首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Working to Improve the Conditions of Everglades National Park A) When many people think of Florida, images of sandy coastlin
Working to Improve the Conditions of Everglades National Park A) When many people think of Florida, images of sandy coastlin
admin
2017-11-17
31
问题
Working to Improve the Conditions of Everglades National Park
A) When many people think of Florida, images of sandy coastlines or theme park rides come to mind. But about an hour south of Miami lies a natural wilderness different from anywhere else in the United States. Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the country. The park is home to several rare and endangered species. It is also the third largest national park in the lower forty-eight states, after Death Valley and Yellowstone. More than one million people visit the Everglades each year.
B) The Everglades is considered one of the great biological wonders of the world. The expansive wetlands stretch across more than six hundred thousand hectares (公顷). It is a place where plants and animals from the Caribbean Sea share an ecosystem with native North American species. Unlike most other national parks, Everglades National Park was created to protect an ecosystem from damage. The Everglades is home to thirty-six species that are considered threatened or protected. They include the Florida panther, the American crocodile and the West Indian manatee. In addition, more than three hundred fifty bird species and three hundred species of fresh and saltwater fish live within the park. The Everglades is also home to forty species of mammals (哺乳动物) and fifty reptile (爬行动物) species.
C) Exotic plants can also be found in the Everglades. They include what is said to be the largest growth of mangrove trees in the western half of the world. Gumbo-limbo trees, known for their peeling red skin, strangler figs and royal palms are also among the area’s plant life. The Everglades is also home to the country’s largest living mahogany tree. Sawgrass grows in some areas of the park. Be careful—it is very sharp, with teeth just like a saw. It can grow up to four meters tall. With about one and one-half meters of rainfall each year, plants and trees never stop growing in the Everglades.
D) The dry, winter season is the favorite of most visitors, when insects like mosquitoes are less of a problem. The rainy season lasts from June to November. There are many ways to explore the Everglades. Visitors could see American crocodiles while hiking the Anhinga Trail. The Everglades is the only place on Earth where fresh water crocodiles and saltwater crocodiles live in the same area. Visitors using canoes or airboats are likely to see large groups of wading birds like the wood stork or great blue heron. It is even possible to see flamingos in the Everglades. This spring, Everglades National Park launched a visitation program to what was once a highly restricted military base. Park officials are working to recover a missile base used in the 1960s. The base played a Part In the nuclear tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.
E) The government built the Florida base shortly after the discovery of Soviet missiles about three hundred kilometers away, on the island of Cuba. Tensions were high during the Cuban missile crisis. But missiles stored at the American base were never fired. The base was closed and all missile equipment was removed in the 1970s. Today only the buildings remain. This year, the historic area had many visitors, including former American service members who remember the missile crisis. The park hopes to offer more trips next spring, to help support the history for those who lived through it and for future generations.
F) Experts say changes to the Everglades are threatening several different kinds of wildlife. They say the threats are a result of actions the United States government began more than fifty years ago, and settlers began even earlier. The National Park Service says early colonial settlers and land developers thought the Everglades had little value. The settlers had plans to remove water from the area and in the 1880s developers began digging drain canals. At the time, they did not understand the complexity of the Everglades’ ecosystem. As a result, they were not prepared for all the work and caused environmental problems. The ecosystem, however, was able to survive.
G) Even larger efforts to drain the wetlands continued between 1905 and 1910. Large areas were changed to farmland. This led to increased development, with more people moving to the Everglades and also more visitors. More changes came in 1948, when Congress approved the Central and South Florida Project. As part of the plan, the Army Corps of Engineers built roads, canals and water-control systems throughout South Florida The aim of the project was to provide water and flood protection for developed areas and agriculture. Workers built a huge system of waterways and pumping stations to control the overflow of Lake Okeechobee, north of the Everglades. Today, fifty percent of south Florida’s early wetland areas no longer exist. Populations of wading birds have been reduced by ninety percent. Whole populations of animals are in danger of disappearing. The endangered creatures include the manatee, the Miami blackhead snake, the wood stork and the Florida panther.
H) In recent years, environmental experts have learned about the damage to the Everglades. They say the natural balance of plants and animals has been destroyed. Recently, the Obama administration promised three hundred sixty million dollars to pay for Everglades restoration this year. The administration is also asking that Congress approve an additional two hundred seventy-eight million dollars for next year. The money will help to support projects approved by the government nine years ago. The projects include improving wetlands in the Picayune Strand in Southwest Florida and repairs to Lake Okeechobee’s dam. Until now, the state of Florida has spent the most money on the project.
I) Another threat biologists have been battling for years in the Everglades is the area’s population of Burmese pythons (large snakes). Officials believe there are as many as one hundred fifty thousand of these large snakes in the Everglades. But the snakes are a foreign species, native to Southeast Asia Owners of pythons left their unwanted snakes in the Everglades years ago. Biologists say adult pythons are able to eat small deer and bobcats. When pythons are found in the Everglades, they are often killed. Scientists are now experimenting with other ways to remove the snakes, including trapping methods and offering payments to hunters. The future of the Everglades is not clear. However, efforts to protect the area are continuing so that people from all over the world may continue visiting this biological treasure.
Most people prefer to visit the Everglades in winter.
选项
答案
D
解析
根据选项中表示季节的winter定位到D段。该段首句的winter season is the favorite表明冬天去Everglades的人最多,很明显,D为本题答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/TPa7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
ProfessorSmithrecentlypersuaded35people,23ofthemwomen,tokeepadiaryofalltheirabsent-mindedactionsforafortnig
ProfessorSmithrecentlypersuaded35people,23ofthemwomen,tokeepadiaryofalltheirabsent-mindedactionsforafortnig
ProfessorSmithrecentlypersuaded35people,23ofthemwomen,tokeepadiaryofalltheirabsent-mindedactionsforafortnig
ProfessorSmithrecentlypersuaded35people,23ofthemwomen,tokeepadiaryofalltheirabsent-mindedactionsforafortnig
WorkingtoImprovetheConditionsofEvergladesNationalParkA)WhenmanypeoplethinkofFlorida,imagesofsandycoastlin
WorkingtoImprovetheConditionsofEvergladesNationalParkA)WhenmanypeoplethinkofFlorida,imagesofsandycoastlin
WorkingtoImprovetheConditionsofEvergladesNationalParkA)WhenmanypeoplethinkofFlorida,imagesofsandycoastlin
A"memorypill"thatcouldaidexamrevisionandhelptopreventpeopleforgettingimportantanniversariesmaysoonbeavailable
随机试题
胃癌的溃疡特点是
TQM的意义是
能降低血压但伴有反射性心率加快,易导致心肌缺血的药物是非肽类的AT1体拮抗药物是
男,19岁,因发热、咳嗽、痰多2天入院,诊断为左下大叶性肺炎。该患者不会出现
城市快速路、主干路路床顶面以下0~300mm范围内,采用重型击实标准,土的压实度应不低于()。
()是会计电算化的最高阶段。
政府把经济增长和增加就业作为宏观调控的主要目标,要实行()。
从长期来看,人民币国际化并逐步发展成为储备货币__________。一方面,中国经济基本面长期向好的__________没有变;另一方面,人民币的币值一直比较稳定,稳中有升,这些都为有强烈“保值增值”需求的各国央行提供了储备人民币的强大__________
某小学六年级的同学要从10名候选人中投票选举三好学生,规定每位同学必须从这10个人中任选两名,那么至少有多少人参加投票,才能保证必有不少于5个同学投了相同两个候选人的票?
在计算机网络中,英文缩写WAN的中文名是,
最新回复
(
0
)