Edward Wilson is America's, if not the world's, leading naturalist. In The Future of Life, he takes us on a tour of the world's natural resources. How are they used? What has been lost? What
remains and is it able to continue with the present speed of use? Wilson also points out the need to understand fully the biodiversity of our earth.
爱德华·威尔逊就算不是世界一流，也是美国一流的自然科学家。在《未来的生活》一书中，他带领我们进行了一场世界自然资源之旅。资源如何使用？哪些已经消失？还有哪些？以目前的速度是否能持续？威尔逊还指出我们需要充分了解地球上的生物多样性。

Wilson begins with an open letter to the pioneer in environment protection, Henry David Thoreau. He compares today's Walden Pond with that of Thoreau's day. Wilson will use such
comparisons for the rest of the book. The problem is clear: man has done great damage to his home over the years. Can the earth, with human help, be made to return to biodiversity levels that will be able to support us in the future?
威尔逊的书以一封致环保先锋亨利·大卫·梭罗的公开信开始，他将今天的瓦尔登湖与梭罗时代的瓦尔登湖作了比较。威尔逊全书都使用了这样的比较。问题很清楚：人类多年来对自己的家园造成了巨大破坏，那么，在人类的帮助下，地球能否恢复到能够在未来支持我们的生物多样性水平？

Biodiversity, Wilson argues, is the key to settling many problems the earth faces today. Even our agricultural crops can gain advantages from it. A mere hundred species are the basis of our food supply, of which but twenty carry the load. Wilson suggests changing this situation by looking into ten thousand species that could be made use of, which will be a way to reduce the clearing of the natural homes of plants and animals to enlarge farming areas.
威尔逊认为，生物多样性是解决当今地球面临的许多问题的关键，甚至我们的农作物也可以从中获益。我们食物供应的基本物种不超过100种，其中仅有20种承担着重任。威尔逊建议通过研究可用的10，000种物种来改变这种情形，这样可以减少动植物自然家园的消失，扩大农耕面积。

At the end of the book, Wilson discusses the importance of human values in considering the
environment. If you are to continue to live on the earth, you may well read and act on the ideas in this book.
在书的结尾，威尔逊讨论了人类环境价值观的重要性。如果你想继续生活在地球上，你可能会好好地阅读本书，并按书中的观点行动。