备战O水准考试英语 | Paper 1 作文卷范例

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　　Paper 1

　　Section C. Essay

　　Question

　　We should protect endangered animals. What are your views?

　　This is written as an extra, self-directed exercise.

　　Advocacy for the protection of endangered animals has been gaining momentum in recent years, with the growing availability of information regarding the scientific importance of maintaining a biological equilibrium in the ecosystem. From time to time, news of demonstrations calling for stricter laws against animal trafficking and wildlife consumption attract attention and fuel heated debates. But still, some people turn a blind eye to the plight of animals tittering on the edge of extinction, saying dismissively that there is nothing more we can and should do, because everything is a result of natural selection and animals in danger today are just the losers in Nature’s unremitting tests. Yet I beg to differ – for the benefits of ourselves and our progeny, we should not be apathetic to the crises facing those poor animals: we should take the initiative to protect their races from going extinct.

　　From a self-preserving perspective, we need to help animals on the verge of extinction because our fate and theirs are inextricably linked. The entire Earth is one shared space where every species coexists, and any change to that environment would affect the lives of all. Every being is interconnected and interdependent, for each plays a part in the grand Circle of Life: predators rely on their prey for nutrition, and their prey hinge their survival on the lower levels of the food chain – from the very base, plants, to the very top, carnivorous animals, a pyramid of existence is built. This means that the disappearance of an entire section of the ecological web would directly undermine the survival of the other sections as the entire food chain crumbles. As we humans are one link in the ecosystem, the other species’ inability to maintain existence would ultimately hurt our own chance of survival. In other words, if we do not take action to help animals on the edge of dying out, we are taking a suicidal path towards humankind’s extinction.

　　Besides the pragmatic concern of our own ability to survive, there is another reason why we should protect endangered animals – because having a more diverse pool of species could ensure the quality of life our descendants enjoy. Our future generations should have the same opportunity as we do to see many kinds of animals and appreciate the biodiversity of Earth, taking Nature in her full beauty and pristineness as a worthy inheritance. Imagine how disappointed and melancholic our progeny would be if they can only behold the majesty of tigers in photos and listen to the chirping birds in recordings! In Beijing, the cemetery for extinct animals has arranged tombstones in remembrance of species no longer living on Earth and tourists visiting there to learn about the heart-breaking tales of these animals going extinct are often moved to tears by imagining their hardship and suffering. Undoubtedly, we do not want to see our grandchildren and theirs coming here or to any other places of mourning to lament the irretrievable loss of so many faunae. Therefore, for the benefit of our offspring, we should take action to prevent animals already on the brink of extinction from disappearing forever and preserve the variety of fauna in the ecosphere.

　　Opponents to the huge resources invested in preservation effort may use Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest’ ideology to denounce the validity for human interference. In their opinion, animals facing immense difficulties in survival nowadays could blame no one but their own incompetency in weathering the shifts in their living environments. In such cases, external intervention in the name of assistance would be a violation to Nature’s laws. However, their stance is flawed. Darwin’s famed theory may indeed explain the unforgiving process of natural selection determining the continual existence of species –animals like dinosaurs and mammoths once thriving on Earth were unable to adapt to environmental changes which ultimately reduced their kinds to the silent, forgotten margins in the book of history, paying for their failures with the price of extinction. Yet Darwin’s words could not explain the extinction and near extinction of all species, particularly those that owe their misfortune to humanity. Hence, ‘survival for the fittest’ should by no means be chanted as an omnipotent mantra to absolve humankind of all guilt for endangered animals’ current predicament, because other than the victims of Nature, many species facing the danger of dying out today could trace their downfall to the selfish, greedy acts of human. Japanese’s penchant for whales in their dining culture has been the culprit of their near extinction with hundreds of whale-hunting ships slaughtering the poor animal in many seas; Australians’ mercenary exploits in boosting their animal husbandry triggered the mass killing of thylacines which were completely exterminated. It is thus our responsibility to atone for our mistakes and prevent those animals that we hurt from repeating the tragedy of those already extinct.

　　“Stop being passive; take action so that things won’t get worse!” This is the call at once passionate and heartbroken raised by environmental activist Barbara Barrett, the global ambassador for Wildlife Conservation Society. Indeed, humankind has already erred and pushed many species to the point of near extinction, and it is high time that we stop pointing an accusing finger at Nature and reflect on our past mistakes. For the welfare of our descendants who would be no doubt deserving of and grateful for inheriting a world full of wonder, beauty and vibrant diversity, and for the survival and growth of our own kind, we should take active steps to help endangered animals. I believe, as long as we are willing to play our part in preserving the biodiversity of Earth, we can see tangible results – in the lofty strides of lions roaming the plains of Africa, in the wide-spread wings of eagles soaring above the mountains of South America, and in the excited squeals of seals swimming in the waters of the Artic.

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