In the three decades since Darah Lady’s grandmother first arrived in this distant area of northern Brazil, clearing the forest by hand to build a house for her 14 children, the family has pushed deeper and deeper into the Amazon. It has been driven by a saying that good fortune comes when nature gives in to human control.

Yet their growing community there could ruin not only their children’s future but also that of the entire planet. More global pandemics (流行病) are on the way, scientists say, and the next one is likely to crop up from a community like Darah Lady’s, where people are taking up more and more space of the natural world and erasing the buffer zone (缓冲区) between themselves and habitats that existed long. As people cut down forest, they not only speed up the global warming but also greatly increase their risk of exposure to disease.

Scientists also say disease hot zones are expanding from Africa to South America, and that deforestation has already led to a rise in spreading disease. Zoologists have found that a third of all known disease outbreaks around the world were due to rapid land use change.

Darah Lady’s community of Maruaga is filled with risks for the spread of viruses (病毒). Their family has already battled zoonotic illnesses — the term used to describe diseases spread between animalsand humans.

When 40% of a land area has been destroyed, according to Tom Gillespie, a university researcher, the region hits a sort of tipping point: Wild animals are pushed closer to humans for food, and viruses begin to spread.

Darah Lady seemed to notice the slight dfference of deforestation. “I get kind of sad,” Darah Lady said, “Because the forest is something I’ve loved since I was little. And they are deforesting, right? It’s destroying nature.”

【小题1】What do you know about Darah Lady?

A．She built a house for her 14 children.

B．She made a big fortune in Amazon.

C．Her family cut down trees for growing crops.

D．Her family lived in Amazon for decades.

【小题2】What led to the spread of zoonotic illnesses?

A．The loss of the buffer zone.

B．The effect of global warming.

C．The lack of species variety.

D．The expansion of wildlife habitats.

【小题3】What is paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．A possible treatment for diseases.

B．A real example of the prevention of diseases.

C．A further explanation of the spread of diseases.

D．A supporting evidence for the danger of diseases.

【小题4】In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A．Entertainment.	B．Design.
C．Education.	D．Environment.