Why India Needs Its Dying Vultures
The vultures in question1 may look ugly and threatening, but the sudden sharp____1____ in three species of India’s vultures is producing alarm rather than2 celebration, and it presents the world with a new kind of environmental____2____. The dramatic decline in vulture numbers is causing widespread disruption to people living in the same areas as the____3____. It is also causing serious public health problems____4____ the Indian sub-continent.3
While4 their reputation and appearance may be unpleasant to many Indians, vultures have____5____ played a very important role in keeping towns and villages all over India clean. It is____6____ they feed on dead cows. In India, cows are sacred animals and are____7____ left in the open6 when they die in their thousands upon thousands5 every year.
The disappearance of the vultures has____8____ an explosion in the numbers of wild dogs feeding on the remains of these dead animals. There are fears that rabies may____9____ as a result7. And this terrifying disease may ultimately affect humans in the region, since wild dogs are its main carriers. Rabies could also spread to other animal species, causing an even greater problem in the____10____.
The need for action is____11____, so an emergency project has been launched to____12____ a solution to this serious vulture problem. Scientists are trying to identify the disease causing the birds’ deaths and, if possible, develop a cure.
Large-scale vulture____13____ were first noticed at the end of the 1980s in India. A population survey at that time showed that the three species of vultures had declined____14____ over 90 per cent. All three species are now listed as “critically endangered”8. As most vultures lay only single eggs and____15____ about five years to reach maturity, reversing their population decline will be a long and difficult exercise.
詞匯：
vulture / 'v?lt?? / n.禿鷹
species / 'spi??i?z / n.物種，種類
disruption / d?s'r?p??n / n.破壞，毀壞
rabies / 're?bi?z / n.狂犬癥
ultimately / '?lt?m?tl? / adv.最終地
endanger / ?n'de?nd?? / v.危及，瀕危
maturity / m?'tj??r?t? / n.成熟期
注釋：
1.The vulture in question：討論中的秀鷹(問(wèn)題)。in question意為“討論中的，考慮中的”。
2.rather than：而不是。例：Your proposal is positive rather than negative.(你的提議是積極的，而不是消極的。)
3.the Indian sub-continent：印度次大陸
4.while：雖然。例：While he has published many papers, he is modest.(雖然他發(fā)表了多篇論文，他還是很謙虛。)
5.thousands upon thousands：成千上萬(wàn)的
6.in the open：在戶外，在野外
7.as a result：結(jié)果
8.listed as “critically endangered”：被列為極度瀕危動(dòng)物
練習(xí)：
1.A decline B rise C teeth D eyes
2.A benefit B debate C problem D solution
3.A plants B birds C humans D cows
4.A over B with C through D across
5.A sometimes B long C suddenly D hardly
6.A who B when C because D where
7.A traditionally B occasionally C possibly D finally
8.A came from B adjusted to C resulted from D led to
9.A drop B increase C disappear D change
10.A future B past C villages D mountains
11.A recent B urgent C frequent D rare
12.A neglect B use C remove D find
13.A cures B arrivals C deaths D journeys
14.A along B on C in D by
15.A take B adopt C consume D waste