考研英语背诵的十篇精选文章之九

Saving Land for Endangered Animals

　　There is only so much land on the earth, and so what we can do with it is limited. Some people believe that human needs for farmland, housing and industry should come first, while others believe that some land should be set aside for endangered animals. I am of the opinion that we should reserve some land for the world’s animals for the following reasons.
　　First, mankind’s need for land is constantly growing. If the demand is not checked in some way, humans will eventually develop all of the earth’s available land. At that time, mankind will have no more room to grow, and all the wild animals will have disappeared, as well as other valuable resources. Second, humans are able to innovate and can use the land that they already possess in more efficient ways. Animals are unable to do this. Once their land is taken away from them they will die. Third and last, endangered animals are an important part of the biodiversity of our planet. If they disappear, we cannot predict what the effect will be. Therefore, we should treat such animals as a valuable resource to be protected.
　　To sum up, the world’s endangered animals are an important resource and we should protect them by setting aside some land for them. Although mankind’s need for land continues to grow, people are intelligent and inventive enough to put the land they have to better use. In this way, we can have enough land for farming, housing and industry, and preserve the biodiversity of the planet at the same time.

　　参考译文：
保留土地给濒临绝种的动物
　　地球上的土地就只有这么多，所以我们可以利用土地的方式有限。有些人认为人类对于耕地、居住以及工业的需求应该摆在第一位，但是有人则认为，有些土地应该留给濒临绝种的动物。我的看法是，基于下列的理由，我们应该保留一些土地给地球上的动物。
　　首先，人类对土地的需求在不断增加。如果这些需求不以某种方式来加以抑制，人类比较后将会开发完地球上所有可用的土地。到那时候，人类将没有栽种作物的空间，而且全部的野生动物将会和其他宝贵的资源一样消失殆尽。其次，人类可以创新并且以更有效率的方式来使用已经拥有的土地，动物则无法做到这一点。一旦土地被剥夺，它们就会死亡。第三点，也是比较后一点，濒临绝种的动物是我们地球上物种多元性的重要组成部分。如果它们消失了，我们无法预测将会造成什么样有影响。因此，我们应该把这些动物视为需要保护的珍贵资源。
　　总之，全世界濒临绝种的动物都是一项重要的资源，我们应该加以保护，并且保留一些土地给它们。虽然人类对于土地的需求在持续增加，但人类很聪明，而且具有创造力，能够更充分利用所拥有的土地。如此一来，我们会有足够的土地耕种、居住，并用来发展工业，而且能同时保持地球物种的多元性。