Part C
Directions:
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined
segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written carefully on ANSWER
SHEET 2. (10 points)
One basic weakness in a conservation system based wholly on
economic motives is that most members of the land community have no economic
value. Yet these creatures are members of the biotic community and, if its
stability depends on its integrity, they are entitled to continuance.
When one of these noneconomic categories is threatened and, if
we happen to love it .We invert excuses to give it economic importance. At the
beginning of century songbirds were supposed to be disappearing. (46) Scientists
jumped to the rescue with some distinctly shaky evidence to the effect that
insects would eat us up if birds failed to control them. the evidence had
to be economic in order to be valid.
It is painful to read these round about accounts today. We have
no land ethic yet, (47) but we have at least drawn near the point of
admitting that birds should continue as a matter of intrinsic right, regardless
of the presence or absence of economic advantage to us.
A parallel situation exists in respect of predatory mammals and
fish-eating birds. (48) Time was when biologists somewhat over worded the
evidence that these creatures preserve the health of game by killing the
physically weak, or that they prey only on "worthless" species.
Some species of tree have been read out of the party by
economics-minded foresters because they grow too slowly, or have too low a sale
vale to pay as timber crops. (49) In Europe, where forestry is ecologically
more advanced, the non-commercial tree species are recognized as members of
native forest community, to be preserved as such, within reason.
To sum up: a system of conservation based solely
on economic self-interest is hopelessly lopsided. (50) It tends to ignore,
and thus eventually to eliminate, many elements in the land community that lack
commercial value, but that are essential to its healthy functioning. It
assumes, falsely, I think, that the economic parts of the biotic clock will
function without the uneconomic parts.
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