We Should Protect Insects

昆虫种类繁多，形态各异，它们的踪迹几乎遍布世界的每个角落。它们也是生态系统中的一分子，保护它们就是在维护生态平衡。如今，昆虫的种类和数量正在逐年减少。这种趋势对人类有哪些害处？减少的原因又是什么？我们应该采取哪些必要措施保护昆虫呢？请大家阅读下面短文，了解一下昆虫面临着哪些危机。

Can you imagine a world without insects？ Without ants or flies in your house， it might sound great. However， the results may be out of imagination.

The number of insects has dropped by half in the past few years， according to a British biologist Dave Coulson. You may think small insects are not important. But in fact they are the main part of the species on Earth.

Insects are really on the way to extinction， according to the first review of insect population. The researchers say the main reason for this is the use of pesticides （杀虫剂） because they destroy insects’ living areas. Also， weather change is another important cause.

“Unless we change our ways of producing food， insects will go down the way to extinction in a few years，” the researchers wrote in the review. “This will have huge， influences on the planet’s ecosystem （生态系统）.”

We need insects to pollinate （授粉） crops. They also break down dead plants and animals， which can keep the soil healthy. Without insects， many animals would have nothing to eat and die of hunger. Then， the ecosystem would be off balance.

“If the number of insect species keep dropping， this will have bad influences on both Earth’s ecosystem and the living of us humans，” said one of the writers of the review.

“The first step to stop this is to let more people understand the values of the natural world，” he suggests. “The best place to start is from our children， who should realize environmental protection from an early age.”

（ ） 1. Why has the number of insects dropped in the past few years？

A. Because people use lots of pesticides.

B. Because the land becomes less and less.

C. Because they break down dead plants and animals.

D. Because people catch and sell many insects every year.

（ ） 2. What does the underlined word “extinction” mean in Chinese？

A. 保护 " " B. 伤害

C. 损伤 " D. 灭绝

（ ） 3. What does the last paragraph tell us？

A. Choose the best place for insects.

B. Keep the values of the natural plant.

C. Protect the environment from children.

D. Feed more insects in some good places.

（ ） 4. We can infer from the passage that _________.

A. weather change has little influence on insects

B. humans’ actions influence the number of insects

C. insects may destroy the balance of the ecosystem

D. ants and flies are the main part of the species on Earth

【主旨大意】本文是一篇说明文。介绍了昆虫减少带来的危害以及如何保护昆虫。

1. 细节理解题。根据“The researchers say the main reason for this is the use of pesticides （杀虫剂） because they destroy insects’ living areas.”可知杀虫剂的使用破坏了昆虫的生存环境，使得昆虫数量下降。故选A。

2. 词义猜测题。根据后句“The researchers say the main reason for this is the use of pesticides （杀虫剂） because they destroy insects’ living areas.”可知杀虫剂的使用破坏了昆虫的生存环境，使得昆虫数量下降。再结合“Insects are really on the way to"_________.”可推知应该是在走向灭绝的路上。故选D。

3. 主旨大意题。通读最后一段可知是在给我们提出如何保护昆虫的建议，根据“The best place to start is from our children， who should realize environmental protection from an early age.”可知保护环境要从孩子抓起。故选C。

4. 推理判断题。通读全文，根据“The researchers say the main reason for this is the use of pesticides （杀虫剂） because they destroy insects’ living areas.”说明人们使用杀虫剂对昆虫造成巨大影响；“‘Unless we change our ways of producing food， insects will go down the way to extinction in a few years，’ the researchers wrote in the review. ‘This will have huge， influences on the planet’s ecosystem （生态系统）.’”可知除非我们改变生产食物的方式，否则昆虫将在一些年内走向灭绝，这将对地球的生态系统产生巨大影响，说明人类的行为会影响昆虫数量。故选B。