VII. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER TO...

40. VII. Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each question. Florida’s “Everglades”, the largest national park in the eastern USA, are in serious danger. One of the most significant areas of “wetland” in the world, and classified by UNESCO as a “World Heritage Site”, the park has suffered dramatically over the last sixty years on account of encroaching agriculture and the vast expansion of Florida’s population. If the decline is not stopped, the entire ecosystem of southern Florida could be irreparably damaged – and the sunshine state, one of the fastest growing states in the USA, could become an inhospitable wasteland. Back in the year 2000, in order to prevent just such a catastrophe, and ensure the survival of America’s most distinctive National Park, Congress approved a 30-year 8.2 billion dollar Everglades rescue plan, the largest concerted environmental project the world had ever known. Estimated at 10,700 square miles (27,000 km2), the original Everglades area was home to a fantastically rich and diverse range of wildlife; but in recent decades, this wildlife has already been decimated. It is estimated that the water-bird population of the Everglades has fallen by 93% in the last forty years. Unless more progress is made, the outlook for the future is not good, and large parts of the Everglades’ vital and remarkable ecosystems may be damaged beyond repair.