As a result, we have lost the opportunity to learn about these areas and the benefits and opportuni ties they might have yielded.
Today our remaining natural areas serve important roles in the study of ecology, botany, zoology, geology, and soil science.
They provide controls for comparison against managed or exploited resources. They also provide educational and cultural infor mation important in the study of science, local history, conservation, and nature studies such as bird-watching, insect study, and tree identification.
Preservation of natural areas also provides many practical benefits. For example, natural areas contain the biological raw materials necessary for the development of products that could greatly benefit the health and well-being of a man.
A new wonder drug or fine industrial prod uct may exist now only in some inconspicuous organism harbored in a nature preserve. Up to approximately half of the drugs currently in use contain derivatives of wild plants, yet only a small percentage of all plants have been investigated for their potential in such uses.
The need to protect the remaining 98 percent of natural areas until they can be researched is obvious.
From a genealogical standpoint, we have roots linking us to our ancestors. With so many of our natural areas now gone, those that remain are a vital link to the past. They can help us and future generations better understand the landscape and natural resources from which the pioneers molded their lives.
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Pertanyaan
1. The sentence “Our ancestors destroyed most of our natural areas before anyone had a chance to study or to try to understand them” in the first paragraph can best be restated as...
A. After we had an opportunity to deeply study our natural areas, most of them had been destroyed by our ancestors
B. We might have had an opportunity to deeply study our natural areas if most of them had not been destroyed by our ancestors