A flock of lawn-mowing sheep have been sent to trim wild grass surrounding the ruins of Pompeii as part of an initiative that also includes plans to revive ancient vineyards.

The 150 sheep arrived in Pompeii yesterday and immediately got to work eating up the grass in an unexcavated section of Regio V, a vast area to the north of the archaeological park. In a nine-month experiment, the flock will also be appointed to trim other grassy areas as well as maintain ancient and new vineyards as park authorities seek to boost the production of Pompeii wine, which used to be exported across the Mediterranean.

“They entered the site with great enthusiasm and got to work straightaway,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the Pompeii archaeological park. “Maintenance is a huge cost, so instead of paying someone to cut the grass, we have sheep eating it, fertilizing it and creating a pastoral landscape that is much more resistant to dry scazons and heavy rainfall.”

“Many people think of Pompeii as an ancient city with lots of houses, but it’s actually much more than this,” added Zuchtricgel. “There are huge areas of trees, grass, olive groves and vineyards. And if you look back at photos from 100 years ago in southern Italy, or even in the 1950s, it’s astonishing to see the walls around Pompeii, Paestum and other sites-they didn’t have these problems with growing vegetation because every square metre was productively used by these peasant communities.”

Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The city’s ruins were discovered in the 16th century, with the first excavations beginning in 1748.

In the late 1800s, the archeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli first excavated some of Pompeii’s vineyards, which had been beneath 3 metres of ash. Many-were found in the less densely populated eastern side, where people produced wine in their gardens.

A rainforest is an area covered by tall trees with the total high rainfall spreading quite equally through the year and the temperature rarely dipping below 16 ℃. Rainforests have a great effect on the world environment because they can take in heat from the sun and adjust the climate. Without the forest cover, these areas would reflect more heat into the atmosphere, warming the rest of the world. Losing the rainforests may also influence wind and rainfall patterns, potentially causing certain natural disasters all over the world.

In the past hundred years, humans have begun destroying rainforests in search of three major resources(资源): land for crops, wood for paper and other products, land for raising farm animals. This action affects the environment as a whole. For example, a lot of carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) in the air comes from burning the rainforests. People obviously have a need for the resources we gain from cutting trees but we will suffer much more than we will benefit.

There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, when people cut down trees, generally they can only use the land for a year or two. Secondly, cutting large sections of rainforests may provide a good supply of wood right now, but in the long run it actually reduces the world’s wood supply.

Rainforests are often called the world’s drug store. More than 25% of the medicines we use today come from plants in rainforests. However, fewer than l% of rainforest plants have been examined for their medical value. It is extremely likely that our best chance to cure diseases lies somewhere in the world’s shrinking rainforests.

Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history.

Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the earth forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger. Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.

Animals are more than beautiful or interesting or a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.

For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks, the farmers' stores of corn and grain were destroyed by mice. Why? Because hawks eat mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the mice multiplied quickly.

Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.

Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animal or plant on the danger list. However, only if everyone takes action, animals can be removed from the endangered list.