2020-2021学年度第43期总第835期
Marching north (P6)
河北省邯郸市第一中学 张蕴
Lead-in
Do you know about Asian elephants?
•The Asian elephant is the largest land mammal in Asia.
•The Asian elephant is one of the endangered species in Asia.
•With the establishment of the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in Yunnan province and effective conservation measures, the number of Asian elephants in China has grown from 193 in 1983 to nearly 300 in 2020.

•Fifteen wild Asian elephants have left their habitat in the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve.
Title prediction
Marching north

Why did they leave?
What is the current situation?
Do they cause damage or pose a danger to humans?
How can we lead them back?
Read for structure  

Read for details
Read the text carefully and answer the following questions.

1. What’s the current situation of this migration?
As of June 2, the herd was nearing Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, and was showing no sign of stopping.

2. The herd originally consisted of 17 elephants. What happened to two of them?
The herd originally consisted of 17 elephants when it left the nature reserve, but two of the animals gained access to alcohol in a village and became drunk, according to local officials. The pair was later reported to have returned to Pu’er, a city north of Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture.

3. What damage has the migration caused?
The 15 roaming elephants have damaged 561,333 square meters of crops and caused financial losses of nearly 6.8 million yuan on their 500-kilometer journey.

4. Why did the elephants travel so far from their original habitat?
(1) A lack of food is the animals’ main problem. The increasing forest canopy density has resulted in a food shortage.
(2) Tasty food in local communities remains a big temptation for the elephants.   
(3) It’s possible that this herd lost its way during the march because its leader lacked experience.
Read and think
How can we protect humans from the migration without harming the elephants?

•Authorities have been trying to lure (引诱) them away from populated areas with food.

•Several trucks block the road to an urban area where the herd of wandering wild Asian elephants might travel to in Luohe township of Hongta district, Yuxi city, southwest China's Yunnan province.

•A staff member uses a drone to track and monitor the wild Asian elephants in Hongta district, Yuxi city, southwest China‘s Yunnan province.
Language study
1.Imagine a group of elephants trampling through the streets of your city.
2.Recent video footage showing 15 wild Asian elephants roaming the streets in a downtown area at night has gone viral.
3.This pilot project was expanded to double its original size in an effort to reduce friction between villagers and the elephants eating their crops due to food shortages.
4.Despite “canteens” being set up, tasty food in local communities remains a big temptation for the elephants.

Can you find these expressions in the text?

1.走红                    go viral
2.朝北走                head north
3.截止                    As of
4.由……组成            consist of
5.获得                    gain access to
6.经济损失                financial losses
7.最初的栖息地            original habitat
8.入侵式植物的生长    invasive plant growth
9.唯一的栖息地            sole habitat
10.为了                    in an effort to