With the development of society and economy, animals and their habitats are gett

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

    Small numbersof 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 resourcesto meet consumer demand without endangering habitats important to biodiversity.

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

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

    Curious aboutwhether other parts of the world were experiencing similar phenomena, they gotthe support of a team of researchers including Stanford’sPaul Ehrlich, well-known for his population studies, to find out the householddynamics in 141 countries between 1985 and 2000. Their study proved that thedifficult choice of Wolong is part of a global trend.

    In the 76countries considered biodiversity “hotspots”,such as the United States, Brazil, Australia, and Kenya, the number ofhouseholds 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 declinein household size has resulted in 155 million additional households in hotspotcountries, almost always limiting biodiversity.

    In the 10non-hotspot countries — those without high-density areas of animal and plant species — similar results were found, though on a lesser scale. Even incountries experiencing population decline, such as New Zealand, the number ofhouseholds 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 thatChina’s Wolong Nature Reserve__________.

A. is facing the same threat asmany other parts of the world

B. sets a good example inprotecting animals

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

D. is a place where animals andtheir habitats are seriously damaged

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

A. Biodiversity is better kept incountries with smaller populations.

B. Biodiversity is better kept inhotspot countries.

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

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

4.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Reduced household size leadsto an increase in household number.

B. Modern homes consume morenatural resources.

C. How to meet consumer demandwithout endangering animals and their habitats.

D.Reduction in household size as well as increase in household number threatensnature.

试题答案

【答案】

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】略