With the development of society and economy, animals and their habitats are getting pushed aside as households decrease in size and increase in number.

    Small numbers of people per household on average use more energy and goods per person. Greater numbers of households require more natural resources for construction. The possible result of this problem may be insufficient natural resources to meet consumer demand without endangering habitats important to biodiversity.

    Personal freedom and social choice may come at huge environmental cost. Direct costs include visible damage to animal habitats and plant life. Indirect costs include the release of more greenhouse gases.

    The effects of such “personal freedom and social choice” have already surfaced in south-west China’s Wolong Nature Reserve. In Wolong, they found that a reduced average household size was directly tied to an increase in homes, and thus an increase in the amount of firewood consumed for cooking and heating. The rise in wood fuel use has contributed to disappearance of forests and to the loss of habitats for giant pandas. 

    Curious about whether other parts of the world were experiencing similar phenomena, they got the support of a team of researchers including Stanford’s Paul Ehrlich, well-known for his population studies, to find out the household dynamics in 141 countries between 1985 and 2000. Their study proved that the difficult choice of Wolong is part of a global trend.

    In the 76 countries considered biodiversity “hotspots”, such as the United States, Brazil, Australia, and Kenya, the number of households grew by 3.1% every year, while the population increased just 1.8%. Meanwhile, the number of people per home dropped from 4.7 to 4.0. The decline in household size has resulted in 155 million additional households in hotspot countries, almost always limiting biodiversity.

    In the 10 non-hotspot countries — those without high-density areas of animal and plant species — similar results were found, though on a lesser scale. Even in countries experiencing population decline, such as New Zealand, the number of households still increased because of a reduction in household size.

1.What does the underlined word “insufficient” mean?

A. Plenty of.       B. Not enough.     C. Abundant.       D. Little.

2.It can be learned from the passage that China’s Wolong Nature Reserve__________.

A. is facing the same threat as many other parts of the world

B. sets a good example in protecting animals

C. is a place where giant pandas and their habitats are not affected

D. is a place where animals and their habitats are seriously damaged

3.Which of the following is best supported by the last two paragraphs?

A. Biodiversity is better kept in countries with smaller populations.

B. Biodiversity is better kept in hotspot countries.

C. The threat to nature from reduction in household size is a worldwide problem.

D. Both hotspot countries and non-hotspot countries face the threat of the same scale.

4.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Reduced household size leads to an increase in household number.

B. Modern homes consume more natural resources.

C. How to meet consumer demand without endangering animals and their habitats.

D. Reduction in household size as well as increase in household number threatens nature.

A pair of pandas being lent by China to Japan was set to arrive in Tokyo's Ueno Zoo in the Japanese capital and raising hopes that the animals may help improve bilateral (双边的)ties.
Bi Li and his female partner, Xian Nu, both 5, were  due  to  touch  down at  Narita international Airport in Tokyo on a flight from Shanghai.
Together with their keeper, the pair were transferred from Chengdu, to Shanghai on Monday morning, said Li Desheng, deputy chief of the Wolong Nature Reserve.
The pair, which are young adults, will be the first pandas at Ueno Zoo since April 2008, when the institution's beloved Ling Ling died.
Ueno Zoo had spent 90 million yen ($1.1 million) installing under-floor heating, a playground with a sandbox and landscaping.
The pair will dine on rare bamboo from the central Japanese mountain of Izu that is similar to what they are used to at home in China.
The zoo's first pair of pandas arrived in 1972, marking the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Expectations are running high that the pandas that will stay in Japan for 10 years will boost the local economy and improve troubled relations between Tokyo and Beijing.
Business and tourism officials expect them to bring in around 20 billion yen a year, or 10 percent of the local economy.
In 1993, a year after Ling Ling arrived in the zoo, an additional 1 million people visited the attraction. Visitors have fallen to around 3 million a year from 3.5 million since Ling Ling's death.
Since a boat collision near the Diaoyu Islands in September, Sino-Japanese relations have been at a low point. The media outlets expressed hope that bilateral relations will improve with the arrival of the pandas.
【小题1】The passage mainly tells us         .    

A．an additional 1 million people will visit the zoo

B．they will eat what they are used to from China

C．they will stay there for 10 years

D．they will be the first pandas at Ueno Zoo

The giant panda is an animal unique to China, and Wolong in Sichuan Province is one of the few places in China where ______.

A. the giant panda live                B. lives the giant panda

C. does the giant live                   C. the giant panda is living

 I saw a ____ TV broadcast from a website saying that 30 British tourists in Wolong were got in touch.

With the development of society and economy, animals and their habitats are getting pushed aside as households decrease in size and increase in number.
Small numbers of people per household on average use more energy and goods per person. Greater numbers of households require more natural resources for construction. The possible result of this problem may be insufficient natural resources to meet consumer demand without endangering habitats important to biodiversity.
Personal freedom and social choice may come at huge environmental cost. Direct costs include visible damage to animal habitats and plant life. Indirect costs include the release of more greenhouse gases.
The effects of such “personal freedom and social choice” have already surfaced in south-west China’s Wolong Nature Reserve. In Wolong, they found that a reduced average household size was directly tied to an increase in homes, and thus an increase in the amount of firewood consumed for cooking and heating. The rise in wood fuel use has contributed to disappearance of forests and to the loss of habitats for giant pandas. 
Curious about whether other parts of the world were experiencing similar phenomena, they got the support of a team of researchers including Stanford’s Paul Ehrlich, well-known for his population studies, to find out the household dynamics in 141 countries between 1985 and 2000. Their study proved that the difficult choice of Wolong is part of a global trend.
In the 76 countries considered biodiversity “hotspots”, such as the United States, Brazil, Australia, and Kenya, the number of households grew by 3.1% every year, while the population increased just 1.8%. Meanwhile, the number of people per home dropped from 4.7 to 4.0. The decline in household size has resulted in 155 million additional households in hotspot countries, almost always limiting biodiversity.
In the 10 non-hotspot countries — those without high-density areas of animal and plant species — similar results were found, though on a lesser scale. Even in countries experiencing population decline, such as New Zealand, the number of households still increased because of a reduction in household size.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “insufficient” mean?

A．Biodiversity is better kept in countries with smaller populations.

B．Biodiversity is better kept in hotspot countries.

C．The threat to nature from reduction in household size is a worldwide problem.

D．Both hotspot countries and non-hotspot countries face the threat of the same scale.