PBS高端访谈:帝王蝶可能会成为濒临灭绝的物种

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

　　But as you've likely heard, their numbers have declined dramatically in the past two decades. Now the federal government is considering new steps to try to reverse the trend.

　　Scientists are still trying to determine just how many of the butterflies made the long trip to Mexico this winter.

　　Still hoping that the 90 percent decline that began in the 1990s has finally come to an end.

　　DIRECTOR MONARCH BUTTERFLY RESERVE, GLORIA TAVERA: Well this 2014 – 2015 season is a critical season for us after the numbers we had last season.

　　We hope work done jointly³ by the United States, Canada and Mexico will help to increase the numbers of butterflies arriving in our sanctuaries⁴.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: But even as the butterfly count continues in Mexico…in Washington, responding to a petition submitted by conservation organizations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced a year-long review that could mean the butterflies are placed on the Endangered Species list.

　　If that happens, there could be ripple⁵ effects, the monarch's habitats in the U.S. could become protected under law and that, in turn, could lead to restrictions⁶ on the use of herbicides that many farmers depend on to kill weeds without harming their crops.

　　But the time it takes to make these decisions is consequential⁷.

　　A report published by the Center for Biological Diversity, a non-profit conservation organization, found that 83 species became extinct between 1974 and 1994, at the very time the government was deliberating about whether or not to include them on the Endangered Species list.

分享到：