Question

The African elephant, which is the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem. Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna (大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.

It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and under-bushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.

Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.

What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Disappearance of African elephants.

B. The effect of African elephants’ search for food.

C. Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.

D. The eating habit of African elephants.

2.What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?

A. Fixing the time.

B. Deciding the conditions.

C. Improving the quality.

D. Worsening the state.

3.What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?

A. They result from the destruction of rain forests.

B. They provide food mainly for African elephants.

C. They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds.

D. They are home to many endangered animals.

4.The passage is developed mainly by ______.

A. giving examples

B. pointing out similarities and differences

C. describing the changes in space order

D. showing the effect and then explaining the causes

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：考点：考查说明文阅读 本文主要讲述的就是在非洲草原的生物链中大象的重要作用，它不断的寻找食物拓宽了其它动物的生存空间等。

1.

2. 猜词题。根据划线部分的上下句As a big plant­eater, it largely shapes the forest­and­savanna (稀树草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat（作为大的植食物者，它很大程度上决定了它生存在的森林和稀树大草原的环境。因此决定了数以百万计的其他动物生活栖息地的状况）.说明非洲大象塑造了草原的环境，也决定了其它的动物的生存的条件。故B Deciding the conditions.项正确。

3. 细节理解题。open spaces出现在文中第二段的第三句和第四句This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant­eaters.。从第四句中我们可以得知这样的空地很容易吸引各种各样的食草动物，故选C。

4. showing the effect and then explaining the causes。

【名师点睛】

阅读理解的解题方法有多个，就这篇文章我们就只点拨关注四个一的解题技巧。希望同学们掌握。

对于任何的文章，我们都要注意文章的第一段和最后一段（若有标题也得注意分析），对于考查段落大意的阅读理解题，我们要注意段落的第一句和最后一句，简称为四个一。

比如：第64题What is the passage mainly about? 往往文章的第一段和最后一段都是透露文章主旨的地方。而本文正是这样。我们从这两段可以看出，这篇文章是关于非洲象寻找食物所带来的影响，所以应选B The effect of African elephants’ search for food. 非洲大象寻找食物的影响。

考点：考查说明文阅读