Extinctions, where entire species are wiped out, are not unusual in our Earth’s history. In fact, over 90 percent of all species that ever lived are now extinct. In the last 500 million years, there have been five times when life on Earth has almost ended. These include the third mass extinction, known as the “Great Dying”, which killed 90% to 96% of all species.
消灭整个物种的灭绝在我们地球的 历史 上并不罕见。实际上，现在有超过90％的物种已经灭绝。在过去的5亿年中，地球上的生命几乎已经结束过五次。其中包括第三次大规模灭绝，被称为“大灭绝”，这次灭绝杀死了所有物种的90％至96％。
And the fifth event, which occurred 66 million years ago, caused the death of the dinosaurs. The reasons for extinctions are varied. According to scientists, they include volcanic eruptions, asteroids hitting the Earth from space, changes in sea levels, the decrease of the oxygen content of the sea and global warming. Many scientists say we are now entering the Earth’s sixth mass extinction. This time, human activity will be to blame.
第五次灭绝发生在6600万年前，导致恐龙死亡。灭绝的原因多种多样。据科学家称，它们包括火山喷发，小行星从太空撞击地球，海平面变化，海洋中氧含量下降和全球变暖。许多科学家说，我们正在进入地球的第六次大灭绝。这一次，人类活动是罪魁祸首。
Although it is not unusual for species to die out naturally, the rate at which this is now happening is cause for concern. A 2015 study by scientists who were based at Brown University and Duke University in the US, looked at how quickly species die out due to natural causes, that is, the “background extinction rate”.
尽管物种自然灭绝的情况并不罕见，但这种情况的发生速度令人担忧。 2015年，美国布朗大学和杜克大学的科学家进行了一项研究，研究了物种由于自然因素灭绝的速度有多快，即“自然灭绝率”。
They found that human activity is causing species to die out 1,000 times faster than normal. There is a long list of reasons why so many species are dying out: air and water pollution, forests being destroyed, factory farming and overfishing. It is clear that human activity has negatively affected all other species on Earth, including animals and plants.
他们发现人类活动导致物种灭绝的速度比正常情况快1000倍。造成如此多物种灭绝的原因有很多很多：空气和水污染，森林被毁，工厂化养殖和过度捕捞。显然，人类活动已对地球上的所有其他物种，包括动植物，造成了负面影响。
If a sixth mass extinction occurs, scientists who have studied the issue believe that up to three quarters of all species on Earth could die out. Of course, as we humans depend on so many species for our survival, we would also be at risk of dying out. Our world and our lives depend on the balance in nature between animals and plants. Without forests, we would have no air to breathe, and without clean water we would be unable to survive.
如果发生第六次大规模灭绝，研究这一问题的科学家认为，地球上多达四分之三的物种可能会灭绝。当然，由于人类赖以生存的物种太多，我们也有灭绝的危险。我们的世界和生活取决于动植物之间自然界的平衡。没有森林，我们将没有空气呼吸，没有干净的水，我们将无法生存。
可以避免第六次灭绝吗？专家说，如果我们现在采取行动，还为时不晚。这意味着我们必须大刀阔斧地改变我们的生活方式。例如，我们需要采取措施来拯救濒临灭绝的物种，包括建立特殊区域，在这些区域中保护植物和动物。
We need to change how we work and travel by using cleaner, more natural sources of energy, such as wind and solar energy. We also need to improve our farming methods to reduce water, air and land pollution. In short, if we want to survive, we need to stop destroying the planet that we live on and start to protect it.
我们需要通过使用更清洁、更自然的能源（例如风能和太阳能）来改变我们的工作和旅行方式。我们还需要改善我们的耕作方法，以减少水、空气和土地的污染。简而言之，如果我们想生存，就需要停止破坏我们赖以生存的星球，并开始保护它。
温馨提示：答案为网友推荐，仅供参考