| 种种动物都濒临灭绝的危险境地，有谁关心？-1 An animal species becomes extinct when it fails to produce enough young is each generation to keep pace with the death-rate. 不论何种动物，只要每一代不能繁殖出足够的后代，不能与这种动物的死亡数字相平衡，那么这种动物就会逐渐灭绝。 We can tell from fossil evidence in rocks that many living species have become extinct over the millions of years since life began. 我们从岩石中的化石遗留下的证据中可以辨别出来，自从地球上有生命时开始，在若干个百万年中，有很多动植物的物种已经逐渐地灭绝了。 It is a natural process and extinction is the fate of many animal that has specialized too far to change when its environment changes, or has to compete with a better-adapted and more powerful animal. 任何一种生性过于特殊化以致于不能随着环境的变化而改变自己的特性的动物，或者是任何一种必须与一种能更好地适应环境而又更加强大的动物相竞争的动物，它们的命运都将是灭绝，这是个很自然的演化过程。 Because of remarkable technical developments during the past few centuries, man has destroyed or nearly destroyed some species by killing them at such a rate that they couldn't produce enough offspring, or by completely changing their natural environment at surprising speed. 由于最近几百年来各项科学技术的迅猛发展，以惊人的速度大量杀死了某些种动物，或以惊人的速度彻底改变了这些动物的生存的自然环境，致使这些动物不能生育繁衍出足够的后代，人类已经消灭了或已经接近于消灭了某些种动物。 A number of examples can be given of the way in which natural environments are being rapidly changed - Amazonia, for instance. 可以举出很多很多的例子说明自然生态环境已经被迅速地改变了，亚马逊河流域就是最好的例证。 There is every likelihood that many species of animals will be made extinct because of these and similar clearances of natural vegetation. 因为在这些地区以及和这些地区相类似的地区，自然界的植物已经被砍伐净尽，许多种动物将完全有可能灭绝。 Large numbers of animals have been hunted and killed for food. 一大批一大批的动物被当作食品而遭猎杀。 The North American buffalo is a case of the near-extinction of a species through hunting. 北美洲的野牛就是因为捕猎而接近于灭绝的物种之一。 |
