It took years (complete) the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The construction workers (overcome) the most difficult engineering challenges, one of which was how to protect the delicate ecosystem. To allow the wild animals to move safely and freely in their (nature) habitat, they built thirty-three passages under the railway. To prevent damage to wetlands and grasslands, 675 bridges with a total length of about 160 kilometres (build) between Golmud and Lhasa. They even moved 140, 000 square metres of wetland to new area in order to protect its distinct ecosystem. (locate) at over 5, 000 metres above sea level, Tanggula Station is the highest railway station in the world. In locations such as this, the thin air, changeable weather and high levels of UV radiation presented perhaps the (great) challenge for railway workers. To make sure they stayed healthy, several oxygen-making stations were constructed. To protect Cuona Lake construction waste, the railway workers used thousands thousands of sandbags to build a twenty-kilometre wall along the lake. In a word, the railway workers built our "impossible" railway with the care that the environment deserves. It (true) is an extraordinary "Sky Railway".
The world is losing monarch butterflies at a striking rate, as kinds of human activities destroy natural habitats. Climate change, with its extreme storms, prolonged droughts and warming temperatures, is to destroy the forest that serves as the butterfly's winter home.
Scientists believe, to help these lovely butterflies, it is necessary to create an ecosystem where the butterflies will be able to survive. They've decided to start a monumental project.
"It's an idea that may sound crazy, "said Cuauhtemoc Saenz-Romero, a forest geneticist, "but by the end of the century, it may be absolutely needed."
The butterflies that winter here seek shelter in the oyamel firs. The firs protect the butterflies from chilly winter rain and create a microclimate cold enough to keep the butterflies in a state of hibernation but not so cold as to kill them.
The region is warming at such an accelerated pace that the trees won't be able to adapt, scientists say, and will need help migrating to areas where the climate is predicted to be suitable for them in future years.
Over the last several years, the team of researchers has overseen the relocation of about 1, 000 young fir plants, which were growing at lower altitudes, up to higher—and cooler—elevations. They are now establishing the trees at even higher altitudes on other nearby mountains—seeding ecosystems now that monarchs could potentially use later if temperatures continue to rise.
Every winter is witnessing tens of thousands of butterflies in the new forests, some fluttering about and others resting in massive clumps on the firs, their bodies obscuring the branches and trunks.
A. They hope to expand the project.
B. There is still hope to restore the forests.
C. Their dense tops act as an umbrella for the butterflies.
D. But the biggest threat yet has only recently come into focus.
E. They are trying to move an entire forest 1, 000 feet up a mountain.
F. Scientists fear that climate change may kill off these firs altogether.
G. The project is believed to protect the butterfly and the natives as well.
My interest in wildlife and rainforests began at an early age. When my parents introduced me to nature books and magazines, I was 1 by the pictures of strange animals living in distant lands. As I got older, my mother and father 2 my learning by taking me on trips to other countries. Therefore, I could see wildlife first hand. I grew to 3 appreciate places of natural beauty and 4 the environment around me.
Over the years I have seen many beautiful 5 and met many wonderful people. I have swum with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands, 6 lemurs (狐猴)sing and dance in Madagascar, and had many other amazing 7. I have also become increasingly aware of the changes 8 by human activities. Some of the special places I so 9 are no longer around today. My inspiration to protect rainforests comes from a particular 10 in the rainforest of Borneo when an area of11 was destroyed by loggers (伐木工).
Today I 12 a great deal of time reading, writing, traveling to rainforests, and talking with scientists doing research on them. My 13 is to raise awareness, interest, and appreciation of wild-lands like rainforests. It is not too 14 to save these special places and I hope that my work will someday inspire people to make a 15in the world around them.
