Question

    Nola (August 21, 1974 -November 22, 2015) was a northern white rhino（犀牛）who lived at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido, California. At her death, she was one of only four remaining northern white rhinos in the world. The other three lived in Kenya. World Rhino Day, held on September 22, is to raise awareness of the less than 30,000 other rhinos left on Earth.

“Rhinos need our help today, not tomorrow,”Nola’s lead keeper Jane Kennedy said. “Last year we lost over 1,200 rhinos just in South Africa. If we continue to lose more than 1,000 rhinos a year, in 10 to 20 years all the rhinos on the planet will be gone.”

“Unfortunately, most animals are in danger of dying out because of humans,” Kennedy says.“ Humans have either poached（偷猎）animals, or because there are over seven billion of us, we’ ve taken up too much of the world’s resources ”. Poachers illegally hunt rhinos for their horns. They sell the horns for thousands of dollars per pound, to be used for art, jewelry, and decorations.Experts believe that one rhino is poached every eight hours.

In 1975, the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research started the Frozen Zoo, a program through which researchers have collected cell (细胞) samples from more than 8,000 different types of animals, including the northern white rhino. Scientists hope that by studying the rhino cells, they will get greater understanding of it, and will find ways to increase its numbers.

Jane Kennedy describes World Rhino Day as “a celebration of rhinos along with an awareness campaign for everybody across the world to know that rhinos need our help.”At the San Diego Zoo, children and adults are welcome to visit and speak with zookeepers to learn about rhinos. But you don’ t have to live in San Diego to celebrate World Rhino Day. It is observed around the world, with zoos and wildlife parks holding special events and programs to teach people about rhinos, and enable them to see the animals up close. For more information, go to www. worldrhinoday. org.

1.What do we know about Nola?

A. It was a baby white rhino. B. It was one of the last of its kind.

C. It lived with other northern white rhinos in Kenya. D. It died on September 22 at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

2.What troubled Jane Kennedy according to Paragraph 2?

A. The rhinos’ strange activities. B. The rhinos’ uncertain future.

C. The limited natural resources. D. The rare animals in South Africa.

3.What does the Frozen Zoo aim to do?

A. Keep animals from dying out. B. Invent new kinds of animals.

C. Prevent rhinos from being hunted. D. Raise public awareness of rhinos.

4.What is the main purpose of the last paragraph?

A. To help people know more about animals. B. To encourage people to protect animals.

C. To report special events in San Diego. D. To introduce World Rhino Day.

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，作者在文章里介绍了白犀牛的数量在急剧减少，与此引出对此类濒危动物的担忧，分析了出现濒危动物的原因并呼吁人们增强动物保护意识。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段前两句“Nola (August 21, 1974 -November 22, 2015) was a northern white rhino who lived at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido, California. At her death, she was one of only four remaining northern white rhinos in the world.”可知Nola是世界上为数不多的仅存的白犀牛之一。故B项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段““Rhinos need our help today, not tomorrow,” …If we continue to lose more than 1,000 rhinos a year, in 10 to 20 years all the rhinos on the planet will be gone.”可知犀牛现在就需要我们的帮助，如果犀牛继续以现在的速度减少。那么很快犀牛就会灭绝了。说明Jane Kennedy对犀牛的未来很担心。故B项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段第二句“Scientists hope that by studying the rhino cells, they will get greater understanding of it, and will find ways to increase its numbers.”可知科学家希望通过这个项目，研究犀牛等濒危动物的细胞，对这些动物有更深的理解，最终能够阻止这些濒危动物灭绝，增加这些动物的数量。所以the Frozen Zoo的目标是阻止动物灭绝。故A项正确。

4.主旨大意题。根据本段第一句Jane Kennedy describes World Rhino Day as “a celebration of rhinos along with an awareness campaign for everybody across the world to know that rhinos need our help.”可知本段主要介绍了世界犀牛节的有关信息，故D项正确。