Many animal and plant species have become extinct and many more are in critical danger.Finding ways to protect the earth's wildlife and conserve the natural world they inhabit(居住)is now more important than ever.

Dodos

The Dodo is a classic example of how human caused damage to the earth's biology.The flightless Dodo was native to the Island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.It lived off fruit fallen from the island's trees and lived unthreatened until humans arrived in 1505.The easily controlled bird became a source of food for sailors and was attacked by animals introduced to the Island by humans such as pigs, monkeys and rats.The population of Dodos rapidly decreased and the last one was killed in 1681.

Rhinos

The Rhino(犀牛)horn is a highly prized item for Asian medicine.This has led to the animal being hunted in its natural habitat.Once widespread in Africa and Eurasia，most Rhinos now live in protected natural parks and reserves(保护区)．Their number has rapidly decreased in the last 50 years，and the animals remain under constant threat from poachers(偷袭者)．

The Giant Panda

The future of the World Wildlife Fund's symbol is far from certain.As few as 1，600 pandas remain in the wild.The Chinese government has set up 33 panda reserves to protect these beautiful animals and made poaching them punishable with 20 years in prison.However，the panda's distinct black and white patched coat fetches a high price on the black market and determines poachers still pose(造成)one of the most serious threats to the animal's continued existence.

Whales

33

The International Whaling Commission is fighting to ensure the survival of the whale species.Despite the fact that one－third of the world's oceans have been declared the whale sanctuaries(保护区)，7 out of 13 whale species remain endangered.Whales being hunted for their rich supply of oil，their number has decreased to just 300.Collisions with ships，poisonous pollution and being caught in fishing nets are other major causes of whale deaths.

Tigers

The last 100 years have seen a 95% reduction in the number of remaining tigers to between 5，000 and 7，000 and the Bali，Javan，and Caspian tigers are already extinct.The South China tiger is precariously close to disappearing，with only 20 to 30 still alive.Like the Rhino horn，tigers' bones and organs are sought after for traditional Chinese medicines.These items are traded illegally along with tiger skins.

【语篇解读】 文章介绍了已经灭绝了的和现在生存环境并不理想的一些濒危动物，旨在引起人们对动物保护的重视。

1．It implies that ________．

A．the Dodo lacked the ability to protect itself from other animals B．sailors to the Island of Mauritius lived mainly on the Dodo C．the Dodo used to be a strong animal that liked fighting

D．the Dodo，pigs，monkeys and rats were the natives to the Island of Mauritius 解析：推理判断题。从文章中的“flightless，lived off fruit fallen from the island's trees...easily controlled”等词可推测出Dodo鸟缺少保护自己的能力。

答案：A

2．Which group of the following animals has already ceased to exist according to the text?

A．The Dodo，Rhinos and Giant Pandas.

B．The Rhino，Whales and South China tigers. C．The Rhino，Pandas，Whales and Tigers.

D．The Dodo and the Bali，Javan，and Caspian tigers.

解析：细节理解题。根据文章第二段的“The population of Dodos rapidly decreased and the last one was killed in 1681.”可判断Dodo鸟是灭绝的动物之一，再根据最后一段中的“the Bali，Javan，and Caspian tigers are already extinct.”可得知灭绝的动物还有这几种。

34

答案：D

3．Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．The number of South China tigers has reached a crisis point.

B．Many animals are threatened with extinction as a result of human activities. C．People hunt for the endangered animals for high profit.

D．The whale is the representing mark for the World Wildlife Fund. 解析：推理判断题。从第四段中的“The future of the World Wildlife Fund's symbol is far from certain.”一句可知选D。

答案：D

4．Which of the following is mentioned in all the descriptions of those wild animals?

A．The way of their life.

B．The reason for their extinction or being in danger. C．Why they are hunted.

D．Punishment for hunting wild animals.

