短文听写真题2

The world's forests are disappearing. As much as 1/3 of the total tree cover has been lost since agriculture began some 10,000 years ago. The remaining forests are home to half of the world's species, thus becoming the chief resource for their survival. Tropical rain forests once covered 12% of the land of the planet, as well as supporting at least half of the world's species of plants and animals. These rain forests are home to millions of people. But there are other demands on them. For example, much has been cut for timber. An increasing amount of forest land has been used for industrial purposes or for agricultural development such as crop-growing. By the 1990s, less than half of the earth's original rain forests remained, and they continued to disappear at an alarming rate every year. As a result, the world's forests are now facing gradual extinction.

世界的森林正在消失。自从农业在大约10000年以前开始之日起，整个森林已经锐减了三分之一。剩下的森林是地球上半数物种的家园。森林是他们生存的主要资源。热带雨林曾经覆盖了地球12%的陆地，同时供养了至少半数的动植物。这些雨林是数以百万人类的家园。但是人们对它们有些其他的需求。例如。它们的大多数被砍作木材。被工业和农业征用的数量与日俱增。截止90年代，现存的雨林还不足半数，并且它们继续以惊人的速度在消失。导致世界的森林正面临逐渐消失的境地。