守护长江“微笑精灵”

甘肃 潘 琦

长江江豚，是长江特有的古老而珍稀的物种，被称为长江的“微笑精灵”。它不仅是长江中现存唯一的水生哺乳动物，也是全球唯一的淡水江豚。

?主题语境：人与自然 篇幅：373词 建议用时：7分钟

1The waters of the Yangtze River are home to the endangered Yangtze finless porpoise, known locally as the “smiling angel”thanks to its upwardly extending mouth,which gives it a seemingly cheery expression.

2Currently, however, there is little for the creature to smile at. With only around 1,000 of the porpoises left, the government, researchers and volunteers are working hard to preserve the species. Tan Ge, secretary of Yueyang Porpoise Protection Association in Hunan Province, is one of them.

3It wasn't until Tan started working that she learned about this precious animal, and that a group of volunteers were working to protect this animal. At first, she just donated food and protective gear like hats and gloves. As she had more frequent contact with the volunteers, she developed a better understanding of the finless porpoise and realized that perhaps a lot of locals, like herself, had little knowledge of the animal. So, in 2018, she joined the association.

4Since then, she has been working on the front line of ecological protection, traveling by boat on Dongting Lake and Xiangjiang River. She has participated in more than 350 field trips to deal with illegal fishing, more than 100 of which took place at night, saving not only finless porpoises, but also other wildlife species in the area.

5She has led more than 100 educational field trips—from primary school level to university students—in the Dongting Lake area, informing them about the finless porpoise or helping them research the local ecology. He Jiujiu, a local middle school teacher who has taken students on field trips with Tan,says, “She loves the finless porpoise and has been an active protector of the species, hoping to raise public awareness, concern and love for the animal. I find her remarkable.”

6Tan says preservation of the finless porpoise is key to protecting the whole ecosystem of Dongting Lake and the greater Yangtze River water network. “We aim to inform and influence more young people with our determination to protect the finless porpoise, so as to raise society's awareness about ecological protection and finless porpoise preservation,”Tan says.

Reading Check

1. The Yangtze finless porpoise is known as the “smiling angel” because of ________.

A. its comfort habitat B. its mouth shape

C. its daily action D. its body expression

2. What can we know about Tan from the text?

A. She knew the finless porpoise well at first.

B. She devotes herself to making protective gear.

C. She is a member of Yueyang Porpoise Protection Association.

D. She did little to protect endangered species in the Yangtze River.

3. What's He Jiujiu's attitude to Tan's work?

A. Supportive. B. Tolerant.

C. Frightened. D. Neutral.

4. Which of the following may Tan agree with according to paragraph 6?

A. Field trips play an important role in education.

B. Protecting the finless porpoise is of great importance.

C. It's difficult to protect the whole ecosystem of Dongting Lake.

D. Young people are the future of society and the whole country.

Language Study

Difficult sentence

She has participated in more than 350 field trips to deal with illegal fishing, more than 100 of which took place at night, saving not only finless porpoises, but also other wildlife species in the area. 她参加了350多次打击非法捕鱼的实地考察，其中100多次是在夜间进行的，这些活动不仅拯救了江豚，还拯救了该地区的其他野生动物物种。

【点石成金】该句中，She has participated in more than 350 field trips to deal with illegal fishing为主句，which引导非限制性定语从句，saving not only finless porpoises, but also other wildlife species in the area为结果状语。