Running like the wind, roaring like thunder, tigers have long been feared and re

Running like the wind, roaring （咆哮） like thunder, tigers have long been feared andrespected as a king of the animal world．But last weeka report said that there are no more than 30 wild tigers left in south China．

         Thiswas the conclusion of a team of scientists from China's State ForestryAdministration and the World Nature Fund．

         TheSouth China tiger, also known as the Chinese tiger, is native to southern China．In the 1950's, there were over 4000 tigers found inmountain forests in the country．But due to thedestruction of their natural habitat （栖息地） anduncontrolled hunting, it has been pushed on to the list of the world's top tenmost endangered species．

         Sixty-sixof the big cats can be found in the cages of a dozen zoos around China．But they are nothing like their wild cousins．They have lost their natural skills such as hunting andkilling．If they were set free they could not lookafter themselves．

         "Breedinghas damaged the quality of the species", said Pei Enle, deputy director ofthe Shanghai Zoo．

         Toreintroduce the species into the wild, the country started a programme to sendfive to ten young tigers to South Africa．Four of themhave already arrived．Progress has been made as two elder tigershave recovered some of their instincts（本能） and canhunt wild animals by themselves at the African base．

         "South Africans are very experienced in reintroducing big animals to the wild．The country has very good natural conditions for thetigers to learn in", said Lu Jun, office director of the National WildlifeResearch and Development Center．" We tried in FujianProvince, but it was not successful as there was not a complete eco-chain（生物链） and there was a lack of space．"

The tigers should return to China in 2007 when thereservations in Fujian are ready．

1.What is the main reason for the South China tigerbecoming one of the world's top ten most endangered species?

A．Because it has lost itsnatural instincts．

B．Because there is not acomplete eco-chain．

C．Because there is no spacefor it．

D．Because uncontrolledhunting has destroyed its natural living conditions．

2.How is the programme of sending several tigers toSouth Africa getting on?

A．Its effect still remainsto be seen．

B．Two tigers can alreadycompete with their wild cousins．

C．Some of the tigers arealready on the road to recovering their natural skills．

D．The tigers should be ableto recover their instincts completely by 2007．

3.By saying " but they are nothing like theirwild cousins", the writer means that ______．

A．they are no longer fearedby other wild animals

B．they don't know how tohunt or kill

C．a complete change hasresulted in the species because of breeding

D．to reintroduce them intothe wild has become an urgent task

4.What is the purpose of sending young tigers to SouthAfrica?

A．To help the tigersrecover their ability to live in the wild．

B．To provide them with abetter environment．

C．To get the tigers to goon a tour．

D．To find a completeeco-chain for them．

5.Which one is not the reason for South Africa beingchosen as the training place?

A．Because the tigers canhunt wild animals by themselves at the African base．

B．Because South Africansare skilled at dealing with the tigers．

C．Because there is acomplete eco-chain and enough space there．

D．Because the country hasgood natural conditions for the tigers to learn in．

试题答案

【答案】

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.A

5.A

【解析】

试题