Question

Humans kill large carnivores---a category of animals that includes wolves, bears, lions, tigers and pumas---at more than nine times their death rate in the wild. Although they may not be our prey (猎物) in the traditional sense, new research shows that some of the world’s biggest carnivores are responding to humans in a way that resembles how prey animals react to predators (捕食者). Biologists at the Santa Cruz Puma Project, an ongoing research effort in the mountains of California’s central coast, report that even the scary puma, or mountain lion, shows its fearful side when people are around.

In a recent study, the researchers followed 17 mountain lions outfitted with GPS collars (项圈) to the animals’ deer kill sites. Once the cats naturally left the scene between feedings, ecologist Justin A. Smith, now at the University of California Berkeley, and her team trained motion-activated cameras on the prey bodies. On the animals’ return, the cameras triggered nearby speakers, which broadcast recordings of either frogs croaking (呱呱叫) or humans conversing.

The pumas almost always fled immediately on hearing the human voices, and many never returned to resume feeding or took a long time to do so. But they only rarely stopped eating or fled when they heard the frogs. They also spent less than half as much time feeding during the 24 hours after first hearing human chatter, compared with hearing the frogs, the team reported.

The human presence in such a situation has far-reaching consequences. A previous study found that Santa Cruz pumas living near residential areas killed 36 percent more deer than those in less populated places. The new finding could explain why: if the cats are scared away from their kills before they finish feeding, they may be taking more prey to compensate. And fewer deer could mean more plants go uneaten, according to Chris Darimont, a professor of conservation science at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, who was not involved in the study. Thus, fear of humans may alter the entire food chain.

“Humans are the most significant source of death for pumas in this population even though the cats are not legally hunted for food or sport,” Smith says. “Many are hunted illegally, struck by vehicles or legally killed by governmental agencies as a means of protecting livestock. So they have good reason to be fearful of us,” she adds. Darimont predicts other large carnivores would show similar responses because humans have effectively become the planet’s top predator---even if we often do not eat what we kill.

1.How did researchers make the discovery?

A. By fitting GPS collars to the animals’ prey and following them.

B. By getting to the kill sties and broadcasting all types of sounds.

C. By observing pumas’ reaction to frogs’ croaking or humans’ voices.

D. By counting how long pumas spent eating in different backgrounds.

2.According to the passage, humans’ presence will lead to ______.

A. less deer being eaten    B. more plants left uneaten

C. pumas occupying less populated areas    D. more puma feeding times within a day

3.Smith’s attitude towards the government hunting pumas is ______.

A. doubtful    B. disapproving    C. disappointing    D. objective

Answer

1. C

2. B

3. D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。研究人员通过观察美洲狮对青蛙叫声或人类声音的反应来做出新的发现。史密斯对政府追捕美洲狮的态度持客观的态度。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段中Biologists at the Santa Cruz Puma Project, an ongoing research effort in the mountains of California’s central coast, report that even the scary puma, or mountain lion, shows its fearful side when people are around.和第二段中On the animals’ return, the cameras triggered nearby speakers, which broadcast recordings of either frogs croaking (呱呱叫) or humans conversing.可知，研究人员通过观察美洲狮对青蛙叫声或人类声音的反应来做出新的发现。故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段中fewer deer could mean more plants go uneaten, 根据这篇文章可知，人类的存在将导致更多的植物没有被吃掉。故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段中“Humans are the most significant source of death for pumas in this population even though the cats are not legally hunted for food or sport,” Smith says. “Many are hunted illegally, struck by vehicles or legally killed by governmental agencies as a means of protecting livestock. So they have good reason to be fearful of us,”可知，史密斯对政府追捕美洲狮的态度持客观的态度。故选D。