Find in the text and translate all names of endangered species.

Give annotation of the text.

Put 10 questions to the text (alternative, special, general and disjunctive).

Give a short summary of the text.

Preservation Efforts

Some private and governmental efforts have been mobilised to save declining species. One immediate approach is to protect a species by legislation. Laws were enacted in the United States in the early 1900s, for example, to protect wildlife from commercial trade and overhunting. In 1973 the Endangered Species Act provided mechanisms for the conservation of ecosystems on which endangered species depend; it also discouraged the exploitation of endangered species in other countries by banning the importation and trade of any product made from such species. The U.S. also has various agreements with other nations — for example, with Canada and Mexico for the legal protection of migratory birds.

International efforts centre on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, ratified by 51 nations and signed by the U.S. in 1973. Its purpose is to restrict exploitation of wildlife and plants by regulating and restricting trade in species. The effectiveness of such laws in various countries, however, depends on enforcement and support by people and the courts. Because of a lack of law enforcement, the willingness of some segments of society to trade in endangered species, and the activities of poachers and dealers who supply the trade, the future of many species is in doubt in spite of legal protection.

Efforts to save endangered species also include the propagation of breeding stock for release in the wild, either to restore a breeding population (as in the case of the peregrine falcon) or to augment a natural population (as in the case of the whooping crane). Due to breeding in captivity, the number of known California condors had risen from 27 in 1987 to 52 by 1992. Another approach involves the determination of critical habitats that must be preserved for endangered species. These habitats may be protected by the establishment of reserves; the value of these may be limited, however, because of the island effect. Usually, too, the objections of special interest groups make land preservation for the protection of endangered species difficult, such as the 1992 attempt by the logging industry to block the preservation of Pacific Northwest timberlands that served as the home of the northern spotted owl, an endangered species.

 

 

1. Replace the words and expressions in brackets by their English analogues:

1. Endangered Species are plant and animal species that are in immediate danger of (вымирания).

2. (Загрязнение) is another important cause of extinctions.

3. As the various habitats become fragmented into “islands,” the remaining animal populations (скапливаются) into smaller areas, causing further habitat destruction.

4. Today the majority of the world's environments are changing faster than the ability of most species (приспосабливаться) to such changes through natural selection.

5. Throughout geological time, many more species have become extinct than (существует) today.

6. Some private and governmental efforts have been mobilised to save (сокращающиеся) species.

7. (Завезённые) diseases, parasites, and predators against which native flora and fauna have no defenses have also exterminated or greatly reduced some species.

8. The effectiveness of laws in various countries, however, (зависит от) enforcement and support by people and the courts.

9. Water pollution and increased water temperatures (уничтожили) endemic races of fish in several habitats.

10. Small populations are highly (чувствительны) to extinction; for some species, the fragmented habitats become too small to support a viable population.

 

2. Say what d’you think of (that is how d’you understand) the following (you may make use of clichés given in item 1 of the previous section):

1. Critically endangered species are those that probably cannot survive without direct human intervention.

2. Extinction is actually a normal process in the course of evolution.

3. The process of extinction has accelerated rapidly through the impact of both human population growth and technological advances on natural ecosystems.

4. Species become extinct or endangered for a number of reasons.

5. Introduced diseases, parasites, and predators against which native flora and fauna have no defenses have exterminated or greatly reduced some species.

6. Pollution is an important cause of extinctions.

7. Some private and governmental efforts have been mobilised to save declining species.