1970 was World Conservation(保护) Year. The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world was in danger. They hoped something could be" done.

    Here is one example of the problem. At one time there were 1,300 kinds of plants, trees and flowers in Holland(荷兰), but now only 866 are left. The others have been destroyed (毁灭) by modern people and their science. We are polluting earth, air, water and everything around us. We can't live without these things. If things go on like this, we shall destroy ourselves.

    What will happen in the future? Perhaps it's more important to ask "What must we do?". More and more young people have known this. Many of them are helping to save our earth. For example, they plant trees. In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of 11 kilometres of their river. Young people may hear about conservation through a song called "No one's going to change our world". It was made by Cliff Gichard and other singers. The money from it will help to conserve tigers, elephants and pandas on the earth.

    Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history. Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sports, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the Earth forever. Hundreds of animals are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger. Why should people care? Because we need animals, and because once they are gone, there will never be any more. Animals are more than just beautiful or interesting. They are more than just a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems. For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks, the farmers' stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice, with no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied quickly.

    Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger. Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animal or plant on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.

    North American black bears are shy animals. They are fearful by nature, and will usually run away if they see or hear people. Because of this, it can be difficult for scientists to learn about these animals.

    In order to study black bears, researchers from New Jersey, the US, catch bears and use drugs to help them go to sleep. Researchers then work out the size and the weight of the bears, take blood, to test for diseases, remove a tooth and take it to the lab to find out its age. From these studies, researchers want to find out how many bears live in New Jersey, how long they live, and how many babies they produce.

    But in Minnesota, the US, researchers study bears that are completely awake. The bears know the researchers' voices and they are not afraid of the research team. With the help of a few grapes to keep the bears busy, researchers can touch them to check their hearts, look at their teeth, and do other jobs. Researchers can also walk or sit with bears for hours and make videos to learn about their everyday lives."

    In both places, the main purpose is the same—to make sure there is a healthy population of black bears. But the research methods and the kinds of information that researchers are able to collect are quite different.

内容提示：⑴老虎全身布满了黄色和黑色的条纹；

⑵它们有长长的尾巴，并且它们很强壮；

⑶它们住在茂密的丛林中，多以吃其他动物为生；

⑷近年来，许多森林被砍伐，老虎的生存环境受到了影响，数量越来越少；

⑸我们应该竭尽全力保护老虎。

相关词汇：条纹streak

Save the Tigers

    Tigers have yellow and black streaks all over their bodies. …