你要是想觀賞生活在英國的蝴蝶，那可得快點瞭。英國蝴蝶保護協會（Butterfly Conservation）的一份報告警告說，58種蝴蝶中有24種可能很快就會從英國消失。
The modern world is not proving to be kind to our butterflies. The wild grasslands and sunny woodland clearings, where they once fluttered and thrived, have to a large extent been ploughed up or grown over.
事實證明，現代世界並沒有善待蝴蝶。它們曾在野生草地和陽光明媚的林中空地上翩翩飛舞、繁衍生息，但這些地方很大程度上已經被翻耕或雜草叢生。
Our insatiable demand for food means more fertilisers and pesticides. Of the 58 species of butterflies that breed here, 24 are now on the Red List. That means threatened with dying out altogether.
我們對糧食永無止境的需求促使瞭化肥和殺蟲劑的使用。在這類環境中繁殖的58種蝴蝶中，24種現已列入紅色名錄，該名錄上的蝴蝶面臨滅絕的威脅。
That’s five more than when the list was last compiled 11 years ago. Though the overall picture is grim, it’s not all bad news. Targeted conservation programmes mean both the high brown fritillary and the large blue butterfly are no longer classified as critically endangered.
被列為 “瀕危” 的蝴蝶種類比11年前最近一次編制這份名錄時多瞭五種。盡管整體狀況嚴峻，但也並不都是壞消息。針對燦福蛺蝶和大藍蝶開展的保護計劃使這兩種蝴蝶均不再被列為 “極度瀕危物種”。
詞匯表
clearings 林中空地
fluttered 撲打翅膀，翩翩飛舞
thrived 繁衍生息
ploughed up 開墾成耕地
insatiable 無法滿足的，永無止境的
grim 嚴峻的
閱讀理解：請在讀完上文後，回答下列問題。
1. What has happened to the habitats where butterflies once thrived?
2. How many of the butterflies that breed in the UK are on a Red List?
3. How many more butterflies are on the Red List than when it was last compiled?
4. Which butterflies are no longer classified as critically endangered?
答案
1. What has happened to the habitats where butterflies once thrived?
The wild grasslands and sunny woodland clearings have been ploughed up or grown over to a large extent.
2. How many of the butterflies that breed in the UK are on a Red List?
24 of the 58 species of butterflies that breed here are now on the Red List.
3. How many more butterflies are on the Red List than when it was last compiled?
There are five more than when the list was last compiled 11 years ago.
4. Which butterflies are no longer classified as critically endangered?
The high brown fritillary and the large blue butterfly are no longer classified as critically endangered.
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