The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says more than half of the world’s wildlife population has been lost, which the conservation group says has placed the health of the planet at risk.

The WWF recently released its 10th Flagship Living Planet Report. The group warns the condition of the world's animals is worse than its earlier reports showed, indicating worldwide action is needed.

The WWF is worried about the loss of and damage to Earth’s environment. The report provides information about more than 10,000 animal populations from 1970 to 2010. These populations are called “vertebrate species,” or animals with backbones — like fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. The report shows these populations have dropped by 52 percent in just 40 years. It warns freshwater species have fallen by 76 percent, which is almost twice the loss of land and ocean species. Most of these losses are in the tropics, with the biggest drop in Latin America.

Marco Lambertini, the WWF’s International Director-General said, “This is about losing natural habitats. This is about converting forests, grasslands, and wetlands into agriculture mainly, and it is about unsustainable use of wildlife. Illegal hunting has been actually increasing over the last 10 years, which definitely a driving force for extinction, particularly of large species.”

The report also notes what it calls the world’s “Ecological Footprint”, that is, the effect of human activities on the planet. Mr. Lambertini says there has been an increase in carbon dioxide gases and the pouring of nitrogen into oceans and rivers from fertilizers used in agriculture, which certainly cannot continue.

“We are consuming on average every year about the equivalent of about 1.5, one and a half times the resources available to the planet. That means we are cutting trees more quickly than they can be restored. We are fishing the oceans more quickly than fishing stocks can reproduce, and we are emitting in the atmosphere more CO2 than the natural systems can actually absorb, which is clearly not sustainable.”

Mr. Lambertini warns climate change affects almost everyone on the planet and that whole species may disappear if the world does not reduce the effects of humans on the climate.

1.According to the passage, what kind of species faces the biggest drop in population?

A. Land and ocean species.

B. Animals with backbones.

C. Freshwater species in Latin America.

D. Freshwater species in the tropics.

2.All the following can contribute to the loss of world’s wildlife population EXCEPT ________.

A. turning wildlife habitats into agriculture land.

B. making sustainable use of wildlife.

C. hunting illegally.

D. emitting CO2 gases and pouring nitrogen.

3.Which does the underlined word “converting” in paragraph 4 mean?

A. Conserving. B. Conveying.

C. Exchanging. D. Transforming.

4.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A. Marco is much concerned about human’s current behaviors towards wildlife.

B. what the planet provides now can satisfy human’s sustainable development.

C. more than half of the world’s wildlife population has been lost.

D. if humans reduce the effects on the climate, the whole species will not disappear.

The rise of the Internet has been one of the most transformative developments in human history, comparable in impact to the invention of the printing press and the telegraph. Over two billion people worldwide now have access to vastly more information than ever before, and can communicate with each other instantly, often using Web-connected mobile devices they carry everywhere. But the Internet’s tremendous impact has only just begun.

“Mass adoption of the Internet is driving one of the most exciting social, cultural, and political transformations in history, and unlike earlier periods of change, this time the effects are fully global,” Schmidt and Cohen write in their new book The New Digital Age.

Perhaps the most profound changes will come when the five billion people worldwide who currently lack Internet access get online. The authors do an excellent job of examining the implications of the Internet revolution for individuals, governments, and institutions like the news media. But if the book has one major shortcoming, it’s that authors don’t spend enough time applying a critical eye to the role of Internet businesses in these sweeping changes.

In their book, the authors provide the most authoritative volume to date that describes — and more importantly predicts — how the Internet will shape our lives in the coming decades. They paint a picture of a world in which individuals, companies, institutions, and governments must deal with two realities, one physical, and one virtual.

At the core of the book is the idea that “technology is neutral, but people aren’t.” By using this concept as a starting point, the authors aim to move beyond the now familiar optimist vs. pessimist dichotomy (对立观点) that has characterized many recent debates about whether the rise of the Internet will ultimately be good or bad for society. In an interview with TIME earlier this week, Cohen said although he and his co-author are optimistic about many aspects of the Internet, they’re also realistic about the risks and dangers that lie ahead when the next five billion people come online, particularly with respect to personal privacy and state surveillance(监视).

【题文1】 In what way is the rise of the Internet similar to the invention of the printing press and the telegraph?

A. It transforms human history.

B. It revolutionizes people's thinking.

C. It is adopted by all human beings.

D. It makes daily communication easy.

【题文2】 In what respect is the book The New Digital Age considered inadequate?

A. It lacks an objective evaluation of the role of Internet businesses

B. It fails to look into the social implications of the Internet.

C. It fails to recognize the impact of the Internet technology.

D. It does not address the technical aspects of Internet communication.

1.What will the future be like when everybody gets online?

A. People don’t have to travel to see the world.

B. People will have equal access to information.

C. People will be living in two different realities.

D. People don’t have to communicate face to face.

2.What does the passage say about the authors of The New Digital Age?

A. They leave many questions unanswered concerning the Internet.

B. They don’t take sides in analyzing the effects of the Internet.

C. They have explored the unknown territories of the virtual world.

D. They are optimistic about the future of the Internet revolution.

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