Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, told The Independent that the move was a “practical demonstration of our commitment to take practical action to tackle climate change. If we are going to have an effective response to dangerous climate change, then its vital7 that tackling deforestation is part of the answer.”
4 “In the UK we tend to talk about climate change as a future threat,” he said. “But what I have learnt is that in the developing world its a contemporary8 crisis. The countries that have contributed least to global emissions9 are most commonly the countries affected worst. 5”
【生词注释】
1. amidprep. 在……中间, 处于……环境中
2. deforestationn. 滥伐森林,森林开伐
3. plantationn. 种植园, 大农场
4. buffern. 起缓冲作用的人（或物）
5. initiativen. 主动性, 首创精神
6. innovativeadj. 新发明的, 新引进的
7. vitaladj. 极重要的, 必不可少的
8. contemporaryadj. 当代的;同时代的
9. emissionn. 排放（物）
根据短文内容，选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项多余
A. They are doing an environmental service to the world by reducing deforestation and therefore it is right we find a means of financing it.
B. He warned that global warming was affecting parts of the world least equipped to deal with it.
C. They will step up their patrols against illegal logging and offered subsidies towards forest conservation projects.
D. These will want to farm and fish in the forests in the coming years.
E. Forest communities will be urged to use the trees to produce rubber or medicine or to switch to farming or fishing.
F. The cash will be paid in the form of grants or loans to those developingworld governments.
G. The countries will force global emissions to make climate change as a future threat.
Consider the problem of heat loss in animals living in very cold climates. Most heat is lost near a bodys surface. Therefore, the less surface area a body has relative to its total size the less heat it will lose from its surface. It happens that of all the geometrical1 forms in nature, the one with the least surface area relative to its total size, is the sphere2.
This means that if you live in a cold climate you will find a certain advantage in being somewhat spherical-being short and thick.
In fact, in ecology3 theres a “rule” recognizing this principle at work among geographical races of single species, called Allens Rule. It states that certain extremities4 of animals are relatively shorter in the cooler parts of a species range than in the warmer parts. By “extremities” is mainly meant arms, legs, ears, and snout or nose.
Its also a matter of basic physics that the larger a sphere, the less is its surface area relative to its total volume. Therefore, large balls lose heat more slowly, relative to their size, than small ones. You might guess, then, that animals tend to be larger in cold areas than in tropical5 ones. In fact, Bergmanns Rule states that geographic races of a species possessing smaller body size are found in the warmer parts of the range, and races of larger body size in cooler parts.
Turning from spheres, Glogers Rule states that dark pigments6 increase in races of animals living in warm and humid habitats. Of course, among the animal species supporting this “rule” is humankind7.
With special reference to birds in the Northern Hemisphere, the Egg Rule states that the average number of eggs in a set, or clutch, laid by songbirds8 and several other kinds of birds increases as one moves north in latitude. This state of affairs probably evolved to balance the fact that in the north songbirds may be able to raise only one brood per season, while farther south, two, three, or more broods may be possible.
【生词注释】
1. geometricaladj. 几何的, 几何学的
2. spheren. 球（体）
3. ecologyn. 生态, 生态学
4. extremityn. 四肢
5. tropicaladj. 热带的; 炎热的
6. pigmentn. （粉状）颜料;天然色素
7. humankindn. 人类
8. songbirdn. 鸣禽;鸣鸟
根据短文内容，从A-F中选出每段的最佳标题。选项中有一项多余
A. The egg rule
B. Bergmanns rule
C. Ecological Rules to break off
D. Some ecological rules to think about
E. Glogers rule
F. Allens rule
