For many of us, our closest meeting with wild animals is at a zoo. These places allow us to observe the behaviours and characteristics of amazing creatures. It's an enjoyable and educational experience for us, but is it the best environment for the animals? A long time ago, people could only see wild animals as stuffed dead exhibits in a museum. Later, live animals were caught by explorers, brought home and put on show to the public in zoos—animal protection was not a priority. But modern zoos and wildlife parks have transformed the conditions and environments for animals, making bigger enclosures（围场）, removing bars, and, to some extent, copying their natural habitats. 

Some people have questioned the cruelty of keeping animals and using them just for entertainment, but zoos are keen to show they are here to help wildlife by educating us about protection. In the UK, the introduction of The Zoo Licensing Act 1981 also required zoos to educate the public. Well-managed zoos are now also involved in supporting and funding protection programmes. 

Probably the biggest claim from zoos today is that they help to protect species that are under threat in the wild due to climate change. Robert Young, Chair in Wildlife Protection at Salford University says: "We wouldn't have a lot of different species today if it wasn't for zoos." Some zoos have breeding （繁殖）programmes which help to preserve the future of species. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio recently praised Chester Zoo in the UK for its protection work. It brought a rare fish species back from the dead after breeding and releasing a school of golden fish back into their native river.

While the debate about having zoos continues, new opportunities to meet wildlife are being explored, such as using virtual reality, and Jon Coe, a zoo designer, told the BBC: "Taking a walk through a group of elephants in the Serengeti, I think, is going to be possible pretty soon."

When international aid is given, steps must be taken to ensure（确保）that the aid reaches the people for whom it is intended. The way to achieve this may not be simple. It is very difficult for a nation to give help directly to people in another nation. The United Nations Organization（UNO）could undertake to direct the distribution of aid. Here however rises the problem of costs. Also tied with this is time. Perhaps the UNO could set up a body of devoted men and women in every country who can speedily distribute aid to victims of floods and earthquakes.

More than the help that one nation can give to another during a disaster, it would be more effective to give other forms of help during normal times. A common proverb says, "Give me a fish and I eat for a day, teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime." If we follow this wise saying, it would be right to teach people from less developed nations to take care of themselves. For example, a country could share its technology with another. This could be in simple areas like agriculture or in more complex areas like medical and health care or even in building satellites. Even small country is able to help less developed nations. Sometimes what is taken for granted, like the setting up of a water purification plant or the administration of a school, could be useful for countries which are looking about to solve common problems. It does not cost much to share such simple things. Exchange students could be attached for a number of months or years and learn the required craft while on the site. They can then take their knowledge back to their homelands and if necessary come back from time to time to clear doubts or to update themselves. Such aid will be truly helpful and there is no chance of it being temporary or of it falling into the wrong hands.

Many countries run extensive courses in all sorts of skills. It will not cost much to include deserving foreigners in these courses. Besides giving effective help to the countries concerned, there is also the build-up of friendships to consider. Giving direct help by giving materials may be effective in the short run and must continue to be given in the event of emergencies. However, in the long run what is really effective would be the sharing of knowledge.

Kosciuszko National Park is a large national park in the province of New South Wales in southeast Australia. It covers 1.7 million acres（英亩）of the Australian Alps mountain chain, including the highest peak（山峰）in Australia, for which the park is named.

The landform in Kosciuszko National Park is highly different and is grouped into three main parts. The southernmost part is mostly made up of unshaped and dry land and is passed through by the famous Snowy River. The central part is Alpine natural scenery（风景）, much of it above the tree line, including the one and only landform features with plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. Many of the park's ski areas are located in this part. The northern part is mostly a highland area.

While this park is open to visitors with new roads reaching out in all directions to many areas, a large part of the park is designated as wilderness, with six separate wilderness areas. Some animals are so valuable that they were thought to die out until recently rediscovered. The Australian Alps parks system has tried hard to balance protection of the lands, plants, and animals against human use, and a very successful management program has allowed people to enjoy the scenery while protecting them.

Kosciuszko National Park offers a lot of outdoor activities to visitors. Hiking, camping, and skiing are among the most popular, but the lakes and rivers offer chances for swimming, fishing, and boating in the Snowy and Murray Rivers as well as several smaller rivers. Historic sites like the gold rush ghost town of Kiandra offer understanding of the area's history.

This area was home to the native Australian aboriginal（土著）people who lived in its lower part before. The higher mountain areas are too cold for humans to live in but were visited by these people during certain times of the year as part of spiritual activity.