Australia’s koalas could be wiped out within 30 years unless urgent action is taken to stop the losi

【题目】Australia’s koalas could be wiped out within 30 years unless urgent action is taken to stop the losing in population, according to researchers. They say development, climate change and bushfires have all combined to reduce the number of wild koalas sharply.

The Australian Koala Foundation said a recent survey showed the population could have dropped by more than half in the past six years. Previous estimates put the number of koalas at more than 100,000, but the latest calculations suggest there could now be as few as 43,000.

The foundation collected field data from 1,800 sites and 80,000 trees to calculate the numbers. In one area in northern Queensland estimated to have 20,000 koalas a decade ago, a team of eight people could not find a single animal in four days of searching.

The foundation said besides problems caused by cutting down forests, hotter and drier conditions because of global warming had reduced the nutritional value of their staple food, eucalyptus leaves, leading to poor nutrition for them.

Koalas, which live in the forests in Australia’s east and south, are very fussy (爱挑剔的) about what types of the leaves they eat.

Foundation chief Deborah Tabart said: “The koalas are missing everywhere we look. It’s really no tree, no me. If you keep cutting down trees you don’t have any koalas.”

She is hoping the new figures will persuade the government’s Threatened Species Steering Committee (TSSC) to list the koala as threatened. But committee chairman Bob Beeton said a decision was not likely recently and the koala’s status as one of the country’s favourite animals would not be a factor. “There’s a number of species which are attractive and people have special feelings towards them. We don’t consider that,” Mr Beeton was reported as saying by the AFP agency.

【1】The writer gives the example of the area in northern Queensland in Paragraph 3 to show that _____.

A. the forests are being damaged heavily

B. the environment is being polluted seriously

C. koalas usually live in wild mountainous areas

D. the number of koalas is dropping quickly

【2】Global warming is an important cause of koalas’ reduction because _____.

A. koalas can hardly stand the hot weather

B. the leaves koalas eat are losing nutritional value

C. koalas cannot get enough water to drink

D. the leaves koalas eat cannot grow in hot weather

【3】According to Bob Beeton, _____.

A. koalas are his favourite animals

B. a decision will be made to protect koalas

C. they needn’t pay special attention to koalas

D. koalas needn’t be protected at all

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】C

【解析】

试题分析:本文倡导人们保护考拉。澳大利亚的考拉面临灭绝的危险，除非人们马上采取措施。社会的发展、气候的变化以及丛林大火都是导致考拉数量急剧减少的原因。

【1】D细节理解题。根据文章In one area in northern Queensland estimated to have 20,000 koalas a decade ago, a team of eight people could not find a single animal in four days of searching.可知原来在北昆士兰有很多考拉，但是现在人们很难再找到了，考拉的数量减少了很多，故选D。

【2】B细节理解题。根据文章hotter and drier conditions because of global warming had reduced the nutritional value of their staple food, eucalyptus leaves, leading to poor nutrition for them. 可知气候的变化使得考拉吃的树叶的营养变少了，故选B。

【3】C细节理解题 。根据the koala’s status as one of the country’s favourite animals would not be a factor. “There’s a number of species which are attractive and people have special feelings towards them. We don’t consider that,”可知Bob认为还有很多吸引人的动物，人们不应该只关注考拉，故选C。