第1课（304字 3分钟）

Passage One

（K9 level）

1.Not many years ago, some farmers were concerned because hawks were preying on many of their chickens.

2.The farmers didn’t know how to handle the situation.

3.Eventually, they approached the local authorities and requested assistance.

4.The authorities suggested, “Eliminate the hawks. We’ll even compensate you for it,” so the farmers started brainstorming methods to eliminate the hawks.

5.The farmers managed to kill a significant number of hawks.

6.They no longer needed to worry about their chickens.

7.However, a new issue arose.

8.Field mice began devouring large quantities of the farmers’ crops.

9.Why did this occur?

10.Hawks feed on not just chickens but also field mice.

11.In fact, they consume more field mice than chickens.

12.Unfortunately, the farmers were unaware of this.

13.By killing so many hawks, they disrupted the ecological balance.

14.When humans settle in a new environment, they often destroy many wild plants.

15.These plants frequently serve as essential food sources for animals.

16.If animals cannot find sufficient plants to eat, they may starve or be forced to migrate elsewhere.

17.In one region of the United States, for example, deer are known to graze on a particular species of wild rose.

18.Mountain lions in the area prey on the deer.

19.The populations of deer, mountain lions, and wild roses generally remain stable if humans do not intervene.

20.However, people killed numerous mountain lions to protect the deer population.

21.As a result, the deer population exploded, and they consumed all the wild roses.

22.Consequently, the deer began eating the tender leaves of young trees.

23.These trees were crucial to the farmers.

24.Therefore, the farmers devised strategies to protect their trees.

25.With no food left, many deer perished.

26.This was yet another lesson taught by nature.

27.It is vital to remember the importance of maintaining the balance of nature.

生词表（New Words）

1.concerned 担心的 preying 捕食 chickens 鸡  

2.farmers 农民 handle 解决

3.approached 求助 assistance 帮助 authorities 官员  

4.eliminate 消灭 compensate 补偿 brainstorming 想办法  

5.managed 成功做到 significant 大量的 hawks 老鹰  

6.worry 担忧 chickens 鸡  

7.issue 问题  

8.devouring 吞噬 crops 庄稼 field mice 田鼠  

9.occur 发生  

10.feed 捕食 field mice 田鼠  

11.consume 消耗  

12.unaware 不知道  

13.disrupted 破坏 balance 平衡  

14.settle 迁居 destroy 破坏 wild plants 野生植物  

15.essential 必需的 animals 动物 plants 植物  

16.starve 饿死 migrate 迁移  

17.deer 鹿 wild rose 野玫瑰  

18.mountain lions 山狮  

19.populations 数量 intervene 干涉  

20.protect 保护 numerous 大量的 mountain lions 山狮  

21.exploded 激增 consumed 吃光 wild roses 野玫瑰  

22.tender leaves 嫩叶 young trees 年轻的树木  

23.crucial 至关重要的 trees 树  

24.devised 设计 protect 保护  

25.perished 死亡  

26.lesson 教训  

27.balance 平衡 vital 重要的 nature 自然

1.不久前，一些农民很担心，因为老鹰捕食了他们许多的鸡。

2.农民们不知道如何解决这个问题。

3.最后，他们向当地官员寻求帮助。

4.官员建议说：“消灭老鹰。我们甚至会为此提供补偿。”于是，农民们开始想办法消灭老鹰。

5.农民们成功地杀死了大量老鹰。

6.他们不再需要为鸡感到担忧了。

7.然而，新的问题出现了。

8.田鼠开始吞噬农民的大量庄稼。

9.为什么会发生这种情况呢？

10.老鹰不仅捕食鸡，还捕食田鼠。

11.事实上，它们捕食田鼠的数量比捕食鸡的数量更多。

12.不幸的是，农民对此并不了解。

13.通过杀死大量的老鹰，他们破坏了生态平衡。

14.当人类迁入新的环境时，他们往往会破坏许多野生植物。

15.这些植物通常是动物的重要食物来源。

16.如果动物无法找到足够的植物来吃，它们可能会饿死，或者被迫迁移到其他地方。

17.在美国的某个地区，鹿以一种特定的野玫瑰为食。

18.该地区的山狮以捕食鹿为生。

19.如果人类不干涉，鹿、山狮和野玫瑰的数量通常会保持稳定。

20.然而，人们为了保护鹿群，杀死了许多山狮。

21.结果，鹿群数量急剧增加，它们吃光了所有的野玫瑰。

22.随后，鹿开始啃食年轻树木的嫩叶。

23.这些树木对农民来说非常重要。

24.因此，农民们设计了保护树木的方法。

25.没有食物来源后，许多鹿最终饿死了。

26.这是大自然给予我们的又一个教训。

27.记住维持自然平衡的重要性对我们至关重要。