享誉世界的非洲黑猩猩研究学者和保护者Jane Goodall最近重访四十年前的研究基地,东非的坦桑尼亚。她的所见所闻令她悲哀,同时,本文的第一、二段所形成的鲜明对比,也让读者悲从中来: 40年之前:she could climb to a hilltop and see nothing but rain forest andchimpanzee habitat stretching to the horizon. 40年之后:…only a tiny piece of its old size,about ten miles long andthree miles deep,surrounded by cleared land and eroding soil. 20世纪初,非洲黑猩猩的数量估计近二百万,而今只有二十万左右！ 下面这句道出了非洲黑猩猩数量锐减的根本原因: As loggong companies push into the rain forests,their roads give ruthlesshunters access to chimp populations,which they kill for the lucrative(有利的)trade in bush meat. 可悲的是,much of the meat ends up in upscale(高消费阶层的)restaurantsin African cities. 遗憾的是,the chimpanzee’s greatest liabilities(不利条件)was its inability(无能)to adapt to new habitats. Jane Goodall, a world-renowned African chimpanzee researcher and protector, recently revisited a research base forty years ago, Tanzania in East Africa. What she saw and heard caused her to grieve. At the same time, the sharp contrast between the first and second paragraphs of this article made readers sad: 40 years ago: she could climb to a hilltop and see nothing but rain forest and chimpanzee habitat. After 40 years:...only a tiny piece of its old size, about ten miles long andthree miles deep, surrounded by cleared land and eroding soil. At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of African chimpanzees is estimated at nearly 2 million, and now Only about 200,000! The following sentence shows the underlying causes of the sharp decline in the number of African chimpanzees: As loggong companies push into the rain forests, their roads give ruthless hunters access to chimp populations, which they kill for the lucrative trade in bush meat. Yes, much of the meat ends up in upscale (restoration) restaurants in African cities. Unfortunately, the chimpanzee’s greatest liabilities are its inability to adapt to new habitats.