Question

WASHINGTON -- Lewis had gourmet（美食家）taste: Whenever the dry season browned grass in his Kenyan habitat, he’d abandon the other elephants and race 25 miles to the mountains - to raid （袭击）farmers’ corn fields under the cover of night. A foot-long hair from his tail, and GPS technology, tell the tale.

It’s a new way to track elephants’ dietary needs and roaming （漫游）habits that scientists hope ultimately could help the endangered species survive. It is key to minimizing conflicts between the animals and people.

Indeed, Lewis’ roaming cost him his life. Shortly after the research ended, he was found shot to death, possibly by a farmer tired of the crop-raiding. “Part of the problem with the elephant is, we need to know how much space they really need,” explained geochemist Thure Cerling of the University of Utah, who led the research. “Why do they need a particular space? Could we manage the parks to make them work better for them?”

Hair is “like a tape recorder,” said Cerling, who gathered hair from the tails of 35 elephants in Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve to analyze for long-lasting forms, called “stable isotopes（稳定同位素）,”of carbon and nitrogen that would appear when an elephant ate mostly grass, trees or some other plants. He matched that testing to certain tracks, using Global Positioning System technology, of elephant movements.

Tracking elephant movements suggests the intelligent mammals do know where their protected habitats end, but some still risk human contact to find higher quality food, said Douglas-Hamilton, whose earlier research helped lead to the 1989 international ivory（象牙）ban. Male mammals are more likely to take such adventures because the better diet can help them meet a mate.

More hair sampling, now under way, should help scientists determine how much of certain plants elephants need in their diet, and exactly when they start hunting for them, he said. That data should help conservationsts not only better plan elephant habitats, but help local communities find ways to minimize crop damage when big animals like Lewis decide to roam.

    51. The writer’s purpose in writing the passage is to ________.

A. show the relationship between people and elephants

B. introduce a scientific study on elephants

C. give information on crop damage problems

D. call worldwide attention to the danger faced by wild elephants

    52. Lewis was most likely to raid farmers’ corn fields on ________.

A. a morning in rainy season

B. a night in rainy season

C. a morning in dry season

D. a night in dry season

    53. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. The cause of Lewis’ death.

B. The movement of Lewis.

C. How much an elephant eats for a meal.

D. How elephants’ movements are tracked.

    54. What does the underlined word “them”in paragraph 3 refer to?

A. The elephants.

B. The parks.

C. The researchers

D. The farmers

    55. What could be the best title for the passage?

A. GPS and Tail Hair Tell Elephants’ Food-hunting Behavior.

B. GPS and Tail Hair Tell the Adventure Story of Lewis.

C. Farmers Fight Against Elephants.

D. Good Measures Stop Elephants from Damaging Crops.

Answer 1

BDCBA