It’s late evening in the middle of the winter. The snow is deep but off I go into the wild. Suddenly, I hear it: the howl (嚎叫) of wolves. Excitedly, I walk faster in the direction of the howling.

I’ve been working as a volunteer wolf tracker in Yellowstone National Park for over a year. It’s my job to follow wolves to record information about them. Like wolves, however, I don’t work alone. I’m one of a team of people who have been in a project to help reintroduce wolves to the park.

Humans have always feared wolves. From fairy tales to movies, the wolf is always the bad guy-a danger to humans and other animals. In the 1920s, the organizers of the park shared this view about wolves and made the decision to drive them away from the park. As a result, the number of elk (麋鹿) in the park increased. The elk started looking for food near river banks since they didn’t have to worry about wolves. This, in turn, stopped trees from growing along the rivers, doing great harm to the environment there.

The return of wolves has already made a big difference. To begin with, the elk soon learned to stay away from the rivers, so new trees have been able to grow there. The trees become home to new wildlife, such as birds, and provide food for more animals.

The park is now becoming more and more popular with those who want to see wolves in their natural environment. It has also helped the local people make more money. Tourists visit the area, stay in the local hotels, and eat in the local restaurants.

Looking at the wild animals and the beautiful sceneries around me, I am amazed at the changes the wolf has made to Yellowstone. And happily, it is playing a good guy in this story.

A giant (大) panda is a kind of bear. It has a white face with black patches (斑点) around its eyes. It also has black ears, shoulders and legs. The rest of its body is white.

Home

Pandas live high up in the mountains of Central and Western China. They live in the bamboo forests there.

Food

Pandas in the wild usually eat bamboo. In zoos, their menu includes bamboo, apples and carrots. A giant panda can eat as much as 30 kilograms of bamboo a day.

Behavior

Pandas like to live on their own. They need to eat a lot to stay healthy, so they spend more than 12 hours a day eating. Although they are big and heavy, it is not difficult for them to climb trees. They are strong enough to protect themselves.

Life

Pandas live for about 20 years in the wild, but in zoos they can live for up to 35 years.

The future

People are cutting down forests, so the pandas are losing their homes. Some people are killing them for their fur. It is cruel of them to do so. There are not many pandas in the world now. It is important for us to protect them.

Next week there will be a special sports meet in the forest (森林). All the animals will take part in it, and they’re ready for it now.

Mr. Rabbit is a famous runner. He did badly in the 100-meter race against a tortoise(乌龟) last year. This time he won’t go to sleep again. He’ll be more careful. And he asks birds to cheer him on. He’s sure that he can be the first one to cross the finish line.

Monkeys are good at jumping. They’ll take part in the high jump and the long jump. It’s bad that they only won the second place in the long jump last year. Now they keep practicing jumping early in the morning. They believe they’ll be the winners.

Tigers will play against lions in the 800-meter relay race. Tigers are practicing passing the stick to each other. A tiger’s feet were hurt not long ago, but he keeps on running. Tigers will do their best to win the first place.

Of course, some other animals, such as cats, dogs and elephants are busy playing sports, too. They hope to get good grades at this sports meet.