雅思词汇课文（32）· Deforestation and Its Consequences 森林砍伐及其后果

环境主题，约 350 词，融入 30 个雅思核心词。

🎧 课文朗读音频（约 1 分钟）

📖 课文 Text

Deforestation and Its Consequences

The Amazon rainforest produces roughly 20 per cent of the world's oxygen and is home to one in ten known species. Yet it is disappearing at a rate of about 13,000 square kilometres per year — an area larger than Jamaica. The same story unfolds in the Congo Basin, in Southeast Asia and on the islands of Indonesia. Since 1990, the world has lost over 420 million hectares of forest.

The causes are economic. In the Amazon, cattle ranching and soya production account for roughly 80 per cent of deforestation. In Indonesia and Malaysia, palm oil plantations replace ancient rainforest. In Africa, smallholder farmers clear land for subsistence agriculture, often using slash-and-burn techniques. Logging, both legal and illegal, opens roads that make further clearance inevitable.

The consequences extend far beyond the immediate loss of trees. Forests absorb carbon dioxide; when they are burned or rot, that carbon returns to the atmosphere, contributing an estimated 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Biodiversity collapses as habitat is fragmented. Indigenous communities, who have protected forests for centuries, are displaced. Regional rainfall patterns shift, threatening agriculture hundreds of kilometres away.

Solutions exist but face powerful opposition. Certification schemes for sustainable timber and palm oil have had limited impact because consumers rarely pay a premium. Protected areas work when properly funded and patrolled, but enforcement is weak in many countries. Payments to developing nations to conserve forests, known as REDD+, have been agreed but underfunded.

The Paris Agreement included a commitment to halt deforestation by 2030. Progress has been slow. The next decade will determine whether the world's great forests survive as functioning ecosystems or become fragmented remnants, remembered only in documentaries.

📝 生词表 New Words and Expressions

🧠 课文理解 Comprehension

1. The Amazon produces roughly what percentage of the world's oxygen?

• A. 5 per cent
• B. 20 per cent
• C. 50 per cent
• D. 80 per cent

2. Cattle ranching and soya production account for what percentage of Amazon deforestation?

• A. 30 per cent
• B. 50 per cent
• C. 80 per cent
• D. 10 per cent

3. Deforestation contributes roughly what percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions?

• A. 5 per cent
• B. 10 per cent
• C. 30 per cent
• D. 50 per cent

4. REDD+ refers to...

• A. a type of palm oil
• B. payments to developing nations to conserve forests
• C. a logging company
• D. a cattle breed

5. The Paris Agreement aims to halt deforestation by...

• A. 2025
• B. 2030
• C. 2050
• D. 2100

✏️ 词汇练习 Vocabulary Practice

Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list. Change the form where necessary.

| account for / inevitable / fragment / indigenous / opposition / premium / patrol / halt |

1. Women ______ 40 per cent of the workforce.
2. With such heavy rain, a flood was almost ______.
3. The glass shattered into tiny ______.
4. The ______ tribe has lived in the rainforest for millennia.
5. The new policy faced strong ______ from residents.
6. Organic products often command a price ______.
7. Security guards ______ the premises at night.
8. The government decided to ______ construction until the review was complete.

✅ 答案 Answers

Comprehension

1. B　2. C　3. B　4. B　5. B

Vocabulary

1. account for　2. inevitable　3. fragments　4. indigenous　5. opposition　6. premium　7. patrol　8. halt