Question

    The number of snow geese arriving in the Arctic each spring to breed has risen over the past few decades. At first, wildlife biologists saw this as an environmental crisis, pointing to marshes（湿 地 ） where plants were eaten by the hungry birds. In response, the federal government loosened restrictions on snow goose hunting.

But how do the Inuit, in whose backyard this is taking place, view the situation? A recent plan is giving Inuit wildlife experts the opportunity to lend their knowledge to managing the species. The snow goose study, which is supported in part by Polar Knowledge Canada and led by the Kivalliq Wildlife Board (an Inuit organization that manages hunting, trapping and fishing in central Nunavut), asked the experts to share their generations of knowledge about snow geese and their views on what should be done.

“The community had concerns about controlling the  population,” says Ron, a  community officer of the Kivalliq Inuit Association, “and Inuit snow goose knowledge had never been recorded. People wanted to pass on what they knew.” Inuit experts disagreed with that, considering it wasteful and unnecessary. They felt hunting more snow geese in an organized way, such as paying local hunters a minimal amount of money and distributing the birds to disadvantaged families or operating a limited commercial hunt by employing local people, would be appropriate.

Inuit wildlife experts will plan to call on scientists this fall. They say they hope to search for a common way forward and that while there may be too many snow geese in some areas, it’s not a crisis. Biologists now generally agree that there seem to be plenty of undamaged marshes available and newer research shows that some damaged areas can recover.

“Now that we have recorded and documented Inuit knowledge of snow geese,” says Ron, “when facing the crisis other people will be able to use the information to help manage the species, which is fundamental to dealing with it effectively.”

1.Why did the federal government loosen limitations on snow goose hunting?

A. To make more profits. B. To create more marshes.

C. To wipe out the hungry birds. D. To protect the ecosystem.

2.Which of the following might Inuit wildlife experts agree with?

A. Organizing large commercial hunts.

B. Using snow goose hunting to man’s best advantage.

C. Regarding too many snow geese as a crisis.

D. Hunting as many snow geese as possible.

3.What might biologists think about the marshes’ future now?

A. It’s a bit promising. B. It’s unpredictable.

C. It’s too discouraging. D. It’s hard to get better.

4.What does the underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refer to?

A. The species. B. Inuit knowledge.

C. The crisis. D. Inuit research.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇夹叙夹议的文章。文章主要讲了在过去的几十年里，每年春天到达北极繁殖雪雁的数量都在增加。联邦政府和因纽特野生动物专家对此的应对措施。

1.推理判断题。答案定位在第一段The number of snow geese arriving in the Arctic each spring to breed has risen over the past few decades. At first, wildlife biologists saw this as an environmental crisis, pointing to marshes（湿 地 ） where plants were eaten by the hungry birds.（在过去的几十年里，每年春天到达北极繁殖雪雁的数量都在增加。起初，野生动物生物学家认为这是一场环境危机，他们指出沼泽地里的植物被饥饿的鸟类吃掉。）由此推断出联邦政府放松了对猎雪雁的限制是为了保护生态系统，故选D。

2.推理判断题。答案定位在第三段They felt hunting more snow geese in an organized way, such as paying local hunters a minimal amount of money and distributing the birds to disadvantaged families or operating a limited commercial hunt by employing local people, would be appropriate.（他们认为以有组织的方式猎杀更多雪雁是合适的，比如付给当地猎人最少的钱，把雪雁分配给贫困家庭，或者雇佣当地人进行有限的商业狩猎。）由此推断出因纽特野生动物专家可能会同意“利用雪雁狩猎满足人的最大利益”，故选B。

3.推理判断题。答案定位在倒数第二段Biologists now generally agree that there seem to be plenty of undamaged marshes available and newer research shows that some damaged areas can recover.（生物学家现在普遍认为，似乎有大量未受破坏的沼泽可用，最新的研究表明，一些受损地区可以恢复。）由此推断出现在生物学家对沼泽的未来充满希望，故选A。

4.推理判断题。划线词所在的句子 “Now that we have recorded and documented Inuit knowledge of snow geese,” says Ron, “when facing the crisis other people will be able to use the information to help manage the species, which is fundamental to dealing with it effectively.”意思是“现在我们已经记录和记载了因纽特人对雪雁的知识，”罗恩说，“当面临危机时，其他人将能够利用这些信息来帮助管理雪雁这个物种，这是有效应对危机的基础。” It指代上文提到的The crisis，故选C。