Resilient oasis in the desert

河南 刘同功

新疆塔克拉玛干沙漠中部北缘横着一道长84 千米的人工生态林，新疆生产建设兵团“90后”护林员夏万林便是这片生态林的守护者之一。他用脚步丈量林地，用心灵守护林带，一干就是10个年头。

主题语境：环保人物 篇幅：341词 建议用时：7分钟

1 A 100 to 400-meter-wide, 84-kilometerlong artificial eco-forest in the northern Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has the proud name of“359”eco-forest.

2 Xia Wanlin, a post-90s forest ranger (护林员) from the 11th regiment (兵团) at the first Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps,has been stationed here for 10 years since he was 17.“When I first started working, the young trees had just been planted here.We had to replant young trees for three or four years in a row to achieve the scale we have today,”Xia said.“Now, this place has become a home for various sand-loving plants such as elm,mulberries,white wax trees,flower sticks,and bitter beans,”he added.

3 Xia manages over 10,000 acres of forest land,which is extremely harsh and remote.For the past 10 years, there has been almost no place where his footsteps could not reach,whether they were the bumpy dirt roads on the edge of the desert or the overgrown weeds deep in the forest.“We have to patrol about 14 kilometers every day, both driving and walking, mainly to check for any forest fires, illegal logging, and hunting,”Xia said.“Sometimes we encounter some problems.Just the other day, my car got stuck in the sandy terrain and almost couldn't get out.”

4 In 2022, Xia patrolled over 5,000 kilometers in total.Thanks to his and his colleagues'efforts, the ecological environment of the forest has been improving, attracting many wild animals such as Tibetan antelopes,wild rabbits,pheasants,wild boars,and hedgehogs to settle in the protected area.“Better protecting every blade of grass and tree here and making this protective forest grow better is our contributions to our hometown and the country,”he said.

5 Up to now, the 11th regiment has planted a total of 354 kilometers of forests, covering an area of 6,500 acres, and planted 324,800 trees.In 2022, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps completed the afforestation of 441,500 acres, grassland improvement of 484,000 acres,and the control of desertified land of 623,800 acres.

Reading Check

Inference1.How does Xia feel about the present condition of“359”eco-forest?

A.Relieved.B.Worried.

C.Uncertain.D.Disappointed.

Detail2.What presents the biggest challenge to Xia in his work?

A.Wild animals.

B.Road conditions.

C.Extreme temperatures.

D.Water resources.

Gist3.What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A.Xia's expectations of life.

B.Xia's contributions to the forest.

C.The environment of the desert.

D.The endangered species in the forest.

Inference 4.Which words can best describe Xia?

A.Loving and generous.

B.Lucky and optimistic.

C.Devoted and ambitious.

D.Helpful and open-minded.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Difficult sentence in the text

For the past 10 years, there has been almost no place where his footsteps could not reach, whether they were the bumpy dirt roads on the edge of the desert or the overgrown weeds deep in the forest.在过去的10 年里，几乎没有一个地方是他的脚步无法到达的，无论是沙漠边缘崎岖不平的土路，还是杂草丛生的森林深处。

【点石成金】本句是一个复合句。主句是there be 句型，where 引导的是限制性定语从句；whether...or引导的是一个让步状语从句。

Ⅱ.Text-centered chunks

in a row 连续地；一个接一个地；接连不断地

the other day 前几天；（不久前的）某一天

get stuck in 陷入

in total 全部；总共

thanks to 由于；多亏

settle in 在……定居