假如没有昆虫,世界会怎样?

The number of insects has dropped a lot in recent years, according to British biologist Dave Goulson. “In the 27 years from 1989 to 2016, the number of insects fell by 75 percent,” Goulson wrote.

Scientists say the main reason for this is the use of pesticides (农药).vThey destroy the places that insects live in.

What would happen without insects? It’s almost impossible to predict (预测), but the results would be far-reaching. We need insects to pollinate crops (给庄稼授粉). They also break down dead plants and animals and turn them into new useful things. We need them to keep the soil (土地) healthy and do much more. Without insects, many animals would have nothing to eat. They would go hungry and die. The ecosystem (生态系统) would be off balance.

The first step to stop this is to let more people understand “the values (价值) of the natural world, both for what it does for us and for its own sake,” Goulson said. “The best place to start is with our children. [We should] encourage environmental awareness (环保意识) from an early age.”