题目内容：

    “If you take care of the birds, you take care of most of the big environmental problems in the world.”

That’s what Thomas Lovejoy, a well-known biologist, says. He helped introduce the term “biological diversity” to the world. And he long ago predicted that by the early 21st century, the Earth would start losing a surprising number of species-a prediction, unfortunately, that is turning out to be true.

We were taken with what Lovejoy said about birds and decided to use it as a launch pad(跳板) for marking 2018 as the Year of the Bird by National Geographic. Hopefully, this will help raise people’s awareness of this problem. In this 12-month multiplatform exploration, we’ll examine how our changing environment is leading to great losses among bird species around the globe. And just as important, we’ll record what we can do about it.

At National Geographic we’ve been looking at the planet’s health from a bird’s-eye view for a long time. This magazine has featured birds on its cover more often than it has featured other popular creatures-at least 30 times, 13 times compared with apes. And the National Geographic Society has awarded hundreds of funds(资金) for the scientific study of birds.

In 2018, we’ll take our coverage of topics affecting birds to a new level. In this issue we launch a year of storytelling with “Why Birds Matter”, an essay by best-selling author Jonathan Franzen. It’s paired with remarkable photographs of birds created by National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore.

Why is National Geographic focusing so much attention on birds? That’s just another way of asking, as Franzen does. Why do birds matter? Among his fluent answers: “They are our last, best connection to a natural world that is otherwise moving gradually away from us.”

1.Why is the year 2018 called the Year of Bird?

A.To introduce different kinds of birds.

B.To record what we can do to help birds.

C.To draw public attention to the loss of bird species.

D.To examine the environmental influences on birds.

2.What is “Why Birds Matter”?

A.It is a magazine with many essays. B.It is an article with many photos.

C.It is a report with many topics. D.It is an organization to raise money.

3.What can we know about National Geographic from the passage?

A.It focuses more on birds than other creatures.

B.It receives sums of money to research on birds.

C.It’s the last connection between man and nature.

D.It’s popular with famous biologists and authors.