Question

You've probably heard of sheepdogs that guard sheep.But on a small island off the coast of Australia,these specially trained little dogs protect fairy penguins from foxes.About 800 little blue penguins,once nested on Australia's Middle Island.They are the smallest species of penguin in the world.By 2015,there were fewer than 10 left on the island.

The problem started when people brought red foxes to Australia in the 1800s.The foxes made their way to Middle Island and began killing off penguins and other native wildlife.Local officials wondered what could be done.

In 2014,a local farmer named Allan Marsh had an idea.He advised training Maremma sheepdogs to protect the penguins.At that time,Marsh was using the dogs on his farm to guard his chickens from foxes.At first,local officials said no to the plan because they didn't think it would work.But they changed their minds when the penguins had almost completely disappeared."The powers wouldn't listen to me until it got down to six penguins,"Marsh told The New York Times.

The first sheepdog went to work on Middle Island in 2016,and dogs have been on duty ever since.The dogs bark at and go after foxes to frighten them away.Thanks to the sheepdogs,the number of fairy penguins on Middle Island has increased.Today,close to 200 penguins live on the island.In fact,officials report that no penguin has been killed since the dogs were on the job.

Eudy and Tula,the two dogs guarding Middle Island,are now 8 years old They are almost ready to retire（退休）. Local groups are trying to raise $ 25,000 needed to buy and train two new pups.

1.How many little penguins are living on the island now?

A. Fewer than 10.    B. About 200.

C. About 800.    D. More than 25,000.

2.Why did the little penguins almost completely disappear?

A. Local officials didn't support the protection plan.

B. People destroyed their living environment.

C. The dogs couldn't protect them.

D. The red foxes hunted them.

3.What new problem will the penguins he faced with?

A. There are too many of them on the island.

B. They will disappear on Middle Island soon.

C. The two new pups won't he trained.

D. The dogs are too old to guard them.

4.From the text,we can learn that      .

A. sheepdogs can really protect penguins on Middle Island

B. local officials didn't agree with Marsh's plan finally

C. the first sheepdog appeared on Middle Island in 2006

D. sheepdogs only guard sheep and chickens

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.D

4.A

【解析】本文是一篇记叙文。主要讲述了在澳大利亚海岸的一个小岛上，人们通过训练狗来保护濒临灭绝的企鹅，使其免受红狐狸的侵害，使用此种方法十分奏效，企鹅数量得到提高。

1.细节理解题。根据第四段中“Today,close to 200 penguins live on the island.”“如今，将近200只企鹅生活在岛上”可知，现在有约200只小企鹅生活在岛上。故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段“The problem started when people brought red foxes to Australia in the 1800s.”“在19世纪，当人们将红狐狸引入澳大利亚时，问题就出现了”可知，小企鹅几近灭绝的原因在于有红狐狸猎杀它们。故选D。

3.细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“Eudy and Tula,the two dogs guarding Middle Island,are now 8 years old. They are almost ready to retire”“保卫中部岛的两只狗Eudy 和Tula如今已8岁了，它们就要退休了”可知，企鹅面临的新问题便是狗太老了，不能再保护它们了。故选D。

4.主旨大意题。根据全文描述，护羊犬的确能保护中部岛上的企鹅，因此A正确。B项说法不正确，当地政府最终同意了Marsh的计划。C项说法不正确，根据第四段第一句话，第一只护羊犬出现在岛上不是在2006年，而是在2016年。D项说法不正确，护羊犬不只能保护羊和鸡，如本文所述还可以保护企鹅。故选A。