奇速英语

On a cold day in winter, a 13-year-old boy, living in Qinghai Province, was heading down a mountaintop with his family. Suddenly, they saw two snow leopards (雪豹) near the Lancang River. “I see them for the first time. They look so cool!” he said.

Since the mid-20th century, the area of snow, grasslands and lakes in Sanjiangyuan has become smaller because of climate change and human activities. Many wild animals in the area have died out. Snow leopards are endangered.

Later, China set up Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve (保护区) to better protect the area and the wildlife there. In these years, the number of wild animals has been increasing. More than 70,000 Tibetan antelopes (藏羚羊) live there now. And over 1,000 snow leopards can be found in the area. It’s higher than the average number around the world.

The local people have improved their understanding about environmental protection and have tried hard to protect the environment in Sanjiangyuan over the years. They still live on selling caterpillar fungus (冬虫夏草) they’ve found in grasslands. In the past, they carried food with them in plastic bags and left the bags and food waste behind. But now the local people have realized they should live together with nature in harmony. They often pick up waste on the grasslands. People also take their plastic bags and food waste down the mountain after eating. The local environment has taken on a new look. Many young people there said, “We will continue to guard our home and make it more beautiful.”