Chinese paddlefish declared to be extinct“中国淡水鱼之王”被正式宣布灭绝

刘同功

2022年7月21日，世界自然保护联盟发布了全球濒危物种红色目录更新报告，宣布中国长江特有物种白鲟灭绝。

主题语境：野生动物保护  篇幅：378词 建议用时：7分钟

We will never see a living Chinese paddlefish （白鲟） again as it has been declared extinct. On July 21st， 2022， the International Union for Conservation of Nature （IUCN） updated its Red List of Threatened Species—the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of plants and animals—which assesses their risk of extinction. It confirmed the extinction of the Chinese paddlefish and moved the Yangtze sturgeon （鲟） from critically endangered to extinct in the wild.

According to the IUCN， the global sturgeon reassessment found that all remaining 26 sturgeon species in the world are now at risk of extinction， up from 85 percent of extinction in 2009. Their decline over the past three generations is steeper than previously thought. The Chinese paddlefish was among the world's biggest freshwater species and could grow up to 7.5 meters in length. The ancient fish is thought to have been around since some 200 million years ago. It was last spotted in 2003.

“The extinction of the Chinese paddlefish should be a warning for everyone，” said Zhou Fei， China's chief program officer at the World Wide Fund for Nature. “To prevent further loss of freshwater species in China， we must act urgently. There is no time to waste. Also， long?term threats to their life and habitats must be eliminated by implementing systematic protection measures. It's not something that can be achieved by certain departments. Instead， it requires joint effects from all sectors of society.”

There are about 400 species of fish in the Yangtze River Basin and 92 of them have been included on the Red List. “The task of protecting fish in the river is very challenging but a significant move has been made，” said Wang Limin， vice?president of the Changjiang Conservation Foundation. On January 1st， 2021， a complete 10?year fishing ban took effect in certain stretches of the Yangtze， China's longest river， which has provided unprecedented opportunities for aquatic species to recover. “After people become aware of the extinction of the Chinese paddlefish， I believe they will be more willing to make more efforts in the conservation of the endangered Chinese sturgeon as well as helping the Yangtze sturgeon， which can be bred in captivity before returning to the wild. These species still have a chance，” Wang said.

Reading Check

1. What makes the Chinese paddlefish the most remarkable？

A. Its shape.  B. Its color.

C. Its size.    D. Its speed.

2. What did Zhou Fei stress in protecting China's freshwater species？

A. Scientific measures.

B. Government policies.

C. Efforts by the whole society.

D. Efficiency of related departments.

3. What does the underlined word “eliminated” in paragraph 3 mean？

A. Included.  B. Removed.

C. Controlled.  D. Exchanged.

4. What's Wang Limin's attitude to the future of the Yangtze sturgeon？

A. Concerned.    B. Confident.

C. Doubtful.  D. Pessimistic.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

After people become aware of the extinction of the Chinese paddlefish， I believe they will be more willing to make more efforts in the conservation of the endangered Chinese sturgeon as well as helping the Yangtze sturgeon， which can be bred in captivity before returning to the wild.在人們意识到白鲟的灭绝后，我相信他们会更愿意付出更多的努力来保护濒危的中华鲟，也会更愿意帮助可以人工繁殖的长江鲟回归野外。

【点石成金】本句是一个复合句。after引导的是一个时间状语从句。believe后是一个省略了that的宾语从句，该从句含有一个由which 引导的非限制性定语从句。

Ⅱ. Text?centered chunks

at risk of 处在……的风险中

take effect 生效；起作用

become aware of 意识到；了解