heroin and more than 5,000 pounds of marijuana or it's not something that we're going to stop the presses on," says Tom Cash, a retired agent.
Given this deluge, one can only wonder if agents are ever confounded by some of the smuggling methods. "There are things we haven't seen before," says John McGhee, a Miami Customs special agent, "but nothing really surprises us."
1. The dog was different from others in that
A) it could stand only on its hind legs.
B) it had only two legs
C) it was very attractive
D) it had a very big abdomen
2. How many methods are used to transport drugs?
A) As many as a smuggler can think of.
B) Beyond the smuggler's imagination.
C) Only a limited number.
D) Only a few.
3. How many pounds of heroin were estimated to be smuggled into the United States in 1994?
A) 204,391
B) 2,577
C) 25,770
D) 559,286
4. Which of the following could best replace the expression "small fry" in the third paragraph?
A) Small dogs.
B) Small sheep dogs.
C) Small smugglers
D) Small ringleaders.
5. What is this article about?
A) Drug transportation from Columbia to New York.
B) A new method for drug smuggling.
C) Varied drug transportation methods
D) Types of drug.
KEY：DACCC