Question

Over the past century, an alarming number of animals have become endangered or even extinct. Below are some animals whose numbers have been rapidly dropping in recent years.

Panda Bear

One of the biggest reasons contributing to the decline in the panda species is the destruction of its natural habitat. Farmers in China have gradually been claiming more and more of the land. As a result, pandas are forced to move away to places where it is hard to find bamboo for food.

Green Turtle

The green sea turtle species has survived for several millions of years, so you might wonder why it’s only becoming endangered now. A major cause is the change in climate and temperature, which both affect the hatching rates of turtle eggs. Climate changes also cause violent weather and rising water levels to flood areas where turtles usually go to lay their eggs. Apart from this, oil spills and other poisonous pollution, as well as increased fishing activities can cause sickness, or even death to the green turtles.

Cheetah

Cheetahs are famous for being the fastest animal on land but even they can’t run from some of the larger threats that have harmed them. Like the panda bears, cheetahs have gradually been losing their natural homes due to humans claiming land and developing in those areas. To make matters even worse, smaller animals move away when these areas are occupied, which means that the cheetah has less food! Don’t forget that other large animals, such as lions, are also fighting for any food that they can find, so occasionally young cheetahs end up as prey too.

Indian Elephant

Elephants are extremely intelligent animals and also the largest mammals that live on land. Sadly, in Asia many elephants were killed so that people could remove their tusks to use as decorative objects. While this practice has been banned now, some people still illegally continue. Forests in India have also been steadily destroyed and elephants are sometimes killed when they end up on human territory.

1.Humans’ increasing demand for land doesn’t affect the number of ________.

A. Indian elephants    B. cheetahs

C. panda bears    D. green turtles

2.We can save the largest mammals living on land by ________.

A. planting more bamboos

B. helping them find mates

C. stopping hunting them

D. preventing poisonous pollution

3.The living conditions of the fastest animal on land become worse because ________.

A. forests have been destroyed

B. they are threatened by humans and larger animals

C. people are fond of hunting wild animals

D. no law bans people from removing their tusks

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

【解析】这篇文章介绍了近几年一些数量急剧减少的濒危野生动物。

1.推理判断题。由Green Turtle部分中Apart from this, oil spills and other poisonous pollution, as well as increased fishing activities can cause sickness, or even death to the green turtles.可知，人类对陆地需求的不断增长，没有影响绿海龟的数量，是污染和增加的渔猎活动导致海龟数量的减少，故选D。

2.推理判断题。由Indian Elephant部分中Elephants are extremely intelligent animals and also the largest mammals that live on land. Sadly, in Asia many elephants were killed so that people could remove their tusks to use as decorative objects.可知，停止狩猎大象，我们就可以拯救陆地上最大的哺乳动物，选C。

3.推理判断题。由Cheetah部分中cheetahs have gradually been losing their natural homes due to humans claiming land and developing in those areas和 Don’t forget that other large animals, such as lions, are also fighting for any food that they can find, so occasionally young cheetahs end up as prey too.可知，陆地上速度最快的动物猎豹的处境变得很糟糕，是因为它们被人类和大型动物威胁，故选B。