Unit 13 We’re trying to save the earth!
P99 3b
Many have heard of shark’s fin soup. This famous and expensive dish is especially popular in southern China. But do you realize that you’re killing a whole shark each time you enjoy a bowl of shark’s fin soup?
When people catch sharks, they cut off their fins and throw the shark back into the ocean. Without a fin, a shark can no longer swim and slowly dies. This method is not only cruel, but also harmful to the environment. Sharks are at the top of the food chain in the ocean’s ecosystem. If their numbers drop too low, it will bring danger to all ocean life. Many believe that sharks can never be endangered because they are the strongest in their food chain. But in fact, around 70 million sharks are caught and traded in this industry every year. The numbers of some kinds of sharks have fallen by over 90 percent in the last 20 to 30 years.
Environmental protection groups around the world, such as WildAid and the WWF, are teaching the public about “finning”. They have even asked governments to develop laws to stop the sale of shark’s fins. So far, no scientific studies have shown that shark’s fins are good for health, so why eat them? Help save the sharks!
Section A ,3a
拯救鯊魚
很多人都聽說過魚翅羹。這道昂貴又著名的菜在中國南方特別流行。但是每次當你喝魚翅羹的時候，你是否意識到你殺了一整隻鯊魚？
當人們捕捉到鯊魚的時候，他們切掉鯊魚的魚鰭，然後把它們扔回大海。失去魚鰭的鯊魚再也不能再水裡遊，會慢慢死去。這種做法不僅殘忍，而且對環境有害。鯊魚處於海洋生態系統食物鏈的頂端，如果他們的數量下降得太多，將會給所有的海洋生物帶來危害。很多人認為鯊魚永遠不會瀕臨滅絕，因為他們是食物鏈的最強者。但事實上，每年有七百萬的鯊魚被捕殺和交易。在過去的20年到30年，某些品種的鯊魚數量下降了超過90%。
世界各地的環保組織，如野生救援協會和世界自然基金會，都在向公眾宣講“獵翅的（殘忍）行為。他們甚至已經呼籲政府立法停止魚翅的銷售。到目前為止，沒有任何科學研究表明，魚翅對健康有好處，那麼為什麼要吃他們呢？幫助拯救鯊魚吧！
