Question

The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统). 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(栖息地).

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 underbushes, 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. Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.

C. The effect of African elephants' search for food.

D. The eating habit of African elephants.

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

A. Fixing the time.          B. Worsening the state.

C. Improving the quality.     D. Deciding the conditions.

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 home to many endangered animals.

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

4.The passage is developed mainly by _____.

A. showing the effect and then explaining the causes

B. pointing out similarities and differences

C. describing the changes in space order

D. giving examples

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：

1.C 主旨大意题。根据文章最后一句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. 可知如果非洲大象消失，很多其他的动物也会随之消失，整个生态系统也随之发生变化。再根据文章2、3段叙述可知本文主要主要讲述的是非洲大象对非洲生态的影响。故C正确。

2.D 猜测词义题。根据前两种句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,非洲大象是大草原环境的奠基者，它们对草原的环境起着决定性作用。所以本句therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.中的下划线部分意为D项“Deciding the conditions.”

3.D 推理判断题。根据第三段最后两句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.可知大象把大树推倒，创造出更多的空地，让一些适合在空地中生长的植物成长，让森林适合更多的食草动物生存。故D正确。

4. 推理判断题。根据第二段第三句This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas.和第三段第二句By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor.这两句讲述的都是大象的行为对草原生态带来的影响。所以本文是通过叙述影响并解释原因的方法组织全文的。故A正确。

【名师点睛】

本文5.

文章或者某段落的主旨大意——主题句定位法

众所周知，文章是由段落组成，每个段落都是围绕某个中心思想展开的一群句子的组合，而段落的中心思想又是为文章主旨服务的。寻找文章中心思想的方法是：通过分析篇章结构，找出每一小段的主题句，然后通过寻找共同点，找出整个文章的主题句，这是找准文章主题大意的关键。主题句是文章的核心，它往往是一个有很强概括性和代表性的句子。找到了文章的主题句，文章的中心思想也就显而易见了。但是由于文章表现手法各不相同，主题句出现的位置也不尽相同。在多数情况下，尤其在说明文和议论文中，主题句在文章中的位置通常有三种：开头、文中和文末。解题时，我们通常采用浏览的方式，仔细选读文章的首尾段和首尾句（包括每一段的首尾句），重点搜索主题线索和脉络。下面阐述五种主题呈现的方式：

1．开门见山式

主题句出现在文首。开门见山，提出主题，随之用细节来解释、论证或发展主题思想。这种写作手法叫做演绎法，在英语文章中尤为常见，这种文章的主题句最容易找到，故主题思想显而易见。

2．藏头露尾式

主题句出现在文尾。即文章先阐述了细节，然后归纳要点，得出结论，概括主题，叫做归纳写作法，主题句往往位于末段。这一类文章的主题句也很明显，不难找到。

3．首尾呼应式

在有些文章中，为了突出主题，作者在文章开头提出主题，接着进行阐述或论证，在结尾时再次点出主题，这种首尾呼应的写作方式也很常见。值得注意的是，前后两个主题句不是简单的重复，再次出现的主题句往往是前面主题句的进一步引申或发展。

4．抛砖引玉式

即文章的开头只是提出一个问题或者貌似正确的观点，而真正的主题则是通过对问题的解析和引申，或是通过责问和驳论的方式导出主题。

5．藏龙卧虎式

即主题句隐含在全文当中，没有明确的主题句。阅读这样的文章，要求考生根据文章的细节来分析、概括推导出文章的主题。具体方法是：首先弄清楚各个段落讲了哪几个方面的内容，这些内容在逻辑上有什么联系，寻找共同点,然后加以归纳形成主题。

考点：考查说明文阅读