The guardian across the islands 穿越群岛的守护

1 In a small Indonesian fishing village， a man with a fake rhino head on the top of his own puts on a puppet show for a group of eager children.

2 Former teacher Samsudin is educating the kids about the trouble of the critically endangered Javan rhinos， the world's rarest， using cardboard figures， funny expressions and voices to spread his message of conservation one story at a time.

3 The 50⁃year⁃old asks the children in the West Javan village of Indramayu to mimic the animals， and teaches them the importance of guarding the forest and the wildlife unique to it.

4 “I want them to know rhinos need forest and that human beings are not the only creatures on the earth，” he said. “I want children to love nature and grow up into people who are aware and care about our natural resources.”

5 Javan rhinos once numbered in the thousands all across Southeast Asia. But they are now barely clinging to existence， having been hit hard by illegal poaching， hunting and human invasion of their habitats. After years of population decline， it is believed that there are just 75 of the mammals left at the Ujung Kulon sanctuary， their last remaining wild habitat， on the westernmost tip of Java island.

6 Samsudin decided to dedicate his time to the conservation of Javan rhinos in 2014 after learning about their precarious situation. Since then， he has traveled across the archipelago on an old bicycle， performing free puppet shows at stops along the way to teach

children about the animals.

7 Samsudin makes his puppets out of cardboard because it's readily available， and because he opposes the use of leather which is used in traditional Javanese puppet theater shows for conservation reasons. The use of visual storytelling makes the message easier for children to digest and creates a stronger bond between him and his young audience， he said.

8 Samsudin wants his young audience members to imitate him one day， joining his mission to spread awareness of the environmental protection through folk stories. “I hope among the hundreds of children I've met， one or two will follow in my footsteps and join me to spread messages about conservation，” he said.

Reading Check

Detail

1. Why does Samsudin give puppet shows？

A. To entertain kids with his knowledge.

B. To draw people's attention to wildlife.

C. To explain Javan rhinos' living habitats.

D. To call on children to care about Javan rhinos.

Detail

2. What causes the number of Javan rhinos to decline？

A. Human activities.

B. Climate changes.

C. Other species' threat.

D. Diverse living habitats.

Vocabulary

3. What does the underlined word “precarious” in paragraph 6 mean？

A. Unique. B. Strange.

C. Dangerous. D. Normal.

Language Study

Difficult sentence in the text

After years of population decline， it is believed that there are just 75 of the mammals left at the Ujung Kulon sanctuary， their last remaining wild habitat， on the westernmost tip of Java island. 经过多年的数量下降，人们相信在爪哇岛最西端的Ujung Kulon保护区只剩下75只爪哇犀牛，这是它们仅存的野生栖息地。

【点石成金】本句中，After years of population decline为介词短语作状语;it is believed that...为固定句式，意为“人们相信……”;left at the Ujung Kulon sanctuary为过去分词作后置定语;their last remaining wild habitat为the Ujung Kulon sanctuary的同位语。