解析：推理判断题。针对五种野生动物进行介绍，内容不尽相同，有的介绍了人们为什么猎取它们；有的介绍了这些野生动物剩存的数量；有的介绍了对于猎取野生动物的惩罚手段，但有一点是相同的，即：Dodo鸟灭绝的原因以及其他四类野生动物濒临灭绝的原因。

答案：B

B

Selfie sticks (自拍杆) are now often used，as are selfie cameras on phones，and the word “selfie” was even added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013.The results of a recent research have showed that about 93 million selfies were taken per day in 2014，counting only those taken on Android phones.

While selfies are extremely common，opinions__on__selfies__are__divided，with some seeing them as a creative idea and a way to connect other people and others seeing them as narcissistic(自恋的) and unreal.

As a new cultural pattern，selfies are of interest to psychologists，in terms of how people think and feel when taking and viewing both their own selfies and those posted by others.In a recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology，Sarah Diefenbach，a scientist at Ludwig－Maximilians－University Munich，carried out an online survey to study people's motivation (动机) for posting selfies and comments when taking and viewing selfies.

A total of 238 people living in Austria，Germany and Switzerland completed the survey.The researchers found that 77% of the volunteers regularly took selfies.Interestingly，as 77% of the volunteers taking selfies regularly，62－67% agreed on the likely negative influences of selfies.82% of the volunteers explained that they would rather see other types of photos instead of selfies on social media.This behaviour，that many people regularly take selfies but most people don't appear to like them has been called the “selfie paradox(自拍悖论)” by Diefenbach.

The key to the paradox may lie in the way the volunteers view their own selfies，compared with those of others.The volunteers explained that their own selfies have greater self－exhibition and are more believable when compared with selfies taken by others.“This may explain how everybody can take selfies without feeling

35

narcissistic.If most people think like this，then it is no wonder that the world is full of selfies，”Diefenbach explains.

【语篇解读】 自拍在社交媒体上极为流行，但你知道为什么人们爱自拍却不爱看自拍吗？

5．What can we know about the recent research? A．Selfies make people close to each other.

B．People want to show the world their happiness. C．Selfies are quite common and very popular.

D．Most selfies in the research are taken on Android phones.

解析：细节理解题。根据第一段“the word ‘selfie’ was even added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013...The results of a recent research have showed that about 93 million selfies were taken per day in 2014”可知，根据一项研究结果显示，2014年每天大约产生九千三百万张自拍照，2013年“selfie”一词甚至收入了牛津英语词典。由此可知，自拍非常常见，而且极为流行。

答案：C

6．What can we learn from the underlined sentence? A．The author has a different opinion about selfies. B．Different people have different ideas about selfies. C．The volunteers were divided into two different teams. D．There were two different patterns of selfies.

解析：句意理解题。根据第二段“some seeing them as a creative idea and a way to connect other people and others seeing them as narcissistic and unreal”可知，有的人将自拍看作一种创意想法，认为这是与他人互动的方式，然而其他人却认为自拍意味着自恋，而且是不真实的。由此可知，不同的人对自拍有不同的看法。

答案：B

7．Which statement about the research of 238 volunteers is TRUE? A．The Germans took up a half amount.

B．All the volunteers are from the same country. C．The men studied spent less time taking selfies.

D．More than half of the volunteers prefer to see other types of photos. 解析：细节理解题。根据倒数第二段“82% of the volunteers explained that they would rather see other types of photos instead of selfies on social media”可知，82%的志愿者表示他们更愿意在社交媒体上看其他类型的照片，而不是自拍的照片。

答案：D

8．According to Diefenbach，the reason why the world is full of selfies is that________．

A．selfies on social media should be changed regularly B．few people realize that they take selfies too often

C．the volunteers believe their own selfies are more believale

D．people who like to take selfies don't consider they are narcissistic 解析：细节理解题。根据倒数第二段内容以及最后一段“This may explain how everybody can take selfies without feeling narcissistic.If most people think like this，then it is no wonder that the world is full of selfies”可知，迪芬巴赫把这种现象——许多人定期自拍但大多数人好像不喜欢看别人的自拍——称作“自拍悖论”。他认为“这可

36