Elephants would die if men were allowed to shoot as many as they wished． [ ] A．

die off“(一个个)死掉，枯死”，die away“(声音、风、影响)消逝，平息，静下来”,die down“(心情、火焰、斗争等)平息，静下来，熄灭”，die out“绝种，不复存在”。只有die out最能准确地表达大象被捕杀殆尽的含义，因此答案是C项。