Question

Despite the vital role they play in many ecosystems, animals considered to be “ugly” are being ignored by scientists. A study had found uglier animals attract less attention and less funding when it comes to conservation efforts and research. This could mean the ugliest animal population could be under threat.

The study was conducted by wildlife biologists Trish Fleming and Bill Bateman in Perth, Australia. They looked at research publications concerning 331 Australian mammal species that broadly fell into categories they labeled as “the good, the bad and the ugly”. It turned out that studies into “the good group” and “the bad group” were carried out while the “ugly group” was ignored.

Ugly animals, such as the fruit bat and the tree bat, are being ignored by conservationists. And some animals are even becoming endangered because of how they look. The Madagascan lemur(狐猴)called the aye---aye is so ugly that the natives have long seen them as a bad sign, or a sign of death, so they kill them whenever they see them. Other ugly animals under threat include the dugong(儒艮)and the proboscis monkey(长鼻猴).

Despite making up 45% of the 331 species studied, the ugly animals have attracted little attention from scientists. “We know so little about the biology of many of these species,” said Trish Fleming. “For many, we have catalogued their existence, but when it comes to understanding what they eat, their habitat needs, or how we could improve their chance of how we could improve their chance of survival, we are still in the dark.”

With Bill Bateman, Trish Fleming has called for improved funding for the lesser known mammals. “It would be ‘tragic’ if humans ended up causing the extinction of more species without even knowing anything about them,” they said.

1.Based on the text, the “ugly” animals _________

A. are increasing in number

B. get more conservation funds

C. play an important role in the ecosystem

D. cost quite a great deal of money in research

2.Which of the following is true according to the text?

A. People see the dugong as a sign of death

B. More attention has been paid to “the ugly animals”

C. There was not enough study about “the ugly animals”

D. Trish and Bill did research on 331 Australian mammals

3.The main reason for some animals’ being endangered may lie in _________.

A. their unpleasant looks    B. their broad categories

C. their economic values    D. their lovely appearances

4.The best title for the text would be _________.

A. The Ugliest Animal in the World

B. The Ugly Species Are under Threat

C. The Living Habits of the Ugly Species

D. The Proboscis Monkey Is Endangered

Answer

根据①②③总结概括文章☞B选项.The Ugly Species Are under Threat

【解析】本文是一篇科普文章。主要讲述了地球上的一些丑动物因为被科学家忽略而濒临灭绝的威胁。

1.C

细节理解题。第一段第一句“Despite the vital role they play in many ecosystems, animals considered to be “ugly” are being ignored by scientists.” 尽管它们在许多生态系统中扮演着重要的角色，但被认为是“丑陋”的动物却被科学家们忽视了。可知这些丑动物在生态系统中起着重要作用。故C符合本题。

2.C

细节理解题。根据第三段中的“lemur(狐猴)called the aye---aye is so ugly that the natives have long seen them as a bad sign, or a sign of death”可知A是错误的。第一段第一句“, animals considered to be “ugly” are being ignored by scientists”B是错误的。第四段中的“.Despite making up 45% of the 331 species studied, the ugly animals have attracted little attention from scientists.”可知对这331种物种中45%进行了研究，它们的研究是不够的，可知D是错误的，C是正确的。故选C。

3.A

细节理解题。第三段中的“And some animals are even becoming endangered because of how they look.” 有些动物甚至因为它们的外表而濒临灭绝。可知是由于它们的外表丑，令人讨厌而濒临灭绝，unpleasant使人不愉快的，不合意的，讨厌的。故A符合题意。

4.B

【名师点睛】主旨大意题解题策略

每篇文章都会有一个主旨要义。主旨要义型题范围一般包括：短文标题、主题大意或段落大意等。此题型要求考生在理解文章后归纳文章要点，概括中心思想。考生需要分析文章的篇章结构，抓住文章的开头或结尾，从而找出能概括文章的主题句。若无明显主题句，就通过关键词句来概括。主题句的特点：（1）语言特点：归纳性、概括性、抽象性；（2）位置特点：文章的的开头和结尾段等。主题句常出现在“总结性”语言的“信号词”后，标题的语言特点：独特新颖 、概括性强、短小精炼。

【解题剖析】第4小题选B。此题属于主旨大意中的 一一标题类。答案需要理解文章后归纳文章中心。

【答案定位】根据第一段中的“This could mean the ugliest animal population could be under threat.” 这可能意味着最丑陋的动物种群可能受到威胁。第三段中的“.Ugly animals, …And some animals are even becoming endangered because of how they look. ”及最后一段最后一句“It would be ‘tragic’ if humans ended up causing the extinction of more species without even knowing anything about them”。从以上可知这些丑的动物因为人们的忽略而导致了它们物种处于灭绝的威胁，因此只有B 项The Ugly Species Are under Threat（丑陋的物种受到威胁）符合，故选B。

【推理关系】题干The best title for the text would be _________. ☞文章内容①. This could mean the ugliest animal population could be under threat.②.Ugly animals …some animals are even becoming endangered because of how they look.③It would be ‘tragic’ if humans ended up causing the extinction of more species without even knowing anything about them”.☞概括总结☞ 丑动物处于危险中（under threat），濒临灭绝 (endangered)☞标题