When people get bad toothaches, they often have to eat soft, easily chewed food.When lions get bad toothaches, they eat people? That' s the conclusion of a zoologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and a dentist who works on carnivores(食肉动物),Lions don’t normally prey on people.Every once in a while, however, a lion will go on a human-eating diet.The most famous such tragedy happened in 1898, when two lions killed and ate 135 railway workers in Kenya.
Examining the preserved skulls(骷髅)of the two big cats, zoologist Bruce Patterson and dentist Ellis Neiburger found that both animals had been suffering from several dental and |aw problems.One lion had three missing teeth and a loose, unsteady lower canine that was probably useless.Canines are pointed teeth that hunting animals use for gripping and piercing prey(刺穿猎物)).
The two lions might have been so badly disabled that they couldn’t bite down forcefully, say the researchers.Consequently, the lions might have abandoned their normal, more difficult prey and turned to humans."Humans are easy preys, " said Patterson."We're very slow, we don’t hear very well, and we don* t see very well in the darkness."
The research calls their idea the Infirmity Theory.It was inspired partly by the work of Jim Corbett, a tiger hunter in India in the 1930s.Corbett was regularly called in to hunt tigers that had been dining on Indian villagers.Time after time, Patterson discovered that the killer tigers were suffering from some ill-healthy conditions.
(1)
The original aim of the study is to look for ________.
[ ]
A.
ways of protecting wild animals
B.
ways of treating toothaches of lions
C.
when and where lions eat people
D.
reasons for some lions eating people
(2)
The reason why lions don't normally prey on people is ________.
[ ]
A.
that they like wild preys better
B.
they just hunt for prey at night,
C.
that humans are difficult to catch
D.
not mentioned in the passage
(3)
Jim Corbett' story is mentioned in the last paragraph to show that ________.
[ ]
A.
tigers have the same eating habits and preys as lions
B.
carnivores hunt people mostly under ill-healthy conditions
C.
tigers like hurting villagers while lions like railway workers
D.
wild animals swallow humans when they suffer from toothaches.
More than seven hundred years ago, the Prince of Wales had a very big and brave dog called Gelert.One day the Prince wanted to go hunt-ing with his men.He told his dog to stay at home and look after his baby son.The baby was in a wooden cradle, which was like a small bed.When the Prince came back from hunt-ing, Gelert ran out to meet his master.He wagged his tail and jumped up to put his paws on the Prince's chest.Then the Prince saw the blood on Gelert's jaws and head.
"What have you done?" the Prince said.He rushed into his house and looked for his baby son.The cradle was lying on its side on the floor.The clothes were torn and there was blood on them.
"So you have killed my son?" the Prince said angrily."You unfaithful dog!" He took out his sword and killed the dog.Just as Gelert was dying, he managed to bark.Then the Prince heard a baby call to the dog.
The Prince ran out of the house and saw his son lying on the ground unhurt.Near him was a dead wolf.Then the Prince knew that Gelert had defended the baby and killed the wolf.
The Prince ran back into the house but he was too late.Gelert was dead.The Prince was very sad indeed.Tears ran down his face when he realized 'he had killed his faith-ful friend.The Prince carried the body of his brave dog to the top of a mountain and buried him there.After this, the Prince never smiled again.Every morning at dawn, he walked up the mountain and stood by the dog's grave for a few minutes.
If you go to Mount Snowdon in Wales, people will show you where Gelert is buried.There is a sign by his grave.It reminds peo-ple of a brave and faithful dog.
(1)
Gelert was the dog of the Prince of _________.
[ ]
A.
Scotland
B.
England
C.
Ireland
D.
Wales
(2)
The Prince told the dog to _________ when he was leaving.
[ ]
A.
watch the door
B.
take care of his baby at home
C.
welcome his friends
D.
stop the strangers
(3)
The dog was very _________ when his master came back from hunting.