英语精读：2021考研英语复习资料：阅读原文精读

阅读原文、译文

Just off the coast of Southern California sits Santa Cruz Island, where a magical creature called the island fox dwells. A decade ago, this island’s ecosystem was in chaos. Wild pigs attracted golden eagles from the mainland, and those flying predators crashed the fox population. So the Nature Conservancy launched a fierce war against the pigs, complete with helicopters and sharp shooters.

就在南加州海岸附近，坐落着圣克鲁斯岛，岛上居住着一座名叫岛狐狸的神奇生物。十年前，这座岛屿的生态系统处于混乱状态。野猪吸引了来自大陆的金雕，这些飞行捕食者重击了岛狐种群（使岛狐数量锐减）。因此当自然保护协会发起了一场激烈的野猪反击战，作战中动用了直升机和神枪手。

And it worked. Today, federal agencies are pulling the island fox from the Endangered Species List. It’s the fastest-ever recovery of a mammal, joining peers like the Louisiana black bear as glowing successes in the history of the Endangered Species Act.

战争奏效了。如今，联邦机构正将岛狐从濒危物种名单上删除。这是有史以来最快的哺乳动物恢复过程，岛狐与路易斯安娜黑熊等同伴一起，成为了《濒危物种法案》历史上的辉煌胜利。

But the recovery of Santa Cruz Island isn’t just about the fox. The Nature Conservancy has declared war on a multitude of invasive species here, from sheep to plants to the aggressive Argentine ant. “Our philosophy with the island has always been, ‘OK, remove the threats and let the island go back to what it was,’” says ecologist Christina Boser. And it appears to be working. Native plants are coming back, and the fox once again bounds about carefree.

但圣克鲁斯岛，的恢复不仅仅关乎岛狐。大自然保护协会已向这里的大批入侵物种宣战，从绵羊到植物、再到攻击性的阿根廷蚁（均在其内）。“我们对该岛屿的理念一直是：‘好，消除威胁，让岛屿恢复本来面貌。’”生态学家克里斯蒂娜•博瑟说道。这似乎正在发挥作用。本土植物正在纷纷恢复生机，岛狐再次无忧无虑的地四处蹦跳。

重要单词

1. ecosystem[ ˈiːkəʊsɪstəm] n. 生态系统

What about the ecosystem of a city? 一个城市的生态系统是怎样的？

2. in chaos 混乱

Finding order in chaos. 在混乱中找到秩序。

3. predator[predətə(r)] n. 捕食者

department是四级听力高频词，并且一般都是国外的某某部门，注意积累哦。这里出现的就是美国国务院环境保护署。

4. launchv.发射（导弹、火箭等）；发起，发动

The new model will be launched in July. 新型号产品将在七月推出。

5. pull...from... 把......从......带走

相关短语：pull back from收回，to pull away from摆脱

6. aggressive[əˈɡresɪv]adj. 好斗的；挑衅的；侵略的；富于攻击性的

He gets aggressive when he's drunk. 他喝醉了就喜欢寻衅滋事。

7. appears to be 看起来像

appear这个词既有实意动词“出现”的含义，也可做系动词表示“似乎，好像”在文章此短语中也是做系动词的用法，与seem to be含义相同。

8. bound [baʊnd] v. 跳跃着跑; 形成…的边界（或界限）

bound一词还有adj的含义为“一定会；很可能会” It's bound to be sunny again tomorrow. 明天肯定又是阳光灿烂